Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Rating: T for Terrible Language.
Summary: "You heard me: she wins, you strip. He wins, you get to kiss her. It's a deal." In which [EDOLAS] Gray and Juvia make an unusual bet which leads to some unusual consequences. [One-shot][Edo Gruvia] T for language.
A/N: Oh, would you look at who finished her WIP from early September? Well, I'm not what you would call particularly proud of this one, but it's done and I did promise I would post, so here you have it. This is more of a goofy fic, please don't take it seriously. And it doesn't really fit in my other verses so you can read it as a standalone.
Dedicated to: The lovely Raphiix3 who has been waiting MONTHS for this one (I'm so sorry!) and the wonderful muffin-draggon-227 who proofread this and whose amazing input helped me shape and finish this story (and also because you are amazing and your headcanons SLAY me. And I'm so beyond happy that I met you and we became such great friends, I'm getting sappy I'm sorry.)
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A Kiss Is Just A Kiss
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"Aaaaaand…. Nine down!" Lucy Ashley threw her fist in the air with excitement, baring her teeth in a victorious grin when Droy's arm hit the table with a muffled thud. The dark haired man groaned in frustration, his free hand ruffing his hair carelessly as an incredulous grimace twisted his face. He lost. To a girl. In an arm wrestling match.
Talk about pathetic.
Then again, maybe he should have thought twice before challenging the guild's resident hand-to-hand combat queen –aka Juvia– at her unbeaten score.
"All right, losers," The blond referee laughed, putting a devious emphasis in the word as she placed one hand on her waist, "Those who bet against Juvia, bring your Jewels in." She said, opening her palm and brushing her fingers together with an inviting gesture.
Juvia flashed a conceited smile at her partner in crime, stretching her neck and rubbing her wrist in a soothing motion as Lucy collected the money in an irritatingly-overjoyed fashion that earned a series of groans of protest and resentful looks from the losing guilmates.
"Well, that was fun," Juvia grinned at her defeated adversary, whose face was currently buried against the wooden table, "But did you even put up a fight? I couldn't really tell."
Droy raised his face to scowl at her, a mix of anger and embarrassment in his features, "Tch. I was just being a gentleman." He grumbled.
Lucy walked into the conversation, hands clutching a handful of bills as she rested a bended elbow on Juvia's shoulder and hovered down at him with a devious smirk, "Are you up for a rematch?"
Taking the hint, the dark haired man stood up, his hand slamming the wooden table and knocking down the chair behind him, which fell to the floor with a loud thud, "M-Maybe another day!" He stammered, rushing away.
The girls exchanged a mischievous glance before bursting into giggles. Now, that' certainly not something you see every day, and to have the strongest guy in your guild lose to you that way –well, she was never gonna let him live that down.
To be completely fair, maybe he would be able to beat the crap out of her in a serious fight, but when it comes to arm-wrestling skills, let's say all the times she broke her wrists practicing back in her Phantom Lord days weren't just in vain.
And, alright, it might only be a matter of pride and self-fulfillment, but she liked to win, and she was damn good at it.
She just couldn't help it, 'competitive' seemed to be her middle name.
"Who's next?" Juvia called towards the crowd in a seemingly bored tone, one elbow resting casually against the back of her chair as she tapped her fingers on the table.
A couple of tables away, Gray Surge leaped off his seat with an enthusiastic look in his eyes. "I'm going to try!" He said, clutching his fist up with excitement.
The boy sitting next to him choked on his drink at his ballsy statement. Coughing with difficulty, he cleared his throat, "Huh –I'm not sure that's a good idea, bud." Natsu Dragion said with a concerned grimace, already feeling the start of a twitch on his right cheek.
The raven haired boy frowned at his best friend, oblivious to the point he was making. "What are you talking about!? The opportunity has presented itself!"
"Are you out of your mind? No offense, man, but she'll crush you in half a second. Did you see what she just did to Droy? He didn't even last ten seconds, and he's the strongest in our guild!"
"Yeah, but still–" He retorted, stars shimming in his eyes as his head wandered into some fantasy, "I'll be able to hold Juvia-chan's hand in mine. I bet they are all soft and–"
"Yare, yare–" The pink haired boy lamented, taking a sip of his beer with resignation. "You are not getting the point at all, are you?"
Ignoring his friend's wholehearted advice, Gray stepped towards his long-time crush, heart fluttering with joy as he exclaimed, "Me! I want to try, Juvia-ch–"
Juvia arched a questioning eyebrow towards the intrepid challenger, only to find it was her personal stalker. "Urg, not you!" She cringed, turning her face away from him and pursing her lips.
