Pairing: Slight Gray/Juvia but it's more a family feels fic
Summary: Gray used Lost Iced Shell and is forgotten by his guild mates. But somehow they all have the feeling that someone is missing from their lives. Someone important.
Gray could feel the magic run through his veins.
Even he, who hadn’t been bothered by the cold in years, shivered under this powerful spell as the cold spread through his body.
Gray felt himself cracking apart, fissures gracing his body.
He saw Zeref taking a careful step back, his eye’s wide. A grin spread across Gray’s face. The great black wizard Zeref, Natsu’s brother, terrified of him.
“Natsu… I’m sorry.”
Gray felt the fissures grow and grow, pieces of him already falling on the ground.
His eyes drifted around the room, taking in the guild, his home.
He could almost see his guildmates lounging around. The everyday business in the guild.
There in a corner was Levy, book in her hands, Lilly in her lap and the Iron Dragon Slayer by her side.
Happy,Charle and Wendy were by the counter, ordering fish from Mira who was talking to Makarov about some damaged properties. And next to them were Elfman and Lisanna, talking to Erza about a job they just finished. Cana was also sitting on the bar counter, a barrel of alcohol in front of her.
On the table right next to him he could see Lucy and Natsu sitting opposite each other, being totally obvious to the fact that they both stared at each other with such fondness in their eyes.
And on the same bench as Lucy sat Juvia, milkshake in front of her, staring at the other two mages, seeming content just listening in on their conversation. The moment Gray focused on her, she looked up and a spark lit up her eyes as she smiled at him.
He could almost hear her calling out his name and a wave of sadness welled up inside him.
She would never get to hear his answer.
But at least she was still surrounded by Fairy Tail, their family. The rain wouldn’t come back to haunt her this time.
He felt himself drift away, a stray tear sliding down his cheek.
The last thing he heard was Natsu and Lucy calling out his name.
The guild hall was filled with people.
The war with Alvarez had ended a few days ago. Zeref disappeared and Acnologia was defeated by the joined effort of all the Dragon Slayers. Â And now they had planned to party for weeks to come.
But somehow the guild did not feel like partying at all.
“Luce, I can’t really describe the feeling but it feels like I forgot something important.”
“Juvia feels the same way. And Natsu-san looks bothered too.”
“Yeah! I wanna fight someone but I don’t want to fight anyone here?”
“That’s what’s bothering you?”, Erza yelled at the Dragon Slayer and Lucy sighed. There had been moments since the day the war with Alvarez ended where everybody just expected somebody else to be there.
Natsu often challenged somebody to fight him but was often disappointed by his challengers.
Lucy turned around to make a snarky comment and waited for a grunt of approval that never came.
Wendy felt like there was a protective presence around her missing.
Erza wanted to take on a very specific job, thinking that she had the right partner at hand but then didn’t knew who she meant.
Levy had found books in her shelves, not remembering where she got them. She only knew that they were some of her favourites. Â
In that moment the doors to the guild hall opened, the person who entered being just a silhouette as the sun shined brightly through the doors.
There was a second of silence as Juvia excitedly stood up and yelled across the room to the newcomer, “Welcome home, Gray-sama!” Â
The person made a step into the guild, revealing that it was just a supplier for the guild who brought a fresh stock of alcohol.
Juvia’s eyes widened as she let herself fall back down on the bench. Confusion overtook her features as she looked around the room.
“Gray-sama? Who is he?”
Her searching turned frantic as she looked around, tears welling up in her eyes.
And as if her exclamation hit a switch, everyone in the guild was suddenly overwhelmed by memories of their resident Ice Demon Slayer, Gray Fullbuster.
“That bastard!” Flames engulfed Natsu’s fists as he stood up. “I can’t believe him!”
Lucy covered her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs, tears welling up in her eyes.
Juvia was frozen beside her, her eyes still searching.
Outside the first drops of a summer rain could be heard.
And inside the guild a storm was brewing, people were shouting all over the place, demanding to know why they forgot about Gray and where he was.
Lucy watched Natsu, his flaming fists still shaking. She wanted to get up, to comfort him but her body was overcome with grief.
They both saw Gray’s last moment before he turned to ice.
The noise in the guild hall rose and rose, along with the faint summer drizzle outside that now turned into a heavy rain.
“Iced Shell… ”, Natsu whispered. Only the people around the table heard him. Juvia’s silence turned into tears.
“That bastard used Iced Shell!”, Natsu screamed, effectively shutting up everyone in the guild. Â
“What is Iced Shell?”, Levy asked Lucy, voice small.
“It’s a technique that freezes the opponent in ice that can’t be melted or destroyed. So the opponent is not killed, only locked away. But at the cost of- ”, Lucy choked on her last words, unable to say it.
“- the caster's body that turns into the cast ice.”, Natsu finished for her, voice trembling.
“That’s why Zeref suddenly disappeared. Gray cast Iced Shell on him. So we wouldn’t have to kill Zeref. He did it-” And with that Natsu broke down. He fell on his knees, tears streaming down his face, snot running out of his nose.
“- to protect you, Natsu.”, Erza finished for him.
Heavy downpour outside made their attention turn to Juvia. The water mage had been quiet the whole time, the only indicator of her feelings being the raging weather outside.
“Gray-sama didn’t give me his answer.” And with that she dissolved into a fit of sobs.
The whole guild was quiet, now being painfully aware of the missing mage.
And then the doors burst open, revealing a drenched figure, dark hair plastered against his forehead, two scars on his sides visible.
The sounds of his voice made Juvia’s head snap up. Everyone in the room turned away from their table towards the entrance.
And there was Gray, dripping with rain, shirt missing and pants torn, the wound he inflicted upon himself still leaking blood, rushing inside.
He made way to Juvia, not realising the way everyone in the room was staring at him like he was a ghost.
“The rain suddenly started when I woke up. I could feel that it was your magic. Are you okay?”
Juvia blinked at the man in front of her, teardrops caught in her eyelashes. Â
Noticing the unusual silence that hung over the room just now, Gray’s posture stiffened and he quickly made a step back.
Right, Lost Iced Shell. They didn’t remember -
A flaming fist collided with his face. Â
“Natsu! He’s still injured.”
Black spots danced in Gray's vision as he hit the ground. Then Natsu was above him, straddling his torso, fist ready for another punch. But what made Gray freeze was the tear tracks that covered the other’s face.
“Dammit, Gray.” Natsu slumped back, wiping his cheeks.
Gray carefully sat up, the wound on his side throbbing again. His eyes swept the room, taking in his guild mates.
He suddenly found himself surrounded by his guild mates. Wendy threw herself in his lap, arms encircling him while she and Lucy babbled something Gray couldn’t fathom to comprehend. Erza had him in a crushing headlock while she forcefully patted his head, Levy was next to him and Cana was on his other side.
A soft smile spread on Gray’s face as he watched his family rambling, shouting and partying around him. He somehow found his way home.
He looked at Juvia who was still sitting at the table, watching him with tears in her eyes. They made eye contact and Gray hoped his eyes showed her the answer he would give her later. Â