I'm so sorry, guys, that I haven't updated in forever.

*ugly crying* IT'S OKAY, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ANGRY.

I've been trying so hard to work on the next part of the Wonderland Arc, but I keep getting distracted by new ideas of new one-shots that I feel like I should do.

A-ahahahahaha...g-gomen...yeah, I'm gonna have to postpone that some more.

In the meantime, relish in this new one-shot I have lovingly crafted for you!

AND WHAT?!  WE'VE GOTTEN OVER 5K VIEWS?!  WHERE DO YOU GUYS COME FROM?! *looks in bushes*

Welp, without further ado, let's get on with the story!

(F/s) = favorite snack

(F/n) = friend's name

(T/n) = teacher's name

(E/c) = eye color

Baka = idiot

Ie = no

You sighed and propped your head up with your arm as your eyes stared intently at the screen before you.  Fairy Tail, one of your favorite animes of all time, was playing on your computer screen, and you smiled as your favorite characters appeared in the scene.

Even though you knew very well that this was not reality, you couldn't help but feel strangely attracted to Natsu's reckless nature, Lucy's friendly persona, Erza's passionate characteristics, Wendy's timid yet strong spirit, Happy's teasing jokes, Carla's tsundere ways, and Gray's cool and charismatic tendencies.

In fact, Gray Fullbuster was probably your favorite character in the entire anime (although it was really difficult to say whom you like above the others, considering they're all so awesome).

He was funny, caring, calm, strong, intelligent, and confident.  He was basically everything you would ever ask for in a boyfriend; it's too bad that boys aren't like this at all in real life.  You usually find yourself gushing over his words and actions, and you would often pause the video just so you could stare at him and fangirl for a moment or two.  It was no wonder Juvia had a massive crush on the ice mage.

You sighed as you clicked the button for the next episode.

If only I had a way of traveling to the Fairy Tail world.  Wouldn't that be something?

Meanwhile, a scheming, brilliant author was snickering to herself as she prepped for the next scene in the story.

Time skip brought to you by Miko's SHAMELESS ADVERTISING!  PLEASE GO CHECK OUT ASK FAIRY TAIL IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!

As you were watching the TV while stuffing your face with (f/s), the doorbell rang.  You raised an eyebrow before opening the door, only to find the mailman, who was a black-haired young man with a baseball cap, wave at you from his truck before driving toward the next house.

You hesitantly waved back before looking down at the package he had delivered.  You furrowed your eyebrows--your parents hadn't mentioned anything about something arriving today, but it's not odd that they could've ordered something online without mentioning it to you.

You closed your front door as you brought the box inside, but what caught your attention was the name that it was listed under.

(Your address)

To: (Y/n) (L/n)

To you?  Who in the world would be sending you a package?  Your eyes darkened upon the thought of (F/n) playing a prank on you by mailing you something that would probably embarrass you.  Who knows?  (He/she) might've even set up cameras in your house since the last time (he/she)'d been here.

You chuckled lowly.  "Oh, (F/n), if this is a prank, you are definitely a goner."

Still curious as of what was inside, you sighed and grabbed a pair of scissors before cutting the tape and opening the brown cardboard box, taking out the bubble wrap and placing it aside.

Your eyes widened upon seeing a miniature plushie inside, and you reached in to pull it out.  You held it up for you to examine it, and your eyes brightened upon realizing who the plushie was based upon.

It was a Gray Fullbuster plushie.

You squealed in utter delight as you gave the plushie a warm hug, squeezing it against you in excitement.  A Gray Fullbuster plushie!  And of such great quality, too!  You'd searched up Fairy Tail plushies and merchandise multiple times before online, but you'd never found one that was this soft and this cute.  A lot of them actually made the characters appear creepy...

...but this one, Gray Fullbuster, was the most adorable doll you'd ever laid eyes on.

You blinked upon realizing that the box was not empty yet.  You slid out a piece of paper, wondering if it had the company name listed on it, but when you read it, you were taken aback by its contents.

