One of my absolute favorite pairings. Something about this ship... I'm just... super, super into it...
At the bottom is one of my all-time favorite quotes that I think about a lot.
Takes place during/just-after the Alvarez arc.
Meredy sat down heavily on a piece of rubble, sweat running down the side of her face and coating her hair. Wearily, she tucked a rosy strand behind her ear. Emerald eyes slowly closed, as she put her head in her hands. Try as she might though, no tears fell. Her tongue was dry, her throat scratchy. She had no tears left to give.
Something cold and damp pressed against her, cheeks, and Meredy bolted to her feet, hands up in a battle stance.
Gray blinked in bewilderment at her reaction, water bottle grasped in his fingertips still held, outstretched, towards where the pink-haired mage had been just a moment ago. "Sorry," he mumbled, glancing away. "I should have said something - I thought you knew I was here."
Relaxing, Meredy let out a sigh. "Well, we are on a battlefield, after all!" The smile she gave him was forced, wan.
Taking up her vacated spot, Gray held out the bottle still to her. "Here," the ice make mage said, "I think you've earned some rest."
She took his offering, grateful for his kindness. Once more she took up a spot on the rubble, her back pressing into the cool-skinned man's. It felt nice.
"I ain't an air conditioner!" he joked halfheartedly.
He made no move to throw her off as she leaned even harder into him. "Right - you're more like an ice block!"
Silence fell between them as Meredy guzzled from the water bottle. Removing it with a pop of her lips, she wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"Feel better?" Gray asked.
"A lot, thank you." Meredy closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and holding her breath for a second before releasing it. She focused on the feeling of air filling her lungs, expanding and contracting within her chest, and on the steady rise and fall of Gray's breathing. After a minute, she asked, "So what brings you over this way?"
She felt him shrug, though her eyes remained closed. "I thought I felt... but I was wrong."
Meredy felt her heart constrict, not needing her magic to feel Gray's pain. "Me, too. I thought I could find her. But there's nothing here."
Once again, quiet fell over them.
It was some time - once Meredy's heart had finally returned to its normal rhythm, and her breath falling into its usual pattern - before Gray spoke again.
"What was she like, during those seven years? Can you please tell me?"
The sensory mage opened her eyes at his broken, harsh words. Tilting her head, she caught the shine of tears on his face.
Meredy turned her gaze forward, pretending not to have seen.
"Ul liked to take long walks on the beach; she said she liked the feel of sand between her toes, of water lapping at her feet." Her lip trembled. At last properly hydrated, the tears no longer had trouble falling. "That it... that it... reminded her... of her mother..."
Cool arms wrapped around her shoulders, and Meredy sobbed.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
Shaking her head, she turned into his tendered kindness. "I want to tell you! She... she watched you two. You and Lyon. For a long time. Did you know that? She knew everything about both of you. And those long, long days we waited for Tenrou's return... She filled my days with stories. So I want to tell you. I want you to know Ul; the woman who was my mother. The kindest, most wonderful mother. I want you to know Ul! But... after this is all over. When the war is won. Can you wait until then? Please?"
His grip tightened, ever so slightly. "Yeah. When this is all over. We'll talk about her."
Gray felt her nod into his chest, and no more was said.
They had each gone looking for someone precious and lost.
Instead, they had found each other.
That was enough for now.
The cure for anything is salt water:
Sweat, Tears, or the Sea
-Isak Dineson