Ah… Home sweet home. Well… more like guild sweet guild. They were finally back. Godforsaken 100 year quest took a month to complete. Gray's body hurt all over. The ice mage was relaxing at the bar while the rest of Team Natsu informed the Master about the details of the completed quest. Gray decided to sit this one out, which seemed to be the right decision since they were taking their sweet time in the Master's office. Gray downed his glass of fire whiskey and called for another.
It was ironic. Fire whiskey. Of all things, fire whiskey was what appeased the ice mage the most. It really helped quell the pain from all his injuries received during the quest. Gray loved that burning sensation in his throat, and the numbness that followed. To be honest with himself, he wasn't drinking to stop his injuries from acting up. He knew why he was drinking.
He was drinking to drown his sorrows. He cursed his feelings. Why'd Erza have to be so perfect? That's right, Fairy Tail's resident ice mage was in love with Erza Scarlet. He always did have a crush on her ever since the day he met her. Gray had to admit, he never knew that crush would turn into… whatever the hell this was. Mirajane looked at him warily before filling his glass up again. He ice-maked a cube and put it in the glass.
When did he fall in love with her? Maybe it was when he caught her crying at the riverbank all those years ago, or maybe it was when she begged him to retreat in their fight against Phantom Lord. Regardless, Gray didn't realize these feelings until he found himself preventing her arm from being chopped off. Even if he hadn't realized them then, he surely did when Erza cried after Jellal was arrested. His first taste of envy.
What hurt him the most however was when she told him to reply to Juvia's feelings towards him on that bridge in Crocus. Juvia. Even thinking about her brought on a wave of regret. Gray had to admit, Juvia's HOT. A dime. Literally perfect. What man wouldn't want his woman to fangirl over him. She's given him everything. She's sacrificed herself time and time again. She's been there for him when he needed her most. But still, she was no Erza. And that was what made Gray feel like such an ungrateful bastard.
Juvia was more than worthy of his love. After Fairy Tail's disbandment, they had trained together for months. She was always by his side. But the minute Erza showed up, Gray abandoned Juvia without hesitation to go help Erza. Straight up, Grade A Scumbag. And now… Juvia is still loyal to him while Erza waits patiently for a pardoned Jellal whilst doing her hair daily. Here he was, drinking down his problems and refusing to deal with them.
Why can't he just move on and accept Juvia? She's way more than he deserves. A goddamn bargain. But he knows knocking her up now would only mean he was using her to get over Erza. Taking advantage of crazy psychotic water mages was not on his to-do list. So he kept downing his glass, hoping he'd just drink himself to death at this point.
He really enjoyed the quest though. Heck, he always enjoyed quests with Team Natsu. Talking with Lucy about her novel, training with Wendy whenever they stopped on the road, scuffles with Natsu and most importantly, the long talks between him and Erza before they went to sleep. See, the rest of the team always fell asleep fast. So, Erza and Gray end up staying awake and chatting each other up until they succumb to sleep. Those are the best conversations in Gray's opinion. One's which lead to the most random of topics. One night, all they talked about was cakes, while on another, they talked about if Natsu was into Lucy.
Gray wished he could go back to one of their conversations and freeze time. Freeze time? That reminds him of another conversation they had on the way back. Since Wendy confirmed Ultear was still alive within a time distortion, maybe there was some way to bring her back. Thinking about that came as a welcomed distraction, until something else pulled Gray out of his thoughts. He felt it in the back of his head. His devil slayer side wanting to warn him about something.
Gray could instantly sense it. Something approaching the guild, he turned around in his bar stool, drink in hand. He leaned against the bar and waited patiently. Something was about to come through the guild doors. His devil slayer sense was going off. He didn't know what to make of it. It was the first time he had experienced something like this. The black markings were starting to appear under his trademark white coat.
