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tides come and go, but you never stay | 1
The tide had risen.
The brisk ocean breeze swept against Gray's cheeks as he looked over the pier. Darkness had fallen, and the temperature had dropped.
He shoved his hands in his pocket and breathed out puffs of white. It was the first night of the new year, and halfway through winter. He glanced up. The stars shimmered in the night sky as they met their companion, the moon, after a long awaited encounter. Gray couldn't help but chide himself over the person he'd become. Before, he wouldn't have spared the sky a second glance.
He stared out into the shoreline, the sound of waves crashing on to one another filling him with tranquility. Gray made his way down the oh, too familiar path he'd become accustomed to for the past three years. His shoes crunched the sand underneath him as he made his way to the spot farthest away from the pier. Away from people. Away from his normality. Away from his reality.
The sea breeze tamed itself and became soft, calm and serene. The sand and clams underneath him shimmered, letting him know it was time.
She walked along the shore, not noticing him yet. He admired her from afar, his dark gaze subsiding from their usual intensity. He breathed in the saltines of the beach, as she approached him.
Like each and every time they met, she always astounded him with how ethearly beautiful she was. She wore the same silk blue dress from the day when they met. It dragged behind her, but didn't leave any marks on the sand, just like her steps. There was a glow around her, like she was a star of her own. Her azure hair whipped around her face, being caught in the wind. The odd gemstones she collected in her spare time entwined in odd sections of her hair. Her eyes reminded him of the ocean itself. They twinkled in delight when they met his. Her rosy lips twitching up into a smile.
"Juvia thought you wouldn't come," she approached him, her face becoming clearer with each step.
"I didn't think I would come either," Gray responded honestly.
Juvia came to a stop in front of him. "So, why did you?"
"I'm not sure," Gray told her. "My feet dragged me here."
Juvia gazed at him, her expression perplexed. "Did they drag Gray-sama to the beach, or to Juvia?"
Gray breathed in only to be overwhelmed by her scent. She smelled like the deep ocean. "I don't know."
Juvia hummed at his answer. She reached with her hand and slowly ran her fingers at the edges of his hair. Gray held back a shiver. "Your hair, it's gotten shorter since we last met."
"It's been two months," Gray took a step, putting distance between them. Juvia took her hand back. "I've cut it many times."
"Has it really been two months?" Juvia whispered, her eyes reflecting her disbelief.
"It has for me," Gray replied, a bit of hostility in his words. "Although, I wouldn't expect for you to know that."
Hurt flashed across Juvia's eyes, making Gray's stomach twist in guilt. "Time for me is difficult," she mumbled, her smile dissipating into a frown. "One second for me is like a day for you. It is difficult for Juvia to keep up. All she knows is that she she misses you whenever you're not with her."
Gray stayed quiet, looking away. He wasn't sure how to answer her. He'd come with a purpose, but he wasn't certain how he would carry it out.
"If Juvia's math does her right," Juvia continued, ignoring his silence. "Today marks three years since she met Gray-sama."
