"What would happen to Juvia and Jellal if Gray x Erza became canon?"

This is Juvia and Jellal's story.

The days following Erza and Gray's engagement party, things became relatively calm by Fairy Tail's standards. The guild was still in chaos, but now Juvia didn't have to worry about their engagement being shoved her face. Now, Juvia had to more of a personal problem to face. How is Juvia suppose to get over her 'beloved Gray'? Juvia knew eventually Erza would ask her to be apart of the wedding whether becoming a bride's maid or sitting in the crowd of nameless but somewhat familiar people. She could only pray that Juvia would not be forced into becoming a bride's maid. Standing mere feet from her former crush as he says 'I do' to another woman AND keeping the rain at bay? Juvia did not want to test her limit.

Sighing, Juvia looked around the guild. The usual pairings and groups were paired together and chatting their hearts out. Everyone had someone, either an Exceed or best friend, to keep them comfortable, except Juvia it seemed. Was Juvia this blind this whole time? No one would dare come near Juvia with the reputation Juvia built, Gray's number one fan/ stalker. Now with Gray's wedding day counting down and the second most powerful woman in the guild as his bride, Juvia was not going near him. To Juvia, Erza was the second strongest no matter what weapon she had in her inventory. Juvia wouldn't willingly fight Erza, but Juvia stood a better chance against Erza than against Mira. That bartender was menacing even without Take Over magic.

Juvia digresses. Now alone once again, Juvia questioned her means and past actions. The water mage had put all her eggs in one basket, and that basket was smashed in front her face. No personal friends and no acquaintances she could call her own. Juvia was aware she had Meredy to talk to, but Mira was currently winning her over. What made Meredy want to become a waitress at the guild Juvia will never know. Mira, Lissana, and Kinana had it all under control.

The thought of changing guilds crossed Juvia mind, but eventually, whether days or months pass, someone would notice she was gone. There was always a possibility where Erza would blame herself for somehow being involved with Juvia leaving. Then, there's always the hidden resentment everyone will have towards when Juvia is forced back to the guild. Juvia swears this guild was a cult driven by emotional guilt sometimes.

"Juvia, can I borrow this seat?" Snapping out of my train of thought, Juvia looked up and, lo and behold, Lov- Lucy was standing in front of Juvia which confused her. Lo- Lucy's best female friend announces her engagement yesterday and she wants to talk to Gray's former stalker. What was she planning?

"Ye-Yes, Lov- Juvia means Lucy." Juvia gestured to the empty bench and keeping her guard up. "Did Lucy need something?"

"I wanted to check on you," Lucy smiled, and that itself made Juvia suspected her of having an ulterior motive. No one truly checks up on Juvia, not in Phamton Lord and not in Fairy Tail. Then again, this was Lucy Heartfillia, the friendliest person alive.

"Oh, Juvia is fine. Juvia is taking every day one step at a time." Juvia carbon copied Lucy's smile as a front. Inside of Juvia, she was hard at work trying to figure out Lucy's mission.

"I was just wondering how you were doing since Gray did mean a lot to you. I know what you're going through," Juvia held back the part of her that wanted to be a snarky bitch and say 'Do you? Do you really Love Rival? Last time Juvia checked you never had your heart broken.' No, Juvia didn't want to be labeled bitter, so Juvia held her tongue. "If there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here."

"Oh Lucy, you don't have worry about Juvia." The water mage nervously chuckled. Lucy was vibe was coming off as pity, and Juvia was not going to let anyone think she was pitiful without Gray. "Juvia is perfectly fine without Gray."

"Really? That's great!" Lucy clapped in excitement. "Th-"

"Yo Luce! Mira approved the mission!" Natsu shouted across the guild, getting both of our attention. Juvia just took it as a blessing in disguise. While Juvia didn't get why Lucy came, she was satisfied that the conversation was over. After all, Lucy could never turn down potential rent money. "Let's go!"

With mouthed 'Sorry Juvia', Lucy was off to some mission accompanied by Team Natsu. Juvia sighed softly. Looking around, Juvia realized she was alone once again. Nothing had changed. Juvia was sitting by her lonesome self in this grand guild. She had enough free time to bore even the most self-entertaining people. Reap what you sow, and Juvia was certainly reaping the repercussions of her actions.

"Oi! Will you stop being so depressing? You're putting a damper on my mood." Juvia never meet someone as blunt as Cobra. Somewhere in between the celebration and today, Meredy explained the Crime Sorciere and everyone's magic. Erik was the poison dragon slayer and had sound magic. Somehow, his sound magic allows him to hear people's thoughts, so Juvia wasn't even able to be safe in her head around him. "It's not like I can turn it off. Certainly, I would if I could tune your ass out."

"Hey! Juvia-"

"What? What are you going to say? That you're not depressing?" Erik rolled his left eye, hearing through my bullshit. "You can fool anyone else, but not me."

