I Needed You {Gray Fullbuster}

1

"Are you seriously leaving?" The 9 year old girl asked. The man sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be back soon," he said. The girl looked down, her brown hair covering her face as she kicked a pebble. "It'll only be for a little bit. I'll come back and we can go get some ice cream, or something," he said. The girl looked up. "You promise?" She asked. "I promise," he answered. "C'mon, Gray! We have to go!" Loke yelled from the boat. Gray hugged the girl once more, and went on the boat. That was the last time little Ashley Radke saw him for seven years.

***

I sat behind a tree, little Asuka sitting on my lap. "Ashley?" She asked. I hummed in response, petting the black wolf next to me. "Tell me the story of how you joined Fairy Tail," she asked. I sighed quietly. "Okay," I answered. I let her get comfortable before I started the story.

"I was only your age when they found me. My village had recently thrown me out because I was a monster and I 'didnt belong there.' I was wandering around, when-" I was cut off by the sound of yelling coming from inside the guild. Ares, my pet wolf, stood up and growled.

"What's happening?" Asuka asked innocently. "Twilight Ogre.." I muttered. I stood up and carried Asuka into the guild. We were unnoticed as the Twilight Ogre guild members were asking Macao for money.

I walked over to Alzack and Bisca, Asuka still in my arms. "I don't know why they have to terrorize us. That just proves they don't have the guts to go after any other guild," I muttered.

One of the guys from Twilight Ogre apparently heard me because he turned to look at me with a scowl. "What'd you say, sweetheart?" He asked. "You heard me. You're only picking on us cuz you don't have the guts to go after guilds like Lamia Scale. You guys are honestly pathetic," I said, inspecting my nails with a bored look on my face. "Ashley, keep your mouth shut," Macao said through gritted teeth. I set Asuka down, preparing for a possible fight.

The leader of Twilight Ogre growled. "Why you little-" he lunged at me, but Ares grew, doubling in size.

Ares is a dire wolf. Dire wolves grow in size if they feel threatened. They normally don't befriend humans, but one of my magics that I use is called Animal Bond magic. It allows me to befriend any animal and ask them to help me fight, depending on the situation. I use my Animal Bond with Ares to have him help fight smaller threats, such as Twilight Ogre. "Y'know you guys aren't even that great. You guys were like the bottom guild at one point."

Ares bit into the man's arm, causing a fight to break out in the guild. "Damnit Ashley. You should have kept your mouth shut," Wakaba muttered. I rolled my eyes. Romeo tried to attack the leader but he blows his flame out. He tries to lunge at Romeo, but the doors swing open.

There stood Natsu and the others. Everyone stared in shock, before Natsu pats Romeo on the head. "You've grown up, buddy," Natsu says. Romeo smiled and started crying, happy that they were back.

I stood there in shock, not sure what to do. Tears started to well up in my eyes and I ran through the doors, unnoticed.

I ran to a tree behind the make-shift guild and sat underneath it. I curled up in a ball and hid my face in my knees, letting my tears fall. Ares curled up silently next to me, his ears twitching slightly.

"I don't know if I'm happy or angry. They finally came back, but where were they this whole time?" I said, talking to Ares. He made a grunting sound in response. I thought about the years we've went without them. We've been humiliated, injured, targeted; literally everything bad that could have happened, happened in the time frame they were gone. "I couldn't do anything to help," I muttered through gritted teeth, shutting my eyes tight, forcing more tears down my cheeks.

Ares laid his head on my feet, looking up at me with sad eyes. I reached down to pet his head softly. The feeling of his fur calmed me slightly.

"I shouldn't have left until after finishing Twilight Ogre," I said to myself, sniffling.

"Ashley, is that you?"

My head shot up to look at the dark haired ice mage. I rolled my eyes and turned my head away from him, not bothering to say anything. I was too upset. The sound of footsteps in the grass made me glance over, seeing the legs of the man I didn't want to speak to at the moment. "Ashley, look at me," he demanded. "No, Gray,"I hissed, crossing my arms and looking down at Ares, focusing more on petting his soft fur. The man sighed. "Even though you grew up, you're still pretty childish." I scowled and shook my head.

I then watched as he sat down from the corner of my eye. He reached his hand forward, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. He looked the same as he did when he left. I gave him a blank look. "Let go of me," I muttered. He shook his head. "Not until you tell me what's wrong," he said. "What's wrong? That should be quite obvious, Fullbuster," I hissed, glaring at him. "Right, sorry," he apologized, taking his hand away from my chin. He scratched the back of his head. "Listen, I'm sorry. I can explain everything, just don't be mad at me, Ash," he told me. As I stared at his apologetic expression, I started to tear up. "Ash?"

Without answering, I tackled him in a hug, making him fall on his back. "I'm just glad you're back. Don't ever leave me again."