Gray's face filled with disappointment, his brows knitted in a discouraged expression. "But I–"
Before he could finish his sentence, Lucy was fast to jump in to his rescue, "Oh, c'mon Juvia, are you scared Gray would actually beat you?" She teased her.
Juvia couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of her insinuation. Him? Beat her? That was a good one. "In his dreams!" She scoffed.
The blond smiled triumphantly, a mischievous look in her eyes. "Then you have no reason to say no."
Juvia rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest with exasperation. "Fine, but I ain't cleaning the blood afterwards."
She threw a murderous look at Gray when he yelped in excitement after hearing her agree, but Lucy's words caught her attention.
"But now that I think about it," the blond said, rubbing her chin as if she were in deep thought, "We could have a little reward for the winner. You know, to make things more interesting. "
The blunette shrugged dismissively –it wasn't as if he'd had any chances anyway. "Sure. How about lose some clothing, boy? I'm suffocating just by the sight of you." She agreed, shooting a disapproving look at Gray.
"Huh–" The raven haired boy uttered as he rubbed the back of his neck apologetically.
"Great! Andifhewinshegetstokissyou! Deal!" Lucy burst out the words in a rush as if she'd been waiting forever to let them out.
"What!"
"What?"
"You heard me: she wins, you strip. He wins, you get to kiss her. It's a deal."
"Ki–!? No way!" Juvia demanded, "What kind of sick joke is this?" Her eyes flickered from Lucy's conceited grin to Gray's flustered face, the latter who was spluttering some flustered, incoherent noises. "And you, get a hold on yourself!" She scolded him.
"Ah, too bad. Are you scared, Juvia-chan?" Lucy taunted, a cocky evil grin spread across her lips.
"I'm not –pfffttt… are you kidding me? Of course I'm not–" She stopped abruptly when Lucy started giggling so hard she was hugging her ribs to mild her pain. "That's it!" Standing up, she pointed an accusing finger to Gray, who was still trying to grasp the situation. "Prepare to strip, boy, there's no way I'm losing to you!"
.
.
She is so going to murder Lucy after this.
Gray sat in front of her, his hand clutching hers in such a lovely-dovey way that she could feel a vein in her forehead twitch with aggravation. She could tell by the look of him that he wasn't taking this seriously at all, and it bothered her.
It didn't help her mood that Lucy was flashing her that smug, knowing smile of hers, as if she couldn't wait for Juvia to lose.
And seriously, what the hell's with that? That boy didn't stand half a chance against her, and whoever was deluding themselves to think otherwise deserved a smack in the head (and she was more than willing to provide her haughty friend with one).
Lucy held their hands together for maybe a little longer than was actually necessary, which irritated Juvia even more. She was about to snap at her friend to hurry up when the blond released her grip and started counting.
"Ready…?"
Gray's hold tighten into a gentle squeeze, a dreamy look on his face as he swooned over her, "Ahhhh…. Juvia-chan, your hand is so small and soft!"
Annoyed at his disregard of the matter, she clenched her jaw. "Tch. Shut up and pay attention."
"Set..."
"Can I keep holding your hand after we're done with this, Juvia-chan?"
"We're not holding hands! Not now, not—"
"GO!"
Several things happened simultaneously: Gray pushed his wrist down, pulling her hand towards him and pining her to the table, the guild burst out cheering with excitement, and Juvia got to finish her sentence.
"—ever. What the fuck!?" She cried indignantly, eyes widening at the sight of her own arm crushed under Gray's.
"Gray wins!" Announced a very excited Lucy, throwing both hands up in the air as she wiggled her hips in a happy dance.
"OI! That does not count, I wasn't ready!" Juvia objected, taking her hand back as Gray uttered a protest at the lost contact.
Lucy crossed her arms under her breasts, brows knitting together in a frown, "He won fair and square, Juvs, we all saw that."
"No way! I'm telling you, I wasn't ready. I want a rematch!"
The blond leaned over to her friend, looking at her through squinted eyes. "Are you going back on your word?"
"No!" She exclaimed with frustration. " I'm not acknowledging that."
"Errmm… if I may say something—" Gray chimed in.
"You stay out of this!" Juvia snapped at him, making him flinch back.
"I can't believe it. I thought you would be a good sport, you know." Said Lucy, shaking her head and pretending to be disappointed.
"I just want a fair round—"The blunette insisted, and her patience wasn't going to last much longer.
