The long awaited sequel to Bluebird is here! Blackbird retells our story from Gray's point of view. It's not as descriptive as Bluebird, so it may be in your best interest to reread Juvia's tale before reading this. Enjoy!

Gray had messed up. In fact, "messed up" didn't even slightly cover it. He had really ruined everything this time.

He had just been so angry, so infuriated, and he didn't even remember why. But whatever it was, he let that anger control him. He let his rage get the best of him and, when he opened is mouth, he had torn Juvia apart.

Now he was alone. Alone, laying on the couch in his lonely little town house, listening to the rain pelt against the roof.

It was Juvia's rain.

And he had caused it.

But that wasn't what he had said to her, was it?

"You're making it rain anyway."

He remembered his cold words. Demanding that she change for him. What was he thinking? Clearly he wasn't thinking at all. It was true, Juvia could be a little overbearing at times, but he knew what he was getting himself into when he finally told her his true feelings.

And at that time, he had meant it. But now, knowing how easily he could rip her down and leave her behind, he wasn't so sure if he trusted his own feelings anymore.

So now, he was alone. He was used to spending a lot of time on his own, he didn't have a non-stop energy supply like Natsu did, so he spent plenty of days off just on his couch, watching Lacrima Vision, or tinkering with leaky pipes.

But this was different. His chest felt empty. His house felt cold.

He had brought this upon himself.

He knew he had to change this. He needed to talk to Juvia, they needed to sort this out, figure out if this was really what they wanted. He couldn't believe it was what Juvia wanted.

Gray sighed raggedly, and sat up on his couch. He ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Why was I even angry in the first place…?"

The next day, Gray made his way to Fairy Hills. The rain outside had eased up substantially, but it was still drizzling. However, when he arrived to the apartment complex, the matron had turned him away without a second glance.

"What do you mean, I can't come in? It's just for a second." He growled at the old woman.

"Multiple of the young ladies residing here have been gossiping about you and none of it was good. So you take your butt and you get out of here." She shook her cane at him through the gate, standing on the other side and grimacing at him. "Go on! Shoo!"

Gray audible growled at the woman, but turned around with a 'humph' and stormed off.

After that, he had to start thinking of other ways to run into Juvia. He would walk her usual trip to Fairy Tail, her route to the market, even walk along the river that she would always sit by, when she wanted to cry about her problems without bothering her guild mates—but she was no where to be seen.

He spent most of the daytime at the guild, hoping she would show up, but to no avail. He had a few other visitors though.

Lucy had sat down at his table first.

She took the seat directly across from him, and stared hard upon the man with his face hidden in his folded arms. After a good couple minutes of her intense stare, he finally raised his head. "You girls spreading rumors about me in your apartments?" He asked gruffly, "Because of you guys, I can't even get in to talk to Juvia."

"I don't live at Fairy Hills, you know that." Lucy said with her nose up in the air. "But I'm sure they aren't saying anything that isn't true. Besides, you shouldn't bother her before she's ready to see you again."

Gray scoffed, and laid his head back in his arms again.

"You really hurt her Gray."

"Shut up!" Gray's fist hit the table and the young lady leapt out of her seat.

Lucy only gave a quick glance at Gray's angry expression, before turning tail and leaving to join someone more friendly.

"I already know that…" Gray murmured and buried his face once again.

His next visitor didn't say much of anything, or even sit down. Every time Gajeel walked past Gray, sulking in his chair, he would kick one of the wooden legs underneath him, or 'accidently' elbow him in the head. It was after an iron fork grazed through Gray's hair and pinned itself into his table that he had had enough.

"What is your problem?" The ice mage growled and grabbed Gajeel by the collar of his shirt.

"My problem? What's your problem?" Gajeel snapped back, and shoved Gray away from him. "We haven't seen Juvia for almost three days because you can't keep your temper tantrums to your self."

"You don't even know what you're talking about." Gray responded with a steady voice, averting his eyes from the enraged man.

"Oh yeah? You think I don't know her rain when I see it?" Gajeel yanked Gray over to him by his silver pendant, and growled in his ear, "If you hurt her, I swear I'll break every bone in your body."

"And she'd never forgive you for it." Gray replied with a cool voice.

Gajeel's face contorted with anger, and he raised his fist. "You cocky son of a b—"

"Gajeel, stop!" Levy cried, and latched onto the iron dragon's battle ready arm. "Picking fights isn't going to fix anything!"

The dragon slayer snorted at Gray, barely looking at the petite mage who had pulled him back to reality, and dropped the ice mage back in his seat. "Watch yourself, ya' damned stripper." He retorted, before letting Levy drag him away.

