Good morning, dear readers.

So, here I bring you something completely new and different. We all have that phase when we want to change things, don't we?

I've written the same ships for so long and, don't get me wrong, I love them. I love Gruvia, Jerza, Lyredy and etc.

Still, I know that not everyone does. And it recently struck me how hard it must be to like a ship that's underrated/ignored and therefore hasn't many fics dedicated to them.

That is why I decided to write this. Recently I've been seeing a lot of comments on the Animo App about the lack of Gray x Erza and Lyon x Juvia out there.

Therefore, I decided to honor these couples cause they are pretty good. Even if I don't 100% ship them, I can't deny there is chemistry there and the idea is beautiful.

With that in mind, this story was born. It was originally supposed to be just about these couples, but somehow I ended up adding Jellal x Ultear as well. (gotta admit, they've become my favorite pairing out of the three developed here)

This chapter will focus on them since I decided to go about this chronologically and they were the first couple to get together.

I don't even know if anyone ships them, but if you do, you're welcome 😉

Happy reading!

January of X787...

It had been 2 years since Fairy Tail's strongest team was declared dead and their memory haunted all who were left behind. Most of all, it haunted a certain blue haired mage who was not a part of said guild, but had strong ties to it.

Jellal Fernandes had once been an enemy of Fairy Tail, yet the fact that he loved the scarlet haired mage Erza Scarlet had changed that. After he was defeated by Natsu Dragneel, he began a long journey towards recovery and redemption.

However, it was complicated by the loss of his memories and news of Erza's death.

It broke him, almost completely. Without her, he didn't feel like he had any reasons to live for.

Even atoning for his sins and becoming a better person seemed meaningless when the person he would've wanted to do it for was long gone.

If it weren't for Meredy and Ultear, he would've probably taken his own life during those years. They were a reminder that he still had to fight for a better future and constantly helped him through his depression.

Ultear, most of all. She understood him like no one else, seeing as she'd committed a ridiculous amount of sins as well. She was the proof he needed that change was possible; which was clear whenever he saw her interact with Meredy.

As the three of them formed their new guild, Crime Sorciere, and committed to purging the world of the darkness, Jellal found new reasons to live.

Although the memory of Erza Scarlet was a constant reminder of all he had lost, with every dark guild they eliminated his desire to live in this new world they were building increased.

Still, there were times when it was hard to remember that and the pain was suffocating. This was one of them.

Jellal sat on a rock by the river, hands joined together on his lap as he bend down, facing the water.

His mind was replaying memories of Erza nonstop and he closed his eyes, tears threatening to fall. He was hurting and needed comfort, which Ultear knew.

She had been helping Meredy set up camp, but upon noticing his posture, let out a sigh before slowly approaching him.

Without saying a word, she sat by his side before wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close.

Jellal closed his eyes, taking in her familiar scent which somehow only made it harder not to think of Erza. Swallowing hard, he attempted to chase the thought of her away, but was unsuccessful.

"It's okay. Just let it out." Ultear gently whispered, squeezing him.

So he did. Taking her by surprise, he threw his arms around her in a desperate hug; allowing his head to rest against her chest while he cried.

If it had been anyone else, he might feel embarassed or uncomfortable, but it was her. His closest friend and companion, the person who had been there for him when he needed most.

So Jellal allowed himself to just cry and mourn while she comforted him the best she could.

Time passed, but they barely noticed. When he felt like it was enough, he reluctantly pulled apart from the hug and attempted to dry his tears. "Thank you."

"Of course." Ultear gave a sad smile.

"I'm sorry for burdening you with..." She interrupted, shaking her head.

"Don't." They were silent for a few moments, each lost in thought.

"You are always there for me. I don't think I thank you enough for that." Jellal said.

"You don't need to thank me." She quickly replied.

"Why do you always do this?" He wondered.

"Do what?" She gave a confused look. "Refuse to accept my gratitude."

