A/N: This took a loooong time. Enjoy!
Late nights and early parades
I'm lost in a silent ballet
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Snow Floats
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History, Juvia finds, rarely ever speaks of the aftermath of the battles.
There is a saying that the history books are written by the victors—true enough, she reflects, when she thinks of the sad fate of Phantom Lord—but even the victors do not want to include the gory, bloody details, the shock of confusion when the battle ends, the lives lost on both sides, and the tears shed for all those people who were shattered in the midst of war.
Many, many people shatter. That is how war works. Powerful people pull the strings. Amass armies. Prey on the weak of mind or the sick of heart until they lose all sense of right and wrong, and they are suspended upside down in the darkness—unable to see anything—so they can only follow a single voice, a voice that promises to take them home. Safety, security, happiness, and most of all, love. These people, they've never had a home, but they like the way it sounds, and what choice do they have, anyways? Where else is there to go?
And then they die.
Life, there for a moment, gone the next.
Just. Like. That.
This is how war works, Juvia knows, she who has been in several wars; but the Battle of Fairy Tail turned out different, because Fairy Tail is different. In Fairy Tail, people don't die, and wizards don't shatter…
(Except perhaps the Master, who is all too good at hiding his cracks—and Laxus Dreyar, who she believes will one day find a way to heal—)
...and wars end with a few broken bones, a few sore spirits, but nothing time, a dose of whiskey, and some nakama power cannot fix.
The Fairy Tail way of celebrating a victory.
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Gajeel and Juvia prefer to celebrate victories their own way.
By bickering.
(As usual.)
They sit at a table in the guild, Juvia knitting a new Gray-sama doll to replace the one that fell from her pocket during a fight, and castigating Gajeel about his injuries.
"You should be at home," she scolds. "Porlyusica-san told Juvia very expressly that 'Gajeel-kun is to sit in bed with his feet elevated at all times.' If Juvia does not listen to Porlyusica-san, then...Gajeel-kun, Porlyusica-san is scary! Juvia does not want to make her angry."
"Tell the old hag to stuff it."
"Gajeel-kun!"
"Stuff it way up her wrinkly old a—"
"Gajeel-kun!" she says louder, clapping her hands over the ears of a very confused looking Romeo Conbolt. "There are children in this guild."
He shrugs. "So what? Let the brat listen. It'll teach him some stuff."
"Romeo, why don't you go find Natsu?" Juvia suggests.
The little boy nods and scampers off, looking all too willing to get away from the Dragonslayer—the one he doesn't like. Gajeel, jokingly, yells, "BOO!" and Romeo shrieks, running all the more faster.
Scaring kids is always good for a chuckle. Juvia, evidently, doesn't think so, by the way she's glaring at him.
"What?" he says defensively. "Look, I ain't got a fuckin' home. Salamander blew up my brand new apartment durin' the damn battle lookin' for that lightning guy and I don't even know why, 'cause why the fuck would he be in there, Dragneel?"
"Himml schuufen foof!" Natsu snaps back from the bar. His mouth is still wrapped in bandages, making his speech indecipherable.
Except, for some reason, to Gajeel.
"Yeah, well, why don't ya go join him, then?" the Iron Dragonslayer snaps.
"Orken bork!"
"Dumbass."
"Cleeterclotter durkle asshole."
"Oh, I'm an asshole? Says the idiot who incinerated my new place. Fuck, ya know how much jewel it took to lease that pad, ya dolt?"
"Lynny geegee?"
"Close," he admits. "Hundred fifty a month. You owe me, Dragneel. First month's rent."
"M'kay. Lynee geegee sosu lala."
"Whaddaya mean, it's not that much? You can cough up a hundred fifty grand from that lame food cash stash ya have? Might not be eatin' for a couple months."
Natsu blinks. "Lynnee geegee t...toofle?"
"Yeah, grand. Like I could possibly get a place for a hundred fifty jewel. That's how much a fuckin' iron bar costs, moron."
Natsu looks significantly less cocky than before. He makes a beeline for the request board.
Gajeel turns back to the bluenette. "So, yep. Place is trashed. Dragneel owes me a fortune. In a wheelchair. Basically nowhere to go but the stupid guild." He sighs. "Damn, life sucks."
"Gajeel-kun, you haven't even moved from Juvia's dorm to your new apartment. Just stay with her for a few more weeks," she decides, and Gajeel just nods, because he was kind of expecting her to say that anyways.
