Gray woke up disoriented and every move caused him a deal of pain. He opened his eyes only to see a white room where everything seemed unfamiliar. His hands and arms were aching with burning pain. He tried to sit up, but his back hurt all the more.
"Gray-sama!" he heard a startled voice and turned to the owner. It was a young woman with blue hair and very concerned expression. Gray hissed in pain and asked her:
"Juvia, what happened to me?"
"Gray-sama, don't you remember?" she had a strong French accent and in her voice was something similar to admiration. Gray noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She must have been worried about him to sit here all night. Wait a sec… he couldn't even remember for how long he had been there.
Gray looked to the ceiling so that his neck was in a more comfortable position and tried to recall the previous events. "I was with Erza. We managed to finally get Jose and then the explosion occurred…"
"Exactly, Jose had it planned so he would trap you and Miss Erza in that explosion and he would get to safety in time. Nobody else was in that building in the time of explosion. Juvia wanted to warn you in time, but they didn't let me in. I watched as the third floor exploded. After a minute the second floor did the same and after a short while the chain on the first floor activated. That was when we saw you jump off the window with Miss Erza. The fall was so dangerous and I was so worried…" Juvia seemed to have tears in her eyes while describing this event to him. Gray smiled encouragingly at her and patted her shaking hand.
"That's alright, Juvia. I'm alive and so is…" he stopped mid-sentence.
"Where's Erza? Is she alright?"
Juvia looked at him surprised and then pointed at something behind him. "Miss Erza is right there. Her wounds were a little worse than yours, but they said she will be alright."
Gray looked at the pointed direction and gasped over the sight. Erza was lying on the bed similar to his. She was sleeping and didn't seem to be in pain, but she was covered in bandages and her legs were completely burnt. Even her forehead was properly bandaged and her hair was brushed away from her face so it showed the not so pretty scar on her right eye. It started somewhere in her hair, run through her right eye and ended in the middle of her cheek. She had never told him when or how she got this scar and he'd never asked her. She often covered it with her bangs, but he knew she was somehow proud of it. It was her mark. She wouldn't be the same without this mark of her strength and endurance.
Flashback time ^^ Gray sat in his office, shirtless as always and with his legs stretched over the mess on his table. He was reading some reports about his last missions. A young boy in Gray's age with pink hair and thoughtful expression played solitaire on the other side of the room. Unlike his shirtless friend, the pink head refused to walk around half naked even in this unbelievable heat that occurred because of non-functional air-conditioner. After a while Gray started to fan himself with the reports and looked admonishingly at his partner.
"Natsu, you should at least pretend to work."
The said man looked at Gray. He seemed completely annoyed and bored. "But it's so hot in here… I can't possibly work in these conditions!" he exclaimed and fanned himself with a random paper on his table.
"Well, it is your problem and no one else's, so you should just accept the conditions and work…"
"I can't see anything so bad with not wanting to walk in my office naked. And besides you are just pretending to work, so what's the big difference."
"The difference is that I don't walk around destroying stuff and using unnecessary amount of explosives, you explosive freak."
"As if I was the only one who's destroying stuff, you perverted freak."
Both of them had to close their eyes and breathe deeply. It was too hot for any arguments and they knew it would only end up in another fight. They had been partners for so long and they always managed to take on whatever challenge. The only problem was their attitude. If they were together in one room for too long… well, I'm sure you wouldn't like to see the room afterwards. But they were still friends and a part of the same Fairy tail family and no arguments could ever bring them apart.
After a while someone knocked on the door and came in. It was a tiny old man, but he seemed very authoritative. The boys stood up and bowed respectfully to their boss. The man bowed. This was the end of all formalities. "Natsu, this is Lissana Strauss. Miss Lissana, this is your partner Natsu Dragneel. He will show you our agency and work with you on your future cases." "So this is our agency. It's rather small, we do not have many agents, but we are very important for the police. As you know, we take on the tougher cases. Every agent in here is well trained and so on and so on." He was informing her, while they walked through the corridor. "I guess you already know this sort of information about us… So, on the second floor are only two offices: the master's and Mirajane's." Afterwards Gray showed her the offices on the first floor. All offices were shared by two people: two partners. The end of flashback ^^
"Hey master, what's up?"
