A/N: HELLO. ITS ME.
Okay in all seriousness tho, it's good to see you guys again! Haven't been here since Grayza Week (ironically this piece was supposed to be for Grayza Week but HEY I AT LEAST GOT IT DONE) but I've been working on this fuckin' behemoth of a fic in the meantime. Granted 12k words doesn't seem like too much and it certainly probably shouldn't have taken four months to write but. oh well. I poured my heart out into this one. I hope you all enjoy it! It's a masterpost of all their moments and some flashbacks of stuff before the GMG in all of FT canon (it branches off from main canon once Avatar ends, just so you know.) I didn't include everything, and the flashbacks for the most part stop pretty early on into the fic, but there's still a lot of juicy moments in canon that I Grayzafied for ya! Before it starts, can I just say Mira is the best, Ultear is a bro, Porlyusica is a lot bitchier than I intended, and Minerva MY WIFE is the true unsung Grayza shipper (when she's not with Erza ofc ;)) that appears for all of five seconds. Maybe ten. Okay. I'm done. Enjoy the fic and go wild! (FOUR!)
"I think you should move on, Erza." Mira had said one late evening during the Grand Magic Games, in a quiet but concerned tone following Erza's silent, morose mood as of late. When her only response was a raised yet annoyed eyebrow, Mira expanded upon what she originally said, "Maybe you and Jellal just aren't meant to be."
Erza only furrowed her brow, staring Mira over. "This is the first time I've ever heard you advise someone to not be with someone else." She deadpanned.
"I mean it, Erza." Mira continued with a voice more serious than she normally had, "Do you ever think it would be the same after all he's done to you? Even if he's changed, it doesn't erase the past."
Erza just scowled, glancing off to the side and letting out an irritated grunt. Mira's expression just softened, and she reached out for Erza's hand on the balcony railing, "I don't like seeing you this sad, and it only started after he showed up. I only want what's best for you, you know, and I don't think this is it."
Closing her eyes and lowering her head, Erza flipped her hand over to hold Mira's, but she didn't dare look her in the eye. "When I saw him before the Games started, we went off to the beach to talk. I got angry at him, after he said that he was prepared to die if it meant his sins would be atoned for. We ended up falling off of the rock formation we were on, and he landed on top of me on the sand. We-" Erza paused. She'd have never thought she'd be telling Mira this information of her own free will, with how she normally gets about this stuff, "-we almost kissed, but he pulled away at the last moment, claiming he had a fiancée. I thought it was Ultear at first, but then I realized he was lying. He lied, just to put an end to it all. I know this is the path we must go, but-" The grip Erza had on Mira's hand tightened, and her words started catching in her throat. Erza could feel the tears welling in her eyes, and she only lowered her head further so her bangs would hide it from Mira, "It hurts, Mira. It hurts so much."
Mira watched on with a saddened expression on her face, but shocked at both the fact Erza had confessed so easily and at what she had just been told. She didn't have much time to react to the story before Erza ran into her arms, letting her tears fall freely. Mira slowly wrapped her arms around Erza and held her close, gently running her hand over Erza's hair comfortingly. "It will pass, Erza. You'll get through this. There can always be someone else out there. You'll find them."
Erza didn't reply to that. She just held on to Mira tighter, letting out all the sadness she had welling inside.
Something that no one knew at Fairy Tail was that Erza had kissed Gray after everything that had happened the Tower of Heaven. She was vulnerable after the ordeal, but she still decided to show Gray her thanks and appreciation for what he did for her in the tower. It was a soft kiss on the cheek that had barely lasted a second, but long enough to convey the meaning to him. Gray understood almost immediately, and he didn't question or say anything after it all. Gray knew not to make things worse for her by ruining the moment.
They grew a bit closer after that.
The night before the final day of the Grand Magic Games, Gray met Ultear at the rock formation near the edge of the city, near where he got his Second Origin unlocked. He was unsure when or if they'd meet again after the Grand Magic Games, so he wanted to make sure he'd see her at least one more time.
"Since Ur was your mother, and she thought of me as a son, that kind of makes you my older sister, doesn't it?" Gray asked amidst the silence, a bit cautious in continuing. He was afraid it would be a sore topic, and judging by Ultear's offended expression, he was probably right, "Er- sorry, Ultear. Didn't mean'ta-"
"Older?!" Ultear suddenly interjected, and even though she was yelling, Gray grew relieved that it wasn't the sister part that offended her, "Just what exactly are you trying to say, Gray? That I'm old?!"
A sweatdrop rolled down Gray's face, and he could only let out a nervous chuckle, "I-I mean, you're like, thirty…I'm either eighteen or twenty-five, whether or not you count those years on Tenrou Island."
"Thirty?!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
Ultear dropped the facade and exhaled a snicker under her breath, shaking her head, "I'm only giving you a hard time, but I am only twenty-eight, mind you…"
Gray let out a relieved sigh, running a hand through his hair, "Right, got it. Twenty-eight."
A content grin curving her lips, Ultear got up and walked over to the rock where Gray was sitting upon, "Well, if I am your- slightly -older sister, guess I got to do it right, huh?" She started, settling down next to Gray and crossing her arms over his shoulder, "So. Anyone special in your life?"
Narrowing his eyes, Gray turned his head to stare Ultear down, "You're kidding, right?"
Ultear rested her head on her arms, shaking her head with a smug smile on her face, "Nope. Just being the intrusive big sis. And by your answer, I'm gonna assume a 'yes.'"
Gray rolled his eyes, "Come on, cut it out."
Ultear's smile only widened, "Aww, little Gray's got a crush. That's adorable. And mildly pathetic. But still adorable."
"Yeah?! Well, do you have anyone special?! Huh?! It's not fun now, is it?!" Gray barked back, red tinging his cheeks.
Ultear blinked a few times, caught off-guard. "...I asked you first."
"So you do." Gray teased back, now grinning.
A shadow cast over Ultear's face and she summoned her sword, placing it to Gray's neck. "I asked you first." She repeated, a flat tone to her voice.
Gulping, Gray nodded, and Ultear's sword vanished. "Erza...she's the only one who comes to mind."
Ultear's smug smile returned, and she let out a snicker, "Wow, you sure picked a hell of a girl to have the hots for. I don't blame you though. She's definitely something, alright."
"I do not 'have the hots' for her. She's just special to me." Gray responded quietly, glancing away.
"Do you hear yourself sometimes?" Ultear asked, resting her head on her arms again and leaning a bit closer, "Like when you speak?"
Gray shot Ultear an exasperated look, "What now?"
"Alright, maybe you don't have the hots for her, maybe that was a bit too far." Ultear admitted, and her expression went from jocular to serious, but she still smiled, "I think you have a connection with her. I'd look into that, if I were you."
Gray let out a grunt, crossing his arms and turning his head away while muttering something under his breath. Ultear just patted his back, focusing out on the waters in front of them. Silence settled in between them for a bit, but Gray suddenly remembered something, and turned back towards Ultear.
"You're next." Gray snickered, a cocky grin on his lips.
"...I try to not do the romance thing, thank you." Ultear said matter-of-factly, tossing her hair and crossing her arms.
"No, you made me do it, now you have to. Spill it."
"I'm the intrusive older sister! It's my job! Not yours!"
"Come on!"
"It's not important!"
