A/N Okay, before you continue… I advise you to prepare yourself and stay away from sharp and deadly objects. Please don't kill me. *bows* I also wanted to thank you all for your kind reviews and PMs and tweets, also those who subscribed and fave'd, the silent readers and to those who participated in the poll… I'm extremely grateful. Unfortunately, time is getting scarce for me at the moment and once again, I wasn't able to prepare my responses for your reviews but rest assured that I managed to read each of it and really, it makes me want to cry! I promise to take all your comments into serious consideration. To make up for this, I wrote a very long chapter of 4,800+ word count. I hope you would forgive me. About the poll, most of you preferred the plot extension. I don't know how to explain this, I figured I'd be spoiling everything if I clarify the plot extension and/or the sequel. Waaah, gomen! You'll understand this in due time (I hope).

Chapter 25: MISSED CHANCE

The hall of the Hargeon Museum was crowded with guests, press people from different newspaper firms and media networks, sponsors, contributors and critiques. It was in deed a long awaited annual event from the Art Capital of Fiore – the Hargeon Museum Annual Art Exhibition.

After what seemed like a dreadful long list of speakers, the ice sculpture was finally unveiled and the crowd grouped over the large magnum opus. It was quite extraordinary, clearly the centerpiece of the entire exhibit hall.

The piece featured a lady with huge wings that was about to fly away and a normal man who was about to walk away. The spectators could tell the artist must have been a veteran – how could someone sculpt such an incredible piece in ice? Each detail was exact and precise, like there were human bodies frozen inside.

"Wow, isn't that a nice subject for an exhibit?" a female guest with red hair commented, staring at the familiar face of the sculpture as she limped towards it to inspect closer, she was about to touch the piece when an usherette stopped her.

"I'm sorry, touching is not allowed." The usherette stated in apology.

The female guest smiled, "I understand. Where is the artist who made this magnificent piece?"

"Ah," the usherette averted her eyes somewhere, scanning the room for a trace of the renowned artist who made the sculpture. "Mr. Fullbuster's here somewhere, madam. You'll get to see– Eh?" She retorted but as soon as she turned to look at the guest, she was no longer in sight. The usherette shrugged her shoulders and redirected her attention towards the other guests who kept on insisting to touch the ice sculpture.

He's definitely in love with her. Erza smiled victoriously as she roamed her eyes around the hall, wishing to spot Gray.

Lucy sighed nervously as she checked her outfit for the umpteenth time in front of the large scale mirror in the lady's room.

"Lucy, how long are we going to stay here?" Cana asked curiously as she observed her blond friend.

"Eh," the blonde turned to look at Cana, "I'm wondering if wearing this business suit would be an appropriate attire for the–" Wait! Since when did Lucy become this insecure? She was always full of self-confidence when it came to her fashion sense – she could even attend a swimming party in her formal dress without anyone raising an eyebrow. Why the hell was she inside of the ladies' room for 45 minutes just to assure herself that she looked good tonight?

It's not like she wanted to look good in front of Gray and his workmates, right? She unconsciously bit her lower lip as a worried expression crossed her face.

It had been two days after Gray's unsolved confession and she hadn't seen him ever since. Yesterday, when she met her husband's co-artist, she remembered that the exhibit would be taking place today. She hesitated to come at first but she decided she could at least show him her support because she knew, he worked hard for this day – he even got sick (she thought).

But ever since they arrived at the museum, she locked herself up in the ladies' room and hadn't gone to check the exhibit hall.

"Come on, Lucy. I'm not really into art but we went here for the exhibit and this complicated guy you were talking about, right?" Cana tilted her head sideward, a bored expression written all over her face. "My love prospects might be waiting for me outside, you know?" the girl joked as she tapped the blonde's head lightly. "I'm certain you look perfect for the event. Rather," she looked down on her outfit which composed of a hanging blouse and a faded pair of jeans, "My outfit looked more inappropriate for this event. But who cares? I managed to–" Cana abruptly paused as a group of ladies in flashy dresses went in, "Okay~ or maybe we should just go home?"

Lucy smiled as she breathed deeply, "Ah, it's alright. Who cares about what other people think anyway–"

"I do." Cana chirped in a low voice.