Hello, fellow Fairy Tail lover!

We are one of the companies that specialize in producing products that are related to many well-known animes.  Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Black Butler, and Bleach are only some of the animes that we create merchandise for.

Because we've only recently begun making Fairy Tail merchandise, we decided to send out a couple of free plushies to Fairy Tail fans, such as yourself, in order to get our popularity out there and to convince people that our merchandise is only made of the best materials.

Please spread the word amongst your friends who share the common interest of anime with you that the Miko & Matt Company is taking the world by storm!  And we hope you enjoy your plushie!  Please take good care of it.

Miko and Matt

Head CEOs of the Miko & Matt Company

You stared at the letter in utter disbelief before tossing it aside, still trying to process the odd note.  What kind of company just gives out plushies for free?  And how did they know which homes had anime lovers and which didn't, anyway?!

Sounded suspicious...

But you shrugged and smiled blissfully as you gave your new plush another gentle embrace.  You honestly didn't care much about how you'd gotten the plush--all you cared about was that this wasn't a prank from (F/n) and that you now had a plush from your favorite anime with you.

Time skip by readers, who are wondering who the heck Matt is

You groaned in frustration as you pressed your fingers against the side of your forehead, utterly exhausted from the homework your teacher had assigned you.  This teacher, in particular, you suspected, was having a midlife crisis and felt the only way to resolve this issue was to torment everyone around (him/her) to the best of (his/her) abilities.

Thanks for teaching me so much in school, (T/n)! you thought with fake enthusiasm, gripping your pencil tightly with anger.  I feel so much smarter now that you've bestowed your nonexistent intelligence upon me.

As you pondered how to respond to the next question, there was an abrupt voice behind you that interrupted your thinking.  "I think you answered the first question wrong."

You flinched violently at this, completely startled, and whirled around, only to stare into a pair of dark blue eyes, which bore into yours deeply.

You blinked in confusion and continued to stare at those blue eyes, and the blue eyes continued to stare into your eyes.  This went on for a few more seconds before you let out a horrified scream, the awful realization that there was an uninvited and unfamiliar stranger in your home settling in.

The male, seemingly panicking, hastily tried to shush you as he held up his hands, careful not to touch you so he didn't frighten you further.  "Don't scream, please!" he whispered urgently, his eyes darting back to the door of your bedroom.  "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise, I promise!  Just don't scream, your parents are gonna freak!"

Though your screaming ceased, you were still on high guard and leaned back defensively.  "N-n-n-no kidding!" you retorted with slight fear, internally wondering if your parents were deaf, considering they hadn't come rushing in at the sound of your ear-piercing shriek.  "It's not every day that there's an ax murderer that breaks into your home!  Who are you and how did you get in?!"

"I'm not an ax murderer!" he hissed, narrowing his eyes at you.  "I told you, I have no intention to hurt you!"

"Then why the hell were you creepily stalking me from close behind?!"

"I was NOT stalking you!"

"In fact, how the heck did you even get in?!"

"You let me into the house, especially after you gave me that tight hug that nearly suffocated me to death!"

"What are you talking about, baka?!  I never gave you a hug!"

"Uh, YES, you actually did, dummy.  I'm that plushie that got mailed to you today, remember?!  GOD, you're slow."

"I am not--"

You cut yourself off as your eyes widened, studying every feature on the male's face.  Soft, silky navy hair that stuck up unnaturally, dark blue eyes that held raw emotion, pale skin that seemed to glow, and attractive features that shaped his face into that of a perfect human being.  You felt your breath hitch at the sight of such a beautiful and gorgeous being, but at the same time, you felt a pang of familiarity hit you.

"You..." you breathed, staring at him incredulously.  "EH?!  H-HOW THE HECK IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!  You're...G-Gray Fullbuster?!"

He smirked as he bent down closer to you, causing you to lean back further nervously.  "The one and only," he confirmed lowly.  "Take some deep breaths and calm yourself, woman.  Who might you be, obnoxious yet pretty girl?"