But Natsu's right, the Iron Dragonslayer is an asshole, so he goes ahead and complains about it, just to make her mad.
"It's too fuckin' weird bein' surrounded with all those creepy Stripper dolls. And damn, woman, for someone your size, you're heavy. If you roll on me, I swear my arm is gonna break all over again."
Juvia resists the urge to smack him only because even a minor blow might sustain lasting damage.
"Just shut up," she sighs. "Juvia is hungry. Would Gajeel-kun like soup or pasta for lunch today?"
"I want iron," he whines.
"Problem there; the bar doesn't even serve iron. Because, you know, no one else on the entire planet eats it."
"C'mon, raindrop, I want iron," he repeats. "I ain't eatin' soup for the third time in a row."
Juvia really wants to claw those bandages off his invalid face. "FINE! Juvia will walk all the way out to the blacksmith's and buy it for you, but you owe her three weeks worth of food expenses, an extremely heartfelt thank you note, and...a toaster! Because you ate Juvia's."
He grumbles a little about crazy chicks, but ultimately shuts his mouth.
The thing is, she's kinda right.
Someone only needs to glance at the water mage to see that she is dead tired. The battle took it's own toll on her—the effects of the thunder lacrima hurt her more than anyone else, since her body conducted the electricity. There's a stiffness to her movements, circles under her eyes, a tired set to her mouth that suggests she is too weary to even argue anymore.
Gajeel is an asshole.
But every once in awhile, assholes find it in them to suck it up and say, "Thank you."
She grins, kissing his bandage-wrapped cheek. "You're welcome. But now that she thinks about it, Juvia does not need to go anywhere to find iron. Oh, Levy, dear?"
"Juvia," he growls. "Fuck you, raindrop, you promised."
"This isn't meddling," she says innocently.
Levy materializes out of nowhere to Juvia's side, short and cute as ever in her weird orange tunic thing. (No, he certainly did not call her cute, not a chance in hell.) "Yes, Ju-chan?" she says politely. "Oh, hi, Gajeel."
"Half-pint," he grunts.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Fine."
"Still living in the girl's dorms?"
"Y-you ain't supposed to know about that!"
Levy blinks. "Really? But Juvia told me. She asked if I could stop by and visit you sometimes. Sorry I haven't gotten around to it yet."
Listen, you devious rain-bitch, you're gettin' a real earful tonight.
"It's fine," he snaps. Levy quails a little at his furious expression and looks in askance to her fellow bluenette.
"Oh, don't worry, Levy-san," Juvia assures her, "Gajeel-kun is not angry at you. He's just hungry. Boys get cranky when they're hungry."
Gajeel opens his mouth to protest, and then snaps it shut; what the fuck would he say? Yeah, I'm hungry, but I'm just cranky all the time? Especially because I think you're kinda cute?
Yeah. Because that's just so manly.
(Shit, he's starting to sound like Elfman. Abort this train of thought, ABORT!)
"Levy-san, you're a solid script wizard, right? Like Freed?"
She nods. "Same concept, but our magic is pretty different. Freed writes complicated runes and traps in battle. He knows complex spells to perform on himself to grant him the power to fly, turn into a monster, and all sorts of taboos—it's called Dark Script Magic. I, on the other hand...well, basically I have a few offensive words I can turn into real objects. Mostly elements, 'cause I focus on Elemental Script Magic. Makes sense?"
"So, if Juvia asked you to conjure up some iron, could you do it? To feed Gajeel-kun?"
"No one's feedin' me!" he cuts in. They ignore him.
"Sure," Levy agrees, surprised. "I don't see why not. Solid Script—Iron."
And a giant block of iron drops onto his table like a blessing from the heavens. (Yeah. 'Cause Gajeel's so high up on God's gift list.)
He takes a chomp and mutters, "Damn, this is some quality scrap. Thanks, Shrimp."
She blushes. "Oh, um, it was nothing! Seriously, if you ever need more, just ask." Then she dances away like the magical iron-gifting fairy she is.
Juvia nods with approval. "Levy-san's magic is quite powerful, don't you think?"
"Good for a snack, that's for sure."
"Really. Rune magic that can conjure something from nothing? That's impressive. Even Dragonslayers can't do that—they channel their element from within their own bodies. Levy-san's magic comes from...nowhere."
"Yeah?" Despite himself, Levy does interest him...somewhat. "We talkin' S-class, here?"
