Author's Note: Well, seems like the first Confessions of Embarrassed Fairy Tail Mages is out! I'm really excited! *Jumps around in joy.* This was co-written by my fellow author Queen50 and I. You should check out her works on Fiction Press; she's a great writer :)
Anyway, the first chapter is about my favorite couple, Gray x Juvia, also known as Gruvia. Queen50 and I will be sure to write more confession scenes for other ships as well. Currently, we're planning NaLu and GaLe, but Jerza, Lories, Happy x Carla, RoWen, and Lyon x Chelia are definite possibilities too!
If you have any pairings that you like, please request! :D As long as it doesn't clash with the pairings we've already done (like Juvia x Lyon for example), we'll be happy to write it for COEFTM, or Confessions. And even if your ships do clash, still request, as we can write separate one-shots as well~
Here's a guide to the Japanese phrases we used in the story:
nakama: comrade, friend
baka: fool
daisuki o: I love you
gomen nasai: I'm sorry
-san: suffix attached to end of someone's name for formal address
-sama: suffix attached to end of someone's name for utmost respect
Disclaimer: Queen50 and I do not own Fairy Tail. If we did, Gray would always be shirtless xD Just kidding!
Confessions of Embarrassed Fairy Tail Mages
Chapter 1: Gruvia/Begin
In a famous guild in Magnolia, Fiore, a particular blue-haired water mage sat at the bar. Din unpleasantly filled the room, although she was barely aware of it, lost in thought. Around her, her guildmates were throwing tables, engaging in verbal - and in the fire dragon slayer and ice maker's case, physical - matches. All in all, it was a typical day in Fairy Tail. But there was something out of place: the usually cheerful water mage was frowning, eyes looking strangely downcast.
The blonde and the redhead were seated at a table near Juvia, a piece of strawberry cake in front of the latter. They, too, had noticed the bluenette's melancholy.
"Erza, doesn't Juvia look kinda gloomy? I mean, everyone else is enjoying themselves," the celestial mage asked her armored friend. "Should we go and talk to her?"
Erza glanced over. It wasn't hard to spot Juvia. Her pensive expression didn't exactly fit in with the cheerful and slightly crazy faces of her drunken guildmates. "I think we should -"
A flash of black hair streaked past her, the tips seared by flames. She saw Gray freeze in place when he spotted Juvia alone at the bar. The scarlet-haired girl sweat dropped as Natsu landed an easy punch on Gray's shirtless stomach, taking advantage of the stripper's momentarily distracted state. "Oi, stripper! Fight me!" cried the pink - "it's salmon!" - haired mage.
"We should what?"
Erza smirked at Lucy. "I think we should let a certain ice mage take care of her. You know, the one who strips unconsciously?" she added with a small smile.
The blonde grinned mischievously in consent, eyes twinkling in mirth.
Meanwhile, Gray, noticing the depressed atmosphere of his nakama, walked away from the fiery dragon-slayer mid-brawl, who called after him angrily.
"Yo, Ice Brain! Where do you think you're going? We haven't finished -" Natsu cut himself off as he felt an intimidating aura radiating from the requip mage behind him, who had taken it upon herself to discipline him for intervening in Gray's journey. "H-hey, Erza..." the dragon slayer whimpered meekly, sweat pouring from his brow. Gray rolled his eyes and turned away from the bashing that followed, glad he wasn't the one getting punished by Erza. He almost felt bad for the guy. Almost.
Ignoring the metallic thunk and Natsu's cries, he walked toward his guildmate, surprised when she barely registered his presence. Worried by the lack of reaction, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She jumped a bit, startled when she felt the cool touch that could only belong to Gray-sama.
She looked up, shifting so she could face him. "Gray-sama?" she stuttered, feeling herself flush at the contact.
"Hey, Juvia. You okay? You look kinda...down."
"Oh, Juvia is alright. Juvia was just thinking about the time when she wasn't this lucky. She was always alone, but now that she's joined Fairy Tail, she feels grateful to have these nakama who always have her back," she told him, smiling serenely. "The rain has finally gone away…"
"You're a member of Fairy Tail now. You're our family," Gray said sincerely. For some reason, to see Juvia so wistful made him feel solemn, though moments ago he was looking forward to beating the living hell out of the flame brain.
"It's nice to hear someone saying that to Juvia," the rain woman blushed. "Gray-sama was the one who took away Juvia's rain. So she will do whatever it takes to keep his skies clear, because Juvia loves Gray-sama."
