Title: The tide that left and never came back.

Author: Pisinoe

Genre: Romance / Drama

Rated: T

Synopsis: The only solution he found for all the pain inside his chest was his own death. She managed to stop him from commiting suicide, but would she be able to save him from himself?

I'm sorry for my bad English grammar. I still have a lot to learn and feel free to correct me. xx

THE TIDE THAT LEFT AND NEVER CAME BACK

He was nineteen years old when he decided that there was no sense anymore in wasting time wandering the world for no reason.

He had everything a teenager needed to be happy and satisfied with life. But he lost everything. He didn't have anything left, not even the slightest reason to live, and so every single day of his monotonous and desperate life began to suffocate him.

He had no one waiting for him at home. No one to support him. No one capable of loving him.

His family was dead. His adoptive mother, his mentor, was also dead, and the person he considered his brother disappeared without leaving traces. His friends followed their fate, and he stayed behind. Even his sculptures abandoned him.

Sunk in his depression, he gave everything up. He forgot all he could conquer in his life and lost the strength to believe in a better future and move on.

There was no hope for him. Because he didn't believe in anything; not even in himself.

Gray Fullbuster looked one last time at the starry sky, and decided he could no longer bear the emptiness of his soul. He wanted to finally be free of all the guilt, pain and regret that filled his chest.

Without hesitation, he entered the sea and swam to where he could no longer touch the ground with his feet. The angry waves soon began to strike him and Gray, breathless and with his forces finished, allowed himself to sink.

The last thing he saw was the brightness of the moon illuminate eyes as blue as the depths of the sea.

Feeling his chest being pressed several times, Gray was troubled by the situation but was unable to say anything because of the dizziness that he was feeling at that moment. He was suffocating, trying desperately to find any trace of air. Soon he began to cough out the water that was in his lungs, and felt relieved. The pressure in his chest suddenly vanished.

The dark haired boy was thankful for finally being able to breathe. When he tried to stand up, his head rolled back, and he fell backwards. But before he could touch the ground, two pairs of soft hands held him and he heard a female gasp be issued in the air.

Wait.

He should be dead. Not looking for air, not even breathing. He should not be able to feel anything, nor hear anything. The pain in his chest also shouldn't be there anymore. And that's when he realized that unfortunately he was still alive.

And when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a girl he didn't remember ever having seen in his life, but she was strangely exotic and unlike any he had ever crossed. She was soaking wet, he noticed, but not even the darkness of the night could hid her face that shone together with the essence of the moon.

Her skin was pale, completely like porcelain, the blue hair fell over her eyes and modeled her delicate face in light waves. The nose was small and snub, the navy blue eyes - that he believed to already have crossed -, were looking at him with an overwhelming brightness.. The whole aura that she emanated let him out of focus.

But all his contemplation lasted no more than five seconds, because as soon as he began to feel confused, he started to ignore all the turmoil within him. He felt pathetic. He closed his eyes and the emptiness began to overtake him again, making him feel pleased to be able to show the indifference from always.

The dark haired boy withdrew her arms from around him so he could sit and support himself in the sand. He shook his head slightly to clear his mind a little and looked at her with dead eyes, devoid of any emotion and with his usual cold expression.

Who does she think she is to dare to disrupt his plans?

"What did you do, stupid woman?" he grunted.

The girl was startled by his harsh words, frowning and looking at him in doubt. He was treating her really badly, or was she just too lost looking at him that she had heard wrong?

"I'm sorry?" her voice sounded skeptical, not believing what she had just heard.

She saved his life, and he called her stupid? The blunette didn't understand.

Gray thought of swearing at her again. Was she doing it on the purpose of annoying him or what? Well, it was working. He analyzed her, and bit his tongue to not lose the train of thought again. Where did she come from, anyway? He had ensured that nobody would be there that night.

"Who are you?" he asked through his clenched teeth, still looking at her with disdain, not being able to contain the cutting tone of his voice.

The girl looked startled again for a moment, then rolled her eyes. She muttered something in a language unknown to him, and he concluded that she really was not from that place.

She stood up, gently removing the sand from her clothes and tried, unsuccessfully, to dry herself a little. Her eyes strayed to the sea, and he thought for a second that he had seen apprehension in her eyes.

The blunette sighed, resigned, and turned in the opposite direction from him.

"A 'thank you' would have been enough." she said, her tone was indifferent, but still sarcastic. "But anyway, you're welcome."

Gray was surprised. She was being ironic with him? And had ignored him? He realized that she had begun to walk, and almost immediately he stood up quickly, ready to reach her.

"Wait!" he shouted, calling her attention, causing her to stop walking and look over her shoulders. He ignored the reason that made him run to her and look into her eyes once more. "You didn't answer my question."

She smiled slightly out of the corner of her lips, and he held his breath.

