A/N: Hey guys, so this started off as a one shot but I got carried away and ended up writing three chapters so far. Here's the first one, give it a read and let me know what you think and if I should upload the rest.
The sun had already set, bringing a dark shroud along with it, signalling the end of the day as the dimly lit street lights turned on, illuminating the now desolate streets of Magnolia. Everyone had long gone to sleep and it was eerily quiet, that was, until two Fairy Tail wizards wondered across the cobblestone path reaching a grassy hill, on top of which was Fairy Hills, a dormitory for the female wizards at the Fairy Tail guild. The two wizards laughed and told stories as a cool breeze filled the air, the stars shone brightly atop a blank dark canvas, and although it had just begun, it truly was a beautiful night.
"Thank you for today Gray, I really had fun" the scarlet haired mage spoke, coming to a stop just outside the double doors belonging to the large building composed of bricks. The raven haired boy blushed slightly as she smiled at him sweetly and he swore his heart skipped a beat. "It's cool, maybe we can you know… do it again sometime" he couldn't quite meet her eyes when he said that last part and he knew he shouldn't have when he didn't hear a response. His cheeks were beginning to warm, luckily it was still rather dim outside so Erza couldn't see him well. The light from a nearby window hit her face perfectly, showing off all her features and her warm brown eyes that Gray could just stare into forever.
"Ah, that would be nice" Erza finally replied with a smile, slightly amused by Grays reaction. He stared at her, eyes wide and nervously touched the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous though he didn't notice. Not knowing what to say and definitely not wanting to spoil the moment by saying something stupid, he just smiled. And what a wonderful smile he had, Erza couldn't help but admire it.
"Erza you're back!" A petite blue haired girl shouted happily from her window which happened to be where the light was coming from. "Oh Gray you're here to, it's getting late, better get to bed" She told them in her usual upbeat tone.
"Yes, it is quite late, you should get going Gray, I'll see you tomorrow" Erza told him whilst opening the door to enter the dormitory.
"Right, see you tomorrow" He replied "Night Levy" he nodded at the bluenette who was still leaning outside her window and with his hands in his pockets he slowly made his way back from the direction they had just come from. The doors closed shut as Erza stepped inside.
Erza stood there for a minute leaning her back against the door, smiling to herself as she reminisced about her evening with Gray. She had been pretty much by herself for the last few days, not wanting to talk to anyone and often contemplated on going on an S class mission. Natsu and Lucy would frequently ask her to join them on their missions but she always declined and they eventually stopped asking. She would come to the guild hall in the morning, wonder the streets during the day and then stay in her dorm room from 8pm till the following morning came and repeated the same process… until today.
As she was just about to leave the guild for her long aimless walk around Magnolia earlier that morning, a petite, blue-haired, sky dragon slayer ran over to her, out of breath, hands on her knees trying to regulate her breathing so she could form actual words instead of deep breathing sounds. Erza began to get worried seeing her like this and where were Carla and Gray? The three of them left together the night before to go on a mission so why was Wendy here on her own?
"Wendy, what's wrong? Where are Gray and Carla?" She asked her, urging her for an answer but not wanting to come on too strong, dropping down to her level, she gently placed her hands on her small shoulders, telling her to calm herself.
"G-Gray needs help…. he's… badly wounded and… I can't heal him!" She told her in between breaths, avoiding her gaze. She noticed Erza's body tense up, her grip slightly tighter than it was before.
"Wendy, where is he?" She asked her, this time she spoke louder, demanding an answer. Wendy took off out of the guild and ran, urging Erza to follow her, which she did. Worry and regret ran through her head, she was also asked by the trio to accompany them on their mission but she rejected their offer opting to stay at the guild instead.
If only I went with them, Gray would be fine and this wouldn't have happened. Whilst I was feeling sorry for myself, one of my friends got hurt and I couldn't save them. Erza scolded herself again and again running as fast as her body would allow her to. After a few minutes they reached a familiar part of town. The trees were aligned on top of a grassy hill and just below, a riverbank came into view.
"Wait he's here?" Erza asked Wendy who was now running down the hill at top speed unable to slow herself down. Erza grabbed hold of her before she toppled forward into the river and found Gray laying on the ground with Carla sat beside him. The small white exceed didn't seem to be very happy or trying to comfort the injured ice mage at all, instead, she just sat there with her arms crossed waiting for Erza and Wendy to arrive.
