It had been three days since they arrived at the Celestial Spirit World Hotel and Juvia felt much better than before; the sea and the sun made her more grounded. The first time in months, Juvia was able to think without the fear of never seeing Gray again, if he was safe.

Aquarius let them stay at one of the bungalows she owned by the beach. Each morning Juvia woke up and stepped outside, smelling the sea, a little piece of her returned to where it was supposed to be. Lucy seemed to be getting better as well, enjoying the sun to get a proper tan while Juvia played with Snowball on the sand and they met Aquarius at the Hotel for lunch every day.

As great as those days were, they needed to come home eventually.

On their third night there, the two women were on the porch enjoying the sound of the waves and the aroma of the sea and each had a glass of wine in their hands.

"We have to go back soon." Lucy said quietly. "Face reality. Face them."

Juvia sighed. "I know."

They stayed in silence for a few seconds before Lucy put her glass away at the table in front of them and wrapped her arms around herself when there was a blow of cold wind. "I was so mad at him for leaving me behind."

"It's understandable." Juvia put her glass of wine away next to her friend's. "He loves you, wants you safe."

The blonde nodded. "I know he does. He proved in a hundred ways that he loves me; I've never questioned his feelings. His actions..." Lucy tried to blink away the tears. "He left me behind to protect me, he thought I was going to be okay and I get that. What he doesn't understand, though, is that if I wanted to be safe, I would've walked away a long time ago, the moment I realized the risks. I know his life is dangerous, I know I won't always be safe, but neither will he. If we are going to have a relationship, he needs to trust me and to let me stand by his side no matter what. I know I am not trained like he is, or you, but I am not an idiot, I can take care of myself and if something happens to me and I get hurt or if I die, at least I would've had him." She dried a tear. "I'd rather have had that year running away from bad guys shooting at me than at home, waiting for news, wondering if he was fine, if he was safe. He made a decision for me that wasn't his to make."

"Yes." Juvia agreed. "We make choices for the people we love without their approval because we think we know better, to make us feel better. We forget about what that person wants."

"What I wanted was for him to take me with him or at least have talked to me in person before he left." Lucy said in a whisper. "I love him, but he thinks a simple 'I'm sorry' was supposed to be enough. He didn't think of the ramifications of his choice."

"Have you told him that?" Juvia asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No. At first we were tracking the others down, then we found you, got into that whole mess... After, when we were back in Magnolia, I tried to talk to him about it but he didn't understand me."

"Once we return, you will be able to talk to him without being angry." Juvia reassured her friend. "Hurt a bit, but Juvia thinks that now both of you will be able to communicate better."

"I hope so." Lucy sighed. "I want to move on from this, I want to feel better and go on with our lives. We just need to overcome what happened."

"Juvia knows the feeling." The blunette said, her gaze fixed on the moon's reflection on the waves a few meters away from where they were. "I hope we could erase those six months, but we can't." Lucy reached for Juvia's hand and squeezed it, making the blunette's eyes water. "I was trapped there, waiting for him to come home, for any news."

There were a few seconds of silence. "Juvia..." The blunette looked towards Lucy and saw her biting her lower lip in apprehension, making Juvia frown. "I've been meaning to talk to you about the time you were alone." Juvia nodded so Lucy could go on. "You could've left, but you didn't. You chose to stay there, waiting for Gray."

"Juvia was waiting to see if he returned home. What if he returned and Juvia wasn't there?" She explained.

Lucy nodded slowly. "I understand, but it doesn't sound like you at all." The blunette frowned and Lucy furthered her explanation. "See, you... you are like a force of nature. You go after what you want, you go to your mission and you don't come back until it's done; I know, I've seen it. The Juvia I know would've gone after Gray."

"I didn't-"

"You didn't know where he was, I know, but... Juvia, you could've find someone else from the firm, you could've asked for help but you didn't. When I saw you again after a year, I barely recognized you. You looked as if you had given up, that you were just waiting to see what life brought you. You developed pneumonia and didn't even go to the doctor." Lucy said gently. "Juvia, I think that you are depressed and need to make an appointment with Mira-san the moment we get back to Magnolia." Juvia blinked in confusion. "Just think about it and tell me if I don't have reason to wonder that."

Thinking back, Juvia remembered the six months she had spent on her own at their house, the days had blended together as most of her days she just stayed lying on the bed, her muscles hurt with her lack of movement, the only times she went to town was to get the groceries and even then, she barely spoke to anyone. The always present sadness inside her mind, the little voice whispering she had been left behind, that no one wanted her, the constant tears, the feeling of being hopeless, of not being good enough.

It was more than just a broken heart.

"Oh." Juvia breathed, eyes wide as she looked to Lucy. "Oh."

"I will go see Mira as well, but I think your case is deeper than mine and that I should point it out for you." Lucy's voice was gentle and she tightened her grip on Juvia's hand. "I just want to see that force of nature and I think you need a little help to get that back."

