A/N: I never imagined I'd get this amount of positive feedback! Thanks you guys! :) So as promised, here's the next chapter.

Fairy-Tail: Thanks! I predict that it'll be around 15, maybe 20 chapters? Considering that the movie is about 1 and two-thirds hours long and each chapter is roughly 8 minutes of the movie (maybe 10 as the story progresses). So E.R.T (estimated reading time) is actually around an hour for an average reader.

Fiery: Thanks so much! To be honest how I portray the character is mostly due to the movie writers themselves, but hey, I take a compliment when I can c; And oh, yeah, that was actually exactly how the movie went – I thought that it was really cool and I tried to imitate that as closely as possible :3 And I love long reviews! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'.

I'm leaving today,

I want to be a part of it:
New York, New York...

Gray and Lucy were walking down a street, their arms lightly bumping against each other every now and then. They had just exited the outdoor bar, and both were a little woozy because of the alcohol. Sure, they were both dealing with it okay – physically. Mentally? Well, let's just say that they needed to take a long nap.

"Loke Leo seems really great. Nice dude." Though his remark was obviously meant to be sarcastic, strangely Gray's voice was cool and gentle, not at all sarcastic. Maybe it's sarcasm … just reversed. "How do you know him again?"

"I took his virginity." A glint in her soft eyes, an undetected emotion flitting past.
Gray's brow furrowed as he thought of an adequate way to respond.

"Oh. So you guys have known each other for a while?"

"No, it was like eight months ago."

"Wow. So does the carpet match the drapes?" A lame attempt at humour, but Gray was trying to keep the conversation light.

"Uh, it's hardwood floors if you know what I mean." Grinning as Gray let out a pained groan, Lucy couldn't hold back her laughter, and chuckled.

"God! Terrible visual."

"Totally kidding, by the way. Just an old friend of mine."

Thinking this through, Gray nodded to himself.

"You guys use the same leave-in conditioner." Laughing some more, Lucy walked towards a stall selling Halal food, and ordered some. "Your hair has nice body!"

"Can I get two number sixes, extra strong."

A short while later, the two headed towards a parking lot. Gray wasn't quite sure how they were going to get in, seeing as the gate was already lowered, but decided against asking Lucy just yet. However, when she peered through the gaps of the grate, he had to ask her something.

"What're you looking for?"

"The cops. Come on!"

Watching Lucy roll underneath the grating, Gray frowned, a tinge of amusement and anxiety colouring his voice.

"The cops?"

"Yup. C'mon!"

Feeling like he had no other choice, the man did as she told him to. It was either roll or get left behind, and he preferred to stay with his guide. At least for a while. Rolling under the grate, he grimaced. New Yorkers really are weird.

"Where're you taking me?" They were climbing stairs now, and Gray was just starting to get tired. Not so much weary of the physical stuff, because he was actually pretty fit, but of the little roundabout way Lucy had of showing him things.

"You'll see!"

Lucy put one leg, and then the other above a moveable barrier, stepping neatly away from it. Gray, following her, simply pushed it open before looking at her, a strange sort of curiousity in his eyes. But she had already left.

Apparently they had reached their destination, because the pair pushed open a door, leading to a wide rooftop with an unobstructed view of the Empire State Building. It was dark, probably after midnight already, but Gray was in awe of the lights still illuminating the city. In a way, it was like a beacon of hope. In LA, there were lights, yes, but everything here was flashier. Showier. Not to mention that he hadn't exactly lived in the middle of the city.

The blonde then gestured to the open space and turned to Gray, a crafty smile on her face.

"Here's your open space. Run, gazelle. Run!" Laughing, she stepped towards the low wall, as did Gray, a mildly confused expression on his face.

"Wow. This is unbelievable. Okay, this was not on Seinfeld."

They were both looking at the view spread out below them, the Empire State Building just behind them. Unlike most clichéd romance stories, they didn't go up the building itself, oh no. Instead they had gone to a rooftop where they could actually see the building, but not be on top of it. In many ways, that was a lot safer and more sensible.

Sitting on a large pipe, Lucy nudged Gray lightly.

"C'mon, what would your dad have thought about this?"

"About what?"

"He must have an opinion, he used to write for LA Times for 23 years."

Impressed and unusually not at all freaked out, Gray looked down at Lucy, who was chewing a bit of food.

"Somebody did their homework."

"I have this thing at work? It's uh … Google. Come on, what does he think about the job?" Gray himself had some food, and he started eating it, the crunch satisfyingly crisp to his ears.

