Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Obviously.

Authoress' Note: This was originally going to be a Christmas fanfic, but I never actually completed it. Given one of the prompts for Gruvia Week 2018 fits the theme for this one, I'm finishing it up and releasing it for that prompt. Please enjoy!

Prompt 4: Photograph

A Special Present

There's not much in the world Gray Fullbuster didn't know how to do. At least, he liked to believe. However, when it came to purchasing gifts for ladies, he really didn't have much of a clue.

Okay, slight correction... for most of the girls in his life, gifts were easy. Erza loved strawberry cakes, and Lucy was excited with new writing materials. Cana was alcohol, Levy was books, and Wendy was pretty happy with flowers. However, there was one lady in his life that always confused him on what to give her every year.

That lady was Fairy Tail's own water mage, Juvia Lockser.

He knew that technically he never had to give her anything; usually every year she was satisfied with a voluntary hug and some little random trinket he found randomly while out shopping. It was the easiest gift to give her, and she was always super excited for whatever "her precious Gray-sama" gave her. But this year he felt like he had to give her something a little more.

Okay, another slight correction... he was being told not-so-subtly by his guildmates to give her something more. After a couple of years of hugs and trinkets, people had began to grill him into giving the blunette something a little more tangible than the cheap attempts he's been making.

"You shouldn't take advantage of Juvia's feelings and cheap out!" Lucy criticized.

"She deserves something more from you, Gray. Something more important than a candle," Erza commented with a slightly threatening tone.

"I think she'd like something with a lot of thought in it. Something that makes her feel special," Wendy commented, with Carla adding, "That's not a ten-second hug."

"You better get Juvia somethin' nice this year or else I'm punching yer face in," Gajeel threatened, Levy pulling back his arm as he attempted to make his threat more credible.

That was how he ended up in town, completely confused and entirely overwhelmed, trying to figure out the right gift to get his bubbly nakama. He was given a list of "cheesy" gifts not to get her – no candles, no cheap chocolates or sweets, no bathsets, no childish plushies, no bouquets of flowers, no alcohol, no gift certificates or IOUs, among a few others – but was given no help with figuring out what to actually buy. When he asked, he was told in many different ways that he had to figure that out himself.

He sighed as he left the third gift shop without a purchase. "It shouldn't be this hard finding her a present, so why am I getting such a headache?" he groaned, rubbing his temple.

He actually knew why it was hard to find a gift, though. Everything he looked at wasn't perfect enough in his mind. Juvia was special, and hence she deserved something equally as special. However, whenever it came down to it, he could never find anything right and always ended up following the last-ditch plan he had: buy whatever he could to make sure she had something to open, and allow her to hug him without any resistance or argument. It made her happy, and technically that's what should count, but as it was said it was really cheap and rather undeserving.

He knew a lot of the frustration also came from himself and his own feelings. He knew he cared deeply for Juvia, but he had yet to actually admit that he loved her. He wasn't quite ready for that, so he didn't want to get her something that said those feelings, but now knew he had to get her something that wasn't same-samey. But what... what could he even do!?

He scratched as his head violently in frustration. "Argh, this shouldn't be so damn hard!"

"You okay, Gray?"

He turned around at the call of his name. "Oh. Hey, Levy."

Standing behind him, watching his struggle with a bemused smile, was the resident bookworm and Solid Script mage, Levy McGarden. It seemed like she was out shopping at well, judging by the large bags in her arms, but unlike him she seemed to have known what she was going for. "I probably would've said something a moment ago, but it was pretty funny watching you attack your head as if you were trying to kill a spider on it," she said, "You really having that hard of a time?"

"Yeah... It's just annoying. Everyone's gotten into my business over what I should and shouldn't get for Juvia, and now I don't even know what the hell to do," Gray explained, "I get it, I can't keep doing the same things, but if it makes her happy, what should it matter to anyone else?"

Levy smiled and shook her head, "You're right and you're wrong. Everyone knows about Juvia's feelings towards you, but we also know YOU feel something too. So why shouldn't you give her something from the heart?"

Gray shrunk back a bit; he didn't know he was THAT obvious with his feelings to others. He thought that, just like Juvia, he was good at hiding it from everyone else. Man, she must have been rubbing off on him, bit by bit... "Well... I don't want to get something that says too much. I mean... Well, what about you and Gajeel? What do you get him? It's not like you two are together either."

