In all fairness, Gray really should have seen that coming.
After all, how many times Life has screwed him over already? Too many that he has lost count.
He was a fool to ever think that mercy is something he is allowed to have. You would see from the event that led to Ur's death to Tartaros. Because apparently, someone out there must truly very hate Gray Fullbuster that happiness seems like a luxury for him. But Gray has defined that. He has given it a big "fuck you" in the face when he, broken and bruised as he was, managed to find his own happiness in the energetic form of Fairy Tail's famous destruction Salamander, Natsu Dragneel.
Gray has loved and been loved by Natsu. He has been the happiest man alive, despite what he has been through, what the two of them have been through. He has found his happiness. His sanctuary. He found home.
And now Gray himself will be the one to take away that home.
Because that person who once has been his sun, his everything has turned into something this world is afraid:
END.
Etherious Natsu Dragneel.
Apparently, Gray Fullbuster has not suffered enough. Zeref's strongest demon, the demon this entire world fears, turned out to be Gray's everything. The irony of it made him let out a bitter laugh.
He took a step forward. Then another. Making his ways toward the standing form of END that no one dared to approach. END was Natsu, is Natsu. How could they bring him down when the demon is their friend, their family? Fairy Tail's beacon of hope. The protests and cries and broken sobs from his guild filled his ears but Gray did not have the ability to care anymore. He is tired. Tired of having his everything ripped away from him. Tired of losing those that are important to him. Tired of fighting. He knows Natsu is tired too. Countless battles and traumatized events have scarred them to the very core. The simple wish of wanting to go home and just hug each other and whispering words of love seems so far away.
The marking of the Ice Devil Slayer Magic appeared on his body. With a single word, he created walls of unmeltable ice, isolating him and END from the rest of the world. He could still hear the faint noises of his friends, their friends. They are trying to break the ice. To stop him. He couldn't let them. Gray will finish this himself.
Setting them both free.
Onyx eyes filled with so many emotions, all threatened to break through the barricade he put up as they set upon who used to be Natsu. Long gone the shade of green of the eyes that held so much life that he loves so much, the cold demonic red was all that was left. The smile that could rival the sun and the laughter that once was like music to his ears are no longer there, the inhuman snarls and growls of a demon that has finally broken free after all this time. It hurt to see his beloved like this. It hurt to know there is not a cure and what has been done cannot be undone.
"Yo Flamehead...Natsu."
The blood red eyes that have never left him the moment he has stepped forward as if waiting to see what he is up to.
"Let's go home."
He charged.
It's funny.
Fighting is something he and Natsu have always done ever since they were just little kids. That is how they communicate. The brawl that will always end with them treating each other wounds and laughing together so innocently, without worrying about the world. But those days were long gone.
Now it is just a brutal reality that they have to face.
Fighting on pair with Zeref's demon was something he could never imagine. Fighting with Natsu, however, it is another story. As much as he hates that END is Natsu, the fact still unchanged. And END fights him like how Natsu used to only made his heartbreak more. The pain felt worse due to demon power, but comparing to the pain his heart feels, is it truly nothing.
How did it end up like this?
Memories of the happier days flash in his mind. When they first kissed, when they hug, when they cry, when they hold each other at night, the tender moment they shared, the sweet and bitter kisses,...all the moments he has shared with the Salamander came flashing like a reel film. Gray struggled to stand. His magic is almost out now and judging from the heavy breath of the demon, Natsu is too.
The end is near and they both know it.
As they engaged once again, neither paid attention to the droplets of tear from their eyes. Between the kicks and punches, the tears shine like crystal. Gray could not hold himself back.
In the heat of the final battle, Gray has wished that this tragedy did not happen.
He has wished that they weren't mages, instead just normal people.
He has wished that this war never happened.
He has wished that he weren't Gray Fullbuster the Ice Devil Slayer and Natsu weren't Natsu Dragneel, Zeref's younger brother and strongest demon. That they were just Gray and Natsu, two people who are very much in love with each other. Free to love without care. Without any worries that they won't make it home tomorrow.
He has wished that it didn't end like this.
But it doesn't matter anymore.
Taking all of his strength, his everything Gray let out a cry as he charged forward. The tears still fall but he cannot stop now. His hand, balled into a fist already glowing with his last ounce of magic. But then, for a moment, Gray has thought he saw those blood red eyes turn green. He saw Natsu, his Natsu, stand there with an arm open, smiling at Gray with tears. A heartbroken expression.
With that, they delivered their final attack on each other.
As his ice shard pierced through his beloved's heart and END's hand stabbed through his chest, the agonizing scream from END echoed through the sky, Gray slipping consciousness could only think that it is over. The scream died down and they both fell to the ground, shaken hands wrapped themselves around the unmoving body of his beloved. As he drew the final breath, he whispered:
"...I'm...home..."