A/N: Hey everyone, this is my first fanfiction ever and I'm a little nervous because I've never done this before, so I really hope this turns out okay and hopefully, you guys like it. :D This is a random and simple Gruvia fic that has been spinning in my head for some time now, but it took me some self-encouraging to actually decide to publish it. Hopefully it's good! ^^
Birthday Blues
Juvia Lockser blinked upon an eye as the sun's rays through the window shone onto her bed in her apartment in Fairy Hills, waking her from her peaceful slumber. She sat up, rubbed an eye, and stretched her sleep away, then peeked at the calendar tacked to the wall beside her bed. For the picture of the month, a handsome picture of her beloved Gray Fullbuster had been posted, and upon seeing his charming face the bluenette smiled. She reached for the Gray plush doll that she always slept with and squeezed it tight against her chest before sighing in content.
"Gray-sama...if only Juvia could always wake up like this, but with you beside her," the water mage said to herself, and a soft yawn escaped her lips as her grip on her plush doll tightened. "But for now...Juvia will have to deal with the plushies. At least there are many of them so it makes Juvia feel like she is surrounded by you, Gray-sama!" And she outstretched her arms to motion to all the other Gray plushies spread out in her room, let them be the overgrown ones or the very small ones. Some of them were spotted with lipstick marks. Juvia blushed. "Juvia may have gone done too far with the practice kissing..." She fingered the doll in her arms and kissed the tip of its head. "But Little Gray-sama is Juvia's favorite. He's just the right size to fit into Juvia's arms when she's sleeping."
Juvia loved Gray. If you didn't know that, you didn't know Juvia. There is not a day that goes by where her mind is free of thinking about him. He's in her thoughts, dreams, conversations, and on occasion the water mage found herself making her food the shape of his face when she was cooking. Everyone in the guild loved and accepted Juvia loving Gray...it was almost fate for her to fall for him. He was the first and only person who had shown her the clear blue sky for the first time after they had fought during the Phantom Lord mishap. For her not to fall for the man who chased her clouds away was almost being ungrateful. And in Juvia's case, not loving him after all he did that day for her was being ungrateful. Now, as his guild mate and crush she was determined to love him for the rest of her life and do whatever it took for him to finally return her love. She knew it was a long shot, because all her stalking research proved he was stubborn and didn't really pay attention to love or anything related to the subject. But she was determined and as far as she knew everyone in the guild was (mentally) supporting her on this, so she would give it all she had and wouldn't give up.
The bluenette smiled and placed her Little Gray-Sama plushie on her pillow on the bed and crawled out of it to pull the covers up on the doll and place a soft kiss on its spiky hair. Giggling suddenly, she uttered an excited greeting to her other Gray plush dolls and turned back to the calendar with a marker in hand before beginning to peek intently at the dates just in case there was an important event coming up.
"Nope," Juvia said as she marked off a date from last week. "Nope, nope, nope. Juvia had her doctor's appointment, Juvia already went to Lucy's slumber party..." She crossed off that date and stifled her laughter. Lucy's slumber party six days before had been quite the event. The memory of everyone's faces still burned deep in the mage's mind, and since it had been her first slumber party ever, she was going to make sure she never forgot what happened that day. "Nope, hehehe, Master Makarov already hosted the guild barbecue so that day gets marked off..." Another large red X was scribbled onto the calendar, and a few more were added until Juvia stumbled upon the current date.
Her eyes widened. Her heart exploded. Her brain begin to improperly function at what she was seeing. Her right hand dropped the marker and it fell with a "thud" to the floor. Juvia reached up and clutched the sides of the calendar with both her hands and pressed the paper to her face to get a better look. At that moment, she had a heart attack and the world went dark. Her grip on the calendar immediately loosened as she took a few steps back and stumbled on the carpet, landing on her plump behind with a "plop". Then she screamed.
"AAAHHH!" Her cry was heard for miles in Magnolia; birds leaped from the trees and flapped away, a mailman down the street riding on a bicycle crashed into a pole, and the other girls in Fairy Hills were abruptly woken up. Juvia held her face and jumped onto her feet to look at the current date one more time..."AAAHHH!" she hollered, and somewhere around the world there was a massive car accident. "It's...It's...It's...IT'S GRAY-SAMA'S BIRTHDAY! AAAHHH!" Juvia ran crazy circles around her room and scooped up as many of her plushies in her arms as she could before throwing them into the air and squealing with unexplainable joy. "Juvia is so happy! IT'S GRAY-SAMA'S BIRTHDAY!"
"Juvia!" Erza's voice made the water mage freeze as the armored mage burst open the bluenette's door with a mighty kick. Her eyebrows were narrowed in dark, ominous slits and her fists were clenched in anger. Using her requipping magic, she summoned a golf club in her right hand and looked around the room frantically. "Juvia, I understand sometimes we get large spiders in here but you can't be screaming that loud, especially so early in the morning. After yesterday's party we really need our sleep." In a flash, Titania transformed into her Heart Kreuz armor and tightened her grip on her club. "Now where's the damn spider?! I'll kill it!"
