Hello! I've written another one shot! I hope you'd enjoy it.
Disclaimer: If I own Fairy Tail, I wouldn't suck at humor. If I own the song I've used, I wouldn't suck at romance too. I just hope I don't get sued.
Along The Lines
It was finally happening.
After a long time of waiting, Juvia Loxar was finally noticed by the man of her dreams. They're on a dating status now, a situation that she didn't take lightly. It was a step-up in their relationship. This happened just two days ago, when they were having a celebration with other Fairy Tail mages for their first and second finish on the third day of the Grand Magic Tournament. Juvia was doing her regular stalking on the ice mage, hiding behind the curtains, when Gray laid his eyes on her and told her to stop hiding and sit beside him. Juvia couldn't argue with that and agreed happily.
It was dreamy for her. To sit beside Gray and talk about the events throughout the day was such a fantasy for the water mage. They can't talk properly or listen to each other's response while inside the rowdy bar. While Gray was standing up, she heard a muttered "Let's go to some other place."
So they left the bar and went somewhere more peaceful. They picked a restaurant, the same restaurant Juvia first asked Gray to have lunch with her. She's definitely going to pass out because of the unexplainable feeling in her stomach! Were there butterflies inside?
They ordered their food, chat a little for what seemed like the longest time Juvia has ever talked to her Gray-Sama. It was also one of the few times she hasn't seen him strip. She wanted to ask him but decided against it because she might be thought of as a pervert. Well, not that she wasn't.
The lovely dinner has soon come to an end. Juvia insisted to pay her part but he doesn't want to, but the water mage somehow won the argument and split the bill.
As they took the exit from the fancy restaurant, the two Fairy Tail mages headed off to their lodgings. It was a nice walk, they fell in comfortable silence, with no awkward moments, although Juvia managed to mumble something like, "I can hear the wedding bells!" to "This is one of the happiest days of my life."
And before she knew it, they were on the front porch of the place they were residing temporarily.
Juvia looked at him and smiled. She saw uneasiness in his body movements.
"Gray-Sama, is something bothering you?"
The guy's eyes widened and he averted them, looking anywhere to avoid her gaze. A tint of rose was also evident in his cheeks. The young lady, concerned for her nakama, was about to ask some more questions when said nakama whispered something incoherent.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
He sighed a long sigh, both of disturbance and relief. Gray looked at her, in her eyes and smiled rather restrained.
"Could we do this again tomorrow?"
Stare. Blink. Stare.
It took a couple of minutes before Juvia processed what he had said. She had to mentally pinch herself to make sure she was not having her fantasies of Gray confessing to her. Not that her mental pinching was helping. Did he really ask for a second date? With her? She's so going to thank Cana for telling her to keep her current hairstyle.
She tried to remain calm, despite the squeal that wanted to break free from her lips. She stared a little longer at the apple of her eye, telling herself that this ain't the dream that her mind just made up. It's reality.
Gray, on the other hand, was waiting for her answer. It seemed like forever had passed and she was still staring at him. Did he say the wrong words? Was he insensitive for asking a question like that? Did she expect him to say it more romantically?
He mentally cursed himself and resorted to his plan B – tell her directly. Gray reached out for her soft hands and told her what he wanted to say all night long.
"I like you. I'm sorry that I utterly fail at romance."
And she did it. She beamed a beautiful smile to the ice mage. "Juvia likes you too, Gray-Sama," The water mage squeezed his hand and took a step closer to him. "And Juvia is sorry for her wild imagination that creates such an impractical version of Gray-Sama."
He laughed quietly. At least they were honest with each other.
"So a second date tomorrow?" A twinkle in his eyes could be seen.
She smiled heartily. "Juvia rogers that."
Two days had passed since that night. It was nice to reminisce such pleasant and realistic moments. All the time she spent in their lodging's bathroom was composed of taking a dip in the bath tub and thinking happy thoughts. She should do this more often.
As Juvia got dressed in her blue sleepwear, she decided not to wait for her roommate that night. That was when she heard a knock somewhere around the room.
It was definitely not the door. Juvia turned around to face the window and saw a young man, smiling at her, and asking her to open up the window. Juvia quickly granted his request and she opened the lock of the pane and allowed him to enter the room.
"Gray-Sama! You're not supposed to be here!" Her lips formed a pout as he motioned him to sit on the bed. "Why didn't you take the door?"
"Your teammates in the form of two dragon slayers are outside your room. I wouldn't want to risk getting caught." Gray sat down and ruffled his hair with his right hand. On his left hand was a guitar, which the water mage didn't notice when he was entering the room.
