Gray had the hands on his collar, desperately trying to unstick the tissue from his skin.
Why the fuck he thought it was a good idea to put on a turtleneck shirt? Yes, the point was exactly to make it difficult to strip off but he didn't imagine how suffocating that would be.
He gave up, deciding to put his focus on another task so he started to scratch on the rough surface of the wall he was leaning on. In another moment he would have felt proud of being in the place he stood, there were only ten people in that room and three of them were the Gods of Ishgar, two were Wizard Saints and then there were his family and him.
"Your purpose of seeking dialogue was noble, but I think we have to consider the possibilities we might face a conflict sooner or later" one of the Gods, said.
For a second Gray was tempted to quit his occupation and pay attention to what a so powerful man had to say, they were discussing the future of Fiore after all, but that piece of brick he was digging with his finger was right about to break.
"I didn't go there to seek dialogue, I was there to prove them we are not scared!" Makarov said
"And you could have been dead by now, because of your careless"
Natsu merged in the discussion when the 3rd most powerful man in the continent was head to head with his master
"Hey old man, Master was not reckless, he just knew we would save his ass if he needed it"
"Who do you just called old man?" The Ishgar God said while Lucy gave Natsu a small blow behind the head
"However" Makarov interrupted "that's true that it was risky but my sons came, we escaped that place and now we are the only five people able to penetrate Zeref's residences! If the conflict is what will come we will need every piece of information about him!"
Everybody nodded while Gray just stood there blank.
They were escaped, that was true, but not everyone of them.
After Natsu had intruded, taking him as a weight height on his shoulder, yes, Natsu had to knock him unconscious to make him left, he had woken up just to find out that while he was busy with two of the Spriggan twelve, Mest had found the Master and freed him.
The relief of seeing him alive brought a spark of enthusiasm in his aching head but then he instinctively looked around just to being flood with the reality. She was not there. He hadn't saved her.
"Gray go away"
"You will not see her anymore"
"She will be fine as long as she stays far from you"
"Gray go away"
"Gray, Gray, Gray!" He heard a voice calling him. He snapped out of his reverie just to see Lucy looking at him with her worried eyes. She was wetting a tissue with a bottle and water. He didn't understand what she was doing until she took his hands and started to pass the humid material on his fingers and he saw blood.
"you know," Lucy said casually "We are going to meet again tomorrow in the morning, they want us to draw a map of the house, we are free until then"
"Yes, I've heard that," Gray said abruptly "and what are we supposed to do in the meantime? Just go to the continent enjoying our tourist's time in this place? Maybe befriend with Zeref's soldier and go out for a beer?"
"Gray, I.."
"I'm sorry Lucy" he said taking the tissue from her hand and patting lightly her head "I'm just tired, I'll go for a walk"
He didn't miss the way Lucy went out, joining Natsu and Erza in the wood, shocking lightly her head. Natsu said something and Lucy hit him but, after bickering for a while, they ended resting peacefully on the grass with Natsu's head on Lucy's lap.
"Gray, mind if I join?" Erza asked walking at his side
"it's not like I'm going somewhere," he said, eyes concentrated on hitting small rocks with his boots
"The council thinks it's better for us to stay far from Zeref's residence for a while, they don't want to give him the impression we might do something so he will prepare himself"
"if you are worried I am going to take Juvia again, you can stop.. She clearly told me she didn't need me. She is there on her own decision"
"Gray.."
"look Erza" he interrupted her "I can see what you and Lucy are trying to do, but there's no need, I'm fine! It's not like I am a stupid sorrowful shoujo character. She is fine and she decided to left. It's not the first person to do it in my life. I already know how to handle it"
"Gray"
"actually it was just a matter of time, I had always thought at some point she would understand I was not worth all her efforts, she even resisted more than I thought she would"
"Gray" Erza yelled taking his shoulder "Juvia had a home with us, she was happy with us, she didn't leave just you, she left everybody of us and.."
