Morning, people!

Here we go with chapter 4. This one is about Gray and Erza, a couple I've never written before, so I'm not 100% sure about it.

First I want to alleviate your hearts by saying that the big secret which will be revealed in this chapter is a positive one. No need to worry about anyone dying (this time).

To the shoutouts:

Star197: Aww I'm glad you thought so. The next chapter is, in my opinion, the most adorable one. Just Jellal and Ultear's interactions plus Meredy it's just too sweet.

R011ingThunder: Thank you a million times for dropping your comments. It seriously made my day to read all of them, so I am grateful. I'll answer them via PM so that this chapter doesn't get even longer.

Happy reading!


October 15th, X791...

"You need to figure out how you feel before it's too late." Gray was sure that Erza hadn't imagined how prophetic her words would be, yet they came true only a few days later.

It was a moment he would never forget. The desperation and anger he felt then were more intense than ever. He remembered hating himself as the truth finally became clear.

He was in love with Juvia. As much as he had tried to fight and deny it, the moment he saw her kissing Lyon those ignored feelings resurfaced, nearly suffocating him.

He remembered falling to his knees, cursing himself for taking so long to realize it. Feeling like a fool who had been too afraid and blind to notice her.

It had hurt, more than he could've ever imagined. It had been so long since Gray had felt this kind of emotional pain, but losing Juvia was like his heart had been ripped out and shattered.

He hated being the cliche, broken-hearted idiot, but there was nothing he could do. Even if he had thought himself to be strong and immune to such feelings, that couldn't be further from the truth.

He had cared and maybe too much. About Juvia, about his friends, about Ur. It had broken him.

In that moment, as he watched her move on, he had wanted nothing more than to tell her. Confess his love like a love sick idiot so that he could have her.

He didn't, though. There was a small part of him, a more rational side, that took over that day.

Gray was grateful for it. As much as it hurt to see her with someone else, he wouldn't have wanted to ruin her moment with Lyon.

He didn't deserve to.

With that in mind, he forced himself to accept it. As their relationship progressed and he had to watch them being happy together while everyone gave him sympathetic looks, he swallowed the hurt and pretended to be fine.

It wasn't that hard; he had been doing that his entire life after all.

However, now that he was aware of his feelings, he decided not to shut himself off anymore. Instead, he chose to keep his heart open so that a second chance wouldn't be missed.

For even if he wasn't a hopeless romantic or emotionally driven person, he did believe in second chances. After all, what was the point of spending the rest of his life regretting losing Juvia?

No, he needed to move on and that could only be accomplished by believing that there was someone else for him.

This knowledge led him to reflect upon all of his relationships in hopes of finding someone who could help him move on.


In truth, it didn't take Gray long to figure it out. The more he thought about his friends and potential love interests, the more his mind would be directed to her. Erza.

She had always been close and, though he hadn't realized it before, now he knew that he had had feelings for her at some point.

As he thought back to every moment, pieces of the puzzle joined together.

When he had seen her crying all those years before, he had felt the need to comfort her. For the first time since losing Ur, his mind hadn't been focused on fighting or wallowing in self hatred.

Later, when Natsu had joined the guild and become awfully close to her, he had felt jealous. He had kept it hidden, of course, but it didn't go away.

When they had fought against Phantom Lord and Erza had come to him-in tears once again- and caught him off guard by throwing herself in her arms, he had felt a strong need to protect her.

He had ignored it since they had more pressing issues at the time, but now he knew it had been a sign of his feelings for her.

Then came the Tower of Heaven incident. That's when Gray had first suspected he might be falling in love with Erza. He remembered feeling protective once again, yet also completely faithful. He threw away logic and simple believed in her.

He remembered when they realized that she was going to sacrifice herself and how angry he was. Heartbroken. Then the happiness and relief that washed over him once she safely returned in Natsu's arms-another time he felt jealous.

After that, Juvia came into his life and everything was messy. He didn't know how he felt about Erza anymore, but it was clear she didn't love him. She loved Jellal, as Lucy made clear.

So he let her go and began falling for Juvia instead. Of course, that didn't end well either.

When his heart was broken and he decided to move on, Erza was there for him. They bonded over failed romances-for she was still in love Jellal, who was apparently together with Ultear-and became closer than ever.

Over the three months following the Grand Magic Games, those old feelings resurfaced and this time Gray didn't take long to realize that he was falling in love with her again.

He had to restrain himself from saying it, though, for she clearly hadn't moved on yet and, truthfully, neither had he.

So he gave it time and just enjoyed her company. Being there for her as a a friend was good enough.

Until it wasn't.

During the celebration of Fairy Tail's 100th anniversary, in which all of the other guilds were invited, Gray finally decided to make a move.


It wasn't planned, but as soon as he saw Erza, dressed in a beautiful silver gown, watching the couples dance with a bittersweet look on her face, the urge to make her feel better was overwhelming.

He asked her to dance and, though she looked surprised for a moment, a smile quickly lightened her face before she agreed.

Having her in his arms was better than he'd imagined. As they danced to a slow song, it felt so right, as if it was meant to be.

He was happy for a while, until he caught sight of Juvia and Lyon. Seeing them together never ceased to cause an ache in his chest.

"She is happy." He said, trying to remind himself why he had given her up.

"She seems to be." Erza commented once Lyon spun Juvia around, both laughing, before bringing her close for a kiss.

"It's still hard to believe." Gray looked away. Even if he had moved on, it still hurt.

"I warned you this might happen, didn't I?" Erza raised a brow.

"Yeah, you did." He sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to get your heart broken." She had said it before, but this time he didn't agree.

"I'm not." Surprised, she frowned.

"What do you mean?" It was the perfect opportunity.

