"Come with me?" He begged her one last time.
They were walking hand in hand to the town centre, the Prince was to send the Earth Landers home and banish all magic from Edolas, forever. The pair were attracting strange looks and whispers from both the Earth Landers and their Guild doppelgängers, as they did not try to hide their affection for each other.
Gray Surge clenched his mittened hands in anger. He didn't like that his naked twin was acting so lovey dovey with Ruby. It might give her ideas about his feelings for her.
He loved Juvia not Ruby. The redhead was no more than his friend, he had never seen her as anything else. So why was he feeling so jealous at the way she was looking at the other Gray?
She looked into his deep dark eyes and touched his cheek softly.
"You know I can't. I don't belong there anymore than you do here."
He pulled her tightly into a hug and stroked her soft hair.
"I don't like the way HE'S touching her!" Surge hissed loud enough for Ruby to hear him. She roll her green eyes and sighed.
Natsu Dragneel didn't like the exchange either, but seeing Ruby again made his heart happy. He knew why Gray didn't want to let her go, he felt for his old friend. He thought back to that day while watching them wrapped in a loving embrace.
It all happened a year ago. In that one day the Fairy Tail family had been torn apart.
Gray and Ruby had set camp, it was a warm summers night as they set up base in the forest. They had taken a job, their client a wealthy business man had been robbed of a number of priceless paintings and the two were on the trail of the thieves when they decided to rest for the night.
Although it was stiflingly hot, Gray had started a little fire so he could prepare them some dinner.
"Are you sure I can't help you with anything?" She asked as she stretched her back, it was so hot that she had already stripped down into a light sundress.
"Nah, just relax." He now was only wearing underwear.
She shrugged her shoulders and unfurled their sleeping bags. It had been so long since they had last worked together that their growing attraction to each other filled the air with tension. He kept stealing glances at her voluptuous body, but it was her eyes that he loved about her most of all. Those perfect sparkling emerald eyes.
They ate in silence and started to prepare for bed as it was starting to get late. Laying next to each other, Gray watched as sleep overcame the girl lying next to him.
"Gray, are you still awake?"
"Yeah Red."
"It's so hot out tonight." She said sleepily. "Would you hold me to cool me down?"
His heart thumped as he took the girl he loved into his arms, her head rested on his chest as she played with his hair, curling it around her fingers.
"Better?" He felt her nod.
He didn't know if it was because she lay peacefully in his arms but all those years of bottled up feels came pouring out of him.
"I... I want to tell you something."
She pushed herself up onto her elbow so she could look at him. He lay on his back staring up at the starry night sky, he felt her warm hand on his chest, he didn't know why but it soothed him.
"What is it Gray? You can tell me anything."
He turned his head and took in her beautiful pale face, those cute dimples made him smile. "I'm in love with you Ruby. I have been since the first time I saw you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Silence.
She was taken aback and it took a few moments for her to realise what had just happened, she sat up and looked down at her hands. Gray loves me?!
He lay there nervously, until he seen her face break into a huge smile.
"I love you too Gray." She whispered, her smile melted his heart.
He sat up and grabbed her into a hug and kissed her softly on the lips.
He wanted to talk, he wanted to talk to her all night to tell her everything he had wanted to say to her since they were kids.
That wasn't to be.
A noise in the distance and Gray motioned her to be quiet.
"Stay here." He whispered and disappeared into the trees. A few minuets later he returned. "It's them. You ready?"
"Yeah let's get these bastards so we can go home!" He was about to take her hand when they were ambushed.
It all happened so quickly.
She was dead before she hit the ground.
He couldn't move, he stood over her, a mingle of horror and shock was soon replace with a howl of pure rage.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO! ICE MAKE: LANCE!" He roared, taking out all four men at once.
He knelt beside her body, he moved her hair from her face, tears poured down his face when he noticed her eyes were still open. He gently closed her green eyes, the light that her eyes once held was extinguished. In a daze he carefully lifted her limp body into his arms and held her tight as he carried her back to Fairy Tail.
Now standing in Edolas, Natsu worried for his friend. He already had to say goodbye to Ruby once, doing it again might send him over the edge.
"Will you promise me something?" She asked, never wanting to leave his embrace.
"If I can."
"Don't forget me." She said gently.
Beams of light started to fill the air and anything that contained magical energy began to rise into the air. Gray was being pulled along with the rest of his Earth Land friend into the light.
He was gone.