Title: Heat

Summary: It's ironic that she can make him seek out the one thing he can't stand. Gruvia.

Rating: M. Nothing super explicit, but it is kinda lemony...sorry if you thought this was just a full lemon hehehe.

Author's Note: I consider this a very long drabble. It's basically word vomit, in my opinion. I dunno if I'll ever write an actual lemon...I seem to lack the skills. Plus, I'm a young high school virgin lolololol so what would I know? Hopefully you're okay with this. As per usual, thank you for the reviews on my previous stories, especially Seven Days! :D You guys actually seem to like my writing. I don't understand why, but thanks!

Disclaimer: I drawzes super uglies much to my chagrin...SO NO I DO NOT OWN.

Juvia is around twenty in this so Gray should be twenty-one. I don't think Juvia speaks in third-person in this because when she does speak in this it is a serious situation.

Enjoy, fellow pervs.

Gray's apartment is always cold.

Not that he ever really notices. He is an ice mage, after all, and what kind of pathetic mage would he be if he can't stand the temperature of his own element? What everyone else deems as cold seems like room temperature to him, which is why he never bothers turning off his air conditioner after summer because if there is one thing he can't stand, it is the heat. Natsu is well aware of this fact, much to his annoyance. Most of their brawls tend to revolve around Natsu trying to burn him because he knows that Gray hates the feeling of being overheated, one of the reasons he is constantly stripping. The heat is Gray's enemy. He does whatever he can to avoid feeling it. It has always been that way and he intends to keep it like that.

Juvia loves the heat.

It's the result of having the first seventeen years of her life spent under the rain. Warmth had always seemed to avoid her. The warmth of a home, of someone's arms there comfort her...it was all missing. Sometimes, back during her days in Phantom Lord, she would sit in her home by herself with the heater on full blast and pretend somebody was there, holding her. It made her feel less alone, gave her hope that one day those fantasies would become reality. Those were the moments where she was at her happiest.

But, despite everything, she was always cold.

Their first time doesn't go quite as either one imagined.

It's clichéd; a heated moment brought on by alcohol, raging hormones, and adrenaline. One moment they're at the guild, celebrating Natsu and Lucy's wedding, and the next they're back at his apartment, Juvia clawing at the sheets and moaning as he thrusts into her repeatedly. He can't believe he's fucking Juvia Lockser, his number one fangirl and the most likely to get the wrong message from him, but at the moment he can't bring himself to care because she feels wonderful, so wet and warm and-

His thoughts are cut off as his whole body begins to shudder.

He buries his face in her neck when he's finished, panting as if he's run a mile. He can feel Juvia's soft body underneath his, warm and slick with a mixture of both of their sweat. He does not recoil from the heat.

He waits for both of them to catch their breaths before saying, "That wasn't your first time."

Juvia's cheeks flush, but she shallows audibly before confirming his thoughts.

Gray feels a tightness in his chest, one that burns in the back of his throat. He doesn't like it. She's supposed to be his.

"Who was it?" He asks before he can stop himself. He expects her to shy away from the question and bury her face in the sheets, but instead, she sits up, looks him straight in the eyes, and begins to talk.

She tells him of her days in Phantom; losing her virginity to a random person because she had so foolishly thought that she could make him fall in love with her. Doing the same thing over and over again with different people with the same silly expectation, only to have her heart broken every time they rejected her right after. She would always ask them to stay with her, but the responses would always be the same.

You were just a good fuck.

I don't want to date the rain woman.

You're too depressing for me.

"And yet," she says with a heavy sigh, rubbing her eyes to prevent any tears from falling, "I kept on doing it. I don't even know what was going on with me anymore. I was just so desperate for somebody to love me, for somebody to care. All of it stopped when I met you."

Her cheeks turn red again and she looks down. You idiot, she chastises herself mentally. He probably thinks you're just some loose, shameless whore-

She gives a startled squeak when she feels his strong hands pull her down to the bed.

"Gray-sama, w-what...why are you...?"

"Just go to sleep," he murmurs gruffly, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to his chest.

It takes Juvia a few moments to realize that this is his way of showing comfort. Nobody has ever stayed behind to lay in bed with her before, and she feels her heart give an excited little flutter. She whispers a quiet "thank you", smiles softly, and closes her eyes. Within minutes she is sound asleep.

Gray, on the other hand, can't stop his mind from racing.

She's warm, he keeps on repeating in his mind. To anyone else that train of thought would appear silly, but he feels as if he's gotten hit with a train.

She's warm...and I like it.

He groans in frustration. This isn't supposed to happen.

