A/N: You know what's weird? I don't like Gray too much. His character bothers me for some reason, and he reminds me a bit of Sasuke, especially with the way he treats Juvia sometimes. But, I LOVE writing him. I like using him in my stories and playing with his character.
I hope you all enjoy!
I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its related contents.
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
"Flashback/Dream"
As Seen From the Ice
-O-
Gray Fullbuster was not a particularly curious person. He stayed to himself much, avoiding gossip, which was almost impossible in the Fairy Tail guild. The dark haired man was very reserved, not opening himself up to anyone, except for a selected few.
And one of those selected few happened to be their sole celestial spirit mage, Lucy Heartfilia.
The busty, blonde haired woman had become one of his closest friends, turning to her when things went south. Lucy understood a level of his pain, sympathized with his past. One drunken night led to shared secrets between the two, secrets that shocked one another.
She was essentially the sister he never had. And he truly cared deeply for her, willing to lay down his life for her; she was part of his family.
So Gray was especially overprotective of Lucy and her well being.
Especially when it came to boys.
Particularly one obnoxious, motor mouthed, fire spitting, pointy eyed, arrogant, pink haired, dragon slayer that essentially captured her heart; even if she didn't realize it yet.
"Hey Gray!"
Called man turned over his shoulder as he took his place at the bar, already shirtless. Lucy jogged to him, her smile radiating on her smooth face.
A small smile settled on his thin lips. "Yo, Lucy."
"How are you?" She asked, settling down next to him. He noticed the jagged breathing and her disarrayed appearance. Lucy Heartfilia was normally very well kept.
"I'm good. Just trying to get some time in for myself. You?" The ice mage asked, taking a sip from his drink.
"Here you go, Lucy!" Mirajane Strauss placed a cup of ice cold water in front of Lucy, to which the blonde quickly thanked.
"Thanks Mira!" She took a sip, then turned back to him. "All is well. I was just making my way back to Fairy Tail after a nice day out around the markets. I promised Levy-chan I would go over to her place tonight to talk about a book that we both fell in love with recently and I totally lost track of time!"
Gray chuckled. "Well, you're in luck because Levy is not back from her mission with Scrap Metal yet."
The stripping male gestured over towards a mulling Jet and Droy, who were painfully awaiting the arrival of their missing link.
"What?" Lucy gasped, "She's not back yet!?"
He shook his head.
"That Levy-chan!" She pouted, her arms crossed in front of her. "If she wanted alone time with Gajeel, all she had to do was tell me. She didn't have to try and use the mission as an excuse."
Gray couldn't help smiling a little bigger as Lucy nagged. This was one of the many reasons he enjoyed her company. Lucy Heartfilia was as humorous as she was intelligent.
"Anyway, have you gone on any solo missions since we took our break?" She indulged. The ice mage nodded.
"Yeah, I was requested by Duke Wesel over by Crocus for this bandit job. Doesn't seem to hard of a job and the pay is nice, but you never know how these things turn out."
Lucy agreed with Gray, both of them knowing how simple jobs could turn out much worse than originally planned.
"What about you? Have you gone on any missions with flame brain since our break?"
At the mention of the infamous dragonslayer, Lucy crossed her hands out in front of her, sheepishly pouting, her cheeks pink with a small scowl etched on her face.
"Absolutely not! That idiot Natsu just knows how to cause destruction! I need to pay my rent and all that guy ever does is break things so the reward money goes to fixing the damages!"
Gray couldn't stop the smirk from playing on his lips.
"I'd go on a few jobs with you, if you didn't want to waste your reward money on flame brain's rampages." The ice mage offered.
Lucy smiled, resting a forehand to her forehead. "As much as I appreciate the offer, Gray, you're almost as bad as Natsu. When it's not his indestructible fire magic burning down buildings, it's your ice magic that freezes over towns. Or Erza's strength that pummels everything in sight. Even sweet, little innocent Wendy who blows away houses with her wind magic!"
The raven head shrugged his shoulders, not disagreeing with the blonde celestial mage. Team Natsu was indeed very destructive, with the headmaster constantly giving the five of them an earful.
