YEAR X778
AGE 12
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It was raining hard.
Gray and Karissa were sitting together at a square shelter in the park. The sudden squall caught them off guard when they were walking by so they had no choice but to run under the closest shade. Thankfully, they weren't too wet to get sick.
Earlier it was snowing and then suddenly it rained, really weird.
Why did it have to rain like this on this day?
Karissa kicked off her boots and propped her legs on the bench when she leaned back against the wall. Next to her, Gray was leaning on the table as his arm supported his head, his cheek resting in his palm. From where she sat, she could see the melancholic look on his face as memories of the past played in his mind. On this terrible rainy day, it was Ur's death anniversary.
With a sigh through her nose, she rested her head on top of the small wall behind her and stared up at the ceiling proving shelter. Her fingers locked in front of her ankles.
Gray turned his head in his palm to look back at her, wondering why she sighed. He found her just staring up at the ceiling, her neck exposed to him from the stretch.
"What's wrong?"
"Hm?"
She lifted her head lazily to meet his stare.
"Oh, it's nothing. We're just surrounded by nothing but rain on this day. Pretty gloomy."
He blinked and then hummed. "I guess." He mumbled before turning his attention back in front of him, watching the harsh rain pelt the ground.
His heart was still pretty fragile when it came to Ur's death. In the last four years, Karissa managed to steel her heart when it came to Ur and also forgive Gray for his mistake. It was just taking a little longer for him since it was his fault. She could only wonder how Lyon felt on this day wherever he was.
Discreetly, she shuffled a little closer to Gray and gently brushed off some snow that was still sticking on top of his head. Once more, he turned to her and she stopped her gently brushing.
"Snow."
"Oh."
The feeling of her fingers gently brushing off snow from his hair made him less tense, it made him close his eyes for a minute, he did her a favor and leaned his head in her direction so she could finish the job. Karissa noted how he was pretty docile.
"There we go." She leaned back against the wall to lock her fingers in front of her ankles again.
He put down his arm on the table and sighed softly, his eyes still closed.
Karissa decided to keep her hands to herself when she saw that. Even if he was docile, she didn't want to bother him too much. She didn't want to make him upset or anything.
Just to be sure, she added more space between them and stared down at her knees quietly. The last thing she wanted was to make him upset.
However, unbeknownst to her, Gray was, once again, thinking back to what Ur once said about Karissa from her simple kind gesture.
Karissa blinked when she saw him push himself to sit back against the wall behind them. He let his head hang down, his hair falling to hide his eyes. She didn't think about it too much and stared at the rain again.
"Hey."
Karissa turned her head to him. She found his melancholic dark blue eyes staring at her, it made her tip her head curiously.
"Thanks for being here."
At that moment, she didn't really know what to say so she just gave him a shy little smile and nodded.
It's always mostly on Ur's death anniversary does the same reoccurring vow come to him.
Karissa.
To protect her and take care of her so he won't lose another loved one again.
…
…
…
It's been weeks since the ordeal with the Oración Seis.
It's been a few days since Guildarts returned to Magnolia.
And it's been several days since Juvia made her bold declaration.
Currently, Karissa was in the shower just spacing out after letting the shampoo wash off. She was currently in an art slump after throwing around several paper balls around her room. It just felt like her drawing abilities were suddenly deteriorating. She hated it. She was running out of lead for her mechanical pencil too. She was planning on heading out and buying a few things after taking a shower.
Van was not in town, and Pandora was most likely at the guild. She had no plans to go to the guild today since she was just planning on staying home.
She closed her eyes and sighed.
As she just listened to the water run and echo in the bathroom, Juvia's declaration just flashed in her mind. The annoyance she felt while watching her leave the common room came back to her. Juvia's declaration and Mirajane's constant remarks... Juvia said 'after observing and calculating' her relationship with Gray, what exactly does she see when she sticks around with Gray? The same as Mirajane?
Because of Juvia, she was asking herself little questions related to her relationship with Gray. Frankly, it was getting annoying.
Karissa groaned and rubbed her face. I don't want to think about it.
She was dressed in a black plaid long sleeve shirt with a loose collar and blue fitted pants when she left her house and went to buy what she needed. She only brought her wallet with her which was tucked away in her back pocket. On her way back, she just carried the things she bought in her hands since they weren't large or heavy.
