Disclaimer - I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, Hiro Mashima does ^^

Summary - "She plays a piano and his heart cracks." A GrayLu one-shot.

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The Piano

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Strolling across the road as his raven hair fluttered by the rowdy wind, he increased his walking pace. It wasn't long before he reduced it, his mind jumbled up in thoughts; thoughts about the present, about his future, but mainly about his past. A bouquet of rosy and dry flowers known as 'memories' was in his embrace, as he tried his level best not to hallucinate, but his efforts proved fruitless nonetheless.

Maybe it were the dark clouds, the freezing gusts and the swift rain which were swelling up the old wounds and the sorrows of his heart, forcing them to open up no matter how much he wanted them to stay close.

Maybe it was the recent tiresome schedule of his; taking fours missions (involving 2 solo missions) in a single week and completing them without taking a single break had surely turned him insane.

Or maybe it was nothing but a foolish part of a normal human routine; worrying about various matters, even about useless things to which he doesn't even need to give a thought about.

Whatever it was, didn't concern him that much. The thing which was mystifying him the most, were his footsteps: They were leading him to 'her' house (and by her, he meant the blonde beauty who was -pretty damn cute-) and it had him at a loss of words and raised more unanswered confusions than the ones, he was already dealing with. It could be titania's apartment, the drunkard's house, the rain-woman's building (to some extent), or maybe even the fire slayer's apartment (though, he would go there as a last resort), but he had just had to choose the stellar spirit magic user's place. It didn't make any sense to him; the time spent alongside her was nothing as compared to several years he shared with other comrades of his, but even if it had been only a short while, he had a rough idea about how tremendous the understanding he shares with her was.

That's what was the most troubling part.

The 'him' who wasn't exactly the most social type, the him who had taken weeks to get comfortable around the rest of his comrades; had taken only few days to get to know her, to understand her, to acknowledge her. The worst part of it was, it all felt "strangely-annoyingly-breathtakingly-frustratingly" right to him.

There he was, standing before her apartment door as he stared at the painted wall next to it. Water dripped from his wet hair, but he wasn't the least bit worried about being catching a cold or getting ill (he was an ice mage, duh) Peeking from the corner of his eye, as he tried to move his hand which had frozen solid, but it didn't even move a centimetre. For a moment, he wanted to shake off every doubt, every worry, every anxiety,and just run away from everything; from himself, from her, from his life. The instant he tried to, he wasn't able to cover even an inch. Shocked by his poor condition, he couldn't help but put his hands over his knees. He was feeling pathetic, helpless, and lost as the frown on his face kept getting worse and worse. A headache was beginning to rise as he started to feel a bit dizzy - The stress had gotten him.

It was the instant, he heard a faint sound in the form of a nostalgic melody; so lovely that he couldn't help but be attracted to it. He leaned closer just like a hungry traveller who had caught sight of food. His left ear sticking to the hard surface as he narrowed his dark-blue orbs slightly. His senses were starting to come to life as the musical notes touched his heart and soul. The wrinkled eyebrows loosened up, and the headache slowly disappeared as he noticed a new-found courage in his body to go across the other side. Opening up the door quietly, he entered in just as quietly and slowly shut the door. His curiosity was being aroused, as his mind was being soothed by the beautiful sound at an equal rate. He couldn't see who it was, for it was so dark inside the room because of the rainstorm outside. The electricity supply had been cut off, so the lights were not working either.

He stepped ahead steadily and carefully. He halted a safe distance from the said person, as he didn't want to show his identity. Tilting his head, he narrowed his eyes to take a better look. The white curtains swaying gently, as the musician played the heartfelt melody passionately on a small lacrima piano. He awed on witnessing the magnificent piano-play, the straight figure of a woman and her shoulder-length hair. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck somewhere in the far horizon, and it got so bright that he had to cover a part of his eye with his hand.

Through the space between his finger, he saw the beautiful, untied golden hair, and he just knew that it was 'her'. More or less, he already had a rough idea about who it was; he was in her apartment in the first place, but he still wanted to make sure about things.

At first, it felt strange and maybe, he might have even felt a bit of sadness and anger as the blonde had never told him of her secret talent, nor he had heard about it from anyone; but as he loosened his body gradually, he forgot all about it. He straightened himself against the back-wall, and crossed his arms. The music was so soft and smooth that he felt like flying in the sky among the milky snow-white clouds, examining everything excitedly and just being his most cheerful self. All of his worries were gone in no time, as he allowed himself to be absorbed into the world of music, her world. He was slowly coming back to life, or so he felt.

