. First Night .


"I'm searching your eyes.

Have I seen you somewhere?

You're filling my thoughts with a strange intrigue.

Tell me your name, what your persuasion?

Your first impression of this whole occasion."

~ "First Night" by Survivor


A few days after the tour with Levy at the museum - about which Lucy had tried to speak with Levy, although her friend was being stubborn and refusing to discuss what had happened. Levy so rarely cried that much, or even acted like that… And then there were the dreams. Not the ones about what she thought might be Natsu. No, these dreams were far worse.

And from where he watched in his seat across the chair from her, Gray narrowed his eyes and studied her as she took a sip of her tea. She had no doubts in her mind that he knew. He confirmed her thoughts when he cleared his throat and said, "You didn't sleep well last night."

"No," she admitted, flushing. She took a deep breath and then said, "I...I dreamt of my mother last night."

Gray grimaced sympathetically and looked out the window of the bakery, thinking. It had begun to snow lightly, although it was quickly picking up. Lucy had been working and eager to enjoy some of her company, he'd offered to come in for a lunch. Lunch was quickly becoming a possible sleep over at the bakery, however, for as they sat across from one another at their table with empty plates in front of them and mugs of tea in their hands, the snow was quickly turning into a blizzard. Lucy had all ready closed the bakery early. Sipping at his drink, he said, "The usual?"

She nodded curtly. Lucy had dreamt of her mother for years, always experiencing her death over and over each time the dream came around. It was rare that she so much as came out of her bed on those days. But she'd had no choice that day. The bakery was one employee short, meaning she needed to take the leftover shift, and the possibility of Natsu stopping by had drawn her out. She'd been surprised by that last thought.

"Sorry," Gray said gently. "I know how much they suck, Lucy."

"Thanks," Lucy replied, taking a deep breath and letting it out. She wanted the weird dreams she shared with Natsu far more than she'd ever want to dream of her mother. At least the weird dreams made her heart ache in a way that didn't threaten to smother her soul.

They sat there in comfortable silence for a couple minutes - silence that was interrupted when Gray's phone went off. He checked it, and Lucy arched a brow at him when he grinned, immediately responding to the text he'd received. "Who's that?" A pause, and then Lucy was grinning broadly. "No, wait, is that Juvia?" she asked excitedly, leaning over the table to try and see.

Gray held his phone away from her viewing, flustered. "No."

"Liar!" Lucy beamed at him, her eyes dancing with excited amusement. "Are you guys going on another date, Gray?"

Giving her a half-hearted glare, Gray muttered, "Yeah. Next week on Tuesday. We're heading to Hargeon for the day. She said she'd never been and I wanted to show her the older parts of the port, where Lyon works." Lucy's eyes grew round with surprise and he said hastily, "There's no way in hell I'm letting them anywhere near each other. He'll try to flirt with her and stuff. He likes her. He met her on our trip."

Lucy laughed, but reassured him. "I doubt he could flirt her away from you even if he tried. Tell him I say hi if you run into him though, would you?"

"No promises," Gray said. He reached over to prod gently at her. "What about you? Are you meeting with that pink-haired idiot again anytime soon?"

"Be nice," Lucy scolded. She tapped her chin after setting aside her now empty mug, looking out the window. "His name is Natsu, and I don't know. Probably, because I'd really like to. There's something about him. I really can't say what it is, but I feel like I absolutely need him around me recently. It's really weird."

"Tell me about it," Gray said, lifting his mugs to his lips. Lucy looked at him curiously. "That's how I feel about Juvia whenever I see her."

Lucy opened her mouth to say something in response but was interrupted when there was a sudden flurry of snow as the door to the shop clanged open and slammed shut. She was somehow surprised to see Natsu standing there, hood tugged over his hood. His onyx eyes were wide, his face flushed with the cold. Gray snorted at the sight of the man, not pleased to see him. "Natsu!" Lucy called in a friendly voice, smiling. She then frowned at Gray. "What?"

"I don't like him," Gray muttered grouchily, making a face.