Gray's eyes turned pleading, and he made his bottom lip quiver, "For your little brother…"
Ultear stared Gray over for a second, her mouth slightly agape from surprisal and something tugging at her heart at Gray calling himself her younger brother. "I...things with…Jellal...It's complicated..." She said slowly, hesitating with every word and closing her eyes in fear of Gray's reaction.
Gray let out a scandalous gasp, "No way…"
"Shut up. Just...shut up."
Gray knew things about Erza that most people took a while to notice. She was foolish and utterly reckless at times, but it wasn't known to most until she nearly forced Lyon to cut off her arm so she'd be free of Cubellios's poison, but was stopped at Gray's hand. Gray balanced out her recklessness as she did his. It's why they were best as a duo, but it became rare that they were able to be one after that.
Tenrou Island had split them apart. Erza was either with Azuma or Meredy, whereas most of Gray's focus was on Ultear. They fought their own separate battles, but Gray was part of how Erza won hers. She wouldn't have won her battle with Azuma if it weren't for her friends, which extended to Gray. Even though Gray didn't think of Erza during his battle with Ultear, she was the first thing on his mind following Ultear's defeat. He needed her to defeat Hades, and he needed her to save him when he was exhausted after his fight with Ultear. Gray was sick of being saved by Erza, but then he realized that she was the same with him. They save each other. It was just what they did.
It was their connection.
Once things had calmed down following the Grand Magic Games, Fairy Tail settled back in their old guild house, and things went back to normal. There were still many things that they needed to adjust to, and many things they needed to heal from.
A late night at the guild, when most of the members had already retired to bed, Erza stayed behind, hoping to catch Mira when she wasn't busy with the other mages. Erza propped her elbow up on the bar, resting her head on her hand while using the other to swirl her drink around as she waited. Hearing Mira say goodnight to one of the other mages at the bar snapped Erza out of her bored reverie, and she glanced around a bit to see if there was anyone else that was left at the bar. When she saw that there was no one else, Erza straightened herself out and cleared her throat, crossing her arms on the bar. Mira walked over a second later, placing her elbows on the counter and leaning forward, head resting in her hands.
"Sorry about the wait, Erza." Mira started, a bit quieter and no-nonsensical than she normally would, "You need anything?"
"No, I just wanted…" Erza stammered a bit. Words were becoming more difficult to find as she went on, "...wanted to talk."
Mira's eyebrows knitted together in concern, "Is this about what happened that night during the Grand Magic Games?"
Erza gave a slow nod, "Even if it was completely unlike you to give advice like that," she began with, lips quirking into a brief grin at her jab at Mira, "you were right about moving on, Mira. I'm only just starting with it, but already...it hurts a lot less than it did. Thank you." A serene smile beamed off Erza's lips at Mira.
Mira gradually formed a small smile in return, eyes glistening with tears that were starting to well. She grabbed Erza's shoulder, pulling her closer over the counter into a warm hug. "I'm so happy to hear that, Erza. You don't need to thank me for it. It's the least I could do for my best friend. I hate seeing you so hurt…"
Erza, while initially startled by being tugged out of her seat, wrapped her arms around Mira and rested her head on her friend's shoulder, "Heh...Noted."
"You can always come to me if you ever need help like that again, you know that, right?" Mira asked, tightening her arms around Erza.
Erza let out a content sigh, closing her eyes, "Trust me, I will."
Gray and Erza didn't get much chance to spend time together once Tartaros came into the picture. Erza was sent off on a mission with Mira to protect Crawford Seam, then was held captive by Kyouka, and fought against Minerva before finally squaring off against Kyouka one last time in order to stop Face. Gray had his father to worry about, as well as defeating END. There was no overlap for the two of them. Just like Tenrou, they were split apart. The disbandment of Fairy Tail didn't help with that, either.
It was around five months after when their paths finally crossed again, at Porlyusica's house in the middle of the forest. Erza's artificial eye, which was powered by magic, stopped working- probably due to the effects of the time on Tenrou Island eventually shorting out its power. After having the artificial eye removed and putting on her old eyepatch, Erza was sitting on the medical bed as Porlyusica started working on creating another eye. Moments later, Erza lifted her head once hearing Porlyusica groan and mutter something under her breath, and that was when her sight fell upon Gray, his right side covered completely by strange markings. She hadn't expected to see Gray any time soon, and especially not like that…
"Gray…" Erza whispered in surprise, her sole visible eye widening at the sight of him.
"Erza, I-" Gray grew quiet, turning his head away in shame, "I didn't want anyone to see me like this. I didn't think you'd be here…"
"Neither did I, but I have to deal with it, so you should too." Porlyusica muttered, interjecting in their conversation.
Gray grit his teeth, exasperated, and grumpily made his way over to the medical bed Erza was sitting on before growing a bit cautious. It wasn't until Erza moved over a bit that he deemed it acceptable for him to sit beside her. While Porlyusica kept ranting about how much she hated humans, Gray tuned it all out and glanced over at Erza, just now noticing the familiar white strings of her old eyepatch, "Your eye…" He started quietly, still a bit cautious.
Erza merely turned her head to face him and grinned a bit, if only to reassure him she was alright, "Its power ran out. I'm gonna assume it was all that time on Tenrou Island which shortened its lifespan. I'd be more concerned about those markings of yours…" Erza trailed off, hand hovering hesitantly over his darkened arm, unsure if she'd hurt him if she touched them.
Nodding his head, Gray's gaze fell to the ground, and he placed his hand over the marks to show Erza it wouldn't hurt him, "They appeared while I was practicing my Devil Slayer Magic with Juvia. I don't know how to make them go away."
Erza was about to run her fingertips over the markings that covered his cheek, but she faltered at the mention of Juvia, dropping her hand back onto the bed but still brushing it ever so slightly against his wrist. She turned her head away with a frown, which was when she finally started listening to Porlyusica again.
"Hey, pesky girl! Let's just get this over with!" Porlyusica snapped, which brought Erza's attention to her.
Erza just grimaced and glanced over at Gray, speaking quietly enough for only him to hear, "It'll be over in a moment..." She mumbled, lifting her legs onto the bed.
Gray cleared his throat, quickly standing up, "Right, right, er...good luck." He said with a nervous smile.
Erza grinned and gave a nod, barely before Porlyusica put her under a sleeping spell to start working on Erza's eye. Gray waited outside, preferring to not get in Porlyusica's way or seeing the operation itself. He was out there for a while, his back against a tree and his arms crossed, focusing on his surroundings and thinking to pass the time. He glanced his markings over, furrowing his brow while looking at them, but that discontent vanished when he heard footsteps atop the grass coming towards him. He looked up and saw Erza, good as new again. Gray couldn't contain the smile that spread across his lips at the sight, nor could he hide his relief that she was okay again.
"I'm gonna say it was a success?" He said, pushing himself off the tree and walking over to be closer to Erza.
Erza nodded with a smile brimming off her lips, "It's nice to be able to see again." Gray was still smiling, but before he could reply, Erza started speaking, "We never really did properly greet each other again...It's nice to see you, Gray, after so long." Erza's smile mellowed, a lot more warmly than before. She held out her arms, hoping for a hug.
Gray hesitated at her smile, and at her offer at a hug, and he turned his head away and rubbed his neck, "I didn't want it to happen like this...I didn't want you to see me again with these…" He trailed off, closing his eyes.