"What do you suggest Juvia should do then?" She puffed out her cheeks. "Should Juvia fake her thoughts while you're in the vicinity?"

"Shit, didn't Meredy explain it right?" He scratched the top of his head. "I can hear a person's soul not their thoughts. You can fake your thoughts all you want. Your soul is still depressing as hell, and I thought Jellal was depressing. You got him beat by a mile."

"Then, what does Erik suggest Juvia do?" She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. "Juvia is open to all suggestions."

"How about you actually do something? You've been sitting at the same fucking bench for a week staring off into space."

"Juvia should eat..." She answered while patting her stomach. "Juvia... Juvia doesn't remember the last time she ate something."

"Shit woman, are you trying to starve yourself?" He groaned. Erik grabbed me by the arm and forcefully hauled Juvia to his table consisting of Jellal. He tossed me next to Jellal before trudging over to Kinana.

"Um... hey Juvia." Jellal glanced in my direction.

"Hello Jellal, how are you?" Juvia smiled half heartedly.

"Oh, I'm doing fine." He quickly answered, staring at his lap. Juvia knew 'I'm doing fine.' meant because well she just used it on Lucy. Erik was right; Jellal was just as depressing as Juvia. "What about you?"

"Jellal, Juvia knows how much it hurts." There was no point for Juvia or Jellal to lie to one another. If anyone knew what Jellal was going through, Juvia was the closest person. "Can we promise to be honest with each other? Juvia can't take another lie."

"Yeah...Yeah," Jellal's face said it all. Juvia didn't need to Erik's magic to tell what was going on in his head. He was absolutely shocked that someone besides Cobra could look past the obvious. "I can do that."

"So Juvia will ask the question again." She cleared her throat. "How are you Jellal?"

"Hehe, you're a stubborn person, Juvia." Jellal chuckled. The smile on face disappeared quickly when reality hit him again. "I'm getting by somehow. I can't really look at Erza or Gray without feeling like Jura sucker punched me in the gut."

"Juvia understands. She's barely keeping the rain at bay." Juvia groaned. "Why is it truly not meant to be? Juvia gave so much of her affection and love to Gray, and Juvia has nothing to show it."

"How many Gray dolls did you have again?" Jellal gave a judgemental look. "Some guys just don't like big shows of affections. I can tell you had the somewhat pure intentions, but Gray wasn't that kind of guy."

"Juvia already admitted those dolls crossed the line." Juvia defended herself against Jellal's accusation. "Juvia has done so much for Gray though. Juvia picks up his clothes, cooked for him for almost a year, sacrificed her very life for him, defended him when no one else would, and-"

"For fuck sakes woman," Cobra interrupted me with two plates nearly shattered on impact. "You give him the fucking world, and it wouldn't change shit. Iceboy for some reason wanted that dominatrix."

"Erza is not a dominatrix!" Jellal argued, but Erik made a fair point. Juvia sweatdropped. Erza had a dominating and demanding personality.

"Jellal... Erza is a tad bit more aggressive than more women." I put it as softly as possible. It wasn't technically a lie since the scarlet warrior was hostile around both friends and enemies.

"See even the stalker can agree with me!" Erik grinned a toothy grin. It wasn't Natsu's childlike grin. No, it was more of a menacing grin. Just think of Laxus and Natsu's smile being mixed together with a couple of evil drops in the pot and that's Erik's signature grin.

"It was only Gray! Juvia never stalked anyone else!" She snapped back at the poison dragon slayer.

"For nine fucking years woman!" Cobra clapped back. When Juvia had nothing to say, he continued. "Now you two eat something before ya starve yourselves to death. We gotta talk too."

"About what?" Juvia asked in between bites.

"You two need to get out more, and Kinana doesn't approve of me doing missions alone." He blushed a bit when mentioned his girlfriend.

"Meaning what?" Jellal raised his eyebrow.

"Put two and two together Jellal." He rolled his eye. "The three of us are gonna form a team."

"Like the Crime Sorciere?" Juvia didn't exactly expect Erik of all people to ask her to join his team. Wouldn't something like the Neo- Crime Sorciere be better?

"No, because we're not repenting for any sins. This is more of a normal team."

"But why Juvia? Erik barely knows Juvia." She did have a point. Juvia never really had a one on one experience with Cobra. Then again, Juvia was anti-social.

"One if it's just me and Jellal, it's a sausage fest, and I don't anyone to have misunderstandings about us. Two, and this is what confuses the shit out of me, you two aren't depressing to be near when the other is around."

"Therefore, you want to stick the three of us together?" Jellal summarized. Erik showed off his wicked grin again.

"A stalker, a snake, and a convicted murderer forming a team? What could go wrong?"

