Ch. 12 – My Special Someone

Valentine's Day. The time of year where people give chocolate to the ones they love. In some foreign cultures, the women give chocolates to boys to show them their affections on this day. Homemade chocolate is a great way to show someone you love them. The members of Fairy Tail are giving this sort of tradition a try this year.

"You're not making chocolate for anyone, Cana?" Gray asked the drunk who was making her way over to his usual spot in the main hall.

"Haha, very funny." Cana took a swig from her fifth bottle of the day. Being single was starting to make her feel slightly depressed. To make herself feel better, she was drowning her sorrows in alcohol. "The only boyfriend I need is alcohol!"

"Don't get too carried away there." The last thing Gray wanted to see was a drunken Cana going on a rampage like last year.

Cana finished off her fifth bottle and took in a deep breath before focusing in on Gray. "So, where's the other half to the happy couple?"

Cana was of course referring to Erza. The two had been going steady ever since Gray confessed to her on Christmas Day. Everyone greeted them when they came back to the guild and congratulated them on finally getting together. They threw them a party to celebrate because that's just the kind of family they are.

Lucy and Juvia were overjoyed for them and Natsu was fine if his two good friends were okay with being together. Cana slapped Gray on the back and told him how glad she was that he manned up. Macao and Wakaba took it upon themselves to tell Erza how Gray had liked her for years. To Gray's embarrassment and Erza's surprise, it really did make her happy. It was a night full of embarrassing moments for the two, especially on Gray's part.

Gray snapped out of memory lane and went back to his conversation with Cana. "She's probably off making chocolate with the other girls."

A group of girls from the guild had planned to have a get together the day before Valentine's Day to make the chocolate they would be giving out to the boys of their choice. It was pretty obvious who everyone was giving theirs to so no one bothered asking.

Gray hadn't seen Erza all day. He knew he shouldn't mess with Erza while she was concentrating on something like this. It would distract her focus. He would probably see her tomorrow when they went on their date.

Cana gave out a small laugh. The effects of the alcohol were slowly kicking in. "Oh? You sound pretty confident that you're getting chocolate tomorrow."

Cana thought she would see the usual Gray who would play along with her jokes and dismiss it easily. She was surprised to instead see a different side to him. He looked extremely lacking in confidence. "Well, I guess she doesn't have to…"

Cana wasn't expecting him to become depressed over her silly remarks, so she tried her best to soften the blow. "Oy, don't take me seriously like that. I was just joking."

"I know." He sounded calm as he spoke this time.

Gray was growing indifferent to the conversation now and it was bothering Cana. Something was going on. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Cana didn't believe a word of what he was saying. She noticed the change in him when she brought up the conversation about chocolate. Even if he was the one to bring up the subject first, she somehow led the conversation into one that changed the atmosphere. "Did something happen between you two?"

Gray looked at his clasped hands as he spoke. His mind was off in another place. "No. Everything has been going great between us…but…"

"But?"

He looked troubled over the matter. "Lately I've been having a lot of bad thoughts."

Cana looked at him with a straight face. "You want to do things to her?"

"Not those kind of thoughts! This and that are two separate matters!" This sort of talk didn't even phase the card mage, but that was quite the opposite for Gray. His face was turning redder by the second.

"Fine, then what's the real reason?" Cana was proud she was able to lighten the mood, even if it was only slightly.

Gray calmed down and moved onto his reasoning. "I'm worried about things. I guess, I just find it weird how Erza accepted my feelings so easily."

Cana didn't understand. "Well, she fell for you just like you wanted her to. What's wrong with that?"

The ice mage was finding it hard to communicate his thoughts properly. "Nothing. It's just…"

It took her a moment to realize where he was going with this conversation. "Are you talking about Jellal?"

Jellal. It was something Gray hadn't taken into account when he confessed. He felt on the top of the world when he started dating Erza and everything was fine when he was around her. But when he was alone, his mind tended to wander to his pessimistic thoughts.

He was only with her because Jellal was out of the picture, wasn't he? That's what anyone would think, right? Jellal was the one she loved and then she moved on to him when he died, that's what people would think. While Gray was sure she loved him now, was he still only the runner-up?

It was eating away at him from the inside.

Gray never responded back to Cana, but she didn't mind. He had other things on his mind, after all. "It's not like you to be stressed out over something like this. You must really like her if she can get you this riled up."

"Shut up." A blush crept onto Gray's face.

Cana placed her hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "I'm not the one to ask since I know next to nothing about the guy. Just talk to Erza about it. I'm sure she'll understand. She was crazy enough to fall for a fool like you, after all."

"Thanks, it's nice knowing that I'm a fool." He sighed and leaned back in his seat. "And why the hell am I always getting advice from girls?"

Cana held out her hand. Gray stared at it blankly before looking up at her. "Are you serious?"

She gave him a cheeky grin. "I give great advice. Pay up, I need more money for booze."

Around lunch time the next day, Gray was found sitting alone on a bench in the park. He was waiting for Erza to show up for their special Valentine's date. She was taking longer than usual to show up, though. It was strange seeing the usually punctual Erza was somehow late for an appointment. It was starting to worry him.