"The next time we meet, who knows." she murmured softly, staring intently into his eyes with a mysterious glow, and he, still dizzy at the sight of her smile, was unable to say anything as he saw her walk away again. But before she disappeared from his sight, he heard her scream: "Just don't try to kill yourself again until then, please!"

He stayed back with his eyes still fixed in the place where she had been before, wondering who could be that woman.

And, for an unknown reason, wishing to see her again.

While walking through the poorly illuminated streets of Magnolia, Gray pondered if what he had done was right or not.

A part within himself was disappointed, sore, still suffocated, desperate to feel the relief replace the pain, to feel all the suffering finally dissipate. And since a very long time ago, this part was the one taking over his heart - if he still had one -, completely.

It was this part that kept all the sorrow, hatred, pain, disappointment, sadness accumulated for years and the beginning of his decline. It was responsible for making of him an empty body, torn by its own decay and trapped in its own deep abyss; the one to blame for making him commit suicide.

For years it was the only thing that reminded him that he was still alive. Because the daily agony that crushed his chest was the only thing he could feel.

But after being saved, a small pure particle appeared again within him. Even if in the beginning he was angry to see that he was not dead and having treated his savior in such a rude way, she ascended in him something like a curiosity and interest in her person, things he hadn't felt for a long time.

Strangely, he was happy that he had not died in his last attempt. After all, if he wasn't here anymore, he wouldn't have known her. Not even seen the splendid glow of her eyes, nor witnessed the mesmerizing smile she had. He wanted to see her once more to quench his thirst about the girl with exotic blue hair. He wanted to know her name, where she came from, what she was doing there..

He wanted to prove if she really could make him feel alive again.

Maybe it was not a bad idea to consider continuing to live a little longer if he could decipher everything that she was able to make him feel.

For the next three days, Gray tried to find her relentlessly everywhere possible. And he did not even see anyone with that particular hair color, nor collided with someone who looked like her.

Disappointed, he left his apartment and began walking aimlessly through the city center. He needed to clear his mind off those constant thoughts about her, and perhaps so he could calm the pang in his heart, filling his mind with other things.

Gray kicked several stones that were in his way and cursed for the tenth time that day, unhappy to not find anything that could satisfy him. Would the pain inside him ever disappear?

And he couldn't find that damn unknown girl anywhere! Someone up there definitely doesn't like me, he thought.

Without him noticing, his legs had taken him to the beach. He felt a shiver go up his spine when he remembered what happened a few nights ago, and he regretted it when he thought about how hostile he had been to her. Even if he found her, she certainly wouldn't want to talk to him.

How big of a jerk could he possibly be? He was angry at himself.

When he almost completely had lost hope, he felt that exotic smell of her being brought by the wind from the air around him. Immediately he looked at the person who was admiring the sunset and had no time to think right, his body had already led him towards her.

It was that same blue hair who belonged to the girl blamed of his sleepless nights, the same porcelain skin that made him shudder each time he imagined how pleasant it would be under his fingers. Those eyes as blue as the depths of the sea that had made him stop thinking about his melancholic existence and the emptiness that was his soul, drawing him completely into them, making him lose all his reasoning.

Gray sat beside her without ceremony, but had no courage to face her. Not after he had been so rude to her. But the feeling of peace and tranquility that he felt at that moment were enough for him and he didn't dare to upset her even more.

Why did he care so much about what she thought of him? Not even Gray could understand the reason.

"If you want, you can call me Juvia." her melodic voice surprised him by taking the initiative.

He didn't think she would even speak a word to him, but he felt his heart beat relieved to see that she would not ignore him. As everyone else did.

Juvia. Finally he knew the name of his ghost girl.

Yet he didn't look away from the sea to look at her. He was well aware of the effects that she caused on him, and he didn't want to lose track of the situation in which he was. Not when she was there so close to him.

"Sorry for my hostility that night. I just..." he shook his head, lost in the words. Why did he feel the need to apologize? "My name is Gray. Gray Fullbuster."

She laughed lightly and he bit his lower lip.

"Nice to meet you" she said relaxed, a small smile playing on her lips "I just think it's odd that you took so long to find me."

Gray opened his eyes and turned to look at her, startled. How did she know that he had searched for her..?

"I don't know what you're talking about." he played dumb, not wanting to admit his actions, internally feeling embarrassed for them.

The girl looked amused at him for a brief moment, but quickly looked away, not answering back.

"Tell me something about you." she asked instead, her voice sweet without ulterior motives.

The raven haired boy wondered if she really felt curiosity about his person, or if it was only to be kind to him. After all, she had saved him from drowning, wasn't it?

Just by the thought that she actually felt pity for him, Gray got angry and returned to his mask of indifference.

"There is nothing to know." he said fast, but still trying to maintain the calm in his voice. He didn't want her to leave again.