Erza merely tilted her head, her smile still there, "Come on, Gray. If I were to deny you a hug based on your appearance, I'd do it because you don't have any pants on, not because of those blasted markings."
Confused, Gray glanced down, shocked to see himself in only his boxers. In a second, he had his pants back on, and his face had reddened. He still wouldn't look at Erza after that, though. "Sorry…"
"You should be. I suppose I can manage the fact you don't have your shirt on, though. Just get over here before I requip into my armor and force you into a hug myself." Erza teased, laughing under her breath once Gray finally ceded, holding out his arms for her, which she practically jumped into. She buried one hand in his hair, the other arm wrapped firmly around his back, with his arms both around her torso. Erza smiled to herself as she rested her head against his shoulder, tightening her arm around him a bit, "It's been five months, Gray. I missed you."
Gray smiled at her words, easing up a bit, even if he was still ashamed of his current state, "I missed you too, Erza. I was planning on visiting you, y'know, once I got all this stuff worked out. Sorry I hadn't tried sooner."
"It's alright. I wasn't putting myself out there much either. I'm just glad I've seen you now, though. I've only met with Mira since Fairy Tail disbanded, so I'm glad to have met someone else."
Gray pulled away, nodding at her once she could see his face. "I've only seen Juvia, but that's because she wouldn't leave my side after it all went down. It's nice to see someone else around, especially you, Erza." He said with a small grin.
Erza turned her head away with a bashful laugh, "Fate has mysterious ways, doesn't it?"
"Yeah." Gray returned. Without missing a beat, he cleared his throat, glancing back over towards Porlyusica's house with a frown, "I should be going in soon. I guess you're gonna head out now that your eye's fixed, huh?" He asked; he felt a bit insecure while asking it, which seemed odd. Gray didn't know why the thought of her leaving would make him feel that way. Maybe it's just because it was nice to see an old friend after so long.
Erza's expression, while serious, seemed concerned as she looked Gray over and thought some things over in her head. It took a bit, but she soon responded, "No. I don't think that'd be fair to you. I want to make sure you're alright, Gray. Those markings could spell trouble. I couldn't leave you like that." Something tugged at her on the inside; she was concerned for him, of course, so she wanted to see him out and make sure he was better before leaving, but even then, she really didn't want to leave him behind. It was strange…
Blinking a few times to regain his composure, Gray was taken a bit by surprise by her insistence on staying. He wouldn't object, but he wouldn't have figured it in the first place. "Right. Thanks, Erza." He said with a grateful nod.
"Of course." Erza walked closer and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before heading back inside Porlyusica's house with him.
It was about two weeks they spent there, trying to help Gray control the markings that marred his body. He had managed to reduce it down to just a few patches on his right arm, and they were planning on training again that day to have the makings under control completely. However, Erza had a previous arrangement, and it was one she couldn't miss. So, one early morning, in the safe-house the guild had set up for people to stay near their relatives and comrades in Porlyusica's care, Erza kneeled by Gray's bed, shaking his shoulder lightly.
"Hey." She whispered, causing Gray to start to stir in his bed, "Gray."
He groggily turned his head towards Erza, a sole eye opened, "What is it?" He asked, words slurred from sleep.
"I have to go meet with someone today. I made the arrangement before I knew I'd be staying here this long. I'll be gone for most of the day, but I'll see if I can make it at the end of your training." Her one hand had drifted down his arm, loosely holding on to one of his hands without her thinking of it.
Gray didn't seem to notice- it was still really early for him. "Got it. Catch you later."
"Good luck today, Gray." Erza said quietly. Something within her had made her want to lean forward and plant a soft kiss on Gray's forehead, but she settled for giving his hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving. Once outside, she drug her hand down her face, shaking her head faintly; she was probably just tired too.
Later on that day, as the sun began to set, Porlyusica had already called it a day, but Gray still stood outside, trying to get rid of the markings completely but still to no avail. It was starting to become frustrating, and he could feel his focus slipping because of it. Taking a deep, calming breath and closing his eyes, Gray tried to focus again one more time, and he could instantly feel a shift in his magical energy. He looked down at his arms, seeing the markings gradually start to recede and fade, and he smiled at the sight. It only lasted for a second, though, as his smile vanished a second later, realizing that Erza wasn't here to see it...
"What's the solemn look for? I see this as a cause for celebration, not moping." At the new voice, Gray turned his head, seeing Erza leaning against a tree, some sort of bag hooked in her arm.
Gray smiled again, relieved to see that she had seen it after all, "Hey, you made it."
Erza nodded, pushing herself off the tree and walking closer, a smile becoming apparent on her features, "Just barely, but I got to see enough."
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Gray's eyes fell down to the bag she had with her. "What do you got there?"
Erza's expression turned more serious, and she appeared to gulp before replying, "Let's get back to the safehouse. I'll tell you there." Gray raised a brow, but eventually gave in, following Erza in returning to the safehouse.
Once they were inside, Gray sat on his bed, and Erza pulled up a chair by the bedside and sat down, crossing her legs.
"I have a favor to ask of you." Erza said abruptly, with the tiniest bit of guilt in her voice.
"What is it?"
"I met with Jellal today." At Gray's brief grimace, Erza merely waved her hand dismissively at the thought, "And not like that, mind you- He told me about a dark guild that has been starting to gain traction as of late. Now, normally, Crime Sorcière would just handle that themselves, but this one appears to be a small part of a bigger whole, like Eisenwald with the Oración Seis. Jellal asked me to help him investigate, and I said that I had means to get information from the inside-"
"Sorry-" Gray interjected, a bit afraid of the repercussions for interrupting Erza, "-but what exactly does this have to do with me?"
"Right, my apologies…" Erza closed her eyes for a bit, readying herself for the question, "You went undercover with Daphne before, and managed to fool us all. If you do decide to do this favor for me, I'd need you to go undercover in this guild, and relay any information you can find back to me, so I can pass it on to Jellal. And-..." She paused again, "To put up a believable front, you'd need to make those markings reappear."
Gray lowered his head, pondering the request over. It was a rather bold question to ask of him, after all.
"You don't need to make a decision right away, but the sooner, the better-"
"I'll do it." Gray said firmly, taking Erza a bit by surprise.
She blinked a few times, furrowing her brow, "If you're sure…"
"I am. Just...let me tell Juvia. She has no idea where I've been these past two weeks. Knowing her, she's probably gone insane by now."
Erza just averted her gaze to the ground, letting out a guilty hum.
"What is it?"
"Gray…" Erza started, voice quieter than it was before, "In order for this operation to work, you can't tell Juvia about this. We don't want to jeopardize the mission, nor do we want to put her in danger because of it. I'm sorry."
Gray nodded in understanding, eyes drifting off to the side. It seemed harsh to do that to Juvia, but he had to.
"It will be my burden to bear." Erza stated in an attempt to ease his guilt, "I am the one asking this of you, after all."
"Now.." Gray started, desperate for a conversation change, "Will you tell me what's in that bag?"
Erza nodded and dug out some sort of small, rectangular lacrima from the bag, handing it to Gray. He looked over it, a bit confused, so Erza clarified it for him, "It's a communications device, so if anything goes wrong, we can help each other in an instant. I've already added my contact in there for you, so you don't need to worry about that."
"This is really happening, isn't it?" Gray asked with a heavy sigh, looking back at Erza.
