Hello, and happy Grayza week! I'm new to the fandom and I've had a soft spot for this pairing since the beginning of the series. I figured there would be no better time to start this story, so here it is!

This story will be in three parts. The first will be five chapters and at present the second and third will each be six. The first two parts are just about complete, the third part far less so. Part 1, at least, will be up within the week. Because ratings will change by chapter, they'll be given at the beginning of each chapter as well as in the tags, ranging from teen to explicit.

All but the first three chapters will occur after the end of the series. Most, but not all, will be from the perspective of either Gray or Erza. This first chapter happens near the beginning of the series, after the events on Galuna Island but before the events of the Tower of Heaven. It serves mostly as a prologue to show a little bit of dynamic and where the characters are at. The next chapter is one of my favorites.

This is my first go at a straight up drama and I'd love to hear what people think, so please feel free to drop a comment to let me know.

The moment Erza Scarlet, Queen of the Fairies and the Great Titania of Fairy Tail, had been mentioned, Lucy had held this image in her mind of a titan among humans. Their first mission together had only fed this idea. Erza, while… a little strange, had defeated nearly the entire Eisenwald Guild single-handedly, and then she'd literally flown off into battle against the goliath demon, Lullaby. To say Lucy was awed by the guild's strongest female member was laughable because Erza was beyond 'admirable'. She was in her own league, a true Titan among humans if she'd ever heard of one, leaps and bounds above the mere mortals she was surrounded by. That she was among the weakest of their strongest mages was difficult to fathom.

Then Gray had defied her orders, that they abandon their mission and leave Galuna Island, and Lucy saw something change. When, upon seeing her nonchalance in regards to the troubles of the island's villagers, Gray had in a fit of anger and disgust claimed that Erza sickened him. Lucy had seen the woman's fingers tighten around the hilt of the sword which had literally materialized in her hand. More than that was the way her brow had twitched. His words had hurt her, and this had initially surprised Lucy because the woman had seemed so unflappable before that point. All she knew was that, however she tried to hide it, Erza Scarlet, the Great Titania who was in a league of her own, cared what Gray Fullbuster, Fairy Tail's own stripping pariah, thought of her.

Why was that?

It would be several months before she learned, months before Erza confessed to her that she and Gray used to be something like friends in their younger days. It was a curious and eye-opening realization.

But, perhaps, Lucy thought all at once, there was more human in this particular Titan than most realized.

Somewhere along the way, he'd forgotten they used to be friends-or at least as close to friends as two socially awkward, irreparably damaged, headstrong children could be. They hadn't really hung out or talked much or even gotten along most of the time. But, sometimes, between berating him for any of his stupid stunts or his fights with Natsu and beating him to a pulp whenever he had the gall to challenge her, Erza would give him a polite smile and he wouldn't shout at her in challenge. Sometimes he would even smile back-or at least, you know, stop frowning. Cordial. At times not making the other's day any worse. It was as close to friendship as he'd even been capable of in those days and Gray suspected it had been much the same for her.

Then Erza had grown into her role as the great Titania of Fairy Tail, and she wasn't around much anymore. The only times Gray really saw her were when she returned to give members of the Guild harsh words of reprimand for whatever mayhem they'd caused in her absence. In the simplest terms, they'd drifted from whatever actual friendship may have grown between them.

All at once, he regretted it because, if they were friends, perhaps she would've come to him about it rather than bottling it up with everything else. Erza had lingered in the guild hall to partake in the festivities, putting up a well constructed front that said this week had been like any other. But she wasn't alright. It was in the stiffness around her eyes and the subtle tightness of her smile that no one seemed to notice. She stayed just long enough that no one would suspect anything was the matter, and then she finally stood to excuse herself.

Or rather, almost no one suspected anything.

Gray's eyes had periodically strayed to her throughout the night, and he knew by the subtle twitch in her brow at times when he'd looked that his staring hadn't gone unnoticed by her. Perhaps that was another reason she wanted to leave, to escape his scrutiny, but the thought was such a ridiculous one that Gray quickly dismissed it; she'd never kept her mind about such things before. If anything, she just didn't want him to confront her about anything in front of the entire guild, to draw attention to her insecurities where everyone could see. He understood this, and it was why he'd kept his distance all night; he wasn't out to upset her like that because that was against his entire intention.

