I supposed some parts aren't really canon...
Time Line: BL (before Lucy)
ps: a total coincidence that it is BL too -wink-wink-

Fantasia Fireworks
GrayxErza

It was a simple question, Gray concluded.

"Why were you crying that day?"

She could choose not to answer and both of them will just pick up where they left and continue their lives and forget that the question ever transpired between them.

So, during the annual Fantasia when the both of them were standing behind the crowd, half-hidden in the shadows of an awning. Gray asked.

"Erza, that day by the riverside, why were you crying?"

Erza's bright smile dimmed instantaneously, her brown eyes slowly becoming guarded. It was as if she was trying to protect the girl inside the impenetrable armour.

Noting the telltale signs, Gray expected her to snap at him, glare at him or ignore him. So you could only imagine his surprise when Erza did none of that but instead answered his question.

"Before I came to Fairy Tail, I had another group of friends, we went through a lot together and then," Erza paused. Gray looked at her intently, waiting for her to continue.

"Then, something bad happened, an-and I wasn't able to stop it, I couldn't save them," Erza continued, a small quiver to her steady voice. Gray's eyes softened. He could tell that it was hard for Erza to recall such painful memories.

"I abandoned them, left them while I was free," she said in anguish, hands clenching beside her.

"I was a coward," she continued bitterly as her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of her friends still imprisoned on the island.

"And I could never forgive myself," she whispered so quietly as if reminding herself.

For a while both stood in silence, eyes on the parade but not really watching. Gray grimaced, so he wasn't the only one with a tragic and haunting past. It seemed as though everyone in Fairy Tail had burdens to carry and unfinished business.

"I watched my teacher destroyed herself," Gray said suddenly. The words left his mouth before he could even think it through. He figured that maybe it was time to tell someone else about Ur.

Erza's head snapped up towards him, startled.

His eyes was glazed over, the bright lights of Fatansia reflecting off them like mirror.

"I was rash and stupid, I wanted revenge for my family so I went after the monster that killed them and- and she came after me, she-"Gray's voice caught, it was as though someone large had lodged itself in his throat. He took in a breath and swallowed hard.

"She sacrificed herself, she said that she wanted to take away the darkness from me and-and she told me to go forth…to my future," his voice barely above a whisper but Erza could hear every single word and hear the raw emotions in his voice. It was felt so tender like a wound ripped open after barely healing.

Her eyes softened as she turned away, feeling as though she was intruding on a private moment.

"I never forgave myself either, every day I would wake up thinking if I hadn't gone after Deliora, she would be here with me and Lyon, teaching us creation magic and the three of us travelling together, like it was always meant to be."

"But, if your teacher was still alive, you wouldn't be part of Fairy Tail," Erza pointed out bluntly. Gray turned, his dark eyes glistening with unshed sorrow in contradiction to the joyous lights of the parade.

Erza thought the lights in his eyes look like stars, the stars she would see every night from the small window in her cell. They were always so beautiful and so free. It didn't matter that they were painted on a dark depressing canvas; the light they emitted was vivid enough to draw attention away from the gloom.

"If you never came to Fairy Tail, I would never have met you Gray," She said in a gentle voice that Gray didn't know she was capable of.

Gray turned back and bowed his head before replying, "And if you hadn't left your friends, I would never have met you either."

Erza's eyes widened in surprise as she hastily turned away. Gray was right, she realized. If she hadn't left the Tower and travelled to Fairy Tail, she would never had met Master Markarov, Natsu, Cana, MiraJane or met Gray. She never would have thought that she would find another family like the one she had in the Tower of Heaven.

"I guessed that we're both more similar than we thought," Erza concluded. Gray almost snorted, who knew that he and that weird armour girl would have so much in common?

"We had been living in the past for so long that sometimes we failed to see the present or even wonder what the future holds," she said reflectively.

Gray remained silent and frowned. He liked living in the past, there was Ur and Lyon. Ur would still be teaching them and his friend would not hate him.

If Gray could live in the past, he would gladly give up his future.

'Maybe…it's time for us to let go of our past and start moving forward," Erza suggested quietly. "Perhaps only then would be able to find in ourselves to forgive and make amends."

Gray turned skyward and for a brief moment wondered where Ur and Lyon were.

"I don't know Erza," he murmured. Did he really want to let Ur and Lyon go?

Erza smiled and took his hand in hers, enclosing his cold hand with her warm one.

"Letting go doesn't mean forgetting," she said simply. Gray blinked down at her as his tears finally trickled down his cheeks and his body began to shake with silent sobs.

Erza tightened her fingers around his limp hand as she moved closer to Gray and rested her head on his shoulder. He was taller than her but at a height comfortable enough for her to lean her head on him.

"Look, fireworks," she remarked. The loud sounds emitted from above was deafening but the brilliant colours more than make up for it. "Gray, look up. Natsu would be pissed if you missed it."

Gray looked up at the instant when a particularly big and colourful one burst high up in the air. An indescribable feeling flooded him as he stared dumbstruck at the display before his eyes.

"I love fireworks," Erza said, Gray could hear the smile in her voice. "They make me feel so exhilarated, like anything is possible. Fireworks are stars so near you could reach up and touch. Plus, I always thought fireworks were a little like hope. A fleeting glimpse but the feelings they ignite never extinguished. It stays with you forever."

He twisted his head to look at her face, watching the colours from the fireworks played across her face and her eyes mirroring them with equal delight.

He smiled softly at her before turning back to look at the night sky.

"Yeah, they're like hope," he agreed quietly as he squeezed her hand and leaned his head on top of hers, her red hair tickling his cheeks.

Hope eh? He mused. What did he hoped for?

He hoped that one day he will finally learn to forgive himself.

He hoped that one day he will find Lyon and tell him the truth.

He hoped that one day he will see Ur again.

Whatever it is, Gray learnt to hope that night with Erza beside him, fingers interlacing together watching hope burst and showered down on them.

Gray, on Fantasia night, decided that Erza was someone very special and he was glad that she walked into Fairy Tail on his most unlucky day and into his life.

Because, somehow she made him a very lucky boy indeed.

Inspired by - Love you, Walt Disney...

Reviews are much loved and appreciated!
PS: I epically love chapter 236, crying tears of joy at the last page.