"Yes, I-" Juvia cleared her throat. "I think you are right. The first few days Juvia looked for him everywhere, I was... desperate. I looked everywhere for him, every hospital, police station even the morgues. And... and when I couldn't find him I came back and just waited." Her eyes were stinging and watering quickly. "I wanted to be there when he came back home, or whoever had him came to get me. When it didn't happen, I... I just let the bad thoughts take over." Two tears fell on her cheeks. "All I did was to lie on the bed and wait."

"I figured." Lucy said gently. "There was a few days after Natsu left where I did the exact same thing, but then I just tried to occupy my mind."

"That's why Juvia is acting so out of character, perhaps?" The blunette asked and Lucy nodded. "Oh, I'm in more trouble than I thought."

"Mira-san will help and now that we are bringing FT back, everyone will help as well. You are not alone, Juvia, you never were." Lucy told her and without being able to contain her tears anymore, Juvia started to sob and a second later Lucy was by her side, hugging her. "Cry it out." The blonde said in a whisper. "I've got you."

#

Juvia sat on the bed holding her phone and looking at Gray's contact information. She and Lucy had arrived a couple of hours before at Magnolia and the blonde had said she would go to where Natsu was staying, that she didn't want to postpone their talk longer than necessary.

It made sense; the two women had been away from Magnolia for five days and had talked about their situations a lot, sharing intimate feelings and fears. Juvia could never thank Lucy enough for being there to help her understand how much Gray's absence had affected her.

She had called Mirajane the moment they arrived in Magnolia and the psychiatrist was more than happy to set an appointment for the next day and told Juvia she would be available at any time in case she needed.

The only thing she had left to do was talk to Gray and she was nervous about how it would go. She couldn't go on without knowing what would be of them, so she gathered her courage and typed a text.

To: Gray-sama

20:55: Are you at the hotel, Gray-sama?

The answer didn't take long to arrive, as if his phone was in his hands already.

From: Gray-sama

20:56: Yes. Are you back?

To: Gray-sama

20:56: I am.

20:57: Can Juvia go see you now or...?

From: Gray-sama

20:57: You can come here or I can go to where you are, I don't mind.

To: Gray-sama

20:58: No need. Juvia will be there in a minute.

Juvia took a deep breath, left her phone on the bed, petted Snowball and left the room. It was the time of the truth, time to face Gray; the reasons he left her and worse, their feelings about it. Juvia knew that was going to be a conversation that could define what she would do with her life.

She stopped in front of room 417 and could feel her heart beating fast inside her chest. Juvia closed her eyes, took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times.

It took Gray two seconds to open the door and to her, it was as if time had stopped while she looked into his eyes. Even if she knew he was safe, that he would be there, it still made her heart stop for a second just to know he was close enough to touch.

"Juvia." He breathed her name, as if he was just as amazed to see her there as she was to seeing him.

"Can I come in?" The blunette askes quietly.

"What?" He frowned and then blinked. "Oh, yes. Sure." He opened the door wider and watched as she stepped inside. "Sorry about the mess." He told her as she closed the door and Juvia attempted a smile when she saw clothes everywhere but the suitcase he had opened on the couch.

"Juvia knows your clothes are never folded and put away, Gray-sama." She told him.

"Yes, of course." Gray looked down and Juvia took a second to actually look at him; he had bags under his eyes, there was a light stubble on his face and his hair looked messier than usual. Noting her gaze, he passed a hand through his hair, messing it even more. "Sorry, I didn't shave today. Or yesterday. Things have been..." He interrupted himself. "I was getting used to being back."

"Are you okay?" Juvia took a step in his direction and Gray looked at her.

He shook his head in disbelief. "Only you would ask me if I was okay when I was a complete bastard to you."

"No matter what Juvia will always worry about you." The blunette told him in a low voice.

"I know." Gray sighed.

"You didn't answer: are you okay? Being undercover is difficult, especially with the large amount of time you spent there."

"As much as I can be." He snorted. "And it's not the job that is in my mind." Gray informed her and Juvia felt guilty. He probably saw it in her face, because a second later his hands were in her shoulders. "No, don't do that. Everything you said to me was the truth I needed to hear." She looked up to him, her eyes watering. "Juvia, I needed to know."

"You left."

He gulped. "I did."

"You left me." Her voice broke. "Why? Why didn't you bring me along?"

Gray closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. He took his hands away from her and opened his eyes. "I couldn't. Erza's plan was to have just one person inside the organization. It was supposed to be for one month only, but when I got the information about what they were planning to do to that town, I couldn't leave, not when thousands of lives were at stake."

"You could've at least told me you needed to leave for a while, even a letter or a text would've done the job and Juvia wouldn't have thought you left just because."

"I really couldn't. Once I was in, the communication with the outside world needed to be minimal." Gray informed her. "But... I need you to know why I accepted the mission so promptly, Juvia. It's the least I can do and I owe you that." The blunette frowned in confusion. "Did you notice my behavior a few days before I left?" Juvia nodded and Gray passed his hand through his hair one more time, like he always did when nervous. "Shit, I will sound like a jerk."

"Tell me."

Gray nodded. "A few days before, I went to the market on my own to get what we needed. There was this lady and she asked me where my wife was since I was alone, and I answered you had stayed home." He told her. "I didn't think anything of it until I was coming back. People were assuming we were married and I answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world."