You wanted to blush profusely at the fact that he called you pretty, but you also wanted to shout at him angrily for calling you obnoxious.

"(Y-Y/n)," you stuttered, fiddling with your sleeve.  "(Y/n) (L/n)."

"(Y/n), huh?" he repeated, standing up straight with a hand shoved into his pocket as he shifted his gaze away from you and directed his attention to your room.  "So, this is where you live?"

You nodded silently before realizing he wasn't looking at you.  "Yes," you muttered, staring at him in wonder and curiosity.  "Um, if you don't mind me asking, how did you...turn from a plush to a, erm, a human being?"

The navy-haired male glanced at you from the corner of his eye before shrugging nonchalantly.  "How should I know?" he asked carelessly.  "All I felt was strong waves of irritation and aggravation radiating off of you, and then I transformed into my form.  Problem?"

You snapped out of your little trance and glared at him.  "Major problem!" you declared, huffing.  "What are my parents gonna do when they find out you're here?!  I don't think they're gonna allow a weird boy who'd just appeared out of nowhere in my room to live under the same roof as me!  Ie, in fact, they might even call the police!"

"I'm pretty sure I can revert back to my plush state," Gray informed you, staring at your angry expression with a tiny bit of amusement, but mostly reassurance, "but there was one major factor that made me turn like this.  It was you."

You stared at him before scowling.  "Oh, so you're trying to blame me now?" you mumbled, crossing your arms.  "I did nothing!"

"See, right now, you're bothering me greatly," he told you, running a hand through his hair in exasperation.  "With your anger radiating off of you, I feel compelled to be in this human form.  My theory is that, whenever you're stressed or angry or sad or feeling unwell, I, somehow, am forced to transform into this body.  So, in order to change me back, I'm gonna need to help you with whatever it is that's bothering you."

You rolled your eyes.  "That's gonna be difficult, considering a major factor of my annoyance is coming from you being here.  This is gonna bring a lot of problems, you know."

"Don't think about that right now," he comforted you, smiling.  "Just relax.  It's late, so we'll think more about this tomorrow.  For now, let's just finish your work and start over, okay?"

He grinned down at you, winking charmingly.  "Hey, there, I'm Gray Fullbuster.  You?"

You flushed a deep red--it wasn't your fault that your favorite character from Fairy Tail was standing in front of you and was too handsome for his own good.  "(Y/n) (L/n).  N-nice to meet you, Gray."

"Likewise, (Y/n)."

Time skip~!

Before long, Gray and you had become rather close.  You found that carrying him in your backpack wasn't a bad idea, because whenever he transformed into his human self, he'd always magically wound up outside of the backpack.

Moreover, he'd gotten more control over his transformation.  He'd been able to control when and where he wanted to transform better, which was nice because you wouldn't want him to abruptly pop up out of nowhere when you were having lunch with your friends at school.

You two also spent a lot of time together; a lot of this time was spent watching anime, movies, or TV shows that you enjoyed.  Imagine Gray's surprise when you showed him Fairy Tail for the very first time.

(And that's when the fourth wall broke~!)

That said, Gray was always there to help you with whatever issues you were facing.  Whether it was a small problem like not being able to find your socks or something like bullying or teasings, he would always show up and save the day.  Of course, he'd often tease and scold you for not being able to resolve those problems yourself--and you'd retort that your socks kept running away from you and the students who kept bullying you were too infatuated with Gray to say anything back to him.

It felt nice, to have someone to rely on.  It was comforting and soothing to know that there was someone there to catch you if you ever fell.  He would not only catch you, he would also dust you off and help you treat whatever injuries you'd received from the fall.  Further, he'd crack jokes to make you feel better, too.

Before long, you'd fallen in love with him, and by the time you realized it, you'd already fallen deep.

It was after you'd arrived home from school one day, depressed because you'd gotten a bad grade on a test and you'd lost your homework, causing the teacher to glance at you in disappointment.  You felt exhaustion wash over you as you dropped your backpack onto the ground, collapsing onto the couch lazily.

