Category: Romantic Fluff
Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Silver Fullbuster
Requested by: Star_dress03 (Ao3)
The cracked stone floor beneath Lucy as she lay there, panting and exhausted, felt icy cold, but it was still hard not to be warmed by the sight of four of her dearest friends standing protectively around her, glaring daggers at the four Tartaros members who had tried to claim her life only moments ago. Gajeel, Juvia, Gray, and Natsu… Tears of joy and relief leaked from her eyes, puddling beneath her scratched and bruised cheek. I did it… I saved everyone. Still, the cost had been too much… She could feel the shattered remnant of Aquarius' key still clutched in her hand, and though it hurt to do even such a small thing, she curled her fingers around it. Aquarius… she lamented silently, her bottom lip wobbling as the tears that flooded her eyes became those of sadness and guilt. If only I was stronger…! Barely awake, Lucy looked up as Gray addressed one of the Tartaros members, a dark-haired man in armor with a scar across the top of his head. Maybe in her delirium, Lucy thought that the man almost resembled the Fairy Tail ice mage.
"You're…" Hesitation crept into Gray's voice, and he looked away uncomfortably. "No, you can't be…" Lucy narrowed her eyebrows slightly in confusion. It couldn't be possible that Gray knew this man somehow, could it? The other Fairy Tail members were similarly captivated by the strange ice mage.
"Come to think of it, that's the bastard who froze the Giant's Village!" Natsu recalled with a disdainful snort and a cross of his arms.
"His stench kinda reminds me of yours, Gray," Gajeel frowned while sniffing the air, and after a second, Natsu joined in a muttered something about him being right. At the pair of dragon-slayers' comments, Gray set his jaw and hesitantly took a step back from the man. Lucy could see his hands curling into fists, shaking ever so slightly. There is definitely more to this… Not that Lucy was in any position to figure it out; she was at the last of her magic power, with barely the strength to perform small body movements. Whatever was between Gray and the other ice mage, they would have to sort it out for themselves…
As it turned out, that's exactly what the older man was thinking. His white cloak flashed as he suddenly shot past Natsu to grab Gray by the arm, startling him greatly.
"This runt is mine," he growled, and as Lucy called Gray's name, his eyes flickered down to where she was lying only a few feet away. In a flash he was next to her, crouching down to wrap an arm around her middle while dragging Gray unceremoniously across the stone floor. "And the Celestial Mage, too." Lucy squeaked in alarm as the man so callously and unabashedly scooped her up from the cracked stone, and she heard her friends shouting her name as their forms and the landscape blurred, and she was carried off away from the battle and into an impending one.
Lucy grunted as she was dropped onto her belly, again laying on cold, cracked stone. They had been brought to a section of the grand fortress that had already been collapsed thanks to the destructive Fairy Tail mages, and the landscape was nothing but crumbled walls and ruined parapets and crushed marble bricks. She gasped as the older ice mage flung Gray forward with little care or emotion. Gray, being in a much better state physically than she, did not simply crash into the stone but managed to perform a roll and whip around to face the man, crouching low and watching him guardedly. Lucy attempted to crawl toward Gray, her hand trembling with overexertion and, admittedly, a moderate level of fear, grasping for him though he was too far away. Lucy then screamed in pain as the ice mage firmly planted a boot in the middle of her back, effectively pinning her at his feet. "I have to admit, I had no idea that this little girl would be strong enough to destroy the Plutogrim," he sniffed with disdain and, to cause Lucy further pain, continuously pressed his foot into her battered body. Lucy tried her best to avoid giving him the satisfaction of hearing her pained cries, but in her condition, she couldn't refrain from letting a few whimpers slip out. The entire time, Gray hunkered against the stone glaring vicious daggers, obviously enraged but too cautious to outright attack for fear of retaliation against Lucy. "Not that it matters, anyway, all your efforts; your little pathetic guild may have destroyed one Face, but that still leaves two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine of them." Lucy looked up in horror as a demented smirk flashed across his face. What? That wasn't the only one? And there are that many…?
"Three thousand Face, huh? The council sure built one hell of a weapon," Gray grunted. He was in much better control of his emotions, or was simply so pissed off for his treatment of Lucy that it didn't leave much room for much else. He maintained that steady blank expression bordering on furious rage.
