A/N: Hello! Yes. I'm back. After manga 366…I couldn't help it. I just couldn't keep this hanging when I love this pair so much. I haven't written a chap for a while, so forgive me if this one is a little bit.. sucky.

It was late November, the day that marked the first snow fall of the year.

The blunette, who had been sleeping until late morning, woke up and took notice of the breathtaking flurry which fell and formed a white blanket upon the streets of Magnolia. The trees outside were loaded with snow and the sky, in all its splendor looked like a pale, spacious arena.

The atmosphere provided more opportunity to get the 'December' feel, though it was only November. The change in weather seemed to also signify a change in seasons, in more ways than one.

Each crystalline snowflake that floated down was a work of art of its own; put them all together and the result was a masterpiece, one that Picasso himself would be proud of.

She had already developed a slight baby bump, much to the excitement of every female in Fairy Tail. The mother herself, by contrast felt more nervous than anything. Though she was beginning to accept her role as a mother, seeing the visible sign made it all the more real to her.

The heat in her apartment,which she had moved into recently due to being cheaper than Fairy Hills, had just been turned on, luckily. It was a little further from Fairy Tail and with the lower cost, it was definitely lower quality than her previous residence.

Nonetheless, she was thankful that she could afford an apartment of any kind, since she stopped working. Being the cautious person she was, the blunette had saved her money in case something such as this were to happen. Still, it wasn't enough, to pay for the cost of living for the entire pregnancy, that is. It would keep her secure for another monthly rent payment, but after that, she needed to find some place else to go.

She didn't want to ask Gray, but seeing that their relationship was starting to make strides, she wondered if living together was out of the question.

And speak of the devil, said man had just showed up at her door, ready to give their 'us' another try.

"Got you a coffee." Said the dark haired man. By now he had calmed down about the whole situation, seeing as time healed all wounds. Though, he wouldn't really say it healed him quite, more like slapped a bandaid over the damn thing.

She took the drink, sniffed it, taking in the sweet aroma, and took a sip. Latte. The flavor lingered on her tongue for a bit longer than usual, maybe because of who had given it to her. Such sweet medicine, though it didn't compare to having him there, period.

"How's your new place?"

She shrugged her shoulders and motioned a 'so, so'. The two began with small talk; happenings in the guild, and other unrelated business. and eventually made there way back into each other's comfort zone. That was the way they worked through their 'rough patches', every time.

It had been three months since their first 'rough patch', and things were starting to look up. Unfortunately, there were still issues, like tiny dogs nipping at their feet. However, they were nothing compared to before.

She could still recall very clearly the first time news got out.

Three months ago:

"What the hell is this!?"

PEACE BETWEEN ALLIED GUILDS THREATENED:

FAIRY TAIL MAGE JUVIA LOCKSER PREGNANT…BUT WHO IS THE TRUE FATHER?

The magazine plopped back down to the surface of Juvia's coffee table as an anxious dark haired man couldn't stop pacing back and forth; this had gone way too far. What an exaggeration, too. As if Lamia and Fairy Tail would actually hold grudges against each other over such a matter. It was bad enough that news had spread among guilds; but now the rest of the public had to know too?

This wasn't any of their business. Hell, this shouldn't've even been any of Lyon's business.

But somehow it was… and nobody was able to fully explain the shit that was now spreading from guild to guild, mage to mage; stranger to stranger.

There it was. In his face. A fucking issue of Sorcerer's Weekly, the last thing they needed; a bunch of idiot reporters who didn't know what the hell they were talking about.

Gray buried his face in his hands and finally sat down on the Navy blue sofa. "Well, if they think they're gonna get anymore from us, they've got something else comin."

"I'm so sorry Gray-sama…I had no idea they would find out about this."

The girl seemed genuinely apologetic; which made the ice mage feel almost guilty for being upset. "No, don't be sorry. It's not your fault; if anything it's my fault for making such a big-ass mess out of the whole situation. I didn't have to pick a fight with Lyon."

