Requested by  DeSpAciTo_uwu

Ok everyone. Just to clear up any confusion you might get from reading this before you read it, the reader (YOU) refers to Gray as Graham because in the actual show, Carmen is the only one with that nickname for him. I hope that makes sense and that no one is too mad at me.

Y/N is Your Name

Y/H/C is Your Hair Color

Y/E/C is Your Eye Color

Reader POV

You frown at your boss, fingers tapping your leg nervously. You're an actress for a successful movie company called Ultra Violet, and the producer had just informed you that you and your fellow actors are traveling to Australia to film one of their newest action films. There's just one problem with that for you, though.

He lives in Australia.

The producer notices your expression and raises an eyebrow, crossing his beefy arms across his chest. "Is that not going to work for your schedule, Y/N? I'm sure we could just change the time..."

You bite back a growl. He's joking, of course. Ultra Violet didn't just reschedule. Sighing quietly, you force a bright smile, the one that got you put on the big screens in the first place. "Of course not. I apologize if you mistook my being tired as rudeness."

He just shakes his head and walks away, muttering under his breath.

Your face falls, and you rub your eyes tiredly, mind straying to a certain pair of beautiful brown eyes. Maybe you wouldn't even see him in Australia. Maybe you'd be far away from New South Wales and the city of Sydney.

Or maybe there was no avoiding Graham. Not after what you had said to him.

Gray(Graham) POV

Gray yawned and pushed away from his desk, fatigue clouding his mind. He really needed to get some sleep. He had an early shift tomorrow, and staying up to watch YouTube wasn't really going to help him with that. Blinking, he went to click the red x in the top corner, but a familiar name caught his eyes, and he looked down at it.

Ultra Violet.

Gray's eyes widened and he clicked on the video, pausing it to read the description below.

Ultra Violet, a rising movie company, is going to Australia to film their newest action movie-the name of which has yet to be released.

Gray scrolled until the article reached a list of the actors, then gasped, his heart pounding.

Y/N will be playing the role of the main character-a mysterious, British agent with a heart for adventure.

The electrician leaned back in his chair and gaped at the ceiling, mind reeling. Y/N was coming to Australia. Oh gosh, Y/N...

Gray groaned and flopped onto his bed, tears pricking his eyes. He desperately missed his ex. But maybe... He sat up, suddenly wide awake, and jumped back to his laptop.

The group will be filming all over the country, mainly exploring the rugged terrain of the outback. However, its been said that the movie company will be found in Sydney, Australia, as well. A possible Opera House scene might be in the works.

Gray went back and re-read the entire article two more times, his leg bouncing nervously. They were coming to his city.

She was coming to his city.

He needed to see her again.

Reader POV

You stare out of the plane window in dismay, your Y/E/C eyes strained on the white sail-like roof of Sydney's famous opera house. If had been a long, draining flight the entire way, and seeing his city come into view didn't help with your headache. Nor did the bright sun, or its glare off of the water far below.

Sighing, you slump back in your seat, only to straighten back up with a bright smile when your boss walks past on his way to talk to a different actor. He barely glances at you, but you know that he'd seen your smile. You needed every excuse these days to stay in the movie business, even if you were only making them for yourself. As soon as the producer didn't need you, he would throw you out, and you couldn't let that happen.

You'd just have to stay bright and happy and beautiful.

Even if every second brought you closer to Graham, which filled you with dread.

Just like how every second away from him filled you with sorrow.

Gray(Graham) POV

Gray found himself twitching nervously backstage, even though he wast just getting ready to light another opera. Same old, same old, right?

Right.

He nodded vigorously to himself, it only to get him pumped up again about tonight's show. They were doing Carmen again, and, if his luck still held, he'd see another beauty tonight. Only this time, it wouldn't be a flirty globe-trotting thief.

Hopefully, this time, it might be Y/N.

The chances were small, he knew. Too small, really. But he would take them. Maybe she wouldn't show, and that would be okay. Even if they didn't film a scene using the Opera House, just the fact that he was aware of her presence somewhere close by was more than enough to make him delighted and love-sick all over again.

Gray sighed. He almost missed feeling love-sick.

No, actually, there was no almost. He did miss it. And he missed Y/N. He'd just have to  be patient, and eventually work his way to where he could see her.

Even if it took forever.

"Hey, mate! Get on over here!"

Gray turned to see Jared waving at him, his friend's blue eyes twinkling.

"Bro, you're distracted. Come on, I'll introduce you to my girlfriend! She's on stage for a bit."