He waited for only a few moments before he followed her in departure. He slipped out silently as Natsu began to regale everyone with another overly embellished story of one of his victorious battles during their most recent mission. Nobody noticed the ice mage slink away. He'd been moving closer to the edge of the crowd all night in preparation of this moment and his getaway went off without a hitch.

The sun was very nearly set as he stepped out of the Guild Hall. He knew where Erza was going, but he also knew she wouldn't take side streets to get there, however quicker and less populated they may be. Fairy Hills may not be far, but the great Titania would rather put up a front around town, garnering confidence with her lie of calm, than hasten her short journey along to its end. It was why Gray managed to catch up with her after her head start. He had no qualms in using the alleyways—some had even come to expect the streaker of Fairy Tail to travel via side passages—or ignoring the folks who call out to him in greeting. He'd never been very sociable, and everyone knew it. It was just a very 'Gray' thing for him to do.

Once he did catch up to Erza, he kept his distance, knowing she would appreciate it just as little if he confronted her in front of the townsfolk as their guildmates. He lingered half a block behind as she conversed amiably with several civilians along her way to the guild's female dorm and he could see by the set of her shoulders that her facade was beginning to weigh on her.

Almost the instant she turned onto a vacant street, not far from her destination but too far to make it with her composure slipping, she all but hastened into the first alley she came to. Gray didn't see her steady herself on the wall in that alley, trembling for the effort of containing everything she was feeling, but he did hear the crack of it when she punched that wall. He didn't hurry. He knew she hadn't hurt herself and he understood the trouble with trying to confront this particular woman during the apex of any frustration. Right now, she was frustrated by her own weakness, and he gave her space for a moment, stopped just outside the alley, to let her try and deal with it.

But, of course, she hadn't attained all of her impressive titles for nothing.

"Why did you follow me?" she asked, her low voice bearing a warning which he didn't take to heart.

"You know why, Erza," Gray said as he stepped out from around the corner to join her.

Her head was dipped low, almost touching her brow to the wall, and he thought it an almost laughable attempt when she said, "I'm fine."

Aside from her tone, which clearly implied the opposite, the ice mage looked to the cracks in the wall, formed around her hand which was still in the epicenter of the damage.

"Clearly." His tone was dry and the epitome of sarcasm.

She grimaced because she knew she'd been caught with no reasonable lies to explain her way out of it. Still, she didn't look at him, kept her head bowed. He didn't wonder why because he already knew she disliked looking others in the eye during her lowest moments, feared they would see just how much she was hurting and hasten to cheer her up in all manner of hopeless ways.

They were the same in that regard.

And Erza was nothing if not stubborn.

"I said I'm fine, now just-"

"Erza," Gray interrupted, his tone stern, and she quieted, her mouth pulling into a frown of disapproval for his rudeness. "We just dismantled a slave smuggling ring which specialized in the 'displacement' of orphaned children to underground labor forces."

Gray could still remember the look on her face when, after the team had split into pairs to search the facility, he and she had discovered a holding cell with a dozen malnourished children leg-shackled to the walls inside. There had been a few more cells with just as many children, a sight which sickened Gray even now to think of.

Erza had been quiet.

A period of calm didn't only precede literal storms.

When the group had at last found him, the ringleader of the operation, the man had made the truly terrible decision to boast to the team from Fairy Tail that children who grew up in labor made for much more profitable workers. His profit margin had gone up the day he'd decided to invest in 'unlocking the potential of future tools'. Not a mage himself, he'd then sent in his hired muscle, the rest of the mercenary mages having been lying in wait. Erza's sights had been on only one man, even as she'd cleaved her way through scores of mercenary fodder. By the time Gray and Natsu had managed to pull Erza from the man, he'd been on death's door. That she'd used her fists rather than any of her seemingly infinite arsenal of weapons to deliver the beating spoke that much more as to how deeply it had all impacted her. The slave lord would be eating through a straw for the rest of his life and he would never walk unassisted again. No one would weep for him.

But, Gray had never before seen Erza lose it like that.

