Fairy Tail x Reader: Various One-shots

Gray x Reader 2: What did the night feel like?

A/n: I highly recommend listening to the song above while reading this as it was a source of inspiration :)

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The night felt like a cold blanket of stillness. The rustling wind brushing across my skin like it had hands of its own, working my aching muscles with the softest of breaths.

The sky smelled like water in its purest form, just before it falls from the clouds as rain.

The stars were beating down on my skin, a sense of healing coursed through my body. They smiled through the bleak onset of a storm, like hope.

Was it superstitious to believe in the healing properties of constellations? Lucy always told me about them; about how the light was cleansing and would leave you free of your sins.

I don't want to speak. Because laying on the roof of the guild at 2 o' clock in the morning was nothing short of complete and utter peace. Breaking the silence would also mean having to confront my feelings for the certain ice-mage resting beside me. I'm not quite ready for that.

Gray's hands rests underneath his head. I could feel heat exuding from his torso. Ironic really. It was unusual that his clothes remains wrapped around his body; even if it was just a singlet and shorts. I could hear irregularities in his breathing, just verging on falling asleep.

The wind swirls around us, enticing us to dance with her. The mistress of the night. She was jealous in her movements, sharp and sly, like a knife fight.

Gray shifts and his movement was echoed by a chorus of creaks from the roof tiles underneath him. He rolls onto his side, his body facing mine.

He breaks the silence. "I don't want to say it. But if you won't, I will."

The mage's features are pasted on like a night-flower by the leftover remnants of heartache, shame and wanting. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, unsure of how to start.

"A goldfish," I point out.

Gray raises his brows. I sigh and continue. "Trying to say something always makes you look like a goldfish—the way you open and close your mouth."

I imitate his goldfish lips. I almost earn a smile, but his face turns ashen.

"(Y/n)," Gray exhales. "I know that it might seem like it was the pressure from the guild, but I just want to know."

I play coy.  My eyes ask him my question. Know what?

"What are we? I get that labels are really—" He pauses to look for the right word. "—Outdated. But I just feel..." Gray drifts off, uncertain.

Well, it happened. I didn't want to but he said it.  I carry on for him. "Unsure of how to continue this?"  

He nods though barely visible now in the dark. Gray begins his goldfish routine again but cuts himself off midway through his second 'o'. Words slowly arrange themselves into a sentence for him. "I really enjoy the time I spend with you, (y/n). But these things I feel for you make it hard when we're stuck in between friends and something more."

I prop my hand beneath my head for support, letting the silence settle once more. The wind grazes over us and goosebumps appear on my forearms. Gray's gazes rests on them and I then see him flinch. I know he wants to hold me. I want him to. 

"It's not that I don't like labels." I begin. A lump forms in the back of my throat, I wait a few moments for it to pass. "I like being close with people. But I—" I stop for another moment. My annoyance at myself for being unable to speak grows and I sit up. "Building relationships have been a struggle for me and it's been that way since I was a child. 

Gray conveys a knowing look. He understands. I give him a small smile.

"I find it hard to talk about feelings and being able to commit to people. It's something that I'm still working on in my own space. And it's not fair for me to lead you on like this, especially if I don't know what to do with my feelings for you."

His soft gaze drops at the last sentence. Before I say more, he interjects. "I'm just going to stop you there."

A well of emotion rises in my chest and my eyes. I listen.

"I'll always be here for you, you know that right?"

The mistress of the night dissipates, taking her stars and moon with her. She leaves only a pitch-black sky.

We sit in silence for another while. 

Gray moves closer toward me. He takes my free hand and presses a kiss into it. "As your friend or partner. I'll support you however you need me to. I want you to know that I want to be with you, but I understand if that's not something you're ready for."

I nod. Tears brimming in my eyes. "I think for now we should just be friends. I'm planning on going on a month-long mission. It'll give me plenty of time to sit with my thoughts."

He gives my hand a squeeze and chuckles. "You really do love time to yourself, don't you?"

I feel my body relax as I exhale. "I really do."

Gray shuffles into an upright position, hugging his knees to his chest. He then helps me sit up.

I grab his hands and give them a tight squeeze, while looking at my feet. "I'd definitely be open to revisiting this conversation when I get back, if that's something you would be interested in."

I can't see his face but I feel a small smile in the back of my head.

"Yeah, that would be nice. So long as you don't die before you get back, okay?"

"Obviously."