Gray always makes sure to leave soon after his trysts, preferably when the woman he had been with is asleep. He doesn't like feeling as if he is committed, because if he stays the night he knows that woman will get the wrong message and think he is looking to pursue a relationship with her. Plus, there is always the body heat that results from sharing a bed, and Gray can not stand the feel of having somebody else's body pressed against his. It makes him feel smothered, uncomfortable, and suffocated.

...Why is this different?

Gray stares at the water mage in his arms. He can't see her face very clearly, but he can make out the soft smile adorning her expression. Juvia's smiles are rare, except in his presence, but they tend to fade soon after. He's surprised that she managed to fall asleep with a smile. As if she finally has peace of mind.

He sighs and closes his eyes. His arms tighten instinctively around the smaller female cradled against his body. He doesn't feel suffocated and uncomfortable, but rather...relaxed. He likes the feel of her in his arms, of her body heat mingled with his. And that's what bothers him the most.

Gray goes to sleep with a pensive frown on his face.

Juvia doesn't expect him to be there when she wakes up. She had already decided on that last night, in those fleeting moments before she fell asleep. The fact that he had stayed with her until she fell asleep is enough for her, and she is content with that. He has done enough.

Imagine her shock when she wakes up to a tightness in her stomach and the sight of his face buried between her legs.

She squeals. "Gray-sama!" Her voice betrays her and her words come out in a breathy moan. "I don't - AH!" She bites her palm to keep from screaming out loud as the sudden waves of pleasure overtake her.

Gray lifts his head up and grins. "Good morning to you, too."

Juvia flushes. "I...you're here. W-why?"

Gray slides his body over hers until they're face to face. His arms lay on either side of her head, trapping her. "Why are you so surprised?"

"Um...Juvia didn't think you would stay, to be honest."

Gray shakes his head and parts her legs with his thigh. She jumps in surprise. "Nah. Now that I've had a taste I'm not letting you go."

It's just sex, nothing more, he tells himself as he slides inside her. Judging by her reactions she's okay with it. She's wanted it for so long, so this can benefit both of us. It has nothing to do with the fact that it feels different with her. She's just experienced, that's all.

His mind ignores the angry cries from his heart.

They continue this way for the next six months.

Juvia quickly learns that Gray is damn near insatiable. He finds a way to take her in almost any place; in an alley, at a restaurant bathroom, in an onsen, even at little Asuka's sixth birthday party. Every attempt is met with embarrassed reprimands from Juvia, but those are quickly forgotten once he gets her moaning.

There are moments when he fucks her in a fit of jealousy, like whenever any other man expresses even the slightest bit of interest in her. It makes him see red, knowing that these guys are interested in his girl. Because she is only his and nobody can take take her from him.

"You are mine. Got that?" He growls one night as he takes her against the wall outside of the guild. There's a part of him that is hoping somebody will come across them, that way they know not to touch her again. He makes sure to leave love bites all over her skin, marking her as his.

Gray doesn't think much of their situation or what that burning jealousy means. Sure, there's that happy, pleasant warmth that he feels when he's with her, but he quickly attributes it to the fact that he's comfortable around the blue-haired woman. Most of the other women he had been with expected more from him and it made him uneasy, usually preventing him from enjoying his night to the fullest. With Juvia it's different. It appears she doesn't expect anything else from their arrangement; rather, she seems perfectly content to just be able to spend time with him. He's relieved, because he knows he can't give her anything else yet.

Gray spends those six months foolishly thinking that Juvia is happy.

It takes a whack on the head from Erza and a lecture from Lucy and Cana to make him realize.

"You have the nerve to ask me why Juvia seems so sad lately?" Lucy seethes and he leans back slightly.

He scowls at her. "What's so wrong with that? Are you two fighting or something?"

Smack.

"Ow! What the hell, Erza?"

"Gray!" Lucy yells, seemingly tugging her hair out of her scalp. "You are such an idiot!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"She's unhappy because of you!"

Gray blinks in surprise. "Huh?"

"Don't think we don't know about what's been going on these past few months! Juvia told me everything!" She pokes his chest as Erza whacks his head repeatedly. Gray grits his teeth and tries to fight a blush.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he deadpans.

Cana puts her barrel down and glares at Gray. "You think she's just a good fuck, Gray. You're using her."

Gray shakes his head. "It's not that! And she seems perfectly fine with it! She hasn't complained once."

"Because she's afraid of losing you!" Lucy throws her hands up and begins to pace back and forth. "The only reason she agreed to this arrangement was because she thought she would be able to get closer to you! You're doing the exact same thing those guys did to her all those years ago!"