Juvia gasped and flung her arms around Titania before the latter was able to swing her club and launch one of her plushies into the wall. "No, oh no, Erza-san, there is no spider in here. Juvia was just...really excited about something, that's all."
Erza lowered her arm and shook Juvia off her before raising an eyebrow to study her. "Are you sure? Yesterday Wendy and Carla screamed just as loudly because there was a spider in their room, and they had no problem with me killing it."
"Y-yes, Juvia is sure. She didn't mean to wake you or anything...please tell the other girls Juvia is sorry." The bluenette waved goodbye to the scarlet-haired mage and pushed her out of her room before closing the door behind her. Then she sunk down to the ground and held her face merrily. Juvia can't believe it, it's Gray-sama's birthday! she thought, and a soft sigh escaped her lips. Juvia wonders what Gray-sama would like...Maybe she can make him a scarf or some food or maybe even a new jacket...Hmm...no, that won't work. Gray-sama is a very special man and he needs something absolutely wonderful for his birthday! Juvia guesses she will have to go shopping...Oh well! She'll do anything for her Gray-sama! Juvia will not let Gray-sama go through this whole day without receiving a gift! Over her dead body will she not give him anything! Gray-sama needs something and Juvia will be the one to get it for him!
Standing up with her hands entwined in front of her chest and determination sparking in her eyes, Juvia darted out her bedroom and headed to the Fairy Hills onsen for a bath. It was her lover's birthday so she was going to look and smell good.
The cheerful water mage got dressed in a pink sundress with straps, boots that rose to her knees, and a pretty sunhat after her bath. She checked herself out in the mirror before smiling and walking out of Fairy Hills, satisfied with her outfit. She didn't normally wear pink, but when she did, it was for a good reason.
The Fairy Tail guild hall was crowded with Juvia's guild mates, all drinking or playing games or being loud and even getting into fights. There was Lucy trying to stop Natsu from fighting Elfman over a game of Go Fish, there was Happy trying to flirt with Carla unsuccessfully, Wendy was sitting with Romeo eating breakfast, and Cana was doing the usually: testing her liver by drinking gallons of alcohol. It was unusually loud that day, so no one really noticed her when she stepped into the guild, but that wasn't a surprise because every day in Fairy Tail was always loud, especially when they had just returned from a very thrilling party the day before.
Juvia scanned the guild hall for her beloved ice mage and was slightly put off that he wasn't there. But she realized it was a good thing, as she could ask her guild mates about his birthday and gets tips on what to get him as a present without him overhearing. She needed all the information she could get, and asking her comrades, especially Cana, was a resourceful plan, especially since they had known Gray much more longer than she had so they were more likely to know what he liked.
The bluenette sauntered over to the bar and greeted the barmaid, Mirajane Strauss, with the warmest of smiles. "Mira-san, I need a small glass of strawberry smoothie please," she ordered as she plopped down one on of the stools next to Levy reading a book.
"Coming right up Juvia!" Mira replied kindly, returning her smile. "Would you like anything to eat? We have leftovers from yesterday's party."
Juvia shook her head and patted her stomach. "No thank you, Mira-san. Juvia is still very full from yesterday. A drink is fine." Her eyes shined with abnormal happiness, and Mira noticed it when she glanced at the water mage.
A playful smirk crossed the Takeover mage's face as she readied Juvia's smoothie. "You seem like you're in a fantastic mood. Did Gray finally ask you out?" she asked, and Levy abruptly dropped her book to turn to the blushing water mage.
"N-no of course not, Juvia wishes he did," she answered while waving her hands frantically. "Juvia is just happy about something, that's all." Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
"I bet he did ask you out and you're too shy to tell us," Levy added, sharing a sneaky glance with Mirajane.
"N-no, Gray-sama did not!" Juvia protested bashfully.
"Mhm, sure." Mira slid the strawberry smoothie over to the water mage and clasped her hands together as she squirmed in place. "You guys make such a cute couple! How long have you been dating? Three weeks? Two days?"
"Tell us Juvia, we're all girls here," Levy said, her book completely forgotten.
"G-Gray-sama and Juvia are not a couple...at least not yet," Juvia whispered under her breath. "Juvia wishes they were dating, but they aren't! Not yet!" She sipped her smoothie nervously and turned away from the smiling, teasing faces of her friends. "Like Juvia said, she's just happy about something."
Levy bent down to pick up her book and set it aside. "Happy about what?"
The water mage's face lit up instantly. "I-it's Gray-sama's birthday today...Juvia really wanted to find him a gift...something he might like..."
