Gruvia Week - Prompt #1: ambiguity.
Summary: Gray still doesn't understand exactly what Juvia means when she says she loves him, and he doesn't always appreciate her suffocating attention, but he's gotten use to having her around. He couldn't help but be a bit pleased that someone was thinking about him.
"Gray-sama! Juvia has been looking everywhere, and she was afraid she would never find Gray-sama, but he was here all along! Juvia is glad that Gray-sama isn't hurt," the noticeably winded blue-haired woman blurted as she drew even with the small group of people gathered around a table near the center of the room.
The indicated person raised an eyebrow before heaving a sigh, knocking back the last drops of his beverage. He had thought it seemed a bit quieter than usual, but the reason hadn't occurred to him. Now, he knew that it was the lack of the water user's presence that had made things seem a lot calmer. Gray didn't exactly dislike Juvia's company, but having her constantly hanging around didn't necessarily make him feel comfortable.
"Well, yeah. I've been here this whole time. Natsu, Happy, and Lucy decided to take a mission by themselves, just the three of them, so I had nothing better to do," Gray explained casually. "Why were you looking for me? Did you need something?"
He couldn't fault his companions for letting out almost imperceptible groans of dismay at his words. Honestly, he was just leaving himself wide open for what might be an "out there" explanation. To his surprise, Juvia didn't take the opening, and instead seemed to shift nervously and withdraw into herself slightly. She seemed almost shy. Immediately, his suspicions were aroused. Juvia only acted like this when she…
Her next words confirmed his half formed conclusion. "Juvia has something she wished to give Gray-sama. Here…Juvia hopes Gray-sama likes it. She made it herself."
She silently offered him a package that she'd been hiding behind her back this whole time. Gray was surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier. Juvia tended to be pretty obvious about these things. He accepted the parcel hesitantly, uncertain if this was the right course of action. Sure, Juvia had offered him gifts many times before, and he'd always ended up being coerced into accepting them, but that had been mostly against his will. He'd never felt comfortable accepting presents from people, and he was pretty sure that if he kept taking the things Juvia gave him, he would only serve to encourage her attention. That wasn't his intention, but he didn't really want to hurt her feelings.
Juvia was his nakama, after all.
Gray noticed the others lean forward eagerly as he began to carefully removed the wrapping, obviously too interested to see what Juvia had presented him with this time. He scowled; this was another reason that accepting anything from Juvia was dangerous. Everyone would end up teasing him about it, that was for sure. Swallowing back his pride, he removed the last flimsy piece of paper…and blinked in surprise. There was some kind of dark material folded impeccably within the wrapping. What the hell…?
He grabbed it, lifting it up and shaking it out to reveal the entire thing. It was a plain black shirt, obviously homemade. Gray surveyed it silently, critically. Actually, it wasn't that bad, and it seemed like just his size. 'Of course. Juvia would know my size,' he thought to himself, snorting lightly.
Juvia was gazing at him anxiously, wringing her hands as she questioned hesitantly, "D-Does Gray-sama like it…? Juvia doesn't have much experience in making shirts, but she thought that since Gray-sama always seems to lose his somewhere, she would make one so that Gray-sama could have a spare around."
Okay. That was…thoughtful. Gray was rather surprised that she'd even thought about that, since it had certainly never occurred to him, and he told her as much.
"It's because Juvia loves Gray-sama," she responded simply, sincerity shining from her wide eyes as she peered at him anxiously, very uncertain if her gesture was at all appreciated.
That floored him, but he wasn't sure why. Juvia had given him a declaration of undying love at least five times a day since she joined Fairy Tail. At first, he'd just ignored it, not really understanding that she meant something outside of the love one usual had for one's nakama. He'd told her that once, and she'd told him that wasn't what she meant. Gray still didn't really get it.
She constantly told him she loved him, but Gray didn't believe that she meant in that way. Hell, he didn't even know what 'that way' was. Gray loved a lot of people. He loved Ur, and he loved everyone in the guild. Even Lyon, he loved in his own way. That was the kind of love one had for one's nakama. He'd never known another way, so he couldn't be sure about her love for him. What did it mean when someone loved another person? Did they do things like this…giving them presents and being overly concerned about what they were thinking and doing at every moment? He just didn't understand.
Gray was silent for so long that his tablemates were giving him a look of confusion and concern, wanting to know what was wrong with him, while Juvia looked as if she were about to burst into tears. That was enough to prompt him to take his next action. Pulling off the shirt that he was surprisingly still in position of, Gray yanked the one that Juvia had made him over his head. It was soft and fit him very well.
"Thanks, Juvia. That's not a bad idea. I'll keep it here for next time," Gray mumbled, looking away and rubbing the back of his quickly reddening neck as he noticed the expression of pure happiness suddenly light up Juvia's face.
Gray might not always appreciate Juvia's smothering attention, nor did he could he fully wrap his head around the depths of her feelings for him, but that didn't mean he had to be cruel to her. Besides, it truly was a good idea, and he was actually a bit pleased that someone had been thinking of him enough to care to go to such lengths to provide for him.
Maybe he would have to get her something to thank her. Observing the way Juvia began to declare "how handsome he looked in the shirt she'd made with her blood, sweat and tears," Gray shook his head and turned away to motion for another drink. 'Nah. She wouldn't understand it was just to return the favor. Probably would have a heart attack.'
Things just wouldn't be the same without Juvia around. He wasn't going to be responsible for her premature death.
Author's Note: Hello~ I am planning on uploading all of my Gruvia drabbles written so far and placing them in this, so it's sort of a collection of drabbles! Some of them are connected, but most of them will be separate. Please note that I have four other drabbles/one-shots that were previously written which will be uploaded on separate days to avoid uploading them all at once and give me a chance to edit/review them before posting. If you have any questions/suggestions/or comments about any drabbles that are posted, I would love to hear it! Additionally, you're more than welcome to send in requests. All you have to do is message my writing blog, or send in a question on askfm! Both links are posted on my profile. You do not have to have an account on either site or be logged in to send me messages, so don't worry about that~! Until next time!