Here she was again, sitting in front of the hand-made grave, ignoring the snow recovering the moutain she was currently at - she got used to the cold at the end, after all - and simply pushed the snow away from the slight liften-up ground. As a small smile finds its way on her lips, Juvia gently bows her head, dropping off the flowers she got in front of the wooden cross where Gray's parents were still graved in.
She sat in front of it, and after a small prayer towards the two people, sat silently, hands resting on her lap.
" I took care of Gray-sama the best i could." she ends up whispering, looking up again at the cross. " I did all i could, just like i promised you." her eyes drifted more towards Silver's name. " And i think you can see it by yourself. "
She can't say Grey was happy. She knows him better than anyone else, especially after all the time they spent together during the year after Fairy Tail's dissolvment, or after Zeref's and Acknowlogia's fights. He was the same as usual: training, doing his best, trying to get stronger, more mature, and fight Natsu over a yes or no. She chuckles at the thought of the two fighting - at least, nothing changed between them after everything that happened, and more importantly, they forgave each other, and swore to never speak about it ever again.
" He became a man. " she says after a while, nodding at her own words.
He really did. Grey got a hold on the demon slayer magic, not letting the darkness part of it devour all his heart. He can handle so easy, no one can even imagine he used to struggle because of it.
But Grey was filled with regrets. Juvia knows him after all.
Her hand slowly slides on her right side, touching the now faint scar she still has.
Juvia knows that mark left on her body was - and will sadly always be - a regret in Grey's memory. Just like Gajeel's memory of Levy pinned of the main tree in Magnolia. Both of them might have been over it, after all the adventures and how close they got - she's pregnant, for Pete's sake! - Gajeel will always have a sort of bitter taste no matter how many time passes by.
She knows he still struggles over it. He's her friend after all, they used to be in Phantom Lord together after all. And in a way, Gajeel kind of sought an emotional shelter in her. Juvia did her very best to help him, watching him evolve at his own rhythm, and if someone as hopeless as Gajeel - literally no one would have ever imagined the iron dragon slayer to be what he is today, espeically with Levy on his side - got able to move forward, why not Grey?
Her hand massages her side, the smile on her lips widdening slowly.
As much as Grey hates that scar, Juvia loves it.
There was memories behind that scar. Stories she couldn't wait to tell her future children about. A story about how a woman was ready to give up on her life to let her lover live for the both of them, and about a man who lost all his control at the sight of her incounscious, losing his mind and everything keeping him sane just by the thought of her dead.
Natsu told her one night.
She was sitting on a table at the guild, not too far from Grey's, drinking her tea in front of Erza's strawberry cake and the red haired woman enjoying her treat.
The fire dragon slayer came and sat next to her, not saying a word despite the curious looks he got from both Juvia and Erza.
" He will come to you, eventually. " he ends up mumbling, looking up towards the blue-haired mage, letting the woman enough time to put down her cup before frowning lightly, confused about what the pink haired boy was talking about.
" Grey." Natsu precises, and suddenly, the water mage's attention was all over him.
" What do you mean? " she asks, not sure about where this discussion is going.
" When Grey and I fought. " he explains, noticing Erza's fork being put down next to the plate, indicating him that his childhood friend was also paying attention to the conversation. " He thought you died. Trying to save him.
- Juvia almost did, actually.
- I know. But on my side, i thought Lucy died also. We both lost the people we cared the most about. But Grey.. " Natsu stops, glancing towards his friend, and Juvia follows his eyes, watching the ice mage laughing with Mirajane while Lucy was trying to hit the back of his head. " Grey lost too many people trying to save his life. You were the last one that kept a sort of light for him."
Juvia blinks, completely caught off guards by the slow revelations the boy was currently making. Said boy currently rubbing the back of his neck, a sigh leaving his lips.
" Shit, Grey is gonna kill me if he knows i'm telling you this but.. " His eyes drifts again towards the water mage. " From all the fights we usually do, this was the first time i got scared of him. And slightly worried about the outcome of it all.
- Good thing i freaking separated you both. " Erza hisses, probably remembering the state of her arms when she had to break their fight apart.
" I'm sorry. " Natsu smiles apologically at his friend that simply mumbles about how much she didn't care, and that the story was long forgotten. " My point is, please wait for him.
- Juvia is always waiting for Grey-sama!
- ha, i know. I also know how hard it is to wait for them to finally notice, grow a pair and come to you but.. " Natsu sighs again, standing up and stretching his back. " I think he wants to surpass himself first. In order to never let something like that happen again. I think, knowing this dumbass, that he think he's not worthy of you yet. So just - be patient, alright? "
And so she waited. Let Grey progress, supporting him as she always does, helping him when in need, fighting alongside him, trying her best not to put herself in danger - she really don't want to die, not after being sure about Grey's feelings for her, especially if his best friend confirmed it to her. She was here, as always, ready to cheer him up when he felt down, helping him on some missions even though she knew he didn't needed help.