"Maybe not at that level, and probably not even that useful in a fight, but powerful enough in it's own right, and coupled with her heightened intelligence...she could be a force to be reckoned with," Juvia says. "It would take her about twenty minutes to defeat the average mage in battle, fifteen for Juvia to defeat her, ten for you. Elfman-san can't do it all because she's too small a target for him to hit, provided she moves fast enough."
Strategizing, among other things, is a hobby the bluenette is quite fond of.
Suddenly she goes all starry-eyed. "But Juvia's beloved Gray-sama could vanquish any foe with the power of our love!"
Irritation rises up in him. Ever since Juvia met this ice freak it's been Stripper this, Stripper that. Gajeel (grudgingly) loves the girl half to death, and tolerates all her crazy, but there's a limit to how much a man can handle without losing his damn mind.
Like when Juvia showed him her Gray-sama underwear set. He threw up in a trashcan after that.
The girl seriously needs to get other male friends to torture with this kind of stuff.
Okay, yes, she's batshit insane; she's more than a little obsessive; she is completely oblivious to topics never broached between friends of the opposite gender; but Juvia is a special girl.
Stripper doesn't seem to get that.
So Gajeel makes a solemn oath on his Iron Dragon Sword: Oh, divine blade, I solemnly swear that if that perverted naked freak doesn't start treatin' raindrop with some respect, I'm gonna show him all the ways that iron can make a guy bleed.
The thought of a bleeding Gray Fullbuster makes Gajeel smile a little.
Heh. Blood.
Hilarious.
After he devours his iron, he leans back against the back of his wheelchair, broken arm resting on Juvia's head. "Hey, raindrop."
"Yes?"
"You wanna fight?"
"Are you kidding?" she exclaims. "You can barely defeat Juvia with a bellyful of iron, and yet you think you are a worthy opponent in your current state of health? Gajeel-kun, Juvia thinks your brain cells are...oxidizing."
"I can crush ya anytime," he snorts.
"Yeah. Sure. It wasn't just two weeks ago you lost so badly you cried."
"Oi! I wasn't cryin'!"
"No?" she teases. "Then what was that substance leaking from your eyes—motor oil?"
"It was your fuckin' water. I can't get two minutes into a fight with ya without gettin' drenched."
Juvia pokes him. "Then how do you explain the sobbing noises?"
"That puddle you call a brain is hallucinatin'," he grumbles.
"That tough-guy armor you call an ego is crumbling," she shoots back.
"Piss puddle."
"Grease monkey."
"Go to hell."
"Juvia will drag you with her."
"Next time me and Salamander go at you, we're gonna chop you up and roast you."
"On the contrary," she disagrees, "you'll be floating belly-up in Juvia's water like a dead fish—and Natsu...will be escorted firmly away from the victor."
Gajeel.
Feels.
Unspeakably outraged by this betrayal.
"What? You're lettin' the pyro go? For fuck's sake, Juvia, don't tell me ya have a thing for him, too."
CRACK.
Freezing cold water dumps on his head—Gajeel should have known. This is how she always reacts when she's angry.
(The water used to be boiling instead of cold...but that was before she met the ice freak.)
"NO!" she screeches. "Juvia would never abandon her Gray-sama like that!" She hugs the little Stripper doll close to her heart. "How dare you utter such...such blasphemy!"
He shrugs, shaking the water out of his hair like a wet dog. "S'not my fault you're so touchy."
"Doe Juvia even need to start about Levy?"
"For the millionth time, I don't even like that shrimp!"
"Then why do you have a cute pet name for her?"
"It's a fuckin' insult!"
"Suuuure," she says comically.
"I got a nickname for you, too, raindrop. S'not like it means anything."
Juvia gives him a hurt look.
"Wait, I didn't mean it like that," he amends quickly. "'Course it means somethin' for you. But—ugh, I just don't like that damn midget, okay? Her nickname don't mean nothin'.
"It means you care!" Juvia quips.
"Or…Here's a thought. She's small. Shrimp is small. You make it rain. Raindrops make it rain. Hmm. Let's think about the connections here."
The water mage just smiles and ruffles his crazy black hair. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Gajeel-kun. You'll realize it some day!"
"Fuckin' psycho," he mutters. Remembering her forgiveness of Salamander, his enemy, he adds, "and backstabber."
"Juvia loves Gajeel-kun, too!" she says cheerfully. "And before you hurt yourself trying to attack Juvia, you should know that she is not betraying you. Juvia needs Natsu-san in mint condition to keep Lucy Love Rival away from Gray-sama."