"I see your point." Gray commented, chuckling a bit. Lucy followed.
"Not that I don't want to go on missions without you guys! I just need the four of you to tone it down just a little." She laughed as the blonde used her fingers to indicate the severity of her words. The stripping ice mage smirked coolly, acknowledging Lucy's request.
"I can try, but no promises, Lucy."
"At least you're being thoughtful about it."
Both team members laughed together, knowing that Team Natsu was probably the most careless, reckless group in all of Fairy Tail, especially with Natsu Dragneel in the group. The dragon slayer lived for destruction. He never knew when enough was enough.
"Ah, I better go." Lucy started, her eyes somewhat nervous. But before Gray could ask, Lucy began. "I could feel Juvia glaring this way rather harshly and I would rather not drown in her fury today. I'll see you later, Gray."
Gray scowled, feeling guilty for having Lucy constantly watch her back around him because of the water mage.
"Bye, Lucy."
And right as Lucy walked up and away, he could see Juvia watching the blonde with furious eyes that read "love rival." The ice mage sighed, knowing that it was silly of Juvia to think that way when Lucy clearly had feelings for Natsu.
It was frustrating.
Gray had told Juvia back after the Grand Magic Games that he wasn't interested, and would be brutally honest with things he didn't like.
Though, it wasn't that he didn't like Juvia.
No, he enjoyed her company and saw her as a great comrade. She was strong, wise, capable of holding her own, and put Fairy Tail above everything else. She was a true mage and astounding woman.
He himself just could not bear holding someone close to him at the level of intimacy.
Having already lost Ur, almost losing Erza once already, watching Lucy get tortured by Minerva, and having Ultear sacrifice his life for him was enough. Gray wasn't sure he could add another woman too close to his heart at the time.
"Oh poor Lucy. Juvia has seemed to drive her away again, huh Gray?"
Gray looked up from his cup and towards the white hair bar maidan. The permanent scowl on his face dissipated slightly, annoyance crossing his usually stoic demeanor.
"Lucy doesn't mind too much." The raven haired man commented, his thoughts nowhere in particular. "It's just Juvia's silly imagination."
"I'd be careful if I were you, Gray." Mirajane warned with a wink. "To Juvia, it's not just mere imagination. She sees Lucy as her rival. And she won't let Lucy win."
The dark eyed man scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "I don't see why. Lucy is like my little sister. Besides, it's obvious that Lucy likes ash for brains."
As those words left Gray's lips, Natsu came storming into the guild with Happy in tow. When his onyx eyes met Lucy's figure, the grin on his face split in half.
"LUCY!" The pyromaniac shouted as he bellowed throughout the entire guild.
"Lucy! Where have ya been!? Happy and I have been looking for ya! Let's go on another mission!"
"Absolutely not! You only know how to wreck everything! I need money for rent and you're definitely the wrong person to go on a mission with!"
"WHAT?!" Natsu bellowed, his eyes in shock. "Are you trying to leave us, Lucy!?"
"Lucy is leaving us!? Why?! Lucy, I'll share my fish with you if it'll make you stay!" Happy chorused as he pulled out a fish from his sack.
"Get off me, Natsu!" Lucy struggled against his hold as he hugged her leg tightly. "And keep the fish away from me, Happy!"
Members of the Fairy Tail guild chuckled and nodded off the scene from the original Team Natsu. It was a usual thing with Lucy getting worked up over Natsu's compulsive and destructive nature. The busty blonde would yell, go on a rant about how reckless the pink haired dragon slayer was to where Natsu would beg Lucy to forgive him and promise to tone it down, even though he never did.
"Please Lucy! Go on another mission with us!" Natsu and Happy said together as they fell on their knees and begged her. The celestial mage turned bright pink, embarrassed by Natsu and Happy's behavior.
"Cut it out, you guys!" Lucy muttered. "Fine! I'll go on a mission with the two of you. Now get up will you?"
Both Natsu and Happy jumped off the ground, cheering in victory with a smile on their face. This caused Lucy to smile with them, shaking her head at how foolish her partner and his cat were.
