I'm crying. You're all absolutely wonderful for reading this, and I'm crying because I'm eternally grateful that you did. This final chapter was brought to you by several happy tears and 'Cosmic Love' by Florence and the Machine. I love you guys.

"I wonder how they did it," Lucy says later that night. The group, minus Gray and Juvia, sits at a table in the nearly-empty mess hall of Lamia Scale.

"Hm?" Natsu murmurs sleepily, his head pillowed on his arms. The frantic rush of the day's events is fading, leaving everyone feeling more than a little drained.

"Juvia and Gray," she clarifies, propping up her chin on one hand. "Shattering the Lacrima; I thought it had sealed her in. How did it happen?"

"I've been wondering the same thing," Erza says. Happy flies up and circles the table.

"That's easy," the little cat pipes up. "Because they like each other!"

Natsu snorts and catches him by the tail, pulling him back down and quieting him with a pat on the head. "I actually think I know what happened."

"Really?"

Natsu frowns thoughtfully and nods, saying, "Well, I could be wrong, but it kind of seems to me like what happened when I ate Laxus' lightning forever ago; you remember that? It was like a giant power-up to my own magic."

"I see… Even though the Lacrima was draining her magic," Erza adds, "Juvia's body must have accepted Gray's magic and just… defended itself."

"Their magics are very compatible," Lyon muses. "Ice comes from water, after all. It doesn't surprise me that Juvia would be able to handle that power."

"That's amazing," Lucy breathes. She thinks back to the morning, standing to the side and mournfully watching as Gray had knelt at the base of the Lacrima with Juvia trapped inside. She had seen the magic spinning over their intertwined hands, ice forming in the spaces in between. And then she'd watched, utterly awed, as the chill that had settled in the air seemed to get sucked right to that corner of the room; there had been movement inside the crystal and a giant fracture had split its surface before the entire thing had blown apart.

'How powerful,' she thinks with a smile. 'Mom was definitely right. The source of magic is love.'

"What're you grinning about?" Erza asks, but she has a knowing expression on her face.

Lucy laughs and replies, "Oh, nothing. I'm just really happy that everyone is okay." Her eyes dim a bit, and then she frowns. "Well… almost everyone, really. Even though Ash and Ilma were trying to do a terrible thing… I'm still not sure that they deserved to end up the way that they did."

Lyon's gaze hardens. "Ash couldn't be saved; he was already in the process of being broken down by the Lacrima. As for Ilma…"

They all look a bit disturbed, remembering the burned body of the woman lying next to the crushed remnants of a Lacrima.

"Her body's being taken to the Council, isn't it?" Natsu asks.

"Yes, they'll be able to find out more about who she really is by searching through records of mages throughout Fiore. If she has any family, her body will probably be sent to them. If not, she'll probably just be buried in her home town."

"I wonder what went wrong, that she ended up the way she did… It was a horrible way to die," Lucy murmurs sadly.

"We won't know what really happened in the cavern until Juvia wakes up again. Even then, we should be careful about the questions we ask; she might be in shock, when the reality of everything hits."

"She's strong," Erza says with a fond smile. "She'll pull through."

"Especially if Gray's around," Happy snickers, and they all exchange amused glances.

Lyon stands up and stretches with a tired groan. He turns to Team Natsu and says, "Lamia Scale is very grateful for Fairy Tail's help. We owe you guys a lot."

Natsu grins and shakes his head, holding out his hand. "Nah. In fact, consider us even from the time you helped out our guild after Tenrou Island disappeared."

Lyon smiles and accepts the proffered handshake with a grateful nod. "It's getting pretty late now. You all should rest here for the night, and then you can head out for Magnolia Town in the morning. I have a feeling that I already know the answer, but I'll head up to the infirmary to find Gray and ask if he'll be staying here until Juvia is ready to go home."

