Reunion
After the battle, when everything had been said and done, and Avatar's black mages and soldiers had been properly dealt with, Juvia found herself being pulled a few feet away from the circle of Fairy Tail mages by none other than Gray himself. Though she was dimly aware of their comrades' eyes on them, Juvia ignore them, choosing instead to focus on Gray's battle-worn body, the exhaustion on his weary face, the way he seemed to refuse to meet her gaze with his own. Something in the pit of her stomach seemed to coil in on itself as he shifted his stance to lean his weight on one hip, crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her, and Juvia waited with bated breath for him to speak. For some time, Gray simply stood there, his gaze trained on some distant point just beyond her left ear, and Juvia could only shift awkwardly and fidget with the tattered edges of her skirt until he finally took a deep breath and looked her in the eye.
"There's no easy way to say this," he began awkwardly as he ran a hand through his hair and shifted his weight to lean heavily on one hip, "but I'm sorry, Juvia. I should have told you everything the moment Erza asked me to go on this mission." His scowl deepened. "I was an asshole."
Juvia did not respond immediately, and for a moment merely looked at him before she leaned toward him, tilted her head to the side and smiled happily at him as she brought her hand to rest gently against his cheek, eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Of course, Gray-sama. I understand."
Smack.
Mouth agape, Gray did little more than bring a hand to his stinging cheek and stare at the woman before him wordlessly.
"But now that we are even, I forgive you." Juvia smiled again before she launched herself at Gray, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him tightly as they fell to the ground together.
Gray turned his head away from her even as he wrapped his own arms around Juvia's waist, though it did little to hid the blush growing on his cheeks or the relieved smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Fine," he said instead. "We're even."
Notes: I've had an idea for Gruvia post-Avatar battle confessions/reunion ever since 431+432 were released, and it was just too much fun to pass up writing hypothetical scenarios. I'm not sure if Juvia's actually started talking in first person or not, but either way, I don't care too much; canon will probably prove this wrong anyway, but it was still fun to write.
Feedback, as always, is appreciated. Thanks for reading!