Gray just sighed, rolling his eyes with a smile, and followed.

Reader POV

You climb out of bed, groggy and disoriented. Last night hadn't gone well for you, and you had ended up drunk on your hotel floor, sobbing incoherently. You don't remember how you got to your bed, but then again, you also didn't really care.

A pounding headache was working its way up your skull, and you jump into the shower, letting the steaming water rinse the sour taste of alcohol from your mouth.

Dressed and ready for the day, you finally feel back on your feet, until a text from your boss pings your phone.

Head to the Opera House. The crew's meeting there at two.

You blink. Was it really that late? How long had you been asleep? You read the message again, and a familiar nausea hits you. The Opera House. The Opera House.

No. No, no nonononononono. You couldn't do it. Just no. Graham worked there. If you saw him now, you'd fall apart. You'd been seeing him in your dreams, and they had been sweet at first. But dreams quickly turned into nightmares, and your own words to him often seemed to swallow you whole.

"I can't be with you, Graham. I have a job to do. A life to live. You're just a...a liability to me at this point. I'm sorry, but please don't chase after me."

No "I love you".

No "I just need to figure myself out". Because that's what it had really been.

You knew that there had been more emotion in the sentence than you could remember, but if you tried to bring it back, it could break you. Would break you.

So instead you just put on different clothes, a simple blue dress that you knew only you could really pull off. You put your Y/H/C into a braid, then grab your bag and head out the door.

Time to embrace the heartache.

And to embrace your failure.

Gray(Graham) POV

The Sydney Opera House stood tall and proud, it's magnificent sail-like rooftops gleaming under the hot Australian sun. Gray stared up, wondering why he felt intimidated by the sight of it. He'd been working there for almost three years, it didn't make sense for him to just feel... out of place here.

Or maybe it did.

He frowned at the blue sky and then turned away, intending to head home. He had been disappointed last night, of course. He was okay that Y/N hadn't showed, and he had been expecting that, really. It had just been a slim hope that he'd see her.

"Excuse me, do you know where I might find a tour guide for the building?"

Gray whipped back around. A beefy man in a white collared shirt had addressed him. "A-a tour guide?" He glanced around, wondering why the man would need such a thing. "For the Opera House?"

The man sighed, irritated. "Yes, the Opera House."

Gray tried not to scowl. "We don't do tours."

"We?"

"I work here, sir. So again, I'm sorry to say that we don't really do public tours."

Beefy guy just laughed. "Well, Son, you'll be glad to know that I am not the public. My name is Eric Hamilton. I'm the producer for Ultra Violet."

Gray felt himself pale. "Ultra Violet?"

The man nodded, looking smug. "You've heard of it. Good. Then you can help me."

"I-"

"No questions from you, only me. Can you get me a private audience with the owner of the building?"

Private audience? What even was that? "Um, I think maybe I could-"

"Good. Get on it," Erik said, pulling his phone from a hidden pocket. He then turned away to make a call, and Gray let himself tune out the conversation. A name caught his attention, however.

"Did you just say Y/N?" he asked.

Eric scowled at him and ended his call. "I did. And why are you still here?"

Gray ground his teeth. "You don't need a private audience to have a tour. I'm assuming you've already talked to people about being showed around?"

"Of course."

"Then come on. I'll show you around right now. Like I said, I work here. Electricians know the layout."

"Oh, no." Eric shook his head. "it won't be just me. My whole crew is here." He paused, then smirked. "Even Y/N. I'm sure you could talk to her, if you wanted to. Maybe even get an autograph."

An autograph isn't what I want, old man.

That's not what I want at all.

Reader POV

You glance around wearily at your fellow actors and actresses. Most of them are surveying the Opera House with fascination, some murmuring quietly about the movie you had yet to start filming. Annie Johnson was relieved they hadn't started, whereas Michael Kent just wanted to get going already.

You just frown and shake your head. You had been feeling worse and worse about continuing this career, or at least with the current company you were working for. Something about being in the same city as Graham -heck, even being on the same continent as him- was making you rethink your every life-changing decision. Breaking up with Graham, for example. That had been a bad idea.

Sometimes you missed him more than you thought you even could.

The sound of the producer clearing his throat silenced your thoughts and your coworkers, but you couldn't -and didn't bother to- see over the tops of heads.

"Well, I assume that everyone had the chance to eat?" Erik asked them.

You mentally scold yourself. You had, in fact, not eaten for over 24 hours, because you'd had too much alcohol in your system the night before and hadn't been hungry when you woke up just about an hour earlier.

