Her voice came like a Divine rumble from the skies.
"You and I have never done a quest together."
Sometimes, certain sentences gave Gray a bad feeling. He tried not to rely heavily on his instincts – logic was more important – but even a cryomancer of his calibre couldn't ignore the chill that ran down his spine.
Erza Scarlet stood over him, hands on hips and brows furrowed. She'd walked over from the request board like that. Gray didn't track the movement of many people while drinking, but he made an exception for her and Natsu. Erza because you had to always be on guard for her. Natsu because, well, the guy was an asshole.
As he was trying to decipher her look, Gray suddenly remembered that he was holding the flagon to his mouth, the ale lapping against his lips. Forsaking the sip, he put it down on the countertop and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Sure we have," he replied. "We've been on plenty of quests together. Ever since you asked Natsu and–"
She shook her head. "No. I meant just the two of us."
"Ahh." Gray shrugged. Where is she going with this? "Then no, we've never been on one."
"We should go on more quests together."
At that, Gray squinted up at her. "Why?"
"Because," Erza said and placed a determined hand on his shoulder. She balled up the other and held it up, equally determinedly. "If you work with me, your skills will improve drastically and you will be able to reach S-class faster."
"I'm in no hurry, you kn–"
"Nonsense! Never leave for tomorrow what can be done today! Up, up, up! I have picked out the perfect quest for us to do!"
And just like that, Gray found himself being dragged by the scruff of his neck out of the guild, towards a quest he knew absolutely nothing about. He knew that protesting was meaningless and, as the entire guild laughed at him, decided to cut his losses. Unlike them, he'd be getting paid.
Besides, how bad could questing with Erza be?