Juvia remained silent. She agreed after all….the fight was something completely uncalled for, even if Gray had been angry about it all. It didn't make a difference all the same; her man was a friend to silence, and an enemy to phony sympathy. She figured he was the 'tell it like it is' type, but it seemed counterintuitive to verbally agree, so she let it be, as it was, as it always had been.

And all of that had only been the icing on the cake at their 'problem party'.

The dark haired man could make himself sick thinking about how selfish he'd been acting, but it was the standard response to such a situation, especially for him. There were only a handful of times Gray could recall completely losing his cool, but every time he did, he found himself wishing that for once he could understand the mind behind those deep cerulean eyes.

He'd made up his mind to apologize for the way he'd been acting, even if any other guy in his position would've reacted the same, all that proved was that there were a lot of guys out there who were douchebags. He could dig his heels in and fight the injustice at any cost, but Natsu's words kept echoing in his head. God, how he hated all this shit, but he would not allow their relationship to go to hell over it.

"Don't say three." He was annoyed at the inclusion of the other light haired ice mage.

"Why?" Natsu asked, turning around.

"Because there are not three people involved in this."

"Yes there are." The pink haired boy argued.

"I said don't mention that bastard!"

"I don't mean him you idiot!"

"…?"

Natsu looked both ways to make sure nobody was listening.

"The baby."

"Juvia, I really am sorry for all this." It was more difficult to say than he expected, but that was because pride was a bitch, and unfortunately, his feelings for Juvia didn't override that bitch who kept knocking at his door. "I realize you're suffering in all of this too."

Juvia's lips opened for a moment as if to say something, but closed again, unable to deny that she was still unsatisfied for a reason she couldn't readily identify.

But Gray seemed desperate. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"…..Juvia knows that you're aware of her suffering, but…." She looked away, arms folded across her chest, and eyes sealed shut, trying to stop any tears from falling. They were trying to escape, but she wouldn't allow that, not anymore.

She had shed too many tears at the expense of rational thinking. It was inevitable, that once they started to fall, nobody would be able save her from the feeling of despair that would overtake her.

The ice mage hadn't felt this kind of guilt since Ur died. He stood up and approached the blue haired girl who stood facing away from him, to hide her pain.

Though, comforting a person in need wasn't his forte, Gray wrapped his arms around her from behind to embrace her and let her know. "I'm here with you… and I'm not going anywhere."

Juvia could no longer contain the acidic tears which burned the surface of her eyes. Gray let himself frown slightly, he was no good at mending wounds.

But as if she read his mind, the water mage tried to speak, though thoroughly choked up. "Juvia's not crying because she's upset, she's just so happy that Gray-sama is…. here." She turned around in his arms to face him and opened her eyes.

Normally, the ice mage was clueless, but any fool could sense the sincerity of the pregnant girl's smile when it spread across her face.

"Juvia…."

As usual, Gray spoke in a delayed, hesitant manner, which was one of the only things she wished she could change about him. He was inarticulate; in several way, a similar problem to hers. Only, she was over- articulate.

"… I want you to remember. It's been long enough… I can't live like this."

"Gray-sama, Juvia wants to remember too, but…." Her hastened speech was interrupted by his lips meeting hers, while his hands slid down her waist. She took a few clumsy steps backwards and toppled over onto the bed. She sat, back leaning against the headboard of the bed as he began to move in, pushing his weight on top of her,tongue exploring her neck area, where her skin was warm and soft. The air was already filled with the scent, the aroma, of sex.

"Gray… are you sure about this?" It wasn't that she didn't want it..but she wanted to be sure he did.

"You said the doctor told you it was fine to have sex while your pregnant, right?" He continued nibbling at the neck, allowing her to only let out a small and breathy 'mhmm'.

"You said you trust me, right?" She tried her best to acknowledge his question with a slight nod.

