Heart to Heart
The train ride was oddly silent, but Lucy didn't mind. She attempted to read her new book at no avail. She hardly made any progress having spent more time glancing at the male mage in front of her. His long eyelashes framing his beautiful dark blue eyes as he pointedly stared out the window.
She knew how difficult it was for him so she didn't push him; instead, she gave him space to prepare himself to face them. In fact, she was almost grateful for it. She was nervous as well. The trepidation only grew as they chugged closer to his hometown. She knew loss like the back of her hand and all the comfort in the world would never fully heal the wound of losing their parents.
The significance of this visit didn't go unnoticed by her and like every time she thought of it, she felt a warmth blossoming across her chest. Gray was entrusting his heart to her. It was a fragile but tough heart. It had been shattered and pierced but it had always kept beating.
Lucy couldn't place a word on the feeling she was experiencing. No, before she had liked Gray...but now...now, she wasn't quite sure if it was love but like no longer seemed to fit. No, they had been dating for a year now and during that year it had progressed to something more. Together they had gone on countless missions and occasionally going on a mission with Team Natsu.
She had yet to take Gray to her parent's graves, but she had already been planning it before he had asked her to accompany her. She would never forget the shadows of pain that reflected in his eyes as he talked to her about it and her own teary eyes as she agreed.
"Let's go," Gray held out his trembling hand and Lucy took it without commenting.
He was nervous and frightened. He was frightened of handing someone his heart when all he ever done was guarded it quite viciously. He, however, would never admit to something like that...except to Lucy. With her, he could show all his sides without fear of judgment. That was why he was terrified of her rejecting the precious treasure he was attempting to hand her.
Would she accept it? Would she accept a heart that had suffered a beating and a lifetime of pain?
He loved her. That much he knew for sure. He had never been so sure of something in years. What was more terrifying was that he was sure of something that was so pure and good.
His hometown was a few miles further down the town they had arrived at. They had to walk because there were no paths nor people willing to travel to what was now known as a graveyard. They walked in silence, holding each other's hand in support and comfort .
Just as the sun began its decline from its highest point, they reached the outskirts of the town. He knew Lucy was probably cold and miserable but he was warmed at her resilience; she had not complained once or slowed down. Her eyes hid her reaction to the destruction still visible through the layers of ice and snow, but Gray knew her heart was aching. Lucy, by nature, was empathetic. While she imagined the horrors of that night, he relived the flashes of the vivid memories that had haunted him for years.
The fires that dotted the town, the screams, the blood, the pain, the sound of the monster as it crushed the town and its citizens as if they were ants. And then there had been the bodies of his parents, lying in front of him, pupils dilated and their bodies rapidly losing the warmth Gray desperately loved.
It had been so very long ago, but it was, as always, fresh in his memory. He had gotten over his fear of Deliora but the pain would always be there as a reminder of his loss, of what could have been.
But one glance at blonde woman walking beside him had him anchored to the present. The what could have been no longer plagued his thoughts - it no longer was of importance. He had Lucy. He had Fairy Tail. He, although he wouldn't admit it aloud, had Lyon as well.
They reached his parent's grave marker, a cross made out of wood with their names etched into it. The simplicity of their grave's maker, in Gray's opinion, seemed to fit them. The beaten up wood and makeshift tombstone was full of raw emotions and memories. It was perfect, for now at least. One day, one day, Gray would have the courage and complete peace of mind to give them their proper resting place with the true tombstone they deserved. After all, they were his parents.
All this he told the celestial mage. He told her of his parents, told her of their family, of the town, his mother-complex (that he no longer had for no one could replace his mother or Ur), the time his father had gotten a scolding from his mother for being reckless enough to let Gray walk on the lake's ice without testing it first, and the last family dinner they had shared.
He told her of the twinkle his mother's eyes had and the wrinkles at the creases of his father's eyes. He told her of that fateful night. The terror that took hold of his soul that night and the hatred that found residence in his heart.
He told of her of Ur, of Lyon, of Ultear, and finally of Silver. He told her how he gradually overcame his fear and how his father helped him through it. He told her of his new goal - to destroy E.N.D.
And by the end of it all, his voice that had started as cool and collected was a hoarse whisper from the tears that hadn't stopped flowing.
The whole time she held his hand, allowing him to tell his story with dignity and on his own accord. Her grip had tightened at times, particularly at the mention of death and sadness.
And when he was finally done crying, she took his face in her palms and kissed the final tears rolling down his cheeks. Her lips were cold but at their touch, Gray felt the warmth of her being enter him and spread inside him until it reached his heart. Her warmth would not be able to completely heal the wound, but it had become almost a necessity for him.
"I love you, Gray," she whispered, her lips brushing against his face, and with those words he knew that he had worried for no reason.
Those were the four words he had been aching to hear for so long he hadn't noticed it. His heart was already hers and hers was already his. They had been for awhile. She did not pity him. She did not say she understood all he went through. She said the words that encompassed their own two-person world. The only words Gray wanted to hear.
"I love you, too," He murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
And even though the sun was already setting, he thought it might have gotten the littlest of brighter in those minutes before it settled behind the mountains and left them in a blanket of shining stars.
::A/N::
-goes off running in the distance crying- This one made me emotional... What cruel person came up with this prompt?! D:
On a more serious note, thanks for your reviews! This is the first time I participate in one of these so I was excited...Anyhow, I am sorry too, because I haven't finished all the stories for this week;-; Even though I wont finish this week, I will write all 7 (with the bonus:8) of the one-shots for them. Next update? Probably Saturday.