Natsu had tried to chat with Gray multiple times over the course of the three days, but the ice mage wasn't much for conversation. And when the fire dragon slayer tried to start a fight with him, Gray would just give him a quick slug in the face, before getting up and moving to another table while the other young man was taken off guard. Natsu had quickly become bored of it, and not being one interested in relationship drama, hadn't bothered to put in his two cents about Gray's problem at hand.

The fourth day, Gray had slept in late. He cursed at himself for dosing off on the couch the night before, and not hearing his alarm from his bedroom. He rushed to the guild, only to find that Juvia had already come and gone. He had missed her entirely. Now she was on a mission and wouldn't be back until who knows when.

He understood what was happening though. She was trying to distance herself from him. She was trying to get over him. They really were over.

With this realization, Gray took himself back home, where he stayed for the whole week. It was a week of sunshine and Gray wanted nothing to do with it. It wasn't until the new week had started, and Gray saw the sunny skies suddenly darken, that he leapt to his feet and ran to the guild.

He was sure she would be there, and he could finally talk to her; sort this out; maybe salvage their relationship, or at least their friendship. As soon as he walked through the guild doors, she was standing there, like she had only just arrived herself. He had spent the week thinking about what he would say.

"Juvia." He watched her jump slightly when he spoke her name, and she took her time to turn around and, with the most blank expression, reply,

"Hello, Mister Fullbuster."

He grimaced.

"There's a woman looking for you."

His visage became puzzled, but he followed her as she lead him to the table where Lucy and Levy were sitting with a woman he hadn't seen before. Or… maybe he had.

"Jay?!" He exclaimed. She was different, so grown up—so tall—completely the opposite from the short little girl he knew when he was a brat himself, but she had the same crooked smile and flushed expression she always wore around him.

"Gray!" She nearly screamed his name, and then "No, Juvia!" Gray turned his attention to his… ex-girlfriend. "I am so sorry!" Jaylina continued, "I totally thought you and Mister Gajeel were together, but Ms. Levy told me otherwise and that you and Gray were involved and I am so sorry." She kept bowing to Juvia politely as she apologized. "I will not pursue him if it's true."

Gray gagged. Pursue him? How could she just talk about him like he was a piece of meat? And right in front of him? So much for childhood friends. He always worried about that choice of words in front of Juvia, who had always been notoriously possessive.

"No, Jaylina misunderstood." Juvia replied with the same blank expression she had worn since Gray's arrival. "Juvia and Gray are not even friends."

"Wh—" Before Gray could argue, Juvia had already fled, and Jaylina had stepped into the spot she had been standing. "Is that true, Gray? You're free?! Omigod, we should totally go catch up. I bet you know a bunch of great restaurants around here!"

Gray could barely see Juvia in his peripheral, hiding in the darkest corner of the guild, probably trying to place a curse on him. He sighed. "Yeah, Jay." He said, and watched the young lady's face light up. "That sounds great."

After their first outing—Jaylina referred to it as a date, but Gray was reluctant to—the two of them had spent a lot more time together. Jaylina stuck to him like glue, not quite as literally as Juvia, but she never left his side. She had a great laugh, and found just about everything he told her funny.

He was chatting with her one day, in the middle of the guild, just telling her about one of his failed missions with Natsu, when Juvia caught his eye. She was sitting at the bar alone, spinning her finger around the edge of her glass. He wasn't sure if he had seen her smile since she had come back from her mission. Not a real smile, at least.

"Gray?" Jaylina's voice brought him back to her.

"Huh? Oh yeah, so like I was saying, the flame brain—"

"Actually, would you hold on a moment? I need to use the ladies room real quick." She told him.

"Oh, yeah, sure." He replied. He watched her stand up and leave, and then turned his attention back to Juvia. He could see her sigh into her drink; it didn't even look like she was enjoying it. She usually drank her favorite: some tea with his name in its title, but maybe she hated it now. Maybe she hated him.

He then saw Jaylina approach the lonely water, and he raised his eyebrows. He couldn't hear a word they were saying, but he saw Juvia shake her head, before getting up and scurrying for the door.

Without even thinking, he got up and followed her.

"Juvia. Wait." He called for her. He watched the way she stopped in her tracks, and took a deep breath, before turning around to reply.

"Are you and your new girlfriend getting along, Mister Fullbuster?" She looked blue in the face, like she was holding her breath, or maybe her tears…

He grimaced at her words. He needed to stop making that face at her, but goddamn did he hate her calling him that. "She's not my—never mind, that doesn't matter. I wanted to talk to you." I've wanted to talk to you for almost a month. He added mentally.

"About what?" Juvia snapped at him. He looked down at her to find her figure shaking, and her fists at her side. "About Juvia's replacement?"

"Excuse me?" Gray responded, taken aback by her words once again.

Juvia began to list every little thing that Jaylina and she had in common. Their hair color, their interesting names, they're long legs, and then she suddenly stomped her foot down. "It is obvious that Gray is just trying to replace Juvia. Replace her with a woman who doesn't hold Gray all the time, or call his name, or care about him more than anything else in the world. Well Juvia doesn't care!"