"and what the hell do you want me to do? Go there and pray her to come back?" he shouted
Erza snapped "I want you to open your eyes Gray and stop with this blame of yourself, I know you, Gray, I know where your mind is going but you have to stop going always in your past, Yes you experienced a lot of horrible moments, we all did but then we had the luck most of the people haven't, we grow in a place we called home, we found a family to fight for and that would fight for us. Juvia was not that lucky. She was by herself for most of her life. She had to carry the weight of her sadness and the guilt of the things she made to keep staying in a place to consider home even if no one there would even lift a finger for her"
Gray wanted to say something but Erza's eyes dare him to speak
"No matter all of this, from the moment she met you she tried her best to support you, every time you needed her and she did this while trying to win by herself her own demons, trying to always put on a smile for us to see, for you. Juvia is strong, selfless and she loves everybody of us, she was happy with us, with you! A stupid poison could not erase this, so, Gray, stop considering just yourself! I see that you do not value yourself as someone that deserves a love like that, but it's not your choice! It's hers and if you stop thinking about your fears you will see there is no way Juvia can forget about her bonds. So me, Lucy, Natsu and the others, we are going to figure out what happened and we will take our Nakama back. Make yourself helpful"
"I..." For the first time, Gray felt not hopeless against this situation! Yes, there was no way Juvia had stopped loving him and no matter what, her home was in Fairy tail. His self-doubt was making him blind but he had to figure out exactly what was taking Juvia far from him and crush it!
"Erza, Thank you," he said raising his head
She smiled giving him a bone crushing hug
"Erza," Gray said weakly with his chin on her shoulder and his arms awkwardly loose on his side "Jellal is doing what he is doing just to prove himself he deserves you, give him another bit of time. He will come back soon!"
"I know, but I didn't need a better version, I just want him!" she whispered
Erza distanced herself a bit just to throw a punch in Gray's stomach
"You males are idiots" she smiled
"Gray, Erza!" a tiny voice called, out of breath
They turned their head to see Levy running with Gajeel behind, carrying lots of books
"Levy, Gajeel!"
"Did you find anything useful about that potion?" Gray's voice cracked with hope
"Maybe," Levy said but her eyes flashed to Gajeel's dark face
"let's join the other so you can fill us in" Erza ordered
They met Lucy, Natsu, the Master and the others in a small valley hidden by the tinder landscape.
"Master I'm so glad," Levy said sobbing
"Old man ghi hi hi, I knew you were not in a grave, yet"
"well thanks, Gajeel," Makarov said "However the council doesn't know about Juvia, I don't know how they could see the thing that one of us is still in Zeref's place so it is better if we talk about her just when there are only us"
"Aye" everybody agreed
"so Levy what did you discovered?"
"well I took all the useful book I have found at the council library," she said
"Levy" Mest interrupted "do you know it is a crime to take away books from the council library?"
"Well" Levy blushed
"What? I knew it" Gajeel said, "now I have to arrest you shortie!"
"The hell are you saying Gajeel? You helped me, you even carried the books here"
"you tricked me shortie" he said lifting Levy from the ground and putting her on his shoulder
"Gajeel put me down! Now! and then, you're my helper, you can't arrest me without arresting yourself!" Levy answered throwing punches to Gajeel's back
He thought for a while then decided to put her down "I can't arrest myself"
"yes," Levy said straightening her skirt
"but one day I'll put you handcuffs shortie! ghe ghe ghe"
Levy blushed three shades of red
"so" Gray interrupted "what did you discover?"
"ok um" Levy focused her attention on the first book opening a page and showing it to Gray "look to this page, look at the description of this potion"
"yes it seems similar" Gray nodded
"there are in literature a lot of examples about people hit by that kind of potion, apparently it has effect only if comes in contact with blood"
"Juvia was hit by an arrow" Gajeel said
"exactly" Levy confirmed "but this person hit, seemed always to lose their powers"
"Juvia didn't loose her powers" Erza said
"yes this is why I was about to discard it but then I have found this one case reported where the person hit did not loose magic, he lost all of his money instead, and another, a city major that left his town without reasons"
"I don't understand" Mest said
"I made some researches, they were mages but the rich guy had the power to repel dust and the Mayor could make his voice super loud.."
"Pfff, this are the shittiest mage ever" Natsu said laughing with his hands on his stomach
"yeah well.. they started to learn magic but apparently they didn't succeed so they quit"
"Ok I see your point" Gray said "It's like the potion took them the main source of their power that apparently wasn't magic in this case but Juvia, she is a powerful mage, there's no way she can be compared to this idiots"
"yeah well, maybe her greater source of power was not magic, think about it, Gray!" Lucy said "after the potion she missed something very important for the Juvia we know!