"Good morning master, how is it going?"
The said man grinned at his two boys. "I'm fine, thanks for the question. I have some special announcement for the two of you."
Once again they turned serious and he continued. "I know that you're a great team, but we both know about your own personal… issues. Another thing is, that we have two newcomers that I would like to be taken care of, so I will split your team and both of you will get a new partner."
The boys looked at each other. Natsu then smiled "It was nice working with ya, you ass." He said cheerfully. Gray smiled back. "Don't say it like that. We're still the same family, you smartass." They shook hands and again looked at their master. He smiled at his boys. He somehow counted on them taking it professionally, but he was somehow proud of them that they managed to split their team so cheerfully. "So then, come on. I will introduce you your new partners."
Natsu looked carefully on his new partner. It was a very beautiful young woman with short white hair. She gave a cheerful aura around her. After the introduction she smiled and shook hands with her partner. Natsu stood there amazed. Gray had to strike his ribs to get him the wind of reality. Gray laughed at his old partner falling in love so easily, but in his heart, he wished him luck.
Natsu afterwards accompanied Lissana out of the master's office to show her around.
"And this is Erza Scarlet. Miss Erza, Gray Fullbuster will be your partner." They shook hands and Gray observed his new partner. Erza was a tall strong looking woman with beautiful red hair that was tied up in a stern bun. Only her bangs covered the right half of her face, which seemed odd to Gray, because she was completely composed otherwise. She wore a white shirt with a red tie and a black miniskirt. Her legs were long and beautiful and they ended in court shoes. She gave the expression of a strong and beautiful woman, but her gaze was somehow that of a stone. As if nobody was invited in. Gray guessed that she will be very reserved. Her grip was iron. Gray assumed she would be a great agent, but would she be able to become a part of their family? Even her clothes were so stern, not even Lissana wore such formal clothes, even though she was also new.
After they'd shook their hands, master said: "He will show you our agency and work with you on your future cases." She nodded and then observed her partner. Gray somehow regretted that he hadn't put on his shirt, but well… he knew she will find out his habit sooner or later. He studied her and somehow waited for an expression, so that he knew what she thought of him. He found nothing. Her face showed nothing more than a beautiful stone would. Gray tried his best not to sigh. He knew this wouldn't be as funny as he hoped it to be.
They walked into the second office on this floor to find there a woman with long white hair. Now that Gray thought about it, it seemed as if Lissana was her sister… So that was more to that similarity of names as he'd thought at first.
"Hey, Mirajane." Gray said cheerfully.
"Oh, hi Gray. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, thanks."
"How can I help you, today? Have you lost your shirt again?" she said chuckling. Gray's face turned red. He usually didn't mind this sort of statements, but now he was with his new partner and it surely didn't count as a good first expression.
"No, thank you. I've come to introduce you to my new partner Erza Scarlet." Mirajane managed to stop giggling and looked at the redhead standing next to Gray.
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Mirajane Strauss. I'm master's secretary and assistant. If you need anything you can ask me for help. I'm here for everyone." She said with a wide smile. Erza almost smiled, too. At least that was what Gray thought.
"Thank you for your care, Mirajane." She answered and shook her hand.
Natsu and Lissana
Gray and Erza
Fried and Bickslow
Elfman and Evergreen
Wakaba and Macao (the oldest duo)
Levy and Gajeel
Jet and Droy
Cana and Loki
"…and the last office is shared by Alzack and Bisca. They're actually married and their daughter Asuka often comes here with them."
Erza seemed to be surprised upon this information. That was actually her first reaction at all, Gray thought. "They take their little child in here?"
Gray lifted one eyebrow. "Yea, this agency is more like a family so they take their little child in here."
"A family?" she asked unconvinced. "It's work. Where's the place for family in it?"
Gray seemed offended. "This is not just work. We risk our lives for something we believe in. We're in this together, so there's no reason to be so reserved. Most of our members have lost their real family, so here is the place where they can find a new one."
Erza sighed over his words as if they seemed to her as something incredibly stupid. Gray closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He didn't want to get into argument with his partner on her first day. So he showed her the ground floor, where they had a kitchen and a gym, because the agents had to keep themselves in a top form.
