So how bad is it that I forgot it was Friday...? Life is crazy these days. At any rate... Happy Friday! XD

I'm doing something a little different with this one. I originally wrote this mini-chapter as a short epilogue, but my beta felt a little cheated by the ending. Even though I did extend the scene, I don't really like it as much. Compromise: I'll post both with an A/N in the middle so you can see it both ways.

Waffels: Aww, thanks! ;) I have a lot of fun writing interactions between those two.

- K. Chandler

"Look, guys! Gray's here," said Lucy. She waved brightly.

"Morning, Lucy. Flame-Brain." Gray greeted his teammates as he entered the guild hall.

"So, you didn't walk all the way to Crocus, Ice Block," said Natsu.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Gray arched an eyebrow.

"Lucy said that you were walking to Crocus."

Lucy crossed her arms. "That wasn't what I said at all! Only you would come up with something that stupid."

"It's not stupid! And you're the one who came up with it."

"Gray!" Mira waved him over to the bar. "Juvia left this here for you."

"Oh. Did she?" Gray cringed as he recognized the little gift bag that Mira pulled out from behind the counter. He still owed Juvia an apology or something.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Natsu.

"It's a present!" Happy sang out helpfully.

"Yeah, I can see that," said Natsu.

"Someone likes you!" chirped Happy.

"Who's it from?" Natsu asked.

Gray scowled. "None of your business."

"Oh, come on, man!"

"Natsu!" scolded Lucy, cuffing him on the back of the head. "He doesn't want to talk about it, okay?"

"I was just asking, geez!"

With Natsu distracted, Gray reached into the bag, the tissue paper crunching under his fingers. He pulled out a sheet of stationary with a cheerful blue butterfly in the corner. He let his eyes rake over the florid script, surprised at the simplicity of the words.

Gray, Sorry about yesterday. I get a little excited sometimes. I hope you're feeling better! - Juvia

Gray dug deeper. His fingers brushed cold metal. Curiously, he closed his fist around the object and pulled it out for examination. It was a belt buckle.

He ran his thumb over the Fairy Tail emblem, shoulders drooping as guilt tightened around his chest.

Juvia really was a sweet girl.

And he was a jerk. Again.

He really needed to apologize. She deserved that much, at least.

Way to keep it classy, Juvia!

This was the original ending that I had in mind for this piece. It's a little bittersweet, but I like it because it shows how strong Juvia is and how much she's changed as a result of the Mazeverse timeline. (Compare this to the anime's creepy body-pillow ending; I know it was meant to be funny, but come on! If I were Gray, I'd be super weirded out.) It may not feel like a victory, but Juvia's definitely won the battle. The war's not over yet, though. It also leaves Gray in conflict and the tension sets us up for more drama in a future story. Plus, leaving them hanging makes the payoff all the sweeter.

And both of our boys are winners, even though they didn't meet up and hug it out (that would have been pretty funny...) both of them did find a friend to grieve with. Yes, I teased romantic undertones in both scenes (mostly to be contrary and play against expectations, 'cause that's how I roll), but that's not what's important. It's the idea of having someone to lean on and trust, even when that trust looks different for different people. (Lyon chose to talk; Gray didn't say a word.)

And here's the extended part of the scene, which picks up right where we left off:

He really needed to apologize. She deserved that much, at least.

He wondered if he should try to take her to lunch or something. Or send flowers? Everyone said that flowers were supposed to mean sorry, right? Or was that chocolate? He could never remember.

He really was awful at this sort of thing.

Maybe he should just write her a note and be done with it. And he was tempted to do just that, except it felt like too much of a cop out.

Gray was still trying to figure out what to do when he walked into someone on his way out of the guild.

"Oops, sorry. I should have been watching—" Gray trailed off when he saw who it was.

Juvia blinked back at him, her eyes wide.

"Oh, Gray. It's you," she said. She sounded almost shy and uncertain. She took a tentative step backwards. "Juvia was just…" she shrugged, turning away slightly.

Gray's chest tightened at her reaction. He'd really upset her. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings like that.

Juvia shuffled to the side, as if to move out of his way or maybe step around him.

"Juvia. Juvia, wait," he said, catching her just above the elbow.

"Did you need something from Juvia? I mean, from me?"

"Well, no. Not exactly. I just…" He released her, hastily jamming his hands in his pockets.

Juvia looked at him curiously.

He had promised to be kinder to her, hadn't he? If there ever was a time, this was it.

"I… didn't mean to snap at you the other night," said Gray, his eyes fixed on a point next to his toes. "Sorry. I guess can be kind of a jerk sometimes," he added ruefully.

Gray tensed, bracing himself to be tackled by the energetic Water Mage. But that hug never came. He looked up at her, slack-jawed when she just shook her head.

"It's fine. I understand. Lyon told me about it," she said with a shrug.

Gray was surprised at how well Juvia was taking all of this. Normally, her reactions tended to overwhelm him, making it hard for him to pay attention to anything else. But now, she really did seem like a nice girl.

Now, what she was hang around with the likes of Lyon for was another matter entirely, but he'd let that one go for now.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up," he said instead.

"So did it work?" Juvia's lips curved upwards, her face lighting up with glee.

He'd never noticed the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled.

It made him want to smile too.

"Yeah. Totally did."

So there you have it! It's not a strong moment of connection for these two; they've still got a long way to go if they want to make this work. It's the last chapter of this fic, but the story is far from over. Much more conflict and confusion coming up! XD

Hopefully, by now you're starting to feel like your ship is in jeopardy (whomever you're rooting for). That means I'm doing my job right. ;) I plan to put couples together, break them up, toss them in a blender (repeatedly, in some cases) and make them earn their happy ending, whatever that means. Fair warning: we're going to start seeing pieces with angsty, unresolved endings as we get more tangled up. That's how love works. It can be a beautiful thing, but it sure is frustrating.

Juvia still has one other gift to give. Remember what it is? Gajeel's guitar strings. See what he does with them in next week's new story. Hint: it involves Levy! Time to prep another corner of the maze...

Check out my profile next Friday for [Mazeverse] Serenade, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.