Gray feels the blood drain from his face. "Shit."

"Yeah! Don't you see the problem? She loves you, Gray. It kills her that you don't show any interest in her other than for sex!"

Erza grabs him by the collar of his shirt, which has miraculously remained on his body. "Make a choice. Either you choose to pursue a romantic relationship with her or just leave her be. You're breaking her even more than she was before."

Gray pulls away and walks out. "I need time to think."

It takes him an hour, and he nearly tears all of his hair out in the process, but that day he comes to a realization.

A melancholic-looking Juvia opens the door and looks up at Gray's sheepish face. "Gray-sama."

"I'm sorry!" He blurts out and he cringes. So much for all my planning.

Juvia tilts her head in confusion. "Huh?"

"I'm so sorry if you think I'm using you. That wasn't my intention at all." He can't bring himself to look her in the eyes. Shame is weighing down on him like an anvil.

Juvia bites her lip and gestures for him to enter her apartment.

Once the door is shut she sighs. "Who told you?"

Gray runs his hands through his hair in frustration. "Some of the girls. God, Juvia, I'm so sorry. I'm such an asshole! I didn't realize I was hurting you."

Juvia rubs her eyes. "I hate to say it, Gray-sama...but you really did make me feel terrible. I felt the same why I did all those years ago back in Phantom. I just wanted..." She closes her eyes. "I can't keep on doing this when I know you won't ever be able to return my feelings."

Gray sucks in a breath. The guilt that overwhelms his is so strong it threatens to make his knees buckle, but he quickly remembers what he came here for.

In a flash, his lips are on her neck and her back is pressed against the wall.

Juvia startles. "Gray-sama!" She braces her hands on his chest in an attempt to stop him. "I thought I said-"

Gray lifts his head and the look in his eyes is enough to make her stop breathing. "I'm not going to fuck you, Juvia." He puts his hands on either side of her head and leans closer, enough so that their noses are touching and their mouths brush. He whispers against her lips.

"I'm going to make love to you."

Juvia's eyes widen and her heart speeds up. She gives him a watery smile as realization dawns on her.

It's his own special way of confessing.

It's a cold winter night when Gray reflects.

It's dark and chilly in the room, with nothing but the moonlight providing visibility. Gray likes it this way, the feeling of privacy that results. It's like the night is providing them with coverage and shielding them with it's own little dark blanket, making the moment seem more intimate. The cold does not bother Juvia, because the feeling of their bodies sliding together generates enough heat for the both of them.

He trails his tongue across her neck and down to her swelling breasts, which are heaving as she breathes heavily. She whimpers when she feels him wrap his lips around her nipple and give a gentle suck. The spike of pleasure that shoots through her is intense, much stronger than usual, enough to make her back arch off the bed to press herself further against his mouth. She wraps her legs around his waist and rotates her hips, making sure to grind him against her center before pulling him inside her. He hisses and leans back slightly to look at her face.

Her expression is so beautiful during moments like these.

She lays beneath him, cheeks flushed and eyes shut tightly, mouth parted and sweat making her bangs stick to her forehead. Azure hair pools around her shoulders, glinting in the faint moonlight that barely manages to shine through the foggy window above their heads, the window that is currently covered with her trailing handprints. Her little whimpers are music to his ears.

He bites his lip as he looks down at his girlfriend. Before, all that face would have done was fuel his desire and make him drive into her faster, but instead he finds himself slowing down.

I don't want this to end now.

Because before, Gray didn't feel his heart give a little lurch when he looked at her. He didn't feel this overwhelming happiness that came accompanied with the knowledge that she was his, and he was hers. Forever. He almost feels as if his heart can explode from just looking at her.

"You're so warm," he whispers, sliding his hand - slick with a mixture of their sweat and her - up her body and intertwining their fingers above her head. She opens her eyes and stares into his own.

He is definitely a goner.

So maybe he isn't her first, but he is damn sure that he will be her last. Because only she can give him that special kind of heat, the kind that was able to melt the ice around his heart.

AN: Ohmygodwhatdidijustwriteahhhh *blush*

That was a mess...I just...I don't know. xD I didn't really even bother editing so it was probably crap. If my English teacher saw this she would so kick my ass...I'm supposedly her little writing prodigy bahaha. I can just imagine her reaction if she read this...she'd throw her laptop at my head.

I feel dirty now. Oh, gosh, I wrote this while in the presence of an 8 year-old who is ironically named Angel. Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned.

Did you know that there's little over 30 M-rated Gruvia fics? WE MUST CHANGE THAT.

Anyone catch the Titanic reference?

Thank you for reading! :D