Only he knew how much he had wanted to find her.

The girl snorted, unhappy, but accepted his answer. After a long moment of silence, where she pondered whether it would be too daring of her to ask what she wanted to the boy beside her, she decided to kill her curiosity:

"There's something I've been wondering since I saw you breathing again" she said, trying to sound gentle, looking for the best way to formulate the question. The boy nodded briefly "Why did you try to kill yourself?"

Gray knew this question would naturally come sooner or later, so he wasn't even surprised to hear it so directly. He didn't take long to answer, not even having to think twice.

"It's simple" he laughed dryly "I don't have any reason to live."

The girl turned to him, looking serious. With her deep blue eyes watching him carefully and under her penetrating analytical gaze, Gray could tell that she did not like his answer. At all.

"That's not true. We all, without exception, always have a reason to live."

Gray rolled his eyes.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you then" he joked, feeling his chest tighten a little bit "My existence has no meaning at all."

"You're lying." she insisted, but the tone of her voice didn't even change. She was calm as usual, as if she had full assurance that she spoke the truth.

Arching a dark eyebrow, he stared at her with reprimand. She knew nothing about him!

"Would you then have a reason to live?" he asked, curiosity taking over him as he remembered everything that he wanted to know about her.

"Of course!" she laughed happily and he narrowed his eyes, unable to keep track of her mood swings "Well, I have many dreams that I would like to accomplish. So every day I have a new reason to want to keep on chasing them."

He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. Maybe it was because he was isolated from the world for so long, but it was such a long time ago that he heard someone talking about dreams.. Gray almost felt nostalgic.

But dreaming was too stupid for a person who was no longer able to see the good things in life, like him. Since all his dreams turned into nightmares, he had never even considered the possibility of imagining a future that was nothing but a quick death.

"This reason is too absurd to want to live for."

The blunette shook her head, disapproving his idea.

"I completely disagree with you." she said a little contradicted.

Gray shrugged like he didn't care; not giving a damn about what she spoke.

"But you shouldn't." he advised, the timbre of his voice darkening "If you don't want to regret it, of course."

"Everyone has dreams they want to accomplish, and from the moment we believe in them, we take a step towards the adventures that await us on the journey of our life." Juvia murmured in a dreamy way, the marine blue eyes lost between the mesmerizing back-and-forth of the sea as she recalled all the moments she lived until she got there.

Gray looked away from her face, so that he could also admire the crystal clear water. And he wondered how easily she spoke of things as complicated and difficult as those. Making a dream come true was almost impossible; everything in the world always starts plotting against us when we really want something.

Gray also believed that life is always unfair, and she always gives the worst blow when we least expect it. With so much sadness, disappointment, anger, pain and hatred in the world, who could believe in mere stupid dreams that were only illusions produced by our minds? And so he came to the conclusion that the person beside him was nothing but a silly and naive girl.

"Only people that are stupid enough go in search of what they don't know and it's not even right."

Juvia continued to contemplate the landscape before them, but asked: "And you don't have dreams you would also like to accomplish, Gray? Goals you want to achieve."

He pondered for a moment, but replied without hesitation: "No."

Juvia stared doubtful at him, not believing his words, and wondering why through her gaze.

"I just found out that dreams are really big and we humans are too small to make them real."

Her blue eyes softened, now filled with sadness and comprehension after hearing what he said. Gray felt guilty of having taken the sparkle from her eyes away, but he knew that one day someone would have to show the reality of life to her.

Juvia smiled compassionate, trying to comfort him, without success. Soon she sighed and gently touched the sand with her fingers, the blue orbs not wanting to face him.

However, she tried again: "Are you sure?"

He certainly would rather have answered rudely, but preferred the silence and allowed himself to remember his old ideals.

Sure, it was obvious that when he was younger, before every day had turned the same and also before he lost faith in the world after having witnessed so many misfortunes in his life, he had dreams that he wanted to achieve.

As a child, Gray dreamed that when he grew up, he would become a renowned artist. Like that he could leave that house that didn't feel like home and depend only on himself. He wanted to be able to create beautiful things and inspire people with the art that came out of his heart, shaping the most beautiful sculptures and drawing people from all around the world to his attractions.

But Gray's father, who he admired so much and just wanted to acknowledge him and accept whatever his desire was, decided that this dream was too small for a Fullbuster. He made Gray remember how his fate was traced to inherit the family business and he knew he couldn't deny his decision to not disappoint his father even more. And even though Gray had never liked the family business, he gave up his own will and that little dream stayed behind, with his own short and sad childhood.

Sometime later, a terrible accident happened at the Fullbuster mansion where the whole city had been invited to celebrate the anniversary number twelve of Gray. Found passed out, hours later under one of the rubbles, he was the only survivor of the tragedy.

