Chapter 2: Meet my Gray

Kyani's POV

I can't believe it. I mean, I knew he'd have grown up by now, but…I didn't expect that he would have "grown up", if you get my meaning. I'd had quite a big crush on him back before Deliora – as is natural for a girl of that age to like any guy of a similar age that is nice to her – and I'd thought he was cute. But now…he's not just cute; he's sexy too. I mean, he gives these really cute smiles and laughs and everything, then he's standing there as Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome. Puberty has definitely been kind to Gray Fullbuster.

Anyway, you didn't hear me say all that, okay?

But Fairy Tail stands proud before me, and it's the most exciting moment of my life. With the cream coloured walls stretching further out on the first floor than on the second floor and then the third with the dome on top, for some reason the only comparison I can think of is a layered cake. The ark-double-doors are painted the same dark red as the window frames on the first floor, and they're framed by the soft-green shelter supported by the majestic stone pillars. The window frames on the second floor are that same green, making the whole guild look slightly Christmas-y with the red roof-slates to match. Three flags hang from the roof of the third floor; one is the Fairy Tail ensign, but I don't recognise the other two. The joy I hear from the stones only adds to the welcoming feeling from the entire building.

My heartbeat picks up as Erza pushes the doors open. The scent of beer and some domestic dish wash out to me, caressing and calming me along with the sound of laughter and greetings as Natsu, Happy and Lucy follow the red-head. Gray's hand on my shoulder is the final factor I need to give me the courage to walk through the doorway. His lips stretch into that smile; the one that makes my insides do crazy things. But even though it makes my heart go erratic, it grounds my resolve, and I stride forwards with his hand still there to give me something solid to depend on. Once both of us are inside, Gray shuts the door.

The warm scent of the wood of the building frame, the stairs and landing, and the three columns of matching tables, benches and chairs swirls around the entire room, coaxing my body further into the room. There's the staircase along the left side leading up to the balcony landing hovering on the back wall and opening out into a larger area in the middle of the back wall. One column of those tables is to my left, seen between spaced out square support pillars with lamps on each face. The other two columns are to my right, a little gap between them and the first column to make the pathway to the back of the guild, and plenty of the chairs are taken by people who I guess I should start calling my fellow guild-members. On the ground floor under that more open and sheltered bit on the balcony, a bar and a shop sit further into the wall side-by-side.

Gray and I walk down the pathway to the back of the guild, Gray greeting people and answering their inquiries about how their latest job went. I spot Natsu, Happy, Lucy and Erza talking with other people around the guild.

"Gray!" a burly white-haired man with a scar under his right eye calls out, raising his hand in greeting as Gray does the same. "New recruit?"

"Yeah," Natsu, already next to the man, answers for him. "Gray found his old girlfriend and we picked her off the street."

Gray's hand stiffens on my shoulder before releasing it, and he storms around me and up to Natsu, getting right in his face, his expression on the profile that I can see furious.

"She is not my girlfriend, idiot!" he fumes. "And don't say we picked her off the street, because we didn't!"

"Yes, we did!" Natsu retaliates, his expression and hostile stance now mimicking Gray's. "We saw her in the street and we brought her back here."

"We met her in the street!" Gray corrects. "If you say we picked her off the street, it makes her sound like either a street urchin or a prostitute, flame-brain!"

"She doesn't look like either of them, so Elfman knew what I meant, popsicle! There's no need to start a fight, but I'll gladly accept if you really want to challenge me!"

Their fists had raised throughout this exchange, and as they draw them back, constantly glaring at one another, I decide to intervene. Gray cries out, startled, as his fight is interrupted by his loss of balance; I grab him by the collar of his coat and pull him behind me towards the back, walking calmly.

"Come on, you," I sigh. "You need to show me where I sign to enrol. You'll have plenty of time to let the girls fawn over you as you flex your muscles later."

Gray's heavy and uneven footfalls indicate his stumbling. "Can I at least face the right way then? I don't want to spend any more time looking at his ugly mug." I'm sure I can imagine the glare on his face fairly accurately.

I release his collar but grab his upper arm instead, pulling him to in front of me and blocking his way back to Natsu should he feel the need to reinitiate their battle. I point over his shoulder as he's looking down at me (damn him for being so tall).

"Lead," I command, and he fires another glare over my shoulder before rolling his eyes at me, turning and walking to the shop/bar.

"I don't believe it," a middle-aged man with a weird haircut and a smoking-pipe stuck in his mouth grins at another middle-aged man in a coat similar to Gray's. "She's not as good as Erza, but she still managed to stop one of their fights. She's a tough one."

