Title: Seasons and Quotations

Pairing: GraLu (Fairy Tail Fandom)

Summary: She never thought that one day, the boy who ignored her, would become her one true love.

Rating: T

*Fanfic challenge written for Seven Quotes and Four Seasons.

*For ilovecelestialice (Angel)

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

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I. First Impressions do always count.

She meets him on a windy afternoon. The leaves were dancing to a tune that cannot be heard but only be seen. For her, the monochromatic colours of brown, orange, and yellow that obscure her view compliments the setting sun from behind.

From a distance, she hears her mother say 'Lucy-chan, don't wander too far, okay?' in which she replies with a smile as she wills her legs to run to a nearby tree. She didn't know what made her run and see him up close, but his dark midnight locks intrigued her – it was a contrast from the soft hues of autumn.

As she nears where he was sitting still (or was he sleeping?) she takes some careful steps to close their distance.

One step, then another, then a side step to dodge the incoming swarm of running kids, then two more, then a pause as she almost bumps into an old man strolling, and then finally, she takes three more steps to where he is.

From where she stands, an inch (more like a breath away) from the boy's handsome face, she could clearly see the long lashes that adorns his eyes, his porcelain-like features which could be the envy of all the girls in her class, in short, he is simply perfection.

"Stop staring at me little girl."

His voice startles Lucy and she almost fell down on the floor as embarrassment kicks in.

"I.. I'm no- not staring." She meekly replies.

The boy simply stares at her for a few more seconds before he stands up and walks away from her completely.

How dare he?!

And as a last act of desperation (and somewhat annoyance because someone had the courage to ignore her), she takes a deep breath and shouts "YOU ARE SO UNCUTE!" at the top of her lungs, in which said boy merely ignores her again and continues to walk away.

It is during this time that she vows to herself that if she ever meets him again, she'll make sure he's going to be the one staring and she would be shooing him away.

II. What you know wouldn't hurt you

The next time he sees her (after the incident seven years ago), her long blonde locks flows freely behind her back. She looks so fat under that thick layer of clothing she opted to wear this season, yet she still resembles the picture he keeps in his mind ever since the day he saw her face.

She is laughing merrily with her friends that she didn't notice the shadow behind her. Even after all these years, her beautiful voice still makes his heart skip a beat. At first, he dismissed the idea that he was attracted to the girl who labelled him uncute. But what could he do when the girl who captured his eyes with a twirl as she played around with the dancing leaves was only a breath away from his face? To say he was startled was not even close to what he felt at that time.

Silently, as the snow continues to fall above his head, and as his princess (because he didn't know her name) continues to talk animatedly with her friends, he realizes that for the last twelve years of his life, this is the best winter he ever experienced.

Like a thief, he moves as close as possible to take a closer look at her belongings (because was that a name-tag keychain dangling on her bag?). He is already a few steps closer to his goal when his princess turns her head into his direction.

And he fled.

But he was happy.

And the moment he reaches home, he opens his computer and searches online for one Lucy Heartfilia. (No, Gray Fullbuster is not a stalker; he is simply a silent admirer from afar, who at least now has a name.)

The moment he clicks on her profile, he felt his heart sink.

Name: Lucy Heartfilia

Age: 12

Status: Off to Germany. I will miss all of you guys. I hope to see you again.

And he wishes she simply remained to be his unnamed princess because his heart's not hurting – it is dying.

III. She's getting used to knowing he's just a name without a face

Gray.

That was his name.

She didn't mean to hear it when some old lady shouted his name from years ago (at least he will no longer be the unnamed boy who ignored her from before).

Each passing day, ever since that eventful autumn afternoon, she would always close her eyes and imagine his serene face under the tree.

But the years were harsh.

As fast as the seasons change, so did her memory of him.

Twelve years after, she no longer remembers the dark tresses that captured her eyes. But she still remembers his name (because she named her precious dog after him) – just his name.

"Lucy, it's time to go."

"Okay mom."

And as she steps foot inside the plane, she smiles to herself, not because she's riding a plane for the first time, but simply because of a boy from yesterday who reminded her of the years gone by.

IV. For You, I'll be me – in the most honest way.

For almost seventeen years of his existence, Natsu Dragneel never felt the urge to badly kill someone until today.

He is visiting Japan with Lucy (the girl of his dreams) when said girl suddenly pulled away from his arm to ran into some guy with black hair and hug him like she's clinging to life itself.

"Natsu, I want you to meet Gray."

He shakes his hand before muttering a 'nice to meet you' to him.

Gray does the same.

It's after a few minutes of hi's and hello's that Lucy ran off with the guy leaving him standing alone in the middle of a crowded place.

Until now, four days ever since their visit, he never asks Lucy anything about her 'friend'. He thanks her for not mentioning Gray's name whenever she's around him. But something definitely changed in Lucy.

