I needed some angsty/fluffy Gruvia. And Jealous Gray. And angry Juvia. And an excuse to write one of my BroTP's, Natsu and Juvia. Cuties.
"Wow… how long has it been now? You look… Fantastic!" a man said from around the corner where Gray was walking. He was unsure as to whether he should pity the man whose voice sounded so desperate, or to laugh at his attempt. Gray will admit that he wasn't the greatest at flirting, but he knew he never sounded like this man. He made to turn around to avoid disrupting the possible rejection (or acceptance), but stopped dead in his tracks when the other person spoke.
"Well, Juvia did spend seven years trapped in a stasis spell." Juvia? Gray looked around the corner of the building and, sure enough, there the water mage stood, her blue hair cascading down her back and shoulders in soft waves. Near her was a man with darker blue hair and a tattoo over his right eyebrow. Why did he look so familiar?
Wait a minute…
Bora?
Gray didn't have many run-ins with the man before, but he did know that Lucy had a bad experience with him, which eventually led to her joining Fairy Tail. He knew that Bora was kicked out of his guild for using illegal magic and trafficking women.
But the name just seemed more familiar than that.
"Isn't there any other guy you want to bother? Or are you like this with every guy who decides not to kill you?" Gray asked. Juvia had only been a Fairy Tail member for a few weeks now, and she was driving him insane.
"No, there was a man Juvia dated who never actually fought her in the beginning," she said with a small laugh. "His name is Bora. He used to be a part of the Titan Nose guild."
"Bora…? Wasn't he the guy who tried to sell Lucy as a slave?" Gray asked. Juvia's eyes narrowed.
"So Juvia's love-rival was after Bora, too?" She glared over at the blonde talking to Natsu, then turned back to Gray and smiled. "No worries, though! She can have him as long as she leaves Gray alone. Bora broke up with Juvia because he hated her rain, but thanks to Gray, Juvia can now see the sun!"
"You were in that? Wow, since when were you in Fairy Tail?" Bora asked, bringing Gray back to the present.
"Juvia joined almost two years before getting stuck on Tenrou Island. She had first been an enemy to Fairy Tail, but someone had shown her how to stop the rain. Juvia then decided she would try to join Fairy Tail as a thank you, though it will never be enough," Juvia said with a warm smile.
"Yeah, I noticed the rain stopped. That's great! It was pretty annoying," Bora said with a loud laugh. Juvia ducked her head, looking down at her feet with a small nod. Gray felt anger beginning to boil up inside of him. That bastard. Rain and water is a part of who she is, and if she couldn't control it all the time, he had no right to chastise her for it.
"Yes, Juvia knows. It was… gloomy," she said. Gray's eyes widen. Gloomy. That's what she claimed other people had said about her rain. That's what he said about her rain. And now she was saying it about herself.
And Gray hated it.
"Exactly!" Bora said, laughing again. Juvia gave a smile of her own.
"Juvia is just glad that it is over. She is happy to have the sun." Her smile brightened, and Gray could tell how sincere it was.
"Me too. Hey, it's been, what, ten years or something? What say we give us another go?" Bora suggested, and that had Gray stiffening. Juvia looked up at the other, eyes wide.
"You… what?"
"I know; I broke things off, but things have changed." You have changed. The unspoken words hung in the air, and Juvia lowered her head again. "What could it hurt?"
"Juvia! There you are, I've been looking for you," someone said, and Juvia snapped her head up, searching.
"G-Gray?" she was looking directly at him in surprise, and Gray realized that he was the one who had spoken, and was already walking towards the two. "You were… looking for me?"
"Uh, yeah," he said, standing next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders. She stiffened and squeaked, and Gray feared she would turn into a puddle right there. He turned to Bora. "Hey, Bora. It's been a while."
"Yeah. It has," the other said, eyeing the two skeptically.
Gray saw that, while it was subtle, Bora looked noticeably older. There were white strands in his navy hair, and lines on his face. Bora decided to ignore the ice mage's possessive hold on Juvia and spoke again.
"So anyway, Juvia, how about we catch up over dinner or something? How's tonight work for you?"
"Tonight?" Juvia asked, fidgeting with her hands.
"Sorry, but Juvia and I took a job request and should probably be heading out soon. It's several towns over, so I'm not sure when we'll get back," Gray lied, gaining Bora's attention again.
