A/N: Hi guys! I'm baaaack. So now that I'm continuing this story, I decided to make this story of how Erza will be able to cope with Gray's unusual lifestyle and pasts.
Chapter Summary: Of how scarlet fire melts a hitman's heart: Erza wants to give Gray something he missed his whole life.
Warnings: Wrong grammars, misspellings, and all.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
There's a loud thud Erza heard from upstairs, then shuffling, and the sound of struggling to free itself from something. When the door opened, she acted oblivious to all of it.
Gray's morning always starts as soon as he wakes up in the morning, head a few centimeters hanging from the ground and ends up hitting it, then there were the sheets which certainly loved to strangle him to death every time. And then the missing clothes,
"..Erza...-Oomph!-" Gray blinked at the thing thrown to his face first thing in the morning.
"I told you to stop stripping!" Gray mutters something along the lines of demon redheads and thankfully Erza acts on deaf ears while he struggles to put on his clothes and ends up stumbling downstairs.
Erza failed to hide a chuckle, "Seriously, Fullbuster. Does this morning routine really a part of your training?"
Gray retorts back an angry no, to which Erza only waved off as she watched the younger man finally finished dressing himself and sitting on the counter table.
"What's that-smell?" Gray tries not to offend the scarlet.
"Pancakes."
Ohmyglobno. The last time Gray ever ate Erza's pancakes was worse than being poisoned."You know what Erza, sit down here." she grabs the back of her apron and carries her to a chair on a table. "I'll cook." He says.
Erza whined and pouted but as soon as she smelled that delicious aroma filling the kitchen, she had to admit that Gray's cooking is way, way better than her. "Hmmph."
A hot cocoa and omelet rice made in just 5 minutes. Damn, how good can this guy get? All the while, Gray stares at her eating her share. This is one of the things he wanted to keep and protect.
...and sometimes, Gray would really wonder how he ever got attracted to this scarlet whom he heard to be the famous "Titania of the Fairy Tail Hills", because the moment he saw the devious smile on the Titania's face, he really doesn't what to know what's going to happen to him.
"E-Erza..Where are we going?"
"Somewhere."
"A-aren't you gonna go to your shop?"
"I already called Lucy to handle it for the whole day."
And then, Gray's adventures began. Dragged unceremoniously, and getting stuck to every shop they meet along the way, they ended up in front of the biggest arcade in the FT Hills. Erza's eyes gleamed like a child and Gray isn't sure he wanted to go inside. He tried to walk away.
"No can do, Fullbuster. We're going inside." she says in a very dangerous tone.
"Um. No thanks!?-"
No. He ended up dragged inside anyway.
"Here ya go, enjoy!" the lady in the counter said and Erza began her plan.
Erza loves arcades; it's like everybody's childhood. Here, she can beat boys in any games: shooting, battle, racing, name it. "Come on, let's try this." she says to the raven. Gray looked pale and uneasy, and there's a predatory glow behind those black orbs.
And there's something in Gray's grip that somehow clenches her heart, too. Erza tries to reassure the other man with her smile. And basing the way Gray's features loosened, it worked.
"You see, you have to press this button to make an attack, and move the joystick-thingy, and make a combo attack and then-"
"Like this?" the screen glowed and showed two different scores. Gray won.
"Hah. See if you can beat me to racing!" A minute passes. It's clear to Erza's expression who won. "Sweet." Gray taunted the lost scarlet.
Nevertheless to say, Gray also won the shoot-the-zombie game, too. Duh.
Here's the catch, the last game was to shoot three-point shots into the ring and the one who gets the most points, wins.
Erza was the Varsity player in the college days and had the position as the center.
Gray loved challenges. It makes his blood rushing with excitement.
And so, just a few minutes later, the crowd went thick in the arcade to see how two adults are so worked up in the game, you could almost see their auras clashing.
"Come on! It's the premier of the movie I wanted to watch!"