"Sorry for busting in," Natsu said as he strode over fearlessly to join them, completely ignoring Gray with a small scowl on his face. He pushed his hood back and raked a hand through his pink hair. "Dunno where that snow came from…"

Lucy sent him a warm smile. "No worries," she said, indicating that he could take her seat. "Let me get you something warm to drink, it's pretty nasty out there…"

Within minutes, Natsu had a nice cup of hot chocolate set before him along with some sandwiches on a platter that they were all allowed to take from. Lucy had quickly returned to the table with both, seating herself next to Gray rather than beside Natsu. Neither of the men had said anything to one another in the time that she'd been gone.

"So what are you doing out and about?" Lucy asked, nibbling at the crust of one of the sandwiches.

"Well, I was heading to the courthouse. Need to see a lawyer about some will stuff." Natsu wrinkled his nose. "Wendy, Gajeel, and I all live together, but the house is still under Gajeel's name from before I turned old enough to take it for myself. When he had custody of me and Wendy. It used to belong to my dad, and I want to have it now. Not that I'm gonna kick the jerk out or anything, but...it was my dad's house. He grew up in it. I want it to be mine, too."

Lucy smiled warmly. "I'm sure you'll be able to get it. If you need some help, just let me know. Gray's sister Ultear is a lawyer."

Gray scowled at her. "Don't bring me into this," he said grouchily.

"Oh, hush," she scolded before jumping in surprise and shock when the door suddenly flew open again, and a woman none of them new burst in, bringing icy winds and snow with her. She struggled to shut the door again against the wind and Natsu sprang to his feet, darting over to help. When the door was shut, the woman gasped, heaving for breath, "Thank you!" She turned to offer Natsu a quick smile. Confusion shot across her face, but she turned to look at the others as well, flushing. "Forgive me," she said, grimacing. "I was caught up in the storm and assumed the bakery was open. This is Heartfilia Bakery, yes? I was trying to find it."

"Oh!" Lucy flushed, smiling sheepishly. "Yes. This is the Heartfilia Bakery, and you're perfectly welcome to hang here until the storm dies down. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, the owner, and these are my friends Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster."

The woman looked relieved. "Erza Scarlet," she said, suddenly furrowing her brow. She turned to stare at Natsu, who looked uncomfortable beneath her scrutinizing look. "Forgive me," she repeated, "But...this may seem rude, and I apologize if it is, but...do I know you from somewhere?"

"...no?" Natsu said in confusion.

"Oh," Erza muttered. And then she rounded on the other two in the shop. "And you, have I seen either of you before?"

Lucy was admittedly shocked by Erza's sudden demand. "Not that I am aware of," she said slowly. "Sorry. What about you, Gray?" She turned to look at Gray, who she discovered was staring at Erza as if she had two heads. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, his mug hanging in the air before his mouth. "Gray?" Lucy tried again and then jumped in shock when Gray slammed his mug down so hard that tea sloshed over the sides, spilling onto the table. He shoved himself to his feet, nearly knocking Lucy off of her chair. She squawked and he caught her chair quickly, face white as he said hoarsely, sweat dotting his forehead, "I have to leave."

"Gray?" Lucy said, rising to her feet as he yanked his thick coat on. "Gray, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I…" He paused to look at Lucy. His gaze flickered with confusion followed by horror and fear and Lucy immediately reached for his wrist to stop him, desperately worried. Gray Fullbuster was never scared. He'd been the one to hold her hand when they were younger and she'd been terrified of shapes hidden in the dark, and if someone he didn't think was trustworthy hda come around, he'd put himself between she and the other. He'd always been the brave one.

So why was he so frightened now?

Before Lucy could grab him, he ripped away and nearly fled the bakery, slamming the door so hard behind him Lucy thought the glass would shatter. Flustered and confused, Lucy waved over Natsu and Erza, saying, "Sorry about that, I don't know what happened there...I hope he's okay out there...please, you can join Natsu and I until the storm dies down. Do you want some tea, Erza? I'll get you something to eat, too. What do you like?"

"Strawberry cake, if it's not too much to ask," Erza said as she strode over, looking somewhat embarrassed by her admission. "And it's alright, we all have our moments, I suppose. Please, I'll clean up the mess while you get everything," she offered, waving at the mess that was Gray's mug.

"Thanks," Lucy said, starting for the kitchen. "Natsu, grab her some napkins, would you?" She threw him the warmest of smiles as she left the main dining area of the bakery.

Erza chuckled when she saw the way Natsu watched after her, not missing a single sliver of the adoration he wore on his face.