"Surely anything and everything will go wrong." Juvia sweatdropped. She wasn't too keen on joining a team where she's known as the stalker, but Cobra had a bit of truth in his words. Regretting her life choices, Juvia agreed. "Did you have a mission in mind?"

"Yep," He pulled a sheet paper that clearly seen better days. To be truthful, all of the job request Juvia has done the paper itself looked as if it was centuries old. Cobra slid the paper over to the Jellal and I for us to read.

'Subdue a rouge mage!' There was a wizard running around a village, outside of Magnolia, and rendering innocent people unconscious. Villagers believe the rogue mage is planning something sinister, and they are using the village as test dummies. Be cautious around this mage! They are highly dangerous and highly skilled. The reward is set at 300,000 jewels may be raised in the near future if the rogue mage becomes unstable and dangerous.

"Three hundred thousand jewels for one mage? This is monster hunting kind of pay." Why use only the word 'rogue' to describe the person? Why not call them a dark mage or something along that like that?

"That means this guy is dangerous." Erik was a little too excited about his first job. "Want in on it?"

Reluctantly, Juvia and Jellal agreed. The request was simple enough. There was a mage running around and knocking people unconscious. All we had to do was capture the guy and report them to the magic council. To top it all off, the reward could cover Juvia's rent for the month if the three of the divided it evenly. This would also keep Juvia's mind preoccupied for a while to say the least.

Cobra virtually jumped out the booth when we green lighted the mission. By the time Juvia and Jellal finished what the water mage assumed was lunch, Erik was already had Mira's approval. For the second time in under an hour, this man has forced Juvia to another location. Erik did know Juvia can walk on her own, right?

Nonetheless, the travel time between the guild and the village was almost an hour on foot. From what Erik could tell, the trains only run to towns and cities, so a train ride was out of the question. Either that or Erik like all dragon slayers had motion sickness, and he was afraid of trains. But to each their own.

The village was nothing like Magnolia. This very small village was surrounded by a ring of trees. It could completely cut off from the world had it not been for the dirt trail leading to the place. The foundation of every house was forged from dried clay and mud with hay morphed into large cones as the roof. The buildings were primarily made of rocks idly laying around and then forced to undergo a tremendous amount of heat and pressure.

The villagers wore clothes that Juvia was sure had some meaning. Each stitch of clothing had some foreign hieroglyphic symbol printed onto it. No one in the village went without some symbol, and some had the same one. Juvia followed behind Jellal and Erik as we approached, what we assumed was, the village hall, so we could speak to the chief. After all, the largest building is most likely the most valuable to the village.

A short, tanned, and stumpy man was waiting for us at the hall's opening. He had all the ceremonial jewels and necklaces his neck could support. His aged face was calm but calculative as if he was evaluating us and our abilities from only our appearance.

"Oh fuck," Erik groaned underneath his breath. Jellal 'nudged' Cobra in the side to keep him in the line. That was the last thing Juvia expected Erik to say. After all, he was the one excited for this mission.

"Welcome Fairy Tail wizards to my village," His voice was withered down through the years. "Please come inside the meeting hall, so we can discuss the request." He pushed Jellal and Erik through the fabric door. Thinking nothing of it, Juvia followed behind them until the dusty fabric hit her right in the face. He poked his balding head out the door. "Women are not allowed inside. Why don't you go doing something more your speed? The teachers are in desperate need of help."

"Excuse Juvia?!" The water mage almost snapped. Juvia might be several terrible things, but she equal to Jellal and Erik to say the least. Her gender had nothing to do with the mission. Juvia damned near castrated the man, but someone stepped in.

"Yep, I was afraid of that." Cobra stepped out from the room. "The chick is part of the team, so she can't miss out on the details."

"That may be the case, but this tribe stands by their traditions." He stubbornly folded his arms.

"Then, we'll hold the meeting out here," Jellal suggested, being the peacemaker between Juvia and the elderly man. "It would waste time if Erik and I had to re-explain everything to Juvia."

"Discussing this shit is wasting time," Cobra grunted.

"..." He looked at Juvia before sighing in defeat. "Very well, the request mentions most of the details. However, this person has been evading our warriors and traps ever since they decided to attack our village."

"What magic do they use?" Juvia asked.

"So far no one has been severely injured. However, I do want to avoid any deaths." He continued with his story. Jellal rubbed his temple. This was gonna be a long mission.

"What magic does this person use?" Jellal asked again.

"My village isn't very knowledgeable about magic. The only common trait that I can recall is whenever someone is attacked all they feel is a hand on their skin." He shamefully admitted. "That's all. A hand or a finger on them, and the person is knocked out. Powerful magic indeed."

"What the hell?" Cobra cocked his eyebrow. "That's a new type of magic."

Juvia whispered a question to Jellal.

"Do you have a description of the person? Anything?" He repeated Juvia's question. It was pointless to completely ignore every time Juvia had something to say.

