At 5 o'clock on Saturday, Gray found himself walking up the path to Fairy Hills. He had managed to keep busy and avoid conversation at the guild for the past few days. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were still out on their mission, which would be more helpful if the rumor hadn't already spread around the guild. The completely true rumor, which was the worst part about it.
"Hi, Gray-sama."
Gray looked up from the rock he'd been kicking in front of him as he walked. Then he did a double take. "Juvia? You're wearing…a bathing suit?" It wasn't one he had ever seen on her before. It had to be at least twice as skimpy as anything he'd ever seen her in.
Juvia nodded. "Juvia wore this one especially for Gray-sama. Lucy-san lent it to her for this occasion." Gray made a mental note of this. Lucy, I am going to kill you when you get back.
"So, we're going swimming?" Gray was doing his very best to avoid commenting on the bikini, although he was having a difficult time keeping his eyes off it.
"No love rival can beat Juvia in the water! Juvia will always prevail."
Gray accepted this logic. "Well, I didn't bring a swimsuit."
Juvia beamed brightly. "Juvia does not mind if you wear your birthday suit."
"Juvia!" Gray couldn't keep the redness from rushing to his face.
Seeming slightly deflated, Juvia allowed, "Or your underwear, which Gray-sama is already in."
Gray looked down, and sure enough, his clothes had vanished. He shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess. Where are we swimming?"
Juvia grabbed his hand and starting pulled him along. When did she get this bold? Gray wondered as he stared at their clasped hands. Her hand was cool and soft against his own, and he could almost feel the joy and happiness radiating out from her. By the time he thought to pull his hand out from her grasp, they had reached the ocean side.
"Does Gray-sama remember when he challenged the horizon as his rival?" Juvia asked. "Juvia still feels bad about that…"
"Yeah, and I ended up at Gualano Island again. Couldn't get the Chief off me for like half an hour after I showed up." Gray rolled his eyes.
Juvia smiled at him. "Juvia wants to show you something. Hold still while Juvia uses her magic to—"
Gray backed up a few steps, remembering her Wings of Love attack from the Grand Magic Games. He didn't particularly want her to try something like that on him. "Juvia, I think you should—" A bubble of water enveloped Gray's head, and he flailed his arms.
"Do not worry. Juvia has just made it so you can breathe underwater. Come here, Gray-sama!" Juvia tugged on his hand again, pulling him into the ocean.
It became quickly clear to Gray that Juvia had put a lot of thought and effort into this date. She gave him a tour of an underwater world he never could have dreamed of. It was beautiful, and she looked perfectly at home. Her hair floated around her, framing her face as she laughed, a trail of bubbles surrounding her. When she's like this, she's beautiful, Gray thought. Here, underwater, she put some kind of spell on him, but it wasn't using magic.
When they finally surfaced, Gray couldn't stop smiling. He couldn't remember the last time he felt like this. Fairy Tail provided endless entertainment (either that, or endless possible death and destruction), but even there he did not laugh this much.
"Thanks, Juvia. That was actually really cool of you."
"Juvia is so glad Gray-sama liked it! Juvia skipped meals for two days while she planned it. She wanted it to be perfect." Juvia sighed happily.
Gray's eyes bugged out. "Two days? That's not healthy at all." Of course, nothing about her obsession with him was healthy. Right. Her obsession with him. That thought dragged him back to reality.
Juvia shrugged. "Juvia does not mind. Juvia is fine. But Gray-sama cares about her! Juvia is happy to hear this."
Gray sighed. "Of course I care about you. But you can't go doing things like that." He started walking towards the shore. The smile was gone from his face as he remembered the reason exactly why he had never agreed to a date with Juvia before. Suddenly, he froze. Behind him, he heard tears. Juvia was collapsed in the water, hands over her face. "J-Juvia?" he asked.
Juvia made a few gulping noises before she spoke. "J-Juvia does not want to freak Gray-sama out. Lucy-san told Juvia that Juvia should try to tone it down a little, to act more normal. Juvia has never known how to act normal. Juvia has never been normal." Juvia sniffed, wiping the tears from her face. "Fairy Tail has been the first place where Juvia has felt normal enough. Juvia wants to be good enough for Gray-sama. Juvia does not know how else to communicate her feelings, but Juvia does not want to see Gray-sama upset. What should Juvia do?"
Gray stared, wide-eyed, at the girl before him. Except for feelings of extreme love, Juvia didn't talk about her feelings much. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He bowed his head, then knelt down next to her, putting one of her arms around his shoulder and lifting her up. "Let's get you dressed and then we'll get you something to eat."
"Gray-sama?" Juvia looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. Her voice was quiet.
Gray didn't look at her. "Your room is in the Fairy Hills dorm, right? There should still be some places open this late. And if there aren't, I'm sure Mira will make you something. Let's go."
For a second, Juvia almost questioned his motives again, but then she nodded. "Mm. Okay. Juvia will follow Gray-sama's suggestion."
"And Juvia?"
"Yes, Gray-sama?"
"I don't mind how you express your feelings, but never hurt yourself needlessly again. Got it?" Gray still wouldn't meet her gaze. He just kept walking forwards.
"Juvia understands."
The rest of the night, Gray was quiet. He walked Juvia back to Fairy Hills, waited until she changed, then took her to a small restaurant nearby. He even paid for her meal. Every question Juvia asked was met with a one or two word question, so she too soon fell into silence. Gray propped up his chin with one hand and stared out the window, seemingly deep in thought. When Juvia finished eating, he walked alongside her, hands in his pocket, until they got to Fairy Hills.
"Thank you for taking care of Juvia," Juvia said uncertainly.
Gray nodded. His hair had fallen over his eyes, obscuring them. "Yeah."
"Juvia will see Gray-sama soon? She hopes?"
Gray turned around and waved as he walked away. "Yeah. Take care, Juvia."
Juvia clutched her hands to her chest as she watched him disappear into the distance. "Juvia hopes everything is okay with Gray-sama…" she murmured to herself.
A/N: Ooh, mood change for Gray. I was thinking a lot of the moment in the Lullaby arc where Gray tells everyone they should value their lives a little bit more. Things are definitely going to happen in the next chapter (not that they didn't in this one :P).
For those of you who read New Beginnings, you may notice that there, I focused a lot on what happened after Lucy/Loke got together, because the main issue with their potential relationship, logistically, is how they could possibly survive long term as a couple. Here, I'm focusing a lot more about how Gray/Juvia might actually get together, because that's a lot bigger of a hurdle for them, I think. And how they get together will really affect how their relationship plays out in the long run. Alright, enough ship-musing from me. See ya in the next chapter! ~artemisfang