The cool air would have left anyone shivering and wanting to bundle up. For an ice mage like Gray, he felt like he needed to take some clothes off to enjoy this kind of weather. He would have done so if he hadn't promised Erza that he wouldn't strip in front of other people. He wasn't sure if it was because she wanted him to appear decent in front of others or if she was just being possessive of him.

Gray heard the sound of footsteps growing closer and closer to him. He looked over and saw Erza was slowly making her way over to the bench he was sitting on.

She smiled and waved to him. "Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?"

Erza seemed to be walking awkwardly for some reason. "No, not at all."

Gray wanted to laugh at the way she was moving, but he couldn't bring himself to. He was starting to feel even more nervous now that she was here. Gray was finally going to bring up his worries with her today. He just hoped things would turn out okay. "Hey Erza, I was thinking-"

"Oh!" Erza suddenly motioned for him to stop and quickly began rummaging through her bag. "Hold on one moment. I have your chocolate ready. I really want you to try it first. We can talk after you've eaten."

"Erza wait-"

"Don't worry!" She assured him as she pulled out a small bag. It was covered in red paper and the opening was tied with a white bow. She looked really proud as she looked on at her gift. "I promise it's good. I learned a lot from Mira on how to make the-"

"Erza, please listen to me!"

Erza flinched when she heard him raise his voice towards her. She looked up at him with surprised eyes, wondering what caused him to act this way. There was a pause of silence before Erza finally spoke up.

"S-Sorry…I guess I got too carried away there." She averted his gaze and looked back down at the chocolate. She shakily tucked some of her loose hair behind her ear and placed her hand back onto her wrapped chocolate.

Gray regretted shouting at her. He only wanted to get her attention but ended up doing it in a way that hurt her. Even if it was for other reasons, she was just as nervous as him. Gray knew this was her first time giving someone chocolate and having a date with someone for this holiday.

He placed his hand over hers to comfort her. She looked back up at him once more and a light smile appeared on her face. She seemed to be feeling better already. "No…I'm sorry for raising my voice. I just…really need to get something off my chest."

Her smile quickly turned into a frown. She looked angry. "Gray, I told you. No stripping in public."

"That's just an expression! I'm being serious here!"

Erza perked her head slightly to the side, one of her eyebrows raised. She didn't understand why he was making such a big fuss about it. "Is something the matter?"

Gray looked at the ground as he spoke, but continued to hold onto her hand. "It's something that's been on my mind for a while now. It's about Jellal."

"…Jellal?" The familiar name wasn't something she expected to be brought up by Gray. In fact, she hadn't even mentioned his name to him since the Grand Magic Games took place a few months back.

"I never got around to telling you my feelings because of him…I guess I felt inferior to the guy." Gray couldn't help but smile at how pathetic he must be sounding about now. "He was the guy you loved. I know it was a hard time for you when he passed away."

He couldn't believe he was actually saying all this. He looked up at her and tightened his grip around her hand. His eyes showed how serious he was and she could feel it. "I fear you're not completely over him. I'm happy that we're together now and you say you have feelings for me. Nothing could make me happier…but I don't want to feel like I'm only a replacement for Jellal."

He had finally said it. All his fears were out in the open about her and Jellal. He had put it off for too long. He needed to know what she was thinking when it came to him. Gray feared that she would be angry enough to break up with him, but it was a risk he was willing to take. He wanted to know if she truly loved him.

Erza now understood why he had been acting weird since she met up with him. She sighed and held out the packaged chocolate to him. "Here. Try some."

"Erza-"

"Just eat it." Her voice grew husky and she gave him a stern glare.

Gray didn't hesitate to untie the bow and open up the wrapping. He pulled out a small chocolate heart and stuffed it in his mouth without a second thought. After chewing on it for a few seconds he realized it really wasn't that bad. It was dark chocolate with a caramel filling, his favorite. He was surprised by how she remembered.

Erza watched as he put another piece of chocolate into his mouth. He seemed to be enjoying it and that made her happy. "I was planning on not saying anything, but now I feel I have no choice. You have a right to know as my boyfriend, after all."

Gray didn't like the sound of that. He was starting to get even more nervous than before.

"You know when I got that letter from the Magic Council?" Gray nodded for her to continue on. He was all ears. "It had nothing to do with Natsu making a mess of things."

"I knew something was fishy…" Gray felt uneasy at this point, but popped another chocolate heart into his mouth anyway.

"Gray." She was able to catch his attention easily. Erza looked seriously at him. It made him curious what she was going to say next. "Jellal is alive."

A piece of chocolate fell out of Gray's mouth and back into the packaging. "…Are you serious?"

Erza nodded. "Jellal survived and now him, Ultear and Meredy are working with the Magic Council. They're going to work together to bring down all the dark guilds."

"I can't believe it…" Gray felt relief knowing Ultear and Meredy were doing alright. Jellal on the other hand…he had mixed feelings about for obvious reasons. "So he must have wanted to be with you, I guess?"