The elderly man flinched at the simple question. Why he did would be anyone's guess. Was he hiding something from the village or maybe us? Or did he not want to say because Juvia asked?

"Oh that's priceless," Erik crackled. The poison dragon slayer signaled Juvia and Jellal to follow him into the forest. Fear struck the old chief as we disappeared from earshot and eyeshot. Cobra let us have it with his booming laugh. "The mage terrorizing the village is a girl. Oh my god! That's definitely karma if I ever saw it!"

"Juvia suggest we leave. Juvia will not deal with his misogynistic attitude." There was a glint of misfortune in Juvia's eyes. Prehaps Meredy and Mirajane would like to hear about this mission when they get back.

"Come on, Juvia," Jellal spoke up. "Yes, he's a pain to deal with, but this our first mission as a group. Let's capture the girl and collect our reward. I'll give you half of my share if you put up with him."

"Jellal doesn't have to do that." Juvia shook her head. The gesture was kind, but Juvia was more determined to outclass this man. She'll pull more than her share of the weight and show that Juvia is their equal.

"If you're done monologuing, I got an idea of where the rogue mage is." Erik jabbed his finger deeper in the forest. "Don't let your guard down. One touch and you're out. Got it?"

"Yes!" Jellal and Juvia answered.

Quietly, the two of us followed Cobra all the way to what appeared to be a small camp site. There was a camp fire in the middle, a tent made of the village's clothes and dried branches, and sharped stick laying on the ground. This looked more like a temporary camp than anything else. Was Erik sure this was the right place and that we didn't stumble across something else?

A slim young woman, around Juvia's age, stepped out the tent with an apple in her hand. Her whitish hair combed into a single long ponytail. She had a cloth tied around her chest, exposing her stomach, and she wore a long village skirt coming down to her ankles. She didn't have any shoes on. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't starving, but she wasn't dining like a king. This woman was truly living with the bare minimum. She seemed harmless to say the least. Perhaps Juvia, Jellal, and Erik should leave before they're caught? Without a second thought, Erik stood up and slowly approached the lady.

"Aye, I got a question for you."He nonchalantly called out.

"Huh?!" Her accent sounded very southern Foire-ish. She was so startled that the apple dropped from her hand. "Don't ya come any closer! Y'hear!"

"Chill, I ain't gonna hurt you. I just want to know your name." He held his hands in the air to show he's no threat.

"St-Stay back! Y'heard me!" She screamed, frantically scooping out the area. "I don't wanna have any trouble!"

"Cobra, that's enough," Jellal jumped out the bush. "You're scaring the poor woman."

"Ano-Another one? Where's y'all coming from?"

"Ugh, Jellal," The dragon slayer groaned. "I had it planned. She would've come peacefully."

"No, I wouldn't! Dontcha think you're assuming too much?!" The white hair woman argued. Juvia might as well come out. Our cover was blown.

"Please," Juvia brushed the leaves off her dress. "Let us resolve this peacefully. Juvia doesn't want to fight you."

"Wh-Who's Juvia?"

"Juvia is Juvia." The water wizard smiled.

"The blue haired woman is Juvia," Erik quickly explained. "She likes talking in the third person. I know. It's weird."

"Hey!"

"Anyways, come quietly and we won't have to fight you," Erik warned her.

"I'm no-not going anywhere with the like of y'all. You must be crazy." She made a run for it. Jellal was the first to react and blocked the path with his body. The bandit woman couldn't stop her momentum and charged into him. It was for a second, but nonetheless a second, where Jellal's hand touched the rogue woman's shoulder. Both gasped as Jellal's eyes rolled up into his skull. The girl glowed with a golden light. Jellal collapsed onto the floor. "Wh-What is this power? What are these memories? How messed up is this guy?"

Her accent was completely gone, but her speech pattern matched perfectly with Jellal's.

"Jellal!" Juvia rushed to his side, urging him to wake up. "Jellal, are you okay?"

"Shit, he's down." Erik gripped his head. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"I-I don't know Erik!" She shouted.

"Hold on, no one called Cobra by his real name." Juvia frowned. "How did you know it?"

"Why is no one listening to me?! I'm just as confused." She clutched her aching head.

"Well, Juvia will not allow you to escape!" Juvia glared at the woman. "Water Lock!"

A water bubble caught the mysterious woman. She tried to escape using Jellal's powers, but the lack of experience was showing. The request over exaggerated her abilities; could it be that this woman didn't control her powers?

"Okay, let's do this the hard way." Erik stepped up the water lock with a glare stricken face. "Who the hell are ya?"

Author Note: I am so pumped for the next chapter. Also, I in no way agree with what village master said. I thought a traditional village would have be conversative of their rules and procedures. You'll see more of him later on in the next chapter if I keep up the story. So Cobra, Juvia, and Jellal made a team? This is gonna be fun.