Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.
This is going to be the final chapter for Gruvia Week 2016. So I decided to end things a little differently. You see, the prompt, Answer, comes from that chapter where Gray was talking with Juvia about where their relationship stood and where it was going after the battle against Zeref. But I went in another direction.
Hope you enjoy.
Answer
If you were looking for Gray Fullbuster today, you would find him at his house, sitting in his favorite chair, looking down at a young man with a shock of red hair prostrating himself in front of the ice mage. You would wonder why this young man is doing such a thing and why Gray was allowing it. Well, dear reader, allow me to tell you a story.
The first thing that I would have to tell you is that this story takes place a bit more than fifteen years since we last saw our resident ice mage. His appearance has changed a bit since then. The biggest change is his hair. No longer was it fully black, it was more like salt and pepper now. There was a wrinkle or two on his body. But even with age, he was still the same ice mage, just older and more experienced.
His marriage to Juvia has lasted more than twenty years and was still going strong. She was still the same overbearing water mage and he was still the same reticent ice mage but somehow, they made it work. And they raised two beautiful children together, their oldest Uriel who was 22 and their youngest Argent at 16.
His daughter, in particular, had become his pupil, fulfilling his promise to himself and his mentor (who happened to be his daughter's namesake) that he would pass on his knowledge of ice making to the next generation. Unfortunately for his frayed nerves, he had passed on his stripping habits to her, something that his wife did not like either. (Juvia once said that it was okay for him to be naked but not their daughter.) It isn't as bad as him, who could probably go nude and not notice until someone pointed it out to him. However, she does manage to get down to her skivvies unless she is careful. But it doesn't happen as often as him, maybe once every couple of months.
Uriel has become an accomplished ice mage, mastering the molding magic. In fact, because she can also manipulate water, she is able to reform her ice at will, something that neither her father nor her uncle Lyon could do. Plus she was strong. She had a very high mission success rate, thanks in no small part due to her longstanding rivalry with Natsu and Lucy's son, Igneous.
Her strength and beauty attracted admirers from everywhere, causing Gray no shortage of consternation at his daughter's suitors. Thankfully, she ignored all of them...all of them except one. That one happened to be the young man prostrating himself in front of him.
As much as Gray hated to admit it, he knew that this was a long time coming. You see, about four years ago, Uriel had a bit of a crush on this guy, something that didn't make the older ice mage happy. His wife had to soften him on the idea of her dating, saying that this was a part of her growing up. It didn't make him happy but as much as he wanted to hide his daughter away, he also knew that you don't hide light away. And since her namesake is light, Gray had to come to terms that his daughter would inevitably light up someone else's life.
Thankfully, when it came to romantic endeavors, Uriel didn't look far. She stayed within the guild. Gray was very grateful that she didn't date Igneous. The thought of being related to that flame idiot was almost sickening. (His wife, however, was another story. She was quite heartbroken that the two were never able to see each other as more than rivals.) Instead, the eldest Fullbuster child dated Erza and Jellal's son, Simon Rob Scarlet.
Simon may not have inherited Jellal's last name or his blue hair, but in every other manner, he was the former Wizard Saint's son. Calm and collected with a passion to protect those who cannot protect themselves, Simon was a model Fairy Tail wizard and a magical genius. The redhead was kind and respectful, not one for rowdiness . He had his sights set on one day becoming guild master. If Gray was being objective, he could say that Simon was a good choice for any woman. But when it came to Uriel, even someone like Erza's son wasn't good enough for his daughter. Still, Juvia had convinced him to let Uriel date him for a little while. But that little while had turned to four years.
Four years of dating... And now Simon has come to his house to ask him for his blessings to marry Uriel.
"Gray-san." He said, voice muffled by the floor. "I love Uriel. I want to ask for her hand in marriage but first I would like your blessings. What is your answer?"
Gray kept him on the floor for a good ten minutes before he even said anything. The day that he dreaded was finally here. Someone was coming to take his light away.
"Follow me outside." He said, shrugging off his shirt and dropping it on the couch. (Even as 40-something, the Ice Devil Slayer was still in good shape.
Simon, a bit thrown off at the sight of his potential father-in-law stripping, decided that it would be wiser not to question the father of the man who's daughter he wanted to marry. He followed Gray to the backyard, very nervously.
"If you want to marry my daughter, you have to show me that you can protect her." Gray said, putting his hands into the ice make position.
Simon figured that it would somehow come to this. He prepared his own magic, requipping his normal clothes for Ice King Armor and Flame Sword. A part of him was excited to fight a legend like Gray Fullbuster, an Ice Devil Slayer. This man is one of the most powerful mages Fairy Tail has ever produced. He has defeated many powerful mages and demons. His mother said that Gray was her equal in combat, something that couldn't be said of many mages. However, another part of him was afraid. Here was the father of the woman he wanted to marry challenging him to a fight. And Gray wasn't going to hold back.
CELCIUS CALIBER
Gray formed a giant sword and attacked Simon. The younger mage used Meteor to increase his speed and counterattack with his flaming sword. The ice mage was impressed. Heavenly Knight, the magic Simon employed. Simon was a genius, able to master the complicated spells of Jellal's Heavenly Body and the physical strength required to master the armors from Erza's collection.