The guild doors opened to reveal a young man who stood about half a foot taller than Gray. He wore a red leather coat, black combat boots, black denim pants along with a sleeveless black shirt. Considering he went overkill with black, Gray questioned the man decision to go with white gloves. He had jet black spiky hair and blue eyes to boot. His face was longer than Gray's and he had a killer smile.
"Oh it's you!" exclaimed Macao. "Long time no see."
"Same here, How've you been old man?" asked the stranger with a grin. Gray relaxed. Macao knew him so there was nothing to be worried about.
"Well we're just recovering from a war. But Fairy Tail's been on the up and up recently. We're doing way better than we were when you last visited." said Macao.
"I can see that. Couldn't believe this is the same dump I saw 8 years ago….. or was it 9?" laughed the stranger.
"Eight. Damn you grew up. I barely recognized you. You're no longer the little emo kid who'd go around asking for Laxus." Laughed Macao as he patted the stranger on the back repeatedly while swinging his mug in approval.
"Speaking of Laxus, that's why I'm here. I heard he's back. I came last year around this time but apparently Fairy Tail had disbanded." said the stranger taking on a more serious tone.
"Yeah… a lot's happened Luke. Why don't you take a seat at the bar. It's on the house since you can finally drink legally now. Laxus is off on a quest, he'll be back sooner or later." said Macao, gesturing towards the bar, and more accurately, the seat beside Gray.
They made eye contact as 'Luke' sat down. "I'll have what he's having" said Luke to Mirajane, as he flashed her an infectious smile. Mira smiled back and proceeded to pour him some fire whiskey.
"Yo" greeted Luke, "you weren't here last time I was here. You part of the Tenrou group?"
"Yeah. The name's Gray Fullbuster" said Gray, extending a hand. Luke shook his hand in response and introduced himself as well.
"Lukario Cantona, but you can call me Luke." said Luke.
"So, I hear you're looking for Laxus" chimed in Mira as she refilled both their drinks.
"Yeah, I got a letter for him" Luke said as he took out a sealed envelope from his coat. "oooooooh" Mira exclaimed curiously.
As much as Gray was curious about the contents of the letter, he was even more curious about why Lukario Cantona was causing his devil slayer side to go apeshit.
"Quick question – What kind of mage are you?" asked Gray.
Luke grinned. "Well I guess you don't find mages like me here"
Gray immediately noticed something was off. He couldn't move. It was like his body was wrapped in chains. "Well that's an interesting ability" said Gray through gritted teeth.
"What do you mean Gray?" asked a puzzled Mira. "I can't seem to move" replied Gray.
"You can call it Chain magic. I'm using invisible chains right now. You can feel them, can't you?" asked Luke. Gray could indeed feel the cold metallic texture of said invisible chains.
"Well, even if they're invisible", Gray froze the chains and broke out of them with a satisfying chink. "They aren't unbreakable" finished Gray.
"You're strong" remarked Luke. "But those invisible chains were the weakest of my binding spells"
Gray grinned as he downed his glass. "Confident, are we?"
"Not really. Just stating the facts. I'd say it's about a fifty-fifty." Replied Luke as he downed his glass. "But an ice mage with a knack for fire whiskey? Kinda ironic, isn't it?"
"I'd say this is going to be the start of a beautiful acquaintanceship" laughed Gray.
BAM!
A table came flying in, smashing into Luke and sending him through the bar. "Yo Gray let's fight! Got bored of talking to the Master" yelled Natsu.
"Hey Natsu! Watch it, will you?" shouted Max.
"Yes! A man must watch it at all times" yelled Elfman as he rammed his fist into Natsu's face.
The whole guild froze. Not only did Natsu not dodge Elfman's punch, but Elfman's punch barely moved Natsu an inch. Normally he should've gone flying. It's like Natsu was stuck in place.
"Oh my! Seems like we have a fight" stated Mira cheerfully from behind the broken bar.
From the corner of his eye, Gray noticed a red blur shoot out from behind the bar, heading straight for Natsu.