"I'm afraid so." Erza replied with a sour tone to her voice.
The day that Gray's mission was formally about to start, Gray and Erza met at the rendezvous point, with everything prepared in advance. Gray had his markings back, and had covered his Fairy Tail mark with them. It would be their last meeting for a while, so they wanted to make sure everything was in order and, even if they were hesitant to admit it, they wanted to share some sort of goodbye before it all started.
Erza was staring Gray down with a concentrated look, arms crossed and her lips pursed. Something wasn't quite right with Gray's 'evil' look…
"Would you stop staring at me like I have three heads?" Gray groaned, shooting Erza an annoyed look.
"You barely seem any different…" Erza trailed off, trying to spot what needed to be changed. One last look over his face, and something clicked- his hair didn't look the part at all. "Ah, got it." Stepping closer and wetting her hands, she started slicking back his hair, much to Gray's chagrin.
"W-What are you doing?" Gray stuttered, swatting Erza's hands away.
"Fixing your hair. Now hold still, you're messing it up." Erza kept slicking up his hair, even with his resistance, and eventually he gave in and she got to finish. "Better." She said proudly, content with her work.
"Any other fashion tips you'd like to put out there?"
"Well…"
"Don't."
"Right, right. Sorry. You should be on your way now, anyway. Remember, it's Code Red if you're cover's been blown, and Code Blue if there's some sort of outside interference in your mission."
Gray nodded, "Got it."
Erza flashed a smile at Gray, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Good luck, Gray. I really do appreciate the help."
Gray returned the smile, pulling Erza into a warm hug and wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's no problem, Erza. I'll see to it that I get the information you need."
Closing her eyes and throwing her arms around his neck, Erza returned the hug, a content sigh slipping out, "Thank you." When she pulled away, her eyes instantly glanced over his lips, and moving unconsciously, she leaned closer, but she turned her head away before she could get too close. Clearing her throat, Erza gave Gray one last pat on the shoulder. "Goodbye, Gray."
Gray, having noticed Erza leaning in slightly before, frowned for a split second before mustering a grin, "It won't be too long before we can see each other again, I promise."
Erza nodded, mounting the horse that she had brought along, sending one last smile Gray's way before parting. She rode in silence, until she was far enough away from Gray, where she placed her hand to her forehead with a grimace.
"I'm such an idiot…" She muttered to herself. It was bad enough that she was starting to feel something for Gray, but nearly allowing herself to kiss him before his undercover operation was just even worse. She couldn't jeopardize their mission by distracting Gray with whatever stupid crush she had.
Erza tore her hand from off her forehead with an annoyed growl, riding back to her base of operations utterly infuriated with herself.
Their correspondence was limited because of the undercover op from then on, with only few meet-ups to share only the most important of information. For most of the time, Gray just contacted Erza with the lacrima to give brief updates as to not compromise his cover. It was hard being away from each other, but they were both too preoccupied to think of it for too long. There were more important matters at hand. Erza didn't think that chasing her assumedly unrequited feelings was worth it. Gray didn't truly know what Erza felt for him, or even what he thought of her. So, they kept it to themselves, praying that whatever abnormal feelings they had would just return to being platonic with time.
When Natsu and Lucy blew their undercover op, Erza obviously wouldn't ever have admitted that she was almost glad, because then she could at least be alongside Gray again. She immediately regretted that joy she felt, and she pushed it aside. Gray reacted somewhat similarly too, but he was also ready to cut the act and return back to normal. Pretending to be evil for six months wasn't pleasant.
Once dealing with Avatar and reporting back to Jellal, Erza was able to join Fairy Tail in its reconstruction efforts. During her break, she sat at the bar, which was the first thing that they had rebuilt, because at least half the members– specifically Cana –said it was 'the most important.' She was watching the other members that were working, her eyes glancing over Gray one or two times in doing so. A voice snapped her out of it, though.
"It's great to be all back together again, isn't it?" Erza spun around on her seat to see Mira smiling at her and passing her a bottle of water, which Erza eagerly took from her.
Taking a swig of the water, Erza let out a refreshed sigh, "It seems like just yesterday we had returned from the Grand Magic Games… It barely feels like time passed."
"I know, right?" Mira giggled in agreement, placing her arms on the countertops, "I still did miss you, though."
"The same goes for me, of course. I'm sorry that I left you so abruptly around that fifth month and didn't contact you afterwards, Mira." Erza said guiltily, keeping her eyes on her water bottle.
Mira merely shot Erza a teasing grin, "And here I thought you had gone completely blind and got lost in the forest on the way to Porlyusica's." She said with a hint of sarcasm to her voice.
Erza chuckled, shaking her head, "I nearly did, mind you, but I'm alright now. Besides, I got to spend some time with-" As soon as the words left her mouth, Erza remembered who she was talking to: the girl who always got too involved in other people's love lives. She had to continue carefully, "-others…" The fact that her acting wasn't too spectacular under pressure didn't help, though.
"Oh yeah?" Mira hummed, leaning a bit closer, "Erza, is there something you wanna tell me?" There was a mischievous grin on Mira's lips.
Erza frantically shook her head, keeping her gaze anywhere but Mira, "Nope, not at all. It's not like I'm keeping anything from you on purpose, after all! Haha! Nope…"
Mira leaned even closer, her grin growing larger, "Ooo, this has got to be good. Spill, Erza. I know you want to.~"
"I don't want to. That's why I'm not telling you. I won't tell you who I spent the last six and a half months with." Erza grimaced at the last part, internally cursing herself for letting something slip.
Mira's demeanor completely changed, turning into something more shocked, and hurt, "You...You left me to go be with someone else?" She stammered, lips quivering, "You...replaced me?"
Erza finally looked Mira's way, noticing how her lower lip started trembling the way it would when she were about to cry, "No, no, no, no, Mira!" Erza said, holding out her hands to try and calm Mira down, "I was doing undercover work with Gray, that's all! I would never replace you! Oh, Mira…"
"Ha!" Mira suddenly shouted, pointing her finger at Erza, "Gotcha!"
Erza gasped, looking utterly offended by being tricked into telling her, "You dirty little…!"
"I wouldn't finish that, if I were you.~"
"I can't believe you!"
"I can't believe you!" Mira countered, "I would have never imagined you with Gray!"
"It was strictly work-related!" Erza growled, "No romance, whatsoever!"
Mira just smirked knowingly, crossing her arms and tilting her head, "Then why would you hide it from me?"
"Because you always assume these kinds of things!"
"Or is it because I'm always right about these kinds of things?"
Erza stood there with her mouth open, trying to form some form of response, but was left with nothing, her angered expression faltering. Mira gasped scandalously, grinning all the while, "So, there was romance!"
"No, no, not romance per se, but…" Erza sighed, unable to believe she was really about to admit this stuff to Mira, "There were some...feelings...and some close encounters...but nothing definite." She shook her head, rubbing her forehead, "I can't believe I'm telling you this…"
What took Erza by surprise was that Mira simply grabbed the hand that Erza had still on the bar, and didn't go any further in teasing her, "I'm just glad you were able to move on after all." Mira said, smiling softly and squeezing Erza's hand.
Erza's eyes were wide and her lips partially agape, but soon her features mellowed out into a warm grin, overturning her hand to hold on to Mira's, "Me too."
"I do wanna hear more about this, though.." Mira said with a laugh.