She had apologized to the team later for her loss of composure and Natsu, Happy, and Lucy had seemed ready enough to think that the end of the matter on her word alone. Gray, however, wasn't fooled. Mira, after all, wasn't the only member of Fairy Tail who could have a way with words when it suited her most. She wasn't the only charmer in the Guild and Erza, with her polished words and her masks of steely calm, had managed to fool almost everyone.

But Gray still remembered the girl who had walked into the Guild years before with bandages over her eye, a sword on her back, and shackles on her wrists.

"I may not know much about what happened to you all those years ago," he said, "but don't take me for a fool."

Gray was irritated by the unintended abrasiveness of his own tone, and Erza whipped around in response to it faster than he blinked, her eyes flashing dangerously.

All he saw was the tear running down her left cheek.

"Well, why do you even care?" she snapped.

Gray didn't dignify the question with a response, just pulled his mouth into a thin, stern line and stared at her. Erza realised quickly herself what a ridiculous question it was because she turned away, having the presence of mind to be embarrassed by her own folly since there was absolutely no reason he wouldn't care. But, then she pushed from the wall and turned to walk away. She was clearly done with this conversation, but he was just getting started.

"Erza," he said again, sounding more forceful than he could ever remember being with a woman who could surely crush him flat as an afterthought.

Gray was more than a little surprised when she actually stopped upon his unspoken demand that she listen to him, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to capitalize on the opportunity. He approached and only stopped when he was but a few paces from her. He had to stop himself there, fighting a very powerful instinct to close in and reach out, because Erza had clenched her fists as he'd neared and had turned her face down and away to keep him from seeing her properly. He didn't want to overstep and he hated that he may be pushing too hard into a subject which cut so deeply. But, he needed to say this and he hoped she was in a mood to actually hear what he had to say. That she hadn't left was a good sign, regardless of her defensive stance, but the urge to reach out for her was one he continued to struggle with because it would surely send her away if he gave in.

"You always do this," Gray said, tucking his hands into the pockets of his slacks to keep them in check because they might otherwise grow minds of their own with this proximity to her. "You push us all away, closing yourself up because you think you need to hold yourself to some higher standard. Symbols can't let themselves be broken, I suppose you'd say. But, Erza, you can't keep doing this."

Erza's response was, naturally, an obstinate one, always so eager as she was to hide her pain from the world. This, as it turned out, was just the problem he was getting at.

"Give me one good reason why not," she all but growled at him.

Yet, for a brief moment, despite her gruff tone and the subtle hint of a threat, Gray thought this might be an earnest request from her. There was a vulnerable undercurrent to her words, one he very nearly missed, that said she was really just looking for an excuse. For any reason to, for once in so very long, be anything other than the unshakeable Titania of Fairy Tail, even for just a short while. He imagined the weight of it could be unbearable sometimes…

Gray had a very narrow window of opportunity here, so he consciously calmed his tone. He pondered a moment over what he should say, bouncing from dipping into the human psyche to simply reiterating his last comment with 'because you can't'. But neither, he ultimately decided, would do.

In the end, the answer seemed rather obvious to him, and he took a step closer and lowered his voice before he said, "Because I won't let you."

And it was one of the most earnest things he'd ever said. If he could help it, he wouldn't let her drown under that weight she'd put on herself.

Erza dipped her head, and she drew in a few ragged breaths before her shoulders sagged just a little. Her breathing steadied once more, and her fists loosened, and it was a relief because Gray knew he'd said just what she'd needed to hear, that she had people who cared about her enough that she didn't have to keep her walls up every second of every damn day.

"I made a promise to myself once," he continued, taking this chance while those steel walls of hers were finally down.

"I promised I'd do everything I could to keep you from crying again." More hesitantly, because it was a confession he hadn't actually meant to give, he added in a softer voice, "I hate it when you cry."

He didn't know what her reaction to this admission was because Erza was still facing away from him. Part of him was afraid because hidden in those words was all of the things he had in recent months started to realize he felt for her, things he was only just beginning to be honest with himself about. Gray pushed on, eager not to let her dwell on it if she had heard.

