A/N: I really just want to get to Lullabye already, but this has to be done so bear with me. This chapter is mostly just filler (Macao, Everlue), so I glossed over some things that are quite similar to canon. Really, I only included the whole Macao thing so I could explain why I toned down Gray's stripping habit. We'll get Lullabye next chapter though! XD
I'm actually kind of proud of myself for getting this written in two weeks—I'm not the most prolific (or motivated) writer, but I'm hoping to set myself on a two-week update schedule (posting every other Wednesday) so lets see if I stick to it, haha.
Well, without further ado, the second installment of though the stars walk backward.
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though the stars walk backward
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Chapter 2
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Meeting Fairy Tail was… interesting, to say the least. Gray just wasn't sure if it was a good kind of interesting or not yet. He ducked a flying bar stool. He could definitely see where Natsu got his destructive tendencies from, considering a full-guild knock-down drag-out brawl had broken out within seconds of them entering the hall.
"Is it always like this?" he asked Mirajane.
"Pretty much," she said cheerfully. A stray bottle cracked against the back of her head. Gray winced; Mirajane hardly seemed fazed.
"Oi, cut it out!" a brunette called from across the room. She was cradling a barrel of beer to her chest, and was apparently drinking directly from it. A couple more barrels were stacked on the counter behind her (hopefully they weren't empty already, though Gray wasn't holding his breath). Gray thought her name might be Cana or something. He wasn't really sure; there were too many new faces and he was having a hard time remembering it all. "You're making it hard to drink in peace." Actually, Gray was surprised she was still upright after seeing how much she was drinking. She was treating alcohol like it was water or something.
He edged around the outskirts of the fighting, making it to the (relative) safety of the bar. A cheerful-looking blonde was already sitting there, watching the brawl with something resembling resigned amusement. Her eyes lit up in recognition when she saw him. "You're the new mage Natsu brought back!"
Was that how he was going to be known around here? "Is that… unusual?"
"Natsu's never brought anyone back to join the guild before," the blonde mage explained with a shrug. "The rest of the guild is going to be curious."
Oh. Huh, Gray wondered why Natsu had decided to introduce him to the guild, then.
"Oh, nevermind that!" she said. "I'm Lucy!"
"Gray," he offered.
She brightened. "What type of mage are you?"
"Uh, I practice Ice Make."
"Cool! We have some other maker-types—Laki over there," she gestured at a lavender-haired girl hovering at the opposite end of the guild and staying out of the fight like they were, "practices Wood Make—but I don't think we have any ice mages in the guild." She paused, then added, "I guess we do now."
"What about you?" Gray asked.
"I'm a Celestial Spirit mage," Lucy said proudly. She gestured at the keyring hanging from her belt. There were seven keys hanging from it, four gold and three silver. It was pretty obvious what she was, actually, now that Gray knew to look for it.
He didn't know much about Celestial Spirit magic, but he'd picked up some information over the years as he traveled, what with all the libraries and magic shops he frequented. First, was that Celestial Spirit keys—well, the silver ones; Gray hadn't seen any gold keys being sold in shops—were incredibly expensive. Second, the gold keys were incredibly rare; he was pretty sure there were only twelve of them. Yet Lucy had four—that was practically one third of them. He wondered how she got them all.
"Has Mira given you your guild mark yet?" Lucy asked.
Soft footsteps indicated Mirajane's approach. "Not yet," she said. "I was just about to." She set down the tray she was carrying and reached behind the counter to grab the stamp. It was a deceptively plain thing, a wooden surface with a handle attached. There were no ornaments or complicated designs, and it wasn't gilded like some of the other stamps he'd caught glimpses of when he'd stopped in other guilds in his search. He thought it suited Fairy Tail well.
"Where do you want it?" Mira asked.