Erza shook her head, rolling her eyes playfully, "Maybe later, Mira."
"Whenever you're ready." Mira nodded, squeezing Erza's hand.
Gray couldn't keep going on like this. He wasn't this cruel, and it felt unfair to not be direct with her. She deserved his answer. Gray liked to think that over the year disbandment of Fairy Tail, he grew as a man. A man wouldn't treat a woman like that, and it had to change.
Knowing that wherever he went, she'd be shortly behind, Gray made his way to some place private. Somehow that meant his house.
Within moments of him arriving, there was a knock at the door, and Gray opened it, revealing the one he was hoping to see. There Juvia stood, that lovestruck look written all over her expression, as per usual.
"Gray-sama! May Juvia come in?" Juvia asked in glee, her eyes closed and a tint of red covering her cheeks.
"Sure. There's something I wanted to talk to you about, anyways." He replied, stepping aside to allow Juvia to pass through.
Gray-sama wanted to talk to Juvia?! Juvia thought to herself in surprise as she walked inside and sat on one of his chairs, posture straight and hands on her lap. She was excited to hear what he had to say.
Gray followed suit and sat across from Juvia, and there was a stern, pensive look on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. He didn't want to be too harsh, "Before I start...I just wanna say that I'm grateful to have you at my side, and you've helped me a lot, especially with my father…" He began, a bit cautiously.
The red stretched further across Juvia's pale visage as she listened. "N-No, Juvia was happy to help Gray-sama! Gray-sama needed someone, so Juvia thought she could be there for him…" She stammered, a bit overwhelmed by his gratitude.
"Yeah...well, I've known about how you feel about me for a little while now, and I don't want to lead you on. You deserve better than that." He continued.
Juvia blinked a few times, calming down. She sensed something was off, "Gray-sama, why did you want to talk to Juvia?"
Gray let out a sigh to compose his thoughts, "Juvia...you are one of the closest friends I have at the guild, but I don't think we could be anything more than that. Friends. I'm sorry. This isn't easy to say, and it must be a hell of a lot harder to hear."
The breath must've been knocked out of Juvia at that point; she was completely frozen, and she couldn't think of anything to say in response. In fact, she probably couldn't think period, after that.
"I'm sorry, Juvia. I really am. But you deserved my answer. I don't want you to keep trying for something that won't happen. I want you to be happy, too." Gray said, moving to Juvia's chair and placing a hand on her shoulder.
A look of sadness washed over Juvia's face and she lowered her head, placing her hand atop Gray's. A few seconds passed before she looked into Gray's eyes– hurt, but managing. "Tell me, Gray," she started, her manner of speaking changing because of the serious nature of the conversation, "do you love someone else? Is that why you said you want me to be happy, too?"
Gray still wasn't confident in his feelings, but like before, Juvia still deserved an answer, "Yeah, I think so." There was a bitter smile on his lips as he spoke. It felt selfish to say so, even though there was nothing wrong with it.
"Please," Juvia had a bittersweet smile to match, with tears forming in her eyes, "love them with all of your heart for me."
Gray nodded, an image of Erza appearing inside his mind. "I will. I promise, Juvia."
Juvia stood right after that, pulling Gray into a tight hug as the tears she was holding back fell free. Gray could only wrap his arms around her, hoping that what he did was for the best.
While on the ship ride over to Alvarez, Erza was leaning against the railing, gazing upon the ocean and the rolling waves. It was calming to her, and with what was about to go down, she really needed it. Before long, Gray had walked over to her, as Mest and Lucy were too busy with the seasick Dragon Slayers to provide any sort of conversation.
"I guess I'm gonna have to call you 'Master' now, don't I?" Gray asked with the slightest bit of a playful tone to his voice, propping his arms up on the railing.
"God, no. You're one of the few people in the guild I can trust not to." Erza pressed her lips into a thin line, "I didn't even want this title in the first place, but if it's for the guild, I suppose I can manage, at least until we can get Makarov back."
"I was only teasing, but hey, I get it. It's gotta be hard to have this shoved on you all of a sudden."
Erza grinned for a bit, thankful for his sympathy, "Thanks, Gray. Being the Master means that most members of the guild need me to look towards, and I can't let them know of my hesitance if I want them to be confident with our revival. It's nice to have someone I can talk to about this, so...thank you."
Gray smiled warmly as he placed his arm around her shoulder, "It's no problem, Erza. It's hard to be strong all the time, so you can always count on me to be there for you when you need it, you got that?"
Placing her hand over the one Gray had on her shoulder, Erza leaned into Gray and closed her eyes, "I'm just glad I could have someone like you in my life, Gray. I don't know what I'd do without you." She whispered, resting her head against his collarbone.
Noticing the shift in her demeanor, Gray remained fairly still and quiet, holding her tighter in one of her more emotionally raw states. "I think I'd be pretty lost without you, too."
"You do know the same thing extends to you, right?" Erza said, the faintest of smiles on her lips, "You can trust that I'd be there for you too."
"Trust me, Erza." Gray started, smiling fondly at her, "I know."
When Crime Sorcière was informed about the future assault on Alvarez, that led to them all relocating to Magnolia as they waited for the day of the invasion. What no one expected, however, was the return of an old Crime Sorcière mage, back in her prime, and appearing on her own. In the dark of the night, as Gray was making his way back home after Fairy Tail had discussed their plans of attack, a voice had stopped him in his tracks.
"Looks like I'm going to see my goal through to the end after all, huh?" The womanly voice said, and Gray traced it back to one of the trees that avoided the light from the streetside lampposts. When the figure pushed off from the tree and stepped into the faint light, Gray could make out who it was, and he looked like his soul had left his body at the sight.
"I thought I'd never see you like this again…" He uttered, body frozen from shock, "Ultear…"
Ultear frowned at Gray's response, remembering the pain she had caused from what she had done over a year ago, "I know...I don't think words could ever make up for the regret I feel from having to leave everyone so suddenly, and without explanation. Gray, I'm sorry-" Just as she was about to finish, Gray's arms suddenly around her cut her off, and she let out a gasp. Ultear looked at him, alarmed by the hug since she still wasn't used to someone being so close with her, but she eventually gave in, wrapping her arms around him in return.
"You...saved me back then...I never got a chance to thank you…" Gray said quietly, shaking his head.
With a grin on her face, Ultear pulled back so that Gray could look at her, and she ruffled his hair with her hand, "You don't need to thank me for wanting to help out my brother and his friends."
Gray, smiling at being called her brother, nodded and fixed his hair, "Right… What are you doing here?"
"Like I said, I wanted to see my goal of defeating Zeref to the end. I know Jellal and the others are here, waiting for the day to strike. I was going to visit them first, but Meredy never can stay up 'til this hour. I figured I'd see the next on my list."
"I just...still can't believe you're back."
"I hardly can, either. Something must have gone wrong with the spell in the first place. I was supposed to be obliterated on the spot after casting it, but instead, I just aged. It wasn't too hard to reverse it with Transformation Magic, just a lengthy process. Now I can be more like a sister again rather than some odd elderly great-grandparent of yours." Ultear grinned, placing a hand on her hip.
"You're not gonna start with those 'intrusive big sis' questions again, are ya'?" Gray asked, a sweatdrop rolling down his cheek.
"Depends…" Ultear started, sliding closer, "Got anything new you want to tell me, Gray?"
