Change

-A Fairy Tail fanfiction

The only constant thing in the world is change, they said, and Lyon couldn't agree more to this…

A/N: So a lot of fans have been speculating that in the next FT chapter (420) we'll be seeing Gray and (hopefully) Juvia because it has something to do with Lamia Scale. And when Lamia Scale is mentioned, Lyon pops in the mind! And when Lyon's there, Gruvia may be there as well! I don't want to get my hopes up, but I can't resist! Have some GrayxLyon brOTP and a dash of Gruvia everyone! And let's hope (and pray) that we'll be seeing the "timeskip" look of Gray and Juvia soon!

DISCLAIMER: Mashima-sensei owns FT.

One year.

A whole year of not seeing his so called "younger brother" and the first thing Lyon did was whack Gray on the head with his Ice Make magic and tell him what an idiot he was for leaving without even saying anything or leaving a damn letter.

"You're really an idiot, are you?! Imagine my surprise when I went to Magnolia and found out that not only Fairy Tail was in shambles, but its members are gone as well, including you! What the hell are you thinking, Gray you idiot?!"

Gray only rubbed the spot on his head. Damn, Lyon gave it to him good this time. He sighed, "A lot of things happened. And my decision to leave was not something I even told my guildmates. It… was sudden."

"I don't care if it's sudden! You could've at least written a letter, idiot!" Lyon exclaimed.

"That was the third time in ten minutes you called me an idiot, Lyon. Give it a rest will yah?" Gray said annoyingly as he continued to rub his head.

Lyon looked at him for a moment before releasing a heavy sigh, feeling tired all of a sudden. Instead of making another comeback, he sat on the ground and leaned back, arms supporting the back of his head. He may not show it, but Lyon was worried during the past year. Hell, the whole Fiore was worried. Fairy Tail just retained their former glory after seven years and all of a sudden, after that battle with Tartarus, Master Makarov disbanded their guild and their members went on their own ways. Upon hearing the news, he immediately went to Magnolia to see Gray. But to his horror, his apartment was completely bare, like Gray did not even live there or existed. Seeing the place like that reminded him of those years the core members of Fairy Tail went missing. And once again, Lyon felt empty.

He tried searching. He tried and failed. But because only sightings were seen and in different locations every time, his investigation always, always led him back to the starting point.

However, once he compiled all the notes and information he gathered, he noticed it.

Gray's whereabouts were always inconsistent, but only one thing remained the same.

Lyon decided that it was now or never.

"Hey, Gray."

Gray turned his attention back to Lyon, "What?" he asked deadpanned while taking a seat beside him.

"What have you been up to all this time?" Lyon asked.

Gray was silent for a moment before answering him, "Training. I was training the new power I acquired for it to be more in sync with my ice magic."

"You're up north, am I right?" Lyon inquired.

"…How did you know?" Gray asked in return, surprised.

Lyon only snorted, "Really Gray, you expect me to do nothing once you disappeared like that? Ur would have scolded me for not being 'a caring older brother', as she once said," he replied with a smirk.

"…Shut up."

"But getting back on topic, you're training you said. I see. Good for you," Lyon commented.

Gray just kept quiet, his eyes trained on the landscape in front of him.

For a while, both of them just sat in silence until Lyon spoke up again, "You've changed."

Gray started, "Huh? What do you mean? Of course I've changed. It's been a year," he said.

Lyon tched, "I just don't mean physically, you dolt. It's… something more that meets the eye."

At this, Gray looked confused, "You're spouting nonsense," he merely said.

"I'm not!" Lyon retorted and calmly this time he said, "I mean… before, when we see each other, we try to maul one another, and when one of us pissed the other, we ended up fighting," he chuckled a bit at the memories flooding his mind, "but earlier… when I whacked you on the head, you didn't even fight back. And you never raised your voice. It only occurred to me just now that I was the only one yelling."

Gray raised his eyebrows, "What are you getting at?" he asked.

