Worth the Wait

Winter, X783

They had been teamed up by force. When Makarov ordered a mage to go on a specific assignment, it was pointless to argue. Gray was not all too impressed with the tired-looking playboy, nor was Loke too keen on having a seventeen-year-old stripper stealing all the girls with his flawless pale skin and firm abs. So they agreed, for this trip only, Gray would try to keep his clothes on and Loke would refrain from flirting. Both just wanted to get the mission over with so they could return to their normal habits. Yet as they rode a train and listened to the clack-click-clack of the rails with the gentle sway of the train car, both realized something odd about their partner.

"This is surprising," Loke finally spoke. "You've gone half a day without removing more than your coat."

"I'm the one surprised," the raven-haired teen muttered as he stared out the window. "The waitress that just came by was rather cute, yet you turned down buying drinks from her."

Loke knew he was right. He had barely even looked at the lady with her clattering cart of beverages. For whatever reason, his focus had settled onto the mage in front of him.

He tried to think back to the first time he met Gray. It was nearly two years ago. The fifteen-year-old boy had been a lot shorter back then, still settling into his newly-cracked voice, yet just as eager to fight Natsu. Just some brat with a bit of magic, he thought. Loke joined Fairy Tail to make money in this world he was trapped in. He had no need to make friends, not when he knew his time was limited. So he kept around girls he could trade in every week, and he only casually talked to other guild members. He decided to lessen his contact with the younger generation who might be affected worse when his time was up and he had to leave. That was why he was not too keen on being teamed up with Gray now. Yet he saw something in those blue eyes that shocked him.

Loneliness.

This teen had lost his family, and although Loke did not know what darkness haunted his past, it was obvious from the serious gaze that it was something he had not come to terms with yet. Not like Loke could face his own demons!

The mission was to rescue the daughter of a rich man who got lost in the mountains. Gray had grown up around this area, so he was picked because he knew the terrain. All anyone knew was that the girl was in a cave which extinguished all flames and shorted out all electronics, so a flashlight or torch could not be used. That was where Loke's light magic came in handy. Otherwise, it was a simple mission.

They arrived in early December, a horrible time to be up in the mountains. Loke pulled his fur-lined hood up, but Gray looked unaffected by the icy wind that slashed their faces with sharp snowflakes. Gray took the lead, knowing the path without needing a guide. Loke tried to ignore his shivering and followed. It took a few hours to reach the cave. Purple moss grew on the walls. Sure enough, the lantern Loke had taken with him to see through the blizzard winked out as soon as they stepped inside.

"This must be the moss Master was talking about," Loke realized, about to poke some spongy purple mass.

"Don't touch it!" Gray shouted. "It's called flamesbane. It can also be poisonous."

"You know a lot about this place."

"I grew up in a village that used to be around here," Gray said so softly, Loke could barely hear him over the wind whistling past the lip of the cave like a giant playing a flute. "I used to play in the caves near our home. We could never enter the caves where flamesbane grew." He laughed softly. "I always wanted to take Natsu here just to watch him flail about helplessly."

Loke smirked at the mischievous gleam in the teen's blue eyes. Then he lifted his hand, and a golden light illuminated from his ring. They began traveling forward, calling for the girl. Luckily, she was not too badly hurt, mostly just scared and starved. Gray knelt beside her and made sure she had not eaten any of the moss. He gave her a granola bar he had in his pack and some water. She was small and weak, so he removed his white coat, wrapped the child up in it, lifted her into his arms, and carried her out. When they reached the lip of the cave, Loke offered to take her.