Gray x Juvia side shot 1

"Juvia you really should just tell him." Lucy said to the water mage. The girls were all sitting at a table in the guild hoping to have an intervention.

"Juvia can not. Juvia doesn't believe her heard could take rejection." She replied shaking her head vigorously.

"So what do you plan on doing?" Cana asked bluntly. "Just stalking him till he confesses to you? Or gets another girlfriend?" Juvia just stared down at the table.

"Juvia I know you think very highly of Gray so don't take this the wrong way. But have you thought that maybe Gray is as dense as Natsu?" Levi added in. "He might not realize you follow him like that cause you like him." Juvia shook her head roughly again.

"Juvia, you don't know he'll say no." Mira chirped in. "He could surprise you and say yes."

"Yes take a leap of faith. He's your nakama to after all. He won't intentionally hurt you." Ezra said with a nod.

A short distance away at the bar, Gazille sat listening in to the girls' conversation, but acted as if he was just minding his own business. He gulped down the last of his drink and left the guild. If Juvia wouldn't quit tormenting herself, he'd do it for her. On the road ahead he saw Natsu and Gray arguing as they went down the street, ready to send blows to each other.

"Yo, freezer brains!" Gazille barked out dragging the boys' attention to him as he walked up behind them. Natsu was cracking up and pointing at Gray.

"What'd you call me, porcupine?" Gray said giving him a glare and clenching his fist. "You want in on our fight too?"

"Chill out. Was just trying to get your attention." Gazille said crossing his arms. "Not looking for a fight right now." He turned his attention to Natsu. "Get the hell out of here flame head. I need to talk to him alone."

"Why?" Natsu asked crossing his arms.

"None of your business!" Gazille yelled at him glaring. "Now go the fuck away shit head."

"whatever." He responded putting his hands behind his head. "I'll kick your ass later Gray." He called over his shoulder as he walked away.

"So what do you need to talk to me about?" Gray asked raising an eyebrow at Gazille.

"Not here, come on." Gazille jerked his thumb for Gray to follow him. Gray tsked but followed. "And keep your clothes on freak." Gray caught his hands just before he started to lift his shirt.

Gazille led them to a small rowdy bar in one of the rougher parts of magnolia. And took a table in the back corner. Gray gave one quizzical look around before turning his attention back to the iron dragon slayer as he ordered a round of drinks for the two of them. "So what's this about?"

"I need to talk to you about something involving someone I care about a lot." Gazille stated giving a hard look to Gray. "and I don't want any prying ears."

Gray's eyes went wide and he threw his hands up waving them frantically in front of him as he confessed what he thought the dragon slayer was hinting at. "I swear to god, I didn't sleep with Levi on that mission! Cana just spread that rumor to piss off Jet and Droy and get back at me for not taking a job with her!"

Gazille stared slack jaw for a minute. "W..wh…what? I'm not talking about Levi? Why would you think I was talking about the bookworm?" then Gazille's eyes became dark as he glared across at the ice mage. "What rumor about you sleeping with Levi?" he barely growled out.

"I swear it was just a horrible bad prank from Cana." Then he calmly put his fist down at the table, leaning forward a little "and don't deny it. I know you like her. I see you staring at her all the time. And following her out of the guild when she goes home late." The server came up then and placed the drinks on the table without a word.

Gazille scoffed at him and glanced away slightly a small blush tinting his cheeks at being found out. He grabbed his drink and took a rather large gulp. "Whatever, I didn't bring you here to discuss that." He slammed down his drink and stuck a finger in Gray's face. "We are here to discuss Juvia."

"What about her?" Gray asked confused.

"What about her? Are you serious? You can catch me shooting glances at the bookworm but you don't notice her hiding behind things around you?" Gazille asked angrily his eyebrow raised.

"Well yeah I've noticed that. So what? I haven't bothered her or nothing. I'm trying my best to be nice and not startle her or freak her out." Gray answered taking a drink of his.

"What the hell are you talking about startling her?" Gazille asked at this point confused himself.

"She's afraid of me right? Like Levi is of you after you joined?" Gray said with a slight glance at the table.

"What? Why would Juvia be afraid of a piss ant like you?" Gazille shouted out once again slack jawed.

"Cause I beat her in our fight. That's why she hides from me and stuff right?" Gray asked looking away slightly ashamed. "I've been waiting for her to get over it. I don't want to scare her away by trying to approach her before she's ok around me. I mean I didn't mean to grope her in our fight and all that, it was an accident."

"You groped Juvia?" Gazille stared wide eyed at the ice mage, his glass paused at his lips.

"It was an accident!" Gray said trying to defend himself. "I mean, she's definitely attractive and all but I didn't mean to at that point. Contrary to popular belief I'm not a pervert. I do like to know people I'm doing things like that too."

At this point Gazille realized it was safer to just put down his cup because his mouth wasn't going to get a chance to close around the lip of his glass. "Ok stop right there. Before I'm forced to beat you to a bloody pulp. And then Juvia would kill me." Gazille said raising a hand in front of Gray to further his objection. His other hand was clamped over his face in exasperation. His talk wasn't going how he had hoped. When Gray was silently drinking his beer and raising is glass for the server to get another round Gazille finally took a deep breath and decided to talk about what he had actually wanted to say. "Ok Juvia isn't afraid of you. Not like that anyway. She likes you, like a lot. And she's…"

Gazille was cut off by Gray's coughing as he choked on his second drink. "She likes me?"

"Well yeah, duh." Gazille quirked an eyebrow again. "You can pick up me liking Levi, but not Juvia crushing on you?" Gray just stared at him, so Gazille decided to continue, "But yeah she likes you. And she's afraid you don't like her back, that's why she just follows you around from like 15ft away and hides. Didn't realize you were as stupid as flame head."

"She likes me." Gray stated out loud as a smile crept onto his face.

"Yeah, we've covered that already. Hey where are you going?" Gazille yelled at the ice mage as he got up from the table.

"I'm going to go ask out the hottest little blue haired mage at the guild that's where." Gray said with a smirk over his shoulder.

"Hey! Stay away from the bookworm!" Gazille growled out climbing to his own feet.

"Not that blue haired mage. Juvia. I've been waiting for her to get over her fear of me so I can ask her out."

Gazille grabbed his arm before he could make another attempt to leave. "She's my best friend, if you hurt her I swear to god I don't care what I told the old man. I will tear you into so many pieces they won't be able to find them all." He said darkly meeting Gray's eyes.

"I won't. I even ended the friends with benefits thing I had going with Cana shortly after you guys joined the guild. I didn't want Juvia to find out about it after she'd get the courage to talk to me. I've been waiting to ask her out." He put a firm hand on Gazille arm. "Thanks a lot. You are a really good nakama." Gazille loosened his grip. And Gray took the chance to leave.

But Gazille's shocked and bewildered last reply caught him again. "You were screwing the drunk card mage?"

"You don't really think that Loki was the only guy at our guild getting action do you?" Gray called with out looking back as he left the bar to go looking for the water mage.

Gazille stared slack jawed yet again for a moment before calling for the bill. Mumbling to himself. "I hate human morals for that shit. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to help Juvia hook up with him." When the server came with the tab Gazille held up his hand with some money along with. "Hey can I also get a mug of strongest drink you have in this shit hole, too."