Karissa ended up looking at the little keychain charms displayed just outside a store. Casually, she brought her index finger behind a charm and tilted it for her to see closer.
I hope we can get this in the shop…
"Karissa."
Startled, she moved away from the store items and took several steps away when she turned around to see who called her. To her surprise, she found Gray standing with some bags.
"Oh. Hey, Gray."
He checked out the stuff she was looking at. "You planning on buying that?"
"Uh… no." she shook her head. "Just looking… but I did kinda want to."
"Then why not?" he shrugged.
Karissa pursed her lips and look away. "I want to save my money? Duh."
Gray deadpanned at her reason. "You save money all the time. I'm pretty sure you could spend some to buy one or two of those. Go ahead."
The Sinclost household source of income mostly came from Pandora as their main source. With her being an S-Class mage, she definitely earns more on a single job compared to her younger siblings. Van takes jobs every now and then and helps pitch in whenever its needed. With those two, Karissa doesn't really have to help pitch in most of the time, allowing her to save up a lot. And because she learned how important money was at a very young age, she had the habit of just saving up so much. There was probably untouched money in her room somewhere that she earned on a job two years ago.
"Nah, I'm good." Karissa waved her hand dismissively. She decided to change the subject and ask what he had in those bags he carried.
Gray averted his eyes away sheepishly. "I…uh, needed some new jackets. I noticed that my closet's been… running out."
Oof.
"Ah, yes." Karissa snickered. "Because you just love to," she dramatically pretended to strip off a jacket and toss it away. "just strip them off."
Gray could only chuckle softly and shake his head at that. Since they were heading the same way, they ended up just walking with each other at a slow pace. Gray wasn't going to show up at the guild today either since he just wanted to stay home. It's not like they needed to show up there everyday until noon.
"By the way, I washed the container you gave me. You want me to get it for you real quick when we pass by my place?" Gray asked her.
"Sure." She shrugged and then lifted up the ink pens, lead and erasers she bought. "Then I can just drop these inside and carry it home—"
All of a sudden, Magnolia was drenched in rain. It came out of nowhere. Did the sun just decide to call it a day?!
"GAH?!" Karissa freaked and started whipping her head around to find shelter. She was getting wet right after she showered?! HELL NO.
"Over here!" Gray darted off towards a hair salon. She didn't waste any time and just ran after him to stand in front of the glass where there was just enough cover to shield their heads but still get them wet from the wind blowing the rain.
"Really? This poor excuse of a cover?" Karissa whined.
"It was the first thing I saw!" Gray grumbled with a grimace as water pelted his face.
"I just freaking showered twenty minutes ago and I'm about to get soaked!" she groaned and started tucking her items into her back pocket. Her shirt was already getting wet from the rain assaulting her. Oh why does the gods hate her so?
I hope this stupid rain doesn't last long.
Gray sighed at the terrible weather. One second it's sunny and the next it's raining like hell. It's been raining a lot lately though.
He scrubbed the back of his hair and looked down at his wet shoes. At the same time, he noticed that the bag he was holding was open and the jacket he bought was getting wet. He clicked his tongue and twisted around the handles, but he stopped when an idea came to him. He glanced at Karissa and saw her scowling at the rain while trying to fuse with the glass behind her, trying to get away from the rain as much as she could.
She really wants to get out of here, huh?
Alright then.
"Karissa."
"Huh?"
"Face me."
When she turned towards him, she stepped back from being a little startled when he draped his jacket on top of her head. The jacket was long enough to cover her entire back. It took her a second to just register what he did. Her dark brown eyes blinked a few times and stared at him blankly.
"It'll keep your head covered at least."
"Oh. Thanks."
She held the lapels of his new jacket a little tightly.
Again. Her heart felt touched by his gesture.
"We're heading to my place." He said bluntly after twisting around the handles of his bag to seal most of the opening.
"Your place?"
"You wanna stay here?"
Karissa pouted and looked away. "… No."
He smirked and then tugged the jacket to cover more of her hair, causing her to yelp a little. He was only in a white shirt and blue pants so he was bound to get drenched on the way home. It didn't matter though since he could just change at his place.
"Then let's go." He turned around but not after catching a glimpse of the people inside the salon. There was two elderly women just staring at him in awe after doing a sweet gesture. It made him redden as he started running off with her.
