Ch. 11 – Lucky Day

He knew everyone had been talking about "it". Word got around fast in such a close-knit guild. Erza wasn't anywhere in the guild or at her room in Fairy Hills. No one had seen her all day. She was nowhere to be found.

"What the hell am I going to do…?" Gray mumbled to himself with his face pressed against the surface of one of the tables in the main hall. His hands were covered over his head in frustration to keep from making eye contact with any of the guild members that passed by his table.

"I don't see why you're getting so worked up over this, Gray." Cana said before finishing off the last bit of alcohol from a large barrel. She had been keeping him company by sitting on top of the table next to his. She wiped off any remnant of the liquid from her mouth before speaking again. "Just calm down."

Gray slipped his hands off of his head and onto the table. He slowly turned his head over on the table to stare at Cana. He looked very unsettled. "She kissed me! How can I be calm?!"

Cana placed the barrel onto the floor, not losing eye contact with Gray. "Why are you so shocked by this? It's just a kiss."

A small blush appeared across his cheeks. He let out a frustrated grumble before turning his head to face the table surface once more. "The thought that Erza actually kissed me…it's like a dream."

Cana couldn't help but laugh at the way Gray was reacting. It wasn't often that she saw the ice mage acting all flustered. "Idiot. We all saw her kiss you last night. It definitely wasn't a dream."

He could still remember it so vividly. The warmth of her lips, how soft they were, the faint taste of strawberry cake. It was all too good to be true. He believed there was no way that could have actually happened. But the reality was that it wasn't a dream. Erza had kissed him and he couldn't get over that simple fact.

Gray's face grew as red as Erza's hair thinking back on the kiss for the millionth time. He covered his arms over his head once more. He didn't want Cana to see him like this. It was extremely embarrassing.

While Cana found this situation very amusing, it also worried her. "Why did you do nothing?"

Gray sat up and leaned back in his seat, letting out a heavy sigh. His stare never left the ceiling as he spoke. "I don't know…I was too shocked to do anything, I guess."

Cana was starting to get slightly annoyed with this passive Gray. "Then why aren't you doing anything about it now?"

This was the thing Gray dreaded being brought up the most. He closed his eyes for a moment. All the added pressure was racking up in his brain.

Gray didn't kiss her back out of fear that he was only assuming things. And even after the kiss, he was too caught up in his own disbelief to even talk to her about it. It all felt as if it came out of left field. Gray didn't know how he was supposed to go about things as they were. It was hard for him to believe that the girl he loved had kissed him. Not to mention he never thought of the possibility of Erza ever initiating a kiss with him of all people.

Gray opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling once more. "Erza must have known the meaning of standing under the mistletoe with someone. She's not that naïve. And you know how she is about following the rules and everything. She could have done it out of obligation."

Cana, who was sick of hearing his excuses, cut right to the chase. "You don't think she kissed you because she wanted to?"

"There's no way she…"

All of the memories he spent with Erza over the past few months came rushing back to him.

He thought of when he first hugged a crying Erza on the last day of the tournament. He remembered how awkward things were between them for a while after that. Then they put on that play together and things seemed to have gone back to normal, except something felt different between them somehow. They were growing closer because of everything. He remembered when she helped fix him up when he broke his arm and leg or the time she got sick. She acted so cute while under the influence of the cold. Erza first mentioned her desire to eat cake and he made that promise with her. She looked so happy as she fell asleep. And the last few days were full of many new memories with Erza. He saw so many different sides of her and he enjoyed every single one of them. Erza accepted the ice rose he presented her, she was flustered when they were assumed to be lovers and they even fed each other. And the last moment they shared was a kiss.

Was it possible that she really…?

Cana looked on at the confused Gray who was completely lost in thought. A small smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Gray, do you remember that fortune I gave you?"

Once he snapped out of his trance, Gray looked over at Cana. The smile she showed him was making him curious. He stopped leaning back in his chair and propped his arm up on the table to rest his head on it.

Cana's magic gave her the ability to read fortunes. She used to always give out fortunes to people in the guild free of charge. It became a little hobby of hers that she keeps up with to this day. Even though Gray had received plenty of fortunes from the card mage in the past, he knew exactly which fortune she was referring to. It was the only one he ever remembered.

When he didn't respond and she saw that he was all ears, Cana moved on with the subject.

"The fortune I gave you that said you'd have brilliant luck that day. From what I remember you telling me, that couldn't have been more false and you were having a crappy day. That also happened to be the day Erza joined Fairy Tail. She even walked in right after I gave you that fortune. Out of all the bad things that had happened that day to you, Erza joining Fairy Tail was never considered one of them. Don't you find that strange?"

It was strange. Gray had always questioned the fortune Cana gave him that day. He found it odd for him to have brilliant luck on such a bad day and that the fortune happened to him on the same day Erza joined the guild. Was it just a coincidence?

