The Ice Dragon Slayer: Hero {Fairy Tail Fan Fiction}

{Chapter 8}

Hero wished she could enjoy warm baths, but she never could. Water that would normally be just the right temperature for a hot bath would burn her if she came in contact with it. But taking cold baths did not truly get her clean, so she always had to use lukewarm water which felt so awkward to her. Stepping out of the bath she heard the group outside in her living room.

“How long do you think he’ll be?” Lucy asked.

“Probably not much longer. I’ll go ask him if he wants to come along.” Gray said, and for a moment Hero had a heart attack. She scrambled to get to her clothes, a white button up with a black vest and loose black pants, trying to slip them all on quickly. Luckily, everyone had stalled Gray long enough to allow her to finish getting dressed. She got her shirt on the moment he walked in. Casually she slipped on the vest as if she had not just danced around her bathroom trying to get her pants on. Natsu and the other’s sighed in relief. “Hey, we’re all going out to eat later after we decide our next quest. Want to come with?" Gray asked, looking at Hero’s bath and seeing a lot of feminine body products and washes. He raised an eyebrow, eyeing Hero questionably.

Looking to where Gray was staring before, Hero noticed all of her products and smiled awkwardly. She began to wonder if Gray was just starting to connect the dots in his head or if he had already figured it out. Either way it did not matter for the current situation. The dragon slayer agreed to go along with them, this time being sure to grab a popsicle before they left for the guild.

On the way there, Hero walked beside Erza and asked how much they made from the last job while she ate her popsicle. Erza tensed for a small second before she acted calm and smiled. “We made one hundred thousand jewels, but we owed that much to Master Makarov after the last fight in the hall.” She lied, but it was completely believable. Hero recalled the last fight that happened, and it got way out of hand. Nearly everyone got involved, even the few that normally sat on the side lines. She was unsure of why it had gotten so chaotic, but she could remember that it was Natsu, Gray, and Erza’s fault for starting it.

When the group arrived at the guildhall, Natsu and Happy were the first to take a look at the board. They had all decided to take turns on picking a quest after the last incident with the bulletin board. Gray and Natsu had chosen completely opposite missions with similar rewards, and just like everything else they had to bicker about it. Natsu punched the board, again, and so they had to replace it. Hero had suggested to Erza that they let someone outside of the team choose from the team’s favorites from then on, to avoid having to constantly replace things. Natsu and Happy picked their favorite and waited impatiently for everyone else to go. Lucy went next, and then Erza. Gray looked up at Hero, gesturing that she go. “Ladies first.” He teased.

Everyone in the group fell silent as the shock settled in their spines. Gray looked at each of them, and then at Hero, raising an eyebrow. “What? It was a joke.” He confessed, crossing his arms and going up to the board instead. Hero stared at Gray’s back, her heart racing. ‘Don’t toy with me like that...’ She thought, approaching the board once Gray stepped away. They all set their choices down on the table, and then Natsu looked around for someone to pick. He pointed randomly out into the crowd, and Elfman was the one his finger landed on. The fire dragon slayer called him over, and Elfman huffed, walking away from his table to go pick one of the quests. He did not care which one they went on, so he randomly tapped one. It was a minor quest with enough pay to handle Lucy and Hero’s rent for the month with a few jewels to spare, Lucy’s choice. The rest of the quests were put back onto the board. The group agreed not to be offended if there quest was not chosen, although Natsu was still a bit bitter that his was not picked.

The group decided to stay in the hall for a little bit to talk with some of the other members. A little bit turned into a few hours, and then soon enough the sun was just starting to set. Erza collected everyone before they all went out into town. “So, where to?” Natsu asked with his hands behind his head and his elbows in the air. “Somewhere that serves a lot of food, because now we have two dragon slayers to feed!” Happy cheered, walking alongside Natsu. Lucy looked back at Hero, curious as to if she could eat as much as Natsu. Hero chuckled, remembering that Lucy was not there when she and Natsu had an eating contest at the guild. Natsu won, but Hero did hold her own and was pretty close. “I wouldn’t want to have to pay for all that food anyway…” Hero muttered, chuckling nervously. Her wallet was bone dry after she made her last payment to her landlady, it was late. The only reason she was not kicked out was because Makarov talked with the landlady and convinced her to give Hero a belated deadline..