The young boy emerged in depression and uncontrolled anger. Everything had been the fault of an assault, where almost everyone - except him -, ended up like ashes. And Gray swore that one day he would take his revenge.

Shortly after the incident, he met his new tutor, Ur, who along with her other disciple Lyon, had been able to bring joy back to his life. Ur taught Gray her art, giving his dream back to him and becoming his best example to follow. He wanted to be a famous artist like her, do the most amazing ice sculptures as well as his tutor and be recognized worldwide. That way he could be master of his own life and no longer have to worry about taking the company inherited by his family. In time he would be able to release the sadness that still took much of his heart, and when revenged, also all the hatred that poisoned him.

When the day of his vengeance arrived, he hurried too much. His biggest mistake. Ur died accidentally because of it, but left his past and his darkness forever sealed with her. And unlike Lyon, who had gone in search of a new goal and a new dream, Gray's sculptures began to lose their shapes with time.

And just as the ice water had begun to melt, his dream and his desire to live again went away.

Maybe he was not in this world to bring luck and happiness to someone else. Why did all this tragedy happen to him?

Nor does he believe in love. It was something too stupid to waste his time with and believe, since everyone alive dies one day, and who would like to love, knowing the bitter grief that always travels with happiness? Most absurd was the idea that someone could love a human being as empty and sad as him.

Basically, Gray just wanted to be able to make beautiful ice sculptures again, finally leave that town too small for him and be happy dedicating himself to what he loved to do. He just wasn't sure if he would be able to follow his dreams, not when life had already taken everything from him. There wasn't any faith in his dreams anymore. Resigned, he accepted his own unhappiness.

Then he wondered which reasons Juvia lived for.

"And you also have something you want to accomplish, right?"

For a moment, her blue eyes met again with his dark ones, and the air of his lungs was gone. He had never seen so bright and sincere orbs, overflowing with the purest emotions that this girl was able to feel, so different from his expressionless eyes. And again Gray wondered how Juvia could keep her soul so bright and how her eyes could shine so remarkably.

Maybe he was interested in the secret of her happiness, too.

Soon her eyes deprived him of its amazing sight and turned again towards the sea. And he felt jealous of the sea, because he wanted to be appreciated by those glowing eyes so full of life. Maybe he just wanted her to find something good in him, see in him a reason to live, and not stop believing in the inner light that could still exist in him.

But this girl was too silly to be able to understand the darkness in which he stood.

"All I ever wanted to accomplish is being realized" she muttered, satisfied "I'm living my dream."

At that moment he realized that he didn't know anything about her. How could he have forgotten to ask about everything he had in mind? The effects that she caused in him were too complicated for Gray to decipher them.

"And what did you dream of?" the raven haired boy couldn't contain himself, wondering the goals of that peculiar girl.

"First, I always dreamed of leaving home and traveling the world. I wanted to live only the present intensely without worrying about tomorrow. But it wasn't enough, and over time I began to get unhappy and wish something that I never had so far on my journey." she sighed, as if it hurt remembering the days full of melancholy, but continued cheerfully "Then one day I dreamed that I would come here, would look at that sea and would be happy again."

A strange dream; coming from an even stranger girl.

Gray felt a little disappointed; he expected something a bit unusual coming from her. He also began to observe the sea, and wondered what Juvia could see in it that would make her happy again. It was only the blue water, salty and with treacherous depths, which posed a danger even for the things that lived within it.

Gray didn't like the sea by the simple fact that it didn't always bring back what had been entrusted to it. And he couldn't understand why the sea was worthy of being part of the happiness of the girl beside him.

"What do you see in the sea?" the boy asked confused, unhappy with the simplicity of her dream. "How could it be able to bring back your happiness? The sea is constantly changing. It'll never be the same tide that will reach the sand of this place."

"It's true that when I got here and saw you trying to take your own life, I wondered the same" Gray bit his lower lip, feeling a strange sensation when remembered of that fact "But what matters is that I'm here now and can admire it, in the simplest way there is to see. Even without my eyes."

Her blue eyes closed, her body rested in her arms, completely relaxed and happy at his side. A smile appeared on her lips, as if she could see something even more extraordinary than before.

Gray looked at her stunned, unable to imagine how she would see the sea standing there with closed eyes. And if that way she let get away what she had dreamed of?

"But if you can't see it and end up not finding your happiness, your dream will never be realized!" he retorted, still skeptical of her words.

Juvia sighed and shook her head.

"You're wrong" she insisted and Gray bit his tongue to not replicate "I learned that what we see with our eyes, is really so wonderfully beautiful. But there is an even more incredible way of seeing things."

"Which is..?" Gray joked, rolling his eyes, already tired of all the bullshit that she was able to speak. With what else did she think she could see?