Juvia couldn't believe her ears. "You left because people thought we were married?"

"Yes. No." Gray said, nervous and started to walk around. "Look, I left because I liked it. I liked our house, I liked referring to it as 'home', I liked waking up with you just within my reach, I felt proud when they praised how nice you were because you were mine."

"I- I don't understand."

"Everyone I care about dies, Juvia." Gray told her. "Every single one and I couldn't see it happen to you. I was too comfortable; I was happy and I just knew something would've happened and you would be in danger. It always happens like that: I find happiness and it is taken away from me."

"So you decided to leave without saying a word?"

"I am not asking for you to understand completely, but... I felt... when I realized..." He tried. "I had already almost lost you a few times. Maybe if I left you would be safe." He looked down. "Instead I ended up hurting you more than I thought it was possible." He stopped talking for a second. "When Erza found me, I accepted right away because I needed to be away from you. In my mind I was protecting you from, well, me. I regretted the moment I stepped inside Avatar. I knew I had made a mistake, that I should've told you, but I was already in, couldn't come back."

Juvia was looking at him and tears were falling from her eyes. She had been through her personal hell because Gray thought it would've been better to her?

"Every single day I thought of you, I missed you and it only made me realize how deep I am, how I can't escape, I can't come back to how I was before I met you and I don't want to. Every day I wished I woke up with you snuggled up next to me, I wished I was home with you." Gray gulped. "I thought you would've returned to Magnolia, I thought you'd be okay; you are one of the toughest women I know." Juvia closed her eyes. "I... I thought I was protecting you."

Juvia turned away from him and she tried to breathe slowly to calm her nerves down. It made no sense at all but at the same time it had Gray written all over it. He never wanted to be in a relationship, he made his intentions very clear when they started sleeping together. He tried to deny their involvement for a long time before finally giving up pretending and not hide anymore. Whenever he told the stories about his parents' murders and then his foster mother, he placed way too much guilty on himself. Perhaps Silver's return to his life just to leave again made his illusion of being tied up to him, stronger.

She hadn't realized she had been in deep thought for a while until she heard his voice behind her. "Juvia... do something. Say something, yell at me, hit me if you want. I deserve it."

The blunette turned around and tried to dry her tears. "What makes you think that hurting you will make me feel any better?"

"I... I just can't bear it that I was responsible for your pain during those months." Gray told her.

"And we can't go back to the past, Gray-sama. That time will always exist, no matter what we do." She sighed, she was so tired of the pain.

They stayed in silence for a minute, a million thoughts going through her mind until Gray's voice interrupted her. "Do..." He cleared his throat. "Do you think you could love me again? After all this?"

Juvia blinked. "You think I've stopped?" She asked, surprised. "If I had stopped, do you think that I would've been so hurt? Or angry?" Gray's expression was of pure disbelief. "I still love you, it's not something a person can turn it off on will."

"But..." He tried but Juvia interrupted him.

"Just because I love you doesn't mean I couldn't be angry and hurt as well." She clarified. "But not at you, not at my Gray. My Gray wasn't the one who left me."

Gray was clearly confused. "What?"

"The person who left me was not the Gray I know, it was a part of you, but not who you are." When he didn't seem to understand her, the blunette explained. "Do you know who my Gray is? The person who took me out to eat Caramades Frank because I was down after a tough mission. My Gray is the guy who took me to the shelter to pick up a puppy, who had to endure me showing pictures of said puppy every day. My Gray... " There was a lump in her throat and she wanted to cry, but couldn't. Not yet. "My Gray is the man who put me over his shoulder and ran when we were being attacked while my legs were hurt and he wouldn't leave me behind. My Gray is the man who sat with me in a field of buttercups while I talked about my past. My Gray is the man who took bullets for me, who took me on a trip on our one-year anniversary just because he knew I would like there. My Gray is the man who I sleep next to at night and smiles when he kisses me good-night.

"I love that man and you are him. I won't stop loving you because of one mistake, not when I know you and your fears. Not when I look at you right now and see that you would've done things differently if you could, but the truth is that you can't. What is done is done and we can't go back. All we can do now is to move forward, no matter where that leaves us. I don't know what you want to do, if you think we should be together, but we are moving forward."

The moment she was finished, Juvia started to sob. She couldn't hold on any longer, it was too much for her and all her feelings mixed up: pain, relief, hopelessness, happiness, hurt. Her knees gave in but Gray was fast enough to catch her. He pulled her close to his chest while she cried, a hand stroking her back and his lips on her hairline, whispering over and over again. "I'm sorry, Juvia. I'm so, so sorry."

#

Juvia was exhausted.

She had cried for such a long time in Gray's arms he had picked her up and lied her down on his bed, took off her shoes and joined her a moment later, bringing her closer to him. The hard sobbing had stopped, but she still cried for a long while as he caressed her hair gently.

There were tears still falling, but she looked up to Gray and saw his worried gaze. With all honesty, she needed to know what he expected now that he was back and so was she. They had been honest with each other so far, they needed to establish a plan of action.

"What do we do now?" She asked him in a whisper. "What do you want, Gray-sama?"