I grin at him and flip my eyebrows once, dusting my nails off on my brown cotton travelling top. Both men chuckle and give me a thumbs-up. Smirking, I turn back to Gray, talking to his back.

"So, Erza beats you up?"

Amusingly, a shudder runs down his back, his coat trembling at the ends, and I make a mental note to see Erza fight to see what his fear is about.

We reach the back shortly, and the pretty young lady behind the bar, who I now recognise as the famous Mirajane, smiles warmly at Gray.

"Welcome back, Gray," she greets him, her voice as soft as her disposition if rumours are anything to go by. "Did you have fun?"

"Hi, Mira," he smiles fondly at her. "Yeah; nothing's more therapeutic than beating up the selfish lowlifes of this world."

She giggles – a sound of those clichéd wind-chimes.

"Is Gramps in?" he asks her, gesturing to me. "We've got a new recruit."

She turns her brightness to me. "Hi there. I'm Mirajane. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

Setting my bag down at the foot of the bar, I beam at her, her sheer happiness and warmth too contagious to not. "Thanks. I'm Kyani, the girl who used to beat Gray up. I haven't been here five minutes yet, and I love it already."

She rings her wind-chimes again. "Yes, it is rather fun. So you and Gray used to know each other?"

"Yeah, and I'm not as weedy as I used to be," Gray grins that heart-stopping grin – which I have now named 'Charmer' – before playfully getting me in a headlock and pulling me against him for a few seconds. Even in that short time, I can feel the bulging muscles in his upper arms, boasting of strength that he's holding back for my sake. Not to mention the nigh-on brick wall he pulls me against.

Ooh, that means he's probably got a six-pack. Yum.

You didn't hear me say that either.

"The Master went out on one of his meetings while you were doing your job," Mira answers Gray's earlier question, interrupting my shirtless-Gray fantasy. "He should be back very soon though, certainly before the end of the day."

"Oh, okay," Gray says. "Thanks, Mira."

"Hey," Lucy laughs, appearing at Gray's side with Natsu and Happy. "Do you want your share or not?"

"Yes, please," he says sarcastically. He leans further towards the three of them as they discuss and distribute shares.

I leave them to their business, turning back to Mira and the bar, taking one of the taller wooden stools nearby. As I further examine this area of the guild, I spy a large tureen on the cooker behind the bar and finally recognise the smell of food I had first sensed when I walked into the guild.

"Tomato soup is wonderful for any time of the year," I smile at Mira.

She beams at me. "I always thought that," she agrees. "I haven't made it in a while, so I thought I'd do it now."

"You know, it tastes even just slightly better with a bit of dried basil. It's a soft difference, but it really adds another layer to the flavour."

Mira looks intrigued. "Really? I'll try that in the next pot I make."

"Stop giving away my Mama's secrets." From his words alone, I worry that Gray's actually angry. But when I turn to face him, he has 'Charmer' on again, and winks at me once. He stands straight up again, half a head taller than me when I'm standing.

"I'm just going to drop the money off at my apartment. Will you be alright here on your own for a few minutes?"

I respond in Carain. "I'm a big girl now, Fullbuster," I grin. "I'm sure I can manage."

He laughs, his dark eyes teasing, and responds similarly. "Are you sure?" His face suddenly morphs into a heart-breaking expression, and he starts snivelling dramatically. "Nobody wants to dance with me," he says in a high-pitched voice.

Even though he still uses Carain so no one understands that jibe, I leap out of my chair indignantly, the chair legs scraping against the floor, and glare at him albeit with a smile on my face. Luckily for him, he had started to run straight after his joke, and his deep but joyful (and too amused) chuckle trails behind him before he turns back to me at the now-open door, his face bright.

"I'll be back soon, yeah?" he checks, seeming genuinely concerned.

"Go on," I smile, not glaring anymore. Damn him and his cuteness making me forgive him easily. "I'll be fine."

He smiles at me – a real happiness and no-joking smile – before taking off down the street at a sprint, the door closing behind him and eventually blocking him from my view.

"That was the first time I've ever heard Gray speak of his mother."

Surprised, I turn back to Mira, her face just as surprised as mine. "I knew he must have known them," she continues, "but I thought, since he didn't talk about it, something bad had happened, so I never asked."

"You were right," I inform her, sitting back down. "His parents were killed when he was eight. The Demon of Disaster, Deliora, destroyed his city, and his parents perished in the attack. My city was destroyed just hours after because they were really close. That's how Gray and I know each other; a shared celebration was held in my city, and we met at the festival. We were seven at the time."