As Gray pushed his way through the nasty snow and wind that was coating the world outside in a mass of white, names echoed through his head.

Natsu. Erza. Juvia. Lucy. Gajeel. Wendy. Lyon. Ur. Ultear. Levy.

He swiped snow from his eyes with numb fingers, the names repeating again and again. He'd heard them all in this weird world, mentioning them himself since he'd come back from the mountains with his brother. He squinted through the snow, seeing what he was aiming for after ten minutes of walking, and hurried forward, eager to get inside.

He burst through the museum doors, ignoring the female security guard who immediately rose to her feet, alarmed after not expecting anyone to come in. His eyes narrowed at her when she said, "Can...can I help you, sir?"

He barely heard her. He was too busy remembering things that had happened in the past...but they hadn't happened at the same time...but they had? He was confused as hell, and he had seen Levy enough in this place, the way she'd looked sad even with a sash wrapped around her eyes, to know that she knew what he knew. "I need to visit with Levy McGarden," he rasped. "Is she here?"

"Miss McGarden's in her office," she said nervously. "Please, follow me."

Gray did, following the security guard through the museum. He faltered every now and then, noticing a few things in display cases that he viewed with a new light. His hands shook when he saw a tattered flag, displaying a symbol that had once rested over his heart.

"Miss McGarden?" the security woman called as she knocked on Levy's office door. "You have a visitor. One…" She looked to Gray.

"Gray. Gray Fullbuster."

"Gray Fullbuster," she echoed, looking back to the door.

"Let him in!" called Levy, voice muffled by the heavy wooden door. When the woman opened the door, Gray stepped past her, and closed the door behind him. He stood there for a second, listening to her leave, with his back to the door and his eyes on Levy. She'd been in a spinning computer chair and she now turned her face towards him, reaching for her cane. "Hello, Gray. What can I do for you? I haven't seen you in a while, Lucy said you were in the mountains-"

"Cut the shit, Levy." His eyes flashed, anger suddenly shooting through him. Levy's lips parted in surprise. "What the hell's going on? Why am I- I don't understand, what the hell is this world without magic? Why can I-" He was so confused, he couldn't even form his thoughts. Yet Levy knew. She understood his confusion. She'd felt it herself growing up.

Quiet, her face a mask of resigned acceptance and surprise even with her eyes hidden by cloth, she murmured, "...you remember." She was in awe. "I didn't think anyone else would. Natsu and Lucy, maybe, with those dreams, but…"

"I don't understand." His voice broke, tears gathering, and he felt ashamed for acting like a young child. "Why do I remember a completely different life? I remember the guild. I remember the war, everything. But I grew up here. I remember here."

"Sit," Levy ordered. She gestured to a seat shoved against a wall. Gray did so, dropping heavily into the chair. "When did it start? When did you remember?" She paused, and then sked, "Why'd you think I'd remember?"

"The museum has our things in it, of course you'd remember if you're working here," Gray said rather sharply. He pushed a shaking hand through his black hair. "Lucy and I were having lunch together at her bakery and then Natsu showed up because of the blizzard. And then Erza stepped in, and I just...it smacked me in the face. One moment, I'm fine, the next there's this whole other life. I don't understand. I can't figure out what's me and what's...not me." He couldn't explain it, couldn't figure it out. "What do I do?"

Levy smiled kindly and leaned back in her chair, setting aside her cane. "They're both you, Gray, it's just that one's a past life. We were reincarnated. You'll have to figure out the memories on your own, but for the most part...I just push on as I normally do. I would try and do the same. Have you met anyone else? I found Wendy and Gajeel, they're living with Natsu."

He clenched his jaw, mind flashing to those who he had been around. "Ur. Ultear. Lyon. Juvia...shit. Juvia." He ran a hand down his face. "I found Juvia by accident. We have a date coming up."

"Good. Try not to scare Juvia, okay? She doesn't remember and nor does anyone else. That's another thing...try not to shove your memories on them. Let them just enjoy their lives."

Gray snorted. In other words, don't whack them over the head with the pan of truth. "How long have you remembered?"

Levy's lips quirked as she played with a lock of blue hair, considering where to start.


Rewritten as of August 14th!


All caught up! Now for the new chapters. ;)