Fatigue was all Talise could feel when she woke up. She slowly opened her teal eyes and the first thing she notice was a pair of dark blue orbs looking at her intently. Talise screamed and kicked the person hovering over her. The person groaned painfully. The kick actually did some damage to their stomach. Talise was at the corner of the bed before she realized it was Gray and not some creeper.
"Oh my–I'm so sorry Gray!" She said and quickly went to aid him.
"No–is… my fault." He managed to grunt out. Despite not being a fighter, Talise's kick was really something.
Talise bit her lip. She hoped he wasn't too hurt. Her fretting made her forget that she wasn't at the guild anymore. Talise took a moment to look at her surrounding and saw that she was in her bedroom. She then remembered what happened yesterday. At least she hoped it was yesterday.
"How… How long was I out?" she asked.
Gray stood up, ignoring the stinging sensation that was still around his stomach. "All of last night and most of this morning–it's not noon yet if you're wondering." He then went to her desk and handed her a white bowl. "It's not much… and its gone cold… but I think I got it right this time."
Talise took the bowl and stared at the slightly charred oatmeal. She gave him a smile and nodded. "It looks… better."
Gray went red for a moment before he left the room. As he rummaged about in her home, she took a spoonful of Gray's oatmeal. But before she could swallow, her taste buds were viciously attacked by the saltiness of the oatmeal. Talise made a face. She was about to spit it back out, but she couldn't. Talise quickly swallowed all of what she had in her mouth when Gray came back with one of her many canteens.
"Mira stopped by a few hours ago. She told me to tell you, you can take it easy today." Gray told her as he handed her flask. He watched as she quickly drank the liquid inside. "You okay?" he asked as she emptied the canteen in a second.
"Y–Yeah." She lied. She wasn't fine. The salty taste still lingered on her tongue. "I'm just… very thirsty. I haven't had something to drink for hours." Gray raised a brow as she gave him a weak smile.
He decided to ignore it and told her to finish her oatmeal before getting changed.
Talise cry on the inside as he left her be.
After breakfast, which Talise begrudgingly had to finish, and a quick shower, she and Gray headed back to the guild. When they went inside, Talise was greeted with many condolences and qualms about her well being. Many of them telling her she shouldn't have come in to work today and to go back to bed to sleep some more. Talise thanked everyone for their thoughtfulness, multiple times, but she told them all repetitively that she took a day off yesterday and that it wasn't fair for Mirajane to handle the guild by herself.
In the end they all respected her wish and let her go back in the kitchen to work. However, everyone took into consideration to not order any special meals/dishes for the day, which she was quite grateful. Slowly, Talise got back to her usual rhythm of things.
The day was getting along to be just like any other day, which also meant commotions within the guild. Talise was washing dishes when she heard Mira yell out, "OH NO!" She quickly dried her hand on the apron at her waist and went to the mess hall to see what was going on.
"Master! One of the requests on the second floor is missing!" cried Mira as she came downstairs.
Makarov spit out the beer he was drinking. Everyone else looked shocked and surprised that someone had the balls to steal an S-Class mission.
"Oh that?" Talise knitted her brows as she and the rest of the guild heard Laxus speak out. "I saw a cat with wings steal one of the jobs yesterday." Talise covered her face and closed her eyes. She prayed she heard him wrong.
"HAPPY!" Mirajane said in shock.
"That idiot…" Gray muttered. "Lucy's probably with him too."
"I knew the boy was stupid. Never thought he was tha' stupid." said Bisca as she pulled down her hat over her face.
Laxus moved himself over the rail to get a better look at the guild below him. "There's no doubt this is a serious violation. They broke a principal rule." He then eyed the Master. "Gramps! When they return, they'll get kicked out immediately… right?" Talise stared angrily at Laxus as he kept shouting out the unfortunate obvious. "Not that they'll be coming back. I mean… taking on an S-Class job with their pathetic skills. They're deader than dead."
Mirajane had her hands on her hips and frowned at him. "Laxus, if you knew about this, why didn't you try and stop them!?"
The lightning mage glanced at her before he turned around and walked back to his seat. "I just thought it was a thieving cat running away with a piece of paper in its mouth. I had no idea it was Happy." He said deviously. "And who would've thought that Natsu would run off with an S-Class mission."
Makarov sighed and placed a hand over his tired eyes. "This is bad." he muttered. "Which job did they take?"
Talise watched as Mira walked to the bar with an angry face. "The Cursed Island of Galuna."
He almost fell over the bar. "THE ISLAND OF DEMONS!"