"her feelings for you!" Natsu said leaving Gray with his mouth agape
"I reached the same conclusion but this alone doesn't explain why she had a different behavior too so I read all the interrogatories the council made to the poisoned people and there is always one constant, they all behave as they had never had what they lost, they remembered their old life but they didn't want it back, like there was something that scared them. No one mage used his magic again, the rich guy abandoned all his property and went to a monastery, and the Mayor become a hermit"
"This explains her behavior!" Erza nodded
"No!" Gray said "I mean, if it was like this..but it's not" he said blushing hard "I know she did not completely forget about what she...you know?"
"No, I don't know, what do you mean?" Natsu asked
Gray shifted uncomfortable on his feet. He just knew, he had kissed her and looked at her and even if deeply he knew what he had seen.
"She did not completely forgot about how she feels about me" Gray said in a low voice
"Hu?" Natsu was not convinced "Aah I see! Mmmm how do you exactly know? It could be useful to know!"
Gray blushed
Lucy blushed
Levy blushed
Erza was fuming from her ears running wild with her thoughts
Gajeel moved quickly taking Gray from his collar and lifting him from the ground "What the hell did you do to Juvia pervert?"
"No...nothing" Gray coughed trying to breath
"Gajeel leave him" Levy yelled climbing up his arm
"No! I'll arrest him for.. for..."are you trying to play around with Juvia pervert?!"
Gray kicked Gajeel's guts "No I don't and don't call me pervert"
Gajeel punched Gray in the face, Gray punched Natsu because all of this was his fault, Natsu punched Gajeel just because… and the three of them kept brawling like little wolves then Gajeel yelled The question
"During this half year living together did you two did it?"
Silence descent upon the group, everybody waiting for Gray's answer out of curiosity or homicidal instinct
"NO" Gray yelled looking to all the faces pointed in his direction. Gajeel relaxed
"we just were closer.. and I Kissed her"
"I Kill you!" Gajeel said while Natsu and Erza tried to hold him
"Gajeel!" Levy yelled "you cannot arrest nor kill people because of love"
Gajeel grumbled
Shortie had a point. Love is something out of people control and is a good thing right?! Sometimes it makes you do stupid things but for good reasons? Maybe..
"Better be love then or I'll kill you!"
"None of your damn business!" Gray had his cheeks red as apples and now he was the held one from Mest and Lucy.
"I'll punch you so hard I will Mark on your skin that I'll kill you if you ever hurt Juvia's feelings!" Gajeel said
A spark of light passed in Mest's eyes and he let Gray go all of the sudden causing him to crumble to the ground
"What the hell?" Gray said while Gajeel laughed his gut off
"Marks! I remembered marks!" Mest said in a sort of trance "I have already seen that draw, the one that appears in one of the books Levy showed us, I was trying to remember where I had seen it and now I know!"
Levy opened one of the books looking for the sign Mest was talking about. It appeared often in her researches but she couldn't find anything about it. It was a draw with two parallel lines that at some point collide and then one disappeared and the other one formed a knot. "is this it?"
"Yes" Mest said
"Maybe you saw it during one of the interrogatories? Is that a council symbol or something?" Lucy asked
"No, I remember now! I saw it on a corpse!"
"what do you mean? A Corpse?" Gray asked
"once Lahar and I we were making some investigations for the council and we went in a town of artisans, no one there seemed to use magic but then they came under the attack of a dark guild, they took hostages in a kindergarten and one of the parents desperately tried to free his son. Apparently he fought with all his might, he got beaten up by the mages until at some point, out of the blue he used magic. No one knew he was a mage but he did use earth magic and with a single shot he caged an entire guild and saved all the children"
"he had to be a powerful mage, then why didn't he used his magic sooner?" Natsu asked
"that's what I have thought too!" Mest nodded "But the thing is that we were not there just to investigate the dark guild attack, we were there because of the strange circumstances of a death!"