"You said you want to remember what really happened, right?" She had stopped responding by now. She was unable, really. The man was too close and personal to say no at this point…not that she wanted to. The purpose of the act didn't matter anymore, but it was the pure pleasure that kept the water mage going.

"This is how it's done." The man said and gripped her tightly around her curves. He didn't waste any time, moving his hands around her to all the places he was left to wonder about after that night; was it exactly as he remembered it? More importantly would it be as she remembered it? Four months had seemed like an eternity to the man.

"If you weren't expecting I would've given you more preparation, some alcohol maybe." The ice mage told her, working hard and fast to remove the clothing fabric in between them.

"No." She said, nearly in a whisper. "Juvia doesn't need any, not when she's with Gray-sama." Although all of this was apparently a re-do, this particular combination of flesh and emotion was foreign, in a way.

They had had their times together since the night, but somehow something was missing and they both knew it. Everything seemed to make sense when they were together, but afterwards, when apart, there was almost an emptiness, an after-taste.

The joy was ephemeral, but during each moment with him, every fiber of the girl's being was determined to be in that very moment, and the result was losing herself entirely, with the man on top of her, the man who was her's.

"Keep going, Gray-sama."

Then he found the hem of her skirt and pulled it down, like what he'd tried to do before. He felt around the edge of her underwear and yanked on it, removing it completely and tossing it aside. Having already taken his own clothes off before he had gotten to hers, it was all easy from there on out.

Once unrestrained, Gray's passion was urgent, desperate, and critical, but he was forced to yield to the other woman's slower pace. She was pregnant after all, though her passion still rivaled his. His lips devoured hers, her subtle feminine smell was as inviting as ever.

Opening her, slowly, gradually, insistently, he felt the moistness, the softness, of her snatch. Letting his desire take the lead, he cupped her buttocks in his hands and lifted her hips to meet his mouth. Juvia could do nothing more than grip the blankets and moan, hardly able to handle the sensation of his tongue over her lady area.

The blue haired woman had figured out that his touch nothing short of a miracle, at least a momentary one. Even if only for a few minutes, every worry, anxiety had vanished from inside.

The sensual man moved her fingers so she could feel the soft head of his erection, and there they explored, running over the healthy veined skin. She gasped, almost startling at being this 'intimate' with Gray.

"Come on, this should be familiar."

"I'm not sure..." She started.

"Well, never mind that crap." He told her. Loosening up might be their only hope.

With each second both of them were becoming more and more greedy, feeding off each other's desire.

Juvia could feel herself blush and prickles of pleasure moved through her arms when he grew harder in her hand. She squeezed instinctively, feeling the muscle throb and flex, forcing her to tighten her grip.

"You ready?" He asked to be sure, though he showed no sign of stopping.

She was, and seeing his eagerness to continue, made her all the more eager. Running, her fingers along the skin of his chest, she looked into his eyes, giving the signal.

When he finally placed his cock inside her, she felt another rush of dopamine surge throughout her body. The first few thrusts were filled with more lust than emotion, but as they kept moving forward, their hearts were forced onto a roller coaster of a Gray could feel every millimeter inside her, slick and soft and feverishly hot.

The aroused man, inhaled and exhaled trying to slow his racing pulse to a manageable rate, to no avail. had the thought that he was, in fact, in love, but instead chose to allow his body to do the talking. Little did he know his partner was fighting a battle within; one between passion and guilt.

She closed her eyes as the sweat poured over both their bodies, each moment void of dialogue was filled with concentration, and attention to each other's finest details, as if they would never be able reclaim the moment again.

At first, she felt it, the connection, and it didn't take long for her peak, letting out a vocalization in submission to the ecstasy. She came first, followed shortly by her partner, who was satisfied, as was she, at least for the moment. When they both finished, the anxiety proceeded to build up, in realization.

Oh no

"Do you want to keep going?"

The pregnant mage felt her stomach drop, but feeling blown away, nonetheless, she pushed it to the back of her mind, where a lot of things seemed to be. They could have easily tried again, but it had returned, the feeling. Something wasn't right.

