I do not own the rights to Fairy Tail or it's characters. This fan fiction is an original chain of events following the story of Gray and Juvia based within the time Natsu left for training with a slight change to Gray's past.

"I will disband Fairy Tail. Go! Go where your beliefs and your legs will take you. That's all there is."

Master Makarov, the short and mischievous master of Fairy Tail stands before his guild members on the destroyed remains of their guild hall. The fight with Tartaros left the town of Magnolia empty and in ruins. Rubble covers the land further than the eye can see, and smoke still darkens the sky after the city's destruction.

Every person in the crowd becomes rather vocal, either shouting or crying, or even both. Normally another guild hall would be built in a matter of hours, so what makes this time any different? Many of the mages within Fairy Tail had been part of the guild since they were only children, and don't know how to live outside the family Makarov helped create.

"Fairy Tail will disband this very instant!" Makarov bellows. The crowd beneath him falls silent. "And don't let me hear anyone of you speak of that name anymore."

Makarov's strong but apologetic voice echoes with his last sentence. The guild stood in the debris of the old guild hall, scared and confused by this news. The pause continues until Makarov sighs and turns away to walk off with immense regret on his face, and shortly after the crowd separated too, never to regroup again.

Among those from the disbanded guild, Gray Fullbuster with his newly acquired power decides without much of a second thought to move on and live in solitude training with the Demon Slayer magic he inherited from his father, Silver Fullbuster. While he is just as surprised and angry about the new situation, Gray was one of the only people who had already made plans to go on a sort of training vacation regardless of the condition of Fairy Tail. He is accompanied along his journey to find a new life by Wendy, Carla and inevitably Juvia, all whom once lived at Fairy Hills a short walk out of Magnolia before it too became condemned. Wendy, looking for a new home, decided to join Lamia Scale to team up with Sherria Blendy; the Sky God Slayer, so Gray offered to guide her to Margaret Town before parting ways.

Stunned by the events of earlier, the team of four leave to the edge of the town to catch a carriage and ride south, each waiting for someone else to be the first to say something.

Wendy sits on a bench waiting for the carriage while curled up in a ball with her knees tucked under her chin trying not to cry. She doesn't cast a shadow under the overcast sky, littered with smoke and dust swirling above the remains of Magnolia.

"It's definitely curious, the way the master disbanded the guild..." Carla says, trying to trigger a conversation.

"Yeah... Even if he was ready to retire, Macau could have just been the master again, I suppose" Gray replies, scratching the back of his head.

"It's going to be hard to be apart from everyone" Wendy sobs with her head hung low. "It'll be so strange to be without the guild and everyone else, especially Natsu, Lucy and Erza" she continues, sniffling her nose.

"You won't miss us, Juvia hopes" Juvia assures Wendy, sitting beside her. "We'll visit any time we are near"

Juvia leans in towards Wendy and grabs her by the shoulder and pulls Wendy's head into the side of one of her breasts to comfort her.

"So, you two will be living together?" Carla asks, pointing up to Gray.

Juvia blushes and can't hide her smile from showing after Carla's rather blunt question.

"What? No! I'm going to train and search for END. I don't know what Juvia's doing. I thought she was going to Lamia Scale with you two" Gray responds, flustered and embarrassed by Carla's question.

"Don't be ridiculous Gray, my Snow Bunny!" Juvia announces, jumping up from the bench and wrapping her arms around him. "Nothing will tear us apart. Not even Fairy Tail breaking up. We will finally live together. It's a dream come true!"

Gray blushes in embarrassment over the new nickname Juvia had just given him. Wendy looks up and giggles in amusement, still coddled in a ball.

"No, don't ever call me that again!" he demands, pushing her away to arms length.

"Aww, but it's so cute though" Wendy teases, wiggling her finger at Gray while laughing.

"Listen, you can come with me, but don't get too comfortable, Juvia. I'll be looking for END, and when I kill it I'll be bringing the guild back together myself!" Gray announces.

Carla smiles with a nod. Although everyone now has to make their own way in this world, they each know how to move on. Still, why Makarov broke the guild up was still the mystery on everyone's mind. The carriage eventually arrives, and with small talk breaking the tension for the duration of the several hour long ride, the carriage finally gets to its destination.

