ᏔᎻY Ꭺ ᎠᎡᎪᏩNᎬᎬᏞ

Time

Questioning took a bit longer than we anticipated so we stopped by a ramen shop to get dinner for the day. We all ate quite a bit after working up an appetite from the nonsense that occurred down at the port. It's quiet on the way back to the the guild. I feel the peaceful air hit my face, turning as I hear Hikari yawn. The beautiful dark orange colors of the setting sun hit her face, causing her to rub her eyes. She let's out a tired sigh before laying her head on Grey's shoulder and wrapping her arms around Grey's neck. The sound of our foot steps filled the silence.

"I can carry her if you want," I offer, trying to break the silence. I look over at Grey waiting for his response, but he shoots me down, "It's fine, she's not heavy." I turn looking straight ahead, and the silence between us grows, making it a bit awkward.

'It's too quiet, I don't like it'

"I uh-" I clear my throat.

'His response earlier, from any point of view you could tell he was upset with me, but I don't know why.'

"I wanted to thank you for um, you know...the blanket", I take a pause to side eye him, and he still holds the same straight face as before. "And uh, for helping me out,...ya know on the boat," I say, looking down in mumble. Two minutes of silence passed by, and I was starting to get annoyed at the silent treatment. I'm about to speak up once again he lets out a hopeless sigh.

"You're reckless, you know that," He says, scolding me. "What?," I say as a response instinct. "Jumping onto the boat, what were you thinking." He continues as we stop in our tracks. "You mean when I took out Hikari's kidnapper, he was there, I had to do something I don't get why you're upset," I say, getting defensive. "I'm upset because you don't think before you act. You could have been killed. Your motion sickness is the biggest weakness you have, and you use it against yourself more than any enemy you face!" Grey says, raising his voice a bit. I was taken aback by his words because they were true. "Still, you were there... I was fine." I still defend, trying to avoid admitting I was in the wrong. "That's the point seaweed brain, what if I hadn't been there", after making his point, Grey continued walking. I stood in silence thinking about the what-if possibility that Grey hadn't been there. A flashback of the sword and my near death experience flashed before my eyes. I shake my head, getting rid of the thoughts running to catch up to Grey and a sleeping Hikari.

The sun has nearly fully set, and we're still a bit of a long way from the guild. The tension between us died down, and I finally I change the topic of the conversation we held before, breaking the silence once again. "So, what happened during the kid's questioning?" I thought he might still be upset, but everything went back to normal. "Some kids know where they're from. They have families. Others like Kai were orphans, and just like Hikari, they were taken when they were alone." I don't say anything. "Sister May offered to take those kids in while the others are scheduled to return home after the ports fixed," He says. "I see" is all I respond with.

We finally reach the guild just as the sun sets completely. Entering the hall, Hikari gets up from her short nap. "Daddy," she says, rubbing her eyes. Just as she's in the midst of waking up, Natsu runs over snatching Hikari from Grey's hands. "Natsu!" Grey yells before chasing after him. I let out a chuckle at the scene.

"Hey y/n," I hear my name being called, causing me to turn. "What's up?" I say, walking over. "I heard you went all out, down at the port," says a random guild member. I quickly cover his mouth, thinking he said it too loud. The realization hits me, causing me to panic, "If you heard about it then," sweat grows as I feel an aura attacking me. I turn to see Gramps about to blow a fuse, if looks could kill. I rush over, pleading with my hands.