My first Fairy Tail fanfic..

Follows cannon up to chapter 252-253, AU after that.

Sorry if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, english is not my mother tongue, but I'm trying:)

Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 1: The new fashion trend

Year X794

Magnolia town was always much quieter the day after the Sakura viewing party a dark haired man mused. Leaning on the rail board of a bridge, he was watching the boats while waiting for his companion to arrive.

A chuckle pulled him out him out of his daydreams. Two young ladies were crossing the bridge, laughing as they passed behind him.

"What's so funny?" He wondered.

Another woman answered his silent question. "Gray-sama, your clothes."

"Oh Juvia, you're here." Then he realized. "Argh! When did I take them off?!"

The blue haired mage chuckled. "You never change Gray-sama." She said as she handed him a white short-sleeved shirt and a dark jacket.

"You're the one to talk." Gray replied playfully, now properly dressed. He took her hand as they walked off the bridge.

The two of them made quite a dashing pair in the streets of Magnolia. Him in his usual but fitting black leather attire and her, in her clear blue dress with white trimmings. Her hair was let down, slightly curled under her shoulders and a cloche hat, present from Gray, was covering her head.

"Still calling me Gray-sama after all these years." He continued. "I don't mind when we're at the guild, they're used to it. But it's a bit weird in front of other people."

"But... but..."

"And still blushing. Honestly, how old are you?"

River of tears flowed down Juvia's cheeks. "Twenty eight next month, Gray-sama. You don't have to remind me."

Gray noticed the clouds starting to appear above their heads and decided he should better close the dam. "Oi oi, don't cry. Twenty eight is not old, besides you're as beautiful as you were at eighteen."

"Really?" A teary Juvia asked.

"Yes, really." He assured her, smiling at her antics. "Now, if we don't hurry the shops are going to close."

"Oh no, let's go Gray-sama!"

The ice mage shook his head as she started to pull him along. "Stubborn woman."

He picked up the pace to follow her but as they turned at a corner, they suddenly bumped into somebody.

"Ow!"

The mages had run into two children and one of them had been thrown backwards.

"Sorry kid, you okay?" Gray held his hand to help him but the boy quickly snapped it away and jumped back on his feet.

"Hey stop there!"

Surprised by the shout, the two mages looked around and saw a cloaked person running at them. "Stop that thief!"

Gray saw a worried look appear on the kid's face and caught sight of the pouch he was holding. Reacting quickly, he grabbed him by the collar before he could escape.

"Hold on kid."

"Let me go!" The brat struggled to get free but the ice mage's grip was too strong for him. "Damn it! Hey, run!" He shouted to his partner before throwing him the pouch.

The other brat clumsily picked up their rapt and started to run. "I'll get him, Gray-sama." Juvia said. But as she raised her hand to take control of the river's water, a loud yell erupted behind them.

"I said STOP!"

A dark blur shot between them and struck the boy's feet, making him fall flat on his face. His partner threw the pouch away and helped him to detangle his feet from the whip's rope. "Forget it!" As soon as he was freed, the little thief grabbed his partner's arm and fled from the scene, leaving his loot behind him.

Letting them go, Gray picked up the pouch and gave it back to its rightful owner. "I believe it's yours." He said as the cloaked teen stopped in front of them.

"Yes! Thank you very much for your help mister and miss!" She said as she took it back, bowing several times. They couldn't really see her face under the hood except a few strands of blond hair. "C-Could you please tell me the way to Magnolia Park?"

Juvia kindly gave her the indications she needed, inwardly flattered at being called 'miss'. The teen thanked her again and then walked away after making sure her pouch was correctly secured at her belt.

"What a polite young girl." Juvia said as she watched her leave.

Gray nodded; still a bit surprised by the peculiar display of skill this little girl had showed. Her flashy but shy behaviour reminded him a lot of their daughter. She was usually very polite and reserved, but it didn't take much to set her off, and the tantrums which followed were worth those of a rich spoiled kid. A powerful and dangerous spoiled kid...

Letting out a sigh, he took again Juvia's hand and the two mages went on their way downtown.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

Two hour later, arms full of bags and legs tired of walking around, the two mages headed back to the guild. "I hope we didn't forget anything." Juvia said, looking at the bags. "Otherwise Wendy-chan will scold us again."

"Yeah, that little brat can be downright scary when she wants to."

"And poor Romeo-kun knows it better than us." Juvia added with a chuckle.

Everybody in Fairy Tail, Wendy included, knew the boy was desperately in love with the Sky Dragonslayer. His poor attempts to confess were ignored one after the other and made the guild's daily comic show.