Lyon looked at him in the eye, not in a condescending way but rather in an amused and somewhat in a fond manner, "You've grown. You've matured. And you're a lot stronger now, physically and emotionally," he replied.

He saw Gray's eyes widen before he looked away and muttered, "And you've become creepy. Suddenly saying things like that. Complimenting me will get you nowhere, you know."

Lyon just chuckled, "See? That's what I'm talking about. Tell me, do I need to thank a certain someone for helping my little brother become a better man?" he teased.

Gray's eyes snapped back at him. Lyon on the other hand, just raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

"What? I did tell you that ever since you left I've been trying to locate you. I've had a lot of sources telling me where you were last seen, where you were staying… And all of them were different every time. But in all those information I got, they all said one same thing, and I quote," Lyon straightened his posture and cleared his throat, "Gray Fullbuster was seen with Juvia Lockser on a train heading to Wutherville, a town at north… Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser were spotted on a snowy mountain ridge up north… Gray Fullbuster, together with Juvia Lockser was apparently staying in a local inn at Dashleaf town at north."

Lyon stared at Gray when he finished, "Now, care to explain why Juvia's name always appear alongside yours in those accounts? And don't you dare deny it!" he said once Gray opened his mouth to reply, "I have all one hundred and fifty five reports back at my apartment as evidence."

Gray raised his arms in surrender, "I wasn't going to deny anything, Lyon. Yeah, Juvia's with me, helping me train and all," he shrugged. He took a deep breath before continuing, "She's been helping me a lot, from recovering from our battle with Tartarus to training. When we started, she's been putting a lot of effort in training and I got so carried away that I failed to notice that she got sick. We camp out on snowy mountains but she never complained of the cold, even though she's shivering so hard. Seeing her like that… it motivated me to become stronger, to be a better mage and… to move forward. It's the least I can do for her, after all the stuff I put her through, to show her my conviction and determination to become better," Gray said, his voice growing softer.

Silence permeated the air once again as Lyon took in Gray's words. After a while, he smiled and sighed, "I see now. I really have to thank Juvia," he said before looking at Gray slyly, "Are you sure you're just training? You've been with her for a whole year. Alone. Surely something must have…" he trailed off.

Gray snorted, "Nothing happened, idiot," he firmly said while waving his hand dismissively.

But Lyon would not leave it like that, "Are you sure? Something must have changed between your dynamics. Surely a year was enough for you two to, hmm, I don't know… get to know each other more?" he pressed.

Gray simply rolled his eyes again, "Nothing's changed alright? So drop it!" he snapped.

Lyon was about to question him again when a voice cut him off.

"Lyon-sama? Gray-sama?"

Both men turned their attention to the woman approaching, who stopped when she was near enough.

"Juvia's sorry. Is she interrupting something?" she asked, frowning.

Lyon just smiled and shook his head, "No, of course not, Juvia. You will never be an interruption," he replied, "So what do we owe this visit from a lovely lady?" he winked.

Juvia blushed slightly (from the corner of his eye, Lyon saw Gray's eyes narrow), "Chelia-san sent Juvia to get you. She said that the food is ready."

At the mention of food, Lyon and Gray got up. "Ah yes, finally! You must taste Obaba-sama's cooking. It's the best," Lyon said proudly, "Come Juvia! Let's leave this idiot and dine together!"

Before he can even approach Juvia, Gray strode towards her and grabbed her hand, "Let's go Juvia. His idiocy has worsened in a year. You don't want to get it," he said.

"Hey!" Lyon protested, while jogging to catch up behind them.

But Gray just ignored Lyon and continued to lead Juvia back to Lamia Scale. Lyon noticed, though, that sometime during the walk, Gray's fingers had become intertwined tightly to Juvia's. And instead of dragging her like before, they were walking side by side.

Lyon smiled at the sight.

Nothing's changed, huh.

He looked at the blue and brilliant sky above him, eyes squinting at the sun's harsh but bright rays.

He begged to differ.

-owari-