[Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Fairy Tail world, which is trademarked by Hiro Mashima.]

The next chapter will be released within 24 to 48 hours. These two chapters in particular were rewritten together. .M.

"How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home."

- William Faulkner [As I Lay Dying] -

.06. Her Decision

[Grand Magic Games: Day 2]

"The second day of the games is underway, and the crowd is ready for the competitors to make their appearance!"

"Today's challenge will require agility, quick thinking, and fast feet. The Flight Arena is ready. Platforms are staggered above the arena, and our competitors must make their way from the start to the finish within the time limit. They'll need to be careful, however, as landing on a platform may trigger a random battle. In addition, the spacing between platforms can be deceiving, especially among the moving ones."

"Hopefully none of our competitors have issues with motion sickness. That could make for a very messy display for spectators below."

"That should not be a problem this year. We don't have any dragon slayers participating this year."

"That was just one of many memorable moments from last year's games. I think many were surprised and found the whole thing hilarious."

"Yes, but it was Fairy Tail's own Natsu Dragneel's speech during the Chariot challenge that many still discuss. It was possibly one of the most rousing moments in Grand Magic Games history. It truly touched everyone in the crowd."

"How can one forget that speech? It hammered home that a guild is only as strong as the bond among nakama."

. . .

"Damn. They're closed."

Her legs tugged forward while everything above was pulled gently to a stop. Lucy's mindless train of thought was pulled to a halt at the sudden loss of momentum. It was the tender sound of his voice that had her head turning slowly. Brown eyes met red as she stared up at the man who easily towered over her. She felt the arm around the narrow span of her waist flex and the attached hand that sat loosely on her hip tug at her body, and she was pulled closer into his side. Her lips curled up into a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. You were saying?"

He stared down at her silently as he tried to read her. The fingers that lay on her hip applied the smallest amount of affectionate pressure. "I wasn't," he told her. His arm snaked away from its position on her back, and the hand on her hip travelled slowly along her waist to the small of her back until he could grasp her hand between them. "What's on your mind?"

Lucy turned her head away from the kindness in his eyes, finding it difficult to keep eye contact as if he could read her secrets as long as he stared into hers long enough. The week was proving to be more than she thought she could handle. As the opening ceremony of the games drew near, she had woken up every morning with a renewed sense of determination. She wasn't going to mope or dwell on something she couldn't change, she kept telling herself. Yet… As the games opened and she cheered as best as she could from the comforts of the press box, her heart ached and memories washed over her so easily. She returned to her apartment each night emotionally drained and exhausted from the internal battle between her brain and her heart. While intellect and emotion waged a battle each day, her body felt the consequences for the whole war. It was only the second day and already she was ready to crawl into her bed and sleep for a week.

That morning's viewing of the games proved to be the worst as she watched the mages race against time and each other over floating platforms. Her traitorous brain instantly had her body chuckling at the memory of the dragon slayers on chariots. From there, her brain had moved easily to the recollection of Natsu as he fought against his motion sickness to cross the finish line, the speech he had given before crossing the finish line almost shouting in her ear.

"Seven years. All that time, they were waiting for us… No matter how painful it is, no matter how sad. Even if people made fun of them. They held on… They held on. They protected the guild. For their friends. And now, we're going to show everyone the proof… that Fairy Tail's been walking on all this time! So, keep goin'!"

Her heart had pretty much plunged into the hellish pits of her churning stomach as emotion overwhelmed her almost instantly. The overzealous pyromaniac really loved Fairy Tail, and that was just one moment like many when he had voiced such admiration.

Then the doubts had started its usual attacks.

Fairy Tail had waited for their comrades for seven years. She couldn't have waited for Natsu for a year?

"Happy and I will go on a journey while training. We'll be back in a year or so. So take care of everybody, alright! See ya, Lucy! Natsu & Happy"

The celestial mage had memorized the note, the words committed to heart after days, no months, of staring at the poorly scribbled letters. It was all he had left her, all that she had of him that was tangible. She really couldn't have waited for a year? Her brain had instantly told her that she really couldn't – she had bills to pay and a life to live, a life that shouldn't have involved waiting – while her heart had told her otherwise.

It was then that her heart told her she should have at least returned to Magnolia briefly for his return. Surely he wouldn't know of Fairy Tail's disbandment, and the poor dragon slayer was going to be reeling from the surprise. The very thought had her wanting to run out of that press box to hop on the next train to Magnolia. When her brain had rebutted with "And what if he didn't show up?" because even his letter hinted at the possibility of a longer separation, her heart had wailed with utter misery. Because the very idea of returning to Magnolia with hope dangling dangerously over the precipice of despair only to lose all strength because he didn't return like he said he would, it would have crushed her. She was sure her heart would have died and she didn't trust herself to have the energy or the will to pick up the pieces again. It was the only point on which heart and brain had actually agreed.

Her free hand moved to rest over her heart, her palms rubbing lightly into the skin as she tried to massage the painful memory and thoughts away. "Nothing," she managed softly, guilt making her muscles tense. Her eyes glanced around, and she realized they had stopped in front of her favourite confection shops. She took note of the decorative window, the edges and corners painted with elaborate gold flourishes. The pink and white canvas overhang swayed a little with the light evening breeze. Her body moved on muscle memory alone, and she filled her lungs with the sweet aroma that surrounded the quaint little shop. She hummed with contentment, partially from the scent that surrounded her and mostly from the reprieve it gave her from her unpleasant thoughts.

Shirou remained quiet as he watched her face. He had noticed the slight furrow of her brows and the sudden contraction of her muscles by her neck as her body went rigid. Then, like it never happened, her body relaxed as he watched her lungs fill with the air around them. He couldn't help but laugh. The euphoric look on her face was enough to make him want to kiss her senseless, but he didn't even have a chance to act on it as she took a small step forward towards the large window. He felt her grip on his hand loosen, but he laced their fingers together without her noticing.