But he never rejected her - he never does actually. She tends to understand that he actually enjoys her compagny, and even asks about her in case she's not around, but always react as if he didn't care as soon as someone starts teasing him, pretending that Juvia was actually so clingy that the few times when she's not is weird to him. She didn't care, everyone in the guild knew she loves him after all, so if denying loudly to everyone like a baby throwing a tantrum in the guild is what Grey wants, she lets him have it.
The thought of the said mage throwing a tantrum made her laugh slightly, getting out of her own thoughts.
" You know, he became so strong. You both must be so proud to have a son like him. "
Deep down, Juvia wondered about her parents. She wonders if both her mother and father were alive or not.
If they were, were they asking about her? Do they know who she became? What she does?
If not, are they observing her from where they were? Are they protecting her like Grey's parents?
Are they proud of her?
Her smile slowly disappears at the thought, and she stands up, bowing one last time to the grave before turning her back to it, walking back towards the city in order to come back home.
Juvia used not to care about all of these thoughts - and weirdly, Gajeel was the one forcing her to allow herself to think about it. To not be ashamed of who she was, what she used to be, because after all, she changed, and for the better, and it was a journey she was very proud to look back to.
It doesn't matter if her parents are not here. It doesn't matter if they never reached out to her. She has her own family now. The guild, the members, Grey.. They were all she could have ever asked for.
Coming back home took her longer than expected, and she finally entered her small appartment - she left the dorm about two years ago, needing more privacy than the girls dorm had to offer, opting for a cosy place in the center, not too far from Lucy's home - after the sun sets, and smiled a little at the sight waiting for her.
Grey was currently sleeping on the sofa, his shirt on the floor as always, snoring so loudly she was pretty surprised she didn't heard it from outside the home.
Dropping her bag on the floor, she takes off her shoes, before swiftly finding her way on top of him, hugging him tightly and enjoying the warmth of his usual cold body - or mayhaps was she colder from spending the day at the snowing moutain?
Almost as an automatism, Grey's arms find their way around Juvia's waist, hugging her closer as he shifted slightly from his place, a small groan leaving his lips. The sight of the small pout on her lover's face made the girl smile, and she leans forwards, pecking his lips as softly as possible, trying her best not to wake him up roughly.
The man mumbles under his breath, arms tightening their grip around her after the small contact of their lips, and holding in her laugh was getting harder, but she kept it in, simply smiling widely and watching him coming out from his sleep.
His eyes opens slowly but he shuts them quickly after, a lazy smile on his lips - what a sight to wake up.
" Hey. " she murmurs, lips grazing against his once she knew the mage was totally awake.
" Tried to stay awake waiting for you. " he whispers back, one of his hand sliding under the woman's shirt, letting his hand rest against her bare back. " Where were you?
- At Grey's parents, Juvia wanted to visit them. " The man tries to straighten up while keeping the girl on top of him, just enough to be able to look into her eyes, pretty curious about the reason behind the said visit.
" - Again? Are you planning on going each year?
- Juvia promised your father to take care of you, she has to keep him updated! "
The mage laughs, pulling her closer into a crushing hug that she gladly accepts, chin resting on his shoulder.
Grey ended up confessing last year after their last quest that could've turned ugly if Natsu and the others didn't came to save them as quick as possible.
Juvia could not believe her eyes. In the middle of the freaking battle, her magic suddenly left her - she used too much of her power and couldn't keep up anymore.
They went on a simple mission together, and Natsu's team was supposed to join them after finishing theirs that wasn't too far from them. Juvia's and Grey's mission was easy - they just had to get rid of the weird monsters that invaded some rich man's castle. Yet they wouldn't have known that a dark guild was currently illegally living under that same roof. And as strong as they are, fighting a guild of five hundred members with only the two of them wasn't an easy thing.
Even less easy now that Juvia's powers suddenly left her, out of the blue and without any coherent explanation.
Three men were running on her direction, but lucky for her, Grey hasn't noticed her condition yet, so she just screams that she's going to get rid of these three outside before running towards the exit, not wanting to burden the ice mage - they only had the half left to win and go back home.
So she ran towards the exit, avoiding any kind of spells and objects thrown at her direction, trying to get as far from the place as possible, but one of them threw a spell on the ground, and she fells head first on the hole that magically appeared, getting her trapped and encercled by the three mages.
" What are we gonna do to you, huh? " asks one of them, and Juvia tries her best not to look affected, closing her eyes and hoping for the few magic power she has to come back - she can get a magic deficiancy illness for a bit after that, it wouldn't matter, she just want to give a lesson to these perverts and go back to help Grey at this point.
But nothing. Nothing was happening. And the three mages currently jumped down, a wicked smile on their face - a wicked smile Juvia sadly knew too well.
Fuck her magic, she's going to need to rely onto her physical strength and fight them, but she already knows in advance this might be a bad idea - physical stregth sadly was her weakness and they were three men against one woman, the odds were definitely not on her favour.
" Stop fighting and stay calm for us, huh? " One of them got able to manhandle her and block one of her arms on her back, the other one trying to choke her, but she manages to bite him harshly as she kicks the one in front of her with her knee against his crotch, setting herself free for a brief second. But sadly not for too long, as the third one immobilizes her with his magic, and she now understood why her magic left her - that man had the power to control the amount of power someone can keep on their body, reducing it or raising it the way he pleases.
