Worth the Wait

July, X784

Gray knew he had to hunt down Natsu before Makarov sent one of the S-Class mages to get him. Not that he really wanted to track down that flame-brain idiot, but hearing the old geezer say that Laxus was the only person who could bring Natsu back just made his pride snap.

How many years had he been fighting Natsu? And how often had he lost?

Then again, how often had he won?

He and Natsu were pretty much even. However, if Makarov sent Erza after him, that idiotic dragon boy might end up getting himself killed, and that would make life a lot less interesting in the guild.

As he headed out, he saw Loke coming up the road with four curvaceous girls flocking around him. Gray was starting to see a pattern. The number of girls hanging onto the playboy was directly proportional to the haggard look on Loke's face. Some of the more dirty-minded guild members whispered about reasons why Loke looked so worn out after a date with two or three lovely ladies. Gray knew Loke was a player, but he wasn't that bad of a guy... he hoped.

He knew that after three years he should be used to it, but lately, for some reason, he did not like seeing Loke hanging around girls.

"Oi, Loke, wanna give me a hand?"

With a whisper to his ladies, Loke shrugged them off like an old coat and came up to Gray alone. "Tough mission? It might be a good distraction for me."

The poor man looked so pale, Gray figured he could probably use a distraction. "Fetching a disobedient guild member."

Loke gave a small chuckle. "What did Natsu do this time?"

Not too surprising he guessed who the troublemaker was right away. "Stole a request for an S-Class job. Master wants him hauled in for punishment."

"It really is Natsu, huh? I guess I could help." He turned to his little harem. "Duty calls, ladies. I'll give you a ring later." He gave each a kiss on the cheek. Gray sneered and looked away. In what was becoming a habit, he pulled out a cigarette.

Loke followed beside Gray and occasionally warned him when he was about to tug on his shirt. Gray realized, few people could predict his stripping habit like Loke could. It was like he read his mind. For a moment, he wondered if Loke stared at him, waiting for the moment when his hands began to tug on the uncomfortable cloth. He wondered if Loke was watching him now, but he did not have the nerve to look over, just in case he saw that his suspicion was true.

After a while, Gray heard a soft laugh and looked over. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," Loke simpered. "Just ironic, ya know. You're always fighting that Dragon Slayer, yet you're the one smoking. It's almost like you want to copy Natsu."

Gray cringed at that. He grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it down in disgust, and stomped it out. "That's it. Starting today, I quit!"

"Good for you!" Loke cheered. "Personally, it's a habit I don't like. It doesn't really fit your personality, anyway."

They walked to the train station, and finally Loke asked, "So, Natsu thought he could do an S-Class job on his own? Or did you dare him to do it?"

"Hey, I might not like Natsu, but I don't want to send him off on a suicide mission. He probably figured he'd be okay if he took his cat and that rookie along."

Loke stopped short. Gray looked back around and saw Loke shiver. His eyes were wide in dread.

"R-Rookie? You mean the Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy Heartfilia?"