The man in question turned his head to the side quickly, unable to meet Juvia's shining cerulean eyes. How could she say that so calmly? His face reddened at the mere mention of the four-lettered word. "I don't -" he stammered.
"Gray-sama doesn't have to say anything. Juvia understands that he can't return her feelings. But, even so, she wants to protect him." And with that, she floated past him.
The raven-haired mage stood like a still doll, seemingly paralyzed by her words. Why did they have such a big effect on him? Before, he brushed them off as if nothing. Now...now, everything that the water mage did - whether it was tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, summoning the ocean at will, or simply smiling - he took notice of. Was this some kind of disease?What the hell was happening to him? He shook his head, clearing himself of all thoughts. He didn't have time to think about this kind of thing.
On second thought, if not now, then when? He had been putting this off for way too long. Erza, of all people, had told him to be more resolute. But he wasn't an idiot; he just didn't know what to do. Expressing himself and love were never things he was good at. Gray groaned at his indecision. He was never this way. It was always black and white to him. But somehow, Juvia had changed those colors and made...blue. Blue, the color of her hair swaying in the wind. Blue, the shade of her eyes when she gazed at him. Blue, the color that his whole world was tinted with and right now, in this very moment, Juvia was all that mattered.
"Wait, Juvia." He reached out impulsively and grabbed her arm. Juvia's eyes doubled in size. She spun around to look the ice mage in the face.
"Y-yes, Gray-sama?"
"Ah, um… Can I speak to you? Privately?" Gray's voice shook embarrassingly, and he inwardly cursed himself. Why is this so freaking hard?
"O-of course."
His hand already encircled around her small wrist, he led her to a dark, lonely corner of the bar, where there was a small room waiting for them. He walked inside, shutting the door softly. It was perfect. Everyone was on the other side of the guild, watching as Erza beat Natsu up yet again. No one would hear the embarrassing confession except for himself…
"Gray-sama?"
...and Juvia. His mind had been occupied with so many thoughts that he had momentarily forgotten she was there. "I -" he gulped. She stared at him expectantly, her deep blue eyes piercing through his like one of his ice make: lance creations. "I...um -"
Meanwhile, with the rest of Fairy Tail...
"And you are not going to ruin this chance of a lifetime!" Erza shouted at Natsu, who was cowering in fear, a large lump forming on his head.
"Y-yes, Ma'am!" he squeaked, petrified. Erza huffed and lowered the frying pan, turning back to her strawberry cake. She sighed again, but this time in happiness, and floated into another world with the first bite of the sweet dessert. Natsu gasped in relief, thankful for the end of the abuse. Sometimes he didn't get the requip mage. Just what the hell had he done wrong?
"Natsu, let's go!" Suddenly, Lucy had grabbed his wrist and dragged him along, tracing Gray and Juvia's footsteps.
"Oi, where are we going?" Natsu said in his usual loud, boisterous tone.
"Shush! They're going to hear you, you baka!" Lucy reprimanded him in an irritated whisper, then silently laid her ear to the wooden door.
"Eh? Isn't that eavesdropping?" Natsu asked, still not lowering his voice. Lucy clamped a hand to his mouth, not even bothering with a reply. "Mmmph! Hmph! Lushie!"
"Shh…!" Lucy murmured distractedly, intent on listening through the door.
Back to one embarrassed Gray and a confused Juvia...
"Juvia, I, uh… There's something I need to tell you." Gray forced out, hands shaking.
"Gray-sama, your clothes!" Juvia piped up with hearts in her eyes.
"Gah! When did this happen?" Exasperated, Gray threw his hands in the air and quickly retrieved his shirt from the floor. "Um, as I was saying..." He took a deep breath, letting words tumble out of his mouth.
"Juvia, I don't really know how to say this, but when I see you with Lyon, I feel..." Shit. What am I doing? Why can't I just straight out say it, like Juvia does?
"You feel what, Gray-sama?" the water mage whispered, heart pounding. Is this what Juvia thinks it is? She felt herself slipping into a fantasy, before shaking her head, effectively taking her mind out of the gutter. Listen to Gray-sama, Juvia!
"I feel...uneasy. My skin burns and I just want to drag you away from him. He's from another guild, Juvia, and I don't like the thought of yo- a guildmate getting snatched away from m- us," Gray explained, turning away to cover up his rapidly reddening face.
"O-oh…" Juvia ducked her head, hiding the tears that had appeared on the corner of her eyes. To think that Gray-sama had come here to confess to her. She was an idiot and had gotten her hopes up. She knew better than that. She really did. But when she had seen Gray's trembling hands, she couldn't stop her heart from beating harder. And she couldn't stop the pain as it broke."J-juvia understands. She will try to stay away from Lyon-sama."