She closed the distance between her and the shop and peered deep into the store, leaning at the waist as she almost pressed her face against the cold glass. Her eyes swept through the dark interior as she tried to make out the unlit wares. A short list of sweets started in her mind, and she reminded herself to make the time to stop after she was done with the fourth day of watching the games. A jar filled with pink gumballs caught her attention, and her disloyal brain flashed an image of his face, complete with his signature unabashed wide toothy grin. She felt that usual pang in her heart whenever she thought of him. She stared silently at the gumballs, torn between hating them or wanting to smash her head through the window to make her head stop with the sneak attacks of memories. Honestly, it was just too much. Without thinking, she tried to remember, almost desperately, if his hair was more muted or brighter than that shade of pink. It was hard to tell with the store shrouded in darkness. "I can't remember," she unintentionally whispered, a wave of sadness in her tone as she realized she really couldn't.

He caught it – saw the shift as peace made way to the ever present sadness she carried with her – and couldn't stop himself from asking. "Remember what?"

She blinked as she straightened and blinked up at him. "What?" Lucy shook her head as she realized her mistake and forced a light laugh in hopes he wouldn't press her for an answer. "Sorry. I'm just spacing out and thinking of a story," she lied, unable to bring herself to meet his gaze again.

Shirou regarded her for a moment, watching as her eyes fell onto their joined hands as if she was seeing it for the first time. He gently squeezed their entwined fingers and smiled kindly at her despite how she never brought her eyes back up to his face. "How long have we been dating now, Lucy?"

"Four months."

"Four months," he agreed. "Do you remember how many times you rejected me before you agreed?" He couldn't help but laugh at the light blush that dusted her cheeks as she shook her head. "Thirteen."

"Oy! Not that many!" her head snapped back to stare at him as she disagreed, her cheeks puffed out with a huff.

The laugh he released was hearty as he ran his free hand through his hair. "Yes. That many. I know because I counted," he replied teasingly as he winked at her. He laughed again when she bit her lower lip and turned her attention back to the sweets store. "After the first rejection, when you told me you couldn't go out with someone you barely knew, I realized you would never agree if we weren't friends and I became determined to be your friend. Slowly, we did become friends." He brought their joint hands towards her and poked her in the side lovingly. "Painfully slow, by the way," he teased. His smile grew as she puffed out her cheeks again. "Every time I thought I had convinced you I was serious about my intentions, you rejected me. I was really starting to lose hope and think there was something wrong with me."

Lucy lightly kicked the toe of her boot with the other, never once looking up. "I never meant to be difficult," she told him, her voice remorseful and almost too quiet to hear.

Shirou placed a finger under her chin and he guided her chin up until her eyes met his gentle gaze. "You weren't difficult, Lucy. Frustrating at times, but not difficult. You were and are worth the effort," his tone was soft as his thumb stroked a thin gentle line along her cheek. "In those six months when we were getting to know each other? They were fun. It only made me more determined to show you that I was worth your time. But, it also made me realize that you were holding yourself back." He paused, careful with his words as he pressed forward. "I knew about Fairy Tail; I knew as much as everyone. But, you never told me what had happened to you, and I respected you and our friendship, and now our relationship, enough to never press you about it." He smiled gently at her, tilting his head slightly as he moved the hand under her chin to cup the side of her face. His fingers were long and reached into the strands of her blond hair. "I don't know what it was that finally made you agree, but I am forever thankful for it. You've brought so much light into my life, and I am willing to wait until you're able to trust me completely so that I can do the same for you."

Lucy couldn't stop her eyes from watering as her eyes never left the red of his irises. "Shirou," she started but stopped when she realized there was nothing she could say.

"I am willing to wait," he repeated, "but I'm asking you… Please. Don't make me wait too long." His thumb gently drew a line along the corner of her bottom lip, and his eyes drifted briefly to the plump lips that parted as she took a sharp inhalation at his words. His eyes moved back to look into the crystal clear brown irises that shimmered with unshed tears. "I love you," he told her softly. He allowed for a breath of a pause, and when he didn't hear her respond, he pressed his lips to hers.

Lucy tensed at the sensation of his lips briefly, her mind focused on the words that he left between them. It wasn't the first time he had confessed his love – it was exactly the fourth time he had uttered those three words – and each time he had kissed her before she could even fathom a response. She knew why he did so, knew that he didn't want to hear the lame attempt to get over the heavy declaration between them or worse. Lucy was forever thankful for it, and her body shook lightly at the guilt that overwhelmed her. He was so nice. So patient. He bantered with her. He was calm, strong, and respectful. And there she was, holding herself back for reasons she couldn't even really understand – thinking of a home that hadn't existed for almost a year, thinking of people who had moved on with their lives, and thinking of the dragon slayer who had left because he needed to find some semblance of reason to the madness of what he had lost.

She removed her hand from his, and moved both hands over the span of his chest to entwine into his hair. They prickled at her skin, and she wished the strands were just a little softer. Lucy pulled him closer to her, felt his arms wrap tightly around her thin waist and grab at the fabric of her dress. When his tongue brushed along the edge of her teeth and lips, she sighed and stepped closer to him. She closed her eyes finally, allowing the water in her eyes to trail along the curve of her face, and tasted the saltiness of her tears mingle with their lips. The heat from his body wasn't nearly as warm as she wanted it to be, especially with the cool night breeze dancing along her skin, but she told herself it didn't matter. Because he was here. With her. Lucy told herself that it would be enough. She told herself that she would make it enough.