"You." It was his immediate answer; he didn't even hesitate. "Only you. I promise I won't do that again, I can't bear the thought of hurting you so much like I did."

"You want me?" She asked, just to confirm; she didn't believe he was saying those words.

Gray nodded. "I'll spend every day of the rest of our lives making it up to you if you want me to." He said. "I am sorrier than you can possibly know, Juvia. I'll regret my decision to leave the way I did forever. I want you by my side more than anything." Juvia cupped his cheek and Gray put his own over hers and turned his head so he could kiss her palm. "Just give me a chance to make this right."

Juvia stared at his eyes, searching any indication he wasn't telling the truth, but found none. He was being honest, he really wanted to be there with her, to try to make them work and it was more than Juvia could've asked for at the moment.

Deciding, Juvia nodded. "I will trust you again, truly and fully." She muttered and Gray let out a deep breath of relief. "But I can't go through that again, Gray-sama. It almost broke me and if it happens again I... I know my heart can't take another break like that."

"Never." Gray said promptly. "I promise you right now that never again I'll leave like that, that I'll hurt you that deep. I am not perfect, Juvia, I made mistakes and I will make more in the future, but I promise not to leave you."

"We are not a hundred per cent okay yet." She told him. "It might take a while to be like we were before."

"I don't care how long it takes." Gray told her with a shrug. "We can do it."

"If one of us have some idea about leaving because someone has some crazy thoughts" she looked pointedly at him "we talk. No matter where, no matter the time: we talk."

"Alright." Gray nodded and looked at her. Juvia noticed he still looked tired, but his eyes were lighter, as if that talk had made him feel more grounded, just like she was. He was looking back at her and his eyes moved from her eyes to her lips and back to her eyes. "Juvia?"

"Hm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

The question took her by surprise and her heart started to beat faster. Aside from the kiss they shared when she saw him on the field, they hadn't kissed at all. Too much had happened, her mind had been a mess: she couldn't think, couldn't breathe, then. Now, they had talked, they were at the same page.

"Yes." She whispered.

Gray approached her slowly, reading her reaction. The moment their lips touched, Juvia felt the world stop. He pulled away to check and must've saw something because the next time he kissed her, Juvia felt as if a lightening bold went through her and she was kissing him with as much vigor as he was and the world was spinning out of control.

Her heart was beating fast; her whole body was on fire and her only thought was him. It had been such a long time since she felt like that.

She was alive.

Once they needed air, Gray gave her a peck on the lips and rested his head back on the pillow, their faces so close their breaths mingled and Juvia kissed him again, just enjoying the fact she could.

Juvia couldn't say how long they stayed like that just kissing each other, but even though she wanted to prolong it as much as she could, she was emotionally exhausted and needed to rest. Perhaps she could rest now that she and Gray were trying to move forward.

"It's getting late." Juvia whispered between kisses.

"Sleep here." Gray told her and Juvia's movements stopped, making Gray open his eyes and stare at her with worry. "What is it?"

The blunette bit her lower lip. "Juvia thinks... We just decided to move forward, but... Maybe we shouldn't sleep together yet." She told him. "I... I don't want to fix things up with sex. We really should wait for a while."

Gray frowned. "What?"

"You asked Juvia to stay here, so..."

"Oh." Realization finally hit him. "No, no, no, no. I didn't mean sex. I meant for you to literally sleep here, my hands will stay to myself." Gray said. "Look, that night when I came back and slept next to you, it was the first in six months that I slept through the night and without nightmares. These past few days you were away, I just couldn't sleep. If you don't want to, it's alright."

Juvia understood him more than he could possibly know. "It was the same for Juvia." She said. "Alright, Juvia will stay but I need to leave early to walk Snowball. Can you lend Juvia a shirt to sleep in?"

"Of course." Gray got up and went to see what was inside his suitcase and Juvia smiled when she saw him taking a few shirts from inside and smelling them to get her a clean one. He was such a guy it was ridiculous. On the third try, he turned around and looked triumphant to have found one and once he looked at her, his eyes widened a bit in amazement.

"What?" Juvia asked, looking behind her to see what caught his attention and then back at him. "What is it?"

"This is the first time I saw you smile since I came back." He clarified and Juvia could feel her cheeks get warmer. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you embarrassed."

"It's alright." She stepped closer to him and got the shirt. "Be right back."

"Okay."

#

The first night Gray came home Juvia slept through the night, but sleeping next to him when they had resolved most of their problems and both had their minds set on getting past it, it was even better. She woke up with Gray wrapped around her, his body so warm she had to fight the need to stay curled up against him.

She kissed his cheek and smiled when she got up and he patted the bed looking for her. She put a pillow within his reach and Gray grabbed it, hugging it tightly and hiding his face on it. It was quite adorable, but she needed to take Snowball on her walk; the hotel might be pet friendly, but not that friendly if her dog did her business on their carpet.

Once she arrived in her room, Juvia put Snowball on her leash and went to a park nearby, letting the white dog stretch her little legs and played with her for a while before they returned to the hotel and Juvia was glad to see Snowball with the silly doggy grin she loved.