Erik continued, not really waiting for responses. "Good. Well, now that everyone's here, I did manage to find us a tour guide for the Opera House. Come up here, Son. What was your name again?"

"It's Graham. And like I told you, I'm an electrician, not a tour guide."

You freeze.

You hadn't heard Graham's voice in a little under two years, but you could never forget it. It brought everything rushing back-the emotions, the sounds, the smells, the touch. It was too much for you to process. Suddenly you had a clear view of his face, and you were dimly aware of Eric saying something. You couldn't concentrate on it, though.

He was staring right at you.

You feel your knees give way under you as tears prick your eyes, and you don't register that you're collapsed on the ground a second later until there's shouting surrounding you. Your vision is blurry and swimming with tears, and you are very quickly aware of a headache that's pounding it's way through the side of your head.

I must've... must've hit it... Even your thoughts are distorted as your consciousness slowly ebbs away. Whether it's from smacking your head on the pavement or seeing Graham again, you don't know.

And you're out like one of his lights before you can even dredge up the strength to care.

Gray(Graham) POV

Gray reluctantly stepped up as Erik motioned him forward, giving a small wave to the crowd of people in front of him. He recognized several of them as famous actors and voice over artists, but couldn't find the will to give anything than a small smile. "It's Graham. And like I said, I'm an electrician, not a tour guide."

Where is she?

Erik continues to say something about the Opera House, but Gray's scanning the group before him, searching for that familiar pair of Y/E/C eyes. He's sure she's hear, why wouldn't she be? She was acting as one of the main characters in the movie, after all.

There.

Gray fixes his eyes on her, his heart tripling in speed as she looks up and sees him. She hasn't changed much since that night two years ago. A couple inches to her hair, a little tanner than the last time he saw her, but still just as gorgeous as he remembered. He lets the corners of his mouth quirk up slightly, in the way they did on their dates.

Y/N's expression morphs into terror before her face falls and disappears from view.

Gray blinks. Where did she go?

There were suddenly shouts from the back of the crowd, and one voice rang louder than the others. "Erik, Y/N collapsed!"

The electrician blinked, his mind reeling. Y/N... Y/N! He lept forward, pushing through the frantic crowd to make his way to where he had just seen her. Why? Why had she collapsed? Had it been his fault? He knew she had a weak heart, it was something she hated to talk about -to even think about, she had told him once- and seeing him might have triggered something. The thought bore into his head, promising to make a reappearance later as he continued to make his way past the people around him.

Too many. Too many bodies around him.

"Clear through!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Move! Now!" There were weary glances thrown at him, but a path was made, and he sprinted to where a young man was holding an unconscious Y/N in his arms. Gray knelt beside him, hands reaching to scoop the woman into his own, but the actor held her tightly.

"Where's the hospital?" the actor inquired, accent clipped with anxiety.

Gray held his arms out again. "Give her to me, I know where it is. I can navigate around here. And I know what's wrong with her."

He narrowed his eyes, checking Y/N's pulse. "How?"

"Not a time for questions! Her heart isn't great, okay? Just give her to me, I can help!" There were startled murmurs, but the actor obliged, gently shifting his coworker over to Gray. The electrician pulled her into his lap, checked her uneven pulse as the young man had done, then laid her out on the pavement. "Did someone call Triple Zero yet?" he asked, gently lifting her feet about a foot off the ground and instructing someone to hold them there as he loosened the collar on her dress slightly.

"She hit her head," an older woman pointed out, reaching to dab at a trickle of blood on Y/N's forehead. "And yes, someone called Triple Zero, young man. They'll be here soon." She checked Y/N's pulse for a third time, then waved a hand over her emotionless face. "How did you know about her heart?"

"How did you?" Gray shot back, ordering someone's suit jacket into his hands to hold it over Y/N's face and block it from the sun. "She hates to talk about it."

"A select few of us have to, for safety reasons." The woman's eyebrows quirked up. "But you know her, don't you?"

Gray bit back a blush and forced himself to meet her eyes. "Yeah. We go back. But you don't need the details. Sorry."

She laughed. "You have grit. Makes a fine electrician, I'm sure."

"Thank you," he muttered, pressing an offered swab of gauze to Y/N's head. "Anyone have a bottle of water? Something to cool her off with?" A full container was quickly handed to him, and he tore off a piece of the bandage to soak it, folding it over her face. "I guess we just wait, now," he said, sighing and brushing strands of her hair away.

He hadn't seen that beautiful face for so long. And now she was right in front of him.

Unconscious, yes, which wasn't ideal, but here all the same.