"What is it, Juvia?"

"…"

"…..You don't remember do you?" The hollow words escaped him, displaying more despair in his voice than he was comfortable with. Unfortunately, he wasn't always in control of himself.

But what could she do? The verdict was in; all she could do was shake her head 'no'. That was it; it was what they feared. No matter how far they went, she couldn't recall just went down on that night.

After slipping her undergarments back on along with a t-shirt, she laid her head on a pillow, and rolled over, facing away from Gray. The man sat on the edge of his side of the bed and sighed with frustration; frustration that he'd long tried to conceal from the blunette. He didn't want her to feel it, but she always did anyways.

"I don't get it."

The elephant in the room trumpeted. Gray wasn't sure what it would take to get her to finally remember what happened, but he figured at this point that it couldn't be forced. She would have to piece it together on her own, if at all.

"You know, that night…." The blunette, moved a little from her position, ruffling the blankets, to turn towards Gray, who was still facing away. "Was when I realized I didn't want to lose you." His words were spoken in a distant, vague way, but Juvia could tell he meant it so much, it hurt.

"….To Lyon?"

He finally turned to face her, wearing a pained expression "…..I didn't want to lose you, period. Though I guess that's not the first time I've felt that, but…"

Juvia furrowed her brow as he returned back to his original subject matter. "I didn't know why you were there, like that, wasn't sure what was up. But you were just drunk as fuck…." The ice mage paused. "I didn't ask questions because I didn't want to." He admitted. "Too late to ask now, I guess."

"Juvia!" Gray felt a surge of adrenaline rush through his veins at the sight of the mage being held hostage by the infamous Sabertooth mage, Rufus.

Why was he attacking her? More importantly, why wasn't she fighting back?

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU"RE DOIN BASTARD?!" Rufus sent a smirk Gray's direction.

Juvia, who was dressed in little more than her under-garments, appeared to be reduced to a weakened state. Her hair was disheveled, and her make-up was smeared. The girl whimpered a little, but seemed largely unable to do anything about her circumstance. She leaned backwards against the wall, looking only half awake and directed her eyes at Gray, pleading for his help.

Was he trying to take advantage of her? But in the hotel lobby? What the hell!? What could the cocky bastard be trying to pull?

"HEY BUDDY!" He growled."You stupid or something!?"

"Stupid? I'd say you're the one stupid. Leaving your woman by herself so late at night, in this city? Foolish."

Unlike his confused partner, the ice mage was absolutely sure of what happened that night; at least on his end.

"Gray? What do you mean? Are you trying to tell me that Rufus was there?" She sat up straight and felt chills down her spine. This was all too bizarre. What had he kept from her?

"I'm saying that he attacked you for one reason or another."

"Yeah but Lyon.." She trailed off, but it was too late, she had said his name.

Gray bit his tongue. "I dunno, Juvia, but please don't bring him up." The ice mage could feel his stomach twist into a knot at the sound of Juvia's voice speaking the other ice mage's name. Just as things grew uncomfortable, the two were saved by the bell, as they heard a knock at the door. Juvia hurried to throw on some clothes and rushed to see who it was.

"Gajeel-kun! Levy-san!"

"Hey! I was thinking about you and decided to stop by." Levy said, at first without noticing Gray standing behind the girl.

"-Oh, hi Gray! I didn't know you were here." The solid script mage did seem surprised to see the ice mage, but then again not many people at the guild were sure where Gray and Juvia's relationship was at. One minute it seemed like they were on cloud nine, and the next, everyone was sure they were ready to call it quits.

"Hey." He greeted back, politely.

"Thanks, Levy-san, things have been well" She lied.

"Oh, well okay. Just wanted to be sure." She said, wearing a friendly grin. Levy really was a kind person, although Juvia was really much closer to Gajeel, since they'd been together since their Phantom days. She had always been more comfortable talking with him, when it was just the two of them.

