Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.

So this is part two of my Gruvia Week fanfic. I am absurdly grateful for all the support you have given me on both this site and Tumblr. Did you know I have a Tumblr account? It's a semi-regularly update thing that I've been experimenting with. So if you have any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them on Tumblr.

And now, here's another quick take. Enjoy.

Misunderstanding

Gray knew that a relationship with Juvia would be tiring at times. She was the ocean. The ocean can pull you in and overwhelm you. And yet, there aren't places more soothing than the ocean at calm. The waters can caress your skin. The sounds can be calming. It was the perfect analogy for his girlfriend. Said girlfriend was sitting at the end of Fairy Tail's bar, staring into a mug of warm beer that has been sitting there for hours. He was sitting next to her, a deafening silence about them. Thankfully, everyone has left just in case this got ugly.

Currently, she's in a mood that bordered between anger and depression. Also, she wasn't talking to him. That was probably for the best. If either one of them spoke, it could devolve into a shouting match and he wasn't sure if that was the best play. Gray closed his eyes, making sure that he didn't sigh just in case that would set her off. He thought about what brought about this sullenness.

He had been drinking with some of the guys late last night. The liquor made everyone's tongues loose. Soon, they had been talking about girls.

"Mah, mah, that Lucy." Max sighed after taking a deep chug of his beer. "Did you see what she was wearing today?"

"That top." Macao giggled perversely. "Really accentuated her fantastic breasts." He emphasized by making a grabbing motion with his hands.

"That top was great." Wakaba took a deep breath with his cigar in his mouth and then exhaled. "But did you see those shorts of hers? It really took my breath away."

Gray shook his head at their gross perversity. He wasn't blind. Lucy was a cute girl. And her clothes do a lot to show off her incredible body. However, in his humble opinion, the blonde had nothing on Juvia.

"That Natsu." Max grumbled. "A guy like that could never appreciate her true beauty."

The ice mage snorted. He had to admit to himself that Natsu and Lucy were strangely close despite the fact that they weren't in a relationship. Or were they? Was Natsu capable of carrying on a clandestine relationship? He and Juvia weren't advertising the fact that they were dating so was it possible that the idiot flamer and Lucy were doing the same? Doubtful. He would be bragging like an idiot because he is one.

"I hear that they sleep together." Wakaba huffed out a cloud of smoke. "Lucky dog."

"Lucy is totally out of his league." Macao laughed. "But damn, she puts all of my past girlfriends to shame. She's truly girlfriend material."

"Girlfriend material?" Max asked.

"You see, Levy is the nerdy, best friend type." Macao explained. "Cana is your drinking buddy. Erza is the woman you want having your back in a fight. Juvia is the kind of woman who will baby you. And Mira is forbidden fruit, the woman who's way out of your league. But Lucy, Lucy's is definitely girlfriend material."

The other two guys nodded while Gray just took another swig of beer.

"You've been really quiet, Gray." Max nudged the ice mage with his elbow. "Are you thinking about Lucy?"

Gray snorted.

"You're so lucky to be on her team." Macao sighed almost dramatically.

"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged in a non-committal manner.

"So you agree." Wakaba nudged. "That Lucy is girlfriend material."

"Yeah, sure." He agreed. He saw no reason to lie. Lucy is objectively cute.

The sound of heavy rain outside smashed him back to sobriety. Almost immediately, he knew that this was no ordinary rain. Juvia was sad. He turned around and saw his girlfriend looking at him like a wounded puppy. He knew that she heard him. And as quickly as they had locked eyes, she took off like a shot. Gray grunted and left the guys confused as he ran after her. The ice mage didn't reach her in time because as soon as he exited the guild, Juvia was nowhere to be found.

Gray had two options. He could go to the Fairy Hills and try to fix this situation. However, that would invite the girls to be nosy about their business. And that would be before Erza kicked his ass for being in the girl's dormitory in the first place. So his next best option was to give her some space and time to cool down. The more he thought about it, the better this option looked. This would give him a chance to come up with something.

But finding the right words was easier said than done. The next morning, Juvia wouldn't even look at him. On the bright side, it did stop raining so she wasn't as depressed as she was yesterday. Even so, he was never good at comforting crying girls. The fact that the water mage was his girlfriend now made no difference, he supposed. Perhaps it was a good thing then, that Juvia wasn't sitting next to him, taking instead the seat at the end of the bar. The ice mage waited until the end of the day, contenting himself with watching her from the corner of his eye. Then, when everyone had left, he walked over to her.

"Can I sit here?" Gray asked.

"Juvia has no problem if he does or doesn't." She said glibly, refusing to look at him.

That wasn't a very Juvia thing to say. Usually, she would be excited to sit next to the man she loved. This Juvia was very subdued. He didn't like it.

"Can we talk?" He pressed.

"Why doesn't Gray-sama talk to Lucy-san?" Juvia spat acidly. "She's girlfriend material after all."

Gray sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "So you heard that."

"Juvia understands." She huffed, still looking at her warm beer. "Lucy-san is beautiful and kind and fun to be around and everything Juvia is not. If she is who Gray-sama wants, Juvia will not stand in your way."

The ice mage groaned. He hated when she put herself down. It was really hard to break her out of this funk. "Do you think that I'm that shallow, Juvia?"

She looked at him for the first time, a mixture of shock and penitence on her face for thinking such a blasphemous thought.

"I'm not going to lie and say that Lucy isn't cute because that would be a lie." He began. "But that doesn't mean I want to date her."

"You said that she was girlfriend material, something you didn't call your current girlfriend." She pointed out. "Is Juvia not girlfriend material?"

"You are so much more than girlfriend material." Gray's statement came out more like an outburst than a declaratory sentence, shocking Juvia. The ice mage blushed at raising his voice. He took a deep breath and continued. "You're someone who has my back in a fight, someone I can rely on without hesitation. You take care of me. You look out for me. You've saved me on more than one occasion. Hell, you did what I couldn't do in giving my father peace. You are more than just my girlfriend. You're...someone I can't live without."

Juvia's eyes began to water. She had no idea that this is how Gray felt. To think that she had such an impact on the man she loved. It was world changing to say the least.

"Does Gray-sama really believe that?" She asked, hoping that she had heard right.

"Am I a guy who lies?" He asked back.

Juvia shook her head vigorously. One of Gray's best qualities was that he was honest whenever he said anything to her. It rocked her world to hear how important she was to him.

"Maybe this is my fault a bit." Gray mumbled while scratching his cheek. "Perhaps I should just tell everyone that we're dating."

Juvia felt out of her chair, causing Gray to panic. However, he was instantly relieved when he saw hearts in her eyes. His girlfriend was a silly one, fainting out of love. He smirked. This girl might one day be the death of him. But what a way to go.

And that's the end of the chapter.

So, liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Send me a review. I'd love to hear from you. And you can follow me on Tumblr if that's your bag. My screen name is leonalmalsy.

Until next time,

A. Angel