"...But that was a selfish promise I made because I hate to see you hurting," he said, and perhaps she would think he meant this as a friend. He did, but that 'something new' lingered in the back of his mind and reminded him that it was different too. "I've learned that sometimes we have to hurt, so, if I could, I think I'd change that promise to this…"

It was an ultimately conscious action when Gray finally reached out to rest his hand on her arm, over that mark that bound them and their guildmates together, and he felt Erza go tense for just a moment and thought he'd overstepped, that the instinct to hold back had been the right one.

But, she didn't pull away, and his heart stuttered a moment with a want to hold her. Gray ground that want mercilessly between his teeth and swallowed it.

Still, he let his hand linger as he vowed, "You'll never have to cry alone."

Erza's shoulders began to shake just noticeably then as she clenched her fists again, and then, at last, she turned. She didn't look him in the eye, kept her head low as if still ashamed, and Gray felt a pang in his chest.

Had he played a role in this? Had he helped turn her into this person who couldn't accept her own pain?

He expected anger from her, quite honestly, because Erza had a tendency to react violently when confronted with her own weakness. But, instead, she reached out for him, grasping blindly at his sleeve as her legs became unsteady, and Gray reached out in alarm with both hands to help brace her. She leaned into him and then, before he truly realized what had happened, she'd pulled herself to his chest.

She didn't sob, but she was shaking, and he could see her grimacing against his shoulder with her head held low in an attempt to conceal her eyes behind a curtain of red hair, still resisting this weaker side of herself.

And then she said against his chest, so softly that he almost didn't hear, "I'm tired, Gray…" and it almost broke him. "I'm so tired…"

It was a completely intuitive gesture of comfort when he wrapped his arms around her, but Gray didn't regret it, feeding that foolish want in his heart as she held onto him a little tighter in turn. He swallowed thickly.

"I know everyone has this image of you, the great Titania Erza, Queen of Fairies, and you feel like you have to live up to that all the time. But, Erza…" When he breathing in, Gray inhaled the floral scent of her shampoo, and he had to take a moment to steady himself as his heart stuttered in his chest again. When he spoke again, the quietness of his tone wasn't intentional. "You deserve to be human too."

She had every right to her pain and some things took longer to heal than others. Lost years, how things could have been, personal mistakes which may have changed everything for the worse... It all had a way of creeping back up, even years later.

Gray had his own personal experience in this.

Erza sobbed softly, just once. Her shoulders shook heavily with the motion and her fingers closed tightly, clutching his jacket front. At least, he thought briefly, there was absolutely no way he could subconsciously strip himself of the article of clothing now, not with the grip she had on it.

And yet, despite how she was clinging to him, nothing surprised Gray more than when Erza's armor began to glow, bathed in a familiar golden light. And as it faded away he found his fingers sinking through the cold, hard steel plating until his hands laid flat on the soft fabric of her shirt. He didn't need to look to know she'd requipped off her armor, and yet he did so all the same because the fact was such a sudden and unexpected one that he had to make sure.

Her nose accidentally grazed his neck when she closed the distance between them which had been created by her armor and Gray berated himself when that brief touch stole his breath away. But, he didn't relinquish his hold on her as Erza continued to cry more softly now, grieving for whatever she'd been through, for whatever or whomever she'd lost.

Gray had realized long ago that he was in trouble. This woman, the strong and fiercely loyal Queen of Fairies, had wormed her way into his angry, bitter heart before he'd known better than to let her. Ever since that day years ago when he had realized just how human this Titan was, she'd gained a power over him. And now it seemed he was setting himself up for heartache. There would've been nothing wrong with it if it wasn't for the simple fact that she was Erza. Distant was her default setting. It wouldn't change easily, and beyond that she probably shouldn't stoop to the level of a strange, subconsciously self-stripping ice mage like him.

All of this, however, could wait for another day. He was nothing if not an expert in compartmentalization, and he knew that probably made him the biggest hypocrite in Magnolia since he was currently telling Erza to do the exact opposite. This wasn't about him, though, so he tabled the thought and held her as she grieved. He might one day mention it to her, the degree of his affection for her which had recently shifted. But, he didn't yet have the courage to face what her answer might be. That was his own weakness.

Gray was human too, after all.