Lucy ignored this and grabbed her hand, "Let's do this quickly and leave."

"WOW!" Juvia exhaled, not finding any word to match the extraordinary piece sitting in the middle of the hall, "G-Gray-sama sculpted Lucy-san on ice." She mumbled unthinkingly but as soon as she realized who she was with at the moment, she halted and looked away. She shook her head vigorously and turned to face her boss who was at the moment, staring at the sculpture in awe, pain written all over his face. "Juvia is sorry, bosu–er, Lyon-sama." She bowed almost immediately but received no retort.

Lyon diverted his eyes to the people scattered around the hall, eyes scanning the entire place like he was searching for a certain someone. Juvia couldn't tell who. It might be Gray or Lucy or both. She was worried, of course. Last night, Lyon was so drunk that he opened up everything to her. She was sober enough to remember. It felt like her boss was truly in pain. She wanted to help him but how? She wanted to comfort him but he wouldn't allow her. She wanted to blame Gray but he was like a dreamy prince that she couldn't bring himself to hate him. And it all went down to Lucy, she also wanted to blame the blonde – she wanted to hate her for hurting Lyon, but logically speaking, that was inane. Because if one would really think about it, it wasn't Lucy's fault that Lyon couldn't let go of her.

Looking at the big picture, Juvia could tell everything would go well if all of them would stop being selfish. Witnessing Gray's confession, she concluded that her boss' brother really fell in love with Lucy – she also liked Gray and she was tempted to take his side (not that she approved of Gray and Lucy falling for each other but she had already came to her senses that the two were already married and Lucy had become her only friend) but she realized, Lyon didn't have anyone by his side at the moment to support him.

She wasn't really sure what to do and she was also muddled by what Lyon was really up to.

"How do you think Lucy would answer Gray?" the drunken Lyon asked, tinges of red staining his cheeks and his eyes were watery.

"Juvia knows Lyon-sama knew Lucy-san better so Juvia doesn't have any idea." The blue-haired girl mumbled, tears streaming down her face.

"Why are you crying?" Lyon raised a brow as he stared at her dully.

"B-because Juvia thought Juvia has the worst love life. Juvia never thought love could get this complicated. Juvia wants to help bos–erm, Lyon-sama but Juvia don't know what to say–"

A loud laugh echoed through her ears as she stopped talking. Right, she didn't make sense at all. She lifted her head up and saw Lyon laughing – a rare sight. Her mouth opened and closed in succession, unable to say anything. She bit her lower lip and casted her eyes down, feeling awful and kind of happy – at least she was able to make him laugh.

He tried to stop himself from laughing and waved his hand, "S-she would…" he wiped a tear at the corner of his eye, "…probably ask for some time. Because it was Gray… There's no way she's prepared if it was Gray. I actually hate myself for knowing Lucy too well. When it was me who confessed, she immediately had an answer. I knew Lucy deep to the bones, that's why I could tell."

"How lucky." Juvia whispered under her breath as she snapped out of her trance.

Lyon took a step back, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "She's here, Juvia." He smiled, ogling a blond girl which was at present, being pulled by an unfamiliar short, blue-haired girl towards the middle.

Juvia followed his gaze and gawked back at her boss. Her heart thumped fast as he observed his blissful face. With just the sight of Lucy-san, he transformed this much. She found herself staring at the elder Fullbuster who was watching Lucy from afar. Call it clichéd, but she had decided… I would steal Lyon-sama's heart.

As soon as Lucy and Cana stepped out of the comfort room, a familiar blue-haired girl jumped in front of them. An ecstatic smile plastered all over her pleasant feature. "Lucy," she yapped and reached for her hand, "I hope you haven't forgotten about me. Once again, my name is Levy McGarden, you can call me Levy." She glanced up at the brunette standing beside Lucy and tilted her head, "Oh, a friend?"

Lucy smiled nervously as she dragged her eyes to Cana, "Y-yes,"

"Hi," Cana held out her hand towards the petite lady, "Cana Alberona of Blue Pegasus, nice to meet you."

Levy excitedly grabbed her hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you, too. Call me Levy, ne?"

"Oh, Levy. Do you have some stronger drinks here?" Cana lifted an empty glass which she managed to grab from a waiter roaming around.

