Natsu's POV:

"Today was the day Ul died..." Gray uttered, his words forming white puffs in the air. His expression portrayed no emotion as he said this, but I could tell from the tone of his voice that, that simple phrase was incredibly difficult for him to say.

"Gray, I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't know," I stuttered.

"It's fine," he excused me, "Not many people do."

Gray kept his gaze fixated on the sky, watching the snow fall onto the frozen concrete ground. Against the sky, I could clearly see the lines of his profile. He had really pale skin; like a girl's. His eyes are pretty too. And his lips look really soft... My mind had started to wander, and weird thoughts had suddenly filled my brain. I slapped my palm against my forehead to clear my head -- that caught Gray's attention.

"Why did you do that, freak?" Gray looked over at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Do what?"

"Hit yourself."

"I didn't," I lied.

"You did," Gray looked a bit mad now, "Stop wasting my time; I just want to be alone right now."

"Gray... you shouldn't be alone on days like this," I don't know why I decided to give him a pep-talk, but I did, "Every seventh day, of the seventh month, I try to be alone, and every time Lucy evades my privacy and forces me to spend it with her. It's not healthy to mope by yourself, but you can always mope with others... I'm here if you need me."

"...Why are you being nice to me?" Gray's voice cracked a bit, and he shoved his hands farther down into his pockets, "I've never been nice to you; I don't deserve this."

"I'm being nice to you because you're my friend," I slowly walked over and sat on the bench next to him, "You're like my family; everyone in Fairy Tail is my family. I want to make sure you're okay."

Without saying another word, Gray looked up at me. I couldn't read his face at all, and that made me feel a bit anxious. Why is he staring at me like that? I thought.

"I'm sorry," Gray leaned closer and pressed his cold lips against my toasty warm ones.

To Be Continued...