Gray shrugged off his shirt and gestured at the right side of his chest, right across from his heart. Maybe it was a little sappy, putting the guild mark there. But even if he'd only been here for a few minutes, not even an hour yet, he thought Fairy Tail could be a guild to be proud of. Maybe he'd even stay, after undoing Iced Shell.
Mira brought the stamp down, leaving behind an inky-blue emblem on his chest. Gray traced it with his finger. Somehow, he'd thought he'd feel heavier, chained down to a guild. Instead, it fit like it was meant to be there.
She gave him a smile. "Welcome to Fairy Tail."
Mira gave him the rundown on Igneel—how the dragon was Natsu's father and had just up and disappeared one day seven years ago, and how he had taught Natsu his dragonslayer magic—so Gray couldn't say he was too surprised when Natsu ran out to rescue their missing guild member (Macao, was it?) after Romeo burst into the guild, nearly in tears. However, he was surprised when Mira suggested he go after him.
Natsu didn't protest, though, when he'd caught up to him, so Gray decided to take that as agreement.
Gray sighed in contentment as the cool winds of Mount Hakobe brushed his skin. Even after living four years here, he still wasn't used to how hot Fiore got in the summer sometimes; it was very different from Isvan, which was cold practically year-round. He was actually glad he followed Natsu now.
"Hey, ice block, where'd your shirt go?"
"Huh?" Gray glanced down at his bare chest and cursed. He thought he'd finally managed to curb the habit years ago—it drew too much attention to him when he was traveling, plus all the lost clothing had started to become a serious financial drain.
It was probably resurfacing now because the cold of Mount Hakobe reminded of Ur's training, though it was certainly a lot milder than the freezing temperatures of an Isvanian blizzard.
"Aren't you cold?" Happy asked from his perch on Natsu's shoulder.
"The cold doesn't really affect me," Gray said. "I'm used to it." He trudged after Natsu and Happy. The snow here wasn't too bad, he mused. At least it was only a couple feet deep, and was mostly hard anyway, so they didn't sink into it too much.
The snowstorm was kind of annoying, though, and by the time they made it halfway up the mountain, there was a light dusting of snow over his hair. None of the snow that landed on Natsu stayed, melting almost immediately, and Gray guessed Natsu was probably flaring his magic around him to keep warm.
"Macao!" Natsu shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. Up here, the air was clearer, and his voice carried despite the raging winds.
"Quit it!" Gray snapped. "You'll draw the vulcans' attention."
As if to prove his point, there was a roar, and a giant ape-like creature launched itself over the ridge at them. Cracks spread out on the ground from where it hit, ripping through the ice.
Fire ringed Natsu's fists. "Hey monkey! Where's Macao?"
The vulcan just growled at them.
Gray knew for a fact that they could talk, which meant it was just choosing not to. He cracked his knuckles. "Guess we're doing this the hard way then."
With the both of them, it was laughably easy to defeat one vulcan, especially since all it knew how to do was punch at them. They didn't even need magic to do it. Gray easily fell in step with Natsu, and they were surprisingly in sync as they fought.
It turned out to be a good thing they hadn't used magic. A brilliant golden light emanated from where the vulcan had fallen, and it shrunk until it transformed into a mage with dark blue hair, who Gray assumed was Macao.
"He must've used take-over magic," Happy commented, fluttering back down now that the fighting was over.
Oh, that was right. Vulcans were capable of that, weren't they? Gray moved towards him. "Let's get him out of the cold winds." Just because he wasn't affected by it didn't mean everyone else was immune.
There was a rather spacious ice cave just a few meters away, and they set Macao down there. Gray catalogued the other mage's injuries. They didn't appear to be too bad, just a few bruises and scrapes from fighting them (which Gray felt kind of guilty about), plus a few older ones which Gray figured he'd gotten from taking out the other vulcans. Nothing life-threatening on its own.
Macao was still unconscious though, and that in and of itself could be dangerous, especially in this kind of weather. Plus, there was no way of knowing just how long he had been under the influence of the take over magic.