The blue-haired girl blinked for a moment and grinned, instantly getting the hidden message behind the stronger drinks. "Heh, of course. I'll bring you there, ne? But I want you to see the highlight of this event first. I bet you two haven't seen it yet." She eagerly tugged the two ladies who tried their best to keep up with her pulling, avoiding people in the way.

And then the petite blue-haired girl halted. Busy keeping up with Levy, both Cana and Lucy didn't notice they have already reached the middle of the hall. When the brunette perceived where most of the people were staring, she dragged her vision and felt her mouth almost drop to the ground. On impulse, her hand tapped Lucy which looked at her and then followed her gaze.

It was Lucy's turn to be amazed.

Because in front of her, at the middle of the hall… was an ice sculpture. It was strikingly superb. She wasn't an expert when it comes to sculpture, but she, herself could tell that every details were absolutely given the right attention.

"So, she was the artist's model?" Someone not far from the three exclaimed.

"She was captured in ice, how amazing." Another guest said. And more incomprehensible murmurs followed.

"Lucy," Cana smiled sympathetically, eyes still glued over the ice sculpture. "The guy who made this was the guy you were asking me about? G-Gray, was it?"

"Hm," the blonde hummed as she stared in awe at the male ice sculpture.

"I-I take back what I told you yesterday." She gasped.

Lucy looked at Cana and blinked several times, "Huh?"

Cana lifted her arm as she pointed at the piece, face all red and eyes teary, "He's undeniably in love with you."

Lucy eyed the direction where Cana's finger was pointed at and her eyes widened in realization. Her knees wobbled, her whole body trembled. Suddenly, everything made sense.

"I like you, Lucy."

"He was in love with you, Lucy-san. For quite some time now," Levy nudged softly, "Gray-san told me everything – he was hesitating at first because of, he mentioned a deal or something? Was that a deal?" she looked up and bit her fingernail, gesturing like she was thinking deep, "Or a bet? I'm not sure. But I'm sure you know." She sneered, "I don't want to butt my nose in other people's affairs most of the time, I don't know if he already confessed but if ever he decides not to… I believe you deserve the right to know."

Lucy opened and closed her mouth in succession, unable to say anything, too shock to even move.

And then she felt a strong tap over her shoulder, "Oi, Lucy. I think you should give this Gray-guy a chance. You know," she turned to look at Levy, "Good news, Leny-chan–"

Levy sweat dropped, "It's Levy, Cana-san."

"Ah, Levy-chan – by the way, just Cana is fine," the brunette grinned widely and continued, "Good news! The Gray-guy already confessed, though I'm certain he didn't have any idea of what he was doing." She cupped her mouth with one hand and placed her other hand over Lucy's shoulder, she leaned towards the other girl and mumbled loudly, "He made use of the wrong words."

Levy squealed as Cana almost danced stupidly, gaining more attention from the other guests as if Lucy's presence and the resemblance of her face to the masterpiece weren't enough to draw attention.

"L-Levy-chan?" Lucy hesitantly spoke, her face so warm that she knew she was probably as red as an over-ripe tomato. "C-can you take me to G-Gray?"

"Sure, let's go find him. And then we," Levy motioned at Cana who nodded vigorously, "…would leave you alone to talk because Cana here, wants to get stronger drinks."

"We'll celebrate it for you, Lucy." Cana cheered.

"Gray," a voice called, he turned around, fixing his tie. He was used to this kind of events – after all, he was a renowned artist from Magnolia. Though he would admit, today he was a bit pressured. Because he was in Hargeon – the Art Capital of Fiore and for sure, good and bad criticisms would be thrown at him directly.

"Erza," he smiled as the red-head tapped him on the shoulder casually.

He had expected her to give him a peck on the cheek because that's how girls usually were – how could he forget that it was Erza, though? She was always one of the boys. Not like Lucy – though he hadn't witness an instance his wife had given any men a peck on the cheek, including her beloved brothers. Most of the time, she hugs them. It pissed him off but that gesture was better than the peck on the cheek as a greeting.

"Where's Lucy?" she asked, looking around.

A twinge of hesitation crossed his handsome feature momentarily, he collected himself once again and focused his eyes on his tie. "Didn't you call her? I told her to come. Not sure if she will, though." He shrugged, trying to sound indifferent but failed glumly.

