'Let's pack it up and head home,' Erza called out to her teammates and their faces immediately lit up.
'Finally!' Lucy happily exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.
'Free food!' Natsu cried with a wide grin and Lucy sighed.
'Is that really all you think about, Natsu?' she asked him sarcastically. 'We've been away for 6 months with no communication with the guild and all you can care about is food.'
'I am thinking about the guild. Each member represents food that I love,' Natsu responded thoughtfully as he began to compare his guild family to food. Lucy clapped her hand over her face, shaking her head. Natsu really was a special case.
'And Lucy is my favourite type of food,' Natsu finished off, his grin widening and catching the blonde-haired girl off guard. She stared at him wide-eyed before folding her arms and looking away to hide her red cheeks.
'You shouldn't say things you don't understand,' she muttered under her breath, confusing Natsu. That came as no surprise. He was clueless as to the implications his words could have, but Lucy had stopped taking what he said seriously long ago. Natsu was hopeless in the feelings department. Erza looked away from her two entertaining friends and eyed the rolling green hills before her. She took a deep breath in of the fresh air that surrounded them. It was so peaceful here in the little villages so far from their homeland. They had spent the last 6 months tracking and taking down secret dark guilds that had been hiding out in the area known as A Thousand Hills and they had finally completed their mission. It was going to be hard to leave this place, but Erza was looking forward to going back home. She smiled to herself. There was a particular blue-haired wizard she was excited to see again. She quickly shook this thought away as her face went as red as Lucy's and glanced at her two friends to make sure they hadn't noticed. Of course they didn't see. Lucy was too busy blushing and Natsu was too busy being oblivious. The fact that he kept asking Lucy why her face was so red, wasn't helping. Erza laughed softly and looked to the side. Her eyes fell on the 4th member of the team, sitting to the side and quietly packing his bag. The deep scowl on his face did not match the joy of his teammates.
'You're more quiet than usual,' Erza pointed out as she made her way over to the black-haired ice mage. His scowl deepened.
'I didn't know I wasn't allowed to be,' Gray mumbled under his breath.
'You can be. I just thought you would be happy to go home,' Erza said, not surprised by his hostile behaviour. Gray just clenched his jaw and continued to shove things into his bag. He wasn't in a talkative mood and he definitely didn't want to admit what was on his mind.
'Are you worried about heading home because of what happened between you and Juvia before we left for this mission?' Lucy suddenly asked, now ignoring Natsu who kept coming up close to look at her blushing face. This got a reaction from Gray. He instantly stopped packing, gripping his hands into fists.
'No it isn't!' Gray snapped at her. He wasn't about to admit she was right. Erza and Lucy glanced at each other knowingly. Natsu was the only confused one.
'What happened between you and Juvia,' Natsu excitedly asked, practically jumping to Gray's side to find out. It sounded juicy.
'Nothing,' Gray muttered, shoving Natsu to the side. Lucy and Erza glanced at each other again. Gray was a stubborn one.
'I don't think you need to worry. Juvia is way too in love with you to be ang–" Lucy started to speak, interrupted by a loud out burst from Natsu.
'What!' Natsu cried in shock, with his arms up in the air.
'Juvia loves Gray!' he continued to cry as Lucy rolled her eyes.
'Honestly, Natsu, you're so dense at times,' Lucy moaned at him, while Gray looked away, irritated.
'How was I supposed to know!' Natsu moaned back.
'You're the only one who didn't know!' Lucy pointed out, sighing to herself. She wished Natsu was a little more clued up on the subject of love. It would make things a lot easier for her.
Erza shook her head, amused. Natsu was his own kind of person. It definitely didn't make things easy for Lucy. Erza glimpsed at Gray, now with his back to them and his arms folded. Juvia didn't have it easy either.
Gray walked quietly behind his teammates, each step he took bringing him closer to the guild, closer to her. His body tensed at this thought. This was one time when he wasn't in any hurry to get back home.
You're so annoying! Why can't you just stay away? If you really love me, then leave me alone!
Gray cringed. That was the last thing he had said to Juvia before he left after she had accidently broken a memento from Ur while following him. He hadn't meant any of it. He was just so angry. But Gray wasn't worried about Juvia being upset with him. He knew she wouldn't be. He was more worried about what crazy thing she would come up with to try to make it up to him. He would have to be on high alert from the moment he steps into the guild. And he wasn't looking forward to it.
'I see the guild!' Natsu shouted excitedly, running to close the gap between him and his home, with Lucy joining him. Gray did not join him. His stomach turned uneasily. He was in no hurry.
'Let's go,' Erza told him as she grabbed his arm, alarming him. This wasn't good. Gray felt himself being pulled to the guild against his will much faster that he would have liked. He tried to get out of Erza's grip, but she was too strong. He could only watch in displeasure as they caught up with Natsu and Lucy outside the guild doors. No!
'We're back!' Natsu announced as he pushed open the guild doors to a loud applause of celebration. Different voices came from every direction as their fellow guild members rushed to welcome them home. Gray wasn't ready for this. He turned to recoil from the impact and cries of a certain person he knew were coming. Nothing happened. Gray blinked blankly. That was unusual. He risked a glance, almost afraid that if he looked something crazy would happen, but it wasn't like that. He was greeted by many smiling faces belonging to the people he called his family. Gajeel, Levy, Wendy, Mirajane, even Laxus was there. But there wasn't any her. Gray scanned over the crowd of people. She wasn't anywhere in sight. This didn't comfort him. It only made him feel worse. She had to have something really big planned, bigger than he could even imagine.
This made Gray edgy. Every pat on his back, every welcome back hug made him jump, anticipating it to be her. But it wasn't. The cheers continued and still nothing happened. That was strange. She would never have waited this long. He was almost convinced she had some kind of Gray-radar that alerted her to his presence. So then where was she? Suddenly a thought came to mind. Of course! There was only one explanation possible. Juvia had to be away on a mission. She had to be. Gray breathed a sigh of relief. He was in the clear for now. He felt his enter body relax as he started to respond to the greetings from his guildmates. It was good to be home.