The group bids Lyon goodnight and leaves for the resting room while Lyon makes his way up to the second floor. He heads down the long hall that leads to the guild's infirmary and quietly pushes the door open. He pauses at the threshold and leans a hip against the doorframe, crossing his arms and smirking at the sight before him. "Really, Gray? At least put on a shirt, you pervert."

Gray twitches awake and nearly slips off the edge of Juvia's bed; he is sitting up with his back pressed against the headboard, Juvia laying at his side. He blearily blinks down at her and makes sure that she is still fast asleep before scowling at Lyon and giving him the finger. "Fuck off," he mouths, but his cheeks are beginning to flush in embarrassment.

Lyon is growing increasingly amused. "You just gonna sit there all night?"

"Probably," is the matter-of-fact reply, and the silver-haired mage raises his brows in surprise.

"Oh? Such a blunt response; you're not so emotionally stunted anymore, are you?"

"…Get out."

"Ah. Maybe I spoke too soon," Lyon chuckles, shaking his head. He glances over at the other side of the room where Jura is resting in another one of the beds. "Neither of them have woken up?" he asks. Gray shakes his head and stares down at Juvia. Lyon sighs and says reassuringly, "She's going to be fine, you know."

"Of course I know," Gray snaps, but his tone is not entirely convincing. "… I just don't like how close things were. The last thing I want is… for someone else to die because of me."

Lyon frowns and steps into the room, moving to sit down on the bed across from the pair. He looks uncomfortable for a moment and begins, "Earlier today… You know, I didn't mean to be so—"

"Don't." Gray cuts him off, not meeting his eyes. "I'm not a child; you don't have to try to spare my feelings or anything stupid like that. You meant what you said. You were right, too."

There is a pause, and then Lyon says, "Ah, I'm sorry, I wasn't prepared for that. Could you please repeat what you just said?"

A small smirk tugs at the corner of Gray's lips. "I said, 'You're a jackass.'"

"No, I don't quite think that was it. One more time."

"Leave."

Lyon snorts in amusement and makes a mental note to give him another good punch when there's no risk of disturbing anyone's rest. There is an easy silence for a few moments, and takes the time to unabashedly observe Gray, understanding that what he's seeing now is a rare thing indeed.

He isn't even touching her, but Gray exudes an air of quiet protectiveness that nearly borders on aggression as he watches Juvia sleep. He probably doesn't even realize that he'd curled towards her—as though he'd meant to shield her—when Lyon had entered the room to sit down. And even through their conversation, his eyes had been fixed almost entirely on her.

Lyon has to struggle to suppress a wave of almost painful nostalgia when he realizes how much Gray looks like Ur right now, utterly determined not to let anything harm the person that is precious to him. His spirit is undoubtedly something that he's inherited from her.

"What?" Gray asks, startling Lyon. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

Lyon smiles and says, "Nothing. Just… You're a lot like Ur, you know? The way you save people. You saved Juvia. Hell, even me." He looks up thoughtfully. "I don't think I ever thanked you for that, by the way."

Gray is horrified to realize that he is blushing and can't think of anything to say in response. He growls and looks away, trying to hide his flustered expression.

Lyon laughs at his discomfort and says, "Unfortunately, you still act like a kid." As fun as embarrassing Gray is, he decides to have mercy on him and changes the subject. "Your friends are going to head back to Fairy Tail in the morning; I take it you plan on staying here until Juvia's ready to travel again?"

Gray stares at him like he's an idiot for even asking, and Lyon can't quite stop his eye from twitching in irritation. "Don't look at me like that, you dumb brat. I had to ask anyway." He shakes his head then, amused, and stands up. "I get you're worried about her, but she's not going anywhere, so don't spend the entire night staring at her and try to get some sleep," he orders, reaching out to ruffle Gray's hair; he can't stop a smile from tugging at the corners of his lips when Gray doesn't even protest, but merely huffs and scowls at him until he leaves the room.