She turned from him swiftly, but he grabbed her shoulders and turned her back around.

He bit his lip, trying to control his words. All he had wanted to do was save the relationship he had ruined but it was obvious now… She didn't want it to be saved. His eyed turned cold and he let his anger speak for him again. "Are you really so full of yourself? Like I couldn't move on from you? Last I checked it was you who couldn't survive without me." And then he turned and walked away from her.

He heard her scramble for the door, before he punched Natsu square in the face. "Dammit, that's not what I wanted to say either!"

"What the hell is your problem, Ice Queen?!" Natsu barked at him, ready to fight.

"Then what is it you wanted to say?"

Gray had his hands clenched on the collar of Natsu's vest, but he dropped the dragon slayer back to the ground, when he saw Jaylina staring at him with lonesome eyes.

"I knew it." She stammered, "I knew there was something between you two. You both lied to me." She looked to the ground. "You were supposed to be my hero, Gray. Heroes don't lie."

"No, I…" Gray scratched the back of his head, "I'm no hero. I didn't kill Deliora. I didn't save anyone. My teacher died to save me, and my dad before that." Gray's eyes lit up when he listened to himself talk. "My dad…" He repeated.

"What?" Jaylina questioned him.

"No. It's nothing." Gray said, "But I didn't lie about Juvia and me. We did have something but… it's over now."

"Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that?" Jaylina gave a fake laugh. "Do you think I'm stupid Gray? You can't take your eyes off of her. And Juvia? I already heard about it from Miss Lucy and Miss Levy. Juvia would never fall out of love with you." She pouted, "And you just lied to me again. You are someone's hero. I'm just not that someone."

Gray looked at her dejected expression, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Jay."

Jaylina shook her head. "It's okay… but…" She bit her lip, "I should go. Go home, I mean. I'll take the first train out tomorrow. See me off, if you want to."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." Gray replied softly.

The girl nodded to him. "I've got some more goodbyes to do, so I'll see you then." She replied, and then trekked out of the guild.

The skies were still cloudy the next morning, as Gray stood on the platform in the train station, Jaylina in front of him.

"Well, my trains boarding now, Gray." She told him.

"Yeah. Sorry your visit was so short." He replied.

"Oh no, I had tons of fun! All your mage friends are hilarious. I'm glad I came." She smiled at him, "Just, promise me one thing?"

"What's that?" Gray asked.

"Promise me you'll make up with Juvia." She sent him a pout paired with puppy dog eyes.

The ice mage gave a great sigh. "I… I'll try. But I really tore her apart you know. She might not forgive me."

Jaylina pouted at him, "There's still one thing I don't understand." She said, "Why were you so angry at her that day?"

Gray scowled, "I wasn't." He sighed, and watched her face contort in confusion. "I was angry… at myself. That day, it was the anniversary of Deliora's attack on my hometown." He clenched his fists, "It was the anniversary of my mother and father's death, and I'd forgotten completely,"

Jaylina gasped, but continued to listen.

"When I realized I'd forgotten, I just got so angry with myself. I should have just cancelled our date, but instead, I tried to just make her stay home, and instead I made her angry." He sighed, "And then we both said things that we didn't mean. Mine were just… worse."

"I see…" Jaylina pouted, and then slowly tapped his shoulder. "One more promise?"

Gray sighed, "What?"

Just then, the final call for her train blasted through the station, and she gathered up her bags, before jumping on the train. As it rolled off, Jaylina stuck her head out the window and shouted at the top of her lungs. "Promise to invite me to you two's wedding!"

Gray's face turned bright red, and all he could hear was her laughter fading away into the distance.

When her train was out of sight, he shook his head and sat down on a bench. He had to figure out how he was going to fix things with Juvia. Jaylina was right, he didn't just want to 'patch up' their relationship, he wanted to be with her again. He wanted to love Juvia again. He had never stopped loving her.

"Gray…?"

And then there she was, as if his thoughts had summoned her. She just stood mere inches from him—shaking and trembling and crying. The real Juvia. His Juvia.

"Juvia thought Gray had left with Jaylina…" She barely managed to mumble.

He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "I told you she wasn't my girlfriend." He reminded her, "Juvia, I…"

"When Juvia thought she would never see Gray again..." He could barely make out her words through her sniveling, but he couldn't imagine never seeing her again. "Juvia didn't know what she would do without Gray."

And that was it, he wrapped her up tight in his arms, and he spat out apologies one after another. He nearly begged for her forgiveness. He told her how much he missed her, how no one could ever replace her, and how much he loved her.

And then she kissed him.

And she smiled at him.

And when the sun finally made a crack through the clouds, he knew everything was going to be all right.