S-Class Wizard Extraordinaire
The second time he meets her, he is out on a regular S-class job. He can tell she's still angry about the first incident when her body tenses up at the sound of his voice.
"Hey Ultear! Long time no see, heh?" he greets her cheerfully despite her sour disposition. She's also alone, but instead of returning the greeting, she continues to walk away.
He has to jog to catch up "Aww, you're not still mad about the other day, are you?" She turns to glare at him. Guess that answers his question. Chuckling nervously, he continues "Let me make it up to you. How about I take you out to dinner?"
"No thanks." She doesn't even hesitate.
"How about we go for drinks, then" she finally turns to face him, but her expression is still angry.
"Can't you take a hint?" she's right in front of him, so close they're almost nose to nose. Her chest is heaving and her eyes are sparkling dangerously, but all Gildarts wants to do is to kiss her (despite the risk to his life). She's so cute when she's angry.
"You there! What are you doing here? This is a restricted area!" They whirl around and realize they're somehow in front of a fence.
"I'm Gildarts Clive from Fairy Tail, and this is my partner. We're here for the job" Ultear glances up at him sharply.
The guard speaks into a walkie-talkie before he gestures to them "Follow me."
Ultear sighs in frustration. Somehow she's been pulled into Gildarts mission. She only came to investigate rumors that the dark guild Nexus was planning to steal a new lacrima weapon design, but now she's stuck on guard duty with Gildarts. Yippee. At least he had enough sense not to mention her name.
"Gildarts" he turns to look at her, shocked (this is the first time she's initiated the conversation), but she's all business. "We should patrol the grounds, and look for areas of weakness like holes in the fencing, areas not monitored by cameras, and possible points of access that bypass security." Perhaps he takes note of her tone because for the rest of the day, he doesn't even try to flirt, although he doesn't leave her side either. She doesn't comment despite knowing that if they split up they would cover more ground.
By the time they've finished their rounds and returned to their station, he's managed to coax her into casual conversation. He's even made her smile a couple times (they were more like smirks, but hey he'll take what he can get). She's finally relaxed in his company and has even started to talk more about herself, although he notes she doesn't say anything about her guild or family.
With a jolt of surprise, he realizes this is the longest conversation he's had with an attractive, non-Fairy Tail woman since his wife, Cornelia, left him. But before he can think more on it, he hears an explosion. Grinning, he glances at her and sees the same anticipatory grin on her face. It's about damn time there was some action. A group of between eighty and ninety mages has blasted through to the vault they're guarding.
"Looks like there's a couple more guards – " before the mage can finish speaking, Gildarts is in front of him, his arm moving up and under, connecting with the dark mage and sending him crashing through the wall. Ultear is right next to him her right arm flashing forward in a straight punch to the head of another mage. His attention is pulled back to the battle when a group of mages rushes him. His raises his arm, and a blast of concentrated magic power blows seven mages through another wall. The shockwave from the blast sends another dozen mages that are caught in the crossfire flying.
He takes a minute to check on his partner. Ultear is standing in a forward stance, one fist pressed against her palm "Ice Make: ROSEN CORONE!" A flurry of frozen rose flowers complete with stems and thorns is sent spiraling through the enemy ranks. He smirks and brings his arm up to guard his face. His other arm swings out and around in a hook that catches the attacking mage in the gut. Then, he hears Ultear shout "FLASH FORWARD!" Dozens of streaks of light whiz by before he feels (and hears) an explosion that rocks the building. Not willing to be outdone, he gathers power in his outstretched hand again, looking for a target. Perfect. He's smirking as he punches the ground, releasing the magic into the ground and breaking up the floor into cubes that explode upwards, hurling the enemy mages into the air. The majority of the dark guild is out for the count now, but a few are left standing.
A couple of the braver mages rush towards Ultear. The first one to reach her is holding a short sword alight with magic. A sword appears in her hands and she holds it in front of her, pushing the enemy's sword to the left. While he is off-guard she brings her leg up and around in a high roundhouse kick to the head that knocks him unconscious. The other mage tries to take advantage of her distraction, but she moves slightly to avoid the magic spell he casts before grabbing his outstretched hand. She pulls him forward and wraps her leg around the mage's head and arm, spinning their bodies around, and using his momentum to hurl him across the grounds.
Meanwhile, three mages have engaged him, sending magic flying across the space between them. Immediately the pressure in the air intensifies as he gathers magic around him to form a guard against the attacks. He sends another blast of concentrated magic (much stronger than the first) that immediately renders his opponents unconscious. He looks over his shoulder to see Ultear taking out a mage with a flying kick to the head. When she lands, she kicks out with one leg, driving the heel of her foot into another mage's face. Orbs that are whizzing around her rush towards the mage, finishing him off. But she follows up the last attack by bringing her leg down and out in a sweeping motion that knocks one leg out from under the last mage. Before he can recover his balance, she is up on her feet and punching in an overcut motion that knocks him out. Gildarts is grinning again, impressed by not only her physical prowess, but also by her magical capabilities. Ultear is a strong woman who knows how to take care of herself.
Between his crash magic and her ice make and time arc magic, they've managed to take out the entire Nexus guild. In true Fairy Tail fashion, they've also managed to raze the entire building to the ground. But hey, the blueprints are only singed a little so he considers it a success.
After damages are taken out of the reward, he offers her half. She's surprised at his offer, and refuses at first. But he insists and eventually she takes, bestowing him a grateful smile in return. He opens his mouth to ask her out "Do you – "
"The answer is still no." but she's smiling as she walks away.
A/N: Haha Ultear's so mean to poor Gildarts. Also, I got the name Nexus from episode 52 of the anime (it was listed as one of the dark guilds controlled by Tartaros).
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