... It was a circumstance which Lucy found to be shockingly muddling. She was sitting in a large rock near a stream, hardly contemplating on her situation. Her hand balled into fist whilst the other held her cheek.

Her left cheek... She had now suspected to be swollen. She recalled the time when she was punched by Gajeel back when he was still a member of a dark guild,  another time also was when Minerva kicked her and she got hit all over. The blonde woman counted the times when she was in physical pain. However, nothing could compare to that of today's. The pain she felt could be attributed to a combination of heartache and guilt.
Never had she thought she would receive a slap from an indignant woman. It felt like burning. When there is a reason for a woman to get furious, her slap can really be damned excruciating, which can radiate deep down into another woman's heart... Thereafter, there was only one thing she could say to herself.

"Served you right dimwit..."

(Eight hours ago)

The team had all managed to climb down through the manhole, thanks to Lev's inscription of stairs. A pile of descending stones had appeared, which had aided each member to move down. However, not long after all of them were able to  come down, a gigantic ripple of water flowed towards their direction, and they were all in panic. Pugnaciously, the waves, bigger than anyone can imagine came racing towards them, destroying everything in their way. The shouts of despair made by Wendy and Levy can be hardly heard over the overwhelming sound of the tidal wave. With such a wave,  one would expect for them to have drowned and perish. However, that would definitely be possible if the blue-haired, water mage had not been there to save them.
Just as the tidal wave was about to hit them, Juvia appeared. In a brink of time, the water-mage was able to drew the water away from their direction and brought its movement into a halt. Juvia manipulated the water like a concertmaster.
"Now is the time, Gray!" Juvia demanded. Making reference to Gray's ice-make magic, for the water to turn into an ice. The water-mage made sure that the huge wave of water was away from the team. If Gray used his magic beforehand, the rest of them would have been frozen as well, and Gray probably knew that too. That is why, he initially avoided using his magic.
Gray and Juvia had successfully stopped the tidal wave from drowning the team, all felt relieved. Lucy, who was a bit panting, was in joy seeing her friend to their rescue. She was about to approach her, when...

"Grray...!" The water-mage instantly moved towards the raven-haired man. Her eagerness and affection to see him were too obvious from the looks of everyone who was there, making each forget his or her own current situation.
Juvia gave the man a tight hug. Deep inside, she knew that their relationshionship had not already been the same, even before Gray left for the mission. She didn't know where it began, but she guessed, it started when she mentioned of marriage. Gray's reaction of her words was unreadable. Though he managed to recover by giving her a smile, and telling him that they still need a house of their own, a reaction of shock and confusion was still apparent on his face. Going back to the present, Juvia almost sob as she bring Gray into an embrace, clinging to him like he is her life support. Meanwhile, Gray, being the usual Gray, returned the hug. The blonde-mage stared at the two, puzzled by her own thoughts. Deep inside, it was like her heart was being crushed.
She likes the man... She finally admit that to herself. And seeing him on another woman's embrace is like one is being pummeled into the ground until there's nothing left of her to be broken. As of the moment, Lucy thought being beaten into a pulp would be preferrable rather than witnessing two people acting like star-crossed lovers.
Then, probably to her relief, the familiarity of someone's voice was made to be audible.

"Luna... Raven... Glad that you made it!"

The team had now been travelling back to the island. They have been travelling for 3 hours before they reached the said island. All of them were exhausted and wanted to sleep. However, when they arrived they were soon welcomed with banging noises, just as the Archimidean way. Soon, their exhaustion was exchanged with excitement as they saw a banquet of food being prepared before them. Some had been eating, while the rests, like Cana and the boys were drinking. Nonetheless, Levy, despite her enjoyment, did not fail to notice her friend's lack of presence.

"Hey, did you see Lucy?" Levy called out the group, and Gray having realized the blonde's absence became perturbed.
"I'll go look for her." The ice-maker suddenly stood up. He began to stride, when the water-mage drew nearer to him.
"I'll come with you, Gray-sama."
The two had then went towards the woods as instituted by Gray.

After a few minutes, Gray and Juvia were now on the area where the lake stood by.

"It's breathtaking here..." Juvia spoke, getting aware of Gray's silent treatment. The man's eyes had then lit a bit.

"Oh yes. We had so much memories here. Look up..." Gray was pertaining to the moon. The thing that made the rest of the view wonderful.
As soon as Juvia had a glimpse of the moon, she was hypnotised.
"It'sss... It's everything." Without uttering much words, she only clasped one of her hands to Gray's other. The two had then stared up above, as if there's nothing to worry about.
As with Gray, he had reminisced something truly important, which also transpired under the moonlight- the moment he had been declared as one with the woman whom he never thought he would truly, deeply, and madly cared for.

Hello readers!
I had accidentally published this chapter even it has not yet been done. I'm sorry for that😅... With that, forgive me if there are some grammatical errors or typos on it. I decided to proceed with this chapter instead of deleting, esp.upon seeing that, I had already written more than 800 words. Although, this chappie will have a 2nd part, so, better stay tuned. 😉
P. S.
I am planning to proofread all the chapters and correct whatever mistakes I could find. Plzzz. Just be patient with me. 🤭 Hehe...