GLACE ARMURE

Me: Hello, my dear Readers, how are you all? *bows*

Minato: Ohayo, minna!

Me: That's right! Konnichiwa, minna. I hope you enjoy this fic as much as you enjoyed my previous ones..

A/N: This idea came to me when I was listening to 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift and 'This is Christmas' by Kutless and eating ice-cream...

Hope you'll forgive me for my laziness, but what I can do, school's being a pain in the ass, plus my muse seems to like playing with me. m(_ _)m

Now, I'm rambling too much, please excuse me and read the story^^

We were both young when I first saw you

I closed my eyes & the flashback starts

I'm standing there, on a balcony in summer air

See the lights; see the party, the ball gowns

I see you make your way through the crowds and say hello

Little did I know

Yes, she muses. She remembers. She remembers it. She remembers their first meeting. Fairy Tail had organised a masquerade party because their youngest member at the time, was now 8 years old. A masquerade was held to celebrate his birthday. She remembered because, coincidentally, it had also been her birthday. She had turned 10 years of age.

Sighing contentedly, she feels very lucky to have met with him. Why, you ask? It's because of him, that she's the luckiest woman in the whole world. She nibbled on her strawberry cake, smiling, as the memory washed over her once more...

FLASHBACK (8 YEARS AGO)

She was confused. Utterly confused as to how and why she ended up there. It was Chaos. There was no other way to describe it. A complete chaos...

Needing to clear her murky thoughts, she made her way to the front porch. The lights were on and the sky looked so beautiful. Millions of stars in the vast sky sparkling like diamonds. She smiled. It was so peaceful and perfect. She noticed it was snowing when the first snowflake made contact with her arm. She also heard the faint Christmas carols echoing in the wind.

Do you find it hard to sleep tonight

Resting by the Christmas lights?

Could there be something you forgot?

Beyond the bows, & mistletoe, the tree with presents wrapped below.

There's more to this than you had ever thought.

Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?

What is Christmas, if there never was a saviour wrapped in a manger?

What is Christmas without Christ?

Remember how the story goes,

God's gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes...

Beneath the stars, one great and holy night.

Shepherds heard the angels sing, wisemen brought offerings

Peace on Earth began in Bethlehem

Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?

What is Christmas, if there never was a saviour wrapped in a manger?

What is Christmas, if the angels never sang glory to the newborn king?

What is Christmas without Christ?

There'd be no Gloria...

In excelsis deo...

Gloria...

In excelsis deo...

What is Christmas?

(Joy to the world)

If there never was a saviour wrapped in a manger?

(Joy to the world)

What is Christmas without Christ?

This is Christmas.

It's all about the saviour wrapped in a manger.

(Joy to the world)

This is Christmas.

Because of Jesus Christ...

This is Christmas

(In excelsis deo)

Because of Jesus Christ...

Because of Christ...

Suddenly, she was pulled back to the party going inside, when someone voiced: "On the count of three, people!"

"One... Two... THREE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAY!" everyone bellowed in a chorus.

She winced. They were, correction, they are way too loud for normal people. Placing her hands over her ears, she sighed again.

She realised that someone was calling out for her. Craning her neck, she turned her head, following the direction from where the sound came. She stiffened when she came to the realisation that he was standing in front of her. She then turned to inspect him.

He had messy raven hair and his eyes were azure blue. He was almost her height and he was skinny. His skin tone was an alabaster white. He wore a black tux complete with a black bow tie. He is handsome, she thought.

"Hi! What is your name?" he asked.

"Erza. Erza Scarlet." She replied & then passed a suspicious look to him. "And you are?"

"Oh, right! Where are my manners? I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster. Pleased to meet you" Gray beamed. 'She looks like an angel dropped from heaven.' He then regarded her. She had pulled her hair into a tight bun with the help of a pink sash. She wore a red gown that went very well with her hair. Her gown ended on her lower back, forming a curve that looked good on her. Plus, she also wore those long finger gloves. After minutes of being stared at, Erza fidgeted. She was uncomfortable and was rubbing her arms nervously. Seeing her like that, Gray felt guilty. So, then he decided to ask her inside in order to keep her warm. "Won't you come on in? It's cold outside."

She nodded her head, grateful for the invitation. She and he walked side by side. Needing to remove the awkward silence between them, she opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. She repeated this action several times, looking like a fish out of water. Gray had watched her the whole time being, not one to be able to control himself when amused, he laughed. Hs laugh was so infectious, that she also couldn't control herself. By the time they finished, Erza's face was flushed. Her cheeks were tinted pink.

"What were you trying to say? I'm so sorry, I couldn't control it." Gray apologised.

Brushing aside the apology, she confessed. "It's also my birthday today."

"Really? That's so cool! Let's celebrate it together." He beamed. Placing his right fist on his open palm, he yelled. "ICE MAKE: BIRTHDAY CAKE!"

Right in front of her eyes, a cake appeared. It was so beautiful. On the top of cake, a "HAPPY B"DAY ERZA" was written beautifully. On the bottom, a number 10 candle was placed. It contained miniature roses with vines around the sides. It was so tempting that she couldn't resist. Dipping her finger, she tasted the cake. It was heavenly. Freshly iced strawberries with vanilla. Yummm...

"You're an ice mage?" she questioned.

"Yes... I uhh... I was the pupil of Ul, one of the Ten Saint Wizards." Gray replied in a solemn voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

He cut her off from speaking any further. "It doesn't matter."

Coming back to the subject, she replied. "Thank you."

"No worries, I enjoyed it." Anything for you, a voice echoed in the back of his mind.

She smiled. It was the best birthday she ever had. She would always cherish this moment. Without knowing, she slipped her hand in Gray's. When she looked, she saw that he was also blushing a deep shade of crimson like her. Embarrassed, she tried to remove her hand. But, he held on. He didn't let her. Without saying anything, he took her outside, slipped her his coat and danced with her. The watchers were mesmerised by their dance. They knew that she was a complete stranger, but the way they danced, it was amazing. They were in complete sync. While dancing, he also confessed. "I love you. I love you very much. Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"Why not? I'd really love to!"

The crowd that had gathered over the duration of the dance, cheered for the young couple. Though they were happy that he had found true love in this new girl, some were awed. Some chatted among themselves that he was lucky, very lucky indeed... They had no idea how right they were...

One could only wonder how much time they would spend in each other's embrace...

FIN

Suggestions and comments are highly valued^^