Afterwards they went to their new office and Gray said: "So now you are a member of Fairy tail. Welcome to our family." She obviously didn't know what to answer to that, so she just observed her knew working place.
After a while, Natsu stormed in. "Hey guys. We are going to have a party tonight to welcome our new members." He winked at Erza. "You're both invited of course." And then he disappeared again, probably already making preparations for the party. Gray smiled at Erza and said "You don't have to wear such formal clothes to the party."
"Coming from a boy who has no clothes?" It might have sounded like a joke if there was any trace of humor in her voice. "I won't come. I have better things to do, then party." She said and then left the room. Gray just stared at his leaving partner dumbfounded. 'How can someone this reserved ever become a part of Fairy tail?'
Gray was suddenly pulled out of his reverie of reminiscence and looked at his partner. He smiled and answered "I should be the one asking the question. How do you feel?" he asked worriedly.
"I feel much better than I look like." She laughed. "I guess these burns will leave some scars on my legs and your hands."
"I guess so. But it was worth it. Jose is finally out."
Erza smiled. "Yeah…"
Then she looked at him with concern. She opened her mouth, but no words came out of it.
"Is something the matter?" Gray asked, because he seldom saw Erza speechless.
"I just…" Erza sighed and smiled again.
"Thank you for saving my life twice in a row. I really owe you one for this time."
"Don't talk nonsense, Erza. You'd saved my life countless times before. I was just repaying. And don't forget, we're family. There are no debts in Fairy tail."
She answered with another warm smile and then looked to the ceiling. Even though she claimed to be OK, Gray knew her wounds exhausted her extremely. He knew because he had the same wounds, the same burns he got while he was trying to protect her. This was his partner he was ready to risk his life for and he already countless times did. And so did she for him. She had changed so much while in Fairy tail. Even though she'd seemed so strong, she was even stronger now. She was a part of their family. She belonged to Fairy tail.
Another flashback^^ It had been a few months since Erza joined Fairy tail. She had successfully avoided all parties or anything that would have made her one of the family members. She was still as reserved as when she came to the agency. Together with Gray they had succeeded in a few cases, but he still couldn't get closer to her: neither as a partner nor as a friend. She was still as cold as a stone and Gray lost all hope in her becoming a real member of their family. He settled with the idea of her being just an outsider that will leave the place after she gets a better offer. He didn't see anything more in her. After a while, they got some bigger case, which acquired two teams to cooperate. They got teamed up with Natsu and Lissana. They were supposed to get some mysterious group of robbers. After a few weeks of investigation, they found out that the robbers were going to rob a certain bank in the center of the town. The bank was famous for the high security and the fact that all the strongboxes were in the highest floor. The elevator suddenly moved and the lights turned on. The two of them quickly separated and put on their clothes. Erza quickly managed to wipe out the tears of her face. It seemed she did it often. After a while, the door opened and they both behaved as if nothing happened. Gray couldn't but wonder if his words could reach her… The end of flashback^^
Our team waited for the robbers to get to the highest floor and then blocked all the elevators but one. Gray said "Now we'll split up. You two take the staircase and we will go by the only left elevator. One of us shall catch them." Everybody nodded and did as he said. Erza and Gray rode the elevator in silence as usual, when suddenly the elevator stopped and the lights turned off. Only a small red emergency sign stayed on.
"What the fuck?" Gray swore and looked for the reason of this sudden stop.
"It seems like they turned us off. We have to leave it in Natsu's hands for now." Erza said matter-of-factly. Gray swore again and pushed a button on his clock. "Hey Natsu! They blocked us in the elevator and probably turned off the electricity. Be careful, now it's all up to you."
"Roger that, smartass." Natsu replied and before Gray could said something back to him, Natsu turned off.
Erza sighed and leaned against the wall of the elevator then slid down on the floor. She took off her shoes and massaged her feet. Gray sat in the opposite corner and they waited. After a while it was very warm in the elevator. That confirmed Gray's theory about the turned of electricity. Nor even the air-conditioner worked. Gray did what he could to stay awake. In this heat it wasn't so easy to stay conscious. He had to find something to pay attention to. After examining the buttons and after reading all the rules for riding an elevator (some of them even surprised him, because he had never read it before) and after observing the emergency light for five minutes he found a new object: his partner.