"I don't deserve it." Ultear looked away.

"Of course you do." He shook his head. "You helped me so much. It's only because of you that I'm alive right now."

"Jellal..." He had seen that look in her eyes before many times and always wondered what it meant.

"What is it?" She sighed.

"Nothing." It was the usual response and he always let it go. Not this time, though.

"You know that you can trust me." Jellal took her hand and squeezed it, giving a reassuring look.

"Not with this." She removed her hand before standing up, back turned to him.

"I know all of your sins, remember?" He stood up as well. "So what could possibly be so horrible that I could not know?"

"Because it is wrong!" Ultear replied, turning around.

"What is wrong?" He asked.

"You love Erza." She answered instead.

"What?" Jellal knew that she was right. Him loving Erza, after everything he had done, wasn't right. He didn't deserve it.

Still, he failed to understand how that could bother her so much.

"I can't do this." She chose to run away as she always did whenever they had this conversation.

"Don't go. Let's talk this through, please." Ultear bit her lip, clearly conflicted.

"No. Can't you just let it go?" Before he could reply, there was a frustrated shout.

"Just tell him, Ultear. He deserves to know." It was Meredy.

"Tell me what?" Ultear remained silent, so the pinkette stepped up. "She's in love with you."

Jellal was stunned. "Is that...true?"

"Yes." Ultear reluctantly replied under Meredy's firm stare.

"That is...unexpected." He searched his brain for a reason, a sign, anything that might've showed that. "How long?"

"Too long." Ultear looked away. "I never allowed myself to act on it because I knew it was wrong. Still, you didn't make it easy not to fall for you."

"I would've never guessed." She sure had done a great job at hiding her feelings.

"It doesn't have to change anything." She quickly told him.

"Is that really what you want? To keep on pretending?" Jellal wondered.

"It doesn't matter what I want." Taking his hand, she gave it a squeeze. "I know you're still hurting and I don't want to burden you even more."

"Don't say that." He shook his head. "You were never a burden."

There was silence once again as he took his time comprehending what had happened. It was so sudden and overwhelming, but as he thought it through, not exactly surprising.

There had been signs; many of them. He had just been blind to it since he never considered Ultear might have feelings for him.

Now that he knew, though, everything became clear.

Every time she had treated him kindly despite them barely being allies; how she had always defended him from Hades; that occasion in which they almost kissed after Galuna Island; how she would hear him complain about Erza's absence for hours.

Those hadn't been mere friendly gestures as he'd assumed; they had come from a place of love.

Jellal wasn't sure what to think of that.

Love had, after all, been very cruel to him. Making him fall for the one person he could never have after he had kidnapped and almost killed her; then punishing him by erasing his memories and only returning them once she was gone.

Gone. Erza was gone. She would never come back to him, despite what his stubborn heart had been hoping.

"Maybe we should leave him alone for now." Meredy's soft voice brought him back to reality and he noticed she had taken Ultear's hand and was leading her away.

"Yes." The latter muttered before giving him an apologising look. "I am so sorry. Please, don't think this means anything. We can just keep going like..." He shook his head.

"No. I don't want to keep going like we were before." Meredy stared at him, eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" Ultear too had a surprised look on her face.

"I've been suffering for nearly 3 years. Well, 13 if you count all the time I was under your control back at the Tower of Heaven." Jellal began, making her look away.

"I'm sorry about that." Ignoring her, he continued.

"My life has never been my own and I never got to make the decisions. I didn't choose to become evil and nearly kill Erza, I didn't choose to loose my memories and I certainly didn't choose to fall in love with her." Ultear frowned more with each phrase. "I am tired of that."

"So what do you mean exactly?" By then he was right in front of her-Meredy had stepped away to give them privacy.

"We've been punishing ourselves for so long, but what is the point of never allowing ourselves to be happy? Are we just fated to suffer for eternity?" He brought up some good points, but she still failed to see where this was going. "You said it yourself; we..."

