Chapter 1 - Colours

Beta-read by Sintraline. Thank you so much!

Thanks to the people who reviewed.

Disclaimer : Fairy Tail does not belong to me. I gain no profit from writing fanfiction.

Pairing(s) : One sided (?) GrUvia, LyoVia and LyoRay

Rating : T (as of yet) for minor cursing

Warning(s) : Mentions of Shounen Ai ( BoyxBoy)

Pitch Black

It was a beautiful morning. The birds were chirping and the sky was crystal clear, but a certain Ice Mage did not even spare it a single glance.

Gray scowled, his features scrunched up rather unattractively. Suffice to say, he was not happy. His mind had finally decided to give him a break, and stopped sending him images of himself together with a certain someone, carrying on in an intimate way. He was glad. Really. He could finally be at peace with himself, stop fighting an internal war trying to convince himself that he harbored no romantic feelings. He was tired, tired of asking himself the same questions over and over again. Why HIM? Why couldn't it have been someone else, anyone else? Better yet, why couldn't he simply NOT be attracted to anyone?

He had ultimately resigned himself to his fate, accepted that he, without a doubt, was in love. And strangely, once he'd accomplished that it wasn't so difficult to accept that his feelings would never be returned. Maybe it was because he'd just never been a very positive person. He was certainly nothing like her, always seeing the best in everyone, wearing her heart on her sleeve, baring her emotions for all to see. Or maybe he'd just never forgiven himself for Ur's death, had buried it somewhere in the deep confines of his heart, never let go despite her last will. He couldn't allow himself even the slightest bit of happiness; he didn't deserve it.

Why should someone who guilt tripped his master and caused her death, carry on with life and laugh away like nothing was wrong? Like he hadn't screwed everything up? Like he hadn't repaid the person who saved him from imminent death and taught him everything he knew, by leading her to her demise?

He should have moved on then. After giving his family a proper burial, he should have willingly let Ur take him under her wing. He should have respected her and followed her, not forgetting the past but not trapping himself within it either. Revenge shouldn't have been taking over his mind, clouding his rationality, casting a veil over his eyes that prevented him from understanding and appreciating Ur's actions. He should never have chased after Deliora recklessly, and the consequent happenings should never have occurred.

He should have moved on then. He knew that Ur never blamed him. He had nearly convinced himself that it wasn't his fault, but Lyon had all but shoved it in his face, icily stating the truth he dreaded to hear - "You're the one that killed Ur, Gray." And with that sentence, everything came crumbling down.

He should have moved on afterwards. The conflict between Lyon and he was resolved, Lyon had joined a guild and Ur had flowed to the sea. He tried, he really tried to put the past behind him, but he couldn't. Forgive and forget, people say. He couldn't even forgive himself, to forget sounded completely absurd. He didn't deserve to be happy; he certainly did not deserve to be loved. And frankly, love scared him a bit.

The people he loved either died or came close to it, far too often for his liking. What was this if not a result of his stubborn, reckless self? With this in mind, he valued his friends and comrades more than anything. He lives for himself and appreciated life, but he would also gladly sacrifice himself if it meant the people important to him would be safe. His life seemed minuscule when compared. Gray wasn't afraid of death, death was something he had become accustomed to.

He had always teetered at the border, tested the waters, looked into the deep abyss only to pull back at the very last minute. How many times had he wobbled dangerously at the edge of the cliff, just waiting for the Reaper's scythe to fall? It had happened so many times that he'd lost count, so many times that the number had become insignificant, meaningless.

That's it, he chuckled to himself, meaningless. He had learned the hard way that life was precious, and he strived to live life to the fullest. But he wouldn't deny that the long walk of life featured many meaningless things - such as these feelings. He hated them, but he had no desire to discard them. They were a part of himself, and he had already lost too much to cast any thing more into the wind. I don't even care anymore, he huffed.

Liar.

He ignored the little voice in his head and continued to trudge forward, his boots crushing dried leaves and dirt underneath.

If you really didn't care, why isolate yourself from the friends who care about you? Why take on a solo mission with a lot of travelling and poor pay? Why run away from them?

He clenched his teeth, fingers absentmindedly fumbling with the buttons on his white coat.

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Gray shook his head roughly, trying to rid himself of the persistent annoyance. He sent a thought back. Look. If you're my conscience or something, then you listen to me. I want you to stop pestering the hell out of me. And don't mention fire, I despise fire.

The raven-haired male sighed and took a swig of water.

What a freaking perfect morning.

Electric Blue

Juvia smiled. It was a perfect morning, and the skies were clear with no signs of rain. Although Juvia had come to embrace the rain, she loved the beautiful blue sky even more. It was Gray-sama who had introduced it to her. It was Gray-sama who had accepted her, welcomed her. And it was Gray-sama who she would forever shower with all her love.

