GrayZa Week 2020: Day One, Ocean; & Day Three, Mythology
Author's Note: happy grayza week! this is so late, and i intended to do different things for the ocean and mythology prompt, but i figured i may as well combine them so here it is. it's been a while since i've written them, so i hope they're ic at least, but do enjoy this! it was fun to write (and definitely not what i'd first envisioned) and i hope you all like it too.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
It's only when Lucy hosts (albeit reluctantly, with the way they showed up at her gigantic mansion of a house uninvited) a pool party that Erza wonders how she's never noticed it before. She's been friends with him since she was a young child and yet somehow this has slipped past her time and time again.
Erza is wading her way through the shallow end of the pool when her eyes drift to a lone figure standing several metres away from everyone else. He hasn't made a single move to inch closer to the chlorinated water like the rest of their friends have, instead eyeing the water intensely, almost longingly, before she watches him tear his gaze away.
Her eyes narrow at his half-naked form as instead of moving forward, he moves in the opposite direction. He walks toward the line of beach chairs settled beneath several umbrellas of shade and occupies the first one he sees. Gray lies back lazily with his limbs sprawled in every direction, and simply gazes at his friends splashing through the depths of water.
"Come on, Gray! Get in the water already!" Cana yells, motioning him over with a hand.
This apparently draws everyone else's attention when they too notice the male's reluctance to head in. A chorus of 'Get in, Gray!' sounds all around her, but Gray pays no heed. He shakes his head, pointedly leaning further back into the chair and crosses his arms.
"I'll get in later," he replies offhandedly, and her brows crease into a frown. This isn't the first time she's heard him voice that same answer, and while she sees Cana roll her eyes before ultimately letting the topic drop, she can't seem to do the same.
Erza opens her mouth, ready to call him out on it when Natsu emerges from underwater like a wet dog, eyeing him tauntingly. "Is the Ice Princess afraid of a little water?"
To make his point, he proceeds to push a large tidal wave in his direction with the intention of splashing it over him. But Gray moves quicker than she's ever seen him, bolting out of the chair like he's been burnt. He stands a few ways away from the chair, whipping his head around to glare pointedly at Natsu. Gray's eyes are cold and deadly, yet it's the sound that escapes from his mouth that really draws her attention.
Erza swears she hears him hiss; it's sharp and oddly sinister, almost otherworldly, and a shiver runs down her spine.
But the thought doesn't linger in her mind for too long, not when she hears him practically snarl at his pink-haired rival.
"You idiot! You could've hurt someone!" He says it with so much conviction that for a moment, she really believes him; that a little splash of water could actually be so dangerous.
Yet Natsu howls in incredulity, "Hurt someone? It's just water!"
Gray opens his mouth, ready to retort, but something holds him back and she watches him close his mouth. He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. She's unsure what he's going to do next, but the last thing she expects is for him to march off into the house without another word.
Confused and concerned, Erza turns back to Natsu to pin him with a glare. "Look what you've done! Apologise to him later," she scolds, the male opening his mouth in protest.
"But Erza!"
She flashes him another glare of finality as Lucy grabs hold of his arm and drags him away. They share a brief look in understanding, the blonde motioning toward the house. Erza nods, wading toward the steps to climb out of the pool. She grabs one of the clean towels on the rack, wrapping it tightly around her body, and quickly jogs into the direction where she'd seen the boy disappear.
It isn't like him to react so aggressively to something so trivial, even with the childish rivalry he shared with Natsu. It makes her think that there's something much more to it, but she can't begin to fathom what. This may have been the first time she'd seen him behave in such a manner yet somehow, she can draw relations back to previous similar situations.
For one, she doesn't think she's ever actually seen him swim. She's known him for a very long time, and yet the boy has managed to avoid every getting himself wet every time he was around her, or one of their friends. While they've been to the beach a handful of times together, she's never once seen him dip his toes into the water. Instead, he takes his place on the soft sand, either basking under the sun's rays, building sandcastles, racing Natsu, or playing beach volleyball.
And when someone does try to get him closer to the water, he's especially reluctant, replying with the same thing: "I'll get in later."
But he never does.
By the time they've exhausted themselves out and are ready to head home, Gray is already dressed. He's never stepped into the water, but no one seems to have noticed it, too tired to think of anything else but the promises of rest. Erza only realises once she's back in her apartment, but she's never dwelled on it for more than a second. Though to be fair, the topic of discussion has never come up between them before, and now that it has, perhaps it's the right time.
With that thought in her mind, she quickens her steps, ensuring that she's not too wet by the time she heads into the house. It doesn't take too long to spot him, already seeing him sitting at one of the kitchen stools with his phone out. He's far too distracted by the screen to even notice her.
She quietly approaches him, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Gray?"
