(A/N: First of all, I want to sincerely thank you for the 30 reviews and for all the comments left so far. Your support makes all the difference and is what motivates me to keep giving my best to this story.
This is the bonus chapter that was promised.
It focuses on Juvia's development, since, as many of you have probably already noticed, she will be one of the heroines of the story. Because of that, this chapter is very important to the plot. I know that, for some readers, this type of chapter may seem a bit boring — many people don't really like chapters like this — but in my view, it is essential for properly building her character and what's to come.
If we reach 40 five-star reviews, I'll bring another bonus chapter!
And if we reach 200 Power Stones, I'll bring another bonus as well!
With that said, enjoy the chapter.
See you next time!)
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The train hissed on the tracks, dragging out its last metallic sigh before coming to a complete stop.
The doors opened with a snap, and the air of Magnolia invaded the car.
Juvia took a deep breath; the smell of the city always made her feel like she was coming home... but this time, there was something different. Something that warmed her heart even more, as if she were returning from a honeymoon trip with her husband.
Bad Juvia! What are you thinking?!
She blushed lightly, averting her gaze to Natsu, feeling her face heat up as she tried to control her own imagination.
Natsu got out first.
As soon as his feet touched the platform, he raised his arms in a long stretch, his back cracking lightly.
"Aaaah... now this is decent air..." He murmured, rolling his shoulder as if preparing for another mission, and not returning from one.
Juvia got off right behind him. Her eyes followed Natsu as if they were still on the train, as if any moment could be another one of those where he let slip a phrase capable of turning her world upside down.
"Natsu-sama... are you going back to the guild now?" She asked, tucking a blue strand behind her ear. Part of her hoped, almost rooted for, him to say yes. It would be nice to walk beside him for a few more minutes.
But Natsu just placed his hands behind his head and started walking toward the exit.
"I'll stop by there in a bit. I have some things to do first."
He said it in the most casual way possible, as if he were saying he was going to buy bread on the way. And, in the same carefree manner, he raised his hand in a quick farewell without looking back.
"See you later, Juvia!"
The gesture, so simple, made her heart tighten. Juvia wanted to ask what he had that was so important to do... as long as it wasn't meeting that cow Lucy-
No! Juvia must not think that kind of thing! She can't let herself be carried away by jealousy!
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to control herself, but the uncomfortable warmth in her chest remained there, stubborn as always.
But when she realized he was really leaving without her saying what she wanted to say, her voice escaped before she could hold it back:
"Natsu-sama!"
He stopped. That alone made Juvia's stomach churn like a wave. Natsu turned his face slightly, without losing that calm demeanor he had acquired in the last few days since returning from Tenrou Island.
"Hm? What is it?"
She took a deep breath, her chin trembling in the last instant of hesitation. It wasn't a difficult question... but it was intimate. And Juvia, sensitive as she was, knew exactly how much she was opening her heart in that moment.
"Juvia... Juvia wanted to know if... if Natsu-sama is okay with her going to his house... from time to time to visit...."
The words came out low, almost too shy for someone who had already faced storms for the guild. But they came from the truest place Juvia possessed.
For a moment, Natsu simply blinked. Then, without fuss, without drama, without making her wait, he nodded his head. Simple and direct.
"Of course I am."
He turned fully this time, his eyes meeting hers with a warm sincerity...
"You're welcome. Why ask that?" He scratched the back of his neck, as if it were obvious, as if she were worrying for nothing. "After everything we went through on this mission... it's normal for us to be close enough to go to each other's houses, don't you think? You know where I live, right? You can show up there whenever you want...."
Juvia's world, that internal world that always oscillated between dreams and insecurities, quieted in a new way. The idea of being "welcome" wasn't something she heard often from men she had feelings for. It was a simple word... but heavy. Comforting. Warm like a bath on a cold day.
The sight of him, standing there, looking at her with casualness, made her eyes shine in a subtle way.
"J-Juvia thanks you. Very much...." She said, tilting her head a little, her voice sounding softer than normal: "Juvia... will be happy to visit Natsu-sama. Only if he allows it, of course."
Natsu gave a sideways grin and turned his back again.
"Then it's settled. You can show up whenever you want."
And before she could dissolve into vapor from so much accumulated emotion, he waved again.
"I'll see you later at the guild!"
Juvia stayed there, standing on the platform, watching the pink silhouette disappear among the people.
Her heart was beating fast.
She brought her hand to her chest, as if she could hold that intense and indescribable feeling she nurtured for Natsu-sama, as if she feared that, if she didn't hold it, it might escape along with the last glimpse of him.
Juvia remained there for long seconds, as if the world had stopped along with her. The golden morning light illuminated the platform, but all she could see was the trail of Natsu's footsteps until it disappeared completely. Only when someone passed by her side, giving a light touch on her shoulder, did her body finally awaken.