"Actually, I didn't ask him."

"Well then you must know what he'd say."

Looking at her patient face, those pleading brown eyes … he turned away. Really, maybe he was weak for not being able to deal with it, but he just couldn't. If he was going to talk about it, then Gray wasn't going to let Lucy see how open he was being.

"Uh... He'd tell me to go with my gut, and that he'd be proud of me no matter what I did."

"Sounds like a really great man." Her voice was understanding, sympathetic, and even longing. What about her parents? Shaking that thought away, Gray looked up at the sky for a diversion. They weren't close enough yet to ask that.

"Yeah, he is."

There was a short, uncomfortable pause. Lucy quickly leaped down from the pipe, and turned to Gray.

"Hey, want to see something really cool?"

"I always wanna see something really cool - what?

Following her, he expected that they'd go to the edge of the railing or something. Perhaps these strange New York people put on a spectacular show every night. But, no. Lucy had simply laid down on the roof, and then as Gray let out a surprised exclamation, she sat down and sighed expectantly.

"Come on."

"... Okay."

Jumping down, the dark brunette man followed her, feeling just a little silly. But it was good. He needed to relax more.

"Ahh. Only place in the city you can actually see the stars."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Pretty awesome."

"I know. I like to come up here to think. Just when it gets a little too much for me down there … it's like my New York version of a mountain top."

Nodding, Gray lay there silently, admiring the stars.

"Best part?" Lucy suddenly interjected, eyes wide. Turning his head to face her, the question was written all over his face. "No cell reception." Laughing, Gray nodded empathetically. Been there, done that. After a brief moment, Gray suddenly thought of something awkward, and hesitated before asking Lucy something.

"You take all your recruits up here?" Brow furrowed at the idea, he knew it wasn't any of his business, but, still.

"Actually never really taken anyone up here." Her brow furrowed too, as if just realizing this.

"Really."

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"... If you tell anyone about this, I'll rip your ears off and staple them to your neck." Lucy's brow furrowed some more, as if she was truly agitated at the thought of somebody else finding out. Then again, this was her secret hideaway. She had a right to feel like that, right?

"Everyone in this city seems really violent." His voice was low and soft, purposely made so to give of a sense of fear. Giggling, Lucy swatted at his arm lightly. Then she had another bright idea.

"Ooh! Come on, let's go. One last stop."

"But we're just getting comfortable!"

"I know you are. Come on buddy! It's New York, get off your ass."

Gray did so, trusting Lucy to guide him somewhere nice. He wasn't sure where this feeling came from, since he wasn't usually a very emotional or trusting person, but she just gave off that friendly, warm aura that he loved to soak in. Not to mention that the alcohol was probably talking for him. Finally, he saw that she was leading him to Times Square, and couldn't resist a fun little jab at this.

"Oh, you're showing me Times Square! This is not touristy at all!" Spreading his arms out to indicate all the bustling people, Gray wondered if everyone in New York was like this.

"Oh, would you shush. Come on."

"Do we have to, uh, power walk everywhere we go?"

"Yes."

"So everybody just walks … wherever they want, then."

Ignoring Gray's nonsensical comments, Lucy cut in brusquely.

"Alright. Right here."

"What do you mean?"

"We're here!"

As if things couldn't be clearer, Lucy nodded at the people around them. Gray only looked around for something he might have missed, puzzled at this turn of events. Why had they left that nice stargazing spot for this? However, he soon got his answer as somebody held up a hand-held radio, blasting music throughout the square. Somebody in front of them started break-dancing, and Lucy grinned, laughing.

"My god, it's 1988." Gray was sardonic, yes, but even the ice prince himself couldn't resist a little smile at this.

"Alright, smartass. Give it five seconds."

More dancers joined in, with their retro, dated clothing. The song selected was also old, with that timesy feel to it. Looking at each other, they laughed, though Lucy seemed to have the knowledge of something that he had yet to experience. After a few more seconds of this, the music changed into something a lot more upbeat, though still singing about New York. In fact, it was a rap song – with an actual melody. How amazing is that?

"Uh, what is this?"

"It's a flash-mob!"

"Oh! Like on Oprah!"

"Exactly."

"Should we get out of the way?" His voice was louder now, trying to be heard in the steadily growing din.

"No, no! Enjoy it! Take it all in!"

Frowning, Gray shrugged and then turned around. He could see a brightly-lit television screen behind them, showing this for all to see.

"Pretty damn cool." He had to admit, this was nothing like he'd ever seen before.

