User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 450: Alone in all the World, Review./@comment-5894890-20150831164039/@comment-756329-20150831184750

It only feels rushed if you didn't see "Fairy Tail Zero". After the Magic Games, and the fact that he was living on Tenrou Island, even then I had theories that the two were closer than appeared. After "Fairy Tail Zero" it was obvious there was a deeper connection that implied romance.

It's just rushed for people who didn't pick up on it years ago.