Natsu crouched down next to him. "Macao! Open your eyes!" This elicited no response. "Romeo's waiting for you, dammit!"
At that, the man's eyes fluttered, then opened, and Gray could see that Natsu was visibly relieved. "Damn," Macao groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face. He laughed self-deprecatingly. "I took out nineteen of them, but I got taken over by the last one. Pretty pathetic, huh?"
"That's still impressive," Gray said, before Natsu could respond. "And it's not pathetic to get caught off guard. We all are, sometimes."
The mage pushed himself into a sitting position. "Thanks, kid." Macao looked at Gray curiously. "Who're you?"
"Gray Fullbuster," he answered. "I'm new."
Something almost like puzzlement flashed over the other mage's face, and Gray swore he saw Macao's eyes flick between Natsu and himself. When he blinked again, though, Natsu was helping Macao up, and Gray decided he probably just imagined it.
Later, seeing the happiness light up Romeo's face as he tackled Macao into a hug that bowled him over, Gray found a smile creeping onto his face despite himself. Even after all these years, the loss of his family was a dull throbbing wound, but seeing others so happy made some of that pain ebb away. At least they were still whole.
And, if the brawl earlier was any indication, clearly Fairy Tail mages were all a little bit crazy. But they were happy too, full of laughter and a sense of companionship that Gray hadn't even realized he missed, nevermind needed.
He thought he could get used to this.
Natsu casually slid open Gray's window and hopped inside. He was even considerate enough to shut it after him.
Gray's scent wasn't fully imprinted in this apartment yet—he had just moved in—and it still mostly smelled like plaster and newly-dried paint. Traces of the pine trees and freshly-fallen snow that was Gray's scent lingered, though, but they were all somewhat stale. The ice block wasn't home, then.
That was alright. Natsu could wait.
He peered through Gray's cupboards and grinned at the assortment of snacks. Well, most of them were nonperishables—what, did the Ice Princess think he needed to stockpile for a famine or something?—but they were pretty good regardless. He made sure to grab some canned tuna for Happy as well. They weren't as good as fresh fish, but if Happy ran out, they'd do in a pinch.
He made himself at home on Gray's new sofa, snacks in hand. It was pretty comfortable—Lucy had good taste. At least, he was pretty sure it was Lucy who picked out most of this furniture; the Ice Block hadn't seemed particularly interested in filling up his apartment when Lucy had dragged him out furniture-shopping yesterday.
He was in the process of demolishing a bag of chips when he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, and the front door opened to reveal Gray standing there. Natsu waved.
Gray's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing in my apartment?"
"Hey to you too, Ice Princess."
"You have five seconds to get out before I freeze you where you are," Gray threatened.
"Ha, I'd like to see you try!" Natsu retorted, slipping into a fighting stance. Gray looked like he might attack for about two seconds, before the tension eased out of his frame. He shoved the door shut behind him and crossed the room to plop himself down in the armchair opposite Natsu.
Privately, Natsu was disappointed. Fighting Gray was exhilarating; the ice mage could match him blow for blow, ice shields barely faltering against his fire. The spar he'd had against him in the guild hall the day they joined, when he'd pulled Gray into the brawl, had been the most fun he'd had in ages.
...Even if they did end up kind of trashing the guild. He really hoped Erza didn't catch wind of that. Not only because she was scary when she was mad and Natsu didn't want to face her, but also because Gray had never met her before. Maybe Natsu should warn him about her?
Nah. Gray could figure it out himself. Actually, Natsu would enjoy seeing Gray meet Erza.
"You're lucky I don't want to damage my new apartment," Gray grumbled. He eyed Natsu and Happy. "So why are you two here anyway?"
"Form a team with us!" Natsu blurted before he could stop himself. Sure, he'd been thinking of asking Gray to join his team despite it always having been just he and Happy for all these years—begrudgingly, he could admit to himself that the other mage was strong, and Natsu actually found himself liking him (not that he would ever say that out loud)—but he hadn't actually meant to ask now. He'd just wanted to check out the other mage's place.