"Gray! Are you alright?" Erza ran over to where the young wizard was laying down and knelt down beside him. He seemed unresponsive so she checked him all over for any wounds or physical damage but surprisingly there was none. She put her ear against his chest, searching for a heartbeat.
That's strange, his heart beat's faster than usual.
Now on her hands and knees she leant in closer to Gray, their noses just barely touching. She narrowed her eyes, concentrating really hard, trying to determine what could have happened to him. His skin tone was normal, though she now noticed a tinge of pink on his cheeks, his body was surprisingly heating up the closer she got and not to mention the alarming heart rate.
"Gray" She called, watching for any sign of response from him but still, nothing.
"Wendy, what exactly happened to him?" She asked the dragon slayer who was looking rather nervous, twiddling her thumbs.
"W-well… actually" She began to speak, not sure what to tell the scarlet haired wizard about her friend.
"E-Erza" Gray finally spoke, his voice was rough and barely audible but she could hear him. Erza immediately turned her attention towards the injured mage, forgetting she even asked Wendy a question just a few seconds ago.
"Erza is that you?" Erza looked at her friend and felt so upset. She wasn't able to be there for him when he needed it and now that she was here with him, she still wasn't able to help. She felt so angry and disappointed with herself, feeling her eyes brim with tears, willing them not to fall.
"Gray… yes, it's me" She spoke gently, hoping her voice wasn't too harsh on his ears. He looked so fragile.
"Come… closer" He beckoned her with a slight motion of his fingers and she leant in closer to him, her long scarlet hair fell, covering her face and just grazing Grays. She waited for him to speak, for him to tell her that he was going to be okay.
"I… I…" He started to speak and every time he started his sentence she leaned in closer to make sure she could hear him.
"Tell me Gray, what is it?"
"I… GOTCHA!" He shouted, laughing like a maniac and rolling around on the floor as though he had just heard the world's greatest joke. His laughter echoed through the quiet town, for it was still early in the morning. He held onto his stomach feeling the pain from too much laughter.
"HAHAHAHA Y-YOUR FACE!" He cried "You actually thought I was hurt! Man I should get an award for my performance, I got you good!" He continued to laugh boisterously, oblivious to everything else. Wendy and Carla began to slowly back away noticing Erza had not yet moved, her hair covering her face and this bright, warm summer's morning suddenly began to get very dark and chilling.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Carla scolded Wendy who was looking rather frightened.
"W-what do you think she's gonna do to him? Should we call for help?" Wendy asked, her voice laced with concern.
"I'd be more worried about what she's going to do to you, so let's leave whilst we still have the chance." Carla ordered. She grabbed her hand which was covered in sweat and dragged her away without a fuss. The last thing Wendy saw was Gray soaring through the sky and crash landing into a tree, wincing when she saw him falling out and landing face first onto the ground which was then met by Erza's boot.
"Poor Gray" She said to herself but thankful that Carla was here to take her away.
"YOU DARE MAKE A MOCKERY OUT OF ME!" Erza bellowed, raising her fist once more, aiming for Grays face.
"ERZA! Wait!" Gray screamed, covering his face and bracing for impact, but it never came. He slowly peeked through his fingers to see what she was planning next but relaxed once he saw that she was just standing there. He sighed and leant his back against the tree that had a Gray-shaped dent in it.
"Why?" She simply asked, anger still evident in her voice. Gray couldn't look into her eyes anymore and looked down at his feet. He thought about what to say next not wanting to make her more irate or upset. All he wanted was to have her back to her normal self, not locked away in her room by herself or sat alone, avoiding her friends gazes and impending questions and requests to spend some time with them. After a long few seconds he looked back up, staring into her brown eyes, anger and hurt hidden somewhere inside them.
"I- I never wanted to make you angry Erza, I just wanted to spend some time with you and I knew you would never agree to come if I just asked you to so I-"
"So you pretended to be hurt and dragged Wendy into this" Erza finished his sentence for him, folding her arms across her chest.
"Yeah… But please don't shout at Wendy, it was my idea, I just convinced her to go along with it" He quickly explained to her, not wanting to see Wendy upset over some stupid prank he dragged her into, unwillingly.
Erza raised her eyebrows, surprised at what he had just said. As if she could ever hurt Wendy, what did he think she was, some kind of monster?