Gray and the three girls all jump out of the carriage and walk towards the center of town. Wendy, now in higher spirits, is excited to see how similar Margaret is to Magnolia.

"Wow!" Wendy shouts, running around as her blue pigtails bounce with every step. "There are so many shops here too! Where is the guild hall? I can't wait to see Sherria again!"

Margaret town is riddled with houses and shops and friendly faces, similar to what Magnolia once was. The cosy town would be easy for Wendy to call a home. Gray looks in silence towards the horizon to see the trail of smoke left by his old home in the distance. The black clouds looming over the Magnolia Ruins are defined and contrast against the red sky behind them as day becomes dusk.

Walking further into town looking for the guild hall, the four Fairy Tail wizards were intercepted by Jura of the Ten Wizard Saints. He stands over the other mages wearing a black kimono.

"Gray, your timing is perfect. It's a coincidence I see you here just as I was leaving for Magnolia." he says. "I'd like to have a word, if you're free. I'm... sorry to hear about the guild."

"It's good to see you again too!" Wendy laughing with a smile on her face. "We were hoping we could join Lamia Scale" She continues, holding Carla in her arms.

"I'm sure the four of you would be able to join if you spoke to Master Ooba. She's in the guild hall" Jura informs Wendy, pointing towards the direction of Lamia Scale's hall.

"Thanks, but Juvia and I won't be staying long. We're just walking Wendy and Carla here" Gray assures Jura.

Wendy runs off towards the guild hall, Carla in hand.

"Have fun!" Juvia shouts.

"And you two as well!" Carla replies, still clutched in Wendy's arms. Jura sighs before looking back to Gray.

"It's time I left the guild here. There have been orders that the Ten Wizard Saints band together to create the new Magic Council. Gray, your own master will be there among the Ten."

Gray stares back at Jura emotionless for a few moments before his eyes light up. Jura simply nods.

"Thank you, Jura. Say hello for me when you get to there. I'll visit soon" Gray says. Jura grunts as he cracks a smile.

"I expect to see the both of you there" Jura says, turning to Juvia. "Between your guild and the dragons in Magnolia, I hardly got to see how much stuff Fairy Tail was actually responsible for destroying this time!" he jokes.

"Wait, The Wizard Saints? So is that where master Makarov went?" Juvia butts in.

"Let's go Juvia... there's nothing else left for us here. Natsu left to go train, and I plan to do the same. I have to master this Demon Slayer magic if I ever want to destroy Zeref and his demons" Gray says with a serious tone. "There's a little place out of town and that's where we are going next"

He turns away from Jura and begins to walk east out of town.

"Of course, Gray! Juvia will accompany you anywhere" she shouts, pumping her fist into the air with a seriously determined look on her face, before running after Gray. "Juvia always be by your side no matter where the future will take us."

A brief walk east brings Gray and Juvia to an isolated settlement by Maragett Town in time for the sun to set. Destroyed buildings and wooden debris litter the area, and there isn't a single other person in sight.

"This place used to be filled with innocent villagers before they were driven out by a dark guild a year ago" Gray says, inspecting the houses. "Of course, it didn't take long before Lamia Scale came to liberate this place, but nobody has bothered to rebuild since. They all sort of just migrated to Margaret Town. This is where I'll be staying, so if you really want to stay too, you can help me rebuild some of these houses tomorrow so we have somewhere to sleep."

"Sleep... together?" Juvia whispers, eyes glimmering.

Ignoring Juvia's aspiration to get in bed with Gray, he stands before the only structure barely damaged and in good condition.

"This is mostly intact. We could stay in this one tonight without the weather being a problem. Tomorrow I'll go back to town for tools and try to find material to put this place back together properly. For now though, this is home. Let's not waste any time" Gray says, pushing the door open and dropping his bags inside the doorway.

Juvia does the same and turns around.

"This place is so cute! We'll finally get to live together, Gray. How romantic!" she squeals, dancing on the spot.

Gray wanders further into the house and holds his arms behind his head. The house contains a dining area, the kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Though abandoned, the house contains furniture and dishes already and in good condition.

"How did you know about this place anyway?" Juvia asks, following him inside.

