Cana sighed as she bent over to grab a white trench coat off the ground.
"That idiot…" she muttered fondly, folding the jacket and slinging it over her shoulder. In all the years she'd been in Fairy Tail, she'd gotten used to the eccentric quirks of her nakama. Admittedly, Gray's stripping was more problematic than Erza's obsessive love of cake, or Natsu's bizarre motion sickness. As a child she used to shriek when Gray started to remove his clothes, but now it was such a normal sight she didn't even have the reflexes to react immediately. If anything, she thought it was kind of cute that he was so heavily by his Master's teachings (though she imagined this wasn't what the great Ice Mage Ur had in mind).
Whistling, she continued down the street. Two blocks down she paused to snatch a black turtleneck, which she shoved in her bag.
"That's not surprising," she said to herself, rolling her eyes. Cana regularly found Gray's discarded clothes strewn across the streets of Magnolia. Many of the other guild members would leave them, but she never felt right leaving his stuff for someone to tread on.
Another block down she winked at a group of teenage boys as she bent over to retrieve a single black boot and pair of socks. She smirked and lazily threw a hand on her hip as she straightened, causing two of the boys to whistle and the third to oogle. Self-satisfied with their reaction, she continued toward the guild, collecting the matching boot and a pair of dark green pants on the way. None of this phased her until she was one block from the guild and she came upon a flag pole in her line of sight. This wouldn't have bothered her, except that instead of a flag, a pair of black silk boxers stared her in the face. This was the one part of Gray's habit that never failed to piss her off.
"Gross!" she couldn't help but shout. Irritated, she pulled the boxers off the pole with just the tips of her fingers and stomped into Fairy Tail.
"GRAY!" She shouted, slamming the hall doors open. "CLOTHES!"
The other members snickered but didn't pay her much mind, except Juvia, who dove for the boxers Cana was holding out. Cana couldn't resist teasing the poor water mage, and twisted so the boxers were out of her reach. She liked Juvia, but before the blue-haired girl joined Fairy Tail, she had been the only woman vying for Gray's attention. Now she had a beautiful rival with romantic notions to deal with.
Now, Cana wasn't one to romanticize her feelings. Having been a longtime member, she had intimate friendships with many of the members. So when she first developed a crush on Fairy Tail's resident nudist she simply chalked it up to the fact that they were good friends who had grown up together. After all, Gray always appreciated her snarky comments and was one of the few younger members of the guild that would sit down for a drinking stint with her (though she always consumed far more than the ice mage).
But lately she would catch herself admiring his toned muscles every time his shirt went missing, and sometimes she would even sneak a glance at the more intimate parts of him when the chance presented itself (which it did often enough that she didn't feel all that guilty).
Cana knew that she was quite the beauty herself, but she never found any evidence that Gray noticed her curvaceous figure. When they were a bit younger she would experiment with flirting, taking perverse pleasure in making the boy turn strange shades of pink and red. Eventually he learned to respond with some feisty banter, which always delighted her. She knew Gray, being closer in age than her frequent drinking buddy Macao, would be a more appropriate dating prospect, but for years she still focused her efforts on the older mage who was far more in-tune with a woman's mind (and body).
But, none of that changed the fact that she'd been dreaming about the ice alchemist every night for weeks. Which was irritating, because Cana didn't think of herself as someone who could fall prey to a petty crush. She was a woman and depth and passion. Besides, lovesick stalker would look creepy on her (although it was somewhat adorable on Juvia). So what did the dreams mean, anyway? She was tempted to consult her cards on the matter, but she found trying to read her own fortune was usually a bad idea.
"Oi, Cana!" Natsu shouted from the bar, snapping her out of her thoughts. "The snow fairy isn't here. Why do you have those nasty things?"
"Not…here?" The card mage looked around for confirmation. The ice mage wasn't anywhere to be seen, naked or otherwise.
"Fuck…." She said, realizing that if the exhibitionist wasn't in the guild hall, then he was wandering the streets nude again, probably utterly unaware. She felt a vein pulse in her forehead out of annoyance. Erza wasn't around, which meant the duty of tracking down the naked mage would fall squarely on her shoulders. Normally she wouldn't have particularly minded, but she just got back from a job and all she wanted to do was relax.
"Mira!" she shouted. "I need a beer!"
"Er…don't you think you should find Gray first?" Lucy asked as Cana threw the boxers at Juvia and took a seat at the bar. Despite her infatuation, she had no desire to hold on to Gray's dirty underpants.
"That moron can deal with the consequences himself," the brunette responded, rubbing her forehead. "I just got here and I already have a headache." With that, she downed the tankard Mira had placed in front of her. "ANOTHER! – in fact, just give me a barrel."
Letting Gray run around naked was her own little form of payback for his obliviousness to her budding feelings. Not that she would ever tell him that – she had too much pride. It was far more satisfying to silently let him suffer.
Two barrels and six tankards later, Cana decided she was in a sufficiently tipsy state to go deal with naked Gray. Hopping nimbly off the barstool, she gathered the clothing she collected earlier (minus the boxers, which Juvia had whisked away to what Cana could only assume was some kind of kinky shine).
"I'm going to make that stripper buy me a drink when I find him," she said to herself. "A drink for every piece of clothing…" She cackled at the thought, causing Lucy to give her a strange look.