"I was hoping to see some despair on your face. Maybe I will if I cut out this little girl's heart!" Still held against the ground by his body weight, Lucy could do nothing but stay frozen in fear as he threw his cloak back, the ice magic weaving frosty wind in his hand as he preparing to use it to bring Lucy to a pitiful end. I'm going to die…! She thought in panic, not even having the strength to push up against his foot and mount at least some semblance of a resistance effort. Her wide, brown eyes searched for Gray, not wishing her last sight to be the murderous Tartaros wizard, and they found him right in front of her. As any icy spear formed in the wizard's hand, rapidly plunging toward where her heart would be from behind, Gray countered by making a large icy broadsword and knocking the icy weapon aside. To avoid being cleaved in two, the Tartaros ice wizard jumped backward, leaving Lucy free. Having been met with near-death experiences several times in an unproportioned amount of time, Lucy's stock of bravado was quite depleted, and so she didn't try and stop the tears of relief from flooding down her cheeks.
"Gray," she whined quietly and, using her heightened emotions to propel her body, weakly reached up to grab his pants leg, knowing she couldn't pull herself up but still wishing to anchor herself to him in some way lest she be taken again. The icy sword disintegrated into sparkling snowy particles as he hurriedly crouched down to pull her into his arms, hopping back several yards to put ample distance between them and the ice wizard. Rather than set her down, Gray kept her tightly wrapped in his embrace as he allowed the full force of his rage show on his face; it looked like it was etched in the hardest stone, while his eyes blazed with a cool, dark fire. When he glanced down at Lucy, however, it immediately melted like snow on a warm morning, his features softening into a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Lucy. I've got you," he told her as he reached up to brush the tangled, limp stands of hair from her scratched, pale face. "I won't let anybody hurt you anymore." Maybe it was her raging emotions or acute exhaustion, but in that moment, everything about Gray and her relationship with him seemed to shift gears; Lucy had always thought of him as brave, like Natsu and everyone else in the guild, but there was something so impossible heroic about him in that moment that it made her heart begin to pound. Her face, previously white from terror, took on a pink hue instead. The words he uttered weren't out of place for a comrade, but there seemed to be a lot more meaning behind them than just a bond of friendship. The way he was looking at her, too, that smile and the way his eyes searched every part of her, was just too obvious. Has he always looked at me this way? Lucy thought, on the border of delirium as her heart and brain struggled to find some sort of middle ground between everything that was happening to her in those few seconds. She was snapped out of her internal fit as Gray gently lowered her to the ground and stepped over her to protectively plant himself between her and the Tartaros ice mage. His hands were balled into fists as he glowered at his foe. "You bastards have put Lucy through enough hell. You're gonna get it all back ten-fold."
"Sounds like fun. Simply killing you would be too boring," the mage laughed, completely unfazed by Gray's threats.
"Enough with the bullshit. You know me, don't you?"
"Yeah. Quite well, actually." Lucy watched apprehensively as the pair stared each other down. Their curled smile with veiled hostility on the Tartaros wizard's face was so like the one Gray would wear that it was frightening, almost as if they were related.
"I also know your face, and your voice. I know them, but you're a different person. Who are you?" The pieces began to click into place in Lucy's mind as she watched the intense standoff. No way… It can't be! Is this man-
"Your father." He was so calm in saying it, but Gray was anything but calm.
"That can't be! My father is dead! I saw it happen!" he shrieked, and as he waved his arm angrily, about a dozen icy blades materialized in front of him and shot towards the Tartaros wizard. Again, unfazed, he simply waved a hand to splinter them and send the icy, glass-like shards falling to his feet.
"My name is Silver Fullbuster. I am your father, Gray." Lucy just sat there huddled on the ground, nervous as she watched the twisted family reunion take place; the demon Deloria had murdered Gray's family, but yet his father was standing right in front of them, as their enemy, no less. Gray's rage continued to burn, and with an expression bordering on lunacy he coated his hand in ice and attempted to punch Silver in the face. Effortlessly, the man dodged it, and, when Gray tried to punch him away, just as effortlessly blasted him away with a gust of icy wind. As Gray went spinning through the air, Lucy gasped and attempted to jump up to catch him, but just fell uselessly on her face. She gritted her teeth in frustration, her eyes stinging with yet again more tears. I'm so useless! All I can do is sit here and cry, when Gray needs my help!
"There's no way my father is alive!" Gray shouted angrily at Silver, making her look up. The Tartaros wizard began cackling wildly, which only served to infuriate Gray more.