Lucy feigned deafness and huffed in a melodramatic tone, "You, of all people, backing on your word like that, I mean…"
"Jeez. Are you even listening to me–?
Gray held his palms out, attempting for some truce, "Heh, –actually I don't mind if we–"
"Shut up, you idiot! Nobody asked you."
"You're such a sore loser, honestly." Lucy struck blatantly.
Juvia blinked twice, her mouth opening to let out an offended huff, "What!? I'm not–"
"Oh, just admit it." Lucy said, her eyes rolling back with exasperation, "You got distracted, he didn't. You can only blame yourself on that!"
A million arguments died before they had the chance to be spoken. Damn Lucy, she was evidently siding the enemy on purpose and she hated it when she was right.
"Fine." She admitted through gritted teeth. "I lost."
"That's the spirit!" Lucy cheered, bumping her fist against the table as the guild roared with gleeful approval. "Now's time for the reward!"
"What –Now!? Here!?" Juvia choked, cheeks tainting a faint shade of pink.
Her friend shot her an exasperated look, "Are we going through this again? You agreed to this, Juvia."
Damn she did. And she had never regretted something as much as agreeing to this stupid, pointless bet.
Whatever. She'll do it.
It wasn't a big deal, anyway. Just an innocent, meaningless kiss she'll add to the list of stupid reckless things she used to do now and then.
And even coming from him, from the boy who was head over heels for her, it wouldn't make any difference, right? She wouldn't feel anything. A kiss is just a kiss, after all.
"You are so goddamned annoying." She grumbled, running her fingers through her hair and tucking a lock of blue behind her ear, "Let's get this over with."
"She's all yours, Gray." Lucy squeezed his shoulder gently, her voice pitching into a cheerful tone, "You can thank me later." she whispered in his ear.
The boy's face turned all tones of red before risking a tentative glance at the fuming blunette, "B-But, so sudden…" he stammered.
Feeling his hesitation, Lucy took matters into her own hands –literally– and pressed her open palms against his back, pushing him towards Juvia as a wicked smile spread across her face, "Come on, don't be shy!" She encouraged him.
"W-Wait!" He stuttered, taken aback at her boldness.
"Don't be a wussy, dammit!" The blond growled menacingly at him, making him cringe at her tone.
Gray swallowed with difficulty through the lump on his throat. This was definitely more than what he had bargain for, but he'd be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't tempted, very tempted to the idea of claiming his prize. But did he really want it to be that way? To be able to kiss the very girl of his dreams thanks to a stupid bet, one he won because she'd been careless for just a split of a second?
He had picture that moment in his mind many, many times before, but in his fantasies, she was willing and he was certainly not at risk of having her loathe him for life because of his daring.
She was, however, staring at him impatiently –not in way that suggested she was particularly looking forward to it, but more in a 'I don't have all day' kinda way that clearly showed she wanted to get this over with ASAP. And that gave him hopes that, perhaps, she wouldn't be too mad at him after he kissed her. She had agree to the terms after all, didn't she?
And with Lucy literally on his back pushing him, with the whole guild waiting expectantly, it didn't seem as if he had a choice either, right?
Right?
Juvia's eyes widen with apprehension when Gray stared leaning towards her. Lowering her lids at his growing proximity, she held her breath and stiffen her body when his face inched dangerously nearer to hers, her pulse quickening so fast she could feel heart palpitations at the bottom of her throat. She braced herself for the touch of his lips –God, he was so close she could count the freckles on his skin. Her eyes locked into his, dark brown irises hooking her to that moment, his warm breath dusting her face and making her light-headed with anticipation.
And then, he left a soft peck on her cheek.
He pulled away quickly, beaming at her sheepishly while his cheeks dusted a deep rosy shade.
"That settles it!" He sentenced cheerfully, earning disapproving groans and protests from the disappointed crowd.
Dumbfounded, she watched him walk away to the table where Natsu sat, a sad smile in his face as his best friend questioned him about what just happened. He just ruffled the back of his head apologetically and broke into a cold sweat when a very angry Lucy scolded him about being a wussy and other insults she couldn't register because she was too surprised to really listen to their conversation.
He didn't kiss her when he had the perfect chance.
Why?
.
.
The more she thought about it, the less it made sense.
She'd been dwelling on the matter for one hour. One fucking hour of her precious time lost in trying to figure out why the hell the guy who self-proclaimed to be so in love with her didn't just kiss her when given the perfect opportunity. And alright, she did feel kinda insulted and maybe it was wounded ego but whatever, she really –almost desperately, but shut up– needed to know the reason why.