Erza breathed heavily in the heated air and still massaged her feet. Gray noticed that she still wore her jacket. He often wore a suit, but today she had just her miniskirt and jacket. He came a bit closer to her.
"It's kinda hot in here, don't you think? You should take off your jacket." He said with the least pressure.
"You already did so, as I can see." She answered and made him realize he already didn't wear his shirt.
'Damn it' he thought.
She kept breathing heavily, but didn't take off her coat. After a while he had enough and came to her. "Come on. If don't do it yourself, I'll help you." He stated firmly.
"Is this a threat?"
Before she could do anything, he managed to take off her jacket with one smooth move. She stared at him with surprise and he was glad that the light was too weak to show his astonishment upon her. She wore a sleeveless shirt today and her almost delicate hands looked beautifully in this small scarlet light. Maybe it was because of this light that she seemed so beautiful. The color of her hair seemed more scarlet then usual.
He put away her coat and came even closer to her. With one hand he lifted up her bangs as he said. "You should sometimes tie up your bangs. I'm sure you have a pretty face there and you shouldn't hide…" he stopped in mid-sentence as he observed her scar. Her healthy eye examined him as if seeing him for the first time. Even though her blind eye was so damaged, it still had the beautiful mahogany color.
His fingers run down the scar. "How did this…?" he whispered more for himself than a question for her.
"It's my reminder."
"Your reminder of what?"
"My reminder of how cruel people can be and a reminder of how stupid and weak I am." Her voice stayed strong, but in contradiction with the sound, a lonesome tear made its way down her left cheek.
"That's not true." Gray said gently. "I've seen you in action. You're strong, bold and intelligent."
"You're wrong! You know nothing about me!" she shouted and curled up into a trembling ball.
Gray surprised her by a gentle hug. "I may know nothing about you, but I know that all people are weak, when they're alone. That's why Fairy tail is a family. We help each other and support each other. We may not be strong individuals, but we are strong thanks to our bonds. This scar may remind you of your weakness, but you should remind yourself that you are not alone…"
"You can let him be Lucy. We are glad to see you both whether you're storming or calm" Erza said smiling at her friends. Natsu observed her burnt legs. "Wow, Erza, it seems like you will have some more cool scars."
Gray laughed. "You idiot! You have no idea how much it hurts."
Lucy observed them both with concern clear in her eyes. "Are you guys alright? These wounds seem painful."
"Don't worry Lucy, we'll be alright soon." Erza smiled encouragingly.
"You'd better get it together soon, because after finally finishing this pain-in-the-ass-case we should have the biggest party we've ever had!" Natsu exclaimed and started dancing as if already in the party.
"Well, it will take us a day or two, before we can dance, but you can count on us to be the first to start partying, right, Erza?" Gray answered enthusiastically.
"I'm not sure we'll be ready to dance so soon, but I agree this needs a celebration. Natsu, I hereby commission you to prepare the biggest party we've ever had."
Natsu shouted in excitement. "Count on me!" And he stormed out of the room just as fast as he stormed in. Everybody laughed at his excitement, but they had to confess they were excited, too. Lucy wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye.
"Sorry for Natsu, but you've seen his excitement. You two did a great job and it deserves a party, but now you should rest a bit more. I'm glad you're alright. Take care for now." She said as she left the room.
Erza and Gray sighed at the same time, then looked at each other and started giggling. "Natsu sure is a party man." Erza said amusedly.
"He sure is…"
Both of them drifted into a dreamless sleep as they both thought how glad they were for the nightmare to be finally over.
Hey guys. So this chapter was somehow too long and a bit boring with all the flashbacks, but I can't always write about action :D
But as you know, the next chapter will be the great party, so again no action, but there will be some flashbacks from the recent case, so at least something :D
I beg you all for a review and please leave me your opinion about the descriptions of all the unnecessary things… I'm not sure whether it's not too boring or whatever… or just leave me a review about anything you liked or didn't like… pleeeeease :-*