"Ah-! Sorry... Juvia was... distracted..."
She bowed her head in apology, her cheeks flushed, and took a deep breath before heading toward the station exit.
Each step seemed lighter than the last.
She almost floated.
Her heart beat in such a happy rhythm that it reflected in her walk, that passionate, exaggerated, and dreamy way she had so often shown in the guild; she felt as if she were carrying inside her chest a constant warmth that didn't fade even with the cold morning wind....
The path to Fairy Tail wasn't long, but for Juvia, it seemed like she could cross the entire kingdom in that state and still not tire. Her face would flush, then smile on its own, then become serious trying to control her own imagination.
"Juvia... can visit Natsu-sama whenever she wants..."
Just that phrase was enough to make her walk faster and more flushed.
But fate had that strange humor that loved to test her.
Right on the street that led to the guild's neighborhood, she spotted someone standing in the shadow of one of the houses. The wind lifted some dark hair strands and, even before he turned his face, Juvia already knew who it was.
Gray.
Her chest tightened for an instant, but to her surprise, she felt no kind of sadness or pain. Nothing like what she used to feel when seeing Gray. What dominated her heart now was just... happiness. A happiness so great that it seemed to fill all the empty spaces inside her.
Her Natsu-sama had called her to live with him- I mean, had given her permission to visit him whenever she wanted, which, for Juvia, meant a huge advance in their relationship. It was more than any dream she had ever dared to have. Because of that, she had even completely forgotten the pain of the last rejection. How could she remember, when she was so absurdly happy?
On the other hand, just as Juvia had noticed, Gray had clearly seen her too. He ran his hand through his hair, in a somewhat awkward gesture, before starting to walk toward her.
They stopped a few steps from each other.
For a few seconds, neither said anything.
The silence hung between them like a memory that was too long, an old habit that no longer served.
Gray scratched the back of his neck, averting his eyes. An uncomfortable expression, not because he was bothered by her, but because... well, he never knew how to handle emotional conversations.
"...So." He drew in air, releasing it slowly. "How was the mission with the... fire-head?"
Juvia blinked slowly, and a soft smile appeared on her lips.
"It was very fun," she said, sincere. "Natsu-sama is... much more amazing than Juvia imagined."
Gray's body gave a micro-jolt.
"Natsu... sama?" He repeated with strangeness, his eyebrows furrowing as if he had heard something completely unnatural.
For an instant, Juvia thought she would blush, stutter, or slip into her old "dark and obsessive" mode, but no.
What filled her chest this time wasn't shame.
It was clarity.
Her expression changed, becoming serious. An unexpected calm took over her face, as if she were holding a truth kept for a long time.
"Gray-san..."
She took a deep breath.
"Thank you."
He blinked, confused.
"Eh? For what?"
"For being honest with Juvia after our battle against Meredy, from Grimoire Heart..." she continued, her voice firm yet gentle. "When I questioned everything I felt because of our link, you were sincere with me and said you saw me only as a guild sister. If it weren't for that... Juvia would have wasted much more time in her life chasing a feeling that never existed..."
At the time, however, the two had never had a decent conversation about it. While trying to talk about their feelings, Acnologia attacked Tenrou Island, interrupting everything. And when they finally returned, there was no opportunity or perhaps neither had the courage to touch the subject again.
It was in that uncomfortable silence that Juvia realized it might be better to leave the guild altogether. If it weren't for Master Makarov... and, soon after, the mission with Natsu, she was almost certain she would have left.
Gray averted his gaze, clearly uncomfortable. He was never good with this kind of situation. His pride didn't allow him to stay embarrassed for long, but there was something genuine in his expression.
"...Sorry."
He scratched the back of his neck again.
"I... didn't want you to feel bad because of me, or anything like that. It wasn't my intention. I just..." He shrugged, an almost childish gesture of dismay. "...I really don't feel that kind of thing. Not for you. And... right now, not for anyone. I just want to get stronger."
The usual Gray.
Direct, but not cruel.
Juvia smiled lightly.
"Gray-san doesn't need to apologize," she said, shaking her head. "Because Juvia... has already moved on."
His eyes lifted to meet hers, and the surprise there was clear.
"It was Natsu who showed Juvia what... true love is."
The words escaped before she even realized, pure and transparent like water. Juvia didn't even know she had the courage to say them out loud. Her heart seemed to tremble inside her chest, hot, full, illuminated in a way she only felt when thinking of him.
It was the deepest truth Juvia had ever confessed, and yet it seemed as natural as breathing. Natsu had been the extended hand when she was lost, the warmth that dissolved the darkness that once plagued her, the smile that brought color back to her world....
Obviously, she didn't say that to hurt Gray; in fact, it was just the opposite.
For so long, she had kept inside her a unilateral "love," fragile and painful, a "love" that made her cry alone, that left her insecure, that consumed her. Gray had never been cruel to her, but he had also never been able to return what she felt... and that hurt her in ways she never confessed.
