Author's Note: I decided to turn this into a collection of GrayLu oneshots.
It was so bitter. Nothing was more humiliating, more painful than letting her team, her guild down. Especially after swearing she wouldn't lose.
But she did lose, and what made it so bitter was the fact that for a moment, it seemed like she won. Then he nullified her power. There outside assistance from Raven Tail. They cheated.
The thought didn't change a thing, she lost and that's all anyone outside the guild would see. In the end, what was on the scoreboard was all that mattered.
And she cried. In front of all of those people, hearing the shit from the crowd and the snickering from the other guild members, she broke. Natsu had tried to comfort her, but nothing he said would go through her head. She didn't want to hear it. She cried all the way to the infirmary where Porlyusica was waiting. She had known Wendy and Charle were in the room, but she hadn't been expecting to see Gray there. After all, he hadn't been hurt that badly. Maybe his pride had, but physically he seemed fine.
"Gray?"
The ice mage looked up, smiling at first, but as he saw the tears streaming down her face, that smile faded. Quickly, she turned away and headed for the shower, ignoring the stares from the elderly woman and the dark haired mage. Pushing the small wooden door connecting the two rooms open, the blonde let out a sighed and turned to face the other occupants of the room, unable to take the stares any longer.
"I'm fine."
"Come here." Gray said suddenly, pushing himself off the table he was sitting on.
Glancing back and fourth between the two mages, Porlyusica snorted and turned to leave the room, as if knowing what would happen. Lucy watched her go, bewilderment twisting her pretty face. Her attention was turned back to the ice mage as he grabbed her thin wrists and pulled her closer to him, his eyes swimming with concern. The blonde stared back, her face reddening at a rather rapid pace.
Suddenly, she turned away. She couldn't bare to look at him any longer, not after letting the guild down like she had. She tired to pull her arms back, but his grip only tightened. Once more, tears began welling up in her large brown eyes and it took every ounce of self control she possessed not to let them spill over her water line, but she was failing.
One by one they began falling until they streamed down her bloody and bruised face, stinging her wounds with each drop that slid down her skin. Releasing one of her wrists, Gray brought his hands to her face and wiped the tears from her eyes, smiling warmly at her.
"Come on, don't make that face, Lu-chan."
The hand moved to her chin as he turned her head, forcing the blonde to face him. She was biting into her lower lip, obviously trying to keep her emotions bottled up but slowly they were slipping out.
"B-But...the match. I-I lost. I let guild down..."
She shuddered slightly, her breathing becoming heavier and her voice thick with tears.
"So what?" He asked, lifting her chin slightly. "It doesn't matter. You were amazing out there. Win or lose, we're all comrades. No one blames you. Since you joined, you've done nothing but get stronger, even saved us in several situations. So it was one loss. There are plenty of other opportunities. And you can help by just supporting us."
She stared up at him in shock. Perhaps it was the fact he understood how she felt, having lost his game as well, or perhaps it had something to do with the strange feeling churning within her stomach, but whatever it was, it seemed to be allowing Gray's words to lift her up. Almost involuntarily, a small smile spread across her lips.
Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his muscular body. Try as she might, she couldn't fight the blush creeping to her cheeks. It wasn't that he was half dressed, everyone in the guild had seem him naked at least once. It was the fact that he was holding her like he was, so tightly as if she would disappear if he let up even a fraction of an inch, but enough that she was comfortable, not suffocating in his strong arms.
"Thank you." She whispered, hiding her face from him.
Smiling, he placed a small kiss on the top of her head.
"You're welcome."
Author's Note: Hmmm Review please?