Everyone quickly chattered about the news. More than half of the guild had deemed Team Natsu stupid for taking such a dangerous mission. Talise put back her hands over her face and prayed Lucy, Natsu, and Happy hadn't reached the island yet. She would also have to tell Lisa about this and how much of a failure she was at keeping Natsu out of trouble.
The Master stood up from his seat at the bar. "Laxus bring them back NOW!" he demanded.
Laxus laughed. "Don't be ridiculous! I have my own mission to take care of. Besides… there isn't a mage in this guild who can't take care of themselves, right?"
Makarov glared at his grandson; mocking him with his own words. Red in the face he yelled, "Who else here, aside from you, can force Natsu to come back!"
Talise heard the sound of wood scraping loudly against the floor. She removed her hands from her face and saw Gray standing with a frown. "Gramps, I can't forgive you for that insult." he said. The cook stood still before she realized what was happening.
"I'll do it." said Gray.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU! HUH! YOU'RE MORE LEVEL HEADED THAN THIS! THIS IS HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE STUPIDEST DECISIONS YOU'VE EVER MADE! YOU'RE A MORON! YOU KNOW THAT!? A COMPLETE AN UTTER MORON!"
Gray ignored Talise as he went to the small closet he had in his room and took out a black messenger bag. Not like it mattered since it was a small retrieval mission, but he liked to be prepared if anything should happen.
After taking the job of retrieving Natsu and the rest, Gray immediately went back to his apartment to pack. However, he didn't go back alone. The ice mage glanced for a second at the guild's head chef before he moved around her and grabbed a few shirts from his dresser. He didn't think Talise would drop everything she was doing and followed him home. He was more surprised at the fact that she hasn't stopped yelling at him since they left the guild.
Talise grabbed his arm, stopping him from putting his shirts in his bag. "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!?"
"Yes, I'm a moron. I get it." he said and moved her hand away so he could place his clothes inside. "That's not going to change my mind on this."
Talise stared at him. "But–"
"No buts. I'm doing this Tails." he said seriously.
Talise stared as Gray turned his back to her and organized his pack. It was like that for several minutes before she let out a small growl. She clenched her fists. She wanted to hit his stupid head. She really did. But her urge slowly dissipated and turned into nothing as she fell on her ass in defeat. There was no way for her to make him stay. He was going no matter what. Talise pulled her knees to her face and covered her face with her arms. She didn't want to cry but she couldn't help it. She felt hopeless.
Gray stopped for a moment when he didn't hear Talise yelling. He looked back and saw she was on the floor. He then looked back at his pack. Gray felt bad but he knew he was doing the right thing. He couldn't just go back to the Master and recant his decision. His ears then picked up sniffling and that's what made him groan on the inside.
He made her cry.
It was one thing with her being sad. But Talise crying was something he couldn't take. It hurt him. Usually it was easy to beat up the person that made her cried, but the one who made her cried this time was him.
Gray frowned. It's been years since he did that.
He turned around and went on his knees in front of her. He then carefully placed a hand on her arm. Gray waited a few minutes to see if she would reject him. When she didn't, he adjusted himself so he was able to hug most of her. "I'm sorry Tails. I really am. But I can't back out of this now. Besides… you wouldn't want Lucy, Happy, and the pink idiot dead now… do you?"
Talise slowly ceased her silent crying but she didn't move her head. She knew he was right, but she didn't like that he was going–not that she didn't have any confidence in Gray. He was a strong mage but the island he was going to was beyond dangerous. It was S-Class for a reason.
"Look… I'll be back before you even know it."
She slowly lifted her head up; rubbing her eyes and cheeks to get rid of the tears still on her face. "You're a bad liar…" she murmured.
Gray moved her head so she was looking at him in the eyes. "I promise you. I'll be back before nightfall." He reached in his pocket and held up a silver key. "Wait for me and I'll prove to you that I'm not a liar." He said and gave her his apartment key.
Talise stared at the key and then at him before she nodded. Gray smiled and ruffled the top of her black hair affectionately.
Several hours passed since Gray left his apartment and Talise was patiently waiting for him. She mentally kicked herself for looking like a crybaby in front of him. But she was more embarrassed at the fact that she blindly followed Gray to his home. She's been friends with him for years, yet she's never been inside his apartment… not once. Unlike him who has been at her house many times before.
Like most people living inside of Magnolia, he resided in an apartment complex. The only people who owned a house were the ones living in the outskirts of the city, like her or they were wealthy enough to keep their home within the city and not have to resort to renting half of it out. Gray lived at the top floor of his complex with only a small bedroom, a tiny bathroom, and a living room connecting to a kitchenette. It had the bare essentials since he was always at the guild or on job requests. So furniture was near to none; making Talise use one of Gray's pillows as a chair in the living room.
