A/N: My contribution to the Gruvia Week prompt Memory.

Us

If anyone had asked him how it had happened, he wouldn't have been able to tell them - or at least, he wouldn't have been able to tell them without feeling really silly about it. Because the truth was, there wasn't necessarily a specific how, or even when. He just woke up one morning, and realized he just did. He loved her.

Now, that isn't to say this love had developed suddenly, and without reason. Quite the opposite in fact. It had been building since he had first met her.

Whenever he was at the guild, she'd be by his side. If he ever needed a partner on a job, she'd gladly volunteer. If there was something she could do to help him, she would do it. She was persistently present, persistently kind, and persistently adoring. And for the longest time, he didn't know what to do about it.

Other guys would have said, having a beautiful woman - and in his opinion she was without a doubt, a gorgeous girl - heaping affection on you at every opportunity, would be a blessing. But in his case, he just couldn't have that. Not because he didn't like it. But because he was afraid of what it might lead to.

"Gray-sama," she called him. The first time he had heard her say it, a thrill of deepest satisfaction coursed through him. He admitted, it fed his ego. What he had done to earn the title, he later more thoroughly found out while on their first job alone together.

He hadn't meant to clear away any rain, of course. That was completely accidental; a simple side effect of his ice magic, that was all, and he had told her as much. But no, she insisted it was so much more than that. She had said at the time that it was a feeling deep in her heart that drove that rain away, and she owed that feeling to him. Back then, though, she was a lot shyer around him, so she didn't delve deeper into what she had meant by that. But he thought he knew, and that made him uncomfortable.

The discomfort only grew as they inevitably became closer, for her shyness gave way to a far more direct approach. Every time he tried to distance himself, he somehow found he was pulled deeper into things. And likewise, his feelings also started deepening without his permission. Whenever he thought of making a clean break - leaving her to some other guy - he just could never bring himself to let it happen.

But he needn't have worried. She wasn't interested in anyone else. She only loved him. And she was getting dangerously close to telling him so. He could feel it. But what could he do? And even if she did tell him how she felt, what was the big deal? He needn't give her a response, let alone return her feelings. But in fact, he did both: one straightforwardly, and the other in secret.

He hadn't realized until he was about to lose her forever, just how much he, himself had grown to need her. When faced with the prospect of watching her go like so many who had gone before, he had pushed her aside without a second thought, throwing his own life away in the process - something he had sworn never to do. Because the alternative would mean living without her presence, and he would not have that. But this realization terrified him. How had she made it so far past his defenses without him noticing? When did she get to be so important? And if he was to lose her, as he had almost just done? He knew how that would feel, and he would not relive it again.

So when she finally did tell him she loved him, he refused her. Surely, this blatant discouragement would cause her feelings to evaporate quicker than they had formed, and that would have been best for both of their sakes.

But something strange happened. Her feelings did not abandon him. Her affection and support continued to be ever present and unwavering, and in his heart he was glad, because he was going to be needing both very soon.

He should have known then, when experiencing that sense of relief at her continued persistence, that he was long since lost, but so much was going on that he gratefully didn't need to think about it. He could just enjoy that she was there, and that at least emotionally, she wouldn't leave him behind.

But the feeling inside him grew ever greater, and his want to please her also strengthened. If she needed comfort, he would be that comfort. If she needed help, he would be that help. If she wanted companionship, he would be that companionship. He wanted to make her feel that he would chase away any fears that plagued her. That steadfast support she often provided him, he likewise wanted to provide to her. At that point he had discarded his short-lived attempt to keep her feelings for him at bay, in exchange for beginning to embrace his own. Because it was at that point that he had wanted to be needed. He wanted to be there for her the way she was always there for him.

Yet, he once again failed the people he cared most about. He felt empty. He felt tired. He felt lost. And just when he thought he'd again suffer his grief all alone - in silence and in secret - she came to him, and he found out that she had bore the burden he himself could not.

She was devastated, and it was his fault. And to prove fate was nothing but cruel, she had come to grant him the wish he had thought he had wanted for so long. She was making the decision to walk away from him. It made him so angry to think that she had reached this point because of him, and his weakness. He was about to lose her just when he needed her most. It was unacceptable to him.

When he had embraced her, he knew there would be no going back from it. He had felt things giving way. That barrier of resolve, which had been slowly but surely melting with each smile she gave him, had thoroughly evaporated. And all that he had left, was his bare heart. She had seen him more plainly than anyone had done in a very long time. He wondered even now if she knew how vulnerable he truly had been at that point. But it hadn't mattered. She always accepted him as he was, and that was one of the things he was most grateful for.

When he had lost his home, and she hers, it wasn't much of a surprise when he again found himself in her presence. He hadn't sought her out, but he also hadn't turned her away. He knew he was putting himself in a dangerous situation, being in such close, and constant quarters with her. But with his barriers no longer standing, he had no hope of resisting her.

Thus, they fell naturally in step together. That strange, but special connection between them that had been growing ever stronger since their first meeting, had evolved into something different over those six months of cohabitation.

They no longer were a combination of a he and a she. Somewhere along the lines, they had become a "we," a "they," and an "us." And as an us they shared a life together.

That us got the both of them through what would have otherwise been a trying time. But what was greatest of all, was that being an us was something that suited him more than he could have ever believed possible. He knew, however, that, that was because his us, involved her, which is what made all the difference for him, because he could not have been a more successful us with anybody else.

And now we come back to the beginning of this tale, and the answer to that question that he felt most silly about. When and how did he know that he really and truly loved her?

Well, if he had to pinpoint the moment, it was around the third month of them living together.

Gray had slept in just a little, but the sounds and smells from their tiny kitchen proved irresistibly rousing. As he had gotten out of bed and headed towards the kitchen - his hair squashed on one side, and his right hand scratching at an early morning itch across his chest - he was met with what had now become the familiar view of a ponytailed Juvia frying up eggs in a pan on the stove.

But just as she turned around to greet him as she always did, he experienced the oddest sensation. It was as if things were moving in slow motion, and he found that he was hyper aware of every sound, touch, and smell. Every movement and gesture seemed intensified a thousand fold.

Therefore, when Juvia turned to him, her hair giving a little bounce behind her; and when she enthusiastically wished him a good morning, her smile radiating as brightly as the most golden of summer days; he knew right then and there that he loved that woman.

Again, he knew that it was silly. He knew it likely made no sense. He knew he had already experienced that same event dozens of times before, so his strong feelings on this mundane occasion were not logically warranted.

But it was honestly right in that moment, that Gray realized with more certainty than ever before that he wanted to always be an us with Juvia.

The End

A/N: This fic was completely unplanned. I was staring at the Gruvia week prompts, wondering which to tackle next (having already done "Family" and most of "Answer"), and I decided to go with memory since it seemed the easiest theme. And this is just what ended up happening lmao.

Ever since we learned that Gray and Juvia had lived together, I've had the headcanon that Gray probably woke up one day, and something as simple as a "good morning, Gray-sama," from Juvia would be the moment he realized that he had fallen hard for her, and that he was past the point of no return lol. So that's what I was working towards. But the title came into things around the time I wrote the first sentence involving the idea of Gray and Juvia becoming an "us." And I liked it so much, that I ran with it all the way until the end. ^-^

Hopefully you guys liked it, too. As always, reviews are appreciated! ^_^