Gray is startled awake in the middle of the night by feeling someone shaking his arm. He blinks rapidly, trying to adjust his eyesight to the darkness, and glances down to see Juvia staring up at him. He opens his mouth to say something—to say what, he isn't exactly sure—but she speaks before he can.

"Ilma," she whispers, eyes wide and haunted. "…Where is Ilma?"

He freezes and tries to figure out how to tell her, but his expression succeeds where words fail, and he is stunned when her face crumples and she begins to cry. "Juvia… what—"

"She loved him," Juvia whimpers, placing her fists against her eyes as the tears slide down her cheeks. "Ilma. She loved Ash, and she just wanted… to be with him. She destroyed her own Lacrima," she sobs, and Gray's eyes widen in shock. "She didn't want to die with him, she didn't want to die…"

He swallows hard past the lump in his throat; he certainly hadn't predicted that. Briefly, he feels a hot stab of anger rush through him—anger at Ash for being such a monster. But he reminds himself that, no matter how terrible they were in life, it isn't wise to think ill of the dead; Ash is gone, he can't hurt anyone else, and that will have to be enough. Instead, he turns his focus to Juvia once more, and he feels his heart squeeze at the sight of her so devastated. His mouth in a firm line, he carefully slides his arm under her back and lifts her up, pushing her head to rest against his shoulder.

"Don't look like that," he murmurs, tangling his fingers in her hair. She tries to blubber an apology but only succeeds in sobbing harder, clinging to him. It makes him uncomfortable because crying women are terrifying, but he presses his lips to the crown of her head and lets her cry, feeling both guilty and not for being glad that it was Ilma instead of Juvia.

"All you can do," he says later when her sobs settle down to uneven, shuddering breaths, "is live for her sake. If she was willing to try to stop Ash, that's probably what she would have wanted you to do, don't you think?"

Juvia sniffles and nods. 'Yes… Ilma only wanted to be happy, and to live beside the person she loves.' She glances up at Gray through tear-soaked lashes; curled against him as she is, his heartbeat is loud in her ears. 'Because of Ilma, Juvia has the chance to live the same dream. Juvia won't waste it.'

The next morning, Team Natsu minus Gray departs from Lamia Scale after several warm farewell hugs and one promise from Natsu to tell the entire guild everything that happened—"Everything," he snickers, waggling his eyebrows at Juvia and Gray before Erza smacks him across the head and Lucy drags him away by the ear. Gray scowls at his retreating figure and steers a blushing Juvia back into Lamia Scale's guild.

The day is mostly spent tying up loose ends. Jura wakes up around midday and Ooba questions him on what happened. Lyon listens to Juvia's account, and she manages to get through explaining the entire ordeal down in the underground room without completely breaking down. Once she is finished, she surprises everyone by asking what happened to Ash.

"The Lacrima broke down his body," Lyon tells her. "Ooba's actually contacted the Council about it, and they're probably going to send some Rune Knights to the forest to destroy it and seal up the cavern permanently."

Juvia shakes her head and says, "No. Please, Lyon-sama… Tell them to keep a piece of it. Bury it with Ilma. She… She would want that."

Gray and Lyon blink at her in surprise, but Lyon agrees to send a message to the Council. Juvia is told that she should spend the day resting so she'll regain all of her magic power, but later in the afternoon, she approaches Gray and asks him to take her to the sea.

And so they sit on the pier, feet dangling over the edge and into the water. Gray watches Juvia smile and wiggle her toes as she looks up at the fading sun.

"Juvia feels better when she is by the ocean," she murmurs, feeling the water and its magic ripple over her skin. "Juvia didn't think she would get to see it again," she adds. She looks over at Gray and sees him frowning at her; she smiles sheepishly and apologizes.

Gray rolls his eyes at her and shakes his head. "S'alright," he mumbles, turning to look down into the water. Every time he's by the sea, he can't help but feel a little bit melancholy, and thinking of how he'd nearly lost Juvia doesn't help. His attention is drawn from morose thoughts to her, however, when he realizes that the waves swell towards her more than they do at any other point. He smirks. "How does that work, anyway?"