Levy beamed happily and awkwardly embraced Juvia while Mirajane was stunned into silence and didn't say anything. If the two bluenettes would've looked at her face, they would've noticed her mood change and the way her eyes blazed with such dark emotions it was hard to describe. When Levy released the water mage, Mira sent them a fake smile and clapped.
"What are you going to get him, Juvia-chan?" Levy asked with her hazel eyes twinkling. "Oh, if you get him something amazing, it could be the start of a beautiful relationship! What will you get him?"
"Juvia doesn't know yet; she hasn't figured it out," Juvia admitted, her cheeks still rosy pink. "She was hoping to ask some of her friends for advice on what to get him, you know, since they have known Gray-sama longer and they know what he likes...Because Juvia doesn't want to make the mistake and get him something that'll make him mad. So she was hoping for some tips."
Levy was thoughtful while Mira resumed holding her fake smile. "Juvia, I'm sure you don't need to get him anything. To be quite honest, Gray doesn't really celebrate his birthday at all, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind it if you gave him nothing," Mira told her, hoping she would drop the idea.
Juvia shook her head, as did Levy. "Birthdays are special, Mira-san. They shouldn't be spent doing nothing and should never be spent alone. Gray-sama is the kindest man to Juvia so she would love to get him a gift to show her gratitude."
"Yeah and besides, Gray has spent many birthdays alone doing nothing, so let Juvia get him something and maybe that will lift his spirits," Levy added while still beaming, but her smile rapidly dropped when she noticed the dark look the Takeover mage sent her, a look that Juvia didn't seem to catch.
"Levy..." The barmaid hissed, venom stinging her words, but this went unnoticed by the water mage, as she was busy slurping her smoothie. Mira dropped her angry demeanor and turned again to Juvia, sending her another false smile. "I'm sure you'll find Gray something amazing, but keep in mind he might not want anything, and if he doesn't accept your gift, don't take it the wrong way. Like I said, he likes to be alone on his birthday...he might not want to talk to you."
It was a shame Juvia hadn't heard her. By the time she finished her smoothie, the barmaid had just started talking, and she went on talking even after Juvia had walked away from the bar. Mira sighed heavily and passed a hand through her hair. "She really shouldn't be doing this...And Levy, I didn't expect you of all people to be the one to encourage her to do this. You know as well as anyone he likes his birthdays alone without having to talk to anyone. You know why, too."
"I'm sorry, I forgot," apologized the petite Solid Script mage, reaching for her book. "Yeah, she really shouldn't get him a gift or anything...It'll probably upset him."
"Well, no matter what anyone says she'll do it no matter what," Mira went on. "I guess we just have to hope this doesn't ruin a friendship."
Juvia strolled over to Gray's team where Erza, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were eating breakfast, Erza making herself busy with a slice of strawberry cake. "Good morning Natsu-san, Lucy-san, Erza-san, and Happy!" she greeted before squeezing in on the bench next to Erza.
"Hello Juvia!" Lucy answered her, nudging Natsu when the latter tried to greet the bluenette with his mouth full. She smiled brightly.
"Hello Juvia, I take it you are okay from that spider confrontation this morning?" Erza asked while picking one of the strawberries from her cake and eating it.
"There wasn't a spider, Erza-san," Juvia reminded her. "Juvia told you she was screaming because she was happy about something. She's sorry if she woke you or the other girls."
"Apology accepted, but you don't have to be afraid to admit you were scared of a spider. It's a common fear and it's no big deal." Lucy, Juvia, and Happy sighed in exasperation whilst Erza blissfully enjoyed her cake.
"Anyway Juvia, what are you so happy about?" the celestial spirit mage questioned.
"I bet Gray finally gave her a bucket of fish that's she's always been wanting," Happy guessed while chewing on a mackerel. Lucy glared at the cat.
Juvia smiled simply and shook her head. "No, it's just Gray-sama's birthday and Juvia wanted to get him something special, but she doesn't know what. Does Lucy-san or Happy know what I should get my beloved?"
"Fish," was Happy's reply.
"Fire," suggested Natsu. "Maybe it'll finally teach the Ice Princess not to be so cold all the time."
Lucy growled at the both of them before turning to smile back at Juvia. "Don't listen to them Juvia, they're aren't exactly the type of people you would or should ask about this stuff. I'm more than willing to help you out, though."
A wave of oppression washed over the celestial spirit mage before Juvia turned her body into boiling hot water and glowered angrily at the blonde. Erza, not expecting such a dark and powerful force to come from the guild's sweet water mage scooted away, keeping her strawberry cake safe by. "Lucy-san, love rival, if you try to get Gray-sama a better present than Juvia then Juvia will make sure Lucy-san regrets it. GRAY-SAMA IS JUVIA'S ONLY AND SHE WILL NOT LET LOVE RIVAL TAKE HIM AWAY FROM HER!"
