A/N: OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY EVERYONE. I'm used to daily updates but having to go both Wednesday and Thursday without updating hurt SO FREAKING BAD OMG I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO UPDATE SOONER ;_; The updates might be infrequent next week too because of my studying for exams (I'll try to slip on or something) but don't expect something everyday. I'M SO SORRY FOR SETTING THE BAR SO HIGH. ;_;

But here's the second-longest thing in my collection (1,372 words). :D


"Natsu told me there's treasure in the forest," Gray told Erza, sitting next from her at the table. "We should go find it before he does."

"Why would there be treasure in the forest? And, anyway, it's easy to get lost." Erza replied, not removing her glare from Mira's face as she talked.

"Let's make it a contest. Whoever finds the treasure first gets gloating rights. And," Mira smirked, "the loser has to kiss Gray."

"That makes me sound like a bad person!" Gray protested at the same time Erza said "You're on."

"I'm taking Gray with me, though," Erza added after a few seconds. "He might get lost. You know how boys are."

Mira smirked, and Gray pouted. "I don't get lost like Natsu does! He's hopeless, that Flame-brain."

"Let's head out. It's already noon," Mira said abruptly, walking out from the booth and out of the guild, not even checking to see if the other two mages were following her.

Erza grabbed Gray's wrist and dragged him out of the guild. "Did Natsu give you any hints to where this treasure is?"

Gray shook his head. "He just said it's deep in the forest where no one can find it. We'll be able to find it though. You have the great Gray on your side." He smirked when he heard Erza snort. He hasn't called himself the great Gray in years, not since he'd found her crying on the riverbank.

She was much different now, he noticed. She was starting to look like a girl. Her face wasn't chubby like a little girl's anymore and she had a set look in her expression constantly, not that broken look of a lost little girl. She wore armor, maybe to protect her body; but he guessed that it was more to protect her heart. She'd barely let him in, so he doubted anyone else could worm their way into her heart. He knew she'd had it broken on multiple accounts.

He liked hanging out with her. She was brave, bold, and serious, and also seemed irritated by his presence. He knew she wasn't though, or else why would she always drag him along on her "mini-missions," as Master called them.

Everyone thought Erza hated him, but in all reality, she really did care about what happened to him. She might beat him up, but she'd always ask if he was okay with a concerned tone. He thought it was nice to have such a relationship with a girl. Sometimes, he even forgot she was a girl.

"C'mon, Icicle-brain," she said sternly, pulling on his wrist and yanking him from his thoughts. "You got me into this mess. Help me find that treasure."

She smiled when he nodded obediently. She let him take the lead, giving him the benefit of the doubt. She really didn't think he could find this said treasure, and was relatively sure that there wasn't really any treasure. Natsu was full of crap, and she was sure someone had put Natsu up to making Gray look like an idiot.

She really didn't mind going out in the woods with him. He was a nice boy, even if he was a pervert and stripped constantly. He was incredibly loyal, and seemed willing to do anything for her. Gray was her closest friend, someone she could confide in if she was having problems. The only things she never talked to him about were the things that made her cry. He was always squirmish and nervous when she cried, as though he wasn't sure how to handle it. She didn't blame him, though. She wasn't comfortable with tears either. Another reason why she liked him was the fact that they agreed on nearly everything.

She hid their friendship by being harsh because she really didn't want him to be as attached as he was. She didn't want to betray him or hurt him. She'd hurt her friends before, and she didn't want to hurt Gray. He'd been through things similar to what she'd gone through, so they could relate in the "parentless" area.

They had a lot in common, but they were different too. She didn't rely on him to help her at weren't defined by the other like Levy, Jet and Droy were. You could define Levy by herself, but Jet and Droy were "Levy's lost puppies." Gray was his own person, different than Erza. She liked that he wasn't clingy or needy like some people. She truly liked having him around to pick at because he'd try and pick back. He wasn't afraid of her, and she appreciated that.

"Erza?" Gray asked nervously, pulling the twelve-year-old from her thoughts, "I think I got us lost."

The Exquip mage looked around and saw that, yes, this part of the forest was unfamiliar, dark and certainly scary. She sighed, even though a splinter of fear wormed its way into her heart. "How long have we been lost?" She tried to and think the situation out logically, starting with finding out how far from the familiar part was. "Wait a minute. We're not lost if we're on a treasure hunt. We're just in uncharted territory." She wanted to reassure the younger boy, since he seemed terrified out of his mind. She laced her fingers through his and squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him. "I'll protect you if there's a monster waiting to attack us," she added.

"O-okay," he stammered, clutching her hand still. Her face was slightly flushed from the action, because she'd seen Cana hold hands with her "boyfriends," she called them, but this was completely different, she told herself. Gray was scared, and she was giving a bit of herself to tell him she was there.

Maybe, subconsciously, they were both giving each other a form of support. Erza was lending him her bravery, and he was lending her his trust.

They wandered aimlessly through the forest for about two hours, giving each other calming reassurances as they went because Erza had started getting afraid that they wouldn't find the entrance to the forest after a lot of misleading trails and startling sounds. Erza hated that she'd let the splinter dig deeper and deeper, but Gray had been there and reassured her toward the end. They eventually found themselves at the entrance of the forest, having been more interested in getting out of the forest instead if searching for the rumored treasure. Gray had squeezed her hand when they caught the bright ribbons of light showing the sunset.

Erza's heart rose until she saw Mira with a small box at the entrance to the forest, hands on her hips. "You lost, Erza. Remember what we agreed on?" Mira smirked, making Erza want to punch her in the face. She had just spent hours in a forest after getting lost, and she was not in the mood to deal with Mira and her stupid bets.

"Fine," Erza said defiantly, dropping Gray's hand, grasping his shoulders, and smashing her lips to his.

Gray's half-lidded eyes flew open in shock, having completely forgotten that the loser was supposed to kiss him. Was he supposed to kiss her back? Would she think he was a bad person because he didn't? She broke away before he could do anything and stormed off, leaving Gray in a daze.

He stood there, drop-jawed, watching her stomp off to wherever she was going, still in shock. Erza Scarlet had just kissed him, Gray Fullbuster.

Mira had lost her smirk and was looking between him and her. "Did.. What... Why... Did that just happen? Or was I hallucinating?" She managed to ask Gray, who blinked rapidly to try to make sense of whatever just happened.

"I have no idea, but she's gotta be pissed if she stormed off like that," Gray said with a shrug, not really sure if it had just happened, because his brain was still screaming that he'd been kissed by a girl, by Erza Scarlet, no less.

"Maybe you're just that bad of a kisser," Mira's smirk returned as she left to go back to the guild, leaving Gray to walk to the guild alone.

That hadn't been the treasure hunt he'd been expecting.


A/N: Gray got a kiss! Woo!