Authors Note: Hello again. This one-shot is for day six of Gruvia Fluff Fest. The theme is "daydream." Once again, I prove myself unable to write a short drabble. XD

Summary: After a particularly bad morning during which he beat up two thieves which escalated into a whole dark guild, Gray drags himself back into the guild hall wanting only a drink from Mira. What he gets instead is being forced to go on an impromptu job request after a single, mindless word.

I dunno if Gray and Mira and even Juvia are in character or not... But just a note; I imagined this to take place sometime (anytime, really) after the Tartaros Arc, after all those adorable as hell Gruvia moments.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable as belonging to Fairy Tail. Just the writing.

The italicized section is the "flashback" of sorts.

Because of an Unintentional Confession

It was a fine day the day everything came to light. No, actually, it was better than fine. It was spectacular – not really, but it sounded more dramatic that way – until he was forced to grab a random job request and shoot out the door, pretending like he couldn't hear what Mira was screaming. Now, normally, having things coming into the light was good and all, but about this particular subject… it must have totally ruined his reputation as an ice prick. Not that that was a bad thing, per se – well, it could be, depending on the person – but Gray rather liked the times when no one in the guild bothered him much about a certain water mage (except Mira) or went around singing embarrassing love songs as they slyly danced around him or saying "I told you so" and exchanging money for bets lost and won.

Yes, it was safe to say that Gray really missed those days. When it came down to it, he decided as he resisted the urge to bang his head on the window of the train travelling away from Magnolia, it was all Mira's fault. Totally and indisputably Mira's fault.

The still unknown job request clutched in his hand, Gray spared a second to wonder if Mira – the she-demon – had alerted the client yet. A second later and self assured about that topic, Gray's thoughts drifted toward those calm moments leading up to his major embarrassment and then the happened of said embarrassment, before he bolted.

It went something like this.

Gray walked into the guild hall, warm afternoon sunlight streaming through the open doors. The normal chatter filled the large hall with constant sound, and though he found it annoying at times, all the small talk happening had an interesting calming effect on the ice mage. The low buzz of conversation almost brought a smile to his face.

Tired as hell after a gruelling solo mission – he had dispatched a small, recently formed dark guild only hours earlier – he trudged into the guild hall without purpose nor aim other than the sole goal of getting a drink, preferably one of Mira's famous cocktails. No alcohol, of course. No one paid him any mind other than the initial shouts of "Hey, it's Gray!" and "Oh, Gray's back!" Maybe he got a few sympathetic looks as he went by after his supposedly easy mission became a lot more complicated, but if that was the case, he didn't notice a single thing.

Gray dropped himself on one of the bar counter's stools with zero grace, body slumping forward, cheek smashing against the countertop with force. At Mira's poke of concern, he lifted his head, dull, dark blue eyes staring back at Mira's bright blue ones with no energy.

Mira stared, bent down at eye level to Gray's face, which was still resting on the counter. Gray stared back. Mira tilted her head and blinked, scrutinizing the bruises decorating his face and neck, his tangled, wind-blown hair and the dark circles under his tired eyes. Gray kept staring back through half-lidded eyes.

"Gray?" Mirajane's soft voice penetrated through the thick haze over his mind.

"Whaaa?" he responded very intelligently.

"Are you okay? Wait, no, that's a bad question," she amended. "Would you like help in bandaging your wounds," she continued, eyes landing wearily on his blood covered arms.

"S'not my blood."

"Then would you like something to drink?"

Gray, with great effort, heaved himself upright and away from slouching all over the counter. Tired he may be, but pathetic he was not. "Yes please. Cocktail. Don't care what kind."

Mira nodded in approval. "Coming right up."

As she moved around, Gray propped his head on his right hand, left hand fumbling to remove his shirt. He let his thoughts drift aimlessly, shutting out virtually everything going on around him and trying not to fall asleep.

Thank god Natsu wasn't in the guild today, he mused. He just didn't have any energy at all to fight that battle prone pyro. Erza as well; she would have smacked him over the head in her misguided, genuine attempt to keep him alert and awake. Wendy wasn't in the guild, a fact which Gray briefly mourned before berating himself over it, because it wasn't Wendy's job to heal them all every time one of them got a minor cut.

He couldn't have cared less about anyone else being there or not. Not Warren, not Wakaba, not Kiana, nor even Mira. It was pretty much a given that Mirajane was always behind the bar counter. None of them would be able to turn his mood crappier. Just Natsu.

That flaming idiot was probably out on a job or something, not that Gray cared much, though it did explain the very glaring absence of loud shouting, bang of tables being thrown and heat. UGH, the HEAT. Gray hated it, especially during the summertime. Thank god he had his own way of dealing with it, though on particularly warm days, his ice, if not made with enough magic, would melt quickly.

Mira placed a glass of strawberry-raspberry-cranberry cocktail in front of him. "Enjoy," she said cheerily before patting his head and moving away.

Gray muttered his thanks as he drew the drink closer to him, pleased to see ice cubes in his drink. He stirred the red liquid mindlessly with the blue straw stuck in the glass as he watched the ice melt. It melted quite quickly, much to his disappointment, and he frowned as condensation gathered on the outside of the glass and ran down to the counter, cold drops of water wetting his fingertips.

