I am going to start posting a collection of drabbles, one-shots, and maybe more based off of a prompt list a friend showed me on tumblr. These are all of my Fairy Tail ones. :]

This contains hints of Gruvia and is based off of chapter 334, but it is probably slightly different in some places.

01: I never knew


I never knew that he cared for me until it was too late.

I was always just his shadow. I was the annoying girl who had a giant crush on him, and I couldn't help but long to be with him all day, every day. Who couldn't? He was extremely handsome; that's probably how I first got infatuated with him. Inevitably, I ended up admiring him not for his looks, but who he was—although he'd never admit it, he had a big heart, full of love for his nakama.

Nakama are special to us in Fairy Tail, but who was I to him? Was I just a pest, an irritating fly he longed to bat away? Was I important to him? Was I simply another face in the crowd, a glance he caught that stuck out for two seconds until becoming a blurred nothing?

Albeit my immature, fangirl tendencies, this is what really went on in my head all of that time. I was scared. In fact, I was absolutely frightened, because I knew the chances he actually liked me were slim. He would only protect me and help me because I had a holy mark on my thigh.

But what about all of those times when our bond proved to be powerful? When we used unison raid, a magic only available to powerful mages who are close to each other? When Meredy bound what we felt, physically and emotionally, together, and we felt one another's pain and sorrow, but we still trudged on and saved all three of us from death?

This was the whirlwind that I thought about every single day, and even though my mind was a haze of emotions, I managed to keep my head up and grin for him. I only wanted him to smile for once, instead of being so upset. He didn't have to be grey like his name. He had to at least show joy for others' sake.

But I still couldn't help but wonder if my efforts and affections were going to waste.

I never wanted to be proven wrong like this.

Here we are, on a battlefield stained with crimson blood and lost hope. Some of us still fight on, with that burning spark in our hearts, but the flame has already been extinguished for most. We may be able to defeat these seven dragons, but it will be a Pyrrhic victory, no doubt. There will be too many casualties.

And here I am, falling to the ground, helpless and weak.

But not by a deadly blow from a dragon.

By a very human hand... pushing me down?

I look up to see him standing in my place, with a large hole blown clean through his chest. Blood seeps out of it, and his eyes look blank.

My eyes widen and my mouth drops.

I hear a grunt escape him. Or a laugh. I don't know. All I know is that I'm crying, trying to shriek and let it all out, but no sound will come out.

More beams shoot out and hit his torso, his arms, everything—it's like most of him isn't even there anymore.

And then, in slow motion, a small crimson fountain sprouts from the back of his head, and he falls to the ground.

Finally, I scream a scream so inhuman that I don't even know if I am a person anymore. What am I? Am I human? Am I a beast? Am I a doll, even?

I can't tell. All I see is him.

My flame disappears.

Why are his eyes so glassy? I can see fog trapped in it. I don't see light. Is he dead? He can't be.

I muster all of my strength and inch my way towards him, tears pouring out uncontrollably. No one around me dares to move. Not even Lyon.

"G... Gray-sama?" I whisper, shaking as I stroke his bloody face. It gets on my hand, but I don't even notice. "Gray-sama? Please don't be dead. D-don't tell Juvia that you are dead. You..."

And then it hits me. He passed defending me.

He put himself in the way of death so I could live longer? For all I know, I'll only survive a minute more than him. My breaths are already unsteady. What am I? What do I have to live for?

The better part of me tells me, "Your comrades. Fight on for them."

But right now, all I see is him. He was always so grey. Grey, like his name.

Gray.

Gray is dead.

"G-Gray..." I must have been worth something to him, then. He cared about Juvia? About me? I always thought he only dealt with me because I was in Fairy Tail. Are we equals? Gray sounds nice. Better than Gray-sama, actually. He is grey. He is Gray.

"Gray... Juv-" I choke, bawling. Juvia is me. I am Juvia. I have to say this right.

"I love you, Gray."

And that's when I know I really have fallen for a fallen man who truly cared about me.

Everything goes white. I watch everything occurring backwards, even though I don't want to. But why is his chest healing? Am I standing? The beams are returning to the monsters.

And I am standing next to him again, like it never happened. Is this a dream?

"Juvia, I have to tell you something."

I cannot find what else to say. No, this is real. Somehow, time rewinded. I'm getting a second chance. One where we can both live.

I don't know how this happened, but I could praise whatever being blessed us with this. With time. Surely, it must have only been a minute, but that minute is worth everything to me.

And I can tell it is for the others. Multiple people must have passed, from every guild here. I can feel their bliss. I am emanating it, basking in it,

I am so excited to hear his deep voice again, I can't help but do exactly as I do before.

"W-what is it?!"