The Dress
So, for those of you that follow me on Tumblr, some of you may have seen or even participated in the fan fiction vote I had set up.
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, let me explain.
On my blog I had set up a vote for my next fan fiction as a way to celebrate reaching 500 followers.
I pulled 4 fan fiction ideas from my "plot bunny" folder on my computer where I store all of my story plans that I haven't begun work on yet.
The voting went on for a week and this was the winner.
It won with a solid 12 votes (So many, I know.)
Anyways...
I hope you all are able to enjoy this gruvia one shot.
If you don't...
My apologies.
*shrugs*
Juvia stood in front of the request board, searching carefully for the perfect job.
Normally she would go on missions with Gajeel or by herself, but today she was feeling a bit bold, and truth be told, she was missing Gray.
He had just returned from a rather lengthy mission a few days prior and Juvia felt the need to make up for lost time.
She couldn't think of any better way than to choose the perfect job.
She didn't want anything difficult because he did just return from a stressful mission with his team.
Her eyes roamed across every request, scanning each with care and consideration.
They landed on a small paper off to the side of the board that was partially hidden by other requests.
Curious, she gently tugged it from behind a hefty quest.
Immediately she notices that bridal gowns are shown on the front.
Her mind began to wander off to that magical Gray Land where only she could go.
She swooned for a moment before snapping out of it.
She shook her head to rid herself of the fantasies clouding her mind.
Her eyes flitted back down to the request in her slender hands.
She slowly read the paper, trying to be sure she understood every detail.
The request was asking for a complementary couple to come in and model for a bridal wear photo shoot as a promotional spread to advertise the local bridal shop.
It didn't pay too much, but she wasn't concerned with the money.
She just wanted to spend some time with Gray.
She bit her lip as she stared down at the fragile ad in her hands.
She wondered how he would even feel about a job like this.
He had no issues taking jobs with her.
Occasionally he would take the liberty to invite her on missions himself, but this was different.
She decided that the only way to find out was to just ask.
Gathering her courage and taking a deep breath, she spun around and marched over to the table where he was sitting with his team.
She stood a couple of feet away and called to him as sweetly as her voice could manage.
"Gray Samaaa~!"
He turned his head over his shoulder and a very small hint of a smile tugged one side of his mouth, creating a lopsided smirk of sorts.
"Juvia."
She skipped over and squeezed in between him and Erza.
The scarlet haired requip mage smiled and put an arm around the determined water mage's shoulders.
"Juvia, it's nice to see you. We weren't gone too long were we?"
Her russet eyes shifted from Juvia over to Gray briefly before returning to their original target.
"N-no. Not at all, Erza San."
Juvia was beginning to slowly lose the confidence she had previously accumulated.
"Good. I would hate to think of a comrade worrying for us longer than necessary."
The blunette shook her cerulean curls wildly.
"Juvia believes in the team, Erza San."
Titania smiled proudly and patted her back.
"That is good to hear, Juvia."
She retracted her arm from around her friend and continued to enjoy her strawberry cake.
Juvia took a deep breath and tried to think of what to say.
How exactly does one ask the love of their life whom is still iffy about their feelings towards them to model wedding attire with them for reward money?
She had no idea if there was a right or a wrong way.
Only one way to find out.
"Gray Sama?"
He put down the mug that was previously pressed to his lips.
"Hm?"
She felt heat rising to her cheeks as she struggled with how to put what she wanted to say into words.
"Juvia was wondering... If maybe Gray Sama would like to go on a job with her?"
Her large, navy orbs glittered with hope as he seemed to ponder the idea.
"I don't know... I just got back..."
She waved her hands in front of her frantically.
"Oh, no. Juvia wasn't suggesting... It's a simple job that should only take a day to complete. It is right here in town."
His eyes narrowed in suspicion and he leaned away to get a good look at her.
"If it's a simple mission, why do you need me?"
Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of crimson and she could feel herself getting close to her boiling point.
"Well, it specifically asked for two mages and Juvia just thought that maybe Gray Sama wouldn't mind..."
Her voice faltered as her confidence wore thin.
He sighed deeply as she twisted uncomfortably in her seat beside him.
He could tell she was uncomfortable and that made him uncomfortable.
"Alright. I'll lend a hand. What is it?"
She instantly perked up and leaped from her seat.
She danced in place and held out the paper towards him.
She was too excited to speak.
Gray knew her actions pretty well and instantly felt a feeling of dread wash over him like her water nebula.
He snatched the paper from her hands and leaned back against the table in preparation for the read.
He didn't need to read it though.
His eyes lowered to the paper and nearly shot out of his skull when he saw the wedding dresses on the front.
"LIKE HELL I'M DOING THIS."
Juvia stopped her celebrating and her shoulders dropped.