"Right, I see. Well, Juvia, when you get back, my offer still stands," he said with a wink and a lick of his lips that made Gray want to punch him through the concrete sidewalk. Instead, he merely tightened his hand on Juvia's shoulder. Finally, Bora turned and walked away. He didn't see how Juvia was staring up at him, and only when Bora's silhouette disappeared into the horizon did he finally remove his arm from Juvia.
"What a cree-"
SMACK
Gray blinked, wided eyed, as hot pain bloomed in his left cheek. Turning his head, he saw Juvia, brows drawn, eyes narrowed, and overall, she looked plain pissed off.
"What the hell was that all about?" she asked angrily before he could find words to say himself. He raised a hand to his cheek, feeling the tender skin beneath his fingertips.
"I could ask the same of you," he said, narrowing his eyes.
"Bora and Juvia were just talking-"
"Right, it wasn't like he was trying to get you into bed or anything," Gray scoffed.
"Juvia would not have let it get that far. Everything was fine before you showed up!"
"Fine? Everything was fine? Juvia, I don't think I have ever seen anyone look more uncomfortable than you did just then. So you're welcome for getting rid of him."
"Juvia is not thanking you, Gray!"
"Perhaps you should, because that bastard was a total jerk! I didn't see you trying to get rid of him," Gray shouted, but his words only seemed to anger her further.
"Juvia was being polite! There is nothing wrong with that, Gray. What you did was rude to both of us!"
"How the hell was I rude to you? Once again, I got rid of-"
"Because you acted like Juvia belonged to you! You never pay her any mind until someone else comes along for Juvia's attention, even though you have made it quite clear that you do not share her feelings! How is she supposed to move on if you won't let her?" Gray averted his eyes, unsure as to what to respond with. She was right, after all. He saw her straighten, holding her chin high and regarding him with displeasure in her eyes.
"Until you know what you want, leave Juvia alone." With that, she turned and left.
"Juvia, wait!" he shouted, but she had already turned the corner. He wanted to run after her, but he couldn't bring himself to move. Instead, he just cursed and ran his hands through his hair.
"Juvia? Are you okay?" The water mage turned to see Natsu moving to sit across from her at the table.
"Juvia is fine, why do you ask?"
"You just seem so… serious. Is something on your mind?" he asked. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to scream to him about how much of an ass Gray had been to her, but instead she just offered a small smile.
"Nothing important. Thank you," she said, and Natsu smiled back at her.
"Good. You get kinda scary when you turn all serious like that. But speaking of, wanna go down near the river and do a little training?" he asked, onyx eyes shining brightly with excitement. Juvia raised a brow.
"By the river? Aren't you giving Juvia a rather big advantage there?"
"Nah, I'm giving you a chance to keep up!" Juvia smiled and stood.
"Do you remember that Juvia was S-class back in Phantom Lord?" Her words made him stop, hesitation settling in, before he smiled brightly.
"Come on, I'm a dragon slayer! Let's go!" he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the guild hall. She could only laugh as she went along with him. It had been a week since Gray had intervened between her and Bora; a week since Juvia told him to leave her alone until he figured out his feelings. She was tired of being rejected, yet him not allowing her to move on.
"Okay, should we start out slow?" Natsu asked once they reached the river near the woods.
"Juvia didn't think you were capable of starting out slow. She assumed you liked to jump right into it." Natsu grinned, setting one foot back a bit and getting into a fighting stance, fire blazing in his hands.
"I'm liking you more and more." Juvia smiled brightly, challenge shining in her blue eyes as she raised a hand, making the water in the river rise and tower over the both of them.
"Fire dragon iron fist!"
"Water claw!"
Juvia was smiling during her entire walk home, an apartment she finally managed to get for herself. It had been so long since she felt so light and carefree, and she only had Natsu to thank for it. Her mind was cleared of the obsessive worrying she had throughout the week, and she was able to get out some of her frustrations as well.
"Juvia?" She looked up as she neared her building, only to stop in her tracks when seeing who had called her name.
"Gray? What are you-"
"Shit, Juvia, are you okay?" he asked worriedly as he stepped closer to her. Her brows furrowed and she looked down at herself, only just seeing how singed her clothes had become.
"Juvia is fine," she said, looking back up at him sternly. "She and Natsu were training. What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you," he said softly, lowering his eyes.
"Juvia said-"
"-to leave you alone until I knew what I wanted."
"And do you?"
"I don't know," he admitted quietly. Juvia narrowed her eyes, then brushed past him, pulling her key out and unlocking her door.
