During the month of January, Gray was away with his team on an extensive mission. He returned the first week of February. The winter had been short and mild, and the weather was already hinting at the arrival of spring.

In celebration of the wonderful weather, as well as Gray's team returning safely from a difficult mission, the guild had planned a vacation for any wizards willing to pay their own way. The destination was Akane Beach; the resort located in the southern part of Fiore that the team had previously visited before going on a detour to the Tower of Heaven. The members had paid for cabins that housed two people, and the group was staying three days and two nights with the hopes of enjoying the hot southern weather to the fullest extent.

Gray stomped along the wooden boardwalk in the direction of the cabins. Natsu was marching next to him and said, "Who ya bunkin' with, Gray?"

The ice wizard glanced at him with a frown. "What do you mean? We always share, man."

Natsu shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna sleep out by the fire!" The dragon slayer and Happy darted away, excited to claim their spot by the flames. Gray muttered mild insults under his breath as he watched the excitable pair bound away from him.

When Gray reached the cabins, he poked his head through the open doors in search of someone needing a friend to share the cost with. The first three cabins proved hopeless: Jett and Droy, Freed and Bixlow, Loke and Elfman. Just as Gray was thinking he would probably have to pay for a cabin all on his own, he heard the sounds of a harmonica drifting through a cracked window. Knocking loudly on the frame of the door, Gray stepped inside the cozy cabin. "Hey, Gajeel, do you need a roommate?"

The iron dragon slayer set down his instrument, nodding at Gray. "Yeah, that's fine. Make yourself at home."

Gray threw his bags down on the unclaimed bed, stripping his travel clothes in an instant. He slipped into his black swim trunks, flashed a quick wave in Gajeel's direction, and ran out the door to find MiraJane. They hadn't been able to spend much time together since he had returned from the mission, so he planned to make this weekend a special time. After only a few moments shuffling through the sand he found her laid out on a towel talking with Lisanna and Cana. He passed by her, close enough for her to notice him, then sat on a nearby rock to wait. It was only a few minutes before she ran toward him, pale hair billowing behind her in the warm breeze. He stood to greet her, catching her when she threw herself across the distance remaining between them. Their arms intertwined and her breath came in strong bursts against his neck. "Oh, Gray, I'm so happy I get to be with you!"

He pulled away from her to look into her dark eyes then planted a sweet kiss on her lips. "Let's go for a walk," he suggested. She nodded, asking him to wait a moment so she could collect her belongings. He watched from a distance as she bundled up the items, leaving them in Lisanna's care. Her bikini was a dark purple, very simple with thin strings holding the articles to her curvy body. She wore nothing more than the swim suit, except for the chain around her neck that contained the gift he had made for her.

Once she had finished, she held a hand out to Gray, which he accepted. Hand-in-hand, the two of them wandered along the coastline, mostly enjoying each other's company and the beautiful landscape around them. They discussed his mission, and what had caused it to take such a long time. Mira expressed her joy at having him back at the guild unharmed, and Gray responded by saying that he had missed every single thing about her. As they chattered, they came upon a group of guys playing Frisbee. One of them ran toward the couple in an attempt to catch the flying disc, but stopped short as he spotted them. For a moment he was silent, and the guild members just kept walking. From behind them they heard the man say, "Damn, it's that sexy wizard from the magazine! Guys, look, it's the swimsuit model!"

Gray tensed up, and Mira attempted to keep a hold on his hand but he wrenched it away. She called after him, but he pressed onward as if he had not heard her desperate voice calling out to him. He stomped through the sand, spraying the grains in every direction. The other young men that were playing sensed the trouble and quickly ran the other way, but the owner of the comment stood firm. "Hey, man, what's up?"

The ice wizard struck fast and hard, knocking the man down into the sand. All the other resort guests around them ceased their activities, staring in disbelief at the events unfolding. The opposing man rapidly climbed to his feet to tackle Gray down into the sand. The fight broke down into a rolling, yelling, occasionally punching match. After several minutes, Gray was straddling the man and preparing to pummel him. Strong arms closed around him and lifted him away, and Gray was left to watch the coward scramble away. When the rescuer released him, Gray whirled around and yelled, "Why the hell did you do that?"

Elfman towered above Gray, glaring at him. "Because, dumbass, my sister doesn't need some stupid protector. You made an absolute fool of yourself, and her. If you had taken a moment to look around you would have noticed that she isn't here."

Gray followed the suggestion and spotted her marching towards the woods. "Where is she going?"

Elf shook his head, punching Gray once in the chest. "I don't know, but you have to follow her. Fix it. Go be a real man." The large man stalked away, leaving Gray to ponder his options. He owed it to Mira to follow her and endure whatever anger she spewed at him, but was that how he wanted to spend his vacation? After a few seconds he decided that any time spent with Mira—whether good or bad—was better than a single instant without her by his side. Taking a deep breath he marched toward the woods, toward what he assumed was a butt-kicking in the making.

As Gray traipsed through the woods, he attempted to construct a solid argument for his behavior, but he knew that Mira was cunning enough to demolish any defense he offered up. He stepped into a clearing and found MiraJane gracefully seated on a stump waiting for him. Her hands were clasped in her lap and her face was stern. If it wasn't too late to run, the option may have been tempting. As he approached, she climbed to her feet, crossing her arms over her ribs. "Gray, why did you do that?"

He rubbed some dirt around with his foot and said, "He was talking like you were just an object."

"And beating him up is definitely going to help, right?"

"Would you rather I just ignore comments like that? Is that what you want, Mira?" He walked toward her as he spoke. "Last time this happened, you seemed to be delighted. You came running back to me with an apology poised on your lips!"

Her brow furrowed and she balled her fists at her sides. "That was different! I didn't realize this was going to be a constant thing! You've got issues, Gray!"

"Oh, do I? What kind of problems would those be?"

"You attack anyone who has something to say about me! I've been doing modeling for the magazines for years now, Gray. I choose not to pay any attention to it, and even if I did, I think I'm capable of handling it on my own."

Gray stared at his feet as he muttered, "So you don't need me, then."

A frustrated sound erupted from Mira's throat and her voice rose. "Shut up! Just because I don't need you to knock out every guy who looks at me or says something unsavory does not mean that you're unimportant!"

"What does it mean?"

"It means that you need to control yourself. Ignore them. Or, I don't know, respect my abilities to handle the issues on my own."

Gray's hands roughly ran through his hair. "Mira, I know you can handle yourself. I just get. . ." His words drifted off as his insecurities built.

"You get what, Gray? Jealous?"

His breathing increased as she said the word, and he held tightly to the waist band of his swim trunks, praying that they wouldn't vanish. "Yes," he quietly breathed, barely able to hear it himself.

He had hoped that the confession would calm Mira, but it seemed to only fuel her anger. She took an ominous step toward him, leaving only a few feet between them now. "Do you think I'm going to go somewhere, Gray?" Her words were a challenge.

"I worry."

"Then you know nothing about me." She walked past him, pressing a cold object against his bare chest as she went. Gray caught it before it fell to the ground, pain cresting as he realized it was the necklace. As he latched it around his own neck, he felt a fresh breeze against his lower region as his trunks drifted away. This was the least of his concern, and he didn't bother to collect them before wandering out of the woods.