He jumps in his seat in surprise, dropping his phone on the table's marble surface, and whips around to gape at her.
"Erza!" He shouts, placing a hand on his chest, "You can't just do that."
Gray frowns, trying to relax, and her lips quirk upward.
"Did I scare you?"
His eyes narrow at her before he shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. "Just surprised, that's all."
Gray pauses abruptly to sweep a gaze over her, soon eyeing her in confusion. "Wait, what are you doing here? Why aren't you swimming out there with the others?"
"I came looking for you. I wanted to check if you were alright," she answers, watching as he pockets his phone.
He offers her a shrug. "I'm fine so don't worry about it."
Erza frowns, crossing her arms.
"You certainly didn't look fine back there." She eyes him stubbornly, challenging him to protest, and he does. Unfortunately.
"Seriously Erza, I'm fine. I was just overreacting."
He scratches the back of his neck, a wry grin spreading across his lips. "After all, it's like Natsu said, isn't it? It's just water, not dangerous at all."
Erza bites her lip. She wants to say something, anything, but it's clear that he doesn't want to continue this conversation. It's not like he's wrong either. He certainly looks fine, despite that sardonic smile on his face, and she doesn't want to prod so much he'll shut her out completely. While they may have been each other's best confidantes, it's still difficult trying to get everything out of each other.
But that's why their friendship has stayed so strong all these years. They know when to prod, and when to give them space, and unfortunately, this time it's the latter.
"Alright," she sighs in surrender, "But don't stay in here too long. We all need our daily dose of Gray." Erza flashes him a patient smile.
Apparently it's the right thing to say when she sees his shoulders relax (she hadn't even noticed how tense he'd been), and he provides her with a warm smile of his own. "Yeah, sure. I'll head out there soon, I was just getting a drink."
There is noticeably no drink near him, but she doesn't question him. Instead, she nods in understanding, turning on her heel to head back. Before she does, she pauses in her tracks to look at him.
"You'll swim later though, right?"
Now, this is apparently the wrong thing to say when she sees him slightly stiffen, taking a few moments to relax again. He simply nods, his face not betraying anything, so she takes that as another cue for wordless acceptance.
She knows his answer anyway.
(He doesn't get into the pool at all that day, content with sitting on a dry beach chair noticeably further away than the rest, and she doesn't comment.)
It's not a big deal.
It turns out to be a big deal. A very big deal.
Erza is too busy with juggling her commitments between studies, Kendo practice, and her part-time job at the local bakery, that she easily forgets about the incident and the following revelations soon after they leave Lucy's house. The thought doesn't cross her mind again until almost two weeks later when Gray invites her over to his family's house to hang.
It's not an unusual occurrence for her to be around the rest of his family, having practically been accepted as one of them, and she's marked it as the highlight of her week. She hasn't visited their family house in a long time, oftentimes hanging out at either his or her respective apartments, that her surprise after realising they owned a pool falls within the bounds of reason.
While it's not impressive as Lucy's (of course when you were as rich as Lucy nothing seemed to compare) but it isn't tiny either. Erza is unsure if Gray has ever used it — certainly not around her — but it does exist, and from the way there's a whole box full of pool toys near the end of the pool, it's not totally unused.
Ur, his adoptive mom, had gone out for the weekend, and she had persuaded him to take care of her huskies after Ultear was unable to do so. This was only accepted with the promise that she'd take Lyon in when he came back from overseas. Gray had been very reluctant at the idea of cohabitating with his cousin in his own apartment, so he'd immediately agreed. But naturally, with such a big house and two huskies to babysit, it got lonely so he'd graciously invited Erza over for company.
Not that she really minded because there's no way she would turn down an offer to see her favourite pair of dogs (and time alone with Gray, but she'd never admit that).
After filling up on the sweets Ur had left for them in the fridge, they allow the dogs to roam around the grassy backyard as they sit on the beach chairs beside the pool. She bites her lip while she gazes at the surface of the water, admiring the faint glow of the moonlight shining silver on the ripples.
A quick glance at her companion tells her that she's not the only one entranced by the sight. Gray's onyx eyes are also fixated on the water, but with that familiar look of intensity. It's as though the water is calling for him, yearning for him to take a dip, and a look downward at his clenched fists tells her that he's barely restraining himself.
Her eyes narrow, her revelations from two weeks ago now prominent in the forefront of her mind. She's never seen him swim, never seen him do anything that requires a part of his body to be coated with water, and yet he yearns for it like a starving man.
Yet somehow, this strange intensity of his makes his features look all the more attractive to her. The moonlight's rays allow the milky pallor of his skin to glow, filtered and soft, and captivating to her honey brown eyes. Erza's gaze drifts across his defined jawline, admiring the way it marks the growth of a bratty boy to the dependable man he is today. Soon she's filled with the sudden urge to reach over and touch him; to trace along his glowing skin, to feel the softness of his hair as she cards her fingers through his raven locks, to gently pull his head to meet hers, and gaze into those pools of onyx warmth.