Gray shook his head in irritation, looking back towards Mira.
"See what I mean? She doesn't blush like that for just anyone."
The oldest of the Strauss siblings arched an eyebrow, intrigued by Gray's observation. Mirajane Strauss was always known as Fairy Tail's biggest matchmaker, trying to pair up Fairy Tail's most obvious soon-to-be couples. And one of her goals since the moment Lucy stepped into the guild was to match the forbidding Lucy Heartfilia and the admonidable Salamander, Natsu Dragneel.
"Oh? What do you know that we don't, hmm Gray?" She asked with a devilish smirk.
The ice mage sighed, knowing that he opened a door he wouldn't be able to close.
"Man, what did I get myself into?" The young Fullbuster mumbled to himself as he nonchalantly discarded his shirt, to which proceeded for Cana to nag at him from across the table about his lack of clothing, not that the drunk had any room to talk.
"There are only certain things Lucy does when Natsu's around, or when it involves the flame brain."
"Like?" His scowl didn't disappear as this was not a conversation he wanted to have. Lucy was like his little sister. He felt like he was violating her privacy by sharing this information.
"It's really none of your business, is it?"
He'll admit, that was probably not the best set of words to say to the former Satan Soul keeper of Fairy Tail. Gray shivered slightly as Mira transformed into her demon form, a wicked smile on her demon-fied face.
"What was that you just said, Gray? I don't think I quite caught that." She said, cracking her fist in her hands.
"What the hell you do, Gray!? Why is Mira is her Satan Soul form!?" He could hear Macao shouting from the background. The ice mage gulped slightly, sweat trailing down the corner of his forehead. Erza was frightening yes, and whenever Erza commanded him to stop being senseless and a fool, he was the first to listen.
But back in the day, Mirajane Strauss had been just as cruel, just as terrifying as Fairy Tail's Titania.
"Just tell her what she wants, you idiot! It'll save the rest of us any broken bones!" Cana yelled, hiccuping after her sentence.
"Fine! I'll tell you whatever you want!" He succumbed to the ever intimidating power of the Satan Soul. Gray would rather live than be chewed alive by Mirajane Strauss.
"Ha! Gray wasn't MAN enough to fight my sister! What a chump!" Elfman bellowed in the background.
"Elfman-ni. Even you aren't brave enough to take on Mira-nee." Lisanna replied, reprimanding her brother, who in turn shouted, "You're right! I am not MAN enough!"
That lead to Elfman knocking over Wakaba, who spilled his drink all over Macao, who in turn knocked his chair over, making Nab fall over, who crashed right into Laki, making her fall over Cana, which made her spill her alcohol all over the floor, causing Freed to slip and crash into Bixlow.
"You… IDIOTS! YOU MADE ME DROP MY BOOZE." And thus, Cana started a typical, everyday brawl as she thrusted a chair at the closest person possible, who happened to be Reedus.
Fist went flying as chairs and tables were thrown across the guildhall and people went flying, fighting one another. Gray sighed, happy he wasn't involved in this brawl. He could smell the heavy scent of Cana's booze and it was slightly revolting. How she drank that stuff? The ice mage couldn't fathom.
"So Gray, tell me, what is it that makes you so sure Lucy has feelings for Natsu?" Now returned to her sweet, loving persona, Gray knew he had no choice but to reveal what he's observed and what he's collected.
"Lucy chastises us all the time for our destructive behavior, but Natsu is the only one she ever gives the hardest time too. She'll never outright say to Erza or I that we owe her jewels we don't get on missions. Only Natsu."
"I don't see how that indicates that Lucy likes Natsu." Mira said. But Gray put a finger up, silencing the snow white haired bartender.
"Lucy goes two ways at it. One, she'll refuse to go on a job with him, which, as you saw earlier, makes him go begging to her to take a job with him until she says yes, like we saw earlier. Two, she'll make him do a job with her and her only, where it's usually just Natsu, Happy, and Lucy."