They continued to chat about the youngsters of Fairy Tail but after a few minutes, Juvia sensed her partner was distracted by something else. She saw him gaze at the other river bank, and more particularly, at a certain pair of window.

"That's Lucy-san's apartment isn't it?" She said quietly.

"Yeah." Nothing more was said. They both knew what the other was thinking.

They had all thought the battle at Tenrou island was over after the defeat of master Hades and the mages of Grimoire Heart. Makarov had announced the suspension of the S-class exam, wishing for everybody to recover from their fights, when it had attacked.

Acnologia, the black dragon.

Their master had tried to hold him back for a few moments but none of his children would have ever abandoned him there. Of course, they were no match against the dark monster and would have been exterminated if Zeref had not stumbled on the battlefield. For a short moment, it seemed he was another person, and with Nastu's help, he had even stopped Acnologia from wrecking their island. But it hadn't last, and when the dragon roared his most powerful attack, the two mages had found themselves defenceless on the frontlines and had been erased from the surface of the earth with half of the island.

The disappearance of Natsu hit them hard. Lucy more than anybody else, except maybe Happy. The stellar mage and the fire dragonslayer had started dating shortly after their return from Edolas. The news -proudly announced against their will by an excited Mirajane- had not surprised anyone. In fact, and much to Natsu and Lucy's embarrassment, most of the guild believed they were already a couple.

Of course, in the following months, all the members of Fairy Tail had searched for him during their missions. Some of them still were, asking their clients if a certain pink haired fire breathing mage had been seen. But the answers had always been negative.

Two weeks after the battle, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy and the two cats had left for a joined mission. But on the way back to Magnolia, the blond stellar mage had suddenly announced her departure. She wanted to leave the town and travel around to find their friend. Happy and Erza had been the first ones to protest and then say they would go with her. But Lucy had firmly held her ground. She wanted to travel alone, see the world for herself. Besides, she added, there was a chance Natsu would come back to the guild, so somebody had to wait for him.

So they stayed, and ten years later, they were still waiting for their friends to come back.

The two mages passed her windows and continued to walk without looking back. "Her last message was seven months ago, I wonder where she is now." Juvia said as they approached the gates of their guild.

They would sometimes receive letters from the stellar mage whenever she was in a big town. Mainly saying she was alright and had not discovered anything yet.

"Who knows. Maybe she got lost again." The ice mage joked, earning a chuckle from his companion.

"Who got lost?"

Juvia and Gray spun around, startled by this voice. They were met with the dark silhouette of a cloaked woman -what was it with people and cloaks today? A new trend or something?- standing only a few feet away from them. Her eyes were covered by the hood but the sparkle of her golden earrings shone under her blond bangs. A beautiful sapphire was hung on a thin cord around her neck, matching her blue silk top and the long white skirt she was wearing went down to mid-calf.

When Juvia turned, a little box of biscuits fell with the spinning motion and rolled down to the woman's feet. She bent down to pick it up.

"Oh, I love those sweets." She said cheerfully. "Thanks."

Gray grumbled under his breath. Just what he needed, a random stranger picking up Erza's absolute favourite biscuits. The Titania would undoubtedly have their heads if they left it at that. "Sorry, could you give them back?"

"Nope." The woman replied, and neither Juvia nor Gray missed the amused smile that graced her lips.

"Gray-sama kindly asked you." The water mage began in a low voice, and her companion knew what would come next. "You should better do as he says." Water started to bubble around the blue haired woman and she took a threatening step forward.

However, that didn't really seem to impress her opponent. She just shook her head and retorted, "Oh well, if we're into displays of magic, then..." A golden key appeared in her hand, and she held it in a very familiar manner. Juvia stopped dead in her tracks and like Gray, her eyes widened in surprise. "Open: Gate of the Bull. Taurus!"

In a puff of smoke and a loud moo, the terrible fighter spirit appeared. "I'll protect your nice body with my life!"

"L.. Lu.."

"Oh please." The mage huffed, glaring at her spirit as she removed her hood. "Next time I'm calling Gemini."

"LUCY!"

A delighted smile stretched across the stellar mage's face and she waved at them.

"Hi guys, I'm back!"

Yeah, first chapters are always short... at least, mine are.

Btw, there will be a lot of pairings, and most of them will be established relationships.
First ones are of course: GrayxJuvia and NatsuxLucy.
I'm not going to list them now, they will appear soon enough^^

Hope you liked it.