With a squeak and a blush, Levy began to shake in embarrassment; out of all of the pairs in Fairy Tail, her relationship with Gajeel was probably the most noticeable besides Gray and Juvia. "Well... to be honest, I just get him things featuring metal. A new piercing, or some new clothes with divots in it like he enjoys. This year... well, I noticed he started wearing headbands more and more, so I went and got him a special one," she explained.

Sitting down her bags, she dug into them and grabbed out the headband in question. It was black with silver trims. Embedded into it was a smooth, shiny dragon, positioned to wear it'd be shown off to the right when worn correctly. The dragon was made of a very thin metal, with the Fairy Tail emblem painted onto it. Gray had to admit, he was very impressed at the amount of thought and care Levy had placed into the gift, and it started to make him more frustrated at the fact that he couldn't figure out the same for Juvia.

"... You definitely got me beat. That's a really great gift."

"Thank you. I got something kinda similar for Lily as well, so they can match. You see, Gray, it doesn't need to be complicated. As long as it comes from your heart, then that would make Juvia very happy."

"I guess... but I really don't know what the hell to do. You got your feelings figured out; I don't."

The blunette sighed, "Well... I guess maybe I got something that can help."

Confused, the ice mage raised a brow as she dug through her bags again, watching as she pulled out what looked like a set of photographs. "I got a bunch of pictures developed to decorate the guild hall for New Year's. Most of them were from Mira, but I had a few myself. This is one of them. I think you might remember it," she explained, handing them over to Gray.

He looked at it and his onyx eyes widened. "Wait, you had a camera during this?"

"Mira asked me to get a couple of candid shots of Gajeel in his suit, but I took advantage of the situation. I was going to give these to Juvia, but I think these might help you better."

He gazed at the photographs, his mind racing with ideas, and finally he smiled. "Yeah, I think I just might have an idea or two. Thanks Levy!"

"You're welcome! Well, I still have some shopping to do, so I'll see you later," Levy said, grabbing her bags and waving at Gray before continuing on her shopping.

Meanwhile, Gray, feeling inspired, made his way towards the nearest craft shop.

"Merry Christmas, my brats!"

"Merry Christmas!"

The guild hall was a buzz with holiday delight. All around the hall was decorations of snowflakes and lights, with a huge tree in the corner by the staircase to the upper floor. Everyone was wearing festive clothes or designs, and all around was gifts, drinks, and food being shared and enjoyed. Everyone was excited.

Gray, however, was very nervous. From across the room he kept watching Juvia, watching her laugh and talk with Wendy, Mira, and Erza. He had just finished up his gift for her last night, spending many hours making sure it was perfect. He had it wrapped up neatly in baby blue and white striped wrapping paper, surrounded and topped with a dark green bow. It remained by his side, wanting to make sure to give it to her directly and not during the gift exchange. But that choice made him worry.

As he was debating over what he should do, he felt a nudge in his side. Jolted from his thoughts, he turned his head to see Levy smiling at him, motioning with her eyes for him to go over to her, before she left and made her way towards Gajeel and Lily, her hands holding the presents she had gotten for them. He watched them for a few minutes, chuckling as Gajeel recklessly unwrapped his present, but was taken aback when he saw the soft and surprised smile he formed upon seeing the headband.

That's when Gray decided to get up as well. Grabbing his gift and holding it tightly in his hand, he walked his way over to Juvia, a small wave of determination filling his steps.

Juvia noticed Gray's approached and looked over to him with a smile, "Gray-sama~ Merry Christmas!"

"Yeah, merry Christmas, Juvia. Hey... Do you have a moment?"

"Ooo~" came the echoed cry from Wendy and Mira, with Erza raising a brow.

Ignoring all of them, Juvia vigiously nodded her head. "Of course! Juvia can have every moment available for her Gray-sama!"

Mentally, Gray sighed at that – of course, that's what she'd say – and tried to keep his cool. "Can we go over here?"

"Of course! Juvia will be right back!"

"Ooo, the plot thickens!" Mira exclaimed, while Wendy waved her off and Erza gave a stern look to Gray, "She better not be crying by the time you get back."

'Can't guarantee that,' he thought as he waved them off, walking alongside the water mage to a corner of the guild hall that no one was around.

Once the two were alone, they faced each other, one with a bright and cheery grin, and the other with a nervous and frustrated grimace. "What is on your mind, Gray-sama?" Juvia asked, hand clasped in front of her with bouncy azure eyes staring at her beloved with curiosity.