"Losing Juvia has made me think a lot about my choices and the mistakes I've made."

"Meaning?" Erza questioned. Gray spun her around like Lyon had done before, bringing her close by the waist.

"I've been so stupid this whole time, pushing everyone away in fear they might get too close." He finally said the words that had been plaguing his mind for months.

"Im glad you finally realized that." She gave a small smile.

"I realized many things." Gray added before dipping her, catching her off guard.

"Who knew you were such a great dancer?" Erza chuckled once the shock wore off.

"One of which is that Juvia wasn't the only one I had feelings for." He continued.

"What do you mean, Gray?" She froze, face paling.

"I think that maybe, somehow, it's always been you, Erza." He stared intensely into her eyes before taking a deep breath. "I think I'm in love with you."

"No." She shook her head. "You can't be."

"What?" Gray was caught off guard.

"Excuse me." She removed her arms from his neck and turned around, beginning to walk away. He was frozen in place, confused.

"What just happened?" No time to think about that, he reminded himself. He had to go after her.


"Erza!" Gray called, running after her and attempting to ignore the looks sent their way.

He followed her outside the guild hall and towards the pool area. "Erza, wait?"

"Just go." She didn't turn around.

"Seriously? You're going to ignore me after you were the one who told me to figure out how I felt?" He was getting frustrated now.

Erza remained silent, continuing her walk towards the pool. She seemed to be lost in thought, which was not good because there was a fire ball heading her way.

Gray saw it and his eyes widened. "Natsu." He muttered angrily, cursing the dragon slayer.

Seeing as the ball was flying too fast and Erza had yet to notice it, Gray figured the best course of action was to get her out of the way.

So he pushed her, catching her off guard once again, and they fell to the ground, him on top of her.

"What are you doing?" Erza stared at him angrily, removing his hands from her chest.

"That wasn't... I didn't mean to...Sorry." Gray stuttered, blushing.

She was about to make another remark when she really noticed the position they were in. As a fierce blush across upon her cheeks, her heart tightened.

The last time she had found herself lying like that, with someone straddling her like Gray was, had been on the day of her reunion with Jellal.

Or rather, the day he had unwillingly shattered her heart.


4 months before...

"Erza..." After a long conversation about sins and sorrows, they somehow found themselves entangled.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Silent tears streamed down her face as her hands reached for his own.

Jellal did the same and started closing the distance between them. She closed her eyes, awaiting the moment their lips would touch, but it never came.

He pushed her away. She wasn't sure exactly why, but his next words gave some insight.

"I can't. I have a fiancée." He was looking away now, clearly embarrassed and her eyes widened in realization.

As she thought back to the interactions between the members of Crime Sorciere earlier, the truth became clear. "Ultear."

Jellal nodded. "I hate to cause you even more pain, but I have moved on with her."

"It's alright. It's been seven years, after all." Erza gave a smile, though her heart was breaking.

"I want you to know that I'll never forget you." He told her gently. "You were the one who freed me from the darkness and pushed me to become a better person."

"I'm glad." It was the truth. He deserved to be happy and the part of her that was trying not to be selfish recognized that.

"There's something else." Erza glanced at him, curiously.

"What is it?" He seemed conflicted once again.

"As you've said, it's been seven years. A lot happened over that time." She nodded, confused.

"What so you mean?" It couldn't be about the engagement since he'd already mentioned it. So what else could've happened?

Her mind ran through multiple possibilities, but nothing could've prepared her for his response. "Ultear and I... we have a daughter."


He had moved on. Had found happiness and love with someone else and as much as it hurt her, she knew that he deserved it.

She had tried so hard to do the same, but letting go wasn't easy. There were times when she had imagined if it was even possible.

Gray had helped her. Seeing him slowly move on from Juvia was enough to give her hope that she could do it too.

He had been her rock over the past few months. He understood her and had cared for her.

Erza knew, she cared for him too. He was, after all, one of her closest friends. She even dared say her best friend.

But could there be something more? Could he truly have fallen for her?

"Do you mean it?" He frowned.

"Mean what?" Erza gave him an intense look. His answer could change everything.

"You said you love me." Gray grinned.

"And I meant it. It's not what I expected, but I can't help it anymore." His eyes gave his emotions away and, sure enough, there was love there. It was so clear.

He loved her. For some reason, that brought warmth to her own broken heart.

"You need to figure out how you feel before it's too late." She wouldn't make the same mistake. Even if she didn't love him yet, she knew that shutting him down would only prevent her from finding happiness.

"I hope you find someone who'll love you as much as I did, Erza." Jellal had moved on. There was no chance for them anymore, so there was no use in continuing to dwell on it.

"Okay." Gray stared at her in confusion.

"Okay?" She smiled while lifting her hands to hold his face.

"I accept your challenge." Seeing his frown, she clarified. "Make me fall in love with you."

"You can bet I will." He smirked, closing the distance between them and crashing his lips onto hers.

In the same way one romance had ended, another had just began. This time, though, Erza knew there would be a happy ending.


So, what did you think? This was my first time writing Grayza, so how was it?

After rewatching so many Fairy Tail episodes, I head canon that Gray was indeed in love with Erza until the Tower of Heaven Arc. That's when he realized that she loved Jellal and started falling for Juvia instead.

After writing this story, I feel like they could've become a great couple if Gruvia and Jerza hadn't worked.

Still, I enjoy their friendship so much more. That scene in the second night of the Games with Erza telling Gray to figure out how you feel will always remain one of my favorite moments in Fairy Tail.

I know it might seem like the story's over, but there will be one more chapter after this. It will be about the development of Jellal and Ultear's relationship and you'll get to see how they dealt with the pregnancy and eventually got engaged.

Anyone wanna try to guess the name of their baby girl? It shouldn't be too hard.