Her beautiful smile suddenly became more permanent – slowly replacing the frowns she wore previously. Her mood became happier, her cheeks were constantly painted in a shade of red (making her blend with the blooming Sakuras in the city), but what makes Natsu's claim that a change is occurring was simply her eyes – that dull orbs never became brighter until now.

And it hurts.

Because no matter how hard he tries to show her everything he is, he'll never be enough.

And now he understands that it's not because something was lacking, but because it's simply not him from the very beginning.

V. Before you knew it, you've already fallen and it's too late to pull back.

It's always against his principles to give up, especially when the point of no return happens.

After learning about Lucy's departure, he thought this might be the end of his life. That he will never find someone like her again. But alas, he might have done something good in his life because a week after a routine of 'mom, I'm not hungry' and 'please leave me alone', he suddenly had the courage to message his princess.

At first, it was the shy 'hi' and 'hellos'. Then it turned to 'how are you?' and 'what are you doing?' until it became 'you're still the brat who ignored me from years ago' and 'I know princess, and you're still the girl who thought staring was okay'.

And everyday feels like summer, warming him constantly and never allowing the cold bitter night consume him again.

For him she was the sunlight after the rain, the epitome of bliss who he wanted to be with until the end of time.

Maybe that's why, two years after their graduation (because by some miracle, Lucy came back and decided to study at Tokyo University where they became together), he finally decides to buy the prettiest diamond ring in town.

"Sir, would this be okay?" the saleslady asks.

It takes him a moment to inspect the object, side by side, top to bottom, until he nods his head, and gave her that devilishly handsome smile (that a thousand girls would kill for).

"It's perfect."

VI. Hold me in your arms and never let go

Juvia knows she could never steal Gray-sama's heart, but one could wish, right?

She attended the same school as her Gray-sama and he is the perfect gentleman. He became her lab partner and soon became one of her closest friend.

He is the man she never thought existed.

The way his eyes communicated the feelings he felt, the way his mouth turned upwards whenever she did something funny, the way his hands brushed on hers when he helped her carry an enormous amount of books that their sensei required, and the way he says her name always brings her to the brink of insanity.

Perhaps this might be what they call love?

But everything broke into pieces on that night on one July 7th.

She knew Gray-sama would be going somewhere important that day because she could smell a whiff of perfume (which he never does) that made him all the more desirable in Juvia's eyes. She even said 'Gray-sama please be careful' to him that day as she waved him goodbye.

Right now, she regrets everything. If she didn't go out to buy that grocery, if she didn't turn left instead of right and if she just closed her eyes she would have never seen the way her Gray-sama hugged tightly a blonde woman (the most beautiful she had ever seen) while whispering sweet noting in her ear. She would have never seen the kiss that broke her heart.

It was later on that she caught knowledge about who she was – Lucy Heartfilia, recently came back from a month long absence due to her mother's condition back in Germany, and is currently the girlfriend of one Gray Fullbuster.

She thought she could try to break them apart by sabotaging their relationship, but lo and behold, their love is enduring and even though she tried (countless of times) to hurt Lucy Heartfilia in every possible way, the girl still has the heart to forgive her for all she's done.

Maybe this is the reason why Gray-sama is so in love with her?

She would never know the answer anyway because as her Gray-sama exits the store (with a ring inside his pocket), she knows it is defeat.

Lucy is indeed one lucky girl.

VII. The love that lasts the longest is the love that has always been left unnoticed.

Lucy Heartfilia became a Fullbuster on one autumn morning. The scenery reminded her of their childhood encounter which made her laugh even until now.

The day went well and all their friends were there to support them. Even Natsu (who's currently busy with his business) and Juvia (who was vacationing for a few weeks) came to give them their blessings.

What made things funny was the fact that Natsu caught the bouquet (who still doesn't have the slightest idea how it flew into his direction) while Juvia caught the garter (who now wanted to murder her Gray-sama).

Lucy still laughs at the idea even when she's laying down on the bed with Gray by her side.

"What's so funny?" He asks as he kisses her cheeks.

"Do you think Natsu and Juvia would become a couple?"

Gray merely chuckles before replying, "Only if Juvia doesn't kill Natsu anytime soon."

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

She takes a deep breath before continuing, "When did you start falling for me?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure you fell for me when I caught you staring."

"You are evil Gray, because if I recall correctly, you fell for me long before that."

He kisses her lips again before continuing, "Well, now you have your answer."

She pulls his arm closer now as she snuggles into his warmth.

"I love you, un-named un-cute boy."

Even after all these years, she still calls him that.

"And I love you too, my princess."

He feels Lucy squirm from the nickname because he suddenly feels her lips on him as she silences him with a kiss and says "No, it's not my princess, it's my queen."

And he couldn't agree more.

Thanks for reading and I'm hoping to hear your wonderful feedback/comments/criticisms/thoughts.

hugs and kisses,

Fia