She arrived at her floor and was about to go to her room to take a shower when she heard people yelling and she frowned. She recognized the loud voices and her heart started to beat faster realizing it was coming in the same direction Gray's room was.

Juvia ran and stopped in the doorway of his room and couldn't believe in her eyes: Gray was on the floor with Gajeel on top of him, holding Gray by the shirt. Gajeel's fist was raised and he was ready to hit Gray again – it was clear by his bloody nose that Gray had been hit already.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia yelled just in time, otherwise Gajeel's fist would've collided with Gray's face. Instead, his red eyes focused on Juvia. "What are you doing?" She stepped inside, putting Snowball on the floor. "Stop!"

"This bastard..." Gajeel snarled and pulled Gray closer by his shirt. "He left you behind! You got sick because of him. You could've died, Juvia!"

"And your reasoning is to come here and punch him?" Juvia stepped closer to the men and she kneeled. The blunette sent Gajeel a dirty glare and then looked at Gray. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Gray said, but didn't move from the floor and had his hand on his ribs; Gajeel probably had hit him there as well.

Gajeel finally got up and Juvia helped Gray to sit. "He left you alone!"

"And we are working things out!" Juvia said, looking at her friend. "We talked, we are dealing with it and we are both willing to be more honest with each other. I haven't seen you in one year and this is what you come here for? I didn't need for you to come in here and punch him like that!"

"What do you need, then?" Gajeel snarled.

Juvia's eyes watered. "I needed you a six months ago when I sent you that e-mail."

It was as if Juvia had slapped him by the way his eyes widened. He took a step back and paled and Juvia felt guilty for throwing it on his face like that. Lucy had said Juvia hadn't sought for help, but it wasn't completely true; the day after Gray disappeared she had sent an e-mail to Gajeel saying she needed his help, but didn't get into much detail, afraid whoever took Gray hacked it.

She never got an answer.

"I thought..." Gajeel whispered. "I thought you would be fine. You are the strongest person I know. You are always fine."

"Not always. I'm just human, Gajeel-kun and it felt as everyone that mattered to me had left me behind and I pretty much lost myself inside my head." Juvia helped Gray sit on the bed and then turned to look at Gajeel, who seemed to be much smaller than a few minutes before now that his anger had been subdue.

"If I'd known..." Gajeel said. "If I knew you were like that..."

"You couldn't come to me." The blunette told him. "You were undercover as well. Not as deep as Gray-sama, but undercover nonetheless." She stayed quiet for a moment. "You can't come here and hit him and think you are avenging me somehow because if this is your plan, start hitting yourself." She said and Gajeel looked down in shame. "And I am not telling you this to make you feel bad, I am telling you that my relationship with you means as much to me as mine with Gray-sama. You became my family and suddenly I didn't have neither of you." Juvia dried a stray tear. "I don't need for you to come here and hit Gray-sama, I never needed anyone to fight my battles for me. What I needed was for you to just knock on my door and talk to me."

"I thought..."

"You thought I would appreciate you gallantly defend my honor? So you could show off your badge of best friend with pride?" Juvia shook her head. "No. You are here so you can feel better because you didn't come when I needed you. You looked at Gray-sama and saw yourself in him." She stepped closer to Gajeel and he looked away. "You know I love you but I won't sugarcoat it for you. When you want to talk to me like a grown man, I'll be here. Stop acting like a child and take responsibility for what happened." Juvia turned around and stepped closer to the bed, where Gray was, watching the interaction. "Can you walk?"

"Sure." Gray nodded.

"Let's go to my room so I can take care of your bruises." She told him and Gray didn't hesitate to get up and follow her. Before she left, she stopped in front of Gajeel. "Close the door when you leave. Come, Snowball, we are going." She whistled and the dog followed her, Gray close behind.

They were almost in her room when Gray spoke. "You... you take a while to hit people with the truth, but when you do... fuck, you do it like a pro."

Juvia sighed. "I shouldn't have mentioned the e-mail, he..."

"Hey." Gray grabbed her wrist to stop her and she did, turning around to face him. He would be a hell of a black eye soon and she needed to set his nose back to place. "Look, sometimes we need some harsh truths and tough love. Remember when I got shot and I just couldn't take anymore and told you I needed some time away from you?" She nodded. "You were hurt, but you understood me and later on you adjusted your behavior. Sometimes a dose of reality is what we need. I know that I needed it a few days ago."

She nodded. "Okay." Juvia tip-toed and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Ouch. Nose, nose, nose!"

"Sorry!"

#

Later that night Gray and Juvia were in bed watching some silly movie on TV, her body pressed on his side and head resting on his chest, her leg between his, when there was a knock on the door and Juvia frowned when she looked up to Gray and he shrugged.

"Just a moment." The blunette said loudly while she got up and picked up some shorts she had left in hand just in case of a situation like that happened and went to answer the door while Snowball barked excitedly around her.

It didn't surprise her much when she opened the door and saw Gajeel standing there, his hands on his pants' pockets, shoulders low and looking down to the floor. His long hair was messy and he was wearing the same clothes as early that morning.

