Even an easy mission can be taxing on some of the best mages.

Well, maybe 'easy' wasn't the best word to describe it.

The mission was to apprehend two assassin mages that went rogue after their guild was disbanded. Simple enough, for the likes of Gray and Erza. They didn't come out of it unscathed, though.

It was late at night when they finally had captured and turned in the assassins, and Gray and Erza were exhausted. Half-lidded eyes, languid movements...not to mention the aches and cuts and bruises they received in the brawl. The assassins managed to give Erza a nasty and prominent cut that went over her artificial eye. Even she wasn't sure that it wouldn't scar. Wouldn't be the first.

All Gray and Erza wanted to do was get a drink, a bite to eat, and someplace to crash for the night. They were too drained to even try heading back to Magnolia. They stopped in the first pub they saw, grabbing a table and hastily ordering drinks at the bar. At least, as hastily as they could move in their lethargic state.

By the time they'd ordered food and it arrived, Gray and Erza had taken up about 50% of each other's space. Erza was at the edge of her seat and resting her foot on the stretcher of Gray's chair. Gray had his leg propped up behind Erza. His shirt was also off, which Erza let him pass with; she didn't have enough energy to snap at him for that one.

They were eating in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. When they finished and got one more round of drinks before they'd be heading out, they weren't as dreary as before, and could probably hold a conversation without nodding off.

Gray tilted his head to get a better look at the cut running over Erza's right eye. "That probably won't completely heal." He eventually said after a while.

Erza, who was staring off into her drink before that, looked over at Gray with a confused look before figuring it out. "Not the first. I'll manage." She said plainly, taking a sip from her drink.

Gray hummed a response and nodded, letting the silence settle in between the two of them.

They left soon after that.


Soon it became a little tradition for them to stop by a pub after missions, even if they weren't close to passing out from exhaustion. They'd still eat in relative silence, though. It wasn't until after one hilariously disastrous mission that they had held their first real conversation during their post-mission pub visits. They kept that conversation going for hours, laughing to the point of near tears on numerous occasions. When they left late that night, they had a newfound appreciation for each other. That's when the visits for their own fun started.

There didn't need to be a mission for them to go out to eat together anymore. They'd do it whenever the guild was being too rowdy, or just for the heck of it. Their trips became frequent, too, which was when Erza started questioning the nature of it all.

The next time they went out was when Erza approached Gray with it.

"What are we doing, Gray?" She asked all of a sudden, when they got their first round. Her voice wasn't accusatory or anything; it was just an honest question. At Gray's raised eyebrow, she elaborated, "What are we doing here all the time?"

"I don't-" He paused to gather his words, careful with continuing, "Having dates, I guess?"

"Dates…" Erza said, trying it on her own tongue. She chuckled a bit, nodding, "Right."

Gray grinned in return, grabbing his glass and holding it towards Erza. She clinked her glass against his and took a sip after, a faint smile ghosting her lips.

She'd have to think about other dates they could go on, later.