She gives him a confused look. "How does what work?"

"Your magic," he clarifies. "I mean, I know how it works, but—" He gestures to the water rising beneath her. "—that. How does that happen?"

Juvia smiles at the sea and drops in, splashing Gray as she does so. He splutters and glares at her, clothes sopping wet and hair plastered to his face. She giggles at him and waves for him to join her; he sighs and creates an ice floe that is just big enough for him to slide onto, crossing his legs as he sits. Juvia shoots him a look that falls just short of exasperation. She tips onto her back, spread-eagled, and lets her magic merge with the ocean.

"Ilma told Juvia that she was an Element Master," she tells him, feeling the last few rays of the sun warming her body. High in the sky, the first deep blues of twilight begin to spread over them, and she closes her eyes, peaceful. "Juvia doesn't really like that phrase, but... Ilma said that Element Masters are a select few mages who were born to have complete control over the element that their magic is based in. They are supposed to be so in-tune with their element that it's possible to become it. Juvia is apparently like this," she declares, holding up a watery arm.

"Element Master, huh? Maybe you're the one who should be called '-sama,'" he jokes, just to see her blush. He smirks at her and she huffs at his teasing expression.

"Juvia has never really thought of why the water is so kind to her, but now she at least has some kind of clue. Juvia thinks that maybe she would like to learn a little bit more about the magic. About who she is. It is strange to think that there is more to Juvia than being a rain woman," she confesses.

"The water's kind?" Gray repeats questioningly.

Juvia hums in the affirmative and says, "To Juvia, the sea is almost like… almost like a living thing. Sometimes, Juvia feels as though it calls to her, to say something to her. And it accepts the magic that Juvia puts into it so easily, and it gives back just as much. It feels like… like an old friend. Very warm and caring. Strong."

Gray feels his heart throb painfully in his chest. "Is it talking to you now?"

Juvia opens an eye to look at him and dissolves, sinking under the waves. He watches the space where her body was and can just barely manage to make out the color of that single open eye beneath the surface, its iris a deeper blue than the surrounding waters. He waits, and she eventually reforms and rises once more, paddling over and resting her arms on the slick surface of the ice. She beams at him and answers, "Happy. It's saying it's happy."

The waves still, and Gray tries to swallow past the lump in his throat. Without a word, he hauls Juvia up onto the floe and turns her in his arms, her back to his front. He rests his chin on the top of her head and thinks, 'It's easy to touch her now.' Hesitantly, she reaches for his hand, and he snorts and laces their fingers together tightly. Once again, he feels magic swirl in the spaces between their palms, and he blinks down at her in surprise when he feels her skin harden and cool. He takes her wrist and holds up her icy hand.

"That's crazy," he whispers, but his heart feels like it's about to burst, the physical manifestation of his magic transferring to her doing something wild to his emotions. Juvia smiles adoringly at him, and he struggles to hold himself still when she cranes her neck up and places the sweetest of kisses against his chin. He feels his blood thrum hot in his veins, and Gray can't deny how much he enjoys the way that her surprised squeal melts into a soft sigh when he tilts his head and presses his lips to hers, tongue tracing the soft skin.

They part eventually, and Juvia whispers, "I love you, Gray."

He smiles and touches his forehead to hers.

They float together until the sky grows dark.

I AM SO MUCH MORE EMOTIONAL THAN I HAVE EVER BEEN. I CAN'T SEE MY KEYBOARD. Haugh. Well, that's it for this story. It just feels right to leave it there. I might do a couple of outtakes, though. There are a few things that wouldn't fit in this final chapter, but could make nice (funny/sweet/etc) oneshots. So, be on the lookout?

I am so grateful to everyone who read this; as I said before, you're all wonderful. Just absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for reading!