"The most magnificent and extraordinary things have to be seen with the heart." she said slowly, as if she was telling him a spectacular secret "And even though I'm not able to see the same as you see, what I feel inside is much more intense and true than that what the vision is able to offer you. Because what really is essential, is invisible to the human eye."

Gray didn't understand what she meant; he shook his head confused, searching for an answer. But found none.

"And how do you see with the heart?" he asked confused.

The girl laughed, in a mysterious way, as if she knew something unbelievable even for him.

"Maybe one day you'll know..."

The next day, they were sitting together again, admiring the sunset, at the same time like the previous day, as she had promised.

Beside her, he felt completely numb. Peace finally settled on his chest, that same chest that was filled with troubled feelings.

She was as radiant as ever, perhaps too happy for a surly person like him, but he wouldn't dare to go away. He needed the sensation of feeling her near him to stay alive.

After a while, Gray asked for what the dream had told her that the sea would bring to her, the thing that would bring back her happiness.

"I've already found it." she revealed, her eyes shining so intensely when looking at him that he had to restrain his impulses to not lose control.

"How?" he stammered, a bit dumbfounded.

"I believed that one day, the sea would bring me the best gift I could ever be offered. And here, with me, it will always be."

The boy looked around Juvia searching for any new detail that he could have missed and found nothing. He got curious, because besides them two, surprisingly there was nobody else and nothing unusual in that beach that day. And all the time he had been with her, Gray knew Juvia had not looked around for something, nor even found anything.

"And where is it?" he was getting irritated with his unbridled curiosity. Because he didn't have the right to meddle in her life, after all, they weren't even friends.

"It's a secret" she replied, her deep blue eyes twinkling mysteriously "This is my treasure, and only I know how to feel it and interpret it."

Gray asked about her life, no longer being able to avoid the curiosity that manifested in him since he saw her leave.

Juvia shrugged, saying her life wasn't interesting before, but Gray insisted.

"Well, we can say that I had everything I needed in my life, but I still wasn't happy. I felt stifled being controlled and pressed the whole time by my family. I even used to talk in third person, but they always told me how stupid I looked when I did it." homesickness came over her face, but she continued to speak "I always dreamed of building my own destiny and I wanted to travel the world, but I knew my family would never accept it. When I turned eighteen, I gave up all the future they had planned for me and I left home. They disinherited me, and swore to not recognize me like their daughter anymore, but I still moved on and left them behind."

Gray looked at her stunned. Would he have had the same courage? He got sad when remembering his family, but Gray knew that he wouldn't have been able to say no.

"Why did you do that?"

"Why are you so afraid of living and taking risks?" she asked defiantly, showing interest in what he had to say.

Gray shrugged, looking for a good reason that could satisfy her.

"Because I don't have any reason to battle and I am already unhappy enough, thank you." he replied with disdain and a bored tone of voice, as if he had already answered the same thing several times "I don't want to regret my choices, nor experience any more disgraces."

"It's stupid to suffer in advance for something that you haven't even lived." Juvia sighed, tired of all his pessimism and hopelessness.

She didn't understand why he couldn't believe that one day he could save himself, but her answer deeply angered Gray.

"And what do you think that you know about me?!" the Fullbuster roared angry, feeling insulted "When you don't even have a secure future! How can you be so happy, after giving everything up, with your ordinary life?"

"We all see and feel different things, and that's what makes us individual. And sometimes, the simplest thing is the most extraordinary one." the tone of her voice was still quiet, as if she could always enjoy a peace inside her that was unknown to him.

"How can you be like that? How didn't you already stop believing and still have hope after giving up your whole life?"

"Each day was meant to be lived and when you have faith in yourself, nothing is impossible. Everyone chooses the path they want to trace."

"And you think I've still got some hope? Of course not!" he exclaimed, breathless, as if it hurt a lot at that moment "I don't even have someone to breathe for, it's too late. All the chances I had are now gone."

"That's what you want to believe, and how can you say that, if you gave up your dreams before trying?" she looked dissatisfied, the pressure of her gaze burning him.

He kept silent. Maybe he should reflect a little more.

The next afternoon, after losing the whole night thinking and remembering everything that had happened, Gray came to a conclusion.

"Life hates me." his voice was indifferent, as if he already knew that fact since a long time ago.

"Then you should change something about it." Juvia answered gently, her blue eyes showing that she really believed he could be saved.

Gray rolled his eyes, trying to ignore how persistent she was and the willingness to surrender to her optimism.

"And how do you want me to do it? There's nothing that could change anything." he said with disregard, like it didn't matter.

"You're wrong." the reply was self-assured and confident "You can start by loving yourself, for example."

Gray growled, because that wasn't so easy to do like it was to say. Only he had an idea of how much he still suffered, even if he didn't think as much about all the pain after meeting her.

And that girl sure had no idea of what she was talking, nor knew Gray's story to be able to judge him.

