Hi! I'm back with my second Grayza fic! It's been soooo long, I wouldn't have guessed I would be writing another after so many years. But here I am! My love for Grayza hasn't died, and after being re-watching some old episodes of Fairy Tail I felt the need to do more for this almost dead ship :(
This fanfiction is somehow referenced in my previous story (Be As One), but they can be read separately.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, nor its characters.
Chapter 1: "I don't like her"
Year X776. As usual, it was a loud and exuberant day in Fairy Tail. A red haired girl had recently joined by an old friend's recommendation, Erza Scarlet was her name. Only a few weeks have passed since she stepped for the first time in the guild hall, but she already built her reputation. Her strength and serious mood were no joke, and even being only 11 years old most of her guild-mates feared her and so preferred to keep their distance. That is why she was always alone.
"Yo! Gray!"
"Cana"
The little girl approached and sat in front of the boy who was looking at some scattered papers in no specific order.
"What are you doing?" she curiously asked, noticing the mess he had all over the table.
"Just watching all these quests the old man won't let me do" Gray replied with a sigh, lying his head over the papers.
Cana took a few requests and read them aloud.
"Catching a criminal? Fighting a dragon? Stealing an item from a dark guild?... We are still too young for those quests!" said Cana amused by her friend's confidence.
"I'm strong!"
"Haha yeah of course, that's why you always lose when you fight Erza" said Cana laughing to mock Gray "Well, if you can call that a fight because it's always her just kicking your ass hahaha"
"Hey! Don't make fun of me!" answered a really pissed Gray.
"Sorry sorry" she apologized trying to regain composure "Anyway, she is not here so I didn't expect to find you here either"
"Eh?" Gray didn't understand what she meant "Why?"
"Come on. You are always after her"
"I'm not!" Gray jumped from his seat visible embarrassed and tried to defend himself.
"Yes you are!" Cana enjoyed pulling his leg.
"I'm not!"
"I see. So you are good friends with Erza" a third voice appeared catching them by surprise.
The two children looked at Makarov standing beside the table smiling at them.
"Master!"
"I thought it might be harder for Erza to find her place here, but it seems you are helping her a lot" he made a pause to look at them "There are things kids can handle better than adults. Thank you for that"
Cana knew she didn't really do that much because she had barely talked to Erza, but she nodded anyway. Gray on the other hand wanted really bad to tell him wrong and assure him they were not friends. The immaturity of a young boy, whose pride and ego had been broken by a little girl who refused to accept him as her superior.
"I-…" but the moment he opened his mouth, flashbacks from their last encounter blocked his thoughts: the sunset, the river, her loneliness… her tears. He witnessed something that changed forever the way he looked at her. But because of that he didn't know what to think about Erza anymore! Were they… friends now?
Gray didn't want to keep thinking about that, he didn't want to deal with the contradictory emotions he felt.
"Forget about that, old man. Just give me a quest! I'm tired of being left behind"
"Ho ho~ Kids these days are so full of energy, it makes me jealous" Makarov knew his children very well and of course the erratic behavior of Gray didn't pass unnoticed "Gray, I have a special quest just for you" he said now in a serious tone.
"Yes! What is it?"
"I need you to deliver a message"
The young boy was a bit disappointed since he expected a bigger challenge –like fighting beasts or destroying something– But it still seemed to be important so he didn't complain.
"Ok, I'll do it! Where is it? How is it a special mission? Do you need me for my ice magic? Is it dangerous?" inquired Gray eager to do something big.
"… Why do you seem to want to be in danger?" asked Cana smiling but not quite understanding this need to probe himself so bad.
"Mmm as I said before, there are things that kids can do better than adults. And I want you to find Erza and give her my message"
"Eeeeeeeh?"
"She hasn't been here lately and I am busy dealing with the council. I'm sure you'll do it better"
"I don't want to"
"If you aspire to be a good wizard you can't decline quests like this. Now come here"
And with that said, Makarov took the boy to lecture him and explain the details of the message he was supposed to deliver.
A few hours passed. Gray left the guild as soon as the master let his guard down and wasn't willing to return until the whole special quest stuff was forgotten.
'What's wrong with the old man? If he needs to talk to Erza he can do it himself! I bet she is not here because she is actually doing a real quest. And why do people keep saying she is my friend? Even Cana is making fun of me!... Erza said she liked to be alone, so why should I be with her?… mmh I know she was lying. And if that's a lie then why is she so rude to everyone?! Or is it just me? Damn! Not that I care about that. I have more important things to do than taking care of the new girl… at least I'd like to know if she's alright… but of course she is, she is Erza, she doesn't need me… I guess'
Gray kept thinking to himself, cursing and regretting in loop, kicking rocks as he passed by and losing his shirt somewhere he didn't care. Suddenly he stopped… and opened his eyes in disbelief.
Why… was he standing by the riverbank?
Without noticing, his path had led him there… but why? He didn't want to fight her anymore. Well, not now at least. Then why did he find himself looking for her? Was it because the master asked him? Or had it become a habit?
"Aaaaaah!" he shouted defeated. Ok, he would look for Erza, otherwise it seemed that neither his mind nor his legs would allow him to focus on anything else.
Gray wouldn't admit it, but he more or less knew the places she used to visit. In an afternoon like this, if she wasn't around the river then she would probably be training in the forest… alone, of course.
He turned to look up the hill, it wasn't so far away from where he was right now. The boy took a deep breath and started his way, still not sure of what he should do after that.