"He did actually."

She said it so bluntly. It kind of stung.

"And what did you tell him?"

"I turned him down, of course." Erza found his question silly. "That's why I'm still here."

It confused him. Erza, who loved Jellal for god knows how many years, had turned him down. It didn't make any sense to him.

"Why?"

Erza looked at Gray and smiled once more. "I can't live without Fairy Tail, Gray. Fairy Tail is what has made the current me, well, me. You were the start to that. A relationship would never work out between Jellal and me. I learned that the hard way. Knowing Jellal is alive is enough for me. I chose Fairy Tail over him. But it wasn't just because of that. I chose you over Jellal, Gray."

Gray was completely stunned. She had chosen him over Jellal? It all felt too good to be true.

"Do you like the chocolate?"

He had just put another chocolate in his mouth when Erza asked him this. He noticed that he had already gone through almost half of the bag. Erza chuckled when she saw his cheeks grow red.

"When I was making it, all I could think about was you. It has all of my feelings put into it." She held onto his hand, which had been holding onto her own so gently. "You've never intentionally hurt me and have always been by my side. You cheer me up when I'm feeling down and are always there when I need you. My only regret is that it took me so long to notice you…I can say with ease that I love you, Gray."

"Erza…" Gray leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. He held her close and tight and she returned the gesture. "I love you."

It was hard for Gray to express just how much she meant to him. Sometimes words just weren't enough for him, so he wanted to show her instead. He loved the woman in front of him with all his heart.

Gray pulled back and looked into Erza's warm, brown eyes. She was giving him that one special smile she reserved only for him. They both slowly leaned in to share a kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch, they heard rustling in the bushes behind them. This caused them to pause and look towards the source of the noise.

Gray glared in the direction of the bushes. "You have got to be kidding me."

Erza was quick to question the ones watching them. "How long have you guys been there?"

Everyone gave up on hiding any longer and popped out from behind the bushes.

"I knew they would find us sooner or later." Lucy tried her best to smile. She hoped she would be let off the hook because of how close they are.

"Right when it was getting to the good part, too…" Macao and Wakaba sighed.

Gray looked judgingly at the brunette who he believed was behind it all. "Cana…"

Cana grinned shamelessly at him. "Sorry Gray. It was too much for me to resist. "

Happy cheerfully floated by Gray and Erza. His paws were covering his mouth as he giggled. "They were about to smooch! They liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike each other~ "

"To think Gray-sama and Erza-san were about to kiss in a public area. It sounds daring…Juvia wants to try it with Lyon-sama!" Juvia began to blush heavily. The idea was getting her even more excited.

Gray sighed heavily. "Is my love life ever going to be kept a private matter?"

Erza wasn't finished asking questions. "You guys heard everything, didn't you?"

Lucy gave them a thumbs up sign. "Don't worry. Jellal's secret is safe with us."

Gray gave a sly smile. "I wonder about that…"

"You wanna go, Gray?!" Natsu growled.

"Any time, flame breath!" Gray was ready to butt heads with Natsu at any second.

"You two."

Chills ran down Gray and Natsu's spine as they heard her voice. They slowly turned to look at her and could have sworn there were flames surrounding her in the background. Now would be the time to stop if they wanted to remain uninjured.

Erza looked back at the rest of her friends, watching in terror. Her face softened when she relaxed. "I think we can trust them. They are our nakama, after all. It was wrong of me to hide it from everyone in the first place. I know they can keep a secret if they try."

Gray's face lit up with an idea. "So what are we going to do with the peeping toms, Erza?"

Erza showed them all a devilish grin. "Punishment."

"Oh, look at the time. I have a date with my alcohol to get to."

"My wife will be wondering where I am."

"I better go check up on Romeo."

"Juvia needs to go on her date with Lyon-sama!"

"Let's go, you two!"

"Aye!"

"That's my line, Natsu!"

The group ran away as fast as they could.

"A game of hide and seek, huh? Two can play that game." Erza transformed into her Flight Armor. "Gray, chase after them and I'll find a way to pass them. We'll corner them."

"Yes ma'am!" Gray smiled as he used ice make to create a motorcycle and hopped on it.

They smiled at each other and rushed off to catch the meddlers. It wouldn't be any other day in Fairy Tail without a little fun.

Author's Notes: Some might wonder why I brought Jellal back if he wasn't going to be much of an obstacle (if it is seen that way). The reason is because I wanted to think of a scenario where Erza would choose Gray over a living Jellal. I see the argument all the time that Erza would only choose Gray if Jellal died. This always seemed to bother me, because I thought the kiss scene for Jerza was the start of closure for them. That's why I wanted to make this story. I hope that I was able to write it in a believable way that could fit into the story.

Another reason is because I think Jellal is going to die in the story and I wanted to give him some sort of happy ending in fiction. He can continue to redeem himself this way and not have to die, even though everyone in the story thinks he's already dead. It also makes things a little more interesting.

There is only one more chapter left until this story is finished. Look forward to it!