Summary: Erza learns what it means to come home to someone who loves her.
It was just another exhausting mission for Erza, but when she entered the guild she didn't let it show. S-class missions weren't this high ranked for no reason and despite that the villagers, who she had helped, had been really thankful and had given her a gratitude gifts, she was glad to be back home.
The guild was just as she had left it almost two weeks ago and after she had told the master that she had finished the mission successfully, she quickly made her way to Fairy Hills. All she wanted to do now was clean up and sleep, but when she opened the door she found a certain ice magician standing in front of her.
"Welcome home."
"Gray, what are you doing here?" She asked surprised to see him here, it was a Fairy Tail's female dormitory after all.
"I saw you arrive at the guild when I was about to go in myself and I thought that it would be nice for you to come home to your loving boyfriend." He smirked at her, but when he saw how tired she looked he changed it to a gentle smile. "I prepared a bath for you."
In that moment she couldn't help but embrace him. At first he seemed surprised, because normally she wasn't very affectionate, but then he returned the gesture. He was really more thoughtful than she gave him credit for most of the time.
"Thank you, Gray." She smiled softly at him when they pulled away.
"It was a long mission, so just relax." He said and after he had given her a small kiss on the forehead she left for the bathroom.
True to his words, the bathtub was already filled with her favorite essential oils. He had always known her best and she was glad that she had let him into her heart. That someone cared deeply enough for her to do something like this for her still amazed her. Never before had she known what it felt like to be loved, but with Gray she experienced it for the first time. With her heart warming at that thought and her mission laying successfully behind her, Erza finally lowered herself into the bathtub and just did what Gray had told her to do, relax.
When she stepped out of the bathtub half an hour later, she changed into a white summer dress. With Gray she didn't need her armor, neither her physical one nor the one she had around her heart to protect herself from getting hurt. They had become a couple just two months ago, but even before that Erza had trusted him completely. He was the only one who had seen her at her weakest and had been there for her without asking questions. This fateful day had been the beginning of their friendship and with time both had realized that there was even more between them.
Erza was pulled out of her thought when a smell, that she would recognize everywhere, greeted her as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom. When she followed the smell into the kitchen, she found not only Gray but also a strawberry cake.
"Don't worry it's all for you." He reassured her and served her a piece.
If Erza wasn't already sure that she loved Gray this would have been the moment she knew. Two weeks without her favorite cake had been a long time and that Gray was so thoughtful to bring her exactly what she had wanted most was really sweet of him. Not that she would ever tell him that, his ego was already big enough as it was.
After a few blissful pieces of cake she stood up to bring her plate to the sink, but when she stood up her foot gave away and she stumbled. The mission had left her with a battered ankle, but she had ignored it for the sake of the mission. Now that her body could finally relax, it seemed that her injury demanded attention. She had hoped that Gray wouldn't notice, but considering that he picked her up bridal style, he clearly had seen her weakness.
"Gray what are you doing? I can take care of myself." She blushed deeply. It wasn't that she wasn't used to having him so close, but never before had someone carried her like this.
"I know, but now you don't have to anymore. Let me take care of you." He smiled gently at her and Erza felt herself give in. With him she didn't have to be strong all the time.
After he had lain her down on her bed, he examined her foot and carefully bandaged it. Being the ice magician that he was, he used a little bit of his magic to reduce the swelling and made sure that she had a pillow under her foot so her ankle could rest properly. After he was content with her treatment, he lay down next to her and pulled her closer to himself.
It wouldn't be the first time that they would fall asleep together, but Erza felt like this was special in some way. She had missed being so close to him and just hearing his heartbeat while her head lay on his chest warmed her heart. As if sensing her thoughts Gray spoke up.
"I missed you." He whispered softly and stroked her hair.
It was hard for Erza to talk about emotions, so she just let him know that she felt the same with a meaningful kiss. When he returned her kiss, she couldn't help but smile into it. This was the first time someone was waiting for when she came home and it felt amazing. Even without the already prepared bath, strawberry cake and the treatment of her ankle, Erza would have been happy to just find Gray waiting for her. The knowledge that he had missed her and had done so much for her, still amazed her and made her heart race. No one ever had done something so thoughtful for her.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)