As the minutes passed, Talise sat on the pillow… waiting. Her stomach churned with anxiety. It was killing her that she was just waiting while Gray was off getting the pink knuckle-head, his cat and the blonde. She would've killed the dragon idiot if she hadn't promised to keep him safe.
Talise apologized to Lisanna again for not having Natsu in check. If she had been here, the idiot wouldn't have pulled this stupid stunt in the first place. Her eyes watered at the thought of Lisanna…
Of Gray…
And then of her father.
She bowed her head. Her shoulders trembled with fear.
"Please, come back." she muttered as tears rolled down her face again.
The next day, the sun slowly rose high up in the sky. Sunlight trailed between the small cracks of the blinds in the room. The bright ray managed to hit Talise's face, causing her to moan. She didn't want to get up, but her back was telling her otherwise. She didn't know why but her bed was more hard than usual. She then slowly opened her eyes and realized she wasn't in bed. She wasn't even in her room.
Talise shook her head and tried to remember what happened. Yesterday… Gray…
She quickly stood up and ran to Gray's bedroom. It was empty. She checked the bathroom. Empty. The living room and kitchenette, all of them were empty. Talise stood in the middle of Gray's small kitchen and felt miserable. She dropped to her knees and gripped her fists.
"The idiot… he never came back last night." she muttered.
She stayed in place for what seemed like an hour. It wasn't long before she lifted herself up and left Gray's kitchen. She walked to the door and checked the knob. It was still unlocked. Talise didn't lock it just in case Gray did come back during the night. She didn't want him to be locked out and sleep out in the cold. But that didn't matter, since he didn't return.
With a frown, Talise took the key Gray had entrusted her with, locked the door, and left.
After stopping at her house to take a shower and change into a new pair of clothes, Talise made her way to the guild. She knew she was four hours late, but she didn't care. When she walked in Mirajane tried to speak to her about what happened after she and Gray left but Talise didn't say anything. She only headed towards the kitchen and started prepping for the upcoming orders.
Following a full hour of service, Mira went inside the kitchen to talk to Talise. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Talise didn't say anything as she started chopping several cabbage heads.
"Come on Tali, talk to me. You're making me worry."
Again she said nothing.
"If this is about Gray going after Natsu and the rest, you don't have to worry. He'll be back before you even–" Mira jumped as Talise brought the knife she had down really hard on the cutting board.
Talise stared at the knife and muttered, "He told me he was going to be back before nightfall."
Mirajane observed Talise for a while before she made a weak smile. "Y–You know… it's impossible for him to do it before nightfall. At best, he needs a day… if not a little more, depending on how far Natsu and the rest have gone." Mira watched as Talise took her knife again and continued chopping the cabbage. "You'll see. By tomorrow, Gray will be back with Natsu, Lucy, and Happy."
The chef said nothing as she placed the cabbage in a large bowl and began washing it thoroughly. Mira sighed and went back outside. She hoped, for Talise's sake, that she would be right and that Gray would come back the next day.
The following day, Gray still wasn't back.
Or the next.
Three days passed since his departure for Team Natsu and since then Talise has been getting worrier as well as angrier.
Most people tried not to bring up Gray in fear that she would blow up on them. She had stormed out in anger twice when several people had mentioned the ice mage wasn't back yet. It wasn't until the evening of the third day that rumor spread around about the Master sending Erza after the four of them. Knowing Erza was after the idiots made Talise worry less, but her anger didn't settle down.
Two more days passed and she knew she was at her limit.
At the end of the fifth day Talise gave up on being angry. She just wanted everyone to come back safely. Even Erza, however scary she was to Talise. At this point she knew the idiots were trying doing the S-Class mission. With Erza at their aid, maybe they would be able to complete it and come home alive. The real question was how much longer did she need to wait for Gray and the others to return?
Talise sighed and threw herself over the coffee table in her living room.
The key Gray gave her was set right in front of her. Every day, after work, she'd stop by his apartment and hoped he was pulling a mean prank on her. But each time she looked for Gray in his small apartment she grew sadder at the reality. Talise rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears she had.
She then turned to the Lisanna's memorial with a sigh. "Why did we fall in love with a bunch of morons, Lisa?"
The flames of the candles flickered and she took that as an I–Don't–Know. Talise groaned and slid off the table. She lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling above.
The cook prayed they were alright. She didn't want Lisanna's portrait to be joined by anyone else's.
