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I Leave You, My Pride	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 5780 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter 7

Homecoming
Gray walked through the iron gates of the majestic Fairy Tail guild hall and gazed up at the castle-like structure. A sense of pride burned through his veins at the banners that fluttered with the breeze, making the fairy printed on them appear to be alive and flapping. He had helped to construct this building. Although the guild lost it for a while during their seven-year absence and had to move, they got it back, their true home. He looked at areas he had personally worked on, and he remembered the sweat and laughter of that time.
"I'm home," he whispered with a sigh of relief.
He walked in and passed the souvenir stand. Max was tending it as usual, bundled against a freak spring cold snap that made it feel as if it might snow at any moment.
"Hello, sir," the sand wizard said in a shivering tone. "Would you like a souvenir or sign up for a tour of the grounds? We have discounts for … wait…" He sat up stiffly and gawked. "Gray? You … you're back?"
"Hey, Max," he smiled, already feeling warm at meeting old friends.
Gray kept walking, mounted the steps, and opened the massive doors. A blast of warmth enveloped him, along with the smells of savory food and sounds of dancing music. Shouting, clanking beer mugs, and laughter radiated out from the hall.
Gray paused in the entry, looking around in nostalgia. It was slightly different. The people looked pretty much the same, but there were obvious changes. Macao had more silver in his hair, Droy had lost some weight, Romeo was in the midst of a growth spurt and was probably the same height as Natsu had been, and Wendy had developed into a shapely fourteen-year-old. Juvia's hair was down to her mid-back now, and she was showing off a diamond engagement ring with blushing cheeks. Levy's hair had also grown out, and she was cuddled in a corner with Gajeel, who had cut his hair and almost—almost—looked civilized. Erza's hair was also cut shorter, the scarlet strands barely touching her shoulders. Much to Gray's surprise, she sat at a table discussing caster magic versus weapons magic with Alzack, a heavily pregnant Bisca, and Jellal, of all people.
Yes, they had changed. He left them two years ago. He probably had also changed during that time.
Just then, he heard a high gasp, and Mira cried out, "Good heavens! Gray? Is that really you?"
The guild fell silent as everyone's attention turned to the doors. Gray felt dozens of eyes on him. After living in a small town with mostly just an old man around him, all the attention was a bit intimidating. He did not know what to say, how to greet them, so he just stood there and looked around.
Juvia perked up in astonishment. "Gray-sama!"
Cana set her beer barrel down for a moment. "Damn. I lost the bet."
Lisanna clapped happily. "Gray, it's been ages! My goodness, you look great."
Gray felt the tingle of familiarity, but all those faces gawking at him made him realize that he had become a bit of an outsider. There were people in the guild he did not recognize, newcomers he had never met. He thought he now understood how Gildarts felt: coming back home to find things different, new faces, new names to learn, people growing up too fast, a sense of missing some important developments amongst his friends, his nakama, his family! Some things would always be familiar, and some things could drastically change.
"Oi, you droopy-eyed bastard!"
That was familiar.
A flaming hand shot forward, and Gray found himself roughly pinned against the wall. Natsu had barely changed at all. His pink hair was cut a bit shorter, his muscles a little bigger, and it looked like he was finally starting to shave, but otherwise those squinty eyes were the same.
"How dare you leave for two years and not tell anyone!"
"What are you talking about, idiot?" Gray grumbled. "I told everyone what was going on. You were there that day when I announced it for the whole guild to know."
"You said you were going off to train. I thought you meant for a few weeks, or maybe just over the summer. Not for two frigging years!" yelled Natsu.
"Those were your own assumptions," Gray mumbled, looking aside. He wondered if the others had thought that way, too. After all, when he left Magnolia to seek out Grandpa Belo, he had no idea it would take so long to learn Celestial Spirit magic.
Natsu's teeth were still clenched. "Do you have any idea how boring the guild has been without you around?"
Gray was momentarily stunned at Natsu's reaction. Then he chuckled and gave a cocky smirk. "Aww, did you miss me? That's rather sweet."
"Who'd miss you, stupid stripper?" The Dragon Slayer's fist lit aflame and pulled back. "Where the hell is Lucy? Call her out right now."
The playfulness in Gray's face faded. He looked around, and he saw others looking hopeful as well. Levy had left her seat on Gajeel's lap to walk a little closer with cautious eagerness in her face. Mira's eyes were shining with hope. Wendy bit her lip in silent excitement.