"Yeah!" Happy cheered, and Natsu absolutely could not take it back now.
Gray's brows furrowed. "A team?"
"Sometimes, guildmates band together—" Happy started.
Gray cut him off. "I know what a team is."
"Great, let's get going then!" Natsu leapt to his feet.
"Hold it, flamebrain. I haven't actually agreed yet," Gray said.
Natsu stared at him, before huffing. He supposed that was true. But he hadn't really considered Gray not agreeing. "Well, do you want to or not?"
"...Fine," Gray said. "Why not, I guess. There was a job I'd been planning on taking anyway, so we might as well."
He pulled a job flyer Natsu vaguely remembered seeing on the board but hadn't taken. He'd thought it too boring at the time. "Can't we do another one?" Natsu complained. "Getting a book is boring."
"Quit complaining," Gray said. "If you don't like it, you don't have to come."
Reluctantly, Natsu let it drop. They'd just have to take a more exciting job after this one. He glanced over at the actual details on the paper, stopping at the words "pervert" and "blonde maids." An idea popped into his head to get back at Gray. If they were going to do this, the least he could do was get some entertainment out of it, after all.
"It says here that he's hiring blond maids…" Natsu leaned in to pretend-whisper to Happy, though he kept his voice loud enough for Gray to overhear. "Let's get Gray to infiltrate the mansion disguised as a maid!"
Gray gave him an unimpressed look. "I am not wearing a maid uniform. Or a blonde wig."
Too bad.
….At least they got to break into Duke Everlue's mansion instead. It was surprisingly easy, despite the Ice Princess insisting they be "subtle" and not letting him punch a hole in the wall. Or burn the whole mansion down. For someone who was so rich, Natsu thought, this Ever-whatsit guy sure could afford to spend more on better security.
They ended up breaking into a storeroom through a window, and spent the next couple of minutes checking the rooms on the second floor. "This is taking forever. Can't we just ask someone where the book is?" Natsu whined.
"The point is not to be seen, moron," Gray said. Natsu was about to snap back when he caught the faint sound of rumbling. Moments later, several maids burst out of the ground carrying brooms, led by one with pink hair. Natsu grinned. Finally! A fight!
He was soon disappointed though. All it took was one punch and the maids went down easily. On the plus side, the next door they tried led to a library, with row upon row of books.
Gray's eyes lit up at the sight, and Natsu wondered why. Did the ice mage really like reading that much? Somehow, he had a feeling that wasn't it. What was the Ice Princess hiding?
Now, he knew he wasn't exactly known for thinking things through—and for good reason; punching stuff was much more fun than agonizing over everything—but he realized he didn't really know much about Gray. The other mage hadn't told him anything about his past, his family, or why he was traveling alone in Hargeon.
Then again, Natsu probably shouldn't pry. Almost everyone in Fairy Tail had their secrets, after all—he still didn't know Erza's past or why Cana got weird whenever he talked about Igneel (was it something to do with dragons? Or dads?). A lot of them were orphans, so family was a bit of a touchy subject. Just because he was okay with talking about Igneel didn't mean the others were as forthcoming.
"We'll split up," Gray told him. "You and Happy take the left half and I'll take the right."
...Which book were they searching for again? Natsu hadn't really paid much attention when the client had been briefing them. Of course, he wasn't going to admit that to Gray, so he wandered over to the shelf, pulling out random books that caught his eye. "A romance novel, a magic-thingy, a blue book, another book…"
"Ooh, an encyclopedia of fish!" Happy cheered.
Natsu could practically hear the scowl in Gray's voice when he spoke. "Are either of you even taking this seriously?"
Natsu ignored him. He pulled out the next book that caught his eye, one that glittered in the lighting. "Oh hey, a golden book!"