…
…
…
Gray was drenched from head to toe, a whole dripping mess. Karissa just ended up laughing at his pitiful state when they made it inside his house. She was the one who was mostly dry from the rain thanks to him. Her hair was fine (thank the gods) but her shirt was still wet from getting caught in the rain earlier.
For her, be brought out some clothes for her before he went in the bathroom for a quick shower.
She was wearing a black shirt that stopped midthigh underneath a maroon hoodie that was definitely not her size, the sleeves were much longer than her arms, and long dark red shorts, that reached below her knees, that she had to tie tightly around her waist. She felt a little nervous for wearing his clothes.
Karissa plopped on the couch and just stared outside the window, watching the rain fall.
"I wonder how long it's going to rain…"
…
…
…
Gray exhaled a soft sigh while towel drying his hair. He then grabbed the door handle and opened the door to step out, he was greeted by cool air instead of humidity. He hoped she didn't get too bored on her own. Curiously, he walked around in search of her and was quick to find her sitting on the couch with something in her lap.
She was looking through his sketchbook. Being a molding mage demanded him to have some sense of creativity so it was kind of inevitable for him not to develop some artistic side as well.
With the towel on his head and his hands holding the hanging extremities, he stared at her sitting on his couch flipping through the pages. The hood was on her head and the sleeves were too long to the point where only her fingers were poking out from underneath. And his shirt was way big on her.
He gripped the towel tighter and tugged it downwards, squishing his head, as he tried fighting back a stupid smile.
She's looks tiny. Cute.
Sensing eyes on her, she looked up from the sketchbook after being lost in it and found Gray standing far away. He quickly took off the towel from his head when he saw her look at him, plastering a relaxed expression on his face. But she didn't say anything, she just stilled and kept staring at him.
Confused, he asked her what was wrong. He was pretty sure he had his pants on.
"Uh…" Karissa tugged his sleeves to hide her hands when she realized she was ogling. "Just… looking at your Fairy Tail mark."
He looked down at his bare chest.
"Nothing you haven't seen before." he pointed out, raking his hair back, causing to clear her throat and play with her sleeves. "Yeah, well…" she grinned sheepishly. "It's an artist thing. You gonna put on a shirt or what?"
Gray gave her one more confused look before disappearing around the corner and heading into his room. Karissa stared at the empty corner before exhaling and started slowly tugging the strings of his hoodie to hide her face in it.
I should have expected this guy to just walk around shirtless.
Her fingers played with her bangs absentmindedly after she poked her head out.
He walked into the living fresh out of the shower, hair wet and upper body on full display. As proud as she felt for being unaffected around shirtless men, she realized how naïve that was when she saw him just now. His damn appearance just tore that down that pride. It sounded so much like some cliché stuff there.
It must be because she found him attractive. She did admit it after all.
… He really does have a nice body though… Damn it.
She groaned in the hoodie when she realized the image was practically burned into her memory. Hair wet, chest out, and the hem of his sweat pants hanging low enough for her to see more of that damn V-line. Like damn, couldn't he bother to pull his pants up?! No matter how much her inner self tried to tear down those images, she just couldn't.
My heart needs to take a chill pill. Seriously, stop your damn ba-dum ba-dum bullshit!
Calm yourself! You too hormones!
AND THOSE BOOKS ARE NOT HELPING.
Maybe she needed to stay away from those books from now on or else she was going to imagine something dangerous if she daydreamed.
And 'an artist thing'? Really? That was dumb.
After grabbing himself a shirt and drying his hair, he grabbed some snacks from his kitchen and laid it out on the table just in case she got hungry. They just sat on the couch eating some chips together.
"By the way, why was Pandora upset?" Gray planted a foot on the couch and leaned an arm on the backrest. Karissa, who was sitting with her legs crossed, just laughed lightly as she munched on the chip.
"I told her about Clavis the day we came home… and she wasn't too enthusiastic when we started talking about our parents. She got all guilty when I just silently went to my room after dinner."
"You got angry?"
"What, no. It just felt tense and awkward when she said that our parents might have given away Clavis because maybe having four kids was too much." Karissa huffed and scratched her ear. "Why do people assume I'm pissed when I end up doing something like that?"
"Because you're the passive aggressive type." Gray pointed out obviously, causing her to just shift her eyes away from him, she shrugged nonchalantly.
"But I rarely get that angry."
"Still," Gray grabbed another chip. "It's much more effective when you do. Why do you think I always try to make you feel better when you are?"