"Ahahaha! That's exactly what I thought you would look like!" he howled as Gray went into his ice make pose, but with a callous wave of his hand Silver again sent him on the defensive. Gray can't get near him! After a second, Silver stopped laughing and his face settled into a dark smirk. "I'll tell you this… The part about your father being alive is no lie, but me… Well, I make the story a little complicated."
"What the hell does that mean?" Gray snapped from where he was leaned up against a crumbling section of wall, the remnants of a building that he had just crashed into. Silver grinned devilishly.
"You and I are destined to fight, Gray."
"I still don't know what the hell you're talking about!" he shouted and stood up to come at him again, but with that same absurd ease Silver knocked him down on his behind again. The rock behind him exploded as he crashed into it, and Gray was hunched on his hands and knees on the ground, breathing hard and bleeding from a multitude of scrapes and scratches all over his body. Seeing him in such a state sent Lucy's nerves into overdrive, providing her just enough strength to crawl over to him.
"Gray," she whispered, not sure what to really say to him with the frightening development but still feeling like she should comfort him in some way. She hesitantly placed her hands on his back and chest, afraid in his anger he would rebuke her, but when he did not recoil or snap at her she gently helped him sit up. He leaned up against the rock, one eye closed as he fought off the pain and exhaustion, while he held up one arm in front of her protectively. Silver cocked his head aside with a scowl.
"Girl, you're interrupting our father-son time," he frowned, and Lucy ducked her head under her arms as he sent a blast at the cold wind at her. Instead of feeling the cold, painful rush of ice needles, she felt Gray's body collide with hers. That was pretty painful, too, but her concern for him overrode that.
"Gray!" she cried as he fell on his side into her lap, groaning slightly and bleeding even more.
"That was stupid, throwing yourself in front of her like that. You're only getting yourself more beat up." He shielded me from the attack! She realized in a mixture of relief and horror, while Gray just grunted and again shot him that fiery glare. "I don't want you to die defending that girl before I can explain it all to you, so I guess I'll let it go for now," Silver shrugged indifferently. Lucy's lips pursed and her eyes narrowed, her hands once again finding Gray's body to steady him. This man… Whatever he once was, has become evil and twisted! The rush of anger was overtaken by a wave of sadness. Gray must be in so much pain. Indeed, beneath her fingers she could feel him trembling. Stay strong, Gray. "I suppose I should start with this body of mine. You see, it's nothing more than a vessel, a corpse that happened to be lying around. All the members of Tartaros are demons from Zeref's book, so of course my original form was far from human." Lucy felt Gray stiffen in shock. "It's a bit of a hassle to run around this world as a demon, as you can imagine, so of course I choose to be human most of the time. It just so happened that I found this wonderful corpse, and I've been using it ever since. It was a bit of a coincidence that it happened to be this body, or maybe it wasn't."
Lucy began to tremble herself as she listened to his deranged speech. What a monster! He can so callously speak of Gray's father that way! When she looked at the Fairy Tail mage, his eyes had gone wide and his face pale, and all traces of anger had faded from his expression. It was just one of shocked horror now, disbelief bordering on a breakdown. Lucy wrapped her arms around Gray in a slight hug, hoping that her presence could somehow provide him some comfort. It must be so much for him to hear… I don't know what I can do, she thought as she rested her cheek against his back. She had never realized how broad and strong it was.
"I'm here for you, Gray. " she whispered, quietly so Silver- or whoever he really was- wouldn't hear. She felt his body shift slightly, and a bit of the tension release.
"Don't fuck with me, asshole," Gray snarled. "Going around using my father's corpse however you want… Even if I have reasons to hate you, you've got none to hate me!" As he stood up, though Lucy wanted to keep holding onto him, she allowed her arms to slip back down to her sides. Again, all she could do was sit there as Gray stared down the demon-possessed body. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Well, I tried killing all of Ur's little brats, but in the end, that wasn't very satisfying. She has been out of business for ten years, after all…" She could see the tension return in his body, and a horrible realization dawned upon Lucy. It can't be! "My name is Deloria! Surely you haven't forgotten me, eh, Gray?" he cackled suddenly.
"It's not possible…" Gray whispered, shaken again, and stepped back slightly and hung his head. "Ur killed you!"
"Oh, that's true, but as you know, Tartaros has a regeneration facility."