A loud bang of thunder roared across the room, and broke his little dream. He couldn't help but curse it a bit. Then she did something, which raised his eyebrows. Right after the thundering sound finished, she dropped the tempo, and was playing more sensually now. It was like, she was one with the atmosphere, taking it's effects and musically portraying them through her piano. The melody had gotten deeper and sadder, but beautiful nonetheless. The new melancholic air was having a strong impact on him, as he gritted his teeth at the sad memory of the earlier events of his life.

"Stop it..."

He wanted to scream but couldn't at all; it was like someone had caught his tongue, rendering him unable to speak. He tightened his fist as the images of his parents, the kind Ul and Deliora had caused kept crossing his mind. How his mentor sacrificed herself to the fearsome monster to save him, to save everyone. At that time, she smiled so brightly, so refreshingly that he could stil feel her beaming face infront of him but the moment he tried to touch it, it vanished into the thin air. At that moment, he was crying, he was lost just like a small puppy with no direction about where to go, and all these wounds were reappearing blonde was drawing his soul in, making him suffer, punishing him for being so useless, for doing nothing but standing there, for being useless. As he clicked his tongue, he felt all of his bitter memories gathering in the bottom of his heart. Even the ones he hadn't think about, or not given enough thought were there, and it hurt him more than ever.

The music picked up its tempo and now she was playing it at least twice as faster. Inspite of that, she still hadn't lost the grip of it. His eyes widened at the now more vibrant and cheerful tones, his sorrows and sufferings slowly disappearing all over again. Now he understood what the song's aim was; gathering all of his sadness in one place so that no room for regret is left. His white knuckles recovered their color as he awed more and more. A new sun was rising before his eyes, so bright and warm that he was unable to witness its glory. As his eyes trailed her fingers, moving around quickly and swiftly, her upper figure jolting from one side to another; to him, she felt like an angel, for he had never seen someone gleam so vibrantly before.

His eyesball popped as a flashback of his life crossed through his mind. This time it was not only the sad memories about his childhood, about deliora but also the happy, and funny memories with his friends. His time spent on the missions, in the guild, in the town, was right there at an arm's length. It was warming up his heart slowly. The song was making him complete, it was making him Fairy Tail's ice maker; 'Gray Fullbuster' and not just 'Gray'.

He felt his heart filled with happiness as he recollected how she popped into the scene. A sequence of events about her, about team natsu, about all the new guild members they had recruited; was strolling downwards. Laughing, crying, getting angry; they had gotten so much stronger and powerful together. Overcame so many hurdles, travelled to so many places, they shared an unrivaled bond - the bond of friendship. All of their adventures, all the times he was helped, even those times when he was relied upon; everything was crystal-clear right before his very eyes. A strongly held back tear accidently escaped from his eyes, as he stopped struggling. The memories had all converted into that of hers; her smile, her laughter, her voice - it had all helped him both directly and indirectly so many times that he had lost count of it. She was his sun, his angel and he knew it all too well. Right now, his sun was glinting with a dazzling orange-red tint - Warm and pure.

He extended his arm towards her, as the song reached its climax, pitch at its maximum; her fingers striking at lightening fast speed.

A low growl of thunder was heard, and then the bubble of thoughts popped.

The music had gotten slower, the tempo, sound, the melody, and the time itself. His extended arms arched back slowly, his bangs covering his face. Something held him back, and he didn't know himself what it was. As far as he knew, she didn't even know that he was here, so it won't make any difference if he just leaves now. She might not want him or anyone to know about this secret hobby of hers, so confronting her right now might make her dislike him and be mad at him. When the image of her sad face appeared before his sight, his heart stang. Right now, having her dislike him was the last thing that he would want to happen.

He gazed passionately at her as the song was almost at verge of finishing. He inhaled the aroma of her room for one last time, making sure to insert the grandness of the scene in the most special room of memories. Catching one last longing look of her beautiful fingers, and her straight back; he stepped towards the door silently.

"Thank you, Lucy..." He whispered so softly that he, himself couldn't hear his own voice.

One hand in his pants' pocket, he turned the knob of the door with the other hand. Standing still, and glancing at her, he aimed a split-second faint smile vaguely in her direction. It was a little saddening to leave without greeting, but he did so regardless. He shut the door silently as his feet guided him to his home sweet home. He was feeling like a new-born right now; no worries, no problems, no anything. The storm had stopped, and so was the case with the rain in his heart. The weather was all cleared up; beautiful. peaceful. tranquil. Then her image appeared and all of his dreams were starting to seem alive.