"Why'd he do that?" Gajeel asks, nonplussed.
"Isn't it obvious? Because he loves her. And also Gray-sama, Cana, and even you, but mostly Love Rival. Isn't that wonderful for Juvia?"
He takes a sip of water and promptly spits it out.
"THE FUCKIN' SALAMANDER ISN'T IN LOVE WITH ME."
"But fighting is a sign of affection for the dragonborn, right? And the pair of you fight more than anyone Juvia knows! Love Guru Mira says it's because...what was the phrase...ah, yes! Because you and Natsu have...unresolved sexual tension."
The Iron Dragonslayer just gapes at her.
"Juvia agrees with her Love Guru's assessment, and she would be happy to show you why. Hold on, Juvia has the evidence in here somewhere…" She bites down on her bottom lip as she rifles through a whole file cabinet of papers in the purse. Finally, her eyes light up. "Aha! Proof." She thrusts a bunch of photographs in Gajeel's face.
Very incriminating photographs.
Of Gajeel holding Natsu in a chokehold, but it looks suspiciously like a…
Shit.
Gajeel does the only thing possible in this kind of situation. He swallows them.
They taste like horror.
"GAJEEL!" Juvia screams, but it's too late. They're gone. Red-hot fury makes her water body steam. She'd worked forever on those photos. "Juvia can't believe that you would do that to her!"
"Yeah? Well I can't believe that you would do that to me!" he shouts right back.
"They were Juvia's personal property!"
"They were a complete misrepresentation of information!"
"You cannot possibly blame Juvia for the fact that you two were—"
"We were fighting."
"Oh, yes. That's exactly what it looks like," she says sarcastically.
"Exactly what what looks like?" another voice cuts in.
Juvia squeaks.
Gajeel scowls.
"Gray-sama!"
"Hey," he says. Gray stands at their table, looking acutely uncomfortable and, at least to Gajeel, more than a little constipated. Being around Juvia tends to do that to him. "Gajeel."
"Stripper."
"Um, can I borrow Juvia for a second?"
Juvia just about expires with joy.
Gajeel just glares. "You hurt her you die." He bares his dragon fangs just to emphasize his point (no pun intended). His canines are three inches long, tipped with silver on each end. The soft part of his mouth is girded with metal to prevent the inside from being shredded to bloody chunks by his wickedly sharp teeth.
Gray laughs nervously. "I get the message. Uh, Juvia?" He walks to the back corner of the guild, gesturing to the girl to follow him.
Her eyes have literally turned into matching hearts.
He's going to confess his love! Finally, after all the hard work (the potions, the love charms, the revealing outfits, the stalking) Juvia has finally cast Gray-sama under her spell! Oh, beloved Gray-sama...Juvia has picked a gown, and has arranged for Gajeel-kun to sing at our wedding inside the lovely little chapel at Kardia Cathedral—
Gray gives her a look that puts all those lovely fantasies on hold. He's standing impatiently, alone, waiting. Juvia wants to slap herself for being so insensitive. What kind of wife would she make?
She rushes to his side at once.
"Juvia, I need your help with something," he says. An auspicious beginning. All sorts of lovely words could accompany it.
What would they be?
Juvia, I have realized at the Miss Fairy Tail contest that you are too beautiful for me to resist, and I must have you now!
Unlikely. While the water mage is certainly pretty, so was everyone in the Miss Fairy Tail contest.
Juvia, from the moment our eyes met, I could only dream that I would one day get the courage to tell you how I feel.
Well, the sentiment is nice, but Gray isn't the type of boy who would confess like that…
Juvia, I only have weeks to live—please, marry me before I go!
(Oh, no. Please let it not be that one. Anything but that one.)
To say she's scared is the understatement of one hundred millennium.
Gray clears his throat, and she begins to prepare herself for a declaration of love.
(Except...is she really ready for this?)
Her heart races a mile a minute. It's all going too fast; the world is blurring like raindrops on a looking glass, distorting things; Juvia, you need to remember to breathe, okay?
In. Out. In. Out. She keeps at it, pumping air through her water lungs, in her water nose, back out her water mouth, and the water in her is cooling to her hot hot head...slowly, she manages to relax. Her muscles unwind and she looks up at him to smile, finally getting a grip on herself.
He's cool as an ice dam, watching her antics impassively.
(Marvelling at his ability, to stay so calm, Juvia wonders how he does it—how is he always separate when she can't help getting swept up in things?