"Are you really that Deloria?" His head was still hung low, his hands balled into fists and shoulders hunched. Lucy could tell that he was reaching his breaking point.
"Don't make me show my true form, boy. You remember, don't you? How I slaughtered both your parents?"
When Gray looked up, Lucy had never seen such a murderous expression on his face before- so murderous that it frightened her. She only watched helplessly, shaking, as Gray charged the demon head-on. All traces of rational thought in him were gone. If this keeps up, he'll get himself killed! She thought as they collided in a brilliant explosion of sparkling ice crystals. Silver hopped away and shattered the ice Gray had just made, turning them into sharp shards to shoot them back at the Fairy Tail wizard; as Gray into the air to escape them, he fell right into the trap. Silver sent him careening across the battlefield again, and Lucy screamed as Gray went plummeting off the side of the cliff. However, Gray wasn't going down that easy. He formed platforms of ice in the air to vault himself back up, heading straight for Silver.
"Ice Make: Excalibur!" he roared as he brought down a mighty ice sword onto Silver's head. Lucy thought for sure that would work, but she heard him howling with laughter again; he had just bent over backwards and halted the ice sword with his hands. Lucy's eyes widened in shock as he ate the ice, just as she had seen Natsu do with fire magic time and time again.
"Magic of their own kind is useless against Slayer-type mages. Ur's apprentices can only use ice magic… So, I learned devil-slayer magic." He then lashed out at Gray again, and Lucy watched apprehensively as blood splurted from his body where icy shards had formed. She knew that it took more than that to kill him, but the battle certainly was not in his favor. Gray crashed roughly into the ground, while Silver grinned madly. "Yes! Yes! There's the despair I wanted to see! After I kill you, I'll kill Lyon! Then I'll murder your precious friends, one after the other!" Lucy squeaked in fright as his attention focused on her. "Starting with the troublesome Celestial Mage here!" Lucy was completely exposed where she was sitting and in no position to dodge the attack, so she did the only thing she could do.
"Gray, help!" she screamed. She knew in that moment all she could do was rely on him, as Silver sent a bombardment of the ice shards rocketing towards her. He delivered, appearing at her side to scoop her up and jump away; the ice shards destroyed the already damaged rock behind where she had just been sitting. As Gray set her down on the ruined stone floor a few yards away, crouching beside her and dripping red blood onto her arms and legs, she looked up at him pitifully. "I'm sorry… I'm nothing but a burden to you," she sniffed. "Look, you're all beat up…" I can't believe I didn't even try to dodge it! I'm relying on him too much! I'm making it worse!
"This is nothing," he reassured her with a strained grin, standing back up to plant himself again between Silver and herself. "I told you, I'm not letting anybody hurt you again, Lucy! That includes this sadistic asshole right here!" he shouted and pointed at Silver, who was frowning because he was obviously upset his attempt to kill Lucy failed. "Stop spouting all that bullshit with my father's body and voice!" he roared and fell into his signature pose. "Ice Make: Ice Impact!" A gigantic hammer formed above Silver and came crashing down, splintering the ground beneath him. Lucy shielded her face as little shards of stone rained down on her.
"Not gonna work!" Silver shouted, and she looked up to see him once again eating the ice. He then whirled around with a deadly serious expression. "You may want to move, or the girl will die," he said as he whipped his arm back for a presumedly massive attack.
"Sorry about this," Gray grunted, and before she could react, grabbed her by the back of her shirt and flung her unceremoniously away.
"Gray! No!" she shrieked as Silver released a massive icy blast at him, and he vanished from her sight within the roiling, icy white wind. She crashed roughly to the ground, and she groaned for a second in pain before forcing herself to look around for Gray. He was on the ground too, shaking violently as he struggled to push himself up. The tears that had not stopped for a second began to flow more freely. "Gray! Be strong, Gray!" she shouted at him over Silver's incessant cackling.
"Don't worry, Lucy…" he hissed as he stood up, pressing a hand against his profusely bleeding abdomen. "I promise… With these hands, I'm going to destroy him."
"You're chances of winning are zero percent," Silver snickered back. Gray made a cannon out of ice, sending a high-speed bullet at Silver. He didn't even attempt to dodge it. "It won't wor-" He was cut off as a section of rubble the size of his head smashed into his face, sending his head whipping back so heard she thought for sure his neck would snap. He looked at Gray in deranged anger and a little bit of surprise.