Erza cupped her chin, observing Gray. "Are you sure you don't mind if Lucy don't come?"

Gray's shoulder stiffened, that's cruel.

Lucy was still his wife – it would be wrong if she wouldn't even attend his first exhibit in Hargeon. It was every artist's dream to get their works displayed in the Art Capital of Fiore and he might not show it but he wanted her – not anybody else, even Erza – to be by his side during this once in a lifetime occasion.

He wanted to at least share his joy to her.

"Relax, I was just kidding. When will you finish tying that tie? You're stuck." Erza raised a brow, eyeing his unfinished tie, his fingers tangled in. "Sorry, can't help you with that. You might end up choking if I tie that up. Let's go and get Jellal. He's the best in tying neck ties." She smirked, pride dripping from her voice as if tying a tie was a rare ability.

Gray threw his hands up, abandoning the loosened tie over his neck. "Right," he huffed as he went ahead, Erza trailing him from behind. "Ah," Gray jumped back, "Erza, you can go on straight ahead. Turn left at the next corridor and you'll see a big brown door. That's Jellal's office." He turned around, "I forgot my coat."

"Alright, I'll just tell Jellal." She answered, "I wonder if he keeps a cake on his office…" she smirked as she went on ahead.

Gray found himself chuckling as he went back to his office. After retrieving his coat, he wore it, tie still loose around his neck. He huffed, "I wish Lucy was here to fix this."

Meanwhile, Levy caught a glimpse of a running raven-haired boy on his way to who-knows-where. Her face instantly brightened up, "Yay, that's Gray–er, Gray-san right there." She pushed Lucy, both her and Cana giving the blonde an encouraging smile. "Go talk to your husband, ne? Ne?"

Lucy stared at the retreating back of Gray and saw him turn right to a corridor, "I'm nervous. We haven't seen each other–"

"–since the confession!" Cana teased, cutting her through.

Lucy blushed, Levy squealed. "He confessed," the blue-haired cheered, "he finally confessed. I really can't get over it! I hope you two get your happy ending today."

"W-wait," Cana tilted her head as she inserted her finger into one ear, "Did I hear it right? HUSBAND?" her mouth dropped, taking notice of the previous line Levy had uttered, she turned to give Lucy a questioning glare who was by now, had a face as red as a tomato and was fidgeting uncomfortably.

"I was planning to tell you today, Cana… I'm sorry." She apologized, bowing slightly.

Levy laughed, "Ah, I heard that deal–" she rolled her eyes and gestured like she was thinking, "Or was it a bet? Whatever!" she shrugged and pushed Lucy forward, "Go talk and congratulate your husband, he must be very nervous." She looked back at the awe-struck Cana who was currently processing the information she just obtained, "I'll tell you the details in the bar," she winked.

Cana grinned and pushed Lucy forward, "Yeah, do your best Lucy!"

Lucy felt like crying and smiling at the same time. Who would have thought she'd find such friends in this town in a short while she stayed here? She strode forward with gracious steps but before she reached the corridor she saw Gray turned, she spun back to look at her new found friends.

She raised her fists up to her chest level and beamed, "I'll do my best!" she mouthed and turn around.

The two girls squealed silently and went back.

Along their way, they almost bumped a white-haired boy somewhat resembling Gray – well, it was only Levy who noticed though. She glanced at the guy's receding back and shrugged.

Walking back, Gray saw Erza frozen by Jellal's office door, staring at something inside, eyes wide. He almost teased Erza, he knew she was over reacting again. Her reactions when it came to Jellal were always melodramatic. He used to be jealous with this but now he just enjoyed it.

"Oi," Gray tapped the red head as soon as he got close to her, "Love at first sight again?" he mocked.

It was then that he noticed Erza was trembling, her face pale and filled with disbelief, eyes directed somewhere. He followed her gaze and his expression mirrored hers.

His mouth opened and closed in sequence, unable to utter a single word in shock. He gaped at the two people inside the room, one blue-haired and the other raven-haired, lips locked.

He heard Erza's pointed heel clicked. She took a step back.

Gray snapped and pushed the door wider and barged in.