"Because you're scared?" she snickered.
"And because you make me feel stupidly guilty when it's my fault."
"Aaah, you're referring to the time you pushed me?" she waved her hand dismissively with a chuckle. "That was a long time ago~"
That time when he took out his anger and embarrassment on her ended up with her ignoring him for two whole days. At first, he thought greeting her the next day like nothing happened would help smooth things out as a start, but she kept swerving him, giving him the cold shoulder like he didn't even exist. He once tried to talk to her when he found out she was out in town, he thought doing it when no one he knew was looking might help me get a little less embarrassed. Unfortunately for him, Laxus was with her and they were eating ice cream, and the moment she spotted him, she just bolted off in the opposite direction. Man, he really hated Laxus that day when he blocked his path and helped her get away. He even made fun of him for having 'girl trouble'.
His next attempt ended up with him slamming into an ice wall and she told him to 'stop sticking so close to her'. She spat the same words he told her, further shaming him with guilt. He was so frantic and desperate to repair their friendship that he ended up cornering her in the guild's bathroom with a bottle of mango juice to bribe her.
Now that he was thinking on it, it was pretty embarrassing. It made him reddened and run a hand over his face.
"You were so insistent on getting my forgiveness that you literally came into the girls' bathroom with mango juice." She snickered when she remembered the kicked puppy-look he had on his face that day. "Even when I tried to move past you, you still kept me trapped there."
Gray's cheeks had a tint of pink on them, he huffed and then crossed his arms. "I just didn't want you upset with me anymore. It sucked and it was my fault."
Karissa chuckled when she saw him trying to hide from her when he remembered the events. Mockingly, she reached over to pat his head with a fake pout. "Aw. There, there. You did well though. I'm proud of you, my boy."
That day when got her to forgive him, she could remember the desperate and guilty look on his face. She was seriously amazed that he went that far just to apologize. How could she not after all that?
Gray clicked his tongue in annoyance and lightly batted her hand away. "Man, shut up and I'm not a 'boy'."
Karissa leaned back on the pillow she had propped behind her back with a grin. "Ah, you were so cute back then~" She said in a teasing tone, but she was feeling a little nostalgic as she looked back on the memories of the old days.
We've all changed so much in ten years…
To her, it honestly feels a little sad that it's been that long already. It makes her remember how time leaves no one behind, it takes everyone with it with no exception.
Maybe time should stop every now and then…
Gray reached behind and placed a hand on his nape as he stared outside the window. "Were? Ouch. Did I get ugly or something?" he said almost despondently, not really expecting an answer. This was just another one of her little teases she liked to do to him. However, a part of him actually wanted to know what she thought of him now. How did she see him?
The lack of playfulness in his tone made her blink. She was wondering if she had just made an offhand comment. It made her sweat a little. Making people upset over her own thoughtless comments that were supposed to mean well was something she always dreaded. She should try and say something as safety net just in case it made him feel bad somehow.
"I-I mean…" Karissa started awkwardly, playing with the long maroon sleeves. "We're not kids anymore so I can't really call you that… I think? I would say that you look handsome now." she said while peering at his face just a little closer.
Gray stiffened.
Karissa blinked.
Their eyes locked.
"Oh…" was all he said.
What… the fuck… just came out of my mouth?
FIX THAT!
"Why?" Karissa quickly plastered a smirk to play it cool, backing away and hiding her panic. "You want to be called cute like a little kid instead? Cute kiddy boy Gray?"
"No." Gray brought his hand in front of his face and brushed his nose with his index finger, hiding his mouth behind his hand. His dark blue eyes were gazing at the floor, avoiding her face. He looked troubled.
The smirk on her face faltered when he didn't retort back and avoided looking at her. The banter felt obviously one sided. She said the wrong thing. Her nails dug into her palm to try and calm her heart that was beating fast from the panic. Not good. She looked away from him and bit her lip, frustrated at herself.
Keep your stupid thoughts to yourself.
Never say that again.
Keep your damn mouth shut.
It's like what Cana said, I never say things like this.
I shouldn't start now.
Despondently, Karissa pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them before burying her face in them. She always did a good job at restraining herself and keeping her words locked away, so why did she freely say it this time? This was terrible.
She couldn't erase the image of his troubled expression. He must have felt awkward or something after hearing something like that from her. She clenched her hidden fists in shame. He probably thought she meant something by saying that.