"I came through here on a mission to the coast south of here. Back then this place was still alive and full of people. I was getting paid to recover an artefact that over time turned people into demons. Turns out it was a lost artefact of Zeref, so I destroyed it instead. After I found out this place was lost to a dark guild it was always in the back of my mind if I ever needed a place to escape to" he replies, inspecting both bedrooms before choosing one sitting on a bed.

"Listen, Juvia..." he sighs. Juvia looks attentively and deeply into his eyes from the bedroom doorway, waiting for some kind of overdue confession of love.

"It's getting late, so... I don't know. We can start everything tomorrow. I'm pretty tired after spending a good part of today walking. I'm going to sleep. If you feel like cooking something could you try to be quiet?" he asks, laying on his back and fanning his arms out on the blanket.

Juvia giggles with cheeks burning red before hastily stripping down to her underwear and climbing onto Gray's claimed bed on all fours. Gray let's out a long exhale before pulling himself back up and standing to his feet. He begins to unbutton his dark blue shirt from top to bottom and undressing with his back to Juvia as she bites her lip and watches. He drops his shirt on the floor and turns to her.

"Goodnight, Juvia" he says, unexpectedly.

He turns back and walks into the other bedroom, undoing his pants on the way. Juvia, still propped on her hands and knees is now confused and a little embarrassed.

"Um... Gray?" she calls, baiting a response. After no reply she calls out again across the room. "Are you coming back to bed? Juvia is lonely..."

"There's a bed in here. I'll see you in the morning!" He calls from the other side of the house.

Juvia reaches her leg over the edge of the bed and stands up to walk over to the doorway.

"Juvia, I'm too tired. I don't feel like kicking you out so save us both the time and go to sleep" Gray yawns.

Juvia, now upset walks out and peeps around the other bedroom doorway to see Gray laying on his side in bed with his back to her. Never has Juvia been so close to achieving her fantasies with Gray. Scared she will be kicked out for making her move on him, she turns back and dawdles back to her room. Upon walking through the doorway again she notices Gray's shirt at her feet. She hastily picks it up and holds it to her face, discreetly smelling the shirt. She holds it to her chest and falls back onto the bed. Smiling, Juvia clutches the shirt to her chest as she closes her eyes.

Juvia wakes the next day to find Gray standing over her with an evil grin on his face. Juvia blushes immediately as she feels butterflies in her stomach.

"Good morning, my love! Did you sleep well?" Juvia asks, rolling over in her bed and rubbing her eyes.

"Sure" he replies. "I'm going to need my shirt back" he informs her, pointing to the shirt Juvia is laying on top of.

"Oh, um..." she stutters as she tries to think of an excuse.

Her heart almost stops in that moment. She feels like being sick on the spot as the guilt of being caught stealing his clothes is almost unbearable for her.

"So this is where all my clothes go after all those fights I have. How many of my shirts do you even have?" He jokingly interrogates her.

"Um... too many?" She mumbles as she twiddles her fingers together.

"Well that's not overdoing it at all..." Gray chuckles sarcastically. "Remember at the Grand Wizard Games you gave me seven years worth of birthday presents in one day to make up for us being frozen in time? It's dumb, but... I guess it's sorta cute too" he confesses as he yanks his shirt out from under her.

Noticing the insult, it was still the first time Gray had ever called Juvia cute. It was such an overwhelming feeling for her, feeling Gray's attention. After all her effort she put in over the last few years of fighting together she feels more confident than ever around Gray. She jumps up off the bed and wraps her arms around him, still in her underwear.

"Gray thinks Juvia is cute!" she screams.

Gray rolls his eyes before pushing her away once again to arms length.

"So, I was thinking last night and I need to see the new Magic Council. Hopefully we'll see gramps there too. Then I want to go back to Burago in the Northern Continent to visit someone I knew when I was just a kid" he announces, walking to his bags at the front door.

"The Northern Continent!?" Juvia shouts, becoming serious. "It'll take weeks to go there!"

"Does that mean you won't be coming?" Gray asks with a grin.

In a fit, Juvia storms up to Gray and takes her bag from beside his and holds it to her chest.

"You know that's not what Juvia meant!" she pouts with a sour look. Gray chuckles.

"Have a shower, get dressed and finish getting ready. This place has hot water. I've already checked" he assures her. "We're going to Era to see the Wizard Saints"

Gray opens the door to outside, letting sunlight flood the room. The air is fresh and the sky is clear. Perfect for an adventure.