She looked at her Phantom partner, who just stood there wearing a scowl. It looked like Levy had made him come. He was a good friend, but a stubborn one.

They spent a good half an hour talking, small talk, as expected. Still, it was sort of nice to talk to someone.

"Well don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." She said, concluding their visit. "Also, I thought you should know.." she leaned in closer, in case anybody walking nearby heard. "I heard from someone that somebody saw Lyon in town. I thought you should know, before you had to find out for yourself."

Come to think of it, Juvia wondered what had become of the other ice mage. She hadn't seen him in a while, and she was curious about his well being. However, it still worried the water mage a little bit; where Gray was at with him was still unclear. They rarely spoke about him, but when they did, it was obviously an uncomfortable topic for both of them.

After the door was shut, there was relative silence as Gray put the rest of his clothes back on. The pregnant mage, saying nothing began cleaning up all the wrappers that were scattered on the floor while the other man just watched. "What'd she say to you?" He inquired. Juvia looked up and paused for a minute. "Just girl stuff." She replied, well aware of how bogus it sounded.

But Gray didn't feel like pressing her for more info, so he decided a change of topic was necessary, and besides, he had remembered something. "So…that list I saw a while back…. was full of names for the baby right?"

Juvia laughed. She had been wondering if he had been suspicious the first time he saw it.

"Didn't you throw it out? What a waste. You lost a lot of good names. But.." He pursed his lips. "Did you know it was going to be a girl, you know…even back then?"

The water mage giggled. "No. Juvia still doesn't even know for sure if she's a girl, but she sort of hopes it is."

Gray frowned and grabbed a handful of oreos from the open package on the counter. They were double stuffed, the orange Halloween kind, that she'd had for the fall. "Why, you picky about the gender or something?"

"Well, actually Juvia will love her either w-"

"Him." The dark haired mage corrected her, cutting her off.

The pregnant woman looked at the man who'd interrupted her, raising an eyebrow. It was clear where he stood in the matter "…..Excuse me Gray-sama?"

"You said her, but it's going to be a him." He stated, confidently, as he stood up and brushed the crumbs off of his shirt

"I think you're mistaken, but Juvia will love her either way."

"You don't know for sure it's a girl, so you're defeating the purpose of your own statement." He pointed out.

"Well, we also don't know for sure it's going to be a boy!" She said defensively,

The man, who looked entirely serious shrugged his shoulders. "I'd say it's a better chance that it's gonna to be a boy, all the evidence points towards it."

"Like what?" She asked, partially believing he was serious.

Gray put a finger to his chin, musing, as though he were an expert on the matter. "Welp… you eat an awful lot of crap; twinkles, Oreos, pizza. That's a recipe for a boy." He claimed, so persistently sticking to his theory that Juvia almost believed it to be credible. Since when did he get so opinionated? He had never been that way, at least with her.

"That does not mean that!" She said, although she didn't really care if he thought it would be a boy, honestly. It was just nice to take a break from talking about their 'misunderstandings'.

"Well, why don't we ask him?" Gray leaned in towards Juvia's belly and cooed. "HellllLLLLLooOOOO! Who's in there? Will you tell your mom that you're not a chick?"

Juvia couldn't help but burst out laughing. In the back of her head, she knew there was a lot more mystery to the baby than just it's gender. It could easily open a bigger can of worms than their silly banter, but why would they want to go there? When there were so few times they could actually get along, these moments were sacred.

She formed a frown on her ivory face as she looked down to the floor.

"What?" The ice mage was praying to any higher power who would listen that she wasn't about to have another one of her mood swings.

But she just formed a disturbed expression. "You just got crumbs all over the carpet."

…..? Oh, that's right. She's a clean freak. "Whoops. Guess I'll clean it." He offered, but rolled his eyes when he was sure she wasn't looking.

"Why are you rolling your eyes Gray-sama?" He should've known she would catch it… whatever.