"Calm down Juvia!" demanded many of her scared guild mates. "Please, we don't want to drown!" Macao and Wakaba added fearfully.
"Swear you won't take Gray-sama away from Juvia! Swear it, Lucy-san!" Juvia shouted, still in her water form and now, since she was angry, causing mad rain to pummel the city of Magnolia outside.
Lucy was more than frightened, more than afraid, and she had more than wet her pants. "I s-swear, I-I'm not t-trying to t-take Gray a-away from you a-at all, J-Juvia," she assured her in a shaky voice, her skirt and panties soaked with urine. "I-I was o-only going to h-help you t-think of a p-present for h-him."
"Juvia doesn't need Lucy-san's help, she can ask someone else," came Juvia's booming reply. Sighing, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and slowly transformed her body back into human flesh, and once she had calmed the storm outside came to a halt.
Even Erza had been afraid of this unexpected outburst, for the scarlet-haired mage was curled up at the edge of the bench and shaking, her strawberry cake overturned in a sticky pile on the ground beside her. Upon noticing Erza's condition, everyone panicked. If even the great Titania Erza was afraid of someone as sweet and friendly as Juvia, then there was something wrong.
Juvia blushed upon realizing what she had caused, as the whole guild was deathly silent and all eyes were fixated on her. "Juvia is very sorry, she didn't mean to scare everyone," she whispered.
Lucy stood up from her seat, her short light pink miniskirt soaked dark pink and with a few small trails of pee cascading down her legs. Her eyes unusually large, she looked down at herself and said with cheeks flaming, "I'm just gonna go home now. I have to...clean myself up and...maybe go to bed." Awkwardly, she walked away from her team and hurried to the front door to leave, but as soon as she moved everyone looked her way and noticed she had peed on herself. Words could not describe the sudden laughter that erupted into the guild and the way Lucy's ego burst. When she returned to the guild whenever that would be, they would never let her live it down.
The large grandfather clock in Magnolia struck noon. After her outburst and Lucy had left with her pee-soaked clothes, Juvia had, for three and a half hours, tried to get some information out of her guild mates on what she should get Gray as a birthday gift. The whole questionnaire event turned out to be a waste of time, because even though Gray was their guild mate no one seemed to be even remotely interested in getting him anything or helping Juvia, and those who did suggest a gift always had a stupid idea.
"Gray's getting up in that age, maybe you should get him a cigarette. Guys love smoking their sorrows away," Wakaba had said to Juvia when she had asked him pleadingly. "Heck, back in the day before you even joined the guild he used to be a smoker, even if it was just for a little while."
Of course, Juvia had been more than shocked in hearing that her perfect, amazing, sexy, handsome, and talented Gray-sama had been a smoker before she was a member of the guild. He didn't smoke anymore, according to Wakaba, but the fact that the water mage had never known that he used to smoke slightly upset her, and it made her sad to realize that she had forgotten a vital piece of information that she should have found out during her stalking expeditions. Nonetheless, she shrugged the information off and continued asking.
"Fish," Happy had suggested again to the bluenette when she had asked him for a different response, and hearing him saying fish again upset her. "What? Gray has eaten fish before and he told me once he liked tuna. Ooh, tuna sandwiches sound really good right about now...!"
"A tie," Lisanna had recommended. Juvia had to blink a few times at this. "Well, seeing that Gray always strips off his clothes, maybe getting him an accessory will make him remember to keep his clothes on."
But Juvia likes it when Gray-sama strips, the water mage had thought.
"Hmm, maybe a nice moonlit dinner at a fancy restaurant would be nice," Evergreen had proposed, but seeing that before she had even said that Juvia had seen her staring quite intently at Elfman, the water mage didn't even think Evergreen had been talking to her. "Yes...a moonlit dinner would be quite nice..."
Elfman sent a quick glance to Evergreen and muttered something about "manliness", causing Evergreen to snap at him and completely switch to her tsundere mode and start yelling back at him.
Juvia heard even dumber responses from her other guild mates as the hours went on. Cake from Erza, a tux from Macao (Juvia was still trying to understand the concept of that), a "man shake" from Elfman, poems from Wendy, a stuffed animal from Nab...all the suggestions were stupid in their own right and some of them were so dumb Juvia had found herself getting quite frustrated. Then Gildarts had had the nerve to joke about giving Gray "herself", and even though Juvia had admitted it sounded amazing, she still had no idea what it meant.
