notes: this was a sort of spur of the moment thing. it's 6:30 AM. i am tired as hell and refuse to sleep until the new chapter is released.
ahem. if there's any spelling or grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out because my sleep deprived brain is sjhklhdking c:
dedication: to perfectly dysfunctional siblings... and Hurts.

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If you were to ask Erza how she felt about Natsu and Gray, she probably wouldn't be able to tell you.

She might tell you they're idiots who talk too much, and fight too much, and are just too much.

She might tell you they're idiots, but they're her idiots.

She could say that as her guildmates, she feels obligated to keep them inline—but that wouldn't even be the half of it.

She could bring up memories, like how, although she'd never (ever) show it, a small— she insists small —part of her worried had when they used to go out on missions, and didn't stop until she had seen their abilities with her own eyes, and how she felt (somewhat) proud of them.

Although Erza wouldn't, she could talk about the times (only a few times each, and only within the first year she knew them) Natsu or Gray had woken up with watery eyes and shaky breaths—

And loud shouts of, "I am not crying, stupid!"

And Erza wouldn't even deliver a punishment, because if they were going to mourn over the loss of a parent (who wasn't connected by blood but something much, much more) who was she to stop them? She couldn't sympathize, because any memories of her parents were long gone, and they'd either sold her as a slave or been killed, anyways. So she'd just nod, sometimes shifting a little closer, sometimes patting their head.

Because, really, it was all she felt like she could do.

(But as images of a man with kind eyes and tales of fairies fill her brain, she thinks maybe she could have sympathized.)

She might talk about the time some drunk had been hitting on her, and Gray's glare literally froze the man, and Gray's only comment had been, "I'm not even sorry."

Or maybe the time when she was 12 and went on a mission with Natsu, and had somehow managed to fall off a cliff into a river and—

Actually, there was no way in hell she'd tell you about that.

But she might tell you about how when the locals had taken her in, Natsu didn't leave her side once, refused to let them give her any medicine unless he tested it first, and how he almost hugged her when she woke up—

But instead caught himself and snickered, "Taking a nap in the middle of a mission doesn't look good, y'know?"

And punishment had been delivered where punishment had been deserved.

Maybe Erza would compare them to overprotective, annoying younger brothers, but then again, she supposed sometimes she could be compared to an overprotective older sister.

(Or maybe an extremely underpaid babysitter. To her, it sounded much more fitting.)

She could talk about how as they'd grown, they'd drifted, she'd become S-class and grew up more then she already had. She'd taken on more long, dangerous missions, and hadn't even noticed how long it had been since she'd last seen them until she saw how much taller Gray was than her.

She probably wouldn't, but she might tell you that somewhere along the line, she'd forgotten the different between disciplinarian and nakama, and something on Galuna Island had reminded her.

She might tell you how, since joining the team, she can't remember the last time she'd been happier… or had more headaches.

If you were to ask Erza how she felt about Natsu and Gray, she probably wouldn't be able to tell you, because there would be too many words, too many stories, too many moments to sum up their strange, perfectly dysfunctional relationship.

Most likely, she'd tell you they're idiots and walk off trying to hide a small, small smile.