Yoho! Thanks for taking your time to read the next installment of this mini-series! And thanks again for those of you who showed your support for this story! I hope you enjoy!


Gruvia Week: Day 2
Eyes l Tears

For regular folk, the time span between someone's passing and the burial ceremony can take from two days to a week. But in a universe where there is magic, there are ways to extend human capabilities.

The water Mage's body was kept in pristine condition for two weeks. The news of her passing has easily traveled throughout Fiore to reach the eyes of the remaining Fairy Tail members. Most of the members were scattered, but still within cities lengths of Magnolia Town. The weeks were spent to ensure that everyone received the letters that Lucy written herself. Many guildmates felt bittersweet about the reunion. Of course, everyone would have come together eventually without the need for an emergency. All someone had to do was ask.

One of the first members to return and arrive to Magnolia for the mourning was Gajeel Redfox. Despite his harsh personality, the two were very close considering how they were both in the same guild, Phantom Lord, prior to joining Fairy Tail. Having to go through two broken guilds was tough on them, but they took it better than other members as they have experienced it before. The open casket was ready since morning and Gajeel would be the first to pay his respects. He looked down at her body, her eyes are closed and body completely still. He had to glare right into her face in order to confirm that all of this was not a joke. The longer kept gawking at her frozen complexity, the more he finds that his sight is starting to blur, his vision progressively getting more difficult to see straight lines. They were his eyes getting consumed by tears, like Juvia's Water Magic.

"Are you crying Gajeel?" his eyes widened to the sound of a gentle voice. He turned around to see a particular Solid Script Mage right behind him. It was none other than Levy McGarden, one of the other Mages that he is frequently partnered with and grew close to (not that he would admit to). Unlike Gajeel who wore his usual attire, Levy was dressed for the occasion. She tied a black ribbon in her hair with her usual style, and a little black dress with laced sleeves. She had a concerned look on her face, especially since the one person you would never see cry is actually tearing up. "It's okay if you are."

"You idiot," he said while obviously choking slightly from trying to hold back. He quickly wiped away the evidence and looked back at Levy with reddened eyes from rubbing too rough. "Of course I'm not. I-It was just-"

"I know," she smiled softly. The body language told Gajeel that everyone was okay, he did not have to pretend to be strong because she already know that he is one of the few people that is taking it harder than others. She walked up closer to the casket, right by Gajeel's side who refused to turn back around to look at the body. Instead, he scoped out the rest of the Kardia Cathedral and realized that all of the benches were empty.

"Where the hell is everyone else? Don't they know what today is?"

"Most of them are outside," Levy notified him as she continued paying her respects by placing a flower on the closed side of the coffin. "Everyone will have a chance to have a 1 on 1 with Juvia. The ceremony will be in the afternoon."

"Geez...," he said under his breath. "I wonder how that damn ice jerk is feeling."


Gray Fullbuster's eyes were closed. He was still in the home where he lived with Juvia during Fairy Tail's break, sitting on a chair next to his former roommate's bed as if she was still there. They say that time would always heal, time would always be your friend, but no progress has been made so far for him. His heart was still aching. Despite the rest of his body being numb, he was not necessarily immune to any sort of pain or feeling. It was like a constant struggle for him, physically and mentally. He was fighting with himself this entire time. He wants to forget everything, but at the same time, he wants to be a mature adult about it. Death is a part of life.

"Water is a source of life...," he said to himself as his eyes fluttered opened. Looking out the window and saw how it was already the middle of the afternoon based how high the sun was already. He had his hands cupped together and as he grew deeper in thought, he clenched them harder together. "Why did Juvia..."

Gray's eyes widened as a flashback of the battle of Tartaros rekindled in his memories. Juvia fought against one of the Nine Demon Gates, specifically the necromancer than has kept his father alive. She was the one that allowed his old man to finally get peace and reunite with his mother. For that, he was grateful for Juvia for her courage to do what she has done. But his chest grew dense as he remembered the little things that have happened when the two lived together. The Water Mage, despite her cheeriness, had moments of pain. At times, she would have periods of fatigue and would sweat from the ferocity of her body battling with the pain. She would also insist that she was okay and there was no need for worry. He had to believe her. But now that he thinks about it, it must have been the anti-Magic particles that infected her body. Although he was not physically there to witness it, Natsu filled him in on it during their duo battle with Tartaros leader, Mard Geer. She was dying the entire time, and Gray did not do a thing about it.

He could not attend the funeral anymore. Not with all the missed opportunities, all the times that he could have done something to save her. Gray felt more guilt and he was just burdening himself more with the added turmoil. He fell the ground as he slammed his fist on the floor. His forehead pressed against the cold ground, teeth clenched tight, and the heaving sounds of cries echoed throughout the empty home. Without Juvia to comfort him, he felt all the more alone. His eyes began to sting from all the tears that became rivers. He was suddenly met by a figure that appeared before him. From all his wailing, it was no wonder he could not hear someone coming inside. This confrontation made him momentarily calm down, but did not make an effort to look at whoever came to see him. Though, judging by the feet itself, Gray could probably already guess who.

"Get the hell up you jackass," Gajeel stomped his feet close to Gray's face. He was not having any bullshit to deal with, especially not wanting to waste his time by dragging himself to have an audience.

"What are you-"

As stated before, Gajeel was not having it. He did not come here to have a man-to-man deep conversation. All he wanted to do was to get the Ice Mage out of the place. He did not hesitate to grab the collar of Gray's black dress shirt with rolled up sleeves (yes, he still had clothes) and throw him against the wall.

"If you're done whining like a sappy ass ice cube," he said without considering how Gray was feeling. By all means, he knew that he was going through a tough time and was just making it worse by being hard on himself. But he was doing this for the sake of Juvia. Gray is not the only one who regrets not saying any last words, or doing anything to appreciate Juvia before her sudden passing. Gajeel was just dying from the fact that he did not see or talk to her at all after Fairy Tail parted ways. He knows that nothing was Gray's fault, no one knew that Juvia would be taken away so soon. What Gajeel wants to accomplish is making sure that she is properly respected. "You're coming with me to the church."

"...," Gray could not argue. Anything he will say would only be used against him. He knows himself that he was just putting blame on himself, but really, that was his way of trying to cope. Juvia spent her last few breaths suffering. She should have been surrounded by loves ones while telling each other happy stories and how strongly they felt about each other. Perhaps this was the time for Gray to do that. Chances are that her soul continues to roam around Fairy Tail, especially close to Gray. If she could hear him, the Ice Mage should probably say what he wants to say.


Gray was led into the church by Gajeel. The doors swung open as the aisle to the coffin was clear for him to walk up. Everyone else has had their moment with Juvia, and they were all expecting Gray to have his turn (just with an audience this time as he was quite late for the show). Members of Fairy Tail filled the benches dressed in black. The atmosphere was melancholy, but everyone still had each other to support and be strong for. It was Gray to do the same and keep it together for everyone else. He slowly walked up the little steps to see that her casket was covered with various flowers in colors from white to shades of blue. One last tear fell onto her cheek as Gray saw her closed eyes telling him that her lifeless body was all that was left. Her hands were cupped at her chest and Gray just had to hold her hand in his. He wanted to make sure that his words reach out to her.

As he said his final words, he placed her hand back to its original position. He dropped to his knees and started shaking as it was almost time to really part ways. His dry eyes beginning to run out of tears for him to shed. The water of his eyes have depleted, just like the Water Mage.


I purposely left Gray's final words to Juvia blank for your own interpretation. Do you think he would say he loved her too? Sorry for not loving her? Etc, etc, etc. Possibilities are endless! I hope you stick around for the entire week!