Gray grimaced, crossing his arms and turning away, "Nothing new, nothing of your concern."
"Come on...Surely something must have happened in that year gap. And don't act like there wasn't," Ultear smirked, narrowing her eyes, "Because I know you spent at least half of it with Erza."
"You were spying on me?!" Gray yelled, eyes wide.
"It was protective supervision. I had to make sure everyone was alright while I was gone. And let me tell you," Ultear drifted even closer with a smirk, "I'd say you were more than alright…" She snickered.
Gray's face grew warm and he shook his head at her, "Nothing happened!"
"Knowing you, nothing would've, but we have to change that." Ultear's smirk subsided into a warm grin as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "Gray, please. I want you to find happiness. If it weren't for you, I'd still be on my lonely path trying to get my mother back, but now I can finally work my way towards my happiness. I want the same for you. You deserve it, Gray. More than you think you do."
Sagging his shoulders and letting out a sigh, Gray just nodded, unable to bring himself to reject her simple wishes, "You're difficult sometimes...you know that?"
"Hey," Ultear started, closing her eyes with a wide grin, "That's what it takes to get through to a stubborn brother."
Gray smiled a bit in return, "Yeah… I get it."
Slinging her arm over Gray's shoulder, Ultear placed her free hand on her hip and slid closer to him, "Come on. Tell me all about her. I'll come up with some way to make this work for you both. Besides…" There was a devious twinkle in Ultear's eye, "I need to learn more about my future sister-in-law."
"Too far, man!"
"Aha! Oh, how I missed this…"
Once an important battle is over, the euphoria and closure from the battle being won is delayed for a bit. There's this period of nothingness that just feels numb and empty. That's normally when each Mage gravitates to the others, and they end up gathering together. When they're all together, that's when the closure and euphoria tend to hit. It's just those ten minutes of emptiness that are the worst when it comes to battles.
Gray was supporting Juvia on his back, the two of them defeating their enemies together since they were separated from the others. Juvia made the bold choice to part from Gray once seeing Lucy, running– or rather limping –off to be with her. Gray stood alone for a bit, mustering his strength and evening his breathing before spotting Ultear, whom he instantly dashed over to to make sure she was alright. She was, and she pulled Gray into hug after she had separated from Meredy for a moment. It was calming for the lot of them, and it took their minds off of the severe injuries that plagued them all.
Erza was still gradually making her way to the others, Mira and Minerva at her side. They were all using each other to keep themselves upright, since they were all extremely fatigued from taking down four of the strongest of the Spriggan Twelve. As they neared closer, Mira had split apart from Minerva and Erza to check on her siblings, leaving the two others to themselves. They had walked in silence for the most part, and when they heard voices nearby, they knew they weren't far. As they stepped out into the clearing, they saw the others, and Minerva had excused herself to rejoin with the rest of Sabertooth. Erza nodded, glancing off in Gray's direction, making Minerva smile to herself before heading off. Gray soon looked over, catching sight of Erza and smiling, which only made Erza grin in return and walk his way. Gray was about to meet her halfway when Juvia had rushed him out of nowhere, tackling him to the ground and smothering him with hugs. Erza could only laugh to herself and shake her head, and Gray shot Erza a guilty smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.
They'd have their time. There were just other matters to attend to first.
As the sun started to set, Gray found himself wandering Magnolia with no particular place set in mind. He just let his feet carry him from place to place, not really giving anything a second thought. Eventually, his feet led him towards a place he didn't really expect to go, but something was pulling him there. As he climbed the top of the hill, he looked down below to the riverbank, spotting those familiar locks of red hair blow in the wind. He grinned, placing his hands in his pockets and starting down the hill towards the sand.
"Didn't expect to see you here, Erza." He said, quiet enough as to not startle her.
Erza turned her head around, smiling when setting eyes on him, "Gray...It's good to see you."
Taking a step forward, Gray tilted his head, "Mind if I join you?"
"No, not at all. Please." Erza nodded, placing her hand on the ground next to her for Gray to sit. Gray settled down on the sand, resting his arm on his knee while glancing out towards the sunset.
A comfortable silence set in between them for a minute before Erza let out a content sigh, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "It feels as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders… I feel so relieved." She said with a smile, tilting her head back and closing her eyes.
"I hear ya'. It's great'ta be able to just kick back and relax." Gray said, stretching and falling back to lay on the sand with his arms crossed behind his head.
Erza chuckled a bit while watching Gray fall onto the sand, shaking her head, "Yeah, well, that would be one of the first things on your mind since it's all over."
"I'm a fairly simple guy. It's not too much to ask for, is it?" Gray asked with a snicker.
Erza grinned, falling onto her back and joining Gray on the sand with her arms outstretched, "Not at all. I'm looking forward to it myself."
Gray looked up to the warm sky, a pensive look on his face, "God...when was the last time we could just chill out like this? It feels like forever…"
"It probably has been." Erza just closed her eyes with a sigh, "Makes it feel so much better because of that, though."
"Haha, yeah. You ain't gotta tell me twice."
The wind picked up a bit after that, it becoming white noise as they laid there, watching the stars start to come out as the sun dimmed. Before long, the sun was completely gone, and the only thing illuminating the sky was the moon, plus a few streetlamps. Gray and Erza remained silent, savoring in their free time, but Erza soon spoke up, breaking that silence.
"Gray?"
"Yeah, Erza?"
"Sorry if this is too soon, but…"
"I'm listening, Erza. You don't have to hesitate with me."
Erza turned her head to look at Gray, a curious look on her face, "What do you plan on doing, now that we don't have Zeref to worry about?" Her voice was soft, even a bit vulnerable.
Gray raised an eyebrow before looking back at the sky, pursing his lips in thought. "I don't...really know. It is kinda too soon to really think about that stuff. Sorry, Erza. My answer's pretty lame."
"No, no. Don't be. The question was lame to begin with." Erza shrugged a bit to herself, closing her eyes.
Gray looked her over for a second, furrowing his brow. "What do you plan on doing, Erza?"
"God, I don't know either. What I do know, though...is that I'm going to take a long break for myself. I'm exhausted." She opened her eyes, blinking a few times as if she just realized what she had said, "...That's not being selfish, is it?"
Gray shook his head. "Nope. I don't blame ya'. With all you've done for everyone here at Fairy Tail, I'd probably take a break for the rest of my life if I were you.." He paused for a second, scratching at his cheek with a nervous smile, "I'm kidding, of course…"
Nodding, Erza just grinned to herself, "I know. That almost sounds like a good idea, though...But I know I'd get fed up with the monotony of it all within no time. A short-term break should do the trick."
"Y'know...I think I could go for a break too." Gray blinked, pressing his lips together and staring at the sky again.
Erza turned her head, looking at Gray while he was too busy glancing at the stars. She looked down, thinking to herself, before speaking up again, "If you are thinking of taking a little vacation for yourself, do you want to join me on mine?"
Gray raised his eyebrows, tilting his head a bit as a pensive look spread across his face. It seemed like a smart idea. "I'd be down for that. Of course, Erza."
Her eyes drifting off to the side, Erza could only let out a small laugh when something resurfaced in her memory, "Remember when we were kids, when I brought in our first full map of Earth Land, and we picked out all the places that we wanted to see?"
Gray nodded, a grin forming on his lips, "Yeah, I do remember that. All of us at the guild spent three days talking about it."