"Juvia, wait! I… There's something I need to tell you." Before he could continue, though, Juvia spun around to face him, fire in her eyes.
"No, there is something I need to tell you, Gray," she bit out, shedding her third-person speaking habit. She jabbed a finger at him. "I have made my feelings clear to you almost since day one. I get that not everyone can know their feelings very quickly, and I never held that against you. But after so long, don't you think I deserve an answer? Tell me you don't like me romantically, and that will be it."
"Juvia-"
"It has gotten so exhausting for me. Do you know how painful unrequited love is? Do you? It is brutal and unforgiving. I hate it! Tell me, is there something wrong with me, Gray? Is there something about me that is just so unlovable? What is it about me?"
"Nothing! There's nothing wrong with you, Juvia, and I don't want you to ever think that there is!" Gray said quickly in hopes of reassuring her as he saw the frustrated tears well up in her eyes. She let out a bitter laugh.
"You make it pretty damn hard to believe that," she said, shaking her head. "And you won't even let me move on! You won't let me get away from the pain of this because every time you see me talking to someone else, you push them away!"
"Because it kills me to think of you with them. I don't want to see you with anyone else," Gray said, swallowing thickly. Juvia clenched her jaw, her hands going into fists at her sides, ignoring the pain of her key biting into her palm. "I only want you for myself."
"If that's the case, why the hell won't you tell me how you feel?!" Juvia nearly screamed.
"Because everyone I've ever loved is dead!" Gray shouted, jaw clenched. He lowered his head, dark hair falling over his eyes, but Juvia could see the tears falling down his cheeks. "My parents… Ur… I loved them so much. And… and I'm terrified of loving again because I can't lose you, too!"
Juvia inhaled sharply, eyes widening. Gray fell to his knees, pressing his palms against his eyes. She rushed down the few steps leading up to her building and kneeled next to him.
"Gray," she whispered, her heart breaking.
"I'm sorry, Juvia," he sobbed out, shaking his head. "You deserve so much more. You deserve someone more affectionate; someone more open; someone who isn't so afraid of losing you."
"No, Gray… If someone is not afraid to lose another, then they do not love them… But you should know that I'm not going anywhere. I've endured so much already. I will be fine. You know I can handle myself," she said quietly, passing a hand through his hair. He shook his head as his shoulders shook.
"I know, but… It's a risk I'm not strong enough to take. Lyon can offer you so much more. Perhaps even Bora. Anyone would be better for you than me."
"Now you're being selfish, my love. You cannot say who is and is not good for me. I know who I love; who I want to be with. And that's you, Gray."
"I don't get it. Why? Why me, Juvia?" She took his face in her hands and lifted it to make him look at her, a small smile on her face as she wiped away his tears with her thumbs.
"You really don't know? For years I walked under a cloud of rain. I couldn't control it. I had no friends and couldn't even maintain a relationship with it. Then you came along and took it all away. Gray, you gave me the sun. I could never thank you enough for that." She searched his eyes warmly, brushing away some of the hair in his face with a gentle touch. "So she joined Fairy Tail. For the first time, she had friends. She had family. And it's all thanks to you. That is why."
Gray's eyes widened. She had mentioned before that he was the reason she could see the sun, but he never truly listened to what those words meant. He never realized just how big of an impact he had on her life. He looked down, shaking his head again.
"I'm so stupid. I'm sorry, Juvia. I've caused you so much pain… I'm so sorry."
"Shh. Don't apologize, Gray. You're not stupid. I'm just glad you know, now. And I am glad to finally understand your hesitation. It's okay."
"No, it's not okay. I hurt you. I am so sorry," he said, looking up at her again. He was met again with her warm smile. "I don't want to hesitate anymore. Even after everything… will you give me a chance to do this right?"
"Are you… what do you mean?" she asked with wide eyes, her smile faltering.
"I mean.. I want to be with you. Officially. That is, if it's okay with you." Her eyes teared up again, but this time not out of anger. They spilled over, warm droplets falling to her cheeks.
"Yes. I would love that," she said, letting out a happy sob and throwing her arms around him. "I love you, Gray."
"I love you, Juvia." She pulled back, giving him a watery smile, and he did the same in return, raising a hand to brush a blue lock away from her face before sliding it to the back of her neck and bringing her closer. Her breath hitched just before his lips pressed to hers, and she slid her arms over his shoulders.
I'm not going anywhere, Gray. I promise you.