"Next time don't be so stupid and leave others out of it" She told him curtly and turned to walk back toward the guild.
"H-Hey Erza wait!" Gray called after her, jumping up on his feet, ready to chase after her if he has to. Erza stopped but didn't turn to face him, "What now?" She asked him coldly.
"I thought we could hang out" He wasn't sure if he should walk up to her or not in case she sent him flying again and he loses his ability to walk.
"Well you thought wrong, I'm heading back to Fairy Hills, do what you want" She snapped at him, turning her face to the side, she could see him from the corner of her eye, slowly walking up to her.
"Ah come on Erza, quit feeling sorry for yourself. I've already got the whole day planned, so stop thinking about Jellal and-"
"What did you just say?" This time she turned to face him, her fists clenched. How dare he say his name, what does he know about him, about us? If he thinks I can just get over something like this with some stupid walk in the park then he's got another thing coming! She fumed to herself, stomping her way over to the now stunned Gray.
What did I say? He thought to himself, he was completely baffled. All he wanted was to make her feel better and take her mind off of things but he never expected her to act like this.
"What gives you the right" She stabbed at his chest with her finger and each time she pushed it harder, "To try and dictate what and how I should be feeling and thinking? Stop thinking about Jellal you say? You don't know a damn thing about me Gray and I certainly don't need you feeling sorry for me. So just stop bothering me and leave me alone!" She yelled and with that last word she pushed him away. Gray didn't say anything, or walk away and leave her alone like she said. Because despite what she just said, he did know her. He knew that Erza did hurt sometimes, and why she was always on her own at first, always covered in armour and he still, to this day, remembers that time when he found her crying at this very same spot. In the Tower of Heaven he desperately fought Fukuro even willing to give up his life just so she could be safe. During their fight with Oracion Sies he stopped Lyon from cutting off her arm and battled Racer with all his power so Wendy could get to Erza and save her. It was clear to him that he would do anything for her, so when she said all these things to him, it hurt. It hurt a lot, and Erza could see it in his eyes.
He lowered his gaze, not wanting her to see how upset he was, "I just wanted to help" He spoke in a small voice, still not looking at her.
Erza instantly forgot why she was angry once she heard him speak. Her heart felt heavy and her tears were threatening to come out again. She felt guilty for making Gray upset. She knew he just wanted her to be happy and if she hadn't been wallowing in self-pity these past few days then everyone wouldn't be so worried about her.
"Gray… I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It was wr-"
"No, I'm sorry. I'll go now" He cut her off and proceeded to make his way home but stopped when he felt a hand grab a hold of his arm.
"Don't leave me like this Gray, I am sorry, you were just thinking about me and unfortunately… so was I". She stared at the back of his head, her hand still gripping onto his arm. He remained silent.
"We can do whatever you had planned for today, that is… if you still want to" She trailed off thinking he wouldn't want to spend the day with her now, not with the mood she's been in and who could blame him? However, Gray felt differently.
"Really!?" He gleamed, turning to face her, he grabbed hold of both her forearms, waving them in excitement, his dark eyes shone with anticipation for her consent to go ahead with his plans. It was now Erza's turn to be confused, how he had gone from angry and upset to overjoyed in 0.4 seconds was so unexpected that it made her smile. She smiled, after days of locking herself away and feeling blue, she smiled, and it was all because of this idiot. She just watched him rambling on and on about what he had planned and what places they were gonna go to first, with a huge grin on her face. Her arms were still waving about in front of her and then they stopped as Gray let go, looking at her face with wide eyes.
"Y-your face" He pointed at her, stepping back almost terrified. Erza frowned not knowing what he was going on about.
"What about it?" She asked him, touching her face carefully, feeling for anything unusual.
"You smiled!" He grinned feeling proud of himself as Erza rolled her eyes at him, "shut up" she playfully punched him on his arm as he chuckled.
"That's all I want to see" He told her, folding his arms.
"What?" She questioned, mirroring him.
"Your smile, it's nice" He said looking away but before he did he noticed Erza blushing slightly at his words and he couldn't help but notice how cute she looked.
"So, shall we go?" He asked her, giving her his hand and his kindest smile. Erza simply nodded happily and placed her hand in his as he dragged her out into the town.
A red kite was seen wafting into the air as the wind carried it higher and higher until suddenly it was out of sight. And that's how Erza now felt, free!