A/N: I don't own fairytail!
Gray panted hard, trying to catch his breath as he stared at his hands on the cool metal bar above him. Sweat ran down the sides of his face in small streams, soaking the pad below his head. His arm muscles tensed, bulging as he attempted to pull himself. They strained intensely, burning as they tried to compensate for what the ice wizard now lacked in abdominal and pectoral muscles. A strangled grunt escaped his lips as he managed to lift his torso off the mat. It was the tenth time he had accomplished the small feat today.
"Now hold it there as long as you can. Try to hold it even longer than last time." The physical therapist urged, earning a glare from Gray. It wasn't like he wasn't trying.
"I am." he growled through gritted teeth. Mirajane gave him a small smile of encouragement. Natsu normally left during his therapy sessions, but Mira insisted on staying, giving the excuse that she wanted to see what she could do to help him. Gray had internally scoffed at the idea when she mentioned it. No one could help him with this but himself. The red on his face deepened as he tried to keep himself up. Despite his strong muscular arms, the action was very taxing.
"Fuck." He hissed, releasing his hands from the bar as it became too much for him. He collapsed back onto the pad, a fall that was only a few inches. The ice mage cursed himself for being so weak and closed his eyes, trying to regain a bit of his energy. Making a mental note to see if Wendy was up for just one more healing session, he let his arms rest on either side of him, brushing against the bandage. Thanks to Wendy, and the doctors of Magnolia hospital, the skin across his front had mostly mended, leaving angry red scars, framing what used to be his muscles perfectly. He could have gone without the bandage, but he hated the look of himself so much he left it on. Lucy would have probably called him vain.
"That was really good Gray." Mira assured him, looking down with her big blue eyes.
"Shut up." Gray snapped breathlessly, eliciting a small frown from Mira. Nothing about it had been good, it was beyond pathetic.
"Actually, that was the longest you've held it yet." The physical therapist informed him, looking down at his clip board. "It may not seem like much, but you've got to remember Gray, you've suffered an intense physical trauma. I've never actually seen a patient bounce back from something like this as fast as you appear to be doing."
"It's still not good enough." Gray shook his head, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm still weak."
"The fact that you're still trying proves your not weak Gray." Mira chimed in, looking down at the sweaty wizard.
"I think that's enough for today." The physical therapist sighed, standing up. "But you need to run by the lab and talk to them. They need to get a vial of your blood."
"What for?" Gray asked, cocking an eyebrow. His blood had been taken so many times in the last month he was amazed that he hadn't ran dry yet.
"I'm not quite sure, actually."
"Whatever." Gray grumbled as the physical therapist tossed him a damp rag to wipe the sweat off himself with.
"Do you want me to help?" Mirajane asked hopefully, trying her best not to offend her friend.
"If you could just help me into my chair that would be great." Gray decided, wiping the sweat off his exposed areas of skin.
"Oh, of course." She replied. Despite her feminine petite appearance, Mira was nearly impossibly strong. The blue eyed woman pulled Gray's wheelchair up beside the cot and placed it in park. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Gray answered, reaching out for her to grab him by the arms.
Ignoring the motion, Mira reached down and picked him up bridal style, easily placing him in his wheelchair in one smooth motion. Gray glared up at her, biting the inside of his cheek. She looked down at him with a frown, wondering if she'd hurt him moving him too fast.
"Did I hurt you?" She asked, releasing the parking break on the chair.
"Only my ego." He sighed, looking straight ahead.
"Sorry." Mira mumbled sweetly, looking away from Gray. She hadn't meant to offend him.
"Don't worry. There isn't much that doesn't hurt my pride lately." He admitted, looking down over his body. He hated the way it seemed to betray him, unable to do the things he wanted to. "Do you think you can wheel me to the lab? I'm pretty exhausted after that."
"Sure Gray." She said, grabbing the handles on the chair. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot." Gray ordered as she pushed him through the double swinging doors out into the hospital hallway.
"Why did you melt your ice leg before we got here? It was actually really impressive." She said, trying not to sound condescending.
"Well," Gray admitted, glancing around to make sure no one was listening to them. "I'm not supposed to be using my magic much right now. They told me I'll recover faster if I don't, but I have to keep some sort of skills up or I'll never be worth anything as a wizard."
"You should listen to them Gray. The faster you get better, the faster you can get back to being yourself, right?" She asked, pushing him through the doors of the wing holding the lab.
"I'm not ever going to get back to being myself Mira. I'm not the same kid you used to pick fights with. I'm weak and useless."
"You're right, and I'm not the little girl who used to pick fights with you either. People change Gray. People get hurt, they get broken, it changes them, but they come out stronger. You're not the only one who has suffered." Mira said, her temper slowly rising.
"But Lisanna came back." Gray argued, coming to an abrupt halt as the words left his mouth.
"My parents didn't." She replied, her voice quivering. "And it took my magic a long time to come back to me after I thought I'd lost her. I know what it's like to feel weak, Gray." She swallowed in an attempt to regain her composure. "And Lucy was my friend too."
"I'm sorry." Gray apologized, looking up at the white haired woman. "I'm not trying to be angsty and depressed, it just kind of happens."
"It's okay." She sighed, resuming their walk to the lab. "I understand, really. Why do you think I was such a terror when we were younger?"
"I guess you have a point. Still, I'm sorry for being so difficult."
"You wouldn't be Gray if you weren't." Mira reasoned, pushing him up to the lab desk.
"Hey, I was told I need to come get blood drawn?"
"Oh, of course." Piped the woman behind the counter. Gray rather liked her. He'd had his blood drawn a million times over lately, and she was by far the most skilled at drawing it. She came around the desk and quickly wrapped his arm with a piece of blue tape.
"Why am I getting my blood drawn?" The ice mage asked, watching as she slipped the needle into is arm so fast he didn't feel it.
"Well." The woman frowned, as if trying to decide what to tell him. "It's a bit hush hush, but we're testing the blood of everyone that came in the same night as you and onward."
"Why?" He asked, as the woman applied a piece of cotton gauze to the inside of his arm.
"Checking for infection. Nobody can seem to figure out quite what it is. It's a mystery really."
"Some mystery." Gray huffed, looking up at Mirajane. "You ready?"
"Let's go." She said, spinning Gray's chair to face the opposite direction. Something was up, and she didn't like it.
The guild hall was full of the normal busy bustling noises. Cana was drinking in the corner with a surprising partner. Levy was sitting just to the brunette's left, a wooden mug in her hand. Gajeel stood beside her, peering into her cup curiously. The bookworm hiccuped and clamped her small dainty hand over her mouth, embarrassed at the sound that escaped her lips. The iron dragon slayer broke out in a roar of laughter, gently patting the blue haired lady on the back, deepening her blush.
Seeing their sweet little interactions made Natsu smile sadly. He remembered when Lucy and he had acted like that, their relationship shinning and new. The fire dragon slayer adverted his gaze and looked over to the counter where Mira and Lisanna were talking. He slid onto the leather topped stool beside his old friend, earning a small smile.
"I haven't seen you here for a while." Lisanna said softly, taking a small sip of her iced tea.
"I haven't been to the guild since, well, since the day after Lucy died." Natsu admitted.
"How are you holding up Natsu?" Mirajane asked, wiping the bar down with a rag.
"I've been keeping busy, helping Gray out." Natsu sighed. Perhaps he had come back to the guild a bit too soon.
"When I talked to him the other day, he seemed a bit worried about you." Mira said.
"Stupid ice bastard." Natsu swore, shaking his head. "He should worried about himself, not me. I'm as good as I'm gonna be, at least for now. He doesn't need to be worried about me."
"He's your friend." Lisanna pointed out, turning to face the pink haired man.
"So are you, and you're not going around telling people how worried you are about me."
Lisanna bit her lower lip as though to keep from speaking. Natsu frowned at her, the temperature of his skin raising.
"Don't worry about me Lisanna." Natsu assured her. "I got through losing you. I'll get through losing her too, even if-"
Lisanna's tea glass shattered, soaking the counter top in iced tea littered with glass shards.
"It takes a life time." The dragon slayer finished, looking around confused. He caught a scent in the air around them, familiar like vanilla tea. He looked down at the mess, grabbing Mira's rag to try and soak some of it up. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just cut my hand a little bit." Lisanna frowned, holding out her hand as a small little dribble of blood fell onto the counter top.
Mira grabbed a clean rag from behind the counter and tossed it too her. Natsu quickly snatched it out of her hand and held it out. "Here, let me help you with that." He said, slowly winding the clean cloth around the cut on Lisanna's hand. It wasn't deep, but it was long, taking up a good two thirds of her hand.
Lucy sat beside Mirajane, embarrassed that her possessiveness of Natsu had gotten Lisanna hurt. There was no possible way that she could be ready to give Natsu up just yet, but eventually she oped her boyfriend found happiness. Even if she couldn't be happy, the dragon slayer deserved happiness.
She got up and walked out of the guild hall shamefully. The celestial wizard had heard of vengeful spirits, but she didn't consider herself to be one. Hell, she didn't consider herself to be a spirit at all. Her energy had been able to manifest long enough to make herself whole once, surely it would be again, eventually.
As much as she felt bound to Natsu, she knew she was no longer bound to this world. The blonde couldn't help but wonder if it was how her celestial spirits felt, bound to her, but not bound to the human world. Along with all her human friends, she missed the company of her celestial spirits. Maybe if she had been able to find her keys, she would have been able to manifest herself long enough to summon one of them. Even her little dog Plue would be of some comfort. Lucy's chocolate eyes widened as she remembered, she had been able to summon Loke without her key before. Maybe if she focused enough, she could do it again. Would Loke even be able to sense her presence if she managed it. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, deciding it was worth the effort to try.
Her mind pleaded with the heavens, trying to get the lion's attention. She felt her body shaking, fading in and out of existence. She released her breath in a loud scream, pouring all of the energy she had left of herself into it. The celestial wizard's eyes snapped open as she realized she was no longer alone.
"Lucy." The voice came from behind her, soft like the purr of a small kitten.
A/N: So, some of you have made guesses as to where this story is going, but my lips are sealed.
For the record, I in no way shape of form ship NaLi.
I do ship NaLu, Grayza, Gray/Mira, Gratsu, and LoLu, pretty much in that order.
That being said, I also go out of my way to write ships I don't care for, and some I do care for.
(The exception being Gruvia, it's just not for me.)
Who do you want your favorite character's to end up with?
What do you don't want to see?
I've already got it planned out, but I am not adverse to changing a few things if the general consensus is strong enough.
I hope you're enjoying this story.
X Aud.