"Right?" A smirk, not so much smug as proud. Proud to live here. It was a strange sensation, but Lucy might have actually convinced him that living here … was great. That it was fun. As Lucy joined in with the crowds of hand-waving, Gray laughed, feeling a burden lift off his chest.

"Do these people get paid for this?"

"Uh, no, no! They kind of just do it for fun. It's nice to feel like you're a part of something, New York can be a little lonely at times!"

"And you're trying to sell me on it." As if just realizing what she'd said, Lucy quickly backtracked. Gray was secretly pleased, however, feeling happy that Lucy trusted him enough to tell him that. Or is this just the alcohol speaking?

"Every place can be a little lonely sometimes." A little laugh was conveyed through her voice. How nice.

The participants of the mob suddenly started bending down, and Lucy laughed, trying to warn Gray.

"Oh, be careful!"

"God."

"Sit down, sit down."

The dancers had stood up again, hands reaching towards the sky. As popped up, row by row, so did they, smiling.

"Shit, get back down."

"Okay."

And there they went, kneeling down, forcing Lucy and Gray to do the same as well. Standing back up slowly, the crow-coloured brunette saw Lucy's genuine grin, felt her delight. He realized that even if he didn't take this job, well, she would be angry, disappointed, and sad for a brief period of time. But nothing could truly dampen her joy, as long as she was in New York. And Gray wanted to be part of that. For so long, he had never been truly satisfied, and well, his father would've told him to go with his gut. And his instincts were telling him to go with this.

"I'm in." Lucy turned to him, her grin slowly abating as what he'd said sunk in.
"What?" She didn't dare to believe it.

"You sold me." Gray shrugged indifferently.

"Really?"

"I'll take the job." He nodded, smiling. Lucy's face was one of surprise, even as she started clapping her hands high above her head along with the other dancers.

"Are you surprised?" Gray followed her lead, not wanting to be left out. Quickly covering up her slip up, Lucy tried to appear completely under control. Not that that fooled him.

"Oh, no, no! You can all go home now! Thank you." Waving to the flash mob, Lucy attempted to salvage what was left of her façade.

"Very funny." Laughing, she admitted her defeat.

"Congratulations, sell out!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

That had been Gray's farewell ceremony in his old company. Everyone was fully in party mode, joking around, cheerful and not at all hurt. A twinge of sorrow struck his heart, but Gray knew that his choice had been the right one. His path led separate ways.

Flying back, Gray happened to encounter Alzack again. Then again, they had become friends, or at least acquaintances over the course of, well, his life changing. On the plane, once again the man was talking about how the acclaimed pilot didn't deserve all that praise.

"All I'm saying is it wasn't so much the pilot's skill that landed the plane on the river, but the mechanics of the plane itself." Alzack had stared at him, boggle-eyed. Maybe this wasn't such a good topic to bring up after all.

"Are you saying Captain Sully wasn't a hero?"

"No, no! There was just other factors." Gray had added hastily, trying to fix his mistake.

"Are you not an American?" Alzack had asked, straight-faced. Gray's response was to stare.

And then it was back in New York. In a yellow taxi cab. Getting out, Gray looked at the lights, ever still in awe. Turning around slowly, the fact that this was not the time or place slipped out of his mind. That is, until he was rudely reminded by the driver.

"Hey, fuck face! Do you want to get your shit out of my car, or what?"

"I … yeah." Doing so, Gray lugged his heavy bags out of the trunk, bewildered.

"Welcome to New York. Go and fuck a dick." The driver was enunciating his words very slowly. He didn't look that stupid, did he?

Walking into his new residence, he dropped his bags, lingering in the doorway. He'd seen it all before, but suddenly, it all seemed too real. Striding towards the living room, Gray noticed a pile of packages. Folders, files … what were they? Picking up card that accompanied the pile, he read it.

'Gray -

Welcome to NYC.

In case you shit the bed.

Excuse the expression.

Best,

Lucy.'

It was written on some kind of olivebrief card. Smiling, Gray saw the bed and immediately ran towards it, jumping onto it. Feeling like a little kid again, he swore he could just see his exhaustion dissipate. That is, until he fell hard on his side. Resisting the urge to swear, he settled for a groan in pain before laughing.

Close my eyes, and I will be there.

(Woah)

Feet come down

(Woah)

Touch the ground.

/ Alright, I know I promised an extra long chapter, and it's coming! Really! I just … don't have ANY muse for that right now. ;~; Sorry guys!

Please R&R if you can! ^w^