Hello all.

I'm back with something that struck me and I decided I had to write it. Only the plot in this story is mine, the rest belongs to Hiro Mashima and TV Tokyo, please support the official release.

Enjoy!

He was a ghost, that much she could tell. He was barely himself, spending all his time in his apartment, living off of his savings and eating next to nothing. He was a ghost, a ghost of his former self, the cockshore, dark haired, handsome self and seeing him like that killed her. He didn't eat, barely slept as far as she could tell and almost never left his bed. He barely made it through the motions.

"She is gone Luce. She is just… gone." Gray said as he lay in bed, a blanket pulled up to his chin.

"I know Gray, I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry." Lucy replied, rubbing his back. The ice-mage was cold, not cool like he usually felt whenever she touched him, but cold, as if his skin was the snow. But he didn't shiver, sniffle, or sneeze. No Gray Fullbuster was sick in a different way, he was depressed, shattered. The cause of this illness was a water mage named Juvia Lockser, the woman Gray truly loved, and the woman who had broken his heart.

"You really need to eat Gray; Mira made you your favourite shaved ice with extra powdered snow. Not to mention that everyone at the guild misses you; they all want you to come back and at least visit, to at least show them that you are ok."

"What's the point? They all have better shit on their minds than the frozen heart of a broken ice-mage. The bed is enough for me, at least I think so. How do I even show them I'm ok, I'm not ok Luce."

"Come on Gray, they all love and miss you, even Natsu. Nobody but me has seen you in the last two weeks and that's only because you let me bring you food twice a week. I mean for the Spirit King's sake you should at least go on a mission to clear your mind."

"I don't feel like it Luce, how… how could she do that? After everything she said? That isn't like her at… no maybe it is what she really is like in the end. I won't deny that I am good looking, Nothin' like Loke or those Blue Pegasus wimps, but I never thought she was so shallow to be done with me after a year because I had stopped being the flavour of the month. I thought she genuinely loved me, I should have noticed the signs. She quit complementing me, lost sexual interest I think too, and I know I'm pretty good at that, trust me. Shit she would barely talk to me by the end of it."

"Gray that's not it and you know it, Juvia loved you. She decided to go travelling for a while and while it was wrong, she decided she needed someone with her physically, I'm sorry Gray, and I'm sorry you walked onto what you did."

"She was kissing that fuck, kissing him while he had his hand up her dress or whatever. If she hadn't have stopped me I would have killed him. I swear Luce, I would have done it, slowly, and I would have enjoyed it too. I beat him good though, I don't think he has much of a face left." Gray clenched his fists, chilling the air unintentionally.

"Gray… I'm so sorry. I really am. I don't know what to say, I really don't." Lucy looked at the ground, feeling like crying for her friend. He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes, a shadow of his old self returning.

"Luce it really isn't your fault, so quit apologizing."

"I know, I know, but you're so… different now Gray, not the Gray any of us know, I haven't seen you strip even once since this happened. That is unnatural!" She sighed.

And that's when he chuckled, he actually chuckled. For the first time in two weeks his face cracked a grin and Lucy felt a weight lift off her shoulders. He let go of her hand and she was sure she could feel it linger, she was sure she could feel a trace of longing for the touch of a friend. But that wouldn't be right; after all while she doubted she could call Juvia a friend, she would still not cross that boundary, even for Gray's sake. He needed space.

She made a motion to get up, to pass him the meal that Mirajane had prepared and then go out on what she would consider to be almost awkward but still friendly terms. Searching around his apartment for the cutlery she realised just how sparse it was, the bare necessities were there, that much was certain but where were the touches that made that apartment a home. It felt like a laboratory, white, and crisp, and clean. There were no dropped jackets or misplaced pairs of pants. No, this apartment had a distinctly un-Gray like feel. It felt like nobody had lived there for months.

She grabbed a spoon and forced the shaved ice into the ice-mage's hands. He would eat and that was that. She would stay and make sure he finished every last piece of frozen and sugared water. Gray took a reluctant bite of the ice, he had to hand it to Mira, she was damn good at making any culinary delight. It tasted delicious. By the end of the meal Gray had a small and content smile on his face, sucking on the spoon to take in as much of the sugary flavour as he could.

"Well I think that proves that Mira is the greatest chef in history." Gray smiled, naturally Lucy saw through the forced gesture, but at the very least he was fake smiling, better than the forlorn and stone set look he had been wearing the last times she had seen him. Gray had settled for looking out the window at the cloudy sky, probably thinking of Juvia as far as Lucy could tell. She decided to leave him be, leave him to his thoughts, and leave him to the healing process. Pulling her coat on she opened the door and for a second hesitated, something Gray did not miss.

"Luce… Will you, you know?" He asked, unsure of himself.

"Yes Gray, I'll be here tomorrow, I promise." She smiled and wrapped herself tighter in her coat, zipping it up so she would stay warm.

"Thanks Luce, I'll see you then."

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed,

KeyofAce