AN: Gray might be a bit OOC here, but try to remember he has just "lost" his friend.

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We Are Here

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Someone said Gray's name and looked past Juvia – it was all she needed before she looked over her shoulder and saw his familiar frame, followed by Lucy. The Water Mage lost no time in running towards him, a big smile on her face.

"Gray-sama!" She said happily and just in time to warn him she was about to jump into his arms. Juvia wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him close to her. "Oh, Juvia was so worried." She told him.

She noticed something was wrong when she felt his arms wrap themselves around her waist and holding her tighter. Gray usually patted her on the back awkwardly whenever she hugged him (or he tried to push her away gently). The only times he held her that way was when something wasn't right.

Juvia tensed in his arms and released him so she could gently put her hands on his face to make him look at her, but he hadn't met her eyes yet. "Gray-sama? What's wrong?" She asked softly and Gray finally looked up. She knew it was something terrible before he even opened his mouth.

"Natsu-" He gulped. "Natsu is gone."

It was as if her blood turned into ice inside her veins.

Gray would never, ever joke with something like that and his look of pain plus a quick look towards Lucy holding Happy as they cried while Mirajane and Lisanna tried to understand what made her that upset, didn't let any arguments to what he meant, but Juvia needed to know.

"What… what do you mean by 'gone'?" The blunette asked in a whisper.

"He was fine. We saw him, I… he was right behind us and then, he wasn't anymore." Gray seemed lost, confused and hurt with each word he said. "We thought he would be fine."

"Oh, Gray-sama." Juvia pulled him closer to a hug once more and the fact he didn't release her at all was enough to have her worried.

Her eyes watered at the thought of Natsu, her friend. They were so alike even when their magic were the exact opposite – fire and water wasn't a good mix – but somehow they both were equally passionate, strong-minded and compassionate. And they both loved Gray, each in their own way.

Natsu had been her friend and she knew Gray was feeling the loss deeper than she was, which made her feel even worse, knowing the man she loved was in such pain. All she could do was to hold him, trying to alleviate a pain so deep it would take a long time before it became bearable.

So she held him. She held him until they heard Erza's tired voice. "Is he really gone?"

Gray let go off of Juvia and when he looked the red-haired's way, his shoulders dropped and he looked so, so broken. "I did all we could. Lucy did all she could… She rewrote it… we did all we could, we thought we had it right, we thought he was going to be okay." His voice shook and his eyes watered. "He was fine, we saw him. He was… he was fine. We tried our best, but he… I'm sorry."

Erza took a few steps and hugged him tightly, also in tears. "I know you did. You did all you could, Gray, I believe that. Everyone knows that."

"I should've-"

"Gray." Erza interrupted him and pushed him a bit so she could look him in the eye. "We know."

It was as if Gray was just waiting for her words, because a moment later, he was crying and Erza had pulled him back for a hug, whispering some words Juvia couldn't understand and she didn't think she wanted to; it was their moment of grief.

Juvia stood a few feet away and she tried her best to dry the tears that kept falling. Everyone was crying, all of them mourning their fallen friend, their brother in the crazy family it was Fairy Tail.

Erza let go of Gray, who had stopped the tears, and after looking at him and giving him a nod, she dried her own tears, looked around the Fairy Tail members that were there and said: "We need to find whoever is still missing and we need to heal." She saw them nod weakly. "We will find out what happened with Natsu but first we need to heal. We don't leave anyone behind and by one way or the other, we will find him." The nods were more decisive that time, their gaze were stronger. Erza looked Juvia's way. "Will you take care of him? I have to…" She pointed towards Lucy, who was clearly in shock.

"Of course." Juvia nodded and stepped closer to Gray, grabbing his hand. "Don't worry." Erza nodded and walked away. "Come on, Gray-sama." Juvia pulled his hand gently towards a large boulder. "Juvia isn't as skilled as Wendy-san, but she can clean your wounds."

Gray sat down, still very quiet, and Juvia stood in front of his as she used her magic to summon some water and she gently cleaned the wound he had inflicted on himself just a few hours before when they were put against each other. She was healed, yet she felt a phantom pain on her own stomach where she had hit herself. It had been the worst moment of her life to think she could hurt him.

"He was my best friend." Gray said and Juvia looked away from the wound and saw Gray was looking far away, lost in though. "He was my best friend and just a few hours ago I wished he was dead and now he is. What kind of person wishes that? I was so angry I just wanted to hurt him."

"Oh no, Gray-sama." Juvia shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "No, don't do that. Natsu-san knew you didn't mean it, just you know he didn't mean it. If he was your best friend, his, was you. You know he'd hate for you to think this way." Juvia smiled sadly. "He would certainly call you out to a fight if he knew you were thinking that."

For the first time since he had arrived, there was a ghost of a smile on Gray's lips. "He would." Gray looked up. "He'd egg me on until I fought him."

"You wouldn't need much encouragement." Juvia pointed out.

"I guess I wouldn't." Juvia returned her attention to the wound for a few moments until Gray spoke again. "I'm- I'm sorry."

"What for?" The blunette asked, paying more attention to her task.

"Today." Gray answered and Juvia looked up. "You were alive and I left you there."

Juvia shook her head. "You thought Juvia was dead. Anyone would've thought that given Juvia's wounds."

"It made me so angry to see you that way I just forgot about everything else."

The Water Mage sighed. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters!" Gray's voice was a bit louder, then, startling her a little. "You have no idea how much it matters."

Still surprised, Juvia blinked a few times before answering. "Juvia does, but it wasn't what she was referring to." She said. "What Juvia meant was that it doesn't matter what happened as long as we came out of it alive." Juvia put a hand on his cheek. "It doesn't matter what we did or didn't do, not now, not when we got reunited again. We can sort that out later, but for right now let's forget about how we got here and enjoy the fact that we are here. Together, as it's supposed to be."

"Everything will be alright, Gray-sama." She hoped he saw how much she meant it. "And if it doesn't, we'll find a way: we always do."

Gray thought it over for a few moments before he nodded, tired. "We do."

Giving him a reassuring smile, Juvia resumed cleaning his wound, well aware of his eyes on her. She could still see he was beating himself over thinking she was dead but she decided to not pressure him, he'd see things more clearly after he rested. She'd try to talk to him more, then.

Juvia was glad they had found each other again, especially after Natsu's disappearance, knowing he would need her. Her Gray-sama liked to take care of others but forgot to take care of himself.

Good thing she was more than willing to take on the job.

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AN: I'm surprised with this story being publish as much as you, trust me. HAHA This block has been maddening! I hope you enjoyed it and I'm sorry this was a little to the angst side; we know Natsu will return, but Gray doesn't (although, he should expect it by now: his father and his girl came back from the dead, now his best friend will too!) so his emotional response is to be expected.

Anyway, I hope it was good! Thanks for reading!

06/04/2017 ~ BonneyQ