Juvia didn't say a word, just waited to see what her friend would do.

"I- I'm sorry." Gajeel whispered, looking down to his feet. "I just arrived in Magnolia and Wendy told me about what happened and I just... I screwed up. I should've came when you asked me to."

"There, wasn't too hard, was it?" Juvia stepped closer to him, put her arms around her friend and was surprised when he didn't hesitate to hug her back and even rested his chin on the top of her head. "Juvia understands that you couldn't have left. We have the same job, I understand." She whispered and she could feel him nodding. "What hurt me was that there wasn't even a reply. Not even an e-mail with one word on it. If you had sent me one just saying 'mission', I would've understood." She looked up. "It would've helped to know someone still remembered me."

"What?" Gajeel frowned.

She waved his question off. "Long story, I'll tell you later. Just... Please, don't cut me off."

"I didn't-" Gajeel tried to say but she cut him off.

"You did." She told him, flat. "I know you and Levy-san are more serious than ever, that you two have a life together and Juvia would never want to mess it up. All I ask is for you to not forget about me."

"I couldn't if I tried." Gajeel snorted. "I am here because of you."

"No, I don't want that either." Juvia shook her head. "I don't want to be that person you have to endure just because I helped you once. I want to be your friend because you like me, because you can talk to me. Not because years ago I-"

"Do you think I would've done half the crap I did if I didn't like you?" Gajeel asked in disbelief. "If I wanted to compensate you for being a jerk, I would've left you and never looked back. People are better without me, but you didn't let me do that." He cleared his throat. "And I'm glad you didn't. Look, you are bat shit crazy most of time but you... shit, I don't talk crap like this but you made me want to become better and I did. You have my back, you listen to me and all that. Just..." He huffed in annoyance. "You are my friend, I have no intention of cutting you off, forget you or whatever your crazy mind is cooking in there." Gajeel put his index finger on her temple and she could feel tears falling on her cheeks. "I am sorry I hadn't been the best of friends, but hey, you signed up for this position and this is the kind of crap I pull and sometimes I need help to get it right. I sucked it up after you told me off, now you suck it up because I am telling you off."

Juvia's arms tightened up around him and she couldn't believe her ears. Her friend had grown so much since the day they met, it was like talking to two different people. And he had just told her he had no intentions of letting her fade away from his life.

To anyone else those words could've been simple, but it helped Juvia heal a piece of her she didn't even thought it was damaged. She needed her friend and he was right there.

"Hugging too tight." Gajeel told her. "Alright, this is getting creepy." He patted her back when she didn't comply with his request. "Juvia? Let me go."

"Juvia hasn't hug you in a year, let me enjoy this." The blunette said, smiling and she could hear her friend huff in annoyance.

"Come on, let him go, Juvia. He can only deal with so much tough affection for one day." Gray said from behind her and Juvia looked over her shoulder and saw Gray had put his clothes back on. After hesitating for a second, she let Gajeel go with reluctance. "You two can get lunch tomorrow so you can talk and Gajeel here can wrap his mind around what happened today. Let's go to the bar and I'll help you sort things out. I know what it's like to speak about feelings and right now only a few drinks will help." He kissed Juvia's lips and his attention returned to Gajeel. "You are buying, though, after the punches this morning."

Gajeel looked from Gray to Juvia and the blunette nodded her approval. "It's alright, Gajeel-kun, if you want to go with Gray-sama to the bar as long as you promise me we are going to get lunch tomorrow and Juvia's allowed to be affectionate." It seemed to be a tough decision for Gajeel, as he didn't seem to want to do neither of the options. Juvia decided to help him decide. "Or we can get in and talk right now. Juvia will ask Gray-sama to go to her room and we can spend all night long talking about-"

"Bar it is." Gajeel cut her off. "See you tomorrow for lunch and I reserve the right to leave if things get too touchy feeling."

The blunette thought about it. "You can leave after two hours."

"One." He counteroffered.

"Juvia thinks she deserves two." She said pointedly and Gajeel's shoulders dropped.

"Fine." He told her and turned to Gray. "I think you deserved them so I won't apologize for the punches."

"I didn't think you would." Gray shrugged. "Bar?"

"Bar." Gajeel agreed. "But no feelings talk. I had enough of this shit with Levy after I left here earlier and Juvia five minutes ago."

Gray snorted. "Give it three glasses of scotch and I'll look like your therapist."

Juvia watched both men walk away towards the elevator and she crossed her arms under her breasts, a small smile on her lips. They were easily the most important people in her life and both were only human, they made as much mistakes as she did.

She had spent a few months in so much darkness she almost forgot how great it was to be held, to feel loved and happy.

If Lucy's suspicion was right, she would have a long battle ahead of her. It was going to be hard, she was going to take a few steps back before she finally walked ahead, but for the first time in months she felt she could do it, that she could face the storm heads up.

She thought she didn't matter, but apparently, she mattered more than she hoped for to them.

"Come on, baby." She whistled and Snowball came running from the end of the hall back to her human's side. "It's just us girls right now."