"How horrible!" Mira breathes, her hand on her neck. "He must feel really comfortable with you to talk about her now, especially as a joke."

"His mother was basically my mother; my parents weren't the best, but Gray's parents treated me like a daughter, so Gray and I grew really close really quickly. It helped that I was round his house so much." I drop my gaze to the table, sadness sweeping fatigue over me. "When I heard Gray's parents were dead, I cried for two hours solid. They were more like a mother and father to me than my own parents. For a few seconds, even though I knew it was wrong for me to think it, I wanted to switch his parents' place with mine; I thought the wrong set of parents had died, and I wished that mine had died instead of his." I close my eyes, suddenly and horribly fighting back tears. "I never saw Gray after that night. When I got to the emergency camp for Kria, nobody knew where he'd gone. I had one hope though; I stayed until every corpse was found, and they never reported finding his."

"We learnt about Gray's past a few weeks ago," Lucy joins in the conversation, still sitting nearby. "He was taken in by an Ice wizard teacher and her elder student."

I raise my eyebrows, impressed. "An Ice wizard, huh? Wow; I bet Gray's really powerful."

"Yeah," Lucy agrees. "He's really skilled."

"Not as good as me!" Natsu grins. "Dragon Slayer magic is way more powerful than Ice magic."

"You're the Salamander?" I gulp. "Remind me not to piss you off."

Natsu laughs and I grin at him.

"Wait," I say, just realising something. "Why did Gray tell you about his past a few weeks ago?"

"He kind of had to," Lucy explains. "We found Deliora on a quest we went on, and he freaked out."

Ice clogs up my throat and slinks its way down to clench at my heart, making it beat faster, and my breath picks up in response to the internal hypothermia. Through the haze of my panic attack, the others are looking at me worriedly.

"Deliora was there?" I gasp. They nod. "But I thought it had been encased in ice?"

"It had," Natsu frowns at my reaction. "That elder student was trying to resurrect it. It's complicated to explain."

I barely hear anything after the mention of resurrection; I see Deliora in front of me, its terrifying face as clear as the destructive light coming out of its mouth as it rains down over Darli, the people in the street fleeing from fire in every direction, their screams ringing and my eardrums bursting until I can hear them inside my own head –.

A pair of merciful hands clamp solidly down on my shoulders, grounding me. Suddenly I'm not gaping, petrified, at the horrific mask of Deliora, but gazing into the concerned eyes of Mirajane. And it's not hard and unforgiving rubble I feel under and behind me, but the smooth wood of a stool. There's something solid behind me, true enough, but it's warm, comforting…a sanctuary.

Tipping my head backwards, I stare, upside-down, into his eyes as black as that night – before the fires – his face cast in shadow as he tilts his head down to look at me, his tips of his long hair just brushing his eyelids. The same concern from Mirajane is emanating from his eyes, but more than that; there's understanding too. Despite the fact that this new independent and strong Kyani that he re-met just a few minutes ago is different to the one that he knew before, he still understands the reason for my current weak state. And he accepts it.

The horror still not gone from my imagination, I turn around on the stool and throw my arms around his waist, burying my face in his black jumper. His long, strong arms encase me, pressing me closer to him and stroking my hair. Slowly, my small tremors dissipate, and Gray pulls back only enough to look down at me again. I submerge myself in his eyes again, in order to keep Deliora's image out of my head.

"It's dead," he says suddenly.

My soul, which had been wallowing in his gaze, is sharply tugged back into my physical body at his declaration. I frown at him; how does he believe such a seemingly impossible task has been accomplished? I'd heard that Deliora hadn't been killed but had been imprisoned in ice by a powerful wizard. If it hadn't been killed the first time, surely it's unlikely that someone managed to do it now?

Gray doesn't let me go, not even to sit down. I'm grateful for his support, even if that's all he's giving as I let my imagination wander.

"My teacher used a spell to imprison Deliora, giving her life source to that ice and destroying her own body." I stare in horror and sympathy at him, shocked that he had to go through the loss of yet another loved one through the spell I recognised as Iced Shell. He smiles sadly at me.

"My elder student, for reasons I won't go into, wanted to melt the ice and resurrect Deliora. He succeeded." He tightens his grip on me slightly, probably to prevent another panic attack. "But only for a few seconds; Natsu and I saw Deliora disintegrate as my teacher's ice had been sapping its life energy for ten years."

The nobility of that sacrifice, and the faith that she must have had in her power, stun me into silence for a few moments, and I promise myself that I will honour her death properly when I have her name, the date of her death and the time to make something special. I smile up at Gray, willing him to see the sympathy, sadness and most of all the pride and admiration in my eyes.