Her eyes became bigger and glassy as her lower lip poked out.
"Gray Sama won't go?"
He shook his head and handed her the paper.
"No way."
She took the paper gently from his outstretched hand and turned away, walking slowly towards the guild exit.
"Juvia supposes she can just ask Gajeel Kun..."
Gray tried not to imagine Juvia standing with Gajeel in wedding attire, but failed miserably.
His eyes squeezed shut and he growled lowly in his throat, showing his irritation with the whole situation.
He stood from his seat and shoved his hands into his pockets as he caught up to Juvia at a leisurely pace.
When he came up beside her he let out a sharp sigh.
"Fine. I'll go, but only because Gajeel would ruin the woman's business with that ugly mug."
The pep in her step immediately returned.
"Juvia knew Gray Sama would!" She cheered excitedly.
His cheeks reddened ever so slightly and sweat began to form on his face.
"Yeah, well..."
They walked in silence to the little bridal shop, Juvia's smile firmly in place the entire way there.
When they reached the shop, Gray reached for the door and held it open as Juvia skipped inside like a kid frolicking into a candy store.
He entered behind her, no doubt looking just as put off on the outside as he felt on the inside.
Dress shops were not his thing. WEDDINGS were not his thing.
Doing this with Juvia was DEFINITELY not his thing.
A small old woman with kind, hazel eyes approached them.
"What can I do for a lovely couple such as yourselves today?"
Juvia's hands flew to her face and she twisted her body from side to side in glee.
"A couple?!"
Gray shot into defense mode before he could even process the situation.
At this point it was so commonplace he just went on auto pilot.
"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!"
He snatched the paper from her hands and handed it to the old woman.
"We're here for the job request. We're from Fairy Tail."
She eyed the paper quickly and gave them a quick once over, smiling knowingly.
"Not a couple, hm? I see. Very well. I am Madame Cheska, owner of Cheska Bridal. Greta! Gunther! Come ready our guests!"
No sooner did she crow out her orders did a middle aged man and woman emerge from behind a curtain.
The woman took Juvia by the hand and began leading her to the curtain.
"Come, dear. We will get you changed for the photo shoot."
Juvia looked back at Gray longingly, not ready to part with him.
He noticed the look on her face and instantly turned his face away from her.
'Why does she always gotta look at me like that?' He grumbled internally.
She always made him feel different.
He didn't know how to describe the feeling, but the one thing he did know was that he didn't feel ready for it.
The man, Gunther, motioned for Gray to follow him.
"Follow me. I will need to get you fitted for a fine suit."
Gray muttered a string of obscenities under his breath as he begrudgingly followed after him.
He was lead to a decent sized dressing room.
"Lift your arms, sir. I will need to take your measurements, if you don't mind."
Gray sighed and furrowed his brows as he lifted his arms for the man.
Gunther pulled out a measuring tape and began his work.
After nearly half an hour of him measuring and re measuring, Gunther finally left to go get the appropriate suit.
Gray sat alone in the dressing room on a small stool.
He could hear giggling somewhere nearby.
Her giggling.
"Tch. What's so funny..." He frowned deeply as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.
He could hear low chatter, whispers between her and that other female, Greta.
He wondered what they were talking about.
the more he tried to listen in to their conversation, the more he visualized it.
And the more he visualized it...
He shook his head and slammed his eyes shut.
He cursed himself, willing the thoughts away.
Mid self loathing, Gunther returns with a strange looking suit in hand.
Noticing Gray's odd stares, Gunther feels it necessary to elaborate.
"The madame has very peculiar taste. In the West where we are from, these are quite fashionable."
He held the suit out to Gray.
He accepted it cautiously, eyeing it with intense judgement.
"Right..."
Free from the duties of fetching the garment, Gunther exits the dressing room.
Gray hangs the suit on the wall and groans at his clothing choice.
The suit is white with a very light grey fading towards the center of his body.
the shirt is black and the tie is a deep purple.
Gunther had also set shoes inside the door while he wasn't paying attention.
They were a shiny black.
He cringed at the suit, certain he would never forget it's ... Charm...
After a few minutes, he was dressed.
He stared at himself in the mirror and rolled his eyes at the reflection.
He felt ridiculous.
He heard a light rapping at the dressing room door.
"Mr. Fullbuster, sir. Are you prepared?"
Gray grimaced at his reflection before halfheartedly turning to face the door.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming."
When he exited the dressing room, Gunther began walking to the lobby.
Gray followed and nearly ran into him as he stopped abruptly at the entrance where the curtain separated the lobby from the dressing rooms.
"Go wait there, if you please, sir. When Lady Juvia is finished dressing, We will lead you to the set."
He walked to the center of the room as instructed.
Gunther once again disappeared.
The old Lady smiled at him from behind the counter.