Gray groaned in frustration. "At least try to…" he cut himself off as he turned around and caught sight of the book Natsu was holding, the word Daybreak emblazoned on its cover. "Huh, looks like you found it."
"Wait, seriously?" Natsu blinked in surprise. He hadn't actually expected it to be that easy to find the book. Boring, sure, but even he knew it'd be hard to find one book in a library this big. It was why he just wanted to burn the whole place down; it'd save them the trouble.
Well, that was certainly an easy two thousand Jewels. He wasn't complaining though; the sooner they finished this job, the sooner they could take a fun one… preferably before Erza came back from hers and found out about his new damage reports.
Natsu took immense satisfaction in lighting the book on fire. It was probably going to be the most fun he'd be getting on this job, after all.
Except, that wasn't really accurate because as soon as he'd burnt the book, the duke guy had appeared in a fit of rage and Natsu ended up getting to beat up two mercenaries he'd hired, who called themselves the Vanish Brothers or something, which Natsu personally thought was stupid. It wasn't as though they vanished or anything.
Apparently they were supposed to be hot stuff too. "They're from the Southern Wolves Mercenary Guild," Happy told them. He decided to trust his partner on this one; it wasn't as though Natsu knew (or cared) who they were or where they came from.
So while Natsu left Gray to handle the Duke, he took care of the mercenaries. They ended up being pretty pathetic; he'd faced much tougher opponents before.
"Watch it, idiot!" Gray snapped, Everlue frozen to the ground next to him. Dotting the area around them were several holes, and remembering Everlue's entrance in the library, Natsu guessed he practiced some sort of earth magic. "You almost hit us! And you overdid it again!" He gestured at the smoke billowing up from the newly-demolished wall.
Ah, oops. Maybe that was a little overkill… But admitting that would mean admitting that Gray was right, so Natsu just crossed his arms and scowled.
Gray cursed, then, in an echo of the day they'd met, grabbed Natsu by the arm and dragged him out of the mansion via the missing wall, ignoring Duke-guy's enraged spluttering from behind them. "Hey!" Natsu protested.
"You just destroyed Everlue's mansion. Do you want to be here when the Rune Knights show up and start making inquiries about the damages?"
Well, no, he didn't, but… "Don't tell me what to do, Snowflake!"
Gray rolled his eyes.
"You wanna start something?" Natsu was itching for a proper fight; he figured it was the least Gray owed him for putting up with this job. Just then, Happy swooped out of the sky, clutching something golden in his paws. Natsu reluctantly backed off.
Gray smiled when he saw what Happy was carrying, and Natsu found himself curious about what it was. "You've got it?" Gray asked.
"Aye!" Happy dropped the gold thing in Gray's hand. Upon closer inspection, it was a key of sorts.
Natsu squinted at it. Wasn't that like Lucy's spirit keys? "Yes," Gray said, and Natsu started in surprise. He hadn't even realized he'd said anything out loud.
Gray suddenly veered down an alleyway, just as a battalion of Rune Knights streamed past the way they came. He kept speaking as though nothing had happened, explaining, "I saw it when I was fighting Everlue and figured Lucy would probably be a better holder than him."
"That's probably true," Natsu admitted, resigning himself to agreeing with Gray.
"Speaking of Everlue…" Gray started, glancing over at him. They slowed to a walk, confident that they were far enough from the mansion. The townspeople barely gave them a second glance. "Did you have to burn Daybreak right then and there? I'd have liked a chance to read the book before you burned it to a crisp."
Natsu frowned. "Huh? Why'd you want to do that? Reading is boring."
"Forgive me for wanting to find out why someone was willing to pay two thousand Jewels for us to destroy a book," Gray said scathingly. "You don't find that suspicious at all?"
He shrugged. He'd never really thought to consider it, actually. His modus operandi was usually just follow the direction the client pointed at him, beat stuff up, job done. Of course, sometimes it got more complicated than that, but that was what Happy was for. What did it matter why their client wanted them to destroy the book?