The water mage was sitting at the guild's cafe outside eating a small serving of chocolate ice cream as the wind hummed in her ears and the sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds. It was five minutes past noon, and around this time of day most of the guild members began picking jobs. Natsu, Erza, Wendy, and Happy had already chosen a mildly challenging job and had rushed to Lucy's apartment to pick her up so she could go with them. They hadn't at all mentioned Gray or thought of bringing him with them on their job, which was a surprise to Juvia because he was their teammate and the six (sometimes five if Wendy didn't go along) always went on jobs together unless they had told the others they wanted to go on a solo mission. Come to think about it, Juvia hadn't seen her beloved ice mage all day. He hadn't at all stopped by the guild for a job, a drink, a snack, anything, and while Juvia thought he could be celebrating his birthday alone, she was a little worried about him. It wasn't like her Gray-sama to arrive to the guild late or not at all and not call or tell anyone about it, especially when everyone knew he wasn't on a job. None of the other Fairy Tail wizards seemed to be worried, but then again none of them felt the love for him that Juvia did, so maybe it didn't really matter.
Juvia licked the remains of the chocolate on her spoon with a forlorn sigh and placed her head down on the wooden table in front of her. Juvia hasn't seen Gray-sama all day. She hopes he's okay and not bailing out because of his birthday. At least Juvia doesn't have to worry about love rival now since she went on her mission with Natsu-san and the others. But still...Juvia wants to get Gray-sama something amazing. Maybe she should just give up and just make him lunch or dinner or something. Juvia noticed Gray-sama does enjoy her cooking...
"Hey Juvia!" a jovial voice called out to her, and the water mage sat up to see Cana coming her way with a mysterious package in hand and a naughty smile gracing her lips. "Juvia," she called again as she finally reached the latter's table. The brunette tossed the package onto the table and sat down in the chair opposite the blunette and draped an arm over the back of the chair while her other arm pressed a glass of beer to her lips.
Juvia scrutinized the package before poking it and picking it up. "What is in the box, Cana-san?"
Cana smirked as she set down her glass and burped loudly. "A gift for your man," she answered.
Juvia's eyes popped out of their sockets. "A gift? For Gray-sama?"
Cana nodded. "Of course. I heard you asking everyone in the guild today what sort of gift you should give him for his birthday, but you neglected to ask me, and that was your biggest mistake. Out of everyone in the guild, I know Gray more than anyone, even Natsu, so all you had to do was ask me and I would've given you the idea for the most perfect gift. But since you didn't ask me I made it my mission to choose a gift for him for you myself." And the card mage smiled behind her glass as she raised it to her lips again.
"Juvia is so sorry she never asked you, but thank you Cana-san! Juvia is very grateful that you got the gift for Gray-sama for her. She is in your debt."
Cana just laughed. "Open it before you thank me," she ordered.
Juvia nodded and obeyed her friend. She untied the blue silk ribbon that bound the package together before unwrapping the wrapping paper to catch a glimpse of another box. Removing the lid, her smile faded and was replaced with confusion, shock, and embarrassment upon finding a very sexy dark blue negligee sitting in the box, waiting to be used.
"C-C-Cana-san!" the water mage shrieked, earning a devious chuckle from the latter. "T-T-this is not something for Gray-sama!"
Cana held her stomach and nearly rolled on the ground in laughter. "Juvia, you are much too precious! I didn't get it for Gray. I got it for you."
"ME?" Juvia asked, for once not speaking in third-person. "You got this for J-J-Juvia? But it's Gray-sama's birthday, not Juvia's!"
Cana finished her beer with a final chug and slammed her fist down on the table suddenly, eyes gleaming with laughter. "I know, Juvia. But come on, it's Gray's birthday. You love him, he loves you, so you should gift him yourself and make use with that." Cana leaned across the table and whispered into Juvia's ear, "And maybe, just maybe, tonight he'll get the bed shaking for you." She raised her eyebrows for emphasis.
Steam and smoke blew out of Juvia's nose as her face glowed ketchup red. "G-Gray-sama...loves Juvia?"
"Well, not in the way you would hope, but as a friend and comrade, he loves you," Cana clarified.
"Oh." Juvia's face saddened as she set down the box with the negligee.
Cana smiled again. "Don't get your hopes down, Gray's just like any guy. He'll love a pair of tits and ass when he can get it, and your legs, Juvia, will further turn him on."
Juvia's face flushed again. "Cana-san is being very descriptive. Juvia doesn't think she can give her Gray-sama something as...lewd as this."
"It's not lewd, Juvia, it's life." Cana shrugged carelessly. "I know Gray more than you, so take it from me. He'll love it, I promise you. Hell, he may even ask you out if you do this."
"Juvia doesn't know...Juvia thinks Cana-san is only making her do this because she wants her to wear the negligee...Juvia believes you know Gray-sama very well but she's not going to wear something like this just to attract his attention. Juvia is extremely sorry that you went through the trouble of getting this for her, Cana-san, but she just cannot present Gray-sama with this." Sadly, the water mage pushed the box closer to the brunette.
The card mage sighed before shrugging. "Hehe, it's fine Juvia. I knew you wouldn't be on board with it anyway. Maybe I was pushing it a little too far...I was only kidding to be honest. I don't really know if Gray would appreciate something like this..."
