Hello again. Another GrayZa one shot to add to the fandom. It's inspired by that GrayZa moment in Episode 205 when they argue (though only briefly) over each other's clothes and Wendy's watching them with a 'WTH' look on her face. Enjoy!
P.S. To all Project Cupid readers, I'll have a new chapter up either tomorrow or the next day. I'm really sorry for the delay! I promise to make up for it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Wendy was exasperated. Being the youngest member of their team, she was susceptible to playing peacemaker to any ongoing arguments that occurred between the older four. It was aggravating sometimes, and she hadn't realised just how much these four fought on a regular basis, though that was more of Gray and Natsu's fault. Those two never had a time when they didn't fight and so she got used to staying in the background, with Erza being the one to play peacemaker between the two.
However the times when Wendy herself had to play peacemaker involved arguments between Gray and Erza more often than not. Surprisingly, those two argued more than Gray and Natsu ever did, but that was probably because their arguments consisted only of the flinging of insults and punches to each other's faces. She didn't know why they fought so much, but what she did know was that the things they always argued about were their opinions of the other's choices of clothing.
It sounded ridiculous to any normal civilian but after knowing Gray and Erza for so long, it was quite understandable. Those two were polar opposites when it came to clothing – Erza's magic allowed her to put clothes on whilst Gray's habit had him take his clothes off – though they did share a common trait with their fashion choices. She couldn't comprehend why, but the two especially loved skin exposure. Maybe it was unconscious on Gray's part, but Wendy had noticed how revealing most of Erza's armour was. She almost wore nothing on her as the armour didn't do anything to decently cover her skin. It was strangely ironic how Erza often scolded Gray about losing his clothes when she barely wore anything herself.
Though Wendy did wonder why they argued so much about each other's fashion choices. The topic was becoming more and more frequent in their arguments, with it soon becoming most of their argument's starters. She didn't really think it was a big deal. After all, Gray was known for his stripping habit so everyone should be used to it by now, especially Erza who had known him since childhood. It didn't make sense to her as to why Erza constantly picked on his lack of clothes and Gray retorting with her own lack of clothes. He never really seemed interested in a girl's fashion choices, though Erza was quickly becoming an exception.
Their arguments were the sole reason why she was becoming so edgy lately. With Natsu and Lucy often preoccupied with each other – in a platonic way of course though she did wonder – she was often left to deal with a bickering requip mage and ice mage. Carla was always by her side through all of this, though she never really did pay any heed to them like Wendy did.
"What's wrong Wendy? You look pretty exhausted," Mira asked kindly, walking over to the girl who was slouched on one of the hall's tables. She had noticed the girl looking strangely down, a rare occurrence for one so bubbly and bright. Wendy didn't reply as she pointed to the scene in front of her, Mira following her finger to see another Gray and Erza clash.
"Did you really have to use your seduction armour on those bandits? You could've just beaten them up with your Black Wing armour you know," Gray muttered in irritation, crossing his arms.
Erza frowned. "What's wrong with me using my seduction armour? It was effective in that mission," she retorted calmly, not noticing the way Gray balled his fists in annoyance.
"It wasn't necessary though. You didn't have to show that much skin just to get an opening. Hell, you don't even need an opening with your strength," he responded levelly, trying to keep his composure.
"It's not like you don't show enough skin on a daily basis either. I mean, where did your clothes go now Gray?" She pointed to his shirtless form. Gray looked down, finally realising his loss of a shirt but didn't say anything.
"Yeah but that's an unconscious thing. You did it intentionally," he pointed out in an acerbic tone. Her face contorted into an angry scowl at his words.
Mira turned back around to face Wendy who was covering her ears. A sly smile made its way onto her face as she slid into the bench opposite of the dragon slayer, placing a hand on one of her hands that was covering her ears and motioning for her to let go. Wendy let go reluctantly as she looked at Mira exasperatedly.
"Gray-san and Erza-san keep fighting over their clothes and I'm always having to break them up," Wendy explained wearily.
Mira only raised an eyebrow but said no more. She was about to speak when Wendy suddenly remembered something. "Mira-san, do you know why they keep fighting over clothes? I can't figure out why they always return this particular topic," Wendy mentioned curiously.
Wendy didn't realise that she had been speaking to the wrong person as Mira's smile turned into a smirk, her eyes twinkling in mischief. "It's nothing serious Wendy. They're just jealous."
She raised an eyebrow at her conclusion. "Jealous? Why would they be jealous?"
"Why else would you be jealous then Wendy?" She asked cunningly.
The dragon slayer thought nothing of it as she gave her answer. "Well people usually get jealous if someone else has something they like. They want it for themselves but I don't think Gray-san wants Erza-san's armour nor does Erza-san want Gray-san's stripping habit."
"Then why else would someone be jealous?"
Wendy thought some more. "I've seen people get jealous if someone takes what's theirs though I think it's more of a possessive jealousy. And I also see people get jealous if someone they like is with someone else," she replied after much thought.
Mira's smirk grew wider until it turned more into a grin than anything. "Exactly."
She looked confused. "What do you mean Mira-san?"
Mira pointed at the bickering pair. "Watch them closely Wendy and you'll see."
Wendy looked back at her teammates, immediately noticing how close they were standing to each other. It seemed that they hadn't noticed as they were too wrapped up in their ongoing squabble. "Why don't you just have an alarm or something to tell you when you're about to take some clothes off," Erza suggested hotly.
"You think I haven't tried that? Everyone got annoyed at the constant ringing noise it made so I had to destroy it," he replied exasperatedly.
"Then how about clothes that don't come off?"
His brows furrowed. "Clothes that don't come off? Then how am I supposed to take a shower or do the laundry if I can't take my clothes off?"
She sighed in chagrin. "Why do you have this stupid stripping habit of yours anyway?" She muttered, a light tinge of pink staining her cheeks.
"Blame Ur!"
Wendy looked back at Mira who was smirking widely at the scene. "So they like each other?" She concluded, a hint of uncertainty lacing her voice.
Mira nodded. "They're jealous because they don't want the other to show too much skin since they've already claimed them for themselves though only mentally. They feel that if they show too much skin, someone might take them away from each other and they don't want that to happen," she explained coolly.
Wendy nodded along, digesting her words. She understood clearly now. But why didn't they just tell each other the truth about their feelings instead of continually quarrelling?
Mira seemed to be a mind reader as she answered her question. "They're afraid that it will ruin their friendship if the feeling isn't mutual."
She frowned. "It looks mutual to me."
The takeover mage smiled. "You should tell that to them."
And tell them she did, as the next time an argument over clothes was brought up, Wendy decided to intervene in the quabble's earlier stages. "Would you put on some clothes already Gray? We're not at–"
"Erza-san, Gray-san, I think you should tell each other how you really feel instead of arguing like this."
Gray and Erza blushed a bright red as they spluttered against the girl's words. How'd she know? The both couldn't help but ask themselves. Were they really that obvious? They shared a moment of eye contact but that only caused them to blush more.
Wendy ignored them however, turning to Carla who was watching with an unreadable expression.
"So you finally saw it too child?"
Wendy nodded. "I can't believe I was so blind Carla."
The Exceed shook her head. "You're not the blind one Wendy. Gray and Erza are."
She hummed in agreement. "But like Mira-san said, love is blind."