#

After a very emotional session with Mirajane and a lovely lunch with Gajeel, Juvia just wanted to go back to her room and sleep. Since Gray had an appointment with Makarov, Juvia arrived at the hotel and just threw herself on the bed. It was getting dark when she felt Gray's hand on her back and his lips on her cheek, telling her she should get up so they could get something to eat.

"Where exactly you and Lucy went to?" Gray asked and Juvia slipped her hand into his and she smiled when he, instead of pulling it away as his first instinct, slid his fingers between hers to hold it better, her heart started to beat faster.

"Aquarius' Hotel." Juvia told him as they walked towards the Caramades Franks cart not too far away from their hotel. "We figured Natsu-san wouldn't go there because she was angry at him, and, well... she is pretty scary. I wouldn't go there for awhile if I were you."

"Yeah, I figured." Gray rolled his eyes. "What did you do there?"

"We went to the beach, had lunch with Aquarius-san, Lucy-san tanned and Juvia played with Snowball. She was having the time of her life, by the way." Juvia said and Gray laughed.

"Of course she was, her fur must've been filled with sand."

"You have no idea." Juvia chuckled.

"So... what was that comment Lucy let escape that night we arrived in Magnolia?" Gray asked and Juvia looked up in confusion. "About porn movies not being watched by themselves?"

Juvia remembered her blonde friend's words and giggled. "We... we were hurt, we didn't want to watch movies with romance and almost all movies have a romantic subplot, you know? So we chose to watch porn. It's hard to find the romance on the pizza delivery guy who gets lucky and there's a horny woman waiting for him inside the apartment, then he opens the card box and it's his penis there instead of the pizza." Juvia shrugged. "We laughed for most of it anyways."

Gray snorted. "The, well, let's call them storylines for the sake of the argument, aren't really thought out in those."

"Oh, we watched some with more plot." Juvia informed him. "There was a very good one, historical. Princess and knight, all the theatrics. It was cute but Juvia doesn't think they had vibrators back then so the history accuracy was a bit off."

"Oh god, you watched porn and you criticized the plot." Gray fake groaned. "Please tell me you didn't point out to a guy's dick and said 'Oh, that looks like Gray-sama's'." He mimicked her voice and Juvia rolled her eyes.

"Of course not." She hoped she had put the right amount of affront in her tone because, well, of course she did. Both her and Lucy were halfway through their ice-cream buckets, so it was the equivalent of being drunk. Besides, Lucy did the same, so she wasn't the only one at fault there.

"Sure." Gray didn't seem to believe her, but let it go. They walked in silence for a few moments and there was a cold wind their way, making Juvia shake. Gray stopped her and took his dark blue scarf, putting it on her. "I told you to get properly dressed." He told her, knotting the fabric around her neck. "You are still sick, Juvia."

"You kept the scarf." She smiled happily at him.

"It was a gift from you, of course I kept it." Gray rolled his eyes. "Even though I have no idea why we should celebrate 413 days together."

"Juvia meant to finish knitting by the first year anniversary but so many things happened she could only finish by the 413th." She told him and tried to keep her heart at bay when he took her hand on his willingly and they resumed walking.

"You are so weird." He said and Juvia snickered. They were almost by Frank's when Juvia chuckled, getting his attention. "What?"

"Remember the first time you brought Juvia here?" She asked.

Gray nodded. "Yeah. It was after that mission with the two little girls and her mom, and only the children made it. It got too you and I wanted to be a good friend."

"Yes." Juvia agreed. "But it was also the night Juvia realized she had a chance with you."

"Really?"

The blunette hummed in agreement. "Yeah. A few days before Juvia had had a talk with Cana-san, she was the first to know I was falling in love with you. You and I talked about Erza-san and Jellal-san's situation, he was being arrested and her heart got broken, remember?" Gray nodded. "Well, you said you never intended to ever fall in love." His eyebrows rose. "It broke my heart. Cana-san saw me and told me you didn't do relationships, just one night stands and she told me that if I wanted you, it would mean waiting and a lot of heartache. I needed to decide if it was going to be worth it.

"Then you tried to cheer me up by bringing me here and when we got home and you offered to take me to the shelter, my heart melted for you all over again." Juvia chuckled. "But when Juvia kissed you good-night... your eyes got dark and Juvia knew you wanted me, even if it was just physical. It was Juvia's chance."

"So you took it at Lucy's birthday party." Gray said and Juvia nodded.

"Juvia had decided to give you more time to see where our friendship could lead us after that amazing dance we got together, but then a few minutes later you were being hit by a woman!"

Gray seemed confused, but finally remembered. "I remember that I had to take you out of my head." He chuckled. "You have no idea how hot that dance left me. Everywhere I looked, I saw blue hair and blue eyes, burning me, but I couldn't do anything because we worked together. I was considering taking that woman home to see if it would help." He stopped her and walked to stay in front of Juvia. "But then you came out of nowhere and just told that woman to get lost and shit, if I hadn't wanted you, I would then. It was hotter than it should've been."

"Good to know." Juvia rolled her eyes playfully. "Either way, Juvia couldn't let you just go home with that woman, so she acted."

"It was a great action, truly." Gray grinned and he looked handsome even with his black eye. "I got really angry with you the next morning, though." Juvia frowned. "I had had the best night of my life and planned to add that into my morning, but you were gone."