"I admit, that suit was certainly not my best work, but rest assured, Miss Juvia will make you look like a king."
Gray didn't feel better with her reassurance.
If anything, he felt worse.
She would have to be the most beautiful creature to ever walk Earthland AND Edolas to make this suit look even kind of okay.
That was a tall order.
Not that gray thought Juvia was unattractive.
No. Quite the opposite actually.
He found her to be very attractive.
But even she couldn't do anything for this hideous suit.
It was beyond redemption as far as he was concerned.
The sound of heels on wood clacked melodically from the hall.
His heart stilled in his chest.
He wasn't sure if he was ready to see her yet.
If what the lady had said was true, she had to be phenomenal.
Even if the lady was wrong, seeing Juvia in a wedding dress wasn't on the top of his to do list for many reasons.
Reason number one being that he still wasn't even sure what to make of his feelings, whatever they were, for her.
The clicking stopped and his mouth went dry.
the curtain slowly pulled open and Greta emerged with a proud smile.
"Madame Cheska, I do believe this is your best design yet. It fits her like a glove. Come, child."
The clicking started up again, but this time it wasn't just a sound.
It was a vision.
Gray's mouth hung open.
The dress was similar to his suit.
It was white, but had a faded purple at the low cut neckline.
Purple also faded from dark to light starting at the bottom and trailing up to about mid thigh.
That wasn't the most shocking part of the dress though.
Much like her usual skirts, it had dangerously high slits on either side.
One problem.
They were even higher.
The sides and apparently back, he noticed when she twirled, were completely exposed, only held together by thin strands of green jewels.
The straps were a skimpy halter made of the same green jewels that lined the entire dress.
This dress was no ordinary wedding dress, and although it was similar to Gray's tux, it was somehow stunning.
Especially on her.
He stopped gawking when he recognized the look on Juvia's face.
It was a look he had encountered far more times than he would like to admit.
She was zoning out.
-Juvia's imagination.-
A charming and romantic Gray gets down on one knee before her.
He grabs her hand tenderly, his eyes twinkling with desire.
"Juvia, you look so stunning in this dress. Let's get married."
Overcome with awe, she nods.
"Yes, Gray Sama!"
-Day dream ends.-
Gray looked away from her, not wanting to make eye contact.
He knew that when she made that look she was thinking of him and given their situation, it wasn't too hard for him to guess what exactly she was imagining him doing.
He really wasn't ready to face that.
"You two look perfect together. Like a matching set!" Madame Cheska cooed.
Gray frowned harder.
Juvia smiled brightly and bounced around.
"Juvia always thought so!"
Gunther opened a set of doors across the room, directly in front of the entrance doors.
When opened, the large double doors led to a small ballroom type area.
There were cameras and lights set up around a backdrop and props that were staged to look like a mystical garden.
There were even fog machines stationed around the set.
Greta led the pair to the set and got behind the camera.
Madame Cheska and Gunther set in chairs beside Greta.
"Now, Gunther, ready the fog. You two, Mr. Fullbuster, please embrace your lady with feeling. I want passion. Go!"
His face burned hot and he had the sudden urge to strip.
Sweat poured off him by the load.
He stammered as he turned to Juvia.
When his eyes met hers, he calmed, but just barely.
She looked like she had just won the lottery.
He slowly slid his right arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
He could feel her soft, warm skin beneath his fingertips.
This was a nightmare.
Makarov's worst punishment game couldn't top the hell he was experiencing right this second.
His left hand slid behind her head and lightly snagged a small bundle of her beachy, blue waves.
He composed his features and tried his best to convey passion.
He didn't know how to convey it though.
He felt it plenty during battles.
His face was giving nothing but ice.
"No! That's not passion! Move closer to her face. I want it to look like you two are about to seal the matrimonial deal, understand?!"
Gray's eyes slammed shut.
Punishment of the highest degree.
What had he done?
He inched his face closer and closer until their noses bumped together.
His eyes opened and he focused on her deep navy soul traps.
Staring into her eyes like this made him feel like his very soul was being snatched from his body.
This was far too close for comfort.
"Where's the passion!? BOY. I want you to look at her as if today is the last chance you have to tell her you love her because tomorrow you will lose her! GOT IT!?"
A memory flashed through his mind.
A blur of blues.
Dark, nearly black blue of the night sky.
The navy blue and white of Juvia's clothing.
The cerulean whip of her hair in the whistling wind.
The bright white-blue of the dragon lasers heading straight for her.
Blue.
Impact, red, red, red and finally... black.
As the memory passed, he felt a stray tear tickling his cheek as it rolled down, down, down trailing down his neck and disappearing under the suit.
Juvia's cheeks flushed pink and her lip began to poke out.
"Gray Sama?"
He blinked and focused back on her.