"Eat this!" Gray roared, a handful of cannons around him firing all at once. Silver gritted his teeth as he defended himself against the onslaught.
"You're crafty, but-!" he waved a hand, and a shiver went through Lucy's body as a chill wind swept across the ruined fortress, coating every bit of the rubble in ice. "What will you do now that everything is covered in ice?"
"This is the magic that froze the giant's village," Gray remarked while looking around, then smirked. "You just dug your own grave. I can pass this magic through my body and recreate it however I wish!" Lucy's eyes widened, as did Silver's.
"What are you talking about?"
"You said it yourself- magic of your own type won't work on slayer-type. I'm well aware of that, but there's an exception." Lucy wracked her brain thinking of what he could mean, and then it dawned on her. Of course! He knows Natsu can't eat his own flames, so Silver must not be able to eat his own ice! If Gray uses Silver's ice against him, he can't nullify it! Gray's body began to glow with magic power, and he dropped down to place a hand against the frozen ground and absorb the magic. "Now disappear!" He roared and sent a vortex of ice spiraling at Silver. Lucy, having recovered a bit of her strength, sat up on her knees and clasped her hands together.
"Please work!" she prayed aloud, hoping that her hope would be the difference.
It wasn't.
"Yes, I can't eat my own ice," Silver growled. Lucy fell back on her legs as Silver emerged from the swirling mist, completely unfazed and unharmed. "It's still ice. It's not gonna work." He looked up at the bewildered Gray with that same twisted grin. "Have I made you remember it yet? The terror of Deloria?" Lucy shuddered at the absolute madness in his expression and voice. She was no longer sure… if this was an opponent that Gray could beat.
No! I have to be strong, too! I can't help him fight, but I can support him from here! My hope will be his hope! She resolved quickly. Still, it was hard to hang onto that as Silver once again just tossed Gray aside like a rag doll.
"What's happening? You've lost your energy. Are you scared?" Silver mocked. No! He can't give up!
"Gray! Don't give up! You can beat him; I know it!" she shouted, then gasped as Silver began kicking him savagely in his wounded stomach. "I want to see your face more twisted," he sneered, and then once again looked at Lucy. She gasped and tried to crawl away, but he was much faster. She screeched in agony as he jerked her up by her hair, pulling on it roughly.
"Lucy!" Gray shouted and lunged for her, only to fall to the ground in a bleeding heap.
"Gray…" she whimpered, then cried out as Silver tugged on her hair again.
"Yes, that's it! Fear! You're more afraid of her death than your own!" Lucy wanted to be tough, but as his booted foot smashed into her ribs, all attempts of bravado dissolved as the flaming pain blossomed through her body. She threw her head back as she screamed in agony, the tears flooding down her cheeks once more. "I wanna see you beg, girl," Silver snickered as he pulled her by her hair all the way up to where they were face-level. It hurt like hell, like he was ripping every hair out of her head, from the force of her own body weight pulling her down. Lucy's bottom lip trembled as she glared weakly at him. "Oh? Still some deviance left? I'll beat it out of you." Lucy's world reeled as he backhanded her across the face, busting her lip in just one blow. "Come on! Beg him again to save you!" Through lidded eyes, Lucy watched Gray struggled to get up, slipping in his own blood. Silver slapped her again, and she felt her eye swelling up. "Do you want to die after all, girl? Go on! Call out for him!"
As much as she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to. She had already faltered once. All I am right now is a burden… Gray had told her it was all right, but it wasn't, not in her mind. She would not allow herself to slip into that hopeless fear again. I have to be strong so he can be strong. Lucy didn't flinch as she heard him forming the ice sword in his hand. "Stubborn girl. You're not fun to play with," he growled. Before he could drive it through her body, Gray managed to pull himself to his feet and throw his entire body against Silver, unbalancing him. Gray grabbed Lucy around the middle and ripped her away from Silver as he stumbled, again carrying her to safety. As he set her down, he gasped as more blood poured from his wound and he fell heavily against her.
"Gray!"
"I'm okay," he huffed and looked up at her. One of his eyes was closed as blood poured into it from a scratch on his forehead, and blood leaked from the corners of his mouth. He looked a mess, and the worry must have shown on her face. "As long as I have you here supporting me, Lucy, I'll keep fighting." Lucy's face flushed. I'm really helping!