Their client's mansion, like the Duke's, was slightly separated from the main part of the town (Natsu thought it might be called Shiro-something. Shirosamu? No, wait, it was Shirotsume). It wasn't as big, obviously, but it was still elegant and quite obviously expensive.
The problem was, it smelled all wrong. Well, it wasn't that it was wrong, per se… more that everything smelled kind of empty, as though the house hadn't been inhabited for a while. The client and his wife's scents didn't linger in the corners like the way it should've, if this was actually their home. In fact, it kind of smelled a little like Gray's apartment, too clean and new and not lived in.
Natsu would freely admit that he wasn't the smartest in Fairy Tail (that honor probably fell to Levy or Freed, or maybe Lucy), but he could definitely put the pieces together. Namely, that this wasn't their client's actual house, so they probably weren't as rich as they wanted to seem, especially if they went to all the trouble of renting a different property just for appearances' sake.
"Thank you!" Melon said gratefully, when they reported that they'd destroyed the book. He reached for a pocket of money sitting next to him. "I suppose you'll be wanting your payment then?"
Natsu made a split-second decision. It wouldn't be fair to take that much money if their clients weren't actually able to afford it—especially not now when the reward had been raised to two million. It wasn't like the job had been that hard, after all, and it didn't feel right to just accept two million from people who might be left struggling from it. It wasn't as though Natsu was starving for money.
Besides, the reward being that high? It reeked of desperation, and Natsu got the sense that it probably had something to do with their client's past, or maybe their family.
"Nah, you keep it," he said casually, folding his arms behind his head.
Melon looked startled. Gray glanced over at him in surprise, but he kept silent, seemingly trusting Natsu to know what he was doing. ...If Natsu was honest with himself, that trust warmed him. Just a little! It wasn't as though he cared about what the Ice Block thought…
"You're sure?" Melon asked.
Natsu waved it off. "Yeah. C'mon guys, lets go home." He turned. "You too, Melon. Go back to your real home."
He left them standing in shock behind him.
"What was that about?" Gray asked, catching up to him. "Was there a reason you didn't accept the money?" He didn't seem angry, just a tad annoyed, but mostly curious. Natsu left it up to Happy to explain, since his partner knew him well enough to pick up on the little cues. Plus, Happy didn't have as strong a sense of smell as him, but even he would have picked up on the differences in smell.
Gray nodded when he finished. "Okay," he said simply, and left it at that.
Maybe the Ice Princess wasn't as annoying as he thought.
Of course, they got lost the next day, and Natsu immediately took that back. The ice jerk was exacting as annoying as he thought. Just to spite him, Natsu refused to admit they were lost. He was sure Happy's nose would lead them back… eventually.
Gray threw up his hands in exasperation. "How did you even get lost in the first place? You live in Magnolia—shouldn't you know how to get there? Actually, for that matter, why didn't we just take a train instead of walking all the way from Shirotsume town?"
Natsu felt queasy just thinking about trains. Yeah, he wasn't going to get on that death trap if he could avoid it. "Fuck you," he said, very eloquently.
Luckily, he spotted someone on the road ahead of them. It turned out to be Cana. ...He wasn't quite sure where he stood with Cana. Sure, she and Erza had been at the guild the longest, and he would fight for any of his guildmates, but the two of them had just never really clicked, especially since Cana's style was pretty different from his own, all evasion and tactics. They were friends, yes, but ultimately, Natsu had to admit that they didn't really interact as much as he did, with, say, Erza or Elfman, or even Mira and Lucy.
Certainly not as much as he had with Lisanna. And it had been over two years now, but it still hurt. She had been his best friend for years, ever since she and Mira and Elfman joined Fairy Tail. They'd hatched Happy together, and he still missed her.