"Well... it's not that big of a deal, but... I had a gift for you that I wanted to give to you personally," the ice mage explained, rubbing his head like a nervous twitch.

Juvia's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Truly!? Oh, that makes Juvia so very happy to hear that!"

He nodded, handing her the box and watching as she gently pulled at the paper and ribbon, revealing the plain jane box beneath it, and practically felt himself sweating bullets as she lifted the top from it. Within that was what looked like a wooden box, painted a shade of blue similar to her eyes' vibrant color with the Fairy Tail emblem hand-carved on the front and back. Lifting it out of the box, Juvia saw that it was folded over with a hinge.

"Is this a picture frame?" she questioned, noting its small size and its style, opening it up and revealing the inside.

She gasped as she peered at the contents. On each side was two photographs, with the corners of the frames also having small hand carvings to it, in the shape of water drops and colored in a light shade of blue. On the left was a photo of both her and Gray, dressed in a fancy dress and suit respectfully, smiling as they were captured in the middle of a dance. On the right was also them, but in their usual outfits of choice, on a train ride. They were both sleeping, Gray with his arms folded over his chest and Juvia laying her head on his shoulder, her hat resting on her lap and Gray's head leaned over slightly to rest on her head as well.

She remembered this; it was from a mission that they had gone on with Levy, Gajeel, and Pantherlily where they were to investigate a possible theft and murder plot in a nearby principality during their yearly festival. It meant blending into the crowd, there to dance and party, and since most of them had not gone on a previous mission that involved a similar experience, they were selected for this. It was a challenging mission that ended in success, but what she remembered the most from it was the fun she had with it, especially when she was in the arms of her beloved. She recalled the smiles he gave her during the dance, as if he was truly enjoying himself with her. The moment on the train she definitely didn't remember, but seeing how content he looked laying right next to her filled her heart with bliss.

"W-wait, Juvia, why are you crying!?"

"Huh?" the water mage commented, just now realizing the tears that started to roll down her cheeks, her hand touching them, "Oh, Gray-sama! Juvia didn't even realize she was crying..."

"Is it that bad? I mean... I know I'm not an artist, but I thought-"

"No, Gray-sama. It's really beautiful."

She looked at Gray with the brightest smile she could, "Juvia loves it, so very much. This is the best gift she had ever received from anyone. Thank you so much, Gray-sama!"

She folded the frame back over and placed it back in the box, placed it on the floor a bit away from her feet, then leaned forward and gave Gray the tightest hug she could. Usually her hugs made him cringe, even the ones he'd voluntarily give her, but this time he didn't at all. Wrapping his arms around her, he smiled and returned the affection, feeling all kinds of happiness in knowing that Juvia was happy. All of the frustration, the work, the mistakes, everything... it was all worth it for this, all worth it for her smile.

Suddenly the two heard a "CLICK!" followed by the noise of a shutter moving. They moved back slightly and turned towards the source of the sound. Watching them was Levy and Gajeel; the blunette was holding the camera while Gajeel watched with a toothy smirk, wearing the headband he was given already. "What the hell!?" Gray exclaimed, "Why do you still have the camera!?"

"Sorry, Mira asked me to do it," Levy said, although she didn't sound completely apologetic.

"Saved yerself an ass kicking," Gajeel remarked cockily.

"You-" the ice mage started to say, but was stopped by a gentle pull on his arm.

"Gray-sama, it's Christmas. It's not a day for fighting over something silly," Juvia remarked, beaming at him.

He looked at her, sighed, and smirked, "Yeah, you're right. It is pretty silly."

"Besides, if you can get a copy of that picture, you can make Juvia another picture frame next year!"

"Er... yeah, I suppose I could."

With a laugh, Juvia turned around and picked up the bits of paper from the wrapping to throw away, then the box with the gift, then finally grabbing Gray's hand and leading them back to the main parts of the hall with everyone celebrating, Levy and Gajeel already walking away to return the camera.

Instead of pulling away, he squeezed her hand back, smiling and feeling very relaxed for the first time all day. Maybe it was the holiday, maybe it was Juvia's cheer brushing off on him, or maybe it was his own heart at peace, but in that moment, there was nothing more that Gray wanted but the feel of her hand in his and her everlasting smile. That, for him, was the best present he could've ever received.