"Juvia was afraid you would kick her out." She admitted.

"I wouldn't have." Gray shrugged. "You were my friend and I was really planning on some morning sex."

"And a couple of weeks later, we repeated the dose. Then again, again..." Juvia looked up to the sky and back to him. "Juvia did a lot of waiting until you admitted we were together."

"I'm glad you didn't give up." He said. "Sorry if I was so stubborn."

"It's who you are." Juvia told him in a resigned tone and she started to walk again, but Gray didn't let her get far.

"Hey." She looked his way. "I changed, okay? Six months away taught me a lot. You changed me." He stepped closer to him and put a hand on her cheek. "It took me awhile to realize and to say it out loud, but you are the most important person in my life."

Juvia couldn't believe her ears. She was dreaming, it was the only explanation because there was no way Gray had just said what she thought he said. Was she still delusional and back to their house?

"I thought I was going to get a bigger reaction than you just looking at me as if I had just told you I am serial killer, but okay." It was clear he was embarrassed by what he had just said and was trying to joke it off, but Juvia just couldn't believe.

"Am... Am I really?" She whispered when she finally found her voice. "Really?"

"Yeah." Gray looked down, his cheeks were rosy and Juvia was certain it wasn't because of the cold. "I know that even though you promised to trust me again, it will take a little while and I just wanted to let you know where I stand."

"Oh." It was her answer as his words were still being processed by her brain. "That is..."

"Let's go eat." Gray started to turn so they could go on their way, but Juvia's brain finally caught on to her and the next thing she knew, her arms were around Gray's shoulder and she was kissing him, as passionate as ever.

She was the most important person in his life.

"You are the most important person in my life too." She whispered after they had unlocked their lips, their noses were touching and she could feel the most beautiful feeling she's ever had inside her chest and spreading through her whole body.

The most important.

"Good." His cheeks were definitely red and so were his ears. "Glad we are on the same page about that." He cleared his throat. "Now come on, let's go eat."

Juvia nodded and while they made their way to Frank's. She felt as if the colors of the city were brighter, the air around her seemed to have changed and it was as if she was high and walking on clouds.

"Well, well, well. Look who the cat dragged in." Frankie said the moment she saw them, aside for a slightly longer hair, she hadn't changed at all. "You two disappear for a year and now come here as if nothing happened."

"Sorry, Frankie." Gray said. "We were out of town."

"No kidding." The older woman rolled her eyes and then focused her gaze on Gray's left hand and then Juvia's. "I had hoped you two got married, but I don't think it's the case." She raised an eyebrow.

"It's not." Gray clarified.

"How long have you been together now? Two years?" Frankie asked.

"A little over two years, yes." It was Juvia who answered, still a bit dazed and she could feel Gray's eyes on her, confused.

The opulent woman nodded. "It's a good amount of time."

"Things... happened while we were away." Gray told her sheepishly.

"Hm." Frankie looked at them for a few seconds. "I just saw you two over there" she waved towards the direction the couple had been a minute ago "and I can tell you that by the way you look at each other, both are willing to fight for each other." The older woman shrugged. "Well, whoever said love doesn't conquer all was either with the wrong person or the wrong love." Gray and Juvia looked at each other before their attention returned to Frankie. "Now go get a table and I'll feed you in a moment." They were turning to do as she said when Frankie spoke again. "Good to have you back, kids."

"Thanks, Frankie. It's good to be back." Gray sent her a smile and followed Juvia, who was just a step ahead, but waited for him to walk along.

They had found a table and once they were settled, Gray turned to face her. "You said we were together for two years." Gray said and Juvia's mind was still so overwhelmed she took a second to process the information. "You counted the time I was away."

"I did." She nodded after realized what he was talking about. "We didn't break up, even then we were in a relationship." When she saw his frown, the blunette explained. "No relationship can be all about happiness. It's a sweet dream, but there are always bumps on the road. There are some good days and some bad. As it happened, we had 6 bad months and as awful as they were, it's part of our story now. Juvia wishes she could erase them, but she can't. I loved you then and I love you now." She looked him in the eyes. "So... bad and good, but our two years nonetheless."

Gray nodded. "Two years, then."

He reached for her hand and started to talk about how FT's building was almost finished with the repairs and they still had a few weeks to go yet.

Juvia half-listened to his words, because she was basking on the feeling inside her chest. She was important to him. No, the most important. She didn't know what future reserved for them, but she had absolute certainty she would fight for them, for him and for her as well.

Juvia was finally healing.

#

AN: Hello, guys! So yeah, I don't know if this was the way you thought it would go with her forgiving him so fast, but, well... It's Juvia and she's got the biggest heart ever. The truth is that she had already forgiven Gray the moment he returned but there were so many feeling inside her she needed a break to sort them out and Gray needed to understand the ramifications of his choices. Aaaand I wanted to show how Gray grew up regarding his feelings and honesty about them.

And the Gajeel thing I have noooo idea how it's going to be received by the readers and it is a gamble, but here it is. HAHA We'll see where this go. ;)