Gray's head dropped, and his hair fell into his eyes. "Sorry," he muttered. "It seems I'm not strong enough yet."
This time, the fist collided with his cheek, and Gray was slammed to the side until he stumbled to the floor. Pain shot through his whole face, and he smelled burnt skin. He had forgotten just how hard Natsu could punch.
Happy flew forward. "Natsu, don't! He just returned."
The Dragon Slayer roared in fiery rage. "What the hell have you been doing all this time? Sitting around with your thumb up your ass? You were supposed to learn how to bring Lucy back."
Gray rubbed out the swelling bruise and spit out some blood from his inner cheek slicing into his teeth. "Look, I've been working my ass off! Just when I could finally summon a Zodiac Spirit, my mentor collapsed, and he's stuck in the hospital now, so he sent me home."
"It's been two years, Gray!" Natsu shouted furiously.
Gray snatched up the keyring and showed the silver and gold collection off. "Would you like to try it? Because trust me, if a goddamn retard like you can call Lucy out, I'd give up all of my keys, anything just to see her again."
Juvia sighed with a plaintive smile. "Gray-sama still loves Lucy. So loyal! Juvia thinks that's sweet."
Erza stomped forward now. Natsu backed off quickly, but steam still smoked from his nostrils. Gray was still sitting on the floor rubbing the scorched bruise. He could not meet the Titania's eyes. Surely, she was also disappointed in him. He went off to learn how to bring Lucy back, and he failed. He let down everyone. He would not be surprised if Erza declared that he should leave, find a new mentor, and not return until he was strong enough to deserve to be called a member of Fairy Tail.
"Gray," she began in a stern voice that made him flinch. He almost forgot how scary Erza could be. "If I'm not mistaken, that's more Spirit Keys than Lucy originally had."
He was shocked she could remember a detail like that. "Ah … yeah, I … I managed to get a few more. Just Silver Keys, though."
"Call one out," Erza demanded. "I want to see your progress."
Gray nodded, and he slowly stood up. He looked through the collection and chuckled as he pulled one forth. "Natsu should like this," he muttered. Gray held the Silver Key up into the air. "Open the Gate of the Dragon! Draco!"
"Dragon?" Natsu gawked, his pointy eyes widening.
"Dragon!" Happy cheered.
There was a puff and flash, and a crimson, long, skinny, Chinese-style dragon appeared wrapped around Gray's shoulders.
"Ah, O-Fullbuster-dono summoned me again. Such an honor you bestow up on me, master. I am all fired up!"
Natsu pointed in a challenge. "Hey, that's my line, you chibi-dragon! Come on, Gray! When you said a dragon, I was hoping for a real dragon."
The serpentine dragon glared at the pink-haired young man. "Real dragon? I am not some stuffed toy, you insensitive hoodlum. Is this that so-called slayer of dragons you told me about, O-Fullbuster-dono? Shall I put him in his place?"
"No, he's stronger than he looks. I don't want you hurt, Draco," Gray smiled, scratching the small dragon under its chin. "Guys, this is Draco, Spirit of the Dragon Constellation, one of my new Celestial Spirit friends. Draco, this is Fairy Tail. They're my nakama."
The small dragon bowed its head humbly. "A sincere pleasure to make your acquaintance, wizards of Fairy Tail. Please take care of my esteemed master, O-Fullbuster-dono."
"Bring out a real dragon!" Natsu demanded in a tantrum.
Gray glared at him. "Oi, I can't just summon dragons, flame-brain."
Natsu opened his mouth to retaliate, but he stopped short, eyes widening in amazement. "Flame-brain?" He blushed a little and laughed. "I haven't been called that in ages. Dammit, I missed you, you perverted exhibitionist droopy-eyed stripper bastard."
Erza beamed with pride. "You've done well, Gray. It takes time to learn new magic, but obviously you've managed. I hope we can advance your training. How about we go on a mission?"
"Ooh, yeah!" Natsu said excitedly. "Erza and I are both S-Class now, so I outrank you. Hah!"
"A mission," Gray said with a private smile. "I haven't done missions in ages. I need to find a place to sleep, first."
"You can sleep with me," Erza decided.
Gray flinched backwards. "What? Ahh … sorry, Erza, but I'm still waiting for Lucy to come back, I'm staying loyal to her, and although you're a lovely lady, Jellal would…"
Jellal came forward with a gentle chuckle. "No, she meant stay in our house. We have our own place outside of town. It's quiet, so you can meditate and train. Plus we have a spare room for the baby."
