Living With Each Other

Gray's Decision

 Mirajane looked like she was working hard, but she was actually intently watching the doors to the guild hall for any signs of Gray walking in. She wanted to pull him aside and tell him about the mission without Natsu seeing them. Natsu was stupid, but even he would figure out that his partner is Gray in that situation.

Mira jumped a little when she finally saw the half-naked man push through the doors. She dropped the dish towel in her hands and power-walked towards the front. She kept an eye on Natsu. He had remained in the same seat for the past hour, looking up at the ceiling with a blank look in his eyes. She hoped he was just bored waiting and not debating his decision.

She walked up to Gray and grabbed him by the arm.

"Hey, Mira, what are you—!"

Mira pulled him towards the side of the guild, away from Natsu. "Shush, Gray, come here."

Gray did as instructed. Mira thanked god that Gray was at least quiet. She pulled him behind a thick pillar and double checked to make sure Natsu had not seen anything. Natsu was sitting in the same position.

Gray sarcastically cleared his throat to get Mira's attention. "Mira, what's going on?" He looked a little concerned.

"Hi, Gray," she started, trying to throw off her strange behavior. "Sorry, we have a mission to give you and I didn't want anyone else hearing about it."

"Uh... sure, okay," he said, shrugging. It was weird, but as far as Fairy tail went: not that weird. "What's the mission?"

Mira patted down the pockets of her dress, feeling for a bump. She felt it and pulled out the folded mission request paper. "Here." She gave the paper to Gray.

He unfolded it and, similar to Natsu, his expression changed as the words sank in.

"This is..." he met Mira's eyes. "You said you were giving it to me?"

"Me and the Master believe you are best suited for this mission."

"Why?"

Mira noticed how much more direct Gray was than Natsu. "Because the job deals a lot with fighting back the mountain elements. Ice, plus any type of maker magic, is really useful for that."

Gray crossed his arms and leaned back against the pillar. "An entire year by myself sounds awful."

"We've also assigned a partner for you."

"Who?"

Mira pressed her lips together once more. Gray would not be as easy to fool as Natsu. "I'll wait to reveal the name until they tell me if they're taking it or not."

"My decision changes a lot depending on who I'm going with."

"I know, Gray," Mira said sternly, "but I'm not going to tell you. Both of you were picked because me and the Master agreed that you'd be perfect for the job. We did factor in if you and your partner would work effectively with each other." Mira did not mention the exact specifics of that effectiveness discussion, but it had definitely been discussed.

Gray sighed out of his nose. "Just... give me some time."

"I understand. Tell me when you're ready."

Gray nodded absently and meandered out into the main guild hall. Mira checked to see if Natsu was watching. He was not, so Mira stepped out from the pillar and went back to her position at the bar. She picked up the discarded dish towel and resumed working.

Gray sat at a random table. He leaned back in his chair and held a similar position to Natsu. He rubbed the bumps of his knuckles with the heel of his palm; a nervous habit of his. He preferred to rub his right knuckles, but sometimes he switched the hands.