"You were taught by the right person," I state, my voice strong in a desperate attempt to make him realise how true that is.

His smile is a reflection of mine, emotions and all; he understands! "Yes, I was," he says simply.

ЖЖЖ

The rest of the afternoon passes in the beer hall, talking with Gray's friends. I met Cana when I asked her for a glass of the wine she was drinking. She grinned at me, joking that she guessed she could spare a glass for the weary newbie. Remembering Gray's old habit, I'd raised the glass to him and asked in Carain if the alcoholic wanted a sip. The sour look he gave me was spoilt by his unsuccessfully-concealed smile.

"What's that language that you and Gray keep speaking?" Happy asks, the cute little thing probably annoyed that he can't understand.

"It's called Carain," Gray explains. "There's an area in the Mainland where eight cities make – or made – a horseshoe. Long ago, those cities made an alliance, and so the whole piece of land the cities rested on was called the Cara. Carain is the ancient language known only to the inhabitants of those eight cities. Obviously, we don't speak it now, but we learnt it at school." Gray looks back at me and grins slyly. "Kyani and I just liked the idea of being able to speak a language that not many people knew about, so we studied it out of class too, with help from my parents, and we eventually became fluent in it. I'm actually surprised I can still remember this much, considering how long I haven't practiced."

"Me too," I agree. "Memories are kind of coming back to me though, and much faster than I could have hoped for."

"Those were some good lessons," Gray jokes, winking again. He really needs to stop winking or I'll die of an overdose of cuteness.

"Yes, they were; your home was always my favourite place to be."

"Oh, speaking of homes," Lucy sits up, "do you have an apartment in the city, Kyani?"

"Oh, not yet," I admit. "I was thinking I could stay here till I find a place."

"No way," Gray frowns. "You won't be comfortable here; it's great as a day-time guild, but it kind of sucks if you have to sleep here. There aren't any beds except the ones in the clinic, and those are only used for emergencies, for obvious reasons."

"Gray's right, Kyani," Lucy turns back to me. "Tell you what; I have an apartment not far from here. The rent is 400,000 Jewels a month (I have a feeling that's wrong. Feel free to correct me if you know the rent value), and there's enough space for two to stay. Even though the others come round a lot –" She glares at Erza, Gray and Natsu, and I smother a smirk. "– it'll be nice to have someone else there to keep me company. If I can get an extra income to help with rent, it'll be even better." She beams at me, and I can't help but feel honoured by her generosity.

"Thanks, Lucy," I smile at her. "I'd love that."

"Great! We can make our way there at seven, okay?"

We all nod our consent; I guess that means the others are accompanying us.

I glance idly around the room again, taking in more details of the place that I will call my home. My eyes fall on an old piano in the corner of the room, obviously not used much if the dust on the surface is anything to go by, and I turn back to Gray, my eyes bright.

"Do you still play?" I ask him in Carain.

He follows my gaze to determine what I'm referring too, and smiles as he faces me again. "Yeah," he responds in our language. "Guitar too; I practice both of them when there's no one around. But why are you asking me in Carain?"

I shrug. "Music was such an important thing to you before, I thought it might still be now. But you were always so shy about performing, so I thought the others might not know about it. If that was the case, I figured it would be better if I inquired about it in a way they wouldn't understand."

His smile softens, and I recognise the gratefulness in his expression, confirming that my theory was correct.

"I'll tell them one day, and play for them," he promises.

"How about now?" I ask, almost buzzing with excitement at a thought.

Gray tilts his head to the side, confused about my attitude. Letting out a giggle, I jump down from my bar-stool and hurry over to my bag, rifling through one of the side pockets. My grin widens as I feel my hand brush against the object of my search, and I pull it carefully out for Gray to see. His eyes widen in surprise before the biggest grin I've seen on his face yet appears, lighting up the local vicinity as he stares at the flute-like instrument in my hand.

"A wooden lythia?" he asks, seemingly not trusting his eyes.

I've got my violin here too," I smile, gesturing back to my bag down by the bar.

"Seriously?" he asks, his voice pitch rising with his body as he hurries over to see the hard, slightly conical case by my bag. He spins excitedly back to me, reaching for the lythia in my hands, running his fingers near its smooth surface as if fascinated but fearing that it would break if he touched it.

"I haven't seen one of these since I was seven," he breathes, his dark eyes sparkling.

I let him have a few more moments of awe before I ask: "You up for it now then?"