"It's nothing."
He gripped her tighter by instinct and his eyes held a new fire that Juvia had only seen him posses when fighting to save his friends.
"That's it! Cue the fog Gunther! Greta, be sure to get as many shots as possible! Yes! Hold it there, boy! That's the passion I like to see!"
He stayed like that with her, his dark Grey-blue eyes boring into her navy.
He realized that though this job she had picked was troublesome for his routine of avoiding sorting out his feelings, it wasn't the worst hell.
No.
Had it been her that day... He didn't want to imagine it.
The following day, Gray sat at a table with his team in the rowdy guild hall.
He took a swig of his beer, his eyes never leaving the cheery water mage who appeared to be searching for another job request.
His eyes held that same intensity from the photo shoot as he watched her twist and bounce in front of the board.
Based on her body language, he gathered she was probably trying to find another mission for the two of them.
"If you don't close your mouth, you're sure to catch flies." Lucy teased.
He tore his gaze from the former rain woman and narrowed his eyes at his blonde teammate.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She smiled and stood to leave.
"Sure you don't. You're Lucky Natsu and Happy didn't catch you staring."
Gray stood from the table and clenched his fists at his side.
"I wasn't staring!"
The familiar clank of heavy armor sounded behind him and was followed by a spine chilling voice.
"Problem?"
He slowly turned to face the requip mage.
"Nope. No problem here. Why would there be a problem? We're best buds, right Lucy?"
He turned to see Lucy's response, but she was long gone.
Cautiously, he turned back to Erza, expecting wrath for his sudden outburst.
Instead, she had her arms crossed and she was smiling.
"I happened to notice the target of your intense glare. Would this have anything to do with your mission yesterday?"
He looked away and frowned, plopping back down onto the wooden bench.
"Tch. No."
Erza climbed in beside him and shook her head.
"Hmm... Still avoiding it I see."
He groaned and gave her the most serious glare he could muster in that moment.
"Just drop it."
She smiled and nodded. "Alright. I can't tell you she won't wait forever... Her loyalty is unlike any I've ever known, but Gray, she shouldn't have to."
He stood from the table and grabbed his shirt and jacket from the floor on the way out.
He heard Juvia call out to him as he left the guild, but he couldn't face her right now.
Not like this.
That night as he lay in his bed, images of her in that strange wedding dress filled his mind.
The vivid pictures in his mind made his stomach do flips and his heart race.
Not only that, but it made him feel hot.
He wasn't fond of heat.
He reached across his body to rip off some layers only to realize there were none left.
He stared at the ceiling and groaned.
He knew Erza was right.
He shouldn't make her wait.
He really didn't mean to.
How was he expected to give her an answer?
He has no idea what to make of his feelings.
He knew that she made him feel things he wasn't used to.
He knew that sometimes her presence felt a lot like home.
He knew he felt for her.
He knew.
But he couldn't tell her.
Not yet.
The next morning, a groggy and sleep deprived Gray entered the bustling guild hall without a word.
He was making his way to his usual table that was already occupied by his teammates when he was hugged from behind.
The only one brave enough to do that was her.
"Juvia." He mumbled.
She released him and zipped in front of him.
"Gray Samaaaa~!" She sang cheerfully.
"What?" He sighed tiredly.
She pulled her hands from behind her back to reveal a torso sized item covered by a pink scarf.
With one hand, she removed the pink scarf hiding the item.
It was a copy of their bridal wear ad.
His face heated as he examined it with bulging eyes.
They looked like they were about to kiss.
And to top it off, he absolutely looked more head over heels for Juvia than she did for him.
"What does Gray Sama think?"
Her smile was so bright it could rival Sting's holy light.
He stared at it silently, trying to think of what to say, but all he could do was stare at her in that weird dress.
His auto pilot had failed him this time.
He felt an arm rest on his shoulder and the smell of booze assaulted his nostrils.
Cana.
She grabbed the ad and held it high.
"Hey everybody! Come congratulate the newlyweds!"
Autopilot activated.
"WE DIDN'T GET MARRIED! IT WAS FOR A MISSION!"
Juvia giggled behind her hand and snaked an arm around one of Gray's.
If Gray Sama wants to get married, all he has to do is ask!" She informed him happily.
"I DON'T!" He shouted.
Cana smirked and looked over her shoulder at him through the crowd that surrounded her to get a better look at the photo.
"That's not the story this is tellin'."
Gray backed over to a table, Juvia still attached to his arm.
He plopped down onto the bench, Juvia not far behind.
"No more wedding stuff." He huffed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Yes, Gray Sama."
He watched the photo bob through the air above the crowd, his eyes never leaving Juvia's image.
'Maybe one day...'
*AUTHOR'S NOTE*
I hope this was to your liking. :)