"Do you really think you can win?" Silver snorted in derision. Gray straightened up, pushing Lucy- who ironically now found she could stand up- behind him.
"I have to win," he answered darkly, shaking from both the effort to keep standing and determination. "I have to win because I'm making sure Lucy's going home!"
"Ice won't work. I've blocked your physical attacks. You can't just win with your feelings."
"Not yet… I've still got something left." Lucy stepped back as he fell into an unfamiliar stance, panting heavily. I've got a bad feeling… she thought and held her hands to her chest. "Iced Shell." As he uttered those words, her blood ran cold.
"Gray! No! Don't do it!" she shrieked and jumped forward to grab him by the shoulders, but he shrugged her off. Even though she could stand, the rough motion still unbalanced her and sent her falling back to the ground. "No! Gray!" she begged him though she knew he had made up his mind.
"You're bluffing. That move freezes the opponent for eternity in exchange for their life. You wouldn't do it. Besides, ice doesn't work on me, not even Iced Shell," Silver mused. He was completely unbothered by the threat.
"Oh? Think back… That magic imprisoned you for ten years."
"That's before I mastered demon-slaying magic."
"Then have the guts to take this!" Gray roared, his body glowing and beginning to distort slightly. Silver's expression turned to one of slight panic.
"You can't! You'll die!" he cried out. Lucy lunged forward on her hands and knees, reaching out for him.
"No, Gray! Don't leave me!" She realized it now; she realized why it seemed he had changed all of a sudden, and she hadn't gotten the chance to tell him. "I lo-"
"Stop!" Silver screeched and waved a hand, slicing through Gray's middle. Lucy was about to scream, until Gray's form shifted into a crumbling ice sculpture. "What?" Silver cried and whipped around as Gray appeared behind him.
"For my family… And for Ur… I will surpass you, Deloria!"
"No, Gray, please! Remember what Natsu did!" Lucy continued to beg him, though she wasn't sure her voice was reaching him. Natsu had stopped him from using Iced Shell once before, but he wasn't here now. She pulled herself to her feet, sobbing miserably. "Don't do it! I-"
"Listen to the girl!" Silver interrupted. Gray's eyes shifted downward, and for a moment hope fluttered inside of her, hope that her pleas had changed his mind. Then they flickered upwards again, fiery and defiant.
"Sorry."
Lucy screamed as the ice magic shot from Gray's body and weaved around Silver, who was also screaming in fear.
"Ice doesn't work on me!" he was shouting, as if it would make it true, while Lucy fell to her knees, the tears now streaming silently down her cheeks. Gray… Then, the ice magic rebounded, and Silver grinned maniacally in triumph. "I crushed your Iced Shell!" he grinned to the shocked Gray. Lucy looked up, expecting Gray to die at Silver's hands, but there was another Gray standing behind Silver now, right in front of her. The real Gray.
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I almost forgot something important," he murmured as the other Gray, another ice sculpture, crumbled to pieces. "I can't die, because I don't want to see anyone crying… Especially not you." Lucy's bottom lip wobbled precariously as the tears of desperation turned to those of relief. He did hear me! Silver whipped around in shock, and they both realized at that time that Gray was holding a steel ball.
"When did you-?"
"I was the one who melted the giant's village." While they had been preoccupied trying to prevent Gray from using the Iced Shell, he had melted the ruins and supposedly picked up his new weapon. Before Silver could even finish turning around, Gray coated his arm in a thick armored gauntlet of ice. Lucy jumped forward and grabbed onto his arm, and he looked at her.
"I'll help you!" She could feel it, a tiny remnant of Aquarius' power fluttering inside of her, and she thought of no better way to use it than here and now. He nodded to her, and she closed her eyes to summon the magic. Aqua Metria! The water magic swirled in Gray's palm where he was holding the ball. With a roar, he flung the steel ball at Silver with all his might, amplifying its acceleration with the armor-like ice and Lucy's water magic, which created a vortex behind the projectile to boost its force. It collided with Silver's middle, so fast that it blew a hole right through him, and he collapsed to the ground with blood already pooling around him. Gray instantly sagged, panting heavily and barely able to stand. Lucy wrapped an arm around his middle, trying not to think about the thick, hot blood leaking on her arm, and pulled him against her to support him.
"Well done… Gray…" Silver croaked weakly. Gray just snorted.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice? You're not Deloria… You're my father." Lucy narrowed her eyes, having been convinced, but Gray would know his father better than anyone.