Speaking of which, where exactly had Gray-sama gone? Her "Gray-sama senses" must have dulled, because she hadn't seen him since her return from a friendly dinner with Lyon-sama the day before. The one she loved and admired was gone. At first, she assumed that he'd simply gone on another mission with his team (Juvia refused to call it "Team Natsu"), but then she noticed Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Wendy and Charle chilling out at the guild hall. She shrugged it off at first, figuring that it was late. But that didn't seem entirely plausible; she knew that Gray-sama was never one to retire early. So she approached her love rival Lucy's little group with a smile on her face, and inquired into Gray-sama's whereabouts. She wasn't satisfied with the vague answer she received. Yes, Gray-sama was on a mission, but where? Had he brought enough spare clothing for all the times he was going to strip? Did he bring clean underwear? Does he have enough pillows? Will he need extra jewels? Is he travelling on foot or by train? Will it be a day-long, week-long or month-long mission? Was the mission dangerous?

None of them had been able to supply her with answers. She had been worried sick, going so far as to ask Mirajane where Gray-sama went. The ever-kind barmaid simply smiled and told her that Gray had promised to return as soon as he was done. Nothing more. She soon found out that Cana, drunk out of her mind (a common result of going all-out against Bacchus), knew nothing as well.

But then she chided herself. Gray-sama is strong. Gray-sama will be fine. Gray-sama will return to Fairy Tail safely... To Juvia. Smile, Juvia. Your love is strong.

Since she'd met Gray-sama, Juvia had learned to love. The first person she loved was, of course, Gray-sama. And Gray-sama would forever be the only person she loved in a romantic sense. But slowly, slowly, she began to expand that love. She began to love her good friend, a person she had never truly appreciated — Gajeel-kun. Then she somehow bonded with her love rival during a Unison Raid and found herself loving her too. After that, she'd started to love every member in her guild. She loved Fairy Tail. She would never part from her beloved guild now, the guild that - just like Gray-sama - had accepted her for who she was.

But most importantly, Juvia learned to love herself. She learned to believe in herself, and she'd done that ever since.

It was a beautiful morning. No matter where Gray-sama was, Juvia was sure he would be glancing up at the same sky, looking at the same future. Gray-sama would complete his mission professionally. Gray-sama would come back to Fairy Tail, where he belonged.

Deathly White

It was a perfect morning. At least, it would've been, if Gray hadn't been the only thing on a certain pretty woman's mind. Lyon frowned. Did Juvia not realize that she was breaking his heart, shattering his pride just a bit more every time she mentioned the other man's name? Lyon knew that Juvia wasn't unaware of his feelings; she simply chose not to acknowledge his advances. And understanding that just made it hurt even more.

There were many people who believed that Lyon was not being serious with Juvia. They took his proclamations of love as a childish continuation of his long-held rivalry with Gray. Gray, who Juvia was hopelessly in love with. Gray, who never gave Juvia a clear cut answer, no matter how many times Lyon and Juvia tried to corner him. Gray, who had taken his world from him.

Ah, Ur.

Ur was a sensitive subject. She'd been his goal, his life, his everything. He looked up to her so much - then in waltzed Gray Fullbuster.

Lyon had done his fair share of hurting, but they had both buried the hatchet, let bygones be bygones.

But why? Why did Juvia have to love Gray with such passion?

Lyon loved Juvia, he really did. He's already been through so much. He knows what love is (at least, he thinks, believes he does). And what he'd felt at first sight of the young, beautiful woman with blue hair definitely matched. The thumping of his heart, the sparkles everywhere, the ZAP that sealed the deal. He was head over heels in love. He hadn't even known that Juvia was connected to Gray at all when it had happened, so that wasn't part of the equation. It was just him and Juvia. He didn't care that Juvia was in a different guild. Juvia was just... The One. He was absolutely sure of it.

Sometimes, he wondered if the rejected feeling he gets every time Juvia proves her undying love for her precious Gray-sama was the same as what Juvia felt every time Gray turned her down. The guy just didn't know his luck.

Lyon greeted Juvia as he walked into the guild, flashing her his most charming smile. She reciprocated with a cheerful smile, but was unable to hide her worry.

The snowy-haired man bit his lip. Must be Gray again. What's he done this time?

He sat down next to her and turned his gaze towards the window, wanting to start a relaxing conversation by commenting on the nice weather. But he found himself staring at the white clouds in the sky, noting that they did not seem comforting. They looked...too white. Deathly white. He contemplated whether something bad was about to happen, but shrugged it off. He was never one to believe in silly omens. Even if Juvia wasn't paying much attention to him, she was right in front of him. Safe. What could happen?

It was a harmless morning, after all.

So... I haven't updated my NatsuxGray fic in ages, but this came to me. I received a few requests, so I decided to update it. I have absolutely no idea when my next update will be for either fic, though. I'm so sorry!

Please review.

-Dreams.