Mira's face lit up like Christmas, her eyes glowing. "Meaning, that in both instances, Lucy would have Natsu all to herself!"
"Exactly." Gray said.
"Oh! Oh! What else!" Mira jumped, squealing as she clasped her hands together.
"You know how we occasionally would break into Lucy's apartment?" Mira nodded, "Well, whenever we are they, Natsu is the last to leave. Always. She'll kick us all out, including Natsu. But somehow or another, he'll find a way to stay."
"Meaning Natsu has feelings for Lucy!" Gray nodded at Mira's statements.
"Lucy only ever blushes for Natsu, if you noticed. Sure, Loke will come out and flirt with her, and sometimes other guys may approach Lucy and comment on her sex appeal, but Natsu is the only person she ever really blushes for."
Gray couldn't believe he was doing this. He was gossiping, gossiping about who he deemed his girl best friend. She was going to kill him, skin him alive, leave him out to dry, bring him back to life, then kill him again.
"Is that enough for you? Gah, I don't want to do this anymore." Gray said, Mira pouting, though her eyes showed how delighted she was.
"Oh come on Gray, why don't you help me get them together! Since you know so much about how Lucy feels about Natsu!"
Get them together? Yuck. The last thing he wanted was to see the two coddling around together, sharing kisses, giggling like fools in love. Just let nature take its course.
"No, I'm good. Let the two figure it out themselves." Mira was obviously upset, but Gray didn't really care. Lucy's business was her own. Why couldn't she understand that?
"Look, Lucy likes Natsu, a lot." He knew because during one of their drunken nights, Lucy had shared this with him, but he wouldn't let Mira know. Because next thing he would know, the oldest Strauss would be getting the blonde drunk on purpose to spill all her secrets.
"It's obvious, isn't it? That idiot brought her here to Fairy Tail. He gave her a new family, introduced her to all the people she now holds close to her heart. He gave her a chance to be something other than what she was meant to be. He gave her the chance to be strong on her own. Natsu's always been a dumbass, but he wasn't wrong about bringing her. He knew Lucy could strive to be something. And she is. And she thanks him for that because who knows where she might be now?"
"Despite what we may think, those two are so much closer than what we know. Sure, Levy is her best friend and Erza and I are her closest friends, but what those two have, we cannot touch. Lucy loves Fairy Tail, we all know that. But I think she loves Natsu even more."
Mira's mouth hung open at Gray's confession.
"You said like at first. Now you're saying love? Lucy loves Natsu?"
Gray smacked himself in the middle of his forehead. Had he said love? Dammit! Those words literally slipped off his tongue. The dark haired mage had used 'like' on purpose, so Mira wouldn't get so caught up on it. What an idiot! He thought to himself.
"No! What I meant was she likes Fairy Tail more! LIKES." He yelled, trying to cover his tracks, but it was no use because Mira was clearly on cloud 9 as the stars in her eyes danced.
"You already said love! Lucy loves Natsu! Oh what a dream come true!"
Sighing and groaning, Gray rubbed his face, thinking of all the ways Lucy was going to kill him for this later. Was it possible to fear someone more than he feared Erza? Because his body was shivering from the backlash he would receive from Fairy Tail's own celestial mage.
"Gray-sama." Rolling his eyes slightly, said man turned and there stood Juvia, who wore a pleased smile on her face.
"Yeah?"
"Is it true that love rival likes Natsu-san?" He sighed, knowing that there was no point in lying now.
"Yeah, Juvia. It's true."
"Oh Juvia is most thrilled!" The dark eyed mage was surprised by the bluenette's sudden change of behavior. "That means Juvia has Gray-sama all to herself! And love rival is out of the picture!"
Juvia went in to hug Gray and he was trapped in her arms as she coddled her head against his naked chest.
"The hell!? Juvia! Get off me!" He shouted, trying to peel her off.
"Oh? What's this? Do I see another couple brewing?" Mira stated with her voice dipped in joy and glee. Her eyes swam with excitement and bewilderment.
"The hell!?" Gray exclaimed, pushing Juvia aside. "Get that idea out of your head!"