"I changed my mind." Jellal interrupted.

"Meaning?" Ultear raised a brow.

"I want to finally move on from my past...With you." He was staring at her intensely.

"What?" She shrieked, confused.

"Erza is gone. As much as I may have loved her, I have to accept that she isn't coming back." He swallowed hard, fighting against tears. "I need to let go and I believe you can help me with that."

As tempting as the offer was, she knew it wasn't right.

"It's not right; for neither of us." It was hard, but Ultear chose to be selfless. "Using me to get over her will only end in heartbreak."

"It pains me that you would think of it like that." Jellal told her, frowning. "I would never use you, Ultear. You are one of the most important people in my life and I..."

"You're blinded by pain and sorrow." She hated the tears that came down after her following words. "You could never love me and I've already accepted that."

"Do you really believe that?" Jellal asked and didn't give a chance for her to reply. Before Ultear knew what was happening, he had closed the distance between them and was lifting her head before kissing her.

Unexpected, passionate, emotional. The kiss was everything she had imagined it would be and she couldn't think coherently.

For once, the small voice that always reminded all of the reasons why she couldn't was silenced and Ultear simply let herself enjoy the moment.

After her confession and Jellal's impulsive gesture, they spent a good while discussing the repercussions. More than a week passed before the couple finally decided what to do about their conflicted feelings for each other.

While Ultear wasn't fully certain it was the best choice, she went along with it, hoping for once that the future would bring them happiness.

So they began to "date", although not in the common sense. They were criminals, after all, and thus life was anything but normal.

Amongst defeating dark guilds and escaping the council, a steady relationship arose.

It surprised them both how easy it was to be together, but they relished it. Jellal enjoyed being able to smile again while she seized their time together, knowing it wouldn't be long before it ended.

They were doing great and were actually happy, until Ultear started avoiding him all of sudden.

It started on a date that always brought her sorrow: the anniversary of her mother's death.

Even though she barely talked about Ur Milkovich, both him and Meredy knew exactly how much the woman meant to her.

That is why Jellal always let her be when the anniversary arrived. Even though they had been dating for over a year then and he'd assumed that she'd want him to be there for her on that date, he respected her desire to be alone.

He didn't question it, until weeks passed and she continued to shut herself out. It scared him to think about why she was avoiding him.

Could she be having doubts about their relationship? Had the anniversary reminded her of why she had kept a distance for so long?

Jellal hoped it wasn't the case. The last thing he wanted was for things to revert back to what they were before they had gotten together.

He wanted to talk to her, but what could he say? Did she even want him to say anything?

"I don't know what to do." Jellal sighed, staring at the lone figure by the forest.

"Just give her time." Meredy whispered, giving him a reassuring look.

"It's been two weeks since she's been avoiding me, Meredy." He looked back at the young pinkette. "I'm worried."

She bit her lip. "Honestly, I am too."

"Then tell me what's wrong." Her eyes widened. "I know she must've told you. You two are so close, after all."

"I can't." She looked away.

"Please, Meredy. Let me help." Jellal pleaded.

"She's having doubts." Meredy admitted, faltering under his intense gaze.

"About us?" He asked and she nodded mutely. "Of course."

"I know you can convince her that everything will be okay, but I don't want to break her trust anymore." He understood that.

"I promise that I'll make sure she understands." Meredy sighed.

"Fine. I'm counting on you." Once he had reassured her that Ultear would not be mad, she approached him and whispered everything he needed to know.

So, thoughts? Did it make sense?

I head canon after writing this that Ultear was totally in love with Jellal at some point. I mean, I've been rewatching some old episodes and it just strikes me. What do you think?

Next chapter will focus on Lyon x Juvia and you'll get plenty of Gruvia Angst too.

I'm thinking Friday for the next update, if I can finish the latest one-shot that I'm currently writing.

I wish you all have a pleasant day!