"Finish me."
"Fuck off! You're my old man! What the hell are you even doing here?" Gray snapped back. There was a moment of silence.
"I was waiting to be killed by you…" Silver admitted quietly. "You're right… I was once your father, but I'm not human anymore… I'm not a demon, either. I'm a corpse. I've been dead for seventeen years. Man, what a long time…" Gray stiffened in Lucy's grasp. He really is dead! But how…? "A necromancer, who wields a curse that allows you to control the dead… I was collected by him as a corpse and used for his experiments. Its aim was to figure out how closely he could make the existence of a corpse resemble its former self. I was among several hundred of them, but I alone have lived this long. No, not really lived… More like existed." Lucy put a hand to her mouth. How awful… "And it was all for the sake of revenge against the demons that stole my family away from me. In this dark guild, I persevered, in secret, killing demons while I discovered them. That's why I did what I did in the Sun Village… Those flames were not of demonic origin after all. I continued to weaken the powers of the demons around me until I thought that I could take down Tartaros. But then… I learned that you were alive, Gray. At that moment I realized…" He shakily lifted up his hands to stare at them. "These hands of mine are too stained with blood. I have no right to fight for your sake or your mother's…" Gray stared at him in quiet disbelief, then hung his head again, trembling slightly.
"So that's why you were so hell-bent on dying?"
"I'm already dead, Gray. I just intended to erase this existence of mine. I leave everything to you," he grunted as he pulled himself into a sitting position, his expression dismally sad. Gray gritted his teeth and waved an arm angrily.
"You don't get to decided! And what's left for me, anyway?!" After his outburst, he seemed to realize something, and exhaled deeply, relaxing against Lucy.
"It's okay… You don't need to do anything. I said some pretty messed up things to you, and I did those awful things to that girl there… I apologize…" he murmured. Gray looked down, continuing to shake as he balled up his fists. He's probably realizing… That Silver did all this so Gray could finally conquer his demons… And realize his true strengths… "You're better off just forgetting about me. The man you knew… Died long ago."
"You're still my dad," Gray uttered quietly. A tear rolled down Silver's cheek.
"As if there'd ever be a father that hits his children and threatens their friends," he said through gritted teeth. Gray started to object, but Silver cut him off. "Enough… Quickly… Finish me." His head still hung and his shoulders hunched, a long, sharp sword formed in Gray's hands. Lucy stepped back, allowing him to stand on his own, because this was something the he and he alone needed to do.
"You want to be put to rest, huh?"
"Please… I want to see your mother again." Gray was silent, but she could see the emotions roiling inside him, from his taut posture and his trembling body and gritted teeth. "Don't hesitate! I had a hand in Operation Face! I killed those former council members! I raised a hand against the Celestial Mage, who is important to you! I am your enemy!" Gray walked forward, holding the sword above his head. Lucy could see the tip of it wavering precariously from his shaking hand.
"You may be my father by blood," he hissed. "But none of that matters to me, if you're an enemy of the guild! That's how we've always protected it!" At the end, Gray's voice broke, and the sword dropped slightly.
"Such is what it means to be human," Silver mused quietly.
"I… I just can't kill you!" Gray cried suddenly and dropped the sword, and though his back was to her, she knew he was crying from the way his shoulders were shaking. "Fuck… Fuck it all…" he sniffed and hung his head miserably.
"That, too, is what it means to be human," his father sighed with a rueful smile and tears leaking from his eyes. As Gray sniffled miserably, wiping at his eyes as he cried, Lucy debated whether she should comfort him; she decided that regardless of whether it was appropriate or not, she wanted to, and so she walked over to Gray's side and wrapped her hands around the upper muscle of his arm and squeezed slightly. Without saying anything, he collapsed into her, and despite her weakness she still found the strength to bear his weight. Right now is when he really needs me. He turned his head to press it into hers, their faces close enough for her to see the tears spilling from his lashes even though he was trying to cover them with his fingers. She glanced over at Silver as he pulled himself up and stumbled unsteadily over to Gray, and pulled him into a hug with his hand on the back of his head, and then did something she didn't expect- he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and hugged her too. "My body won't hold out much longer…"
"Dad," Gray sniffed as he buried his face into his father's shoulders, but couldn't find the words he wanted to say, all the things he wanted to tell him. He didn't need to.