As he took a sip and revelled in the feeling of the cold, sweet cocktail wash down his throat, he pondered about water. More specifically, about Juvia and whether she preferred cold water or hot water or just room temperature water. Speaking of whom… Juvia wasn't in the guild either… To be honest, Gray kind of missed her constant presence and love declarations.

It could get annoying at times, but he was just so used to her energy that without her around, the guild felt off. Different. Offhandedly, the very worn out and tired Gray wondered when Juvia would arrive at the guild hall. Soon, he hoped.

Then, somehow and without his notice, he began wondering when Juvia had become a part, a constant factor in his life. And when he had accepted it. It was strange to think about. The harder he thought, the more he realized that he really couldn't tell. She was just there all the time, and one day, it was strange without her.

She was a lot more than people gave her credit for, Gray realized. She wasn't just obsessed with him; Juvia was smart, beautiful, kind-hearted, caring, sweet, powerful, and deceptively easy-going. She was strong in any way shape or form, and gave everything her all. She was devoted to those she loved, and would always be willing to help out and protect those precious to her. She was ferocious when she needed to be, but to everyone she cared about, rarely were they met with anything other than a smile.

She was a deep, beautiful person.

"Gray? What's got you in such deep thought?" Mira asked, poking the slight crease between his slim brows.

Still quite deep in his mess of thoughts, Gray offered he pretty barmaid an automatic answer in his absentmindedness. "Juvia," he said, before taking a sip of his drink.

Mira gasped, sharp and clear. The guild went silent. A shriek sounded at the guild doors, which caused him to spit his mouthful of cocktail all over the countertop in recognition and slight dread. Three equally foretelling factors, all three of which effectively jerked Gray out of the dangerous depths of his thoughts.

Well, shit, he thought with no small amount of panic as he realized the gravity of his mindless words, a fierce blush spreading rapidly across his bruised cheeks. He looked up very slowly, meeting Mira's shocked gaze with trepidation. Her mouth was open in slight shock, light blue eyes wide with unbridled excitement and pure glee, petite hands gripping onto the counter edge.

He turned around, fingers trailing down the glass to the counter edge, only to see the majority of the present guild members staring at him with open mouths. Wakaba's cigarette fell out of his mouth. His gazed traveled to the wide open double doors, afternoon sunlight lighting up the slim, familiar figure standing in the doorway. Juvia. Her hands covered her mouth, and even from the bar counter Gray could see tears glittering in her eyes.

Suddenly, the skies went dark and rain began to pour down like a faucet turned on to the max multiplied by a thousand. Huh?! Gray's mouth dropped open, his not so tired mind racing to figure out what exactly caused the sudden downpour. It only unnaturally rained when Juvia was sad or angry.

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia screamed, running across the guild hall. It was a scream of joy. Soon after, the guild members erupted into whispers and shouts, groans from lost bets to shouts of "I told you so" and Mira's squeal of "I was right! I knew it all along!"

Gray came to realize that such incidents also happened when Juvia was overrun by a plethora of intense emotions. Well, who would've known. Gray hastily stood as the blue haired girl flung herself at him, moving to the side. Drink all but forgotten, he simply reacted, his tired, injured body be damned. He jumped over a few tables to get to the request board, snatched a random flyer and in mere seconds, was shooting out the guild doors as Juvia screeched to a halt before she crashed into the bar counter.

Gray spared a quick look over his shoulder. Mira stood there, an ominous glint in her eyes. When their eyes connected, she smiled innocently and waved, and Gray swore he could literally see the plans she was already brewing. That never did bode well for anyone. Juvia, on the other hand, started after him.

Well, shit.

However much he wanted to get away, Gray still followed proper protocol. "Mira," he said, wildly waving the sheet of paper, "I'm taking this job! Yeah! Bye!" he shouted over his shoulder as he pulled the guild doors shut behind him to deter Juvia's onslaught of bear hugs and scary emotions.

He ran through the rain all the way to the train station – it had stopped by then, so someone must have calmed Juvia down – bought a ticket to Hargeon (coincidentally, it happened to be the location of the job) and in no time was slumped on a train seat, watching the boarding platform fall away as he tried to calm his pounding heart.

Now, still a little ways from Hargeon, Gray circled back to Juvia. If he was being completely honest with himself, sometime in the last few months, he had come to love the girl. Not in a romantic way, gods no, but as a friend. He cared a lot about her. Also, if he dared to admit it even in his head, Mira really sucked sometimes. And man what a mess of things he made.

Gray leaned his head against the train window, the low murmur of quiet chatter in the train carriage lulling him back into his thoughts. Juvia was special, he decided, and he didn't mind her one bit. She loved him for all that he was; strengths, looks, body, personality, magic, habits, flaws and faults all included. He had to give her at least some credit for that, because he admitted that he was a rather hard person to love. (This was totally wrong, of course, but Gray just couldn't see that he was in fact very lovable.)

Juvia… she was quite a spectacular person indeed. His thoughts drifted once again as his tired eyes stared out at blurs of green. He was, of course, thinking about his biggest fangirl, his friend, the blue haired girl who was always there for him. He was, one could say, daydreaming about a very special water mage.

He didn't want to admit it, but everyone around him could see that Gray very much in love with Juvia, contrary to his claims. He was, after all, daydreaming about her, the one mage to have captured his heart with her own.