Juvia raised her eyebrows and looked at the ice mage quizzically. "What's with the guitar, Gray-Sama?"
He smiled at her with a sincere expression. Usually, Gray's smile was filled with arrogance and pride. It was sometimes scared when he and Natsu tried to please Erza with their "close friendship".
"Take a seat and listen to this."
For a while Juvia still looked puzzled but just shrugged it off and sat down of the chair in front of the guy.
When he thought he was ready, he began to pluck the strings of the guitar with so much ease. Juvia hasn't seen this side of the ice mage yet. Just as she was about to compliment him for his talent, Gray gave her another surprise when he began to sing.
"Whenever I'm weary from the battles that rage in my head…" He closed his eyes and felt the song with his heart.
"You make sense of madness when my sanity hangs by a thread…"
Juvia tried hard to shut her mouth and prevent unnecessary squeals from coming out. It was the least she could do to not disturb Gray.
"I lose my way but still you seem to understand…"
They were both lost in the music enveloping the room. He slowly opened his eyes and sang the next line with so much conviction.
"Now and forever, I will be you man."
Their eyes met, both of them locking each other's gaze until the singing young man continued to entertain his lover.
"Sometimes I just hold you, too caught in me to see. I'm holding a fortune that heaven has given to me…"
Juvia bit her lip, fighting the urge to kiss him in the middle of his performance.
"I'll try to show you each and every way I can…" She stood up and moved closer to him until she was side by side with the ice mage.
"Now and forever, I will be your man…"
The water mage continued to let herself get carried away by the music. His voice was cold, but one could hear the warmth of the intention when he was singing. She liked it.
"Now I can rest my worries and always be sure that I won't be alone anymore…"
She rested her head on his shoulder.
"If I'd only known you were there all the time, all this time…"
She felt like crying. Her eyes began to emit light tears that stained her face. It had taken her so many years of loving him secretly to experience this gleeful moment.
"Until the day the ocean doesn't touch the sand…"
This wasn't part of her fantasy. This was real.
"Now and forever, I will be your man…"
To experience being serenaded was pure bliss.
Gray continued to pull the strings and stared at Juvia.
They were so many things he wanted to say, he wanted to promise. There were so many ways to express them, and he expressed them through a song.
Juvia stared back and let him finish the melody that was hanging in the air.
"Now and forever, I will be your man."
With that last line, they shared a kiss, one that will linger in their memories eternally. It lasted for a few seconds, but for them it's like forever. Slowly, they began to pull away gave each other an appreciative smile.
"The song itself was a message for you. I hope you could read along the lines." Gray straightened his back and put the guitar gently on the bed. Juvia giggled lightly and gave Gray a hug. "Thank you. Juvia will sleep soundly tonight." She loosened her grip and pulled away, enough to see his charming face. "And you proved to me that you do not fail at romance."
He made a funny expression when he heard her comment. "You're such a forgiving young lady." He leaned down for another playful kiss.
They heard the door creaked open and pulled away from each other's caress so fast.
Mirajane stopped at the entrance of the room and stared at the two. She could feel they were nervous as hell for getting caught but she just gave the couple a smirk.
"Gray, you shouldn't be in a lady's room half-naked."
The water mage stared from her roommate to her boyfriend. No shirt, no pants, just boxers. She blushed. Hadn't she notice that?
"Oh shit. Well, gotta go. Good night!" Gray exclaimed as he picked up the guitar and headed for the window.
With this, Mira laughed sweetly. "There are doors here, lover boy!" She looked at Juvia who has such a red face right now. Whether it's from embarrassment that they got caught or Gray's half-naked body, she didn't know. Juvia looked at her too, with dreamy eyes and a contented smile.
"Juvia didn't notice Gray-Sama's lack of clothing! Juvia is so sorry!"
Mira once again just laughed at her naivety. "Looks like we're sleeping late tonight to talk about this whole incident I saw, huh?" A teasing tune in her voice was apparent.
She'd tell her everything alright. Especially the song. It fitted them perfectly. From the moment she joined Fairy Tail up until now, the song described them. They don't have read between the lines anymore. They just have to follow the lyrics, follow along those lines, and it will tell people what it meant for him and for her.
END.
Thank you for reading! Reviews are welcomed. A little trivia: singing in front of a lady's house when he wants to court her is called "Harana" in Filipino. It was my inspiration for this.
I do not own the song. It's Now and forever by Richard Marx.