After Gray had left, all of the girl's worries had rushed back into forefront of her mind. They could pretend and put on a facade, but in reality, they both knew-especially when they were alone that it all wouldn't just go away. The hurt would remain, no matter how many times they brushed it under the rug.

Sitting on her kitchen counter, the water mage took the last sip of her Earl Grey Tea, and traced her hand along the edge of the window pane as she looked out at the winter wonderland that was, Magnolia.

Today she would go to the guild to see people, do things. Having a baby didn't mean she had to be a recluse, though at times it was tempting with the annoying reporters turning up now and again. The hormonal woman was a short fuse away from using water lock.

At the guild things seemed normal, except for the amount of attention she received from everyone else, that is. The atmosphere was warm and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. A day like this was the perfect day to be present at Fairy Tail.

But something was off…when she wasn't on a mission, Juvia was content to stay next to her Gray-sama and let things be. She looked around for her beloved but was interrupted by Lisanna, who jumped at the first chance to greet her friend.

"Hey, Juvia! Haven't seen you in a while! How are things?"

"Fine. Where's Gray?" She replied, rather tersely, eyes still searching.

The white haired girl . "He didn't tell you? Well, he took a mission earlier this morning and left. Sorry. This guy's a little upset too, though." She said gesturing towards Natsu, who had his head laid on the table. Supposedly, the strongest team were the only ones not in on the guild's good mood.

"Wha? Naa, I'm fine. I just don't get that jerk!"

The water mage listened to their conversation as she wandered away from the table.

"It is a little different how he's been taking so many missions by himself. But who can blame him?" The redhead pointed out.

"Yeah, I think I understand. It would be nice to pay rent once in a while." Lucy, who sat nearby added.

"True. But I meant that he's been going through a lot lately." Erza said "so is Juvia."

"I dunno, it's kinda selfish if you ask me, he just wants all the money for himself!" Natsu complained, obviously missing his sparring companion.

"Natsu… Gray can do as he pleases. Let's just take a mission without him." She said, directing the team to the request board.

"So, Juvia. Have you figured out the baby's gender yet!? It' been long enough hasn't it?!" Cana wondered.

"I'd be willing to put money on it being a boy." Macao decided,

"Yeah right! She is SO having a girl!" Cana insisted.

"Having a boy is Manly" Elfman chimed in.

And that was the start of that. Mira, who was listening to the whole thing, began taking bets and keeping track of everyone's vote. Despite having her own opinion, Juvia didn't take part. Besides, she didn't want to jinx it.

Others spoke with the water mage, but it was kind of awkward. Nobody really knew what she was going through, and she didn't expect them to. She hated to be rude, but it was never the same, especially now, being at the guild by herself. She wanted to see Gray. She needed to see Gray. Anytime things weren't right, she knew he would help.

Still, she couldn't get what happened the other evening out of her head. She had gotten her hopes up, that she would at least be given a fragment of a memory.

Fragment or not, it was an amazing night.

But... how long would Gray be able to handle her not remembering, for herself, that he was the baby's father?

Four months. Four long months, and still no break through.

And even though she believed Gray, it wasn't enough to quell any doubts she had. She'd had dreams about being with him, but how could a dream be proof of any kind? In her heart she wanted to believe it, but there was so much else to explain.

It was time to admit it, she was depressed. Very depressed. And her only source of joy was nowhere to be seen, much like the night it all began.

Could I really not remember anything, all because of a few drinks?

She didn't know what to think… what to assume….what to do. What the hell were they doing anyways?….?

"Juvia, are you alright?"

"…."

"Juvia?! JUVIA! HEY!" She heard Cana shout, along with other unidentified panicking guild members, as she grew faint and everything faded to black.

Gray-sama…I need you… where are you…Gr…ay…..

A/N: Again, I know I've been out of commission awhile, so go easy. I haven't quite gotten back into the flow of my story. No worries, though, I will complete it! A little bit of a melancholy chapter I know...but it will lighten up I promise. :)

Again, if you could be a kind person and review, it would be much appreciated!