Did it?
Damn it. I'd rather be drenched in rain than stay here now.
She bit her lip.
Gray shifted his head when he saw her doing her best to make herself look small.
"Sorry." she told him with a small nervous laugh. "Sorry." she repeated, hoping it it would help him feel less weird from her compliment.
"For what?"
She didn't answer and just kept hiding her face away from him. She needed a moment to calm down and just school her features into a neutral one. Gray scooted closer to her and took her arms away from her face but not without her trying to tug away from him. She continued biting her lip while looking away from him, desperate to get back some control over her face to hide her shame.
"What's wrong?"
Slowly, she turned towards him and saw the look of concern on his face. Anxiously, she became hyperaware of how close they were, making her averted her eyes nervously.
Don't make him worry over your attempt to fix your mistake.
It'll get worse.
With a defeated sigh, she slumped and leaned sideways against the backrest. Her hands held her elbows after pushing up the sleeves behind it while she frowned in embarrassment. A familiar prickling sensation crawled up her neck. Let's just get this over with.
"… ird…"
"Huh?"
"I said that I said something weird!"
"As in?"
"... You're seriously going to make me say it again?"
"I got all day." Gray gestured to the window.
"Can't we just drop it?"
"Nope. I can't just let it go now."
He was pretty familiar with how she liked to avoid subjects that make her uneasy. Curse him.
She buried her face in the backrest, sighing in defeat again. The dark haired male took that as his cue to lean close enough to catch her muffled words.
"I called you handsome and it was weird right?! It's weird if it comes out of my mouth because I don't say stuff like that. I can tell it made you feel uncomfortable. It's too unnatural for me. Hearing stuff like that come from me is like hearing some weirdo pervert compliment you on the street. You. Get. Creeped. Out."
Great. Now I really wanna go home. This is bad. I can feel my skin getting all prickly.
After a brief silence, she felt him tap the side of her head. No. She didn't want to look at him yet. She still needed reboot after feeling mortified. But she knew she couldn't avoid him forever, especially in his own house. He gave her three more taps to coax her out, and, begrudgingly, she slightly turned her head to look at him. He had one leg propped sideways on the couch while he leaned his side against the backrest, his hands resting between his legs.
"I'm not creeped out. You just jumped to a conclusion way too fast." He reassured her and gently tousled her hair. "I was just embarrassed."
An imaginary arrow went through her head. She died a little just now.
I knew it!
"But… in a good way." He added before she could attempt to hide her face again. Embarrassment was clear on his face now because he was getting red in the face as he kept looking at her without averting his eyes.
Karissa blinked at him, wondering what he meant by 'in a good way'. Her dark brown orbs just stared at his dark blue ones. She was a little confused. When does embarrassment ever feel good? She wanted to ask him purely out of her own selfish curiosity even if it might further embarrass him. But something in the back of her mind reeled in the chains and restrained her from speaking.
But an entity named curiosity trashed and kicked off the chains and pitched a question out of her mouth.
"What do you mean?"
Gray's dark eyes began shifting away while his hand scratched the side of his neck. She was really making him say it, huh?
"I liked it."
"... Oh."
Okay.
Let's just leave it at that. No need to dive in further.
"Say that in the beginning then…" Karissa mumbled and then looked out the window, her face was feeling a little warm.
"Just…" he reached for her forearms and gently rubbed them. "Relax. Okay? No need to get all worked up and panicked."
She looked down and found her arms tinted in red from her nervousness. The sight made her frown uncomfortably, they felt hot. This might as well be the literal meaning of 'wearing your emotions on your sleeve'. One of the reasons why she preferred hiding her arms under sleeves was for this very reason. It used to occur a lot back when she was in her mid-teens but now it rarely occurred. Now, it usually happened when something really got her nervous or stressed. Now was one of those moments.
Gray lightly chilled his hand to fight against the heat, gently brushing his hand across her skin to and fro. She didn't even try to pull her arm away when he brought her relief. Her cheek pressed further against the plushness of the backrest when she slumped. His gentle movements was almost akin to being lulled, slowly loosening the tension she felt.
It feels nice.
Her eyes watched him. His eyes were on her arms as he kept stroking it with light ice, trying to cool the heat faster. This was the first time he was doing such a thing for her, but she wasn't complaining. She didn't find it weird that he was touching her so gently like this even if it felt intimate.