"I still want to go to the Pergrande Kingdom." Erza pointed out, a bit teasingly.
"You know I've always been more drawn to Iceberg." Gray jested back.
"I wonder how the Principality of Veronica's holding up since the whole Phoenix incident…"
"Not to mention that Alakitasia's pretty much out of the picture because of the whole Alvarez thing…"
"Last I checked, Bosco is still overrun with criminals…"
"Now that I think about it...Aren't Sin and Bellum still at war?"
Erza paused, narrowing her eyes and rubbing her chin, "I think we might need to revisit some our plans from back then…"
"Probably a good idea. Do you still got that map?"
"I think so…" Erza sat up and held out her hand, summoning forth an old satchel of hers that she'd use on missions when she was younger. Gray sat up too, peering over Erza's shoulder as she dug through the satchel and pulled out a storage tube. Opening it up, Erza flipped it over to guide the map out into her hand, and she spread it across the ground. There were marks on the map, from Gray and Erza marking the places they wanted to go.
They sat for a bit in silence, looking over the map with the help of the light from the streetlamps nearby. Gray was the first one to speak up.
"This isn't really helping us figure out what's going on with these countries, is it?" He asked, feeling a bit stupid for not realizing it sooner.
"...It does not. I'll call Hibiki and see what all his Archive says about these places." Erza said, pulling out her communications lacrima and scrolling through it.
"Yeah, good call." Gray said, but then his expression grew suspicious, "Wait, why do you have Hibiki's number?"
Erza bit her lower lip, refusing to look up from the lacrima, "...I have everyone's contact information from Blue Pegasus. Even….you know who…"
Gray grimaced, "What?!"
"It's...It's not something I'm proud of, Gray…" She continued, a bead of sweat running down her head as she grew more nervous.
"...What did you do?"
"I sort of, kind of let them bribe me into it...They offered me the best cheesecake if I agreed to letting them give me their numbers. Jenny was one of the first to give hers to me, which honestly confused me about her intentions, but I'm not a judgmental person so I let her, because it was quite flattering… I even have Nichiya's, which confused me even more, because why would a cat need one of these things in the first place?"
"...Erza."
"...Yes, Gray?"
"Just get Hibiki on the line."
"Right…"
While on the phone with Hibiki, Gray and Erza sorted out the countries they should and definitely should not visit. Sin and Bellum had resolved their war, but tensions were still high, so they weren't exactly ideal candidates. Bosco's criminal streak was still skyhigh, so that was another placed ruled out. The Principality of Veronica, now known as just Veronica following the implementation of a parliamentary government system, was still in the midst of rebuilding efforts but was mostly safe and still worthy of visiting. Iceberg and the Pergrande Kingdom haven't had many issues within the last decade, so they were sound candidates. Gray and Erza decided it would be best to not give Alakitasia another thought.
The time they were in Veronica was mostly spent with helping out the rebuilding efforts. While the Prince and Carbuncle were mostly responsible for destroying majority of the capital, Fairy Tail didn't hold back while fighting, so a lot of the destruction was on them, too. Even though they were only there for a month, with Erza's leadership and Gray's work ethic, they had managed to get the capital nearly entirely rebuilt. Since they were working for a great deal of their trip there, they didn't have much time to talk about themselves and where they stood together. It even completely slipped their minds, but because their work portion of their travels was over with, they had other places to go recreationally, and maybe they'd get to it then.
Iceberg was next on their list, but in order to get there, Gray and Erza had to pass through Seven first. Seven wasn't too spectacular in the sense it was a fairly ordinary country, but the King's Palace was utterly breathtaking. They only spent a few days there, resting from their work they did in Veronica.
They finally got to visit Iceberg, which Gray instantly loved. Erza took a bit to warm up to it...literally. The temperatures there were frigid, and until Gray helped Erza tolerate the cold, Erza took a great deal of convincing to get her out of any place with heating systems. While they were looking around, they noticed that Gray's necklace originated from this country, as they found a jewelry line called Rave that included it among many others. Gray had insisted Erza picked one up for herself while they were here, so she had bought her own to match Gray's. They both agreed that they needed to come back in the future once their time there was up.
Pergrande Kingdom was directly next to Iceberg, so it was a quick trip to get there. From its name and how it looked on the map, they expected a vast land once they were there, but it was larger than they both had imagined. There was so much to do. They could've probably spent a month in its smallest town alone. There were carnivals and fairs everywhere, and by the end of their stay, they both wouldn't dare eat cotton candy ever again, they were so sick of it. Erza enjoyed all the stores and shops, and Gray stuck around, even if it wasn't exactly his thing. He liked seeing Erza this happy; it was the happiest he's seen her be since before the whole thing with Zeref started. He could stand spending a few hours in a mall for her sake, just to see a smile like that. Besides, he had his time in Iceberg. This was Erza's choice. She deserved it.
Six months after they had left on their trip, Gray and Erza both agreed it was about time that they returned to Fiore. It hadn't changed one bit since they had left, and everyone greeted them with open arms. Some of the other mages were on their own vacations of sorts, but the core members were all there, for the most part, along with some visitors from Crime Sorcière that had stayed nearby following the fall of Zeref.
That night, when most of the guild was up in arms over something, Erza stayed out of it, instead opting to just sit at the bar with Mira and talk with her.
"So, how was your little vacation, Erza?" Mira had asked once seeing Erza.
As soon as she sat down, Erza stood back up, about to leave because the questioning had already started.
"Erza, come on, please? I promise I won't tease you." Mira said, arm extended out to try and stop Erza.
Erza reluctantly sat back down, her eyes closed and a disapproving look on her face. She crossed her arms, waiting for more questioning.
"Just tell me if you had fun or not. I guess I can live with that much." Mira jested with a giggle.
Sighing and letting her cold facade fall, Erza let a lackluster smile form on her lips, "It was a nice trip. I had the chance to visit places I've always wanted to visit when I was younger."
"That's great, Erza! Do you think Gray enjoyed it, too?" She asked, trying for a casual, innocent approach, purely out of curiosity.
Erza let out a laugh, shaking her head, "Well, he certainly enjoyed Iceberg. It was hard getting him to leave."
"I bet! He does love his ice." After a slight pause in the conversation, Mirajane asked, "Want anything to drink?"
"A glass of water would be fine, thank you."
As Mira pulled out a glass and filled it with ice, the fight breaking out behind the two of them only grew louder, and Erza could hear the other mages beginning to throw things at each other. Once Mira had placed the glass of water in front of Erza, a chair suddenly flew in between them, and Erza had leaned back to avoid it, an annoyed look on her face. However, when she did lean back, the necklace she had been wearing underneath her shirt had revealed itself, and the shiny metal caught Mira's eye. Upon closer inspection, it was outstandingly similar to Gray's necklace, and sparing a glance towards the Ice Mage, Mira could see that he was still wearing his. She could only smile as Erza had realized her necklace had broken free, hurriedly trying to tuck it away.
Mira gently placed her hand on the one of Erza's that held the necklace, stopping her from trying to hide it, "Your secret's safe with me."
Erza's eyes were wide, and at Mira's touch, her body loosened, and Erza let her necklace hang around her neck in full view. She didn't say a word after that.
"You should go to him. The battle's all over now, Erza. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore. And if that vacation of yours went swimmingly, why should you let it stop there? You deserve it." Mira said, a small, genuine smile on her lips.