Like he's a glacier. And she is a raindrop.
What difference does a raindrop make to him, made up of millions just like her?)
"Would you mind doing something for me?"
"Anything for Gray-sama," she says immediately. "What is it you would have Juvia do?"
"It's for the Fantasia parade. Gramps is making me to a float—prince of a snow castle or something stupid like that. Anyways, I need a partner."
"A partner?" she queries. "Whatever for?"
He rubs the back of his neck. "It's...um. Gramps said that I need a...winter princess. Someone up on the float with me."
She still doesn't understand. "And you want Juvia to...help you find a partner?"
"That's not exactly what I—"
"If so, Love Guru Mira would look very pretty as a snow queen, with her coloring. Cana-san has some snow cards in her tarot deck, or at least Juvia thinks so. Maybe Lucy Love Rival could summon Aquarius and she could form liquid shapes for you to freeze. Juvia is sorry, that's all she can think of."
"Well I was thinking that—"
"Oh no!" she gasps. "You don't like Juvia's suggestions. She's— failed you! You only needed Juvia once and she let you down! Oh, please, Gray-sama, please don't be angry! Juvia will make it up to you—somehow she will!" At this point she full-out wails with distress, bottom lip threatening to quiver.
Gray knows her brand of crazy well enough to realize that if the lip quivers, then it's basically guaranteed he would be swimming out of the guild tonight.
He's just about to explain that she's got it all wrong when fucking Gajeel crashes his wheelchair between the two of them, spewing curses filthier than Vulcan shit.
"Dammit, Stripper, I told you not to mess with her. As soon as I'm outta this chair you're dead," Gajeel explodes, as Juvia simultaneously shrieks, "What are you doing? You're going to break the other arm!" and Natsu, completely out of the blue, bursts in with a fist full of flames and yells, "Fight me!" to no one in particular. Happy wheels in circles above their heads, announcing, "HE LOOOVES HER," in typical Happy fashion.
Gray can barely hear himself think with all the pandemonium. When Juvia starts bawling and Cana crashes into him, completely plastered, he can't take it anymore. His nerves wind so tightly they snap.
Whatever comes out of his mouth, it makes everyone sit down and shut up—a minor fucking miracle, that.
He wonders if this is how Erza feels.
"Listen, Juvia, I don't want your help finding a partner. You are my fucking partner. Get it? I want you to be the princess with me. You."
When Juvia blinks back tears, they re real this time. She smiles. It strikes him with its brightness of more than a thousand Fire Dragon Roars.
Lifetimes could pass, and he doesn't think he'd forget her expression in this moment.
"So, what do you say? Do the parade with me?"
"Juvia would love to be your princess, Gray-sama."
The phrasing makes him uncomfortable, to put it lightly—but he lets it go just this once, because Juvia looks so happy. And he realizes that most of the time she spends around him is spent crying—
—and he doesn't want that. He feels better when she's happy.
Juvia may drive him crazy all the time, but...he could handle a little crazy. (If it meant he got to see her smile like that again.)
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The Aftermath of the Battle
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Two people hold hands on top of a beautiful, wintry float.
They dance.
Fairy Tail, written in looping water letters, arches above their heads like a crystal diadem, crowning them king and queen of the festival.
Twirling skirts and glittering smiles, Juvia glows in the lamplight, making little tokens to throw out to the crowd. Roses, snowflakes, little fanged tigers and toy soldiers for the children. The urchins run along the street, laughing, cheeks red and eyes bright, dancing their own version of the Winter Waltz with their partners in dirty rags that hold together by the barest of stitches.
(And they are no less beautiful than the royalty in all their fine jewels.)
When a little boy, clutching an icy rose, presents it to Juvia with a reverent whisper—"I wanna be just like you when I grow up"—it's the first time Gray hears her throw her head back and laugh. It's a deeper sound than he expected. Brassy, rich with happiness. If her smile warms the people cast in it's glow, then her laughter scorches.
Juvia, the gloomy orphan girl forever haunted by the rain, is incandescent with life. It stirs something in him, deep inside, but Gray doesn't notice. Not yet. A story cannot end that quickly.
Because it's Fairy Tail, the home no one ever truly leaves behind—and in this bright, mysterious place, stars are always shining, and stories stretch to neverwhere in an endless road of adventures.
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.
(And he thinks that maybe
when Juvia laughs, the stars shine brighter,
and the infinite road gets a few inches longer—?)
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End