"You don't know me. You have no idea of how much I suffered, all the difficult situations that I had to deal with." the vehemence in his words tried to convince her otherwise "How can you think everything is simple like that?"

"I am not saying the opposite." the blunette sighed "I'm only trying to show you another side and thus help you."

The Fullbuster frowned, not understanding why she wanted to help him. He was sure he didn't need any help.

"Help me?" one dark eyebrow was raised, his expression confused "From what?"

Juvia slowly approached him, touching his face with the tips of her fingers in an almost superficial caress, but he could feel the contact with the pale skin burn. Her eyes were fixed on him and even if he wanted, he wouldn't be able to release himself from the magnetic force of such deep, so deeply blue orbs.

It felt like they could take him to another dimension, a world built perfectly for him and her, where it all came down to them two, and only that exact moment existed in that place.

"From your biggest enemy." she whispered against his lips, but hesitated to touch them "Yourself, Gray."

He wanted to punch his own face for letting her get away.

Black eyes stared at the starry sky, admiring every single star that shone brightly that night. He wondered how he had never stopped to observe them.

Gray remembered Juvia's shining eyes and smiled slightly when he concluded that not even billions of stars could be compared to the brightness of her gaze.

"You... You really think that I'm able? Able to start a new life?"

The anxiety in his voice betrayed how much he wanted to know if she really believed that he could do so.

"If you believe, then it's possible." her cheerful voice was contagious, the pale face of the girl was plenty of joy "You just need faith and courage to pursue your dreams."

Gray couldn't contain the urge to roll his onyx eyes when he heard what she had spoken last. Didn't she get tired, or better, would she really never stop believing in her dreams?

"You're talking about dreams again" he grumbled "Tsk.. It's just too complicated."

"Complicated?" the look she gave him was confused.

He sighed, nodding discouraged.

"Maybe I'm just too tired to move towards a new beginning."

The blue haired girl smiled radiantly, shaking her head like he wasn't altogether right. Gray would have growled if she hadn't interlaced hands with him next.

He shuddered and felt his cheeks burn violently, not daring to look in her eyes so she didn't see his flushed face.

Even in silence, something exploded inside him. His stomach turned over and he feared that she could hear his heart beating so fast, but the only thing he could think about was that unknown and indescribable feeling that filled his chest right now.

He wasn't even able to contain a silly smile of reaching his lips when he saw how her delicate hand did fit perfectly in his.

"When your feet are tired, ask help and support from your heart." she said calmly, making him really want to believe in her words "And while walking with him, you'll have all the power you need to proceed, because you know that he'll never leave you."

Gray smiled, feeling his heart slightly soften. That silly girl was actually really able to see the world and things better than him.

Maybe she could show him another world, a world of new choices, where he could float above the pains of the past and overcome them. A new reality in which he could believe, wishing to reach the happiness that awaits him.

She got him a new reason to live: himself. Because inside him was still kept the desire to return to caving in the ice and to discover the mysteries of his destiny. He also liked to think that during that new start, she would still be there at his side. Forever.

It was how he would like it to be. He only had to believe in it, right?

"Of course not." the reason within him cried. And his enthusiasm dwindled.

But he still decided to speak what he wanted to say at that very moment:

"I want to be able to carve in the ice again and let the world appreciate my work and recognize it as the art that has been framed by my heart." he said it more to himself than to her, trying to show his own heart that he could achieve all of this if he tried "Inspire people all over the world to come and see my art, open several works at different shows and museums. I want everyone to see how the simple ice can become something extraordinary."

She squeezed his hand lightly, giving him her support and security. She fully believed that he would be able to rise and conquer his own happiness. He just needed to live. Secretly, Juvia wanted to share the best moments of her life with him. But she couldn't. Not yet.

The proud glow in her eyes still didn't disappear and never ceased to admire the boy that she had saved from the depths of the sea. She knew that she would be eternally grateful to the tide that took her to him.

"Then live your dreams, Gray." she smiled brightly, her cheeks turning red when she noted that he looked embellished at the contact of their still interlaced hands. "You will conquer them."

Then the dark staring of the boy got lost, she realized. He was still afraid to take the risks and fought a battle with himself inside.

It hurt her to see him so full of uncertainty.

"But I lost the inspiration. And without it, I'm not able to give shape to my sculptures." Gray admitted, feeling unable to have faith "If I am not good enough, I will not be able to make extraordinary sculptures."

"You don't need to be extraordinary to do extraordinary things. You just need to find the love for what you do again."

Love.

How long hadn't he heard that word?

"I'm leaving tomorrow." she suddenly announced, her sweet voice saddened.

He felt something within him break, but choose to ignore the feeling.

Restless, he couldn't hide his impatience from her. Juvia noticed that he was no longer able to contain himself and encouraged him to speak.

"I need to find love." he decided and asked to Juvia "How can I find love?"

In principle, she was startled by his question. Soon afterwards she laughed delightfully, unable to not find the way he spoke funny.

Gray turned his sulky face away, not liking to see that she didn't take seriously what he said, but calmed down while listening to her answer.

"You can't conquer love. Love is simply love. You love a person, and without waiting for her to love you back, you give everything of yourself." she expressed her words in a dreamy way and they sounded so real.. As if she said what she was feeling at that very moment "Love can't be explained, only felt. You can't understand love.. It simply dominates you from nowhere. And when you begin to love, you don't need to know anything else, because all the magic starts to happen within you."

Gray's heart sped up when he felt all her words reach him. He looked at her face, and realized that even if he did it forever, he would never cease to feel delighted every time he saw those delicate features.

Everything about her charmed him. Even the way she blushed every time she caught him watching her, the way her eyes looked so intense when staring at his black orbs, trying to transmit to him some of the indecipherable feelings that filled her chest because of him.

Suddenly he felt a pain that he never felt before because of the thought that all of that wasn't for him.

"Do you.. Do you have someone in your heart?" he hesitated, but knew he needed an answer "Someone to love?"

The blue hair was being blown by the wind when Juvia smiled so beautifully and looked to the ground. He had to bit his lips at such sight.

She wavered a bit, but answered: "Yes. Even though it's complicated.."

Gray's heart tightened and he cursed the one that had stolen her heart before him. Juvia was the most wonderful person that appeared to him in his life and the person she loved was sure inexplicably lucky and most likely incredibly happy to be the one who she gave her heart and love. So what could be complicated?

He wished that at least a fragment of her love was for him.

But the Fullbuster chose to ignore those thoughts if he didn't want to suffer even more. He didn't need to be confused again nor feel the unknown oppression in his heart increase. He had to bear with what she could offer.

"But right now I only need the love to make art." he lied.

The girl nodded comprehensive, but disappointed by his reaction. When would he finally notice?

"Remember the sensation of carving. The reason why you loved and felt pleasure in what you did. Everything you felt when connected to that moment, leaving the rest of the world behind."

At that moment all his memories returned to him. He was delighted with the feeling that passed through his body when carving in the ice, the infinite happiness that overtook him when finishing a sculpture.

The endless ideas that appeared in his mind, how hard he worked to carve every detail perfectly so that everyone could fully enjoy his work, the pride that filled him when letting his mark in his own extraordinary ice sculpture.

And finally, he felt what he had forgotten a long time ago: the love for his art.

At the sound of the bell that signaled twelve o'clock, he remembered that this day would be their final farewell. She would have to follow with her life and he would give his own one more chance and start fresh again.

But strangely he wasn't completely sad or depressed. He was happy to have met her and have accepted what she had been able to offer him.

How grateful he was to have been rescued by her, she could never imagine.

He knew that with the peace that reigned within him at that moment was also a growing feeling, a feeling that belonged to the owner of those deep blue eyes.

Maybe he just needed more time to decipher it. Sadly, he woudn't have that time.

Standing up, he sighed and shook the sand out of his clothes, ready to go home and take the first step into his new reality.

"Thanks to you I've found what was missing so I could return to sculpting on ice." a sincere smile formed on his lips, the dark eyes had a dazzling brilliance that almost blinded her.

Several heartbeats of Juvia's heart failed. She just wanted to never forget that gaze. How she wanted to have it forever.. But she couldn't be selfish. Not even go back.

"You will be so happy!" was all she managed to exclaim, her blue eyes filled with tears that refused to fall.

Guided by an impulse, she stood up to hug him, moving her arms around his neck, hiding her head in his shoulder, wishing that she would never be separated from that contact. Her chest was being hurt by the strength of her heartbeats, and only God knew how much it did hurt.

Only she knew how happy she was to have found her happiness again.

Gray was surprised by her sudden action, but returned the hug, inhaling deeply the smell that had become a necessity for him, trying to burn it in his mind forever.

"Thank you for not letting me die, for saving me. For everything." he whispered in her ear, causing shivers to go up her spine.

How she loved that voice that even when it sounded cold, severe and manly always melt her insides. She felt ashamed of herself for not having the courage to tell the truth to him, but she always got too silly and too mesmerized by him to even think about declaring her feelings.

Gray pressed her harder against him, thinking about the fact that she never told him about the gift that the sea had brought for her. The one who could bring her happiness back.

He turned away from her to be able to look in her eyes - and oh God, how he really loved them -, to ask:

"What was your treasure?"

She smiled sweetly and looked out to the sea, loosening the hug, walking in its direction, allowing the water to bathe her feet as she took her hands to her chest.

The fast beats against her fingers made her smile extend further when she remembered what she found there.

"It's love."

Gray, now staring at her back, with a void in his arms, was speechless.

"Love..?" he hesitated.

"A love that filled me completely from the first time our eyes met, and every time I lose myself in its depths, I want to drown in them if I could feel like that forever. It makes me wonder if my chest has enough space for such magnificent feeling and the answer is always yes, because I know that I will always love him even more. I would sacrifice everything for him and never ask for anything in return."

He approached her unconsciously, close enough for her to breathe his perfume, but far enough to make her wish contact with his skin.

He touched her shoulder, turning her to him, needing to appreciate that sublime smile as bright as the sun. Let her presence as pure as the moon invade him and behold that beautiful face, because he knew that on earth wasn't another beauty like hers.

"Why do you love him so much?" he whispered, his long fingers rolling a lock of soft blue hair.

"I love him because I love him" the smile reached her eyes "There is no reason to love."

At that moment their eyes met again. This time he was able to see with the heart; and it was as if the whole universe stopped; the stars illuminated everything around them; the sea was silenced completely taking the realization of that moment, it was like every cell of his body was being renewed by seeing her blue eyes shining so spectacularly and intensely only for him.

Only for him.

He was now sure that he was the treasure that the sea brought to her. Because all the love he never knew that existed, was shown at this very moment through her eyes.

He slowly approached their faces and even if she wasn't saying anything, and not confirming any of the facts, Gray realized that a love sentence could never compare to the glimpse of a gaze full of love in the silence.

She didn't need to explain to him how she felt. It was too abstract and simply inexplicable for any human to understand.

'You just needed to let it all happen inside you.'

She had always been right.

When his lips met hers, all that had been in his head in the past, lost its importance. He recorded in detail that moment in his memory, to never forget it.

She was the dream that he had never been able to have. The song that he had never heard, the realization that he never imagined reaching. She was the salvation of his soul.

The myth in which he would forever believe in.

With his forehead pressed against hers and their lips still at a small distance, he felt that he needed to have even more of her. He wanted to live at her side, discover every day a new charm of hers and let her show him how love could be the most perfect and certain act that he had ever done. Gray wanted to live every night a different story with Juvia.

Now he knew exactly who he would remember before sleeping.

"Don't go away." he pleaded, his voice weak and trembling "Stay with me."

The girl shook her head, her arms still around his neck. The perfume that exuded from her skin made him completely numb.

But Juvia knew that if she said goodbye, she'd be lying.

"I can't. You will have to live your dream first and I need to continue to live mine."

The pressure around her waist increased.

"You're part of my dream, Gray. And I am part of yours." she assured confidently, a loving expression on her face comforting him "So, I will always, no matter where I am, come back to you."

"When?"

"In the right moment." she spoke with tenderness.

He buried his face in her neck, still hesitant to let her go. Just when he had found the person who made him feel indecipherable sensations..

Gray sighed resignedly. If she really was his missing piece, the fit into his half, she would return to him.

"Promise me you won't forget me."

In the tears spilled from her eyes he saw his reflection before they were carried by the tide of the sea.

She stroked his face, getting lost in the darkness of his onyx gaze.

"The day you find those tears, you'll know the day I will stop loving you."

Gray knew those tears would never return. Now they were part of the sea, and he would trust the crystalline waters that they would never let any love disperse.

He was happy, because since he fell in love with her, time would be frozen. There weren't impossible loves, only people unable to fight for it and Gray would never abandon this battle.

He kissed her again and recorded every detail of the woman's face that he could never recall without having a smile on his lips.

"When you come back, I'll be ready. Ready for love, ready to love you. I swear on those stars that what was born between us will never disappear." red lips prophesied the words that would become his first promise.

Gray would always believe in it. He would make it happen.

"I know. And every time I look at the stars, I will know exactly where you are."

Their bodies turned away, not letting out one last caress on this parting that would lead them to two opposite ways.

He would go to the resumption of his own life and journey that would put him back in the direction of his dreams, now being able to see with the eyes of the heart, knowing that there was one person out there in the world destined to share her happiness with him.

Juvia would be the dream that he would always remember.

She would continue to live hers, this time with the certainty that somewhere, a heart was waiting for her to come back. A place to which she would always belong.

They smiled together in sync when both of them noticed that now they shared a dream. A dream about their own love and their very happy ending together. And they would strongly believe in it.

After all, who ever said that forever ever ends?

Corrected on the 18/04/2017.

It would seriously mean a lot to me if you reviewed. I wrote this with all my heart, trying to save myself from the emptiness of my soul. Gray was me and Juvia the person I wanted to be in the future. And with my heart overflowing with happiness, today, two years later, I can now say that I'm finally becoming that person.

I hope this helps some of you and open your eyes. If you believe, anything is possible. Love is the only thing that can save us, but we have to do it for ourselves.

If anyone's interested in a final sequel, let me know and we'll see how this love dream ends.

Thank you.