The point was, Natsu didn't really get Cana. But in the short days since he'd joined, Gray and Cana had gotten along really well. Natsu tried not to be jealous; it wasn't as though he had a monopoly on Gray, after all (even if he had been the one to meet Gray first). Besides, he told himself, if Cana wanted the Ice Block, she could have him.
"Hey you two!" Cana said cheerfully, cards tucked away neatly in a blue pouch at her side. Unsurprisingly, she was carrying a bottle of alcohol in one hand, even though she was probably getting back from a job.
"Cana," Gray greeted. "Good thing we ran into you. Do you know where we are? This idiot," he jabbed a thumb in Natsu's direction; Natsu glared, "got us lost."
Cana took a swig of her drink. "These woods right here are a shortcut back to Magnolia." She gestured at the trees around them, practically pressing up against the dirt-trodden road they stood on.
"See?" Happy said. He stuck his nose in the air faux-primly. "I told you we were going the right way. You shouldn't have doubted my nose."
"Yeah, Popsicle," Natsu jumped in.
Cana watched them, a smirk playing on her lips as she said offhandedly, "You might want to head back soon; I heard Erza's on her way back from her job."
Natsu cringed. That sounded more like incentive to not go back. Maybe if they dawdled long enough, Erza would leave on another job?
Gray tilted his head curiously. "You mean Titania Erza? Nicknamed the Queen of the Fairies?"
"That's the one," Cana affirmed.
"What's she like?"
Natsu shivered. "Scary."
"A demon," Happy agreed.
"Is she really that bad?" Gray asked, bemused. There was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips, and his eyes shone with mirth. Natsu scowled; the asshole was laughing at them. Well, they'd see who got the last laugh when Gray met Erza. Is she really that bad, ha!
"Just wait until you meet her," Natsu said darkly.
It would be soon, too, Natsu thought gleefully. He couldn't wait.
A/N: Oh my god, I absolutely cannot do Happy. Half the time I forget he's even there, and the other half I don't know what to do with him, so he just keeps saying "Aye." Oops.
Also, thing is, I can't always swap Lucy into Gray's place (she isn't necessarily going to take the same jobs as him, especially since they have different strength levels), plus I wanted Gray to interact with different Fairy Tail members, so we get Cana instead! And she is totally enjoying how Natsu's terrified of Erza.
And we get to see some of Natsu's point of view! I've decided I'm going to alternate between Natsu and Gray, though I'll probably stick with Gray more if only because I have a better grasp of his character, if not necessarily his voice.
Also, I feel like Fairy Tail would be a bit overwhelming at first for anybody, not just Lucy, so we have a bit of "what the hell is this, everyone is crazy" from Gray.
The fight scenes are a bit shorter this time around, because, well, not to bash Lucy or anything—she's great, even if she's not my favorite—but fighting-wise, she's quite a bit weaker than the rest of Team Natsu (Happy not included). I'm pretty sure most of the Tenrou Team/Fairy Tail's main cast is stronger than she is, actually. So since it's Gray who's doing the fighting and not Lucy, the opponents seem a bit weaker (especially considering these were the opponents Natsu could literally one-shot if he wanted to).
Gray's stripping habit is explained, too. Like, I know that the whole thing is pretty integral to canon!Gray's character, but I chose to tone it down a little, since i'm not a huge fan of him stripping every other minute. Basically, I figured that since this Gray was traveling by himself and pursuing leads to Iced Shell, he probably wouldn't want to draw as much attention to himself, whereas Canon!Gray didn't have to worry about that since he was a Fairy Tail mage, and he knew they would have his back should anything go amiss (like, say, being arrested for public indecency). Plus, I always figured the stripping habit was something he could have trained himself out of but didn't, because it was a piece of Ur, a reminder of her training, if that makes any sense.
If I'm honest, I'm not too happy with this ending; it feels way too rushed. But I really had no clue how to end it, so I just decided to break it off there.
As always, please leave a review and let me know what you think! All feedback is welcome.
~ Silver Snowblossom