The girl bit her lip, urging her tears not to fall. "If that's all that Gray-sama wanted to say to Juvia…Then she will go back to the bar now." She lightly stepped away from the ice mage, flashing him a forced smile as she walked toward the door.
"Dammit, Juvia! You're really going to make me do this, aren't you?" Gray tightened his hand around her, bringing the bluenette back to his side.
"Eh?" Juvia gasped as she was yanked suddenly into his chest.
Without warning, Gray tilted the water mage's head up and placed his lips over hers.
?! Juvia's eyes widened into saucers. Wha-…?! Her mind couldn't form thoughts. All she could think about was how close he was, and the tender touch of his skin on hers. And then she was...melting, right there in Gray-sama's arms. The rain woman closed her eyes, relishing the blissful kiss. After what seemed like ages, Gray broke apart and smiled sweetly at her, even though he blushed fiercely.
The flustered water mage teared up again, this time out of content and happiness. She beamed back at him, throwing her arms around him as tightly as she possibly could. Moments ago, her heart had been broken, but now...there wasn't anything better than just being with Gray-sama. Her Gray-sama.
"Oi, I can barely breathe," Gray laughed, but made no effort to remove her arms. Instead, he wrapped his own around her petite waist and put his head atop of hers.
"Daisuki o, Juvia," the ice maker whispered into her hair, smiling slightly. She smelled like the rain.
"Juvia loves - !" the girl paused. "I love you too."
On the other side of the door...
"Ugh, Lucy~! This is boring… Can we get some food? I'm hungry!" Natsu complained.
"Will you shut up, Natsu?!" The blonde hissed back. "I can't hear what they're saying!"
"Why do you even care?"
Just then, Erza, having finished her dessert, walked over to her blond and pink - "I told you! It's salmon!" - haired guildmates. Immediately grasping the situation, she questioned, "Gray and Juvia are in there?" When Lucy nodded excitedly, the redhead also placed her head to the door, straining her ears.
"You too, Erza?" Natsu whined, still as loud as ever. The girls sent identical glares at him. "Scary..." Natsu shivered, and weak-kneed with fear, fell face-first into the door, creating a resounding thump.
Back with Juvia and Gray (officially Gruvia now)...
"Ne, Gray-sama, do you hear something? Juvia feels like someone's speaking," she mentioned.
"Yeah, you're right." Gray laid his ear to the door, much like Lucy was doing on the other side. "It sounds like Flame Brain...but I can't hear what he's saying. And that sounds like...Lucy? She seems pissed - I wonder what he did this time."
"Ah, really? What are they talking about?"
"She's saying something like...'Will you shut up, Natsu?'"
The bluenette smiled wryly. "That's not an uncommon occurrence."
Just then, there was a loud bang on the door. Gray exchanged a glance with Juvia, who looked adorably confused. "Maybe they wanted something," Juvia suggested.
"Let's check." Gray nodded to Juvia to open the door.
"Kyaaa~!" The girls screeched as they lost their balance and fell in - right on top of poor Natsu, who let out an undignified cry of pain when he felt the requip mage's armor digging into his back. Erza leapt up instantly, a barely noticeable blush painting her face.
"Gomen nasai! I should not have been listening to your private conversation! Punch me!" The scarlet-haired mage held out her arm in invitation. Gray and Juvia merely sweatdropped.
"E-eh…That's okay, Erza-san," the rain woman told her.
Meanwhile, the blonde, still groaning in pain, lay sprawled on top of Natsu's head. "Mmph, Lushie, you're heavy..." he mumbled into her forearm, turning his face to the side.
Red with anger, Lucy scrambled up and started whacking the dragon slayer repeatedly, chasing him out the door and through the guild. Erza followed closely behind, nodding at the way the celestial mage chose to punish him. After all, it was his fault that this embarrassing incident had happened the way it did.
The bluenette was about to go after Natsu as well, when Gray threaded his fingers through hers. Juvia's eyes widened, but she smiled as he led her out the door, his hand in hers. They blushed as catcalls, whistles, and applause filled the guild.
At a corner table, with a blue fish in his hand, Happy smirked slyly. "They lllllike each other."
Chapter 1: Gruvia/End
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this fanfic! Any criticism is welcomed, as long as it's constructive. Reviews are much appreciated! Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter. Any NaLu fans out there? ;)