They spent at least more than half a minute in silence with the rain ambience. It was only when he felt the heat wane and saw her skin become a little less red did he stop. He pulled his hand away and regarded her with a gentle smile. "Feel a little better?"
The only response she could manage in that instant was simply blinking there dumbly. She was just taken back by how he looked at her. His face and demeanor was making her feel all tingly again. It was a good picture. He really was good looking. He was being sweet to her. And honestly, it made her heart pick up the pace.
Ba-dum... Ba-dum... Goes her heart. She can almost hear it.
As if to cease what she felt, she shut her eyes and to snap out of it. Relax. She reopened her eyes and lightly shook her head when she came back to reality.
A hum of affirmation came from her as she nodded once. "Feels less annoying."
"Good to know."
He leaned back to give her space, watching her rub her hands together quietly. He could tell she was still a little embarrassed.
"Been a while since I saw you this worked up." Gray remarked with an arm on the backrest. "Never thought it would be over calling someone handsome."
Karissa reddened and played with the hoodie she removed. "I was scared that I made things awkward." she lowered her head. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry for voicing your opinion." Gray gently tousled her hair again which only made that tingly feeling in her stomach to act up. "I'm flattered that you think so." he cooed teasingly while poking her forehead, causing her to pout a little. "You really think I'm handsome?"
Karissa averted her eyes shyly. "Didn't I just say it?!"
Amused, the dark haired male huffed at her before taking the hood and playfully tugging it on her head with a smirk. "We'll match a movie to get your mind off it, alright?"
Peeking from underneath his hood, she blinked. "A movie? Why?"
Gray walked over to a drawer and pulled it open, searching for something. "The more we get your mind off it, the faster those arms of yours will go back to normal, right? What better way to do it than by having you focus on something else entirely?" he plucked out a lacrima movie. "Here, we'll watch this."
"What is it?" she watched him shut the drawer and plop the lacrima on the table.
"You'll know when I play it." He dropped on the couch. "So just get comfy and wait."
Karissa only knitted her brows and pursed her lips. Her hands grabbed the pillow she was previously leaning on and she hugged it to her chest.
"Fine. I hope it doesn't suck."
"It won't… I think."
"Huh?" she looked at him.
"Huh?" he looked at her, feigning innocent.
She gave him a suspicious look before slowly turning her attention back on the movie.
…
…
…
A soft groan escaped Gray's lips when he lifted his head. What happened? He looked around and found the movie he pulled out earlier still playing in front of him. Ah right. He fell asleep at some point during the movie. He sat up properly and ruffled the back of his hair and turned his head to find her curled up in the corner while snuggling the couch pillow. He sweat dropped. Maybe she found the movie too boring for her liking. Oh well, at least she definitely got her mind off it.
He looked outside the window and noticed how the rain was still aggressively pelting his window. Just how much time had passed since they fell asleep? If the rain refused to let up, then he would probably have to walk her home later.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, stretching his jaw as he yawned silently. Blinking the little tears away, his head slightly turned enough for him to discreetly look at her. His hood didn't fully hide her face but her hair covered most of it. Even so, he could still see the vulnerable innocent look on her face as she slept.
A small smile appeared on his face as he fondly watched her. It was nice to see her like this, all relaxed and innocent looking.
…
…
"I would say that you look handsome now."
When he remembered her words, he could only turn away from her. He dropped his face in his hand and clenched his fist lightly. She seriously had no idea how flustered that made him. Yes. The fact that she barely says anything like that made it a little weird, but it's because of she rarely does that he felt so pleased when she told him that. It was much more effective. God, he couldn't believe that got him flustered. It took so much willpower to not break out into a blush and maybe smile like fool. He couldn't look her in the eye after she said that because he was afraid something would show on his face, something that reflected what he felt inside. The only thing he could do was just play it cool in silence.
But does that mean anything? What does it mean when she says that I'm handsome?
He peeked at her and loosened his fist.
To say that he loved her all these years would be inaccurate. He was sure he never felt anything like this for her several years ago.
He had enough time these past several days to think back, and if he had to try and estimate the time of when he started to feel something then it would probably have been two years ago, a year after they started taking on more jobs together, spending more time together, and getting stronger together, and inevitably caring even more about her. But that was only his rational guess anyway. He would never truly know for sure.
What was more important was the realization rather than trying to pinpoint when it started.
