A Lost Boy

Chapter 18

Gray did not want Juvia to leave. But he didn't want to acknowledge that he could feel the emotion she had spoken of either. The foreign one called love. In his mind love and any emotion that was foreign to him could only be felt by grown ups and he wanted nothing to do with grown ups. He didn't want to look like them, act like them, think like them, and certainly not feel like them. Because he had convinced himself long ago that all grown ups are cruel and that they care for no one, least of all children. That the parents of children did not really love them and only kept them out of some sick desire to make them miserable, and after his argument with Juvia he felt the need to remind himself to keep thinking like that.

Once again, he visited Juvia's home to see if Mr. and Mrs. Fernandes had closed the window yet. But as before he saw Mrs. Fernandes sitting in her chair by the open window with Panther Lily resting by her side. He fond her to be a very pretty lady especially as she was sleeping in a seemingly peaceful like state. But despite appearances, her sleep was not peaceful. It was a sleep that had been forced upon her by exhaustion as she could not make her self rest willingly anymore. Her eyes tired with searching the heavens, her hands grasping the doll that had once been held by her daughter, and her lips letting a most sad whisper slip out to call said daughter's name.

"Juvia...Juvia...Juvia."

Though asleep her heart was still calling for her children to come home. This surprised Gray for he was certain that by now she would have closed the window and forgotten all about her children but she had not. This made him very cross because if she had not forgotten then that meant that there was a still a chance Juvia could leave him and go back to her. He gnashed his teeth at the woman, angry with her for not seeing why she could not have Juvia.

"We can't both have her lady."

He whispered it so quietly to make sure she didn't hear a thing and with that same level of quietness he carefully slid the window down to shut it, thus making it look like the parents had finally moved on and stopped caring. However Erza had trained herself to wake at the slightest change of the window no matter how soft or quiet it was. The very moment she heard the sound of the ledges touching she instantly awoke and ran to check the three beds.

"Natsu?! Romeo?! Juvia?!"

But the beds were still empty like before. She then felt Panther Lily pulling on her robe, gesturing her to the window of the nursery.

"The window's closed." She cried frantically and rushed to open it again but Gray was holding it down in an attempt to stop her. "Jellal! Jellal, help me!"

"What is it?!" Her husband called as he ran to her aid. "Have they returned?!"

"The window's closed! It must be always open for them! Always! Always!"

Her voice held so much fear, a fear she shared with her husband and that fear drove them both to try to re open the window no matter what. Gray did his best to keep it closed but he was no match for Erza and Jellal's combined strength along with how terrified they were of the children returning, finding the window closed and thinking they had forgotten them. It was enough to force the window open and Gray quickly flew to hide before they could even get a glimpse of him. Once opened, Jellal and Erza looked out the window desperately searching for their children or any sign of them but to their great sadness there was nothing there.

"They've not returned." Jellal sighed as he and his wife moved away from the window and back to their places.

Erza sat back in her chair and placed her face in her hands. Tears were slowly and ever softly dripping from her eyes. Dripping like a drizzle of rain. Her husband merely hung his head in shame as he sat himself back at his desk and re-hooked the chain he had around his tie collar, continuing his work while mumbling to himself: