Thanks to the lovely response to A Little More Resolute, I decided to write the sequel... it's not the same tone but I believe it is a natural progression considering the two people involved and how different they are when it comes to expressing emotion.

Title: A Definitive Conclusion
Rating: T
Characters: Gray, Juvia
Timeline: After the events of the Eclipse Gate arc (though the arc hasn't actually ended when I wrote this so I'm guessing at a few things).

Summary: Gray and Juvia finally get a chance to fight each other again since their first meeting, but after Juvia's confession to Gray during the Grand Magic Games… could any fight between them end with a definitive conclusion…

Note: Sequel to my other one-shot A Little More Resolute. You don't have to read it to understand this one but it is highly recommended.
Note: Cover art is by xBebiiAnn on deviantart.

A Definitive Conclusion

"It's good to be home," Lucy was particularly pleased to see the guild hall as they walked up the path after returning from Crocus and winning the Grand Magic Games, not to mention saving the world, again.

"Maybe now that we've become the strongest guild again," Gray mused as they crested the hill, "we can move back into the old guild hall?"

"I dunno," Macao called out from the middle of the group, "I like this hall, it has character."

From somewhere in the back the master grumbled about the loss of the thirty million jewels.

"Hey," Romeo spoke up from next to his father, "Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games as a whole, but which team gets to boss the other one around for a day?"

The group of wizards shuddered to a stop with a few members even running into each other.

"That's right," Happy was floating above everyone, "Fairy Tail Team B only formed because they were promised that if they could defeat Fairy Tail Team A they could boss them around."

"But both teams got merged," Lucy pointed out, "all of Fairy Tail won, so does it really matter which team won?"

Everyone gave her a sharp, cold look.

"Right," she sighed, "never mind, forgot who I was talking to."

"How do we want to decide who won?" Kinana asked Master Makarov who continued to grumble about the lost jewels, ignoring the conversation.

"Well," Mirajane spoke up, "Team B was ahead of Team A at the qualifier and for much of the games."

"But Erza defeated 100 monsters in the haunted house," Wendy pointed out.

Laxus laughed, "And I defeated my father and his whole team."

"Hey," Natsu shouted, "I took out two Dragon Slayers!"

"Only cause you pushed me out of the way," Gajeel and Natsu ended up butting heads, literally.

"Fight, fight," Asuka giggled from atop her father's shoulders.

"A fight would solve the issue," Macao agreed with the young girl, "but not team against team, it would take far too long and destroy much of the town I would suppose."

"It would also need a definitive conclusion," Erza nodded, "so might I suggest one last individual battle as per the Grand Magic Games rules: one member from each team and a thirty minute time limit."

"Great idea!" Natsu beamed and ran up to master's son, "Laxus, fight me."

"I already fought in an individual battle, Natsu," the man looked down at the pink haired Dragon Slayer, "and the rules state that while you can participate in as many group events, you only get one individual battle. Or didn't you read the rules?"

"Ah…"

"That would be a no," Happy supplied.

Laxus shook his head then gestured at his teammates, "The only two members of Team B who didn't have an individual fight was Juvia and Cana."

"Hey, I didn't know nothing about no bet," Cana took a swig of whatever was in her bottle, "I just covered when Mysto-Jello-whoevers ran off. Leave me out of it."

"Juvia will gladly fight and win for Juvia's teammates," the water mage gave a slight bow of her head.

"Well," Lucy looked at her team, "we have Erza and Gray."

"Didn't Juvia already fight Erza on Tenrou and lost?" Happy asked.

"Juvia did not care if she won on Tenrou," Juvia squared her shoulders, "Juvia's heart was not in the battle with Erza but Juvia assures her team her heart is in this one," and with that the woman started to walk out into the open field which was probably the best place to have the battle.

Natsu sidled up to Gray and put his arm around his shoulder, "Just to be fair, we choose Gray."

"We do?" Lucy, Wendy and Elfman all said at the same time.

"Gray, take off your pants," Natsu started to grab at the man's clothes.

"You realize how that sounds?!" Lucy exclaimed.

Natsu was still pawing at the ice mage, "Distract her and you can't lose!"

Gray managed to push the pink haired man away, "I'll defeat Juvia fair and square, thank you."

There was a general shrug and mixed glanced between the guild members. Everyone knew Juvia was in love with Gray and Gray was indifferent to Juvia…

"Well," Lucy pulled out one of her keys and called forth Horologium.

"Do you need to take shelter again, master?" the talking clock asked.

"Not today, Horologium," she chuckled nervously, why did it always ask her that now? "We need you to be the time keeper for a thirty minute battle."

"I would be happy to," the hands on his clock face both jumped to twelve, "whenever you are ready."

"Right," Gray removed his jacket to reveal the butterfly t-shirt he had randomly picked up during the final battle of the Games, then headed into the field.

"So," Wakaba, "betting pool opens now and closes in five minutes."

"Ah," Natsu waved him off, "Gray is gonna win."

Gajeel laughed, "You've never heard what a wizard had to go through to become S-Class in Phantom Lord."

"You were an S-Class and I beat you!" the two Dragon Slayers butted heads again.

"Calm yourselves," Erza spoke out loudly, "and let us watch."

The two men growled at each other but then reluctantly turned towards the field were the battle was about to commence.

…

Juvia was already on the other side of the field when Gray entered and took his place, waiting to hear the time start.

"I plan on winning," he told her, not letting his excitement show at the prospect of fighting her. He had defeated her once before but it had been one of the more passionate and challenging battles he had ever fought, something he wouldn't mind repeating.

Since their powers were complimentary it made Juvia very difficult to fight against in general, and there was a stream running next to the field, the land was wet from a previous rain, all things she would be able to take advantage of along with her own ability to create and shape water.

Fighting her was going to be a challenge and he was very much looking forward to it.

"Juvia understands," she gave a respectable nod, "and apologizes now to her Gray-sama for all the damage Juvia is about to inflict on him. Juvia plans on being the victor."

Gray let a little smile grace his lips, he liked this side of Juvia, her confidence and strength, not the woman who would obsessively worship the ground he walked on.

Moments later, the clock spirit let out a very loud gong noise and the match began. Both mages tensed, watching to see who would be the first to react.

Gray felt the ground moving beneath his feet and jumped backwards to avoid the water which was pulled from the ground to try to knock him down. He went to make lances but Juvia was already throwing a Water Slicer at him.

"Ice Make Shield," the wall of ice he created held against the slicer, just barely, and he grinned. She already had him on the defensive, she wasn't messing around… good…

…

Physical attacks could not hurt Juvia but Juvia avoided them regardless. Gray-sama could freeze water… he once froze Juvia. Juvia was not going to give Gray-sama any other openings.

Dodging a shot from his Ice Cannon, Juvia immediately threw out a surge of water, the same Juvia had used to hold off Aquarius. Gray-sama dodged, turning the ground into a sheet of ice. This may have tripped up most foes but Juvia had no issues sliding across the ice and retaining her balance, though she had to reign in her attacks for a moment.

Several Ice Saucers came flying at Juvia but she skidded across the ice covered ground. As she stopped, an Ice Geyser erupted which knocked her back and slid Juvia into the grass.

No, this was not good, Juvia had gone from offensive to defensive.

With a determined mind she reached out with Water Cane toward Gray-sama, causing him to dodge. It wasn't a finishing move but Juvia needed a second to get up and get her wits about her.

Yes, she loved Gray-sama, but he was the one who showed her what it was like to have friends… no… a family worth fighting for. Right now, Juvia's team was trusting her to win, they were her friends and her family.

As much as Juvia loved her Gray-sama… she could not lose.

Gathering her strength, Juvia forced out two jets of steaming water at Gray-sama and her aim was true. He was struck and thrown back a fair distance. When the water cleared, Gray-sama was down on one knee, breathing heavily from the attack.

"Right," he said as he pulled his shirt over his head, "let's get serious about this, shall we?"

…

"That's it, Gray!" Natsu shouted from the sidelines, "Take off your pants!"

"Is your brain even connected to your vocal cords?" Lucy asked only half-joking.

"I don't think he even realized he took his shirt off," Erza said from the other side of Lucy. "The battle has intensified, Gray feels closer to his element when he can feel the cold on his skin."

"Yeah, that's true," Lucy glanced over at Horologium, still fifteen minutes to go and neither showed signs of one being more worn out than the other. If this came down to a draw, what would they do? Perhaps Natsu could fight Laxus after all?

"Why doesn't Juvia just use her Water Lock?" Gajeel asked from a little farther down.

"Gray defeated it once already," Erza explained, "I'm sure Juvia remembers that."

"Huh," the dark haired Dragon Slayer actually showed some surprise, "I didn't think anyone could get out of that."

"Their powers are very complimentary," Laxus joined the conversation, "Ice is merely water slowed at its core. Plus many of Gray's strongest attacks, such as the Seven Blade Dance, would not work on Juvia's fluid form."

"But most of Juvia's best attacks are ranged," Lucy countered, "and he seems to be doing a pretty good job of dodging them."

"They really are going at it though," Macao rubbed his chin, "at least we know neither is being soft on the other."

…

Attack. Dodge. Defend.

Attack. Dodge. Defend.

It was starting to turn into some kind of strange dance.

If he could just freeze Juvia like he did before, sans grabbing her breast, then he could win this. However, Juvia seemed to have remembered quite well their last battle and didn't give him any openings. Gray was beginning to believe this battle was going to come to a draw.

But what fun he was having.

It was hard to believe that this was the same Juvia who obsessed over him, who would be submissive to him, and who could make him cry…

Gray took another blow from Juvia's Water Nebula, falling backwards but still able to keep his footing. He had let himself be distracted by the memory of that moment in Crocus when Juvia told him that she knew he didn't love her…

She had cried… the truth being spoken out loud on her own lips was too much for her to bear, but if he had asked her to stop being, well, Juvia, then she would try… for him…

She would do anything… for him…

"Gah!" he screamed despite himself, it was a deep, guttural and caused everyone to pause, including Juvia.

The water mage was still on the defensive, but her head tilted to the side while trying to make sense of his actions. Gray was now boiling inside… something that had been eating him up for so long and he was sure it was the reason he had cried that day… tears to match Juvia's own...

"If I asked you to throw this match," he shouted at Juvia, "would you do it?"

"Ah," the woman stuttered and blinked a few times.

"The fact that you had to think about it tells me everything," he growled and lashed out with Ice Lance which Juvia was able to dodge but it got Gray closer to Juvia so he didn't have to shout as loudly to make sure she heard his next words. "Do you know what it's like to have someone around you who would do anything for you?"

"Ah," Juvia continued to defend his attacks but she couldn't put a sentence together, he didn't blame her.

"At first, it's flattering, Ice Make Saucer," he threw the projectiles at her but she let them slip through her body, "but then you realize you have a person's free will in your hands. That makes you feel like a god," he was breathing heavily and stood mere feet from her now, "and it's the kind of people who think they are gods among men that we fight against."

"Gray-sama…" she uttered, her eyes wide.

"You can love me if you wish, Juvia," he stared her down, "but do not make me a god. I don't deserve it… and you deserve better."

Infinity seemed to pass between them but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

Juvia swallowed hard and then threw her hands out, "Water Lock!"

Gray felt the familiar sensation of being incased in water and slowly suffocating into unconsciousness. She had done this to him once before, he had got out of it then and he would get out of it now, he just hoped that she had listened, really listened, to what he had said.

He was not a god.

He was not to be worshiped.

He was just a man.

He was her friend.

Reaching out and feeling the cool water which encircled him, he took control over the element and made it do his bidding, freezing it from the inside out. With a loud crack, the ice broke apart and he was free.

That's when he saw it.

Two massive cyclones crashed down beside him, Juvia had built them up while he was occupied with the Water Lock. Heavy winds picked up the shards of ice and whipped them around as the large cyclones rapidly closed in on him leaving him nowhere to dodge. Gray was swept up in the massive force of nature as it combined into one very large land hurricane.

Up was now sideways and down was a whole other direction completely. Gray couldn't be sure of anything as he was tossed like a doll and thrown to the ground.

With a heavy thud, Gray tucked and rolled across the grass. He nearly broke an arm and the air was pushed from his lungs, his head spinning. As he laid there he panted rapidly, trying to clear the stars from his eyes. When the hell had she learned to do that?

A loud gong sounded… the match was over.

Still laying on his back he glanced over to see Juvia standing, her hands on her knees, she had obviously exerted herself but she was clearly the victor as he would need a few more moments to recover. Looking back at his guild mates, Natsu was crying, Lucy, Wendy and Elfman looked shocked, but Erza didn't seem surprised at all.

He had lost… let them down… but the truth was, Juvia could have pulled that stunt at any time, from the first minute of the match. Maybe she was saving it as a finishing move… maybe it was his words that had prompted her to finally go all out…

It didn't matter, she clearly bested him and no one could say he had thrown the fight, he could be pleased about a battle well fought.

And if Juvia happened to learn anything from his outburst, all the better.

Sitting up on his elbows, he watched as Juvia walked towards him and snatched up his butterfly t-shirt from where it had gotten tossed during the fight.

"Juvia is keeping this," she drained all the water out of the shirt, "as trophy of Juvia's win over Gray-sama for her team."

Gray couldn't help but a little smile, "It was a good fight, you earned it."

The woman smiled shyly back at him and offered her hand, "Gray-sama fought passionately as well."

"Thanks," he said as he stood, feeling a little sore from where he hit the ground, "guess I need to face the music then," he awkwardly let go of her hand, remembering how she didn't want to let go the last time they had held hands.

As he turned to walk back to the group, he could see Lucy and Happy trying to comfort a distraught Natsu… but then one word floated to him from Juvia's lips, "Why?"

When he asked her that same question in Crocus he wasn't even sure he knew what he was asking… and here… he didn't know what he was being asked. So he said the first thing that came to mind…

"You made me cry."