"Wait-"
After 3 hours of screaming and laughing and tearing up, Gray looked just the same with the usual apathetic gaze, he was even mistaken for an undead.
"Really, what was that about..." he mutters, with his hand still held by the scarlet who was finding an exit with the crowd.
And the lucky stars might have abandoned him, Gray and Erza was then stuck in a couple's race." Wanna see who's the fastest, Fullbuster?"
"You bet, Scarlet."
The couples who joined the race swore they were scarred for life the moment they saw two blazing auras running such demonic speed and leaving a fog of dust on their trail. "Wh-what kind of couple...are they?"
"I'm tireeeed."
"Ready for the next stop?"
"Wait-what?-" Before Gray knew it; they were now at the huge entrance, "Welcome to the Fairy Carnival"
Gray's eyes widened, "You've got to be kidding me. We're not kids anymore, Erza."
Scarlet hair danced by the wind as he watched her glitter and he was caught by her charm.
"We don't want to waste the prizes we got earlier, do we?" Gray let out a groan, but was then caught speechless. "Besides, nobody said we can't be kids for a while." Erza smiled and Gray's heart melted.
But there's this uncomfortable feeling that's unsettling him whenever he gets too close with a crowd of people. He feels uneasy getting contact with other people, except when he's about to plant a bullet to their head, and except for the few people whom he knows.
He's afraid. Maybe. He's scared what would happen then. His hands were made to hurt, he thinks after all.
Unconsciously, the grip on the redhead's hand tightened as he thought about these things. But Erza returned each with the slightest pressure of reassurance.
It's late in the evening when they decided to end their little adventure. After going through every shop there existed in FT Hills, conquering the arcade, ruling over the Carnival, running along with the kids at the park after that, and racing down the Fairy Hills with a rented bike; Gray and Erza lay beaten beside the cool river just a few minutes walk from the city.
"Why here?" he said.
"This...is a special place for me...although I can't really remember why." she replied.
They talked on and on, reminisced, joked, and laughed about the whole day, and perhaps it was the most genuine laugh Erza ever heard from Gray.
Erza recalled, seeing the way his hold had just become a little more loose, looks a little more trusting, and uneasiness a little more soothed and relaxed. The way his eyes glowed like a child when he first entered the carnival, even if he refused to admit it so, or the way he's unconsciously acting with a child-like innocence for everything that's his first; The way he finally laughs in the air like he cares less for the people staring at him, or how he's first reluctant in getting closer to young and cute kids but eventually shows off his softer side.
Needless to say, today Erza was satisfied just see that child-like grin on the usual scowling male, happiness and amusement written all over his face like a kid who had just experienced his first carousel ride.
His childhood memories would've been like this. And Erza wants to create one for him even if it's a little late because she doesn't want him to skip that part forever. She wants to see his true smile without pretending, hear his genuine laughs and not stiff replies or sarcasms.
For Gray, somehow a part of him was filled. Finally, through the years, he feels inside of him got less empty. And some part of him got warmer.
The feeling was odd and it freaked him out at first, but as the day went on he realized it was far greater feeling than what he usually feels after cocking the gun or slitting someone's throat.
He realized the warmth was so far from the temporary numbness he feels after each job.
Erza had broken the ice wall inside him and replaced it with a blanket of heat and warmth.
And somehow, this river also gave something to him. Something that tugged a piece of his soul and drew him near. A distant memory or imagination perhaps. Gray doesn't know.
Gray kissed Erza that night, full on the lips and muttered a shy but sweet thank you. It's all Erza needed to hear. But to Gray, it will take all of the words he can't say to express the gratefulness of the lessons he had learned from her today.
Shoutouts to LaynieCakes, Ein011, and TsundereFairy, and AsDarknessSpreads for encouraging me to continue the story! I loveee you guys! I hope it satisfies you. This ain't over yet :D see ya when I'll see ya!
Hint: Next chapter will be about how Erza's reaction to Gray's natural predatory instincts.