It was a fantastic battle. It was one thing to hear about Simon's power from his daughter but it was quite another thing to experience it. Gray did not give the redhead even a moment's rest. He pressed him the entire fight. And while Simon fought valiantly, he was no match for Gray's power and experience. Fifteen minutes...that's how long it took to have Simon kissing the ground.
Simon groaned. He felt like he had failed. The young mage knew that it was going to be a tough fight, trying to overtake an S-class mage. But he thought he could at least fight him to a draw. Now he realized that he was nowhere close to his Gray Fullbuster's power and he didn't go into Devil Slayer mode.
"Is this it, Simon?" Gray asked. "You think you can protect Uriel like this? You're too young to even be thinking of marriage."
"I may not be able to beat you yet." The younger mage groan, still feeling the pain from their battle. "I may be young. But I love Uriel. I love her with all of my heart. I've never loved anyone as much as her. I know I can make her happy for the rest of our lives. Please, give us your blessings."
There was something in Simon's eyes, something that Gray recognized when he realized Juvia was the woman he wanted to spend his life with. The ice mage took a deep breath and prepared himself to do the hardest thing he ever had to do in his life.
"I give you my blessing." He said.
"Really?" Simon grinned, despite the pain. "I promise to make her happy. You can count on me."
Gray looked away and scratched his chin. "Yeah, yeah. Now leave me alone before I change my mind." The black haired man sighed.
Simon's fatigue was gone. He ran out of the house to tell everyone the good news, leave Gray to contemplate what he had just done.
It was late at night. Gray and Juvia were in their bed. He was watching his show on Lacrimavision while she was knitting tiny socks. They were in comfortable silence. Gray was still dealing with what he just allowed this afternoon. Juvia hadn't asked him about it but she knows he will tell her when he was ready.
Gray looked at his beautiful wife. Though her hair is a lighter shade of blue and she might show some of the signs of aging, she was still the wonderful woman who broke through the wall of ice around his heart.
"Does Gray want to talk about it?" Juvia asked, gently prodding him.
"Do you remember the day Uriel was born?" Gray asked.
Juvia nodded. "Juvia was worried that Gray wouldn't make it because he was captured by that man for a month."
"The day she was born, I knew that no man was going to be worthy of her." The ice mage sighed, trying to fight back the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. "I never wanted to let her go. But today, I feel like I did."
"Gray." Juvia whispered.
"My little girl has grown up." The ice mage's tears decided that now is the time to fall. "She's not my little girl anymore."
"Papa." A voice called from outside the bedroom. Without even waiting to be invited, Uriel had walked in and hugged her father. She started to cry into his shirt. "I will always be your little girl. I love you, papa."
Gray kissed Uriel's hair. "I love you too, Rainbow." He whispered.
Juvia allowed them to have their father-daughter moment, her own tears freely streaming down her face. After their brief cry, Gray stroked his daughter's hair.
"I'm so glad that you approve of Simon." Uriel laughed. "It would be awkward walking down the aisle without my papa."
Gray shrugged his shoulders. "You could do worse, I guess."
Uriel looked over to her mother and smiled. "Mama, we have so much to plan." The younger Fullbuster said.
"Mama already has your first present." She told her daughter and handed over the socks she had finished knitting.
"Ooh, that'll be perfect for the baby." Uriel laughed.
"Baby?" Gray's brain was still muddling around with the fact that his daughter was to be married.
"Yeah." She said. "I'm three weeks along. I told mama first but I didn't say anything to you because I wanted Simon to ask for your blessing first."
"That's great." The ice mage responded automatically until he realized what his daughter just said.
She wasn't married yet. However, she's pregnant with his grand kid. That means that Simon knocked her up before the wedding.
"WHAT?" He bellowed, jumping out of bed. "I'm gonna kill him." With furious haste, Gray Fullbuster ran out of the house with murderous intent.
"Mama, we have to stop papa." She cried in horror, worried what might happen if her father got to her fiancé first.
"Give mama a second to get dressed first." Juvia said, grabbing whatever clothes were in reach.
In another part of Magnolia, Simon was at home with his mother and father, receiving treatment for the bruises from his fight, when he felt a shiver run down his spine. It was murderous intent and it was directed at him. Almost immediately, he knew the reason why. It was Gray-san. He must have just learned that his daughter was no longer a virgin. The ice mage is probably not going to listen to reason, that Uriel seduced him and not the other way around.
"Mom, dad, I have to run." Simon said quickly. "I think Gray-san found out that I accidentally got Ur pregnant." Without waiting for a response, he used Meteor to fly out of his home.
Jellal looked to Erza. "Should we intervene?" He asked. The two had known about Uriel's pregnancy about the same time as Simon did. Erza was the one who suggested that he marry the girl.
"No." Erza stated in a definitive voice. "He is just going to have to run for his life. He may be my son but he has to take responsibility for his actions."
Jellal sighed. "Then I shall pray for him at the very least." He said as he could hear Gray's bellowing from outside.
And this brings us to the end of this story.
Loved it? Hated it? Have no opinions one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.
I'm going to take a break from writing for a day or two but I should have the next chapter of Gray and Juvia from A to Z in about a week's time. So be on the lookout for that.
Thanks for reading,
A. Angel