But Mira was too far gone in her own fantasy and dreams that she hardly took notice to Gray anymore. Not wanting to be here any longer, Gray started making his way out of the guild, Juvia crying "Gray-sama!" behind him.
Annoyed and ticked off, he figured this would be the best time to go on a job. That way, one, he could get away from Mira and her vicious, matchmaking claws and two, avoid his death for as long as possible because Lucy was going to send him 6 feet under.
So Gray Fullbuster left, leaving the guild for about a week, going off on his solo job. And it was relaxing, not having to hear the constant bickering between Lucy and Natsu, or the pointy eyed freak give him hell for God knows what, or having Erza breathing down their necks, watching them carefully to make sure they didn't fight.
It was peaceful alright.
So when stepping into the guild, he was nervous. Because he didn't know if Lucy was back with Natsu yet. And if she was, if Mira had cornered her and made her confess what she already told Gray.
When he didn't spot a head of pink hair or a head of bright blonde, he sighed in relief. He would live to see another day.
"Ah, welcome back, Gray! How was your trip?" The sweet bartender asked as he sat down.
"It was fine. Really easy and simple." Not feeling like saying much, he ordered an ice cold water, hoping that would satisfy his quench of thirst.
"That's great to hear! I hear that there is another job similar to the one you just got back from on the Job Board if you want to take a look at it?" Mira offered.
That caused Gray to raise a brow. Why was she suddenly smiling so weirdly? And why was Mira trying to usher him out when he just got back?
"I'm so sorry, Gray. I truly couldn't help myself!" When she apologized, he already knew. She threw him an apologetic smile as she stepped away, and suddenly, all Gray could feel was fear.
"GRAY. FULLBUSTER."
Said man groaned, knowing he was meeting his maker.
"YOU IDIOT!" There was a sharp pain in the back of his head as Lucy thrusted a chair towards him, nailing him in the exact spot she intended.
"SERIOUSLY! MIRA. OUT OF ALL PEOPLE!" When he turned around to explain, he froze as fear crept into every crevice of his body.
Lucy looked furious. Her glare could easily imitate, if not exceed, that of Erza's. He had never seen a scowl so embedded on her usually carefree face. Anger was radiating from her body, literally. He could see the red aura surrounding her, and her fist glowing bright with what he thought was magic.
Since when could Lucy activate her magic like that?
"I'M GOING TO TURN YOU TO ASH!"
Dammit, she was spending too much time with the idiot, Gray thought as those words left her mouth. It was so Natsu-typical, and so predictable she would catch onto Natsu's damn catch phrases.
"Lucy! I can explain! Just hear me out for like two minutes!" Gray said as he stood, hands out in front of him.
"You are dead to me, Fullbuster! Wait till Erza finds out that you spilled my secret!"
Gray deadpanned, his soul leaving his body. Having not only Lucy, but also Erza after him? What did he do to deserve this?!
"Lucy, let me explain- Lucy, wait! Don't tell Erza! NOOOOOO."
A/N: I was cleaning out my folders when I found this. It was finished, but unpolished. So I cleaned it up a bit and decided to post it. I hope you all enjoyed this little one shot!
I really like the dynamics of Lucy, Natsu, and Gray friendship. Lucy and Gray are like my BROTP, along with Natsu and Gray. I love the idea of Lucy and Gray being sister and brother to each other, especially because I feel like the two of them relate so much to each other. I can see why people ship them together, but NaLu is the way to go.
Because Natsu and Lucy are LIFE.
Another brotp of mine is Gajeel and Lucy. I can see Gajeel running to Lucy for advice when dating Levy and begging her for help when it comes to Levy. So look for some GajeelXLucyXLevy goodness later!
Anyway, don't think too much into this. Gray giving his thoughts on NaLu basically, and Mira playing her matchmaking ways, forcing the poor guy to give her the information she wants.
I hope you all enjoyed this! Especially after I completed my two-shot, I Almost Do, because that was angsty as hell. Reviews, comments, concerns, criticism all allowed! :)
Until Next Time!
- Dark Waffle