"Cana-san!" yelled the water mage. "If Juvia would've showed him that, then he probably would have been mad at Juvia! Juvia thought you said you knew Gray-sama!"
Cana held up her hands defensively. "I do, girl, calm down. I was kidding again." Another sneaky smile before she re-wrapped the package and stood up, tucking it under her right arm. "Anyways, I really hope you'll be able to find him something nice, but don't dwell on it too hard, the day is halfway over. I'm sure you'll find something, though."
Juvia nodded her understanding and wished Cana goodbye before calling out to her again before the brunette got too far away. "Um Cana-san? May Juvia have the p-p-package? She might want to try it on later. Just to see if it fits...and she might use it as pajamas."
Cana raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Okay...?" Absentmindedly she tossed the box back to Juvia, who caught it. "I don't understand why you'd use it as pajamas, but it's your call. And if you don't know how to put it on...well you'll figure it out."
"Thanks a lot, Cana-san. Juvia will be sure to repay you as soon as she can."
Cana nodded and left the water mage, and with a determined grin, Juvia stood up and hurried away from the guild. Gray-sama, Juvia is coming for you!
For hours, Juvia loitered the streets of Magnolia searching for Gray, but he was nowhere to be found. She checked stores, checked his apartment (which happened to be unlocked), she searched corners of streets and then returned to the guild to look for him three times. She looked everywhere in Magnolia she could think of and even checked Natsu and Happy's house before finally deciding to call it a day when it was six o'clock in the evening.
The box with the negligee in hand, Juvia found a deserted field next to a river and sat down with her teary eyes. "Gray-sama...where are you? Juvia hasn't seen you all day...she has a gift for you...and she wants to know if you're okay...Gray-sama, please come to Juvia."
As a result of her crying, a soft sprinkle of rain began to pour on Magnolia, and Juvia did little to stop it. She buried her face in her knees and sobbed, causing the rain to get heavier.
The water mage suddenly heard a cough, and while it was faint since the rain blocked out most of it, she heard it loud and clear, and immediately perked up. Turning her head, she heard the gruff cough again and searched for the owner of such coughs, then instantly her whole demeanor lit up. The clouds were chased away by the sun when Juvia beamed merrily upon seeing her beloved Gray Fullbuster seated next to the river a few dozen yards away from her, alone in the cold and for once, fully clothed.
Juvia scooped up Cana's gift in her arms and darted towards the man. The woman couldn't contain her excitement as she reached him, holding the box secretly behind her back. Gray didn't hear her approaching but when she called out his name, he abruptly looked up and turned her way.
"J-Juvia," he breathed, surprised at her sudden arrival, his raven hair blocking out his eyes and his knees propped against his chest. "Why are you here? I mean, how did you find me?"
"Gray-sama, it's your birthday! Juvia wanted to celebrate with you!" she exclaimed, and unexpectedly she threw her arms around the stripper mage and forced him into a tight hug.
Gray didn't respond to her hug at first, and even after a few moments when she continued to cling to him he didn't do anything, not even push her away. His eyes clouded over in anger, sadness, and hurt, and realizing he wasn't responding negatively or positively as he usually would, Juvia let him go and peered at him with her head tilted to the side. "Is Gray-sama alright?"
"I'm fine," he responded all too quickly, and Juvia puffed out her cheeks.
"Gray-sama is not fine."
Gray sighed heavily and glanced sideways at her, studying her hopeful expression and the happiness bouncing in her eyes. "Why are you here?" he asked again, this time more coldly.
Juvia was taken aback. "Juvia thought...that Gray-sama and Juvia could celebrate Gray's birthday...Birthdays are special..."
"Well I don't want to celebrate my birthday! Why do you think I was away from the guild and everyone else in the first place?! And didn't Mira tell you to leave me alone?" he snapped.
Juvia whimpered softly. "Juvia is sorry."
Gray grimaced and clenched his fists at his side. "Please, just go away Juvia," he muttered, turning away from her quickly, and Juvia noticed he was forcing back tears.
Juvia nodded and reluctantly turned to walk a few steps away, then turned back to see her beloved ice mage wiping tears away from his eyes. Her heart melted at the sight; if her beloved was crying, a very rare sight, mind you, then it must be important. "Gray-sama, do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly, hopefully.
Silence was her response followed by a sniffle.
Juvia shuffled her feet. "Master Makarov once told Juvia that you should never hold in your feelings and emotions; if you're sad then you should find someone to talk to and never keep your feelings held up inside you, it isn't healthy."
Gray resumed his silent demeanor as the rain filled the lake and dropped everywhere around him. He sniffled and every now and then, wiped away the tears that cascaded down his face. Never once did he turn around to look at her, but after a few moments, almost five minutes later, he finally said quietly, "Come here, Juvia."