The recent bruises and bumps in life only amplified his feelings just enough for him to finally recognize them.
But now keeps wondering what exactly he wants to do with those feelings.
Right now, I'm actually satisfied with what we have now…
But…
For how long?
All of a sudden, she jerked and raised her head. She sat up in a daze and loosely held the pillow in her arms, looking around in confusion.
Gray laughed lightly at her state. "Bad dream?"
Karissa huffed her bangs out of her face. "… Not exactly bad but I just dreamed of falling and then boom I woke up." She slurred, blinking slowly.
The taller mage chuckled knowingly. Those dreams were certainly weird. They should just be thankful they actually wake up before hitting the ground. He rested his cheek in his palm and watched her from the side as she yawned into the sleeves and rubbed her face, the hood falling of her head, revealing slightly messy black hair hiding underneath.
Drowsily, she dropped her hands in the middle of her criss crossed legs on and looked at him while blinking slowly. He was staring with a small smile on his face, puzzling her. Did she have something on her face? She lifted her hand to wipe her face, the sleeve around her arm easily fell down to her elbow from how loose it was, and she checked her fingers. Maybe he drew something on her face while she was sleeping? When she found nothing, she looked up at him with a quirked up eyebrow.
"What?"
Gray turned his head away and shook his head. "Nothing." He replied coolly and then made his way to the kitchen. "I'm going to get some water, you want any?"
"Huh? Oh… Yes, please." Karissa drawled and hugged her knees to her chest after letting out another yawn. She nuzzled her face into the crook of her elbow and breathed in.
She was still a little sleepy.
…
Scent.
The hoodie smelled just like him. The scent of him was strong after she just woke up and it made her eyes shoot open.
"Okay, then let's talk about how you and Gray were cuddling on the futons back on Galuna Island."
Remembering Lucy's words and her description of her and Gray's secret cuddling made her shift her feet around nervously. She thought back to how Gray held her in the cabin, how he held her tightly after they hurt each other, and how he carried her during after the lacrima surrounding Magnolia…
She hid her face in the crook of her elbow again.
There was that weird tingly feeling again.
Stop thinking. You're being ridiculous.
But… I guess I like being held by him.
When something cool touched her ear, she flinched and looked up to find Gray standing next to her with a water bottle in hand that he chilled with his own magic. His shirt was gone, but she paid no mind to it as it wasn't an unusual sight.
"Thanks…"
Gray lightly arched an eyebrow. "Hey, your face is a little red."
HUH?
"I…It is?" she patted her cheek.
"Don't tell me you're getting sick." Gray made a wary face and took a step back once she took the bottle from his hands.
"I'm not." She huffed.
He stared at her silently.
She stared back at him.
His palm rested flat against her forehead after pushing up her bangs and lightly tilting her head back, making her squawk from the suddenness. She slightly pouted at him. She wasn't getting sick!
He then pulled away his hand, still looking at her warily. "You don't feel hot."
Karissa rolled her eyes and unscrewed the bottle cap. "That's because I'm not getting sick."
Gray walked to this spot on the couch and planted himself in his seat, unscrewing his own bottle cap. "I'm just making sure. I don't want you getting me sick." He said seriously but with slight mirth coloring his tone. "I'm telling you right now, you only get two sneezes. You sneeze three times, you're on your own."
Karissa nearly choked on her water when she heard that. She pulled the bottle away and hid her mouth as she giggled in amusement. Gray laughed at her and passed her the tissue box just in case.
After wiping her mouth, she shoved his leg with her foot. "You're mean. Let's just get sick together. I'll even cough on you." She moved and scooted closer to Gray with a mischievous smirk.
"Don't drag me down with you." he flicked her forehead. "You still wanna watch this movie?" he pointed at the screen that was currently playing some action scene.
"You got anything else?" Karissa drawled lazily while reaching over to grab the pillow on her side. "I've already seen this movie with my brother."
Gray looked at her in bewilderment, face comically expressing his confusion. "Then why the hell did you just watch it instead of saying you already watched it?!"
"Meh." Karissa shrugged in a blasé manner and then looked at him indifferently. "You looked like you wanted to watch it. Be grateful I didn't spoil the story instead."
"Okay," he sighed. "Go choose something in the drawer over there."
"But what if I pull out something you already watched?"
"Just go." He lightly nudged her head.