"Baby?" Gray asked.
Erza placed a hand on her belly, but the armor hid any bulge. "You have seven months to find your own place before the little one arrives."
"Oh … wow … um … uh, c-congratulations, both of you," he said awkwardly. "Wow. I really missed a lot, didn't I?"
"You'll catch up quickly," Erza assured him. "We'll take you home with us tonight. For now, I think a welcome home celebration is in order."
Mira jumped up onto a table and conjured a guitar. "Party time! Welcome home, Gray."
The guild cheered. Gray's old friends came up to welcome him back, patting his shoulders hard and wanting to see more Celestial Spirits. Wendy came up and quickly healed his cheek. When Gray thanked her, she blushed and ran away, which made Romeo glare in jealousy. Makarov welcomed Gray back warmly. Cana challenged him to a drinking contest, although he declined, saying that since he had hardly drank any alcohol at all in two years, there was no way he could keep up with her.
Juvia blushed as she admitted that, some time after Gray left, she and Lyon hooked up. After two years of dating, the other Ice-Make wizard proposed to her, and she accepted. That happened only a week ago, on White Day, when Lyon gave Juvia a ring rather than chocolates. She said Lyon wanted Gray to be the best man, but they had not had time to invite him yet. Gray patted her on the head and accepted the offer.
There was a brief brawl with Natsu, in which Gray somehow lost all of his clothes. Facing off with his childhood rival made those two years seem to melt away. Some things changed, and some things would always stay the same. Realizing this made Gray smile in the midst of fighting. Just as the Dragon Slayer was about to use an attack that could have destroyed a sizable portion of the guild hall, Gray used both Taurus and his own ice magic to defeat the rambunctious boy.
"That is totally unfair!" Natsu shouted, half of his body encased in ice.
Gray twirled the ring of Spirit Keys with a victorious grin. "Perfectly fair, flame-brain. If you don't like it, go learn new magic, or get better at Dragon Slayer magic. I'll wait two years for you to catch up."
"Catch up?" screamed Natsu. "You conceded bastard! We're gonna fight for real tomorrow. No holding back. I'll show you how strong I've gotten over these two years. I'll kick your ass, perverted exhibitionist."
"Bring it on, sulfur breath!"

By the end of the night, Gray was tired from dancing and summoning so many Celestial Spirits; tipsy from sharing many toasts and cheers; and high on exhilaration and happiness. Erza and Jellal led him through the dark streets of Magnolia, guiding him when he stumbled from all the alcohol that he was unused to drinking.
"I love being home," Gray mumbled, nearly unintelligible. "I love this guild. I love you too, Erza," he declared in drunk slurs. "I even love Natsu. I love y'all. But … but I love Lucy more. I'mma gonna get her back," he insisted in a loud, inebriated shout. "I'll show that damn flame-brain. I'll bring Lucy home. Before your baby is born, I'mma bring her back."
Although drunk, his determination made Erza and Jellal smile.
"We'll always support you, Gray," Erza smiled, hugging his shoulders with sisterly affection.
"I love her," Gray mumbled, tripping a little as the world went fuzzy. Jellal caught him and helped Gray to keep walking. "I love her so much. I want her back. I wanted to bring her home by now, but … but I couldn't. I couldn't do it." He sniffed and hiccuped at the same time. "I failed."
"You didn't fail," Erza assured him. "You're nearly at your goal, Gray. So don't think you've failed when you just have a few more steps to walk."
"I want Lucy to see the guild how it is now," Gray muttered, staring ahead blankly. "I want everyone to have a big party for her, too. This is her home. This … this is our home! And I'm gonna bring her home. I swear it!"
Gray realized that time away from friends did not matter. Whether if he was away for two years or twenty, Fairy Tail would always be his home, and his friends would always be there for him. Similarly, time away from Lucy would melt away as soon as she returned. He just had to wait, get stronger, work harder, and when she came back, their time away would seem trivial.
His homecoming was so happy, there were many times during that day when he had to hide his tears. He wanted Lucy to have a homecoming like that, too. He wanted to see her eyes tear up as her friends cheered for her. He wanted to see her smile as she drank one of Mira's fruity drinks. He wanted to hold her in a corner of the room, like how Levy and Gajeel had been, and secretly kiss her.
He wanted Lucy to come home to Fairy Tail!

End of Chapter 7
- 6
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- 8
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I Leave You, My Pride