Hey, guys! It's Dante again. I've jumped on many ships since TBoTEoLaWKI aka the gratsu fic with the insanely long title. But don't worry, I will be working on that as well when the inspiration strikes. For now, the muse for Gray and Juvia seems to have caught my eye (as well as Gajeel and Levy and Mira and Laxus but that's a different story altogether, literally and figuratively.) Again, it's going to be pretty much just a drabble series. There will probably be chapters that relate to each other again, like this one will have a second chapter, but they're pretty stand alone.

Also! If you guys wanna submit headcanons to me through messages or comments, I would be willing to take them. Thank you, everyone, so very much for sticking with me even though my updating skills are horrible. Please enjoy!

Breath of Life

She still can't believe it. Her one and only said no. He rejected her love and Juvia had no one. Well, she had Lyon, but she didn't really know about that nor did she particularly care. Her attention was solely on the person who didn't care for her at all, it seemed, despite his saving her life countless times. Her shattered heart was slowly falling apart in her chest as she walked away from the party that they threw to celebrate. Somehow, Juvia always knew that this day would come, as much as she tried to deny it. But knowing still didn't make it hurt any less.

Had she done something wrong? Or was he simply tired and irritated to have said such mean things to her, well, mean in her mind. They might not have been so bad if Gray were speaking to someone else. Why was the person who had shown her kindness for the first time in her life pushing her away so roughly? It seemed that Juvia would forever walk in lonely darkness, never knowing true love's light if the love she felt for Gray weren't true.

She would always have the love of the new family that had adopted her; she knew that, but it just wasn't the same way that someone could feel that lonely hole in one's heart. Maybe there was just something wrong with her. Maybe she was still, deep in her heart, the depressive little girl who never knew the sun.

It wasn't before long that she had found the little room that she was staying at during the games and settled down with a hot cup of tea, chamomile since she had decided in a fit to throw out the Earl Grey she had gotten simply because it had his name in it. It stung to think about him and all those fruitless endeavors to earn his love. Perhaps she should give in and move on? But who would she ever find that would be as good as he is... was...-is?- in her mind?

A few hours later, there was a knock at the door. With a curious heart, not at all thinking it was her Gray coming back to reconsider his no, she answered the door and was very surprised to have seen that she was only half right.

"Gray?" she asked, not knowing what he was there for.

"Someone said you went missing from the party after we spoke," he mumbled, "They wanted me to check on you."

"It was Lyon?" she asked. When he didn't answer Juvia added with a heavy heart, "Juvia is sorry that she has bothered Gray so long." She hadn't looked up at him when she began speaking again, so she missed the look on his face. "Juvia held hope that maybe someday Gray would return her feelings, but it seems it won't work out as such. Juvia will leave Gray alone now. Juvia apologizes for wasting Gray's time for his worrying."

And, just like that, she closed the door without waiting for what he had to say. Her tears had already begun to fall. After all, he got what he wanted, right? And so, Juvia would have to be content with that; she did love him, after all.

But where had she gone wrong?