" Good thing we got away from you friend, that dude had something that wouldn't let me control his power. " The said man smirks as he walks closer to her, and the water mage tries her best to fight off her cuffs, panic slowly creeping up. " You being alone was the best thing we could've asked for.
- Juvia wouldn't be so sure if she was you. " she hisses as the blond haired man cups one of her cheeks, smirking wider as she tries her best to turn her head away from him. " Grey-sama will show up and beat your ass as soon as he's done with the others.
- They're too many. Your beloved Grey-sama won't be able to fight them all on his own. " He slaps her cheek at the sight of her smile creeping up its way on her face, letting her hiss again. " I wouldn't be freaking smiling if i was you, woman.
- Slap her one more fucking time and you'll be a fucking dead man. " Juvia quickly looks up, relief invading her body at the sight of the ice mage standing on top of the hole they were all in, glaring daggers towards the mage that had the woman tied up.
Grey only had to jump down and throws a simple Hammer to crush all three of the mages, throwing them away as far as possible, and Juvia's cuffs finally disappear, letting the woman fall on her knees, massaging her wrists.
She looks up, smiling and on her way to congrat the ice mage but stops herself as soon as she meets her glare - oh, so the bad look wasn't for the mages but for her?
She was in trouble, that's for sure.
" The fuck was that? " he spat, and his looks was almost crushing her, so she stops massaging her hands, now tangled almost nervously, not knowing what to do or say to calm the mage down.
" Juvia didn't knew the mage had the ability to contr-
- I'm not talking about that. " he interrupts her, eyes dark. " I'm talking about you running away as soon as your magic strength disappeared."
Oh. So he felt that.
" I- Juvia didn't wanted to burden your fights an-
- Bullshit. " She closes her mouth, swallowing slowly her saliva - this was definitely the first time seeing him that mad, and especially because of her.
" How did you think that you being away is gonna do me any good? " he ends up saying as he crutches down in front of her after a few minutes of silence, letting her watch him silently while examining her wrists, mumbling under his breath on how he should have been harder on these mages.
" Juvia wanted you to focus on your fights.
- I can't freaking focus if i don't have you under my eyes. " he mumbles loudly, hand still wrapped around hers, and the woman couldn't help but blush, biting on her lower lip at the sight of the faint blush orning the ice mage's cheeks.
" Did you defeat them all? " He shakes his head, settling down in a sitting position in front of her, finally letting go of her hand.
" Natsu and the others showed up not too long after you left, so i let them finish off to join you. " She nods at the response, looking down, trying to ignore how hard her heart was actually beating, almost making it hard to breath. " Juvia. " seeing that the woman was not planning on looking up to him, Grey slid one of his hand under the water mage's chin, forcing her head up. " Never do that again, understood? "
She nods, gluping loudly and whispering an apology - annoying him was the last thing she wanted to do.
" Maybe we should join the others an-
- Wait. I'm not done. " She blinks in surprise, tilting her head to the side despite having her chin still held by the mage that was now blushing slightly more, his faint blush accentuating more as the second passes by.
He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand, trying to kick his shyness and embarrassment away.
" - I don't want you leaving my sight ever again. " he ends up saying, and the water mage blinks again, more confused than before - in fact, she was so confused that Grey could read it on her face, judging from his annoyed pout. " Damn it. What have i told you at Lucy's celebration for her book?
- Not to undress in front of others?
- Wha- Well that's logic but- " he takes a breath in, trying not to lose his cool or chicken out once again. " Other than that? " the woman frowns lightly, trying to remember - it's been almost three years since that day.
" That woman shouldn't have scars?
- Damn it, Juvia, no- " he sighs loudly, letting go of her chin to ruffle his hair, clearly frustrated. " That you were mine, remember? "
Oh. He meant that.
The woman nods silently, blushing too hard for her own good as the man coughs in his fists, looking for his words.
" How can you be mine if you disappear, huh? I- Ah, just stay with me, alright?
- But Juvia already promised you tha-
- As a couple, Juvia. Let's stay together as a couple. "
" Earth to Juvia. " her bubble of thoughts popped off as Grey pokes her cheek, and her attention is back on her boyfriend, smiling at his amused glance. " How far were you gone, this time?
- When you confessed to Juvia. " She laughs as soon as the man groaned at the memory, hiding his eyes with his free arm, still embarrassed about the situation.
" Why must you remind me that? " he mumbles, and Juvia knows him well enough to know his cheeks were probably turning red as they speak - as expressive as she was, the mage was the complete opposite, usually expressing himself more with action than words.
" It was cute.
- Natsu freaking told the whole guild and they all teased me for a whole damn year!
- But Juvia liked it. " He rises his arm just enough to glance at her, a suspicious air settling on his face despite the woman's smile - suspicious quickly disappearing as soon as the water mage's lips meet his in a tender kiss, nodding again. " She really did. It was cute. Plus, you stayed with Juvia since then, that's all she could have ever asked for. "
She was taking care of him, just like he takes care of her.
Silver can rest peacefully in his grave now. His son was getting happier and Juvia will do anything to keep it this way.