Mest made eye contact with Gray "a witness, a teacher said that he used his magic but he kept yelling that he didn't want to, he seemed crazy, it was like he was fighting with himself and after he used it he started to…burn"
"burn?" Lucy said
"yes from the inside and what we found was just a burned corpse with that symbol on the shoulder"
"do you remember that man's name?" Levy asked
"Sure! I will never forget that case: he was Connor Lignus"
"I knew it" Levy said wearing her glasses and reading fast through her papers "Connor Lignus fought for the Fiore Royal Military and he was one of the scheduled mage that lost their powers after being hit by Altromondo"
"Are you telling me that he died because he used what Altromondo took from him?" Gray yelled
"Are you telling me that if Juvia remembers what Altromondo took her, that if she realized her feelings for me she would burn from the inside?"
"FUCK" Gray yelled kicking hard a rock with his fists closed his eyes "FUCK! What the fuck is wrong with my life?!" He muttered throwing his own hair.
"She will be fine as long as she stays far from you This is what Brandish told me! She knew it!"
"Gray!" Erza said "let's consider one thing at the time, at least, we know that Juvia is safe for now, we don't know why but Bandish was protecting her, they don't want her dead, so, for now, we can focus on the potion!"
"Levy, Mest" Lucy asked "is there an antidote? Has someone ever recovered?"
Levy and Mest looked at each other then they lowered their shoulder shocking the head "Nothing in the papers!" "No one has ever regained his powers"
"and the only one who did it is dead!" Gray added bitterly
"Gray we'll find a way!" Lucy said "we'll save Juvia and then we.."
"NO! No way!" Gray yelled " I won't risk Juvia's life! If far from me is what it takes to keep her safe then this is exactly what I will do! Fuck I… even, I was telling her.. I.." Gray punched a trunk
"Do you really think this is what Juvia would want from you?" Lucy yelled in his face
"Lucy it doesn't matter what Juvia wants, what I want, what matters is that Juvia has to be safe!"
"Luce" Natsu said taking Lucy's hand, "I think this time Gray is right, he has to be sure that she is safe before doing something! Her safety comes first"
Lucy looked at Natsu like she was the one controlling the fire by the way flames danced in her eyes "Seriously Natsu? I have enough with this bullshit!"
"What?" Natsu said stunned
"I am tired of this crap, yes I get it!" Lucy shouted "You want the people you care to be safe but there are a lot of ways to be hurt, you know"
"Lucy" Natsu looked at the finger pointed to his chest "Gray is doing this for Juvia, I did it for..."
"NO!" "You can keep repeating that it is for a good purpose but if the outcome is that Gray leaves Juvia then this is just a bullshit. There are a lot of ways to damage someone and being physically safe doesn't mean to be fine!"
"She can die, Lucy!" Gray barked "I can't let her die!"
"knowing Juvia she would rather die knowing that you, that us we are there for her than living alone"
"Gray" Gajeel broke his silence. He was thinking about do not speaking anymore with that iced ass until he proved he was serious about Juvia, but he knew his friend, he had witnessed every single moment of her loneliness, he was the one she woke up at night because of her sobs in her nightmares, until their arrive at Fairy Tail. She still kept him awake but because of her silly open-eyed dreams about her future in the guild, with friends, with family, with that frozen idiot "Go get her!"
AN: so here I am! Sorry if I haven't written any note until now but I think I was shy about my writing. I really like to imagine scenarios and situation to put my favorites characters in, I do it all day long! but I'm still work in progress about being able to put my ideas (in a decent way) down on paper and to learn how to write in English (that's why please, feel free to correct me and point out my mistakes, just be kind :D ) I'll do my best and get better!
As you can understand I really really love Gray and Juvia, as single characters and as a couple, I think they went through a lot in life and they are very complexes personality but that together they can really find happiness! I also have a soft soft for their friendly relationship in the guild like GrayxNatsu, GrayxLucy. Grayx Erza, JuviaxERza, JuviaxLucy. JuviaxGajeel etc the more Brotp the merrier!
However I am writing because I really want to thank you to the people that read, put this story in the followed or favorited and to the ones that left a review! You all made me extremely happy!
so what do you think would be better? For Gray to protect Juvia by staying far from her or for him to go get the girl?
What do you think about Lucy outburst?
Please review! It makes my day! :)