"I just want to hold you for a little while, if that's okay…" Gray dissolved into sobs, trying to muffle them with the fur around Silver's cape, but the full force of his emotions was spilling forth, having broken through the dam he had erected so long ago. Lucy continued to hold onto his arm, soothingly stroking her fingers up and down his bruised, bloody skin, silently letting him know that she was there for him. "You've grown into a fine man, Gray… My pride and joy."
I'm glad, despite everything, that Gray will have the chance to say goodbye. "Little girl…"
"My name is Lucy."
"Oh, yes. Lucy. I'm sorry for what I put you through," he smiled at her, but the guilt and remorse was clear in his expression. "I was acting selfish. I hope you won't hold it against me." Lucy shook her head, and was honest, too. Even if it wasn't the right way to do it, he was acting for Gray's benefit. She couldn't hate him for that. "Now, Gray… There's one more thing left. I am going to teach you the ice devil-slayer magic. E.N.D. is a flame demon." Lucy watched for a moment, but nothing in particular seemed to happen between them; yet, all of a sudden, Gray seemed to find his strength again and was able to stand without her support. He must have transferred his magic to him. She and Gray gasped as he began to glow brightly. "Ah… It seems the water girl managed to pull it off." Juvia? "Lucy… Take care of Gray," he told her, then looked at Gray. "I leave everything to you." With that, he faded into brilliant light that flickered out of existence as it ascended to the sky. Gray balled up his fists and hung his head again, so Lucy slid her hand down his arm to curl it around his, and he opened it up so their fingers could entwine.
"Dad… You can rest now," he murmured, and Lucy watched as dark bands appeared on Gray's lower arm, right above his wrist, three in a row. "As an ice devil slayer, I'm going to crush E.N.D." A moment of silence passed, and then Gray suddenly whipped around to envelop Lucy in a tight hug and bury his face into her hair, seemingly indifferent to how dirty and tangled it was. She could feel the tears leaking from his eyes and falling into the messy blonde strands and onto her shoulder, and as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, she could feel that he was trembling again. I will be your strength.
"It's okay, Gray," she murmured. "Thank you so much for taking care of me… I'm gonna take care of you now. Promise." I promise you, Silver… I will watch over your son, whom you left this power and this will… After a minute of crying, Gray managed to reign in his emotions and lifted his head to look down at her, tears still swimming in his dark eyes.
"Lucy… When I was about to use the Iced Shell…" A faint blush rose to her cheeks, because she already knew what he was about to ask. She could play it off, but… I want to be honest about my feelings. The feelings she never really knew she had, until this battle, where the both of them gained so much, found a strength they never knew they had.
"I was going to tell you… I love you… Gray." Instead of blushing and looking away, she met his gaze, so he could read the emotion and seriousness in her eyes. She wasn't sure for how long she had, or when it started; all she knew is that she knew it now, and she wasn't going to be silent. Even if he didn't feel the same way, she wanted him to know. "I'll be your strength when you can't find any… I'll be at your side, to support you when you fall… I'll take care of you, just like your father asked me to… Even if you don't lo-"
She couldn't finish, because at that instant he grabbed her by the face and kissed her with a fierce passion. It was Lucy who fell into him this time, as all the strength was sapped from her body, her breath being stolen away by the maelstrom swirling between Gray's mouth and her own. She felt everything in that kiss, his sadness and pain, his joy and relief, his love and his desire. Her hands found his shoulders; she had to anchor herself to him somehow, lest she be swept away by the storm of his lips moving in a fierce rhythm against hers. She started crying again. His emotions were hers, too; she experienced it all, writhing inside of her until they poured down her cheeks in those silent rivers of tears. As his hands found their way to her waist, one of hers had crept up the back of his neck to entangle her fingers into the dark strands of his hair, the sweat and blood coating her fingertips as she wound the soft fibers around them. They said so much in the silence, more than they could ever say with words. When their lips finally parted, Lucy felt like she had been found after being lost for an eternity, found in the way he was gazing down at her so softly and the way he was holding her body up against his.
"I'm gonna hold you to that promise- and I promise I'll take care of you, too. Now let's go finish kicking Tartaros' ass. We can't let Natsu have all the fun, can we?" Lucy smiled sweetly as she nodded firmly, and he pulled away from her, though he paused a moment to slip his hand into hers and entwine their fingers.
I don't know what will happen from here… But I know we'll do it together.