Merry Christmas guys!
This is a series of unrelated stories that examine what Gray means to Juvia and what she means to him. It will mostly be angsty stuff as expected from me. This is my own attempt to create my own Gruvia series and I enjoyed writing this first one. I hope everyone likes it too. :)
You are comfort
He was afraid.
Ash and smoke filled his vision and stung his eyes. His throat felt sore and dry and no matter how hard he tried, no sound escaped his lips. Gray felt his elbows tremble as they supported his torso. His arms were littered with scratches and wounds, making a gruesome patchwork of his skin. He struggled to move, twisting his body to respond to his will. A stinging jolt of pain invaded his mind, making him cry out loud.
He didn't understand what was happening. One minute they were travelling peacefully and in the next, the world erupted in flames. All he could hear was static, blaring out his eardrums. Gray blinked a few times and managed to roll over onto his back with a grunt. He squinted at the sky and all he could see was gray.
A pained moan caught his attention and he winced as he turned his head towards it. Their client was lying on his stomach, his leg trapped beneath a large boulder. Gray could see the blood slowly seeping out.
Shit.
He had to move.
Their mission had been a simple escort service. They were to accompany an envoy safely back to his town. There were a few warnings about potential threats but Gray never expected to be caught in an ambush or whatever had happened. He and Juvia were more than enough to handle a few bandits.
Upon remembering his intended partner, Gray's eyes shot wide and wildly surveyed the area. He doubled his efforts and managed to stand on his feet. His chest began to constrict with worry and panic when he could not see any sign of Juvia. He choked on her name a few times before managing to call out to her.
He got no response.
Clenching his fists in anger, Gray looked back to their companion. Biting out a curse he staggered towards him. The man appeared to be unconscious as Gray shook him several times. He surveyed the damage done to the man's leg. It was bent at an odd angle and the point of contact between the leg and the boulder looked severely damaged. Gray sucked in a yelp of pain when he bent himself to his knees. He inhaled deeply before attempting to lift the huge debris of the man.
His arms felt like they were on fire. Gray grit his teeth and pushed even harder, egged on by the thought of getting to Juvia faster once he finished recovering their client. A moment of weakness and nausea hit him and Gray lost his grip. He scrambled to get a hold of the boulder before he ended up making the client's injury worse when a flash of blue appeared by his side.
Juvia's capable hands managed to catch the boulder before it hit the man's leg again. She shot him a relieved look. Her face was dirty but he could clearly see the red flush on her cheeks as she struggled with the weight. Gray collected himself and reached out to help her. The two managed to remove the offending object.
They proceeded to carry the man to a near tree in silence, both of them wincing in pain with every other step. After depositing the unconscious man against the tree trunk, Juvia managed to wash out the blood and dirt from the man's leg with her magic. They worked quickly in making a makeshift splint to hold the man's injury. After they did all they could do for their client, they began surveying the scene.
The bombers seemed to have escaped already. There were no signs of disturbance from the forest around them. Gray stood back up from where he was examining a particularly scorched area when he saw Juvia curling into herself and clutching at her stomach. Gray immediately reacted and approached her. He grabbed her hand, moving them to a small clearing near their client's resting place.
He settled her in front of him and wiped the ash off her left cheek with his palm.
"What's wrong?" He demanded. Gray watched her face as she closed her eyes in pain.
"Juvia's side must've been hit with something. It hurts really bad" She mumbled. Gray's eyes went to the pair of small hands clutching her stomach. He gently moved them away to survey the damage. Her clothes were ripped in the area where there was a horrible bruise forming. She must've been thrown by the impact of the explosion and hit something hard. She hissed when he tried to touch it.
Gray cursed softly and looked back up at her face. His thumb wiped off the tear that fell from her eye, smoothing out the skin beneath her eyelashes. She gave a pained smile as she squeezed his free hand with her own.
"How about Gray-sama?" She inquired, gently reaching for his battered arms. He kept himself silent as she examined his wounds, smiling wryly when her forehead creased in concern. Her hands began to liquefy but he stopped her.
"You take care of yourself first" He said in a serious tone. She was about to retort but he cut her off. "No Juvia, you first. Always"
He watched her slowly soothe the bruise on her side, applying gentle pressure on it. She bit her lower lip in discomfort when she reached the worst area. Gray propped her up in front of him, allowing her to lean into his bare chest. She seemed to relax a bit with their position.
A minute later when she was done, Juvia quickly took hold of Gray's hands that surrounded her. She took care of his right arms first, slowly washing away the dirt and the blood. Gray grit his teeth at the stinging sensation and distracted himself from the pain by leaning in to settle his forehead on Juvia's shoulder. He rode out the agony by concentrating on Juvia's soft mutters of apology.
Juvia moved on to his other arm. He settled his free appendage across her waist, being careful not to disturb her injured side. He pulled her deeper into him, seeking more of her comfort. His head lifted to bury his nose into her hair.
They stayed like that for several more moments, enjoying the feeling of being wrapped with each other. Gray and Juvia had finally progressed in their relationship. With the help of their friends and a particularly embarrassing confession, Gray finally managed to be honest with himself.
This mission was supposed to be a relaxing time for them. They had planned to finish the mission early and take their time to be together before they returned home. Gray had felt like a hormonal teenager when they first set out, eager to be alone with his girl.
Now that they had incurred injuries and setbacks for their mission, both of them relinquished their hopes of finishing the mission early. They would have to bring their client to a healer quickly and return him home. They were supposed to be looking into it immediately but both of them were not in the best disposition to do so.
Instead, they took a moment for themselves, with Juvia's hands soothingly running through his hair and Gray's battered arms wound tightly around her.
Good start?
Thank you all! :)
