After All This Time || A Fairy Tail Fanfiction

Chapter 13

  Gray couldn't sleep.

  He'd tried, really. But for some reason he just couldn't shut his freaking eyes and doze off. It was like sleep had just completely evaded him on its nightly rounds across Fiore.

  Gray shifted so he was facing the ceiling, tangled inside the cheap hotel blanket, and stared up at the wall. He'd been awake for so long that his irises had adjusted to the point that he practically had night vision. The room basked in the radiance of the moonlight, setting the mood for a deep slumber ironically enough, even though that slumber Gray wanted was stubbornly refusing to cooperate with him.

  He just couldn't sleep.

  He twisted so that he was facing the bed. He closed his eyes and evened his breathing out. He decided to try listening to Lucy's soft, comforting snoring... and he was proud to say that it could have worked had he been able to sleep.

  But he couldn't.

  Shifting again... ugh the pillow had heated up. He flipped the pillow over to the cooler side, found his comfy spot, and opted that he'd maybe, finally, get some shut eye. But then his legs began to sweat from the tangled up mess of the blankets. When he got up to fix it—ultimately giving up and tossing the stupid piece of rag off of the couch—and laid back down, his pillow was fucking hot again!

  Oh for fuck's sake! He growled bitterly, crushing the pillow in his grasp and chucking it across the room where it hit the blinds and creaked.

  Gray cringed when Lucy briefly stirred, praying to the Almighty Mavis that she wouldn't wake. Thank heaven her breathing evened out and her quiet snoring shortly after.

  Shaking his head, Gray up off the couch, tired of sitting there. He pulled on the clothes he'd strewn across the room (he'd stripped himself a while ago after Lucy'd slept, giving up on society's expectation of proper sleep attire) and grabbed the shiny key card off of the coffee table.

  He took a final glance at Lucy's sleeping figure and left the room, making sure to lock it tightly behind him just in case. He tiptoed past Erza and Natsu's room and made a run for the elevator.

  Once inside, he clicked the 9th floor button—the top floor. The elevator made a creaky start from being used so early in the morning but it was smooth sailing after that. He stepped out, surveying the ninth floor corridor.

  He froze when he heard the sound of wheels and dodged behind one of the tall decorative plants lining the walls. What looked to be a janitor's cart rolled past him. Gray's eyes trailed back to where it had come from and was thrilled to see the door to the top of the building open. Well, more like if he waited any longer it would reel closed.

  Gray dashed out of his hiding spot and down, slipping through the doorway before the door had closed. A blast of chilly, fresh, morning air hit him straight in the face and he relished it, breathing in lung fulls.

  "What are you doing up here?" A voice said from behind him, making him literally jump out of his pants.

  "What the hell, Lyon," Gray hissed at the white-haired boy who was leaning  by the railing and smirking at him. "You're one to talk."

  "I'm surprised, is all," Lyon sighed as he took off his shirt, plopping it beside him to take in the air, "it's nice up here, no?"

  "That's what I thought," Gray said smugly, walking over to his childhood friend and noting how he too had lost his shirt.

  "We're near our hometown, you know," Lyon narrowed his eyes at something in the distance. "Where it had happened."

  "Yeah," Gray dazed off into the dark sky which was glittered with sparkling stars. "Has it really been..." He pursed his lips. "How long has it been?"

  Lyon shrugged, "beats me. Just staying in that refugee bunker for a month tarnished my perception of time. How long we really spent in there is beyond my knowledge."

  Gray smirked in amusement, "Ultear'd know... remember how she'd always chide at us for being late?"

  Lyon snorted at the memory, "Of course. She's just naturally great at time and time in all its glory. Remeber how she gave you a black eye for missing a picnic?" 

  "That was you, dumbass," Gray corrected. "You thought it was the next week. Ultear went fucking ballistic!"

  "Fucking right..." Lyon rested his face in the palm of his hand.

  "I couldn't sleep," they both said together, making their eyes meet.

  The corner of Gray's mouth twitched, "you too, huh...?"

  "Yeah," Lyon sighed, "I was actually—"

  "Wondering about tomorrow." Gray finished for him. "Yeah, that was me too."

  After a long pause, Lyon said in a whisper, "I'm scared..."

  Gray nodded, "I've waited so long for this, we both have. I lost Ultear that day and just the thought of not knowing whether she truly died or not was terrifying. But now that we're this close to learning about... about Ur I..." Gray's voice cracked. "I don't know..."

  "You don't know whether you're truly ready or not." Lyon finished, mimicking his earlier gesture. "Ur... was the most important person in my life. She meant... she meant so much to me. I want closure—I've wanted it for so long that now I need it."

  "But now..." Gray shook his head. "I'm scared too Lyon. If they've really recovered a body that's similar to Ur's, then the least we can do is identify it."

  Lyon laughed dryly, "you still remember her face right?"

  "How could I not?" Gray replied with the same dry humor. "I was the last person to see her face before she died right?"

  "An act which I could never forgive you for," Lyon lightly jabbed Gray's arm.

  The two friends looked off into the distance, mentally preparing for the worst when the sun rose.

A/N: Minna-San!!! The Fish is alive! Sorry if the update seemed short. School just catching up to me and so are finals. *Shudders* But anyways I hope you liked the bromance between Lyon and Gray. I just think the two of them are so cute!

Random person from the fandom: "Um... Author-Chan I think you're delusional..."

Me: Am not! I just think Lyon and Gray have a brother-brother kind of vibe between them.

Random person from the fandom: *raises eyebrow* "Author-Chan, Gruvia exists for a reason. Don't go making fanon yaoi ships without us knowing." 

Me: Fine, fine, I yield. Gruvia for the win. But just saying it's fine to support other ships you know...