Jellal immediately pushed Ultear. His face packed with repugnance. Ultear stumbled backward, her struggle obvious. Both heads turned to look at the intruder.

And the four of them stared wide eyed at each other, Jellal desperately tried to stabilize his breathing, guilt spreading across his pale features.

Gray ground his teeth in extreme fury. He felt betrayed for Erza.

An awkward silence enveloped the room, until Erza stormed off. Jellal took slow steps forward, going faster and faster every second as he attempted to run after his girlfriend. But Gray didn't permit him to pass.

Gray's hard-bitten fist met Jellal's jaw in rave. "Damn you, Jellal!"

"Let me explain," Jellal cried as he staggered back, bringing his hand on the sore spot where Gray's fist hit. He deserved it, he knew. "I have to explain this to her!"

Exasperated, Gray loosened his collar. "I gave you my blessing," he tried to calm his raging inside, "I've always loved Erza and you do this to her?"

"G-Gray?" a voice from behind him came and Gray's heart raced. Lucy!

For a moment, he was scared to turn around and meet her eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked coldly.

The room was now filled with tension. Ultear remained quiet, watching the entire scene she started unfold in front of her. Jellal and Gray held each other's gaze intensely and Lucy stood by the door.

"W-was that Erza who run away just now?" Lucy asked, her voice hesitant, curious as to what was going on.

Upon remembering Erza, Gray broke the eye contact and spun around. "Stay away from Erza, Jellal. You're disappointing." He hissed as he walked out, going to the opposite direction towards the back where Erza ran off to.

"Gray," Lucy called out as she tried to keep up with him. "C-can we talk?"

Gray felt his heart clench, almost tempted to look back but didn't bother. Will she reject him now, of all time? "Not now, Lucy." He denied, "Erza needs me."

Lucy stiffened, her feet stop dead. Her knees wobbled, suddenly she felt drained of energy. She watched Gray's back disappear into the long corridor where she saw Erza left off.

And in an instant, memories of past events flooded her head.

"I don't want Lucy!"

Her chest felt heavy. The very reason she swore she would never allow anyone like Gray trample her again.

"I'm the victim here!"

She grabbed her chest, she could feel her heart clamping together. It hurts.

"A lot of girls line up just to get me to go out with them! And who said I want to marry you? If you didn't scream that morning, this wouldn't have happened!"

Of course, he was a good catch. In fact, he could surpass her brother's popularity if he's as receiving as Loke.

"How about you and I live our lives like this wedding never happened? We just have to act like a loving couple in front of those who knows this… Are you cool with that?"

The deal was absolute. She shouldn't have forgotten it. Because once she allowed him to break through her walls, it was the same as giving him a consent to stamp on it again.

"Lucy couldn't even make an edible rice ball. And we're living together?"

She's a useless wife. She couldn't even cook. It's not like she cared – she shouldn't, right? The marriage was a big mistake in the first place.

"I'm still a guy, you know? I don't want to be stuck forever in some boring married life… or I could always give you another option? How about making a baby instead?"

Yes, her incompetence as a wife was undeniable. She couldn't even perform her part as a woman, how much more being a wife?

"I want a break from you."

Because he had always hated her.

"I tried telling Erza how I felt countless of times but I'd always find myself sulking at the corner at the end of the day."

Because her husband had always been in love with Erza.

"I fell in love with only two girls, but I fell in love three times."

In love. Not like. She was too conceited to think that far.

"Yeah, and I never noticed it until then… She was the perfect girl for me."

He already found the perfect girl for him, why would she think he needed her to give him a chance?

"Do you want to know who she is?"

She shouldn't butt her nose anymore. Tears lined her eyes.

"I gave you my blessing, I've always loved Erza and you do this to her?"

Now, he got his chance back.

"Not now, Lucy. Erza needs me."

And he chose Erza over her.

.

.

.

She turned around, taking the opposite way, taking no notice of her surroundings. She walked briskly out of the museum, gloomy atmosphere emanating around her. She hailed a cab, her tears started to flow.

As soon as she entered, she locked the door and heard the driver asked, "Where to, ojou-san?"

"Magnolia, ojii-san." She spoke quietly.