A soft smile graced her face as she hurried back to sit next to him, hiding the present behind her back. Gray grimaced upon seeing her giddy expression and finally swiveled his head around to face her. He saw the happiness and curiosity swirling around in her eyes, and he was a little surprised she was able to stay next to him without breaking out into her fantasies or fainting. But he quickly turned away, asking in a soft voice, "Do you want to know why I don't celebrate my birthdays?"
"If it would ease some of Gray-sama's stress and sadness by confiding in Juvia, then yes, Juvia would like to know why."
Another sigh. Gray once more turned to face Juvia to study her expression, her hopeful, nice expression, and finally turned away to cast his eyes to the sky. The rain pummeled his face as he looked up, soaking him to the bone in an unintentional shower. With a forlorn sigh, he took a few deep breaths to collect himself before whispering in an uneasy voice, "My parents."
An arrow pierced through Juvi's heart. Her eyes welled with salty tears as sadness and sympathy overwhelmed her soul. Of course that was why her Gray-sama was alone on his birthday and away from everyone in the guild without anyone worrying about him and everyone leaving him alone to respect his privacy: his parents. Juvia's heart hurt tremendously because she knew she should have known this. As much as she stalked him, as much information she collected and stored in her dorm room from all her stalking expeditions, she should have known this. And the feeling was worse because she actually knew how it felt. But Juvia had always thought that her Gray-sama was a strong man both physically and emotionally; she had always thought that while he was both handsome and strong, he was a person who looked forward and didn't dwell on the past. She never knew he locked himself away from everyone else on his birthday to mourn over his parents; her stalking research had never showed that. And having now known this crucial piece of information was like having her water body be struck by one million bolts of Laxus's lightning.
The rain became even heavier as a result of her crying and sadness, and having been around her for a long while, Gray knew she was the cause of it. But he didn't say anything, at least not at first. He let her cry and whimper and sob and wipe away her tears until she calmed a bit, then asked, "Why are you crying?"
"Juvia...Juvia is so sorry, Gray-sama. She's sorry she tried to bug you when you clearly didn't want to be bothered. And for making you cry...that's Juvia's biggest mistake. She didn't know...but she didn't try to know either. Juvia was so caught up in getting Gray a gift that she failed to understand you might want to be alone. She should have known, Gray-sama, Juvia is sorry. Please find it in your heart to forgive her."
Gray softly grinned and shrugged. "That's right, you didn't know, so don't think I'm mad at you. You're forgiven, but I wasn't mad at you to begin with. My birthday is always rough for me...I don't like talking about my parents at all. I'm sorry I never told you about it. I never told anyone, except Mira because she's hard to ignore when she's curious and worried about you. I told her why I don't celebrate my birthday and how I like to be alone, so every year I go out by myself to be alone and she tells anyone at the guild that I'm having a day off so they won't bother me. I thought she would've told you but I guess she forgot...But don't worry, it's not you. On this day of the year especially, I just like my privacy and time alone. The memories are the worst."
Juvia sniffled as the remains of her tears dried up, causing the rain to lighten up. She nodded again, understanding how he felt. "Juvia knows the feeling. When she was younger, she was always alone. Her parents had sent her away to the orphanage because they didn't like the constant rain that followed her around. And Juvia couldn't make friends with the other kids because they always teased her." The bluenette sighed forlornly. "Juvia just never thought that Gray-sama mourned. She's very sorry if she made you sad or annoyed you...Juvia just thought that you should celebrate your birthday, as it's the most important day in the world for everyone. She's sorry for bothering you, Gray-sama." The water mage stood up to leave, dusting off her sundress as she did and hiding the present on her left side so Gray couldn't see. But the ice mage grasped her wrist before she could walk away, pulling her back as he said,
"Stay."
Juvia obeyed, and for the love of her, squealed softly. The rain nearly stopped, now reduced to a soft sprinkle as she once again plopped back down beside him, still hiding the present from view.
Gray didn't say anything at first, just acknowledged that she was once again sitting really close beside him and stared down at the river as the last few drops of rain mixed in with it before the clouds crept away to reveal the evening sun sinking beneath the horizon miles away. "My parents always threw big birthday parties for me when I was younger," he began explaining. "They would invite so much people, just for me to make sure I had fun. Relatives that I never even knew came ever year as did friends that are long gone and people I don't even remember. They were always so happy and kind to me, bringing me more gifts than was necessary and always baking a large cake for me. Those were the good memories, and until the day I die they will always be stored in my heart." The ice mage sighed. "When Deliora came everything was ruined. I lost my family, my home, everything...From that point on, I knew my life would never be the same. I knew that whenever I decided to think back into the past and remember the fun birthdays I had, I wouldn't just remember the good memories, but the horrible ones too. I would remember everything, know matter how long ago it was. And even now, all these years later, I still remember. That day has been imprinted into my brain, never to be erased." Another sigh until Gray suddenly smiled. "But the good thing that came out of it was after days and weeks of traveling, I came across Fairy Tail. I was able to make great friends and make a living by going out on jobs. I was able to better use my Ice-Make magic and become a skilled ice mage. And I'm happy. I am a proud Fairy Tail wizard, and I'm happy to have friends who care."