Just as Gray was thinking that, Cana leaned forward on her table to catch his attention. While her eyes looked serious, her smile was genuine. "It has to mean something, right?"

Something about Cana's words resonated inside of Gray.

What am I doing here?

Now was the opportunity he had been waiting for all along.

"I gotta go, Cana. I'll talk to you later."

Cana watched as Gray quickly jumped up from his seat and rushed out of the guild as fast as he could. It looked like he had some business to take care of with someone else. A big grin rose on her face.

"I should get paid for this."

The brunette hopped off the table, content with her work. She was going to grab another barrel as a reward to herself.

He knew just where to find her.

It was the place where Erza would run to when she needed to think. The place she would cry alone when no one was looking. The place she could hide with no one to bother her. It was her special place. It wasn't until Gray found her crying all alone that day that it then became their special place. It was their riverbank.

It couldn't have been anywhere else.

The scenery looked so much different compared to the summer day Gray found her there. The sky was a light gray with the never-ending snow falling from it. The river was completely iced over and the snow covered the entire landscape in a clean white. And there, in the exact same spot he found her all those years ago, was Erza.

Gray frantically ran down the hill leading up to the base of the river. He stopped himself several feet away from her to catch his breath. All the running he did to find her as fast as he could was wearing him out. Erza, who stood facing the river, turned around when she felt there was another presence. This time she hadn't been crying, but her expression showed a hint of sadness to it.

Even if she was sad, she did her best to hide it with a smile. "Ah, you came to look for me? Sorry, I must have been away from the guild for too long. I must have worried everyone."

Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who was in the wrong here.

"Thanks. Let's head back now. It's really freezing out here." She continued to force a smile as she tried to hold up a conversation with him. It was killing Gray to see her this way. "Though this cold must be nothing for you, right?"

"Erza-"

"It's okay, Gray. You don't have to say anything."

Erza was making her way to him, ready to walk back to the guild. She was fine with leaving things the way they were, but he wasn't. This was the moment that he had been waiting for since forever and yet he couldn't move his body. He was shaking because of how nervous he was. But even if his nerves were tying him down, he couldn't let it end this way. Not when he could find out what he meant to her; her true feelings. Just as Juvia had a right to know how he felt about her, so did Erza.

As Erza walked past him, Gray quickly grabbed onto her wrist. She spun around to face him, her eyes wide with shock. Gray was looking down at the ground. He didn't have the courage to look her in the eyes just yet. He was still preparing himself.

"Gray-"

"Erza, you wanted to know why I turned Juvia down."

Gray mustered up all the courage he had. He lifted his head up and looked her in the eyes. He was ready. There was no turning back now. It was now or never.

"I lied. I did have a reason. It's because I'm in love with you. I have been ever since we were kids."

Her jaw dropped open slightly. She didn't know how to respond to him. "Gray…"

He was ready to hear her answer. He tried to prepare himself for the worst possible outcome or even the best. He wasn't sure which way it would go.

When Erza pulled her hand out from his grip, he thought he found his answer.

Gray let out a sigh. He looked down to avert his gaze. He didn't want to make things anymore awkward. He started to bring his hand back down to his side when Erza grabbed his hand. His eyes widened this time; he picked his head up and looked her in the eyes once more. She was smiling at him.

"You know…I thought that you liked me for a while now. When I saw that mistletoe, I thought that was my opportunity to show you how I felt. I was fine with giving you my first kiss…but with that kind of reaction I thought I might have guessed wrong." She slipped her fingers into the spaces between his and held his hand tightly. She leaned her body up against his to rest her head on his chest. He felt strangely comfortable being close to her like this. "You should be honest with your feelings straight away so you don't hurt someone you care for."

Gray couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Erza…"

Erza pulled her head away from him to look at his face once more, her smile never disappearing. "I love you too, Gray."

He let out a surprised laugh and he couldn't hold back the goofy grin spread across his face. He was so happy and relieved. She felt the same way about him after all.

Erza, who was usually so calm and collected, was fidgeting. Her cheeks were also slightly flushed. "Could we try that kiss again?"

Gray couldn't handle this cute side to Erza. His cheeks began to darken even more so than hers. "I-If you'd like to."

And this time Gray was able to return the kiss she gave him the night before.

Gray had always assumed that the day he met Erza was his lucky day because she was his first love. On Christmas Day, when they shared their second kiss, Gray realized it was because they would one day be brought together. But even more so, he wanted to believe it was because they were soul mates.

Author's Notes: I really wanted to put in the "brilliant luck" bit from chapter 89. I think it could turn out to mean something special and would really love if the manga delves more into it sometime. Sorry this is such a short chapter compared to some of the others. This was all I expected to happen in this chapter even though it's just a big one in terms of story. Hopefully the confession was worth all the wait and felt satisfying enough. Hope you guys liked it. :)