The driver shot her a questioning glare from the rear-view mirror, "I'm sorry. That's too far for my cab to reach. But I think you'd still catch the last train so I'll just drop you to the train station."

Lucy didn't bother to look at the cab driver, "Yes."

And the cab stormed off, leaving a certain white haired boy who immediately ran after the vehicle unsuccessfully. "Lucy."

Somewhere inside the museum, Juvia looked around, trying her best to find her boss. "Lyon-sama," she cried, "Where did Lyon-sama go?"

Gray found Erza in the garden at the museum backyard, staring at the night sky in awe. "Oi, Erza. I punched Jellal for you." He started, instantly regretting his choice of words.

Really, he sucked at three things the most.

First was lying, second was acting and third was comforting others. He couldn't even comfort himself, how would anyone expect him to comfort others?

The red-haired girl remained speechless as if she didn't hear him.

"I'm sorry," Gray huffed, "I wasn't able to watch Jellal over for you."

"I saw everything, you know." Erza's voice was low and icy. "You should think before you act. You shouldn't have punched him."

Gray blinked, baffled and agitated, "Are you stupid? You caught him kissing another girl – worst, his ex? I punched him for you, it's for you and now you're telling me I shouldn't have hurt him?" he rolled his eyes in frustration.

"I had the choice to stop the kiss from happening and I chose not to. It was clearly my fault." She allowed a sigh to escape her lips, "The bitch asked for a last kiss and she'd let Jellal go… so I figured, that would be fine – it's a goodbye kiss anyway. But it still hurts. It's like an acid burning through me. I'm such an idiot."

Her last words rendered Gray speechless. Girls and their fucking drama!

"Fullbuster-san, the VIPs are looking for you." A girl with pink hair called as she panted. "P-please show up even for a while."

Gray rubbed the back of his neck, annoyed. And that's when he noticed his tie and remembered Lucy. His heart thumped hard against his chest, "On your way here Meredy, did you see a blonde girl about this tall," he lifted his hand up to his nose level, "brown eyes, big chest, slim waist?"

"Barbie?" Meredy tilted her head, Gray groaned, Erza chuckled.

"Haha, he meant, if you've seen someone with the same face as his centerpiece inside?" the read head chirped, tone still gloomy.

Gray's face flushed in embarrassment. Did she really have to emphasize that?

Meredy's face brightened, "Ah, I haven't but… some guests inside claims that they saw the model in person."

"Damn it," Gray cursed as he pulled and inserted his tie on his pants pocket. "Erza, you sure you'll be fine here?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "I like it better alone."

Gray could only nod and hope for the best. He knew she was hurting but he also had work to do. What great timing. He then trailed after Meredy and forced himself to socialize with the VIP guests and press people later on.

As the night progressed and the number of people decreased, he scanned the whole area – hoping to catch a glimpse of Lucy. She hadn't congratulated her yet and he wondered if she had seen his greatest piece or if she noticed that it was her face engraved on the ice. He blushed at the thought, he couldn't help it. He always aimed for perfection and for him, Lucy was perfect and so he ended up sculpting Lucy's face.

"Congratulations," a familiar voice greeted from behind.

He turned to find Lyon standing beside him, "Ah," the air suddenly felt kind of awkward, "Thanks."

For a moment, neither of them spoke and then Lyon broke the silence, "Can't you make your mind up?"

Gray stared at his elder brother dumbfounded, what the hell was Lyon saying anyway? "Huh?"

"I was there a while ago," he gestured his thumb towards the hall where the Museum offices were located. "You've always loved Erza, huh?" he mused loudly, "Then, what about Lucy?"

Gray furrowed his brows, "Huh?" and then a sudden realization hit him as he remembered what he had done to Lucy. First, he blurted out he had always been in love with Erza and for sure, his wife heard this. Next, did he just brush her off?

He didn't mean to leave her without even looking back, it was just that he was genuinely scared to hear her response. Especially today. At the exhibit. On the most important day in an artist's life. He couldn't afford to have his day ruined.

And how stupid could he be for not pulling Lucy with him. He should've figured right away that if there was someone who could comfort Erza best, it was Lucy.

.

to be continued…

A/N Right, so… the italicized dialogues somewhere up there were all Gray's from the previous chapters. Thank you once again. I love you all. *huuuuugs*