As you wallowed in self-pity, a pair of slender arms slipped around your waist carefully.  A low chuckle sounded beside your ear, and you already knew who it was.

"Why so miserable, (Y/n)~?" he questioned, smirking.  "You look like you've been through a tornado and back."

"Shut up, Gray," you muttered, relishing in his warmth.  "School sucks."

"It's a common fact, (Y/n), no need to state it out loud."

You giggled and turned to him.  "I'm sad.  Make me feel better," you demanded childishly.

"Such rudeness," he scolded, clicking his tongue playfully, "but I suppose you'll feel better after I make you some of your favorite food, right?"

Your eyes lit up immediately, locking with his eyes.  "Really?!" you squealed eagerly.

He laughed and stroked your hair carefully.  "Of course," he replied, "but you have to promise me to actually complete your project tomorrow night.  No more half-hour breaks, okay?"

You huffed but nodded in agreement.  "Fine."

Gray smiled at your words and brushed your hair out of your face.  "Atta girl," he murmured quietly before pressing his lips against your forehead affectionately.

Your eyes widened as a blush exploded upon your cheeks, your heart pounding loudly.  H-h-h-he kissed m-my...!

With that, Gray removed his arms from you and sent you a small wink before making his way into the kitchen.  "I'll call you when the food is ready," he stated simply before disappearing.

It was then that you realized your blatant and strong feelings for him.

You knew for a fact.

His mere presence could bring a smile to your face, no matter what troubles you were facing.  His soft voice sent soothing feelings throughout your body.  His tender touch warmed your heart.

You were no longer the girl who was helplessly in love with the character of Gray Fullbuster from the anime.

You were the girl who was in love with Gray Fullbuster, your best friend, and crush.

Don't worry, this is the last time skip (I think)

Gray put his hand on top of your head gently, shooting a sharp glare in the direction of those who enjoyed picking on you.  "Come on, (Y/n), let's go home.  School's over."

You nodded, leaning into his touch, and, together, you two began your walk home.

"Thanks for that, Gray," you murmured to him as you glanced back at the building.  "They were especially annoying today."

"Don't sweat it," he answered, the corners of his lips quirking upward.  "I enjoy telling them off once in a while; they deserve it, anyhow."

You giggled and looked up at his attractive features with sparkling eyes.  "You...you know," you stammered, fidgeting nervously as you averted your gaze elsewhere, a tiny smile gracing your lips.  "Th-this is one of the reasons why...I really l-like you."

At those words, Gray paused in his footsteps suddenly, his eyes widening in surprise.

You felt a wave of insecurity wash over you, but you felt no regret in your confession.  "It's okay if you don't feel the same!" you reassured him, smiling.  "I just thought I'd let you know that...I-I really do like you, Gray.  Really."

He stared into your (e/c) orbs, shock and disbelief displayed over his handsome face before it melted into a fond smile.  He ran his fingers through your soft hair and a tiny blush was scattered upon his pale complexion.

"No need to worry.  I like you, too, (Y/n).  I like you...a lot."

And with those words, he swooped his head down and kissed you.

Me: Why, hello, there, reader!  Did you enjoy this little one-shot I've made for you?

Matt: I had too little screen time.  It was horrendous.

Me: Pfft, you weren't important to the plot.  It wasn't necessary.

Matt: WHAT?!  I played a significant role!  I was the mailman, remember?!

Me: Just shut up and introduce yourself to the readers, won't you?

Matt: *groans exasperatedly* Hello, Miss (or Mister) Reader, I am Matt, the OC that Miko has created to help her with things behind the scenes...but I feel like I'm more of a slave than an assistant.

Me: Exactly~!  Because he is an OC, I get to tell him anything I want him to do, teehee~!  He's magically bound by that thing called "The Power of Writing"!  It's kind of like having a familiar~!

Matt: I AM NOT A PET, MIKO!

Gray: Sh-she's gaining too much power...should I be afraid?