Gray looked at Juvia again and grinned gently, making her blush and almost fangirl over him. As confused as she was to be hearing this about him out of nowhere, she was happy he had stopped crying and was able to tell her a little about his childhood, even though she knew it was painful for him to speak about. Juvia smiled back at her beloved, her eyes twinkling with admiration.
Gray then seemed to be recalling something and he asked her, "Hey, you said you were getting me a gift or a present or something?"
Juvia blushed profusely. "Oh yes...Juvia got you a gift that she thought you might like. Although now it might seem silly giving it to you after everything that just happened..."
"Nah, I'd like to see it anyway," Gray responded.
"Well if Gray-sama wishes..." Juvia pulled the box out in front of her and carefully unwrapped the wrapping paper to reveal another brown box that Gray stared at, confused. She removed the lid and smiled before shoving the box into Gray's hands. Gray looked inside and screamed.
"What in the hell...?" He flung the box back into her arms like it had cooties, scooting himself a few feet away from her while doing so. His face was flushed dark red as his heart pounded ferociously in his chest. No, there was no way he wasn't dreaming. "Juvia...why would you get that for ME as a present?"
Juvia tilted her head to the side, eying the negligee to see if there was anything wrong with it. "Why wouldn't Juvia?"
"Why wouldn't...?" The man stared at her in exasperation. "How the hell do you expect me to wear that? I'm not a woman, Juvia?"
"Juvia knows that, Gray-sama, but..." She tilted her head to the other side and took the dark blue negligee out of the box then held it up to her chest. Upon seeing this, the ice mage suddenly began to feel hot as many wild, erotic images flooded his mind. "Cana-san told Juvia that guys like this stuff. Juvia agreed so when Cana-san got it for her, she decided to keep it because she thought it would be the perfect present for Gray-sama! Do you like it?"
"Do I like it?! Juvia! That's for women to wear!"
Again, Juvia cocked her head to the side. "Juvia doesn't understand, Gray-sama."
Gray hid his face in his hands to cover up the embarrassment burning his cheeks. "Women, Juvia, wear that when the want to get some."
"Some?" Juvia repeated. "Some what?"
Gray looked at her critically. Had this crazy woman seriously never seen a negligee before in her life? Did he seriously have to explain to her what getting some meant? Did she seriously think something like that was for men to wear?
"Juvia, listen, I'm flattered but that is not for me. What Cana meant was that guys like it when girls wear this. Guys aren't supposed to wear something like...this."
"Oh." Juvia smiled her understanding until realization dawned upon her. "Gray-sama said that guys like it when girls wear this right?"
Gray was about to nod when he caught her slipping off the straps to her sundress and taking off her boots so she could put on the negligee. He was a stripper alright, but not a pervert, so for his sake and his mind's sake he turned away with a face full of ketchup, shouting, "JUVIA!" as he did so.
Juvia stopped with her sundress pooled at her waistline and her boots thrown carelessly on the ground, her lacy blue bra exposed to the world. "Yes Gray-sama?"
Gray didn't dare turn to her, and he knew if he did he would be in trouble with both his mind and his nose. This woman is gonna be the death of me. "Don't put it on in public, Juvia! Someone might see you, and me! I'm right here!"
"But Gray-sama said that guys like it when girls wear this. Why can't Juvia put it on?"
"Put it on somewhere else, Juvia! And it's not just some outfit you can wear anywhere anyway!"
"Well Juvia likes it so she's gonna try it on." The bluenette pulled her dress down to her knees, revealing nice blue lace panties that matched her bra.
Though he wasn't looking at her, Gray's nose bled profusely. "DON'T TRY IT ON HERE, JUVIA, DAMN IT!" he hollered.
And that's the end!
I have to admit, I wasn't too proud with the end because I don't think it turned out the way I had planned in my head, but that may be because when I was typing this up the page would reload when I got to the part where Gray was talking to Juvia so everything would erase and I got really mad, and since the page kept reloading like three times I always forgot what I typed so it turned out much different than what I had planned. And also at the end I feel like I made Juvia a little too stupid about the whole negligee scenario and what "getting some" meant.
Nonetheless, I think it turned out nice. I would love to hear some reviews to tell me how you liked it, and even if you didn't like it I'd just be happy to get a review. ;) Oh, and the mention of Lucy's slumber party will be turned into a fic in a few days to a few weeks so look for it if you like.
Thank you so much for reading this, and if you have anything you want to tell me or a request for a fic please feel free to PM me. Have a fabulous day, you beautiful (and handsome) people! :3