So, when she stood before him too soon, with her heart light for the first time in years, the words simply came.
She wasn't trying to prove anything.
She wasn't trying to provoke jealousy.
She wasn't trying to diminish what she felt before.
She was just being honest with herself.
Saying that... was like opening her heart completely.
And, for the first time since arriving at Fairy Tail, Gray saw Juvia... free.
Was that a confession of love for the fire-head!?
He opened his mouth to respond something, perhaps a tease about Natsu, perhaps a comment about her being hasty. But upon seeing her expression, so confident and so different from what he was used to, he decided to simply close his mouth.
He couldn't say what he was feeling in that moment.
It was more a kind of silent relief that settled in his chest, as if something that had accompanied him for years had finally found a natural closure.
He didn't usually think much about feelings, nor did he stop to analyze others' emotions. He had always lived driven by direct goals: get stronger, protect the guild, honor Ur's legacy. Relationships and romance were territories he simply didn't explore. That's why Juvia's persistence had always left him torn between discomfort and guilt.
He never wanted to hurt her, but he also never managed to reciprocate what she felt.
Now, however, seeing how she spoke of Natsu, how she seemed calmer and more confident than in the days when she pursued him desperately, Gray finally understood that chapter had closed, and for the first time, he was truly happy about it.
Unlike what he said out loud, he didn't think Juvia was annoying or suffocating. She was kind, dedicated, and had a huge heart. He knew that better than he let on. And precisely because he knew those qualities, because he saw them so often put at risk by the way she gave herself to others, he had always felt a strange kind of responsibility, a silent concern that he rarely expressed.
That's why the sight of her free from that emotional dependence on him brought a sense of peace he didn't even know he needed.
And there was another point Gray would never admit out loud: Natsu was a good person. Annoying to the extreme, noisy, competitive, hot-headed, but good. One of the kindest Gray knew, even if in an impulsive and clumsy way. Someone who protected without hesitation, who laughed at his own scars, and who extended a hand to anyone, even when no one asked.
If there was someone capable of handling Juvia's sensitive heart, someone who wouldn't ignore her, who wouldn't run away, who wouldn't make her feel small or unwanted... it was him.
Natsu could be an idiot in a thousand ways, but when it came to true feelings, he was more reliable than he'd like to admit.
Gray wasn't sure what exactly was emerging between the two, and to be honest with himself, he didn't want to get involved in it. But upon seeing Juvia's eyes shining that way, so different from the old obsession, now full of calm and authentic affection, he realized she had finally found someone who matched her.
And that was enough.
Deep down, even if he never said it to anyone, he was satisfied. Maybe even proud. Juvia deserved someone better than him, someone who would really look at her.
And Natsu, as much of a fire-head as he was, had a heart big enough for that.
Gray would follow his path, determined to get stronger, while a rare tranquil thought crossed his mind:
"She'll be fine."
With that thought in mind, he finally said: "...That's good then. For real."
Juvia tilted her head in thanks, the blue of her hair trembling with the movement.
The atmosphere between her and Gray... was different.
Not heavy, not awkward, just real. Honest.
Something that should have happened years before.
She clasped her hands in front of her body, in a delicate gesture.
"Juvia will always consider Gray-san a guild companion..." She said, with a gentleness that came from the bottom of her chest. "And if someday Gray-san needs her help... Juvia will help. Always."
Gray widened his eyes a bit, surprised by the clarity in her words. He averted his gaze for a moment, his mouth pulling into a short, discreet, but genuine smile. One of those he only let escape when no one was looking.
"...Thanks for that," he murmured, his voice lower and lighter than before.
He took a step back, preparing to follow the path opposite to hers. But before turning completely, he raised his index finger toward Juvia, with that typical provocative expression that hid a silent affection.
"And hey... if at some point you need someone to give the fire-head a few smacks..."
He gave a crooked grin.
"Call me."
Juvia blinked and, for a second, it seemed like she would slip into her usual exaggerated and melting mode.
But no.
What appeared on her face was a small but beautiful smile, illuminated by a light and true affection.
"Juvia appreciates the offer... but hopes it won't be necessary..." She replied, tilting her head. "Natsu-sama is very good to Juvia."
Gray raised his eyebrows, making that typical scoffing sound of his, but with no real irritation behind it.
"Yeah, yeah... too good, sometimes."
He turned his back, raising his hand in a lazy wave, almost identical to the one Natsu had done minutes before, but with his relaxed style.
"See you at the guild."
And so, each went their own way.
Juvia walked toward Fairy Tail, her heart beating in the warm rhythm that only Natsu's name made bloom.
Gray, in turn, went in another direction, but with a lightness he hadn't felt in a long time.
Both carried a silent closure and, at the same time, a new beginning.
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