Erza gave in and returned the smile, nodding slightly. She turned back, seeing Gray currently in a chokehold at Ultear's doing. Letting out a laugh, Erza looked back at Mira, shaking her head. "Now might not be the best time..."
Mira winced a bit, "No, but you might want to make sure she doesn't kill him… She has that evil gleam in her eye…"
Erza merely shrugged, sipping from her water, "He'll be fine."
Mira could only giggle.
A few minutes after that, when the fight had died down and it was getting late, Erza was in the midst of leaving, catching Ultear's eye as she left the door. Ultear nudged at Gray's side, and once she had his attention, she pointed to Erza walking out of the door. Gray's reluctance only made Ultear shove him off his seat and out the door, leaving Meredy to just giggle at the sight.
Gray followed her, jogging a bit to catch up with Erza and waving to grab her attention, "Hey, Erza!"
Erza stopped in her tracks, turning her head to glance back at Gray. Seeing it was him, she turned to face him entirely. "What is it?"
"Do you think we could talk, erm, somewhere?" He asked, unsure of what to really say since he wasn't really expecting to do this right then and there.
Noting his slight nervousness, Erza only nodded, offering her arm to him, "We could go to the river. That seems to be our place for these kinds of things."
A grateful smile flashed upon his lips for a brief second, Gray taking Erza's arm, "That works, yeah."
They started walking together, and in a few moments, they were already at the river. Erza unhooked her arm from his, turning to face him with an eyebrow raised.
"Now…what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.
Gray opened his mouth, but he closed it pretty quickly and turned away, unable to find words at the time. Erza flashed a reassuring smile, stepping a bit closer.
"If it's what I think it is, I can start." She offered, "It might work out a bit better that way." There was a soft laugh to her words.
Gray nodded, that grateful grin returning. Drawing in a calming breath, Erza glanced around for a moment, suddenly finding herself becoming nervous.
"Wait, let me just…" Erza ducked her head away, shaking her head at herself with a laugh, unable to believe that she was tripping over her words for him, "Sorry… This is more difficult than I imagined…"
Gray laughed a bit himself, shrugging, "No, go ahead. No worries."
Erza nodded in appreciation, exhaling a deep breath to gather her words, "When Jellal pushed me away that night on the beach, it was...well, it was devastating, to say the least. Mira said I needed to move on, and I know I did, but it was easier said than done. I've always accepted what had happened from then on, but I never had much time to truly dwell on it with everything that was happening. Now that it's all over…" Erza paused, looking back at Gray, "I can move on now. I want to give this...us a shot." Noticing Gray's shocked expression, Erza just looked away with a pained smile, "Only if you're willing, though…"
Gray, even though nearly every voice in his head was telling him not to, started laughing to himself, rubbing at the back of his neck with a guilty smile. Erza just sent him the most confused and offended look Gray has ever seen her do, but Gray quickly recovered, "Y'know...Everyone's been giving me hell about my feelings for a while now, especially Ultear- Yeesh...but that's a story for another day. She'd always hassle me if I had someone special in my life, and I never really could picture anyone else but you every time she'd ask me that. I didn't think it was in that way, though…Just with you being a really close friend and all, but…" Gray lowered his arm and turned more serious, but there was still a warm smile on his face, "I'm starting to realize that maybe it is in that way, and maybe that Ultear was right after all. I'd never admit it to her, but…" He placed both his hands on her shoulders, lowering his head a bit to be more on her eye-level, "I'd admit it to you, Erza. I'd say it a thousand times over if I have to."
Erza lowered her head bashfully for a moment, heat rising to her cheeks once she looked back at him, "Remind me to give Ultear my thanks… And if we're on that note, you might want to give Mira yours."
Gray nodded, chuckling under his breath, "Right, got it."
"Just do me one favor though, Gray.." Erza began, stepping closer with a playful grin on her face.
"Anything for you, Erza."
Shaking her head with a laugh at herself, Erza placed both her hands on either side of Gray's face, tracing her thumbs over his reddened cheeks, "Just promise me you won't say you have a fiancée..."
Gray could only smile and close his eyes as Erza pressed her lips to his, and he dropped a hand to the small of her back, the other resting at the back of her neck and tangling into her red locks of hair. The kiss seemed like it sent electricity coursing through the both of them, those sparks finally flying after a long time of silence between them. Gray pulled Erza closer while she deepened the kiss, catching his lower lip in both of hers. Though she soon halted, pulling away slowly as her eyes fluttered open and met with Gray's own. Time seemed to slow, and fireworks seemed to set of while the two kept their eyes locked, lips barely separated. It wasn't until Erza stifled a laugh that any of them made a sound, and Gray couldn't help but join in with a chuckle of his own. He lowered his head, forehead pressing against Erza's, and Erza only threw her arms around his neck.
"I…I think it definitely did turn out better with you starting." Gray joked, a wide grin on his lips.
"That's what I'm here for." Erza quipped back, "I may not have a way with words, but I can at least say something."
"Hey, I said something too, y'know. Just…took a little while, is all." He let out a nervous, soft chuckle, shrugging his shoulders.
Erza exhaled a content sigh and closed her eyes, pushing her forehead against Gray's playfully. "I...I don't think I could even begin to say how relieving it feels to have that off my chest.."
"I can't say how glad I am to hear it, either." Gray wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, spinning her around a few times with a wide smile on his face before setting her back down upon the ground gently. "Hey, Erza?"
Erza could only laugh when he spun her, finding herself immersed in a tender bliss. "What is it?"
Gray remained silent for a few moments before he eventually breathed out, "I think I'm in love with you, Erza."
Though they did have a confession earlier, it was still shocking for Erza to actually hear it from Gray himself, as evident by her widened eyes and halted breathing. Eventually the corners of her lips quirked, and a soft, warm smile formed as Erza returned it, "I think I'm in love with you too, Gray." Her eyes flickered down toward his lips, and Erza's grin only grew, "In fact, I know it."
Their lips met one last time that night beneath the stars in what could only be referred to as a warm, tender embrace of true love.
Erza's eyes fluttered open at the sunlight pouring in from the window, and she sat up in her bed and stretched, letting out a long yawn. A gentle smile worked its way onto her features just at the mere recollection of the night prior. Before long, she was already on her way out of Fairy Hills to head toward the guild, where hopefully he'd be waiting.
That he was, and he was the first person Erza spotted when she walked through the doors. Gray was in a colorful conversation with Cana and Elfman, seated with them at a table with the two others on one side and Gray on the other by himself. His eyes broke away from the conversation for a brief moment, and they caught sight of Erza, causing him to smile. Erza mirrored the very same grin before walking over to slide into the bench with him, pressing her forehead against his cheek playfully while her eyes closed. Gray only draped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer. Elfman didn't really seem to notice, but Cana shot Gray an approving wink from behind her massive mug of beer. It didn't last long before Erza joined in on the conversation as well, and throughout its entirety, she didn't peel away from Gray's side, and Gray kept his arm around Erza's shoulders.
Someplace else in the guild, Juvia was smiling softly, and Ultear was leaning her back against the bar while snickering, and Mira gave her a high-five.
Despite the never-ending obstacles and trials that were thrown at them, Gray and Erza's paths still converged in the end, and their love still blossomed. Their love and their connection were what gave them strength, and they were their strongest with each other.