"Ookaay." She got up and shuffled over to the drawer to try and find something to watch. Meanwhile, Gray went over to the kitchen again to do who knows what. By the time he returned, she was already playing with the lacrima movie she chose in her hands, waiting for him.
She looked at the small box he carried in his hands. She watched him set it down, revealing several cookies inside. He held out the box for her to take one first. She didn't see any reason to refuse. While taking a tissue from the table to catch the crumbs, she plucked a cookie out from the box and sat facing the table to eat.
"Where'd you get this?" she asked curiously since the box didn't look like it came from a grocery store.
"Oh." Gray copied her. "Juvia gave this to me yesterday. I didn't get to eat it yet though. She was pretty insistent that I take it home with me yesterday. I figured we could eat this."
Juvia?
Karissa stiffened just before she could take a bite. Her eyes narrowed as she suddenly felt the urge to toss the cookie out the window and out into the pouring rain. She was still annoyed by what Juvia told her.
… Maybe I'll just eat half the cookie…
She broke it half.
Because there's no choco…la…te...
Weird dark green goop started coming out of it.
"YO." Karissa put down the cookie and sat back to stare at it like as if it started it was some mythical creature. "What the hell is that?"
"Huh? What are you ta…" Gray trailed off when he saw the dark green filling just seeping out of the cookie and onto the tissue. He kept staring at his, his face slowly becoming slightly horrified with a mix of confusion. She picked it up and tilted it sideways to let it fall. The filling fell with an awkward splat!
"I don't know what that is," Karissa put it back down and then looked at him. "But, I'm telling you right now, that's not going into my mouth."
It was the colour that was freaking her out. Never in her life had she seen a filling of that colour before. Judging by Gray's reaction, it was his first time seeing it too. Maybe she tried to make something sweet but it somehow ended up looking like that?
Either way, she didn't want her taste buds to come in contact with it.
"Yeah… let's uh…" Gray finally moved to drag the tissue with her cookie on it to his side while moving his away too. "… just leave it there."
Karissa hugged the pillow to her chest while bringing her knees up, watching Gray close the box after dropping his cookie back inside. She wonder what he was going to do with the box later. Would he throw it out? That would bring slight satisfaction to her.
As he began setting up the lacrima movie to play, Karissa turned her head to look outside the window, watching the endless harsh pouring rain.
Rain. Nothing but rain.
"But Juvia will not lose against you! She will win Gray-sama's heart!"
She blinked lazily.
So… one of her ways to 'win' his heart is by giving him homemade gifts… Is she going by the saying 'the way to a man's heart is through is his stomach'?
She laughed inwardly when she realized that Juvia had her 'beat' in the cooking department then.
But would she be able to succeeded by using this as one of her methods? She didn't know what else she was capable of that could potentially impress Gray and maybe make him like her back. Just thinking about it made her feel uneasy.
How soon until he might?
Her eyes darkened solemnly.
One day, will he let go of me?
Will I still be able to stand by him?
Troubling thoughts was clouding her mind as she thought about the two in a relationship. Those thoughts were coming to her every now and then ever since Juvia said that to her. It was really quite troubling.
I won't let myself think it.
Karissa then pushed herself off her rear to throw herself at Gray's side, resting against his side, startling him a little.
"You scared the hell out of me."
"Not sorry." she grinned like a fool, grabbing the bag of chips and holding it between them. He snorted and shoved his hand inside as the movie played in front of them.
Just think about this nice moment, just the two of us, away from the rain.
Karissa used 'handsome'... It was super effective.
Karissa can be such an anxious little fool.
Their relationship won't be the typical 'I've actually secretly loved you all this time since we were kids I just didn't realize it' 'Ayee yoo me too!' trope. It wouldn't work anyway since Karissa obviously had her kiddy affections for Lyon that lasted at least a year after she left. She didn't just hop on the Gray train after that lol.
Anyway, what does Karissa love to do when something bothers her? She just doesn't think about it. Clearly, someone needs to make her think and stop brushing it aside like bread crumbs. The question is: Who?
In chapter 19, it was mentioned that Gray had an inner vow. I didn't explicitly say what that vow was. But now I finally revealed it in that little flashback.
SnowPaws101Reverie: Hello again! Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad to know you liked the chapter. I'll admit, I had a little trouble deciding which arc in which they finally got together... but hopefully the wait won't be so bad? Clavis will have focus later onn~