…...
"GRAY!" Cana shouted. "COME HERE GRAY! The world doesn't need to see all of you!"
She had been searching for nearly half and hour and still hadn't found him. More importantly, her buzz was wearing off. Aggravated, she decided to pop into a pub for a quick pick-me-up before continuing her search.
"Whiskey – straight!" she said, tossing money down on the counter. The barman gave her a quick appraisal before pouring her drink.
"Say," she said to him as she knocked her drink back. "You haven't had a guy come in here, my age, about your height, dark hair, droopy eyes?"
He raised an eyebrow, evidently amused. "Care to be a little more specific? We get a lot of folks in here matching that description."
"Oh right," she said as she held up her glass for a refill. "He would have been nude.
He looked at her incredulously. "Why would he be walking around naked?"
"Because I have his clothes, " she said simply, finishing her second drink in one graceful swig.
The barman blinked a few times. "Uh…."
"I take it you haven't seen him then," she said, getting up. "Thanks anyway buddy!"
As she stepped outside, Cana had an epiphany. Excited, she turned on her heel and started running. After all the years of saving Gray from his stupid habit, why hadn't she thought of it sooner? He always hides in the same place – if he can get there before the soldiers catch him and throw him in jail for public indecency.
"GRAY!" she shouted down the alley. "It's me!"
"Took you long enough!" he said, peering out from behind the long-unused dumpster. "I've been waiting for an hour!"
"Don't blame me for your stupid habit," she snapped. "I walked around half this city trying to save your naked ass."
This made the ice mage laugh. "You're right. And thank you for coming to save my naked ass." He grinned at her and a tiny piece of her heart swooned. "Now can I have my clothes?"
She grinned back at him mischievously and dangled his pants from her finger. "Come and get them."
His smile fell. "Cana…I literally don't have anything on right now…"
"Really?" she said innocently. "I didn't find your boxers…are you lying?"
This was a game they sometimes played. Some men might find it seductive, but someone who spent half his time running around naked was too used to it to appreciate it.
"Don't be a bitch," he said flatly. "Just give me my clothes."
"But I want to see the Little Prince," she teased. "It's been a long time since his last public appearance." Some girls would swallow their own tongue before saying something like, but Cana was known for her sassy mouth when she drank (which was all the time). Besides, Gray would never take her seriously, even if she was somewhat serious.
"Don't call it that," Gray said, sounding scandalized. "It's anything but little."
The girl laughed and tossed the boy his clothes. She couldn't help but be slightly disappointed – as much a headache as Gray's habit caused over the years, he'd certainly grown to be a view she enjoyed.
"That's more like it," he said, ducking behind the dumpster as he pulled on his pants.
Moments later he emerged, still shirtless. He approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks for always bailing me out…I don't know how it happens!" He shook his head in confusion as though his clothing just magically fell off each time he found himself that way.
Cana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Don't mention it. Let's get going, okay? You owe me like ten drinks."
He laughed. "Ten drinks, really?"
"Mhm," she said seriously as they walked out of the alley. "You have no idea what I went through to return those clothes to you."
"I'm sure it was just terrible," Gray said sarcastically. "I'm a little strapped for cash – would you compromise on coming over for dinner?"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Are we drinking our dinner?"
He smirked. "I've got a few bottles we can polish off." He stopped walking and turned to face her, catching her off guard. There was an impish glint in his eye. "And if you come over to my place I can give you a look at the Prince."
"Hmpht. Well I guess if you're making me dinner first," she said nonchalantly. This was the banter she always enjoyed.
He stared at her intensely and moved closer. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, calling his bluff. No matter who it was, Cana Alberona would win in a game of sex appeal.
Suddenly he reached an arm around her waist and pulled her even closer. "You're such a tease," he purred into her ear.
This was not what the card mage had been expecting. She felt her heart rate increase. This was the way Macao used to hold her. It was a weird thought. Summoning her courage (because Cana was generally a very self-assured woman and refused to let this moment change that), she whispered in his ear.
"If there's something you want, go ahead and take it."
Gray pulled his head back to look her directly in the eye, like he was uncertain he'd heard her properly. Then, in a decisive moment, he gently pressed his lips against hers.
It wasn't a particularly long or heated kiss, and as they separated he again stared into her eyes with a puzzled look on his face, as if awaiting her reaction.
In answer, she pulled him against her and returned his kiss with a longer, passionate kiss. So here they were, standing in the middle of a dirty street, Gray half-naked and Cana's breath smelling of alcohol. To some girls, this would be a disastrous first kiss, but as Gray tightened his hold around her waist and pushed into the kiss with force, Cana decided it was perfect.
When they finally separated, all she could do was smile. The kiss told her what she was afraid to ask the cards – their future held a whole lot of depth and passion.
A/N: I perceive Cana as a pretty self-assured (and sassy) person most of the time, so I hope nobody thinks I wrote her poorly. I also think she knows exactly how good looking she is and enjoys it, just like Lucy.
On another note, I don't generally write romantic well (because I'm not a romantic person in life) but I figured I'd give it a go. Hope you all enjoyed it - and remember this is a series of oneshots so just because I write one pairing doesn't mean it's exclusive to the stories.