Reader POV

You blink groggily awake, squinting against the harsh lights in your eyes as you sit up. There are soft blankets covering you waist down, and a small IV drip leaks a clear fluid into your arm. Other than a slight squeezing sensation in your chest -an all too familiar feeling these days, really- and a small throbbing above your eye, you feel fine.

But then the reason you passed out in the first place walked straight in through the door, and you feel sick to your stomach.

Graham gives you a shy smile and motions to a chair next to the cot you're laying in. "Can I sit, Y/N?" Your name from his mouth sends shivers up your spine, and you want to scream at him for making you feel that again. But instead you just look away and nod, fingers clenching softly. He takes the chair and stays quiet, as if daring you to meet his eyes.

But you can't do that. Not without being sucked into his brown depths.

"So..." he eventually starts. "How are you feeling?"

You tug a strand of hair over your face, wishing for a bolt of lightning to kill you before you said something stupid. "I'm OK," you whisper hoarsely, sinking an inch or so back into the bed.

Graham nods, a hand running itself through his brown curls. You missed doing that yourself, sometimes. "Well... I'm just glad that you're doing better. No one else was acting quick enough, and lucky enough for both of us I remembered how to help you when you passed out."

You start, looking up. "You helped me?"

He nods, face turned to the window. "I saw your face disappear, and then people were shouting that you'd collapsed. I got to you as fast as I could, convinced some guy to let me help. Elevated your feet, you know, the whole shebang."

You avert your gaze back to your fingers, which have miraculously uncurled. They've started twitching though, the way the way had every time something like this happened. Graham notices and seems to come forward on instinct, wrapping his hands around yours and rubbing them softly.

"Too keep your blood flowing, remember?" he says after a bit, leaning back and sitting down. You watch him silently, and there's a sadness in his eyes you don't remember seeing in the past.

"Are you happy, Graham?" you ask suddenly.

His brow furrows in surprise, but he won't look at you. "I guess I could ask you the same thing, couldn't I, Y/N?"

A choking sound escapes from your throat, and you cover your eyes with a hand to hide the tears. "I wouldn't be able to provide you with a satisfactory answer, sadly," you stutter out, attempting to smooth the cracks from your voice. Because really, you could tell yourself that you'd found happiness in your acting job, but after what you said to this man in front of you...

There wasn't much happiness to be found in that.

"Well, then it seems we'll both be disappointing each other today, doesn't it?" Graham said quietly, his hand rubbing a bracer on his wrist. You find yourself staring at it sadly.

"You kept the one that I gave you?" you ask, eyes wide.

He finally looks up, and your breath catches at the emotion on his face. "I couldn't bear to go without it."

Your mouth opens to say something, but to your shock you only manage a low sob. It breaks free from you, sending your gut crashing down as you double over in your hospital bed and hold yourself, tears bubbling over and making their way down your face. "I'm so... so sorry, Graham..." you gasp out, reaching up to wipe them away -though it would be pointless- only to find his already there.

Gray(Graham) POV

Gray found himself brushing Y/N's tears away before he could stop himself, and her words were bouncing around in his mind. I'm sorry? What for exactly? For passing out on him? For dumping him? for saying what she did?

"Everything you're probably thinking right now, Graham," Y/N said between her cries as she leaned into his palm. "I'm sorry for leaving you for this, something I know don't even want anymore, for saying that-that..." She stopped there, letting him mull over the rest.

She was sorry for saying that he was a liability. That she didn't see him in any sort of life she was going to live. For barely even saying goodbye, for not telling him that she loved him.

"I need you," she whispered. "But I messed everything up. It's been so long, I'm probably not even the same girl you remember-"

Gray kissed her.

Which, later when he thought about it, would seem like a terrible idea, but  he didn't want her to finish her sentence. Didn't want to hear her say that she didn't deserve him. Because, really, it was the other way around.

He leaned back, settling into his chair again. Y/N was staring at him, her fingers reaching up to brush over her lips, eyes wide. "Why...?" she started.

"We can always try again, Y/N," Gray said, rubbing his neck. "Your time, your pace. I'm always willing to try again. If you want to. I'm here."

She laughed and lunged out of the bed, not seeming to give a crap that the IV tube was pulled out of her arm as she hugged Gray tightly. "Thank you, thank you. Oh my gosh, Graham, I missed you so much. I can't believe..." And with that her voice dissolved into crying as he hugged her back.

Gray smiled and closed his eyes, burying his face in her neck. "I told I would love you. And I keep my promises."

THE END