The clattering sound of her empty beer hitting against the table was swallowed by the guild's chatter. The place was still too crowded, but fuck it all. She needed some answers, dammit. Raising from her chair, she made her way towards his table.
"Oi, you." She grunted at him, ignoring the terrified expression from Natsu and the mocking snort from Lucy, "Come with me."
He pointed a questioning finger towards himself, as if making sure that she was actually summoning him. She just glared at him disapprovingly and whirled on her heels, heading towards an empty hallway at the back of the guild. Gray stumbled his way behind her, trying to catch up with her fast pace.
She halted when they reached a spot where they wouldn't be overheard.
"Y-Yes, Juvia-chan?" He asked nervously. "What is it?"
"What was that about?" She snapped without preambles, her arms tightly folded beneath her breasts as her eyes squinted him.
"I –hum," he stammered, adverting his gaze from her, "I'm sorry, Juvia-chan. I shouldn't have agree to that."
"Oh, don't try to play the gentleman card now." she said bitterly, "That's way overdue."
He looked completely mortified as he started spluttering apologies, but she had little to none patience to try to even understand the words he was bursting out.
"Save your breath." She said curtly, holding her palm out. "What I want to know is why you changed your mind."
A look of pure confusion framed his features, "I –what? When did I –?"
"You know exactly what I mean." Losing her last strand of patience, she exploded, "You dodged."
Oh.
Oh.
To say he was surprised to hear that complain from her was the understatement of the year. Of all the reasons why he thought she'd be utterly furious at him, that was the last and most unlikely one he'd ever think of. Yet there she was, practically stating that she wasn't mad at him for agreeing on the bet, or beating her… she was mad that he hadn't done his part of the bargain –that he hadn't really kissed her.
He snapped out of it, confusion written all over his face, "But I thought you wouldn't want me to actually k–"
"That's way beside the point." She interrupted him, "Do you have any idea of how that made me look, like I'm some kind of wimp? I'm not some damsel in distress for you to come play hero and save me. My mistake, I handle; my debt, I pay. I don't need you to do me the favor of not kissing me!"
"I didn't mean it that way!" Gray pouted, panic staring to fill into him.
"I don't want to feel like I owe you anything." She hissed.
"You really don't have to, Juvia-chan!"
"Well, I do!" And he really wasn't helping her ease the situation; if anything, the way he flippantly brushed the matter off only made her irritation escalate to new heights. "Don't move." she demanded, making him freeze at her request.
Stepping closer to him, she reached her hand out and tangled her fingers around his scarf, her eyes locked into his with a defiant glare. She gave the soft fabric a firm tug, pulling him towards her as he bent his head down and crashed their lips in a blunt kiss that coaxed a small grunt of surprise from him.
Her eyes fluttered shut, plump lips pressing against his in a slow, tentative manner that sent blood rushing on her veins as her heartbeat quickened. He was fast to recover from his initial shock, his hand fisting into her blue curls to pull her closer while his arm circled her waist.
She couldn't tell whether it took her five seconds or an entire run of the clock before sense knocked her back into reality, but when she pulled away from him abruptly and took a step back, her heart was pounding madly in her chest as she panted out of breath.
"T-There!" She said, trying to sound unaffected. "Now we're even."
"H-Huh," He uttered, still flabbergasted by her approach. "Right,"
In a less embarrassing situation, she would have laughed at his flushed cheeks and bewildered expression. But she just kissed him, dammit; she literally just made out with him in the back of the crowded guild, and now she wasn't even sure what had possessed her to do so.
Because, frankly speaking, even when that should have balanced things for her, she couldn't help the feeling that something was strangely off between them now –something she couldn't quite put a finger on.
Maybe it was the fact that she kinda acknowledged her defeat, or that she showed herself a little too willing to clear the debt. Either way, it bothered her.
"And I want a rematch." She said.
His face lit up with a dorky smile that –for some weird reason she couldn't explain– made her heart skip a beat.
"Sure, but same prize?" He ventured to say.
She honestly didn't recall herself answering, "Sure."
But she remembers thinking to herself that maybe next time, they could skip the bet altogether.
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Fin.
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A/N: I know this thing has more plotholes than Swiss cheese but it was just for fun, okay?
Thanks to the people who reviewed my other fics, you guys are truly the people who keep the Edo Gruvia fandom alive, I'm just spreading some love. Mission accomplished. Now don't be a selfish douche and do leave me a review for this one. Extremely appreciated.