A Wish In Blossom

It was always nice when winter came to an end,Gray thought. All seasons had their beauty, but there was very little that could compare to the early days of spring.

Out in the yard of the Fairy Hills, he watched the nimble branches of the cherry blossom tree swaying in the cool wind. He breathed deeply, feeling completely relaxed. He lay on the grass - so long now that it tickled his back and neck with a refreshing kind of damp coolness - his arms behind his head. Having fortunately evaded Juvia for the time being, he had spent the morning by himself.

Opening and closing his eyes slowly, sleepily, he watched the marshmallow clouds float between the tree's branches, trying to catch sight of a cheeseburger in their fluffy shapes. The sun made fleeting glances through the clouds, creating beautiful translucent silhouettes with the leaves of the cherry blossom.

And on the very tip of one of the branches sat a lone sakura flower.

"Hey, Gray. I figured I'd find you here."

A small, round head with big, shimmering eyes peered over Erza's face, casting a cool shadow on her skin.

Gray smiled in return. "Hey,Erza."

Erza grinned widely, carefully stepping around Gray and taking a seat by his side. The girl individual looked purely content sitting there, next to Gray, and lifted his head to look at the sky too. "I guess you're hiding out here to get away from Juviaa, huh?" he said.

Gray nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I just needed some time to myself - without Juvia telling me to do chores!"

The two friends exchanged a laugh before turning their eyes to the clouds again.

"Spring is so nice when it comes around, don't you think?" Erza asked, closing his eyes and letting the sun warm her face.

"I was just thinking the same thing. And look there." Gray answered, pointing upwards towards the tree.

"What is it?" Erza craned his neck to follow Gray's gesture.

"Can you see? Right at the tip of that branch - it's the first sakura blossom of the spring. It's beautiful." Gray said, gazing at it with a glint of admiration in his eyes.

"Oh, I see it!" Erza grinned. "It sure is..."

Even from all the way down on the ground, underneath the tree where he felt so excited,Gray could make out each tiny petal of the blossoming bud, colour spreading like a tiny inkpot bleeding the hue from the centre outwards. The precious flower was framed by a crown of waxy little leaves.

"Say... have I ever told you about the ways of spring my village my grandfather taught me?"

Erza looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't think so. What are they?" She already looked eager to hear.

"My grandfather said that spring is full of new wishes - of life, of hope, of love. It you think about it, that's true. All new life is born in the spring, be it plants, animals or humans." Yoh explained, reciting the words he had once heard when he was young. The branches rustled in the wind, as though to urge him on. "My family say that people can have their deepest wishes granted in this season; a wish to be born with the new life that year. All you need to do," he paused for a moment, gazing up at the bud. "Is wish on the first blossom of spring. Your wish lives in its bud, and when it blooms fully, your wish blooms with it." Gray looked towards Erza to gauge his reaction.

"That's really cool, Gray. I'd never heard of such a tradition before." Erza's eyes shone with happiness.

"I used to think it was just a fairytale that they told to the children who live in our village children, just as I thought the idea of wishing on stars was just a story." Gray closed his eyes, smiling to himself. It was nice to have Erza sitting so near on this day, this beautiful early spring day... "I wish I knew then what I knew now - nature has its own spirits, it's a very powerful thing."

Erza paused, letting silence fall for a moment. She mulled over her question. "Have... have you ever placed a wish in a sakura?"

"Actually, I did once. I was eight years old at the time - I was so naïve back then."

"What did you wish for ?" Erza clapped her hands over her mouth as soon as he has asked. "I'm sorry, I forgot: you're not supposed to tell someone what you wished for, are you? Otherwise, it can never come true."

Gray shook his head, keeping his eyes shut tight. The sun soothed his face and made patterns on the back of his eyelids. The grass tickled him still. "It had been the same kind of day as usual. I'd been to school, as usual. I'd sat on my own, as usual. There was nothing particularly special about the day. The other kids in my class has never really been tolerant of me - as I told you before, they singled me out because they didn't understand the way I was taught to live as part of the Fullbuster clan. Not that I blame them for it, of course.

"It was early spring, and everyone was happy. I was content too, I suppose, but seeing everyone smiling and laughing together made me feel a little lonely that day. I always wanted someone near; someone to listen to me talk, someone I could listen to in return. A friend, or maybe... something more."

Erza looked down upon the serene face of her friend. Gray's eyes were closed, a small smile on his face, even though his words were painful. Erza could never cease to be amazed at how freely Gray spoke about his emotions, his past... anything. He never hesitated, was never shy. This was one of the reasons why Erza respected him so much. And more so, one of the reasons he loved to listen to Gray musing.

She remained silent, intently listening for Gray's story to continue.

"When the bell rang that afternoon, I waited for everyone to leave and went to sit out in the school yard - it was much more peaceful that way. There was a corner that was shaded by some trees. It was quiet there; my favourite spot. I went there as usual, and decided to climb one of the sakura trees. I can tell you for nothing: they're tough to get up!" Gray laughed - a little tensely, Erza noted. "I got to about half-way before I noticed the bud. But sure enough, it was there. The first cherry blossom of spring."

"What did you do?" Erza asked, her eyes wide.

"Well, I remembered my grandfather's story. I still didn't believe in it. After all, I was sceptical about all wizardry practices back then, even things as simple as that. But still, I sat down on the branch for a while, and thought about it. Before I knew it, I was wishing."

Gray paused, and opened his eyes briefly.

"I wished... that some day, I'd have someone near. Someone to talk to, and someone to listen to in return. I wanted someone who'd understand the weird practices I had to follow, just because I was born a wizard. Someone who I could be myself around... I wished that... I'd fall in love with someone like that when I was older. Someone..." Gray looked straight at Erza, tears of happiness glistening in his eyes. "...like you."

Erza gazed back in return, dumbstruck. "Like me...?"

Gray laughed gently. "It looks like my grandfather's story was true, after all. That's why I was able to tell you what I wished - because it already came true. My wish blossomed, didn't it? So what I'm trying to say is, you should wish upon that sakura. You should have a wish granted too."

Erza looked at the caring, love-filled smile on Gray's face - a smile he would always give the world to see. He hesitated, staring right back into the chestnut irises before him. With a nervous breath, he slowly turned his face to look up at the cherry blossom, gracefully swaying in the wind at the end of its spindly branch. The tips of the tiny petals rippled and glistened, its hues a soft pastel pink. It truly was beautiful...

"I wish..." Erza closed her eyes, listening to her own rapid heartbeat pounding softly in her ears. "That I could be there for Gray, and be everything that he wants me to be. I want to be as good as Gray is as a person, and I want to be able to let him know how much I love him, every single day that I'm alive. I want that love to be able to go on forever." Lingering for a few seconds, Erza slowly turned turned back to look at Gray. Her small, pale cheeks were now flushed with a vibrant pink colour, as though the petals of the blossom were shining their hues on to her rounded face. She voice shook with nerves as he said, "What do you think? Will it work?"

Gray gently without telling her anything, he just kissed her.