Noticing the turn in her thoughts, she abruptly shakes her head in an attempt to shake them away. This only grabs the attention of the male she'd just been admiring, Gray raising a brow at her behaviour.
"Erza? You okay?"
She pauses, lifting her gaze to meet him, and pushes a weak smile onto her face. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just remembering something."
This apparently intrigues him as he tilts his head to the side. "Oh? Must've been nasty for you to shake your head like that," he motions toward her, and her cheeks suddenly burn.
They had been anything but nasty, just not the most appropriate, she wants to say, but keeps her mouth shut. She offers him a small shrug instead, hoping he'll shut down the conversation except she can read him too well. His eyes are brimming with curiosity, even as he puts his hands up in surrender.
So she decides to humour him.
"It's just…" her voice trails off to find the words, but when her gaze falls back onto the water, her eyes narrow. That's right, this is her chance.
She doesn't say anything more, rather she stands up and tugs her shirt over her head until she's left with nothing but a purple bra. She decides to leave her shorts on, figuring that she can just borrow one of Gray's, and she turns to him. Erza meets the face of a gulping fish instead.
Gray's eyes are bulging wide, stare incredulous, and she can just make out the pink blush that now paints his cheeks. "E-Erza—" he chokes out, trying to find the words.
She says nothing, moving forward to grab him by the wrist. Before he can pull away, she tugs him forward and suddenly they're both falling over the edge of the pool, splashing into the water.
The crash is deafening, even as she emerges from the water, and she can hear a cacophony of dogs barking.
Though that doesn't beat the sound of Gray's limbs thrashing wildly as he lets out a guttural snarl.
"Why'd you do that for!"
His tone is angry, furious, incensed, but that's not what catches her attention. Gray is still yet to make a move to climb out of the water. He's just splashing, flailing his arms uselessly and going nowhere, and her mind shifts into overdrive.
It had never crossed her mind that the reason he treads so far away from water was because he couldn't swim. She thought it incredulous, and while the pool isn't all that deep (she's paddling her feet but the water easily reaches up to her nose), she's probably just made the worst mistake in the history of their friendship.
She's about to lose her friend because of her curiosity; his longing for the water could really just mean him being unable to swim yet wanting to, and his claims of water being dangerous points even more vigorously at his inability.
And yet Erza's just done the stupidest thing she can ever think of: pushing her best friend who can't swim into the water where he can drown.
Gray's head disappears underwater just after that, and this spurns her to kick herself forward. She wastes no time diving under to grab him by the arm, clutching him tightly to her as she kicks herself upward. She hadn't taken into account just how heavy he is, but she's not going to lose him now. She refuses.
So she keeps propelling herself upward, chasing after the light above until they breach the surface. Erza keeps him cradled to her even as she gasps for air, and using the remainder of her strength, she hauls him up to solid ground with one huge tug.
She's so caught up in her panic trying to ensure he's out and safely away from the water to notice anything else. It's only when she calms herself down enough to inspect the damage properly that she feels like the wind is knocked out of her yet again.
Because Gray is not unmoving, and his face is not blue.
No, Gray is fully conscious and his milky pallor is evidence he is unharmed.
Except, the milky skin doesn't reach his bottom half. In fact, it's changed pronouncedly since she'd last seen him.
Erza is not delusional. She has a working set of eyes with 20/20 vision, and her mental health is almost entirely stable. But she swears that Gray had two legs before she'd dragged him into the water, two rather hairy, human legs, and not the tail that has sprouted in its place. Where his torso ends is where the elongated curvature begins, shimmering scales of navy blue catching moonlight to bring an even more ethereal glow. Shining silver fins feather out from the sides and the end of his tail, each dotted with trails of raven spots.
She doesn't register what she's seeing at first, not really. But who can? Her best friend surely can't be a—
"You're a mermaid?"
Gray lifts his head slowly, his eyes normally so full of confidence, filled with a mixture of shame, fear, and embarrassment.
Her eyes narrow, and she sees him flinch, looking away.
"I'm sorry," he says softly, "I didn't want you to see."
This is the last thing she expects to hear from him, and her gaze softens. Her heart begins to pound profusely when she sees him try to shift away from her, mores when she sees his tail curling. She aches for him; she hasn't seen him so vulnerable since the news of his parents' passing, and it hurts to think she's the cause of this.
Before he can fully pull away from her, she envelopes him in a tight hug, caging him within his arms so he can't move. Erza is determined not to let him move away from her; she won't let him go, not now, especially not now.
She rests her forehead in the crook of his neck, ignoring the way her wet skin slaps against his, and tightens her hold on him. "It's okay, Gray," she whispers, loud enough for him to still hear.
Gray stiffens in her arms, almost afraid to touch her, but that only makes her sidle up closer to him. "I'm not afraid."
"You're just saying that." His voice is bitter, yet soft and careful, and she feels the pang in her chest intensify.
Erza shakes her head, lifting her head up to look at him.
"No, I'm not."
"I don't believe you," he says, gazing her right in the eye. But she can see a flicker of hope gleaming beneath his hesitance and that's what she clings to.
"You're my best friend," she starts, lifting a hand to cup his cheek, "And you're beautiful."
Gray blinks, taken aback by the compliment, and his eyes widen. Then his brows furrow.
"Beautiful? Don't you think I'm a freak?"
Erza glares at him, shaking her head firmly. "If anyone calls you a freak, I'll throttle them. You're not a freak."
"But—"
He points to his tail, flicking restlessly beneath him, and her gaze follows him. She takes in the sight of it again, wonder and awe clouding her thoughts and before she can stop herself, she reaches a hand out. Her hand inches closer to the shimmering fin, tempted to feel it against her skin, when she catches herself. Erza pauses just a few centimetres away; she needs his permission.
She glances back to look at him.
Gray is watching her intently, frozen in his place. When he feels her eyes on his, he looks at her in wordless understanding before offering her a small nod. Her lips quirk upward before she turns back to look at his beautiful tail, closing the distance as her fingers gently graze the surface of his navy scales.
She hears him suck in a breath and her head whips around to look at him. She searches his face for any sign of pain, but there isn't any. He's far too invested in the sensation of her touch that she thinks perhaps it doesn't hurt at all.
So she turns around, pressing her hand more firmly against his scales and releases the breath she's been holding. His scales are slightly slippery but they're impressively smooth, smoother than anything she's ever touched before, and it's certainly not unpleasant.
"Beautiful," she whispers again, and this time, Gray accepts it.
He reaches out to place a hand on her shoulder, rubbing a thumb against her skin. "It tickles."
Erza gently pulls away at that, sporting a serene smile on her face. He's got an equally peaceful smile on his face, and that makes her smile widen.
"So I take it, you can swim after all."
Gray rolls his eyes but the smile never disappears, his tail swishing below him. He's more relaxed now, comfortable with his true identity out in the open, and she feels a warmth in her chest. "Yeah, better than everyone else actually."
She quirks a brow at that, intrigued. "I should take you to the ocean so I can see for myself."
"If you take me to the ocean, you won't be able to see me."
She watches him flick his tail lightly against the water, leaning back on his hands.
"Do you doubt my swimming prowess, Gray?" Her smirk is challenging, gently nudging him in the shoulder.
He shrugs casually, "You know better than anyone that I don't."
This makes her smile even wider and she leans against him. They're both mostly dry after their little splash in the pool, and while she should be shivering against the breeze, she finds that she's feeling especially warm.
"I'll take you to the ocean to and I'll get on a boat to watch you."
Gray raises a brow. "Are you trying to pull something straight out of The Little Mermaid?"
She reaches out to gently caress his tail again before shrugging. This entire situation screams of The Little Mermaid, except without the sea witch and voice loss, though she isn't too opposed to the romance the two leads share.
In fact, as her gaze trails from his tail up to his face, she thinks she knows how Eric feels.
"We've basically got all the parts covered, haven't we?"
He tilts his head cutely to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Ariel," she points to his tail, ignoring his little frown before she points to herself, "Prince Eric."
Erza doesn't say anything more, resting her chin on his shoulder to wait for his reaction. And she isn't disappointed when she sees his eyes go wide, turning his head to gape at her, only to freeze when he sees the close proximity between them.
Her eyes are trained on his lips, unconsciously licking them, and Gray gulps. A silence washes over the two, her eyes never moving from his lips as she wonders how they'll feel pressed against hers.
It seems that she doesn't have to wait long for Gray finally takes the hint, cupping the side of her face with one of his hands to pull her close. She can feel his breath fan against her lips, her heart pounding loudly in her ears when he finally closes the distance.
His lips are cold against hers, most likely from the water, but she doesn't mind. He's very gentle, letting her guide the kiss as he holds her face steady between his hands, and she smiles against him. Erza lifts a hand to twirl a strand of wet hair around her fingers, pulling him closer to her.
Never did she think she'd end the night with the revelation that one, her best friend is a mermaid (or man, depending on how he likes it), and two, her kissing that very same guy.
But as he pulls away to rest his forehead lightly against hers, a soft smile spread across his lips, she thinks that she wouldn't have it any other way.
(Except, of course, a much longer kiss because he's pulled away too fast for her to relish in the feeling of his lips against hers, so she pulls him in for another, and another, and another, until both their lips are thoroughly swollen and red.)