"She sure is amazing in her own weird way..." He sneered lightly.

He could no longer hold back the urge to grin, but failing more, he ended up laughing instead; laughing happily and it felt damn good to him. The sound of his laughter sound echoed across the empty sidewalk as he halted to stare at the concrete ground.

"Can't thank you enough, can I?"

And then he sighed, because he was going to do something right for once; something he wasn't going to regret about.

/x\\

Her hands rested over two of the keys of the piano as she finished playing the song. Pressing a single key firmly as if just to bring out a random sound, she sighed helplessly.

"Ah, just who do you think I did all that for...!"

She blinked into the empty space, before leaning backwards to rest her head against the back of the chair. Moonlight shone over her porcelain features, as her eyes gazed at the now-clear cerulean sky. Her silent sighs turned into frowns, as she drew in a long breath.

"You didn't even bother checking up on me, that's why you are an idiot - a smart idiot, I might add..."

Shortly afterwards, the frown converted into a grin as she closed her eyes peacefully before batting them twice.

"But at least you are smiling now finally... Rest well, Gray... You better pay me back soon for it, idiot~"

She lightly grasped a side of the piano with one hand, as her head was resting on the table-top. It was not long before she travelled off to the land of dreams, a flowery world in which she could do whatever she wanted.

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Next day, she discovered a bouquet of scarlet roses and a letter by her door. Sniffing the rosy flowers, she smiled. Her fingers worked to open the envelope of the letter, as she excitedly brought the inner content out. Reading it while sipping her coffee, she nearly cracked up as her facial expressions varied continuously, her cheeks turning pinker.

"Seriously, what's with this line

"You are so gorgeous that even these roses, I sent you, can't rival your beauty."

I bet Loke wrote it for him and maybe even recommended the 'sending roses' idea. Hah, cheesy lines don't suit him at all."

She creeped to the bed, and put a pillow between her legs as she placed her elbows over it.

Smiling. Grinning. Giggling.

He had apologized sincerely about barging in her apartment last night, and how he had accidentally seen her playing the piano without her knowing anything about it.

"Excuse me, I didn't know?"

He had praised her abilities greatly, and paid his gratitude and how much it had helped him in overcoming his fears and his sorrows. She sighed with relief as she got the confirmation on how his fears were gone now; that's what she was going for in the first place.

"I thought you might get angry. To be honest, the 'sending rose part' was just to calm you down."

She pouted after reading this particular line, as the grip on the pillow grew firmer.

"So that was nothing but flattery, you—"

But as soon as she read the next line, her pouts converted into awes and her cheeks into a lovely crimson color as she rubbed them over and over with her own two hands.

"Relax, relax, I am actually urr— trying to convey something, you know? Come on, you are smart so you must have gotten it..."

Her heart was throbbing, and her pulse was racing faster than ever as she read the unbelievable words at least forty-six times or something.

"If you got it (which you totally did, you naughty girl) then please send a reply to me, a positive one if possible. (Damn it, trying to sound formal in a letter is annoying, can't I just write casually?)"

"Formal— you say, but I don't think there is anything formal in this letter..."

Picking sideways, she barely avoided biting her tongue between her sharp teeth. Her face overheated, as she rolled over. He totally had Loki's help, or was he a natural at it? It wasn't supposed to suit him but strangely, it did so well that she herself got astounded and shocked.

"With love, your Gray."

She stared at the prominently visible letter, and couldn't resist her gulps. Finishing the letter, and placing it on the side-table, she sighed with relief, happiness and contentment. Laying upside-down, she tilted her face multiple times while giggling continuously.

She quickly teared a page from her diary, grabbing a pen and lightly stuck it against her mouth as if thinking for a
suitable reply. Her face lightened up, as inspiration hit her and her hand automatically began to scribble on the paper.

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My dear Gray,

About that "extremely-cheesy-and-totally-unlike-you-but-at-the-same-time-suiting-you-so-well-are-you-really-Gray?" letter you sent me this morning,

Can we...

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.

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The End

Writer's Corner

So guys, I am finally done with this one; been a looong while since I wrote something. I was having holidays so I thought, I should write something. Just in time, I had this beautiful dream (yeah, almost 75 percent of this story is from my GrayLu dream xD) so I just had to use the idea.

I thought it would be good to leave it as an open ending so you can interpret it however you like. Once again, it got from dramatic start and mid to a light ending; why can't I keep up with one theme? :/ It was supposed to be a subtle drabble or something in the first place but I guess I am no good with that xD

Anyways, hope you had a good time reading it and please review ^^