He focuses back on me, his almost-black eyes boring into mine. Unlike with other people, I don't feel any inclination to look away. Sometimes the only way to determine my emotions is to look into my eyes, because I make my exterior as impenetrable as the diamond in the Earth. If I blank my body of any emotion, it's usually because I don't want people to see them, so I hide my eyes from them too. But with Gray, I feel no fear in opening up to him. He's the one person I don't want to hide from, because he's the one person who can hide me from whatever I need to be protected from.

Now, I show him the longing I have to hear him play, the desperation to pay with him and reconnect with him in that special way we used to, besides conversing in Carain. I plead with him to take me back to happier times in my birth area, rather than my almost nightly horrors of Deliora.

His smile is the promise of the dawn after a winter in the Southern Circle (my made-up Fairy Tail version of Antarctica). I almost have to tear my eyes away from the combined radiance of his smile and the light in his eyes, but I don't dare. My only hope is to try and match the brightness with my own.

He turns towards the piano, rubbing his hand over it lovingly, clearing the cover of dust before lifting it carefully like the lid of a treasure chest.

"Gray?" Lucy asks. "What are you –?"

"You'll see," he promises, back in the Common Tongue, his midnight hair flicking into his eyes as he shoots her a grin over his shoulder. Again, with the cute and sexy.

"Is it even in tune?" I ask Gray.

He shrugs, quickly playing a few chords to check. "Sounds fine," he confirms, sitting on the piano stool.

"So what do you want to play?" I give him first choice, speaking Carain again.

"I don't know," he stares at the keys as he sorts through his repertoire. After a few moments of silence, I cautiously offer an idea, wary of his reaction.

"What about your lullaby?"

His head snaps back to me, and I'm worried that I've overstepped his emotional boundaries. The silence drags on, and I become more and more ready to spout out fervent apologies when a smile suddenly graces his face. He nods once.

"I haven't heard it in so long," he whispers.

I smile softly back at him, bending down to open my bag and pull out my hard violin case. Clicking the latches open, I carefully take the instrument out, holding it by its neck and placing it on the bar-top. I sort out my bow, tightening it and using the rosin on the hairs. Gray gazes in wonder at my violin, and I smile proudly at the very instrument his mother gave to me as a child; the actual wood of the violin is common enough, but the delicate ivory patterns of leaves, swirls and flowers are definitely impressive.

Now ready, I pick the violin up again, looking at Gray expectantly. He grins, nodding confidently, and turns back to the piano. Almost the whole beer hall is quiet now, curious as to what their old member is doing sitting at a piano.

Gray takes a deep breath, then places his hands on the keys. And plays. (By the way, he plays the Fairy Tail soundtrack "Past Story". I know there's a flute in there too, and other instruments, but imagine it's only played with the piano and the violin.)

I'm suddenly back in Kria, in the Fullbuster house, by the piano in the lounge, where Gray and I used to play together for hours, trying out different pieces that we found in the local music shop. His family are sitting on the sofa, watching and smiling as I take my cue and begin to play my part. The warmth from the entire room – the atmosphere, the decor, their smiles, my connection with Gray – tingles in the centre of my chest. I watch as their faces fade as Gray plays the last melancholy note, the emotion of the piece lingering in the air along with it.

The silence sounds off in the beer hall, as if I already know that this place is always filled with some sort of noise. Gray doesn't turn around to acknowledge the amazed and impressed stares, and I wait tensely for his reaction to playing the piece. After four long minutes, he speaks.

"That was a lullaby my mother wrote for me when I was a baby," he addresses no one in particular. "She taught me it."

"It's beautiful," Lucy breathes.

"You're not so bad on the piano, droopy eyes," Natsu compliments.

After another pause, Gray looks up at me. "I felt like I was back home." He remains in the Common Tongue.

Looking into his eyes again – and trying not to get lost in them – I don't see the mysterious, sexy Gray Fullbuster I see now. Instead, a lost little boy pleads silently for me to comfort him for his losses. Like when he lost his prized wolf wood-carving that his father made him, he pleaded with me then, not wanting to say the words out loud but admitting that he wanted and needed someone with him. I'd stayed with him that night, disregarding my parents' wrath that I would receive the next day.

I smile down at Gray, then kneel down to his level, never breaking our eye contact.

"Me too," I whisper, then wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself to him and him to me. As he copies me, we silently offer our protection and comfort to each other, once more making the vow we made long ago. Only this time, we won't be separated again.

Awww, isn't that sweet? Sorry, I know Gray is a little OOC, but it's kind of the point; she's the only one he can open up to, and vice versa. Anyway, let me know your thoughts.

Fly on,

NitnatRide