Author's Note: Hey! AHH chapter 498...the Gruvia ANGST! Waited so long for this. Anyway, here's a one-shot based on chapter 498 - Gruvia vs Invel!...so spoilers ahead! -sounds alarm-

I wrote this in one sitting like a madwoman, so I hope it turned out okay xD


Title: Importance
Rating: T (I think...)
Summary:
When it came down to one of them living, who was more important? [Gruvia - ch. 498 spoilers]


"How cruel, your veins are filled with ice-water and mine are boiling." - Emily Bronte


Importance

As soon as they stepped inside their house, Juvia was off like a shot, running to the kitchen in search of the first aid kit. Most of their missions went rather smoothly, a few cuts here, a few scrapes there—usually no more than that.

But sometimes, the enemy would catch them off guard and get the better of them. During those times, she'd have to dig out all the bandages, salves and ointments they'd have in their small house and play the role of nurse for a little while.

"Gray-sama needs to be more careful," Juvia told him, tenderly wrapping a bandage around his bicep with quick and nimble fingers before tying it into place. She sat back, admiring her handiwork with a smile. "All done!"

Gray, who had been busy staring off outside the window at nothing in particular, waiting for her to finish, shook his head, clearing his thoughts before turning to her. "Thanks," he said, flexing his arm to see if the bandage was comfortable enough.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, eyeing him anxiously.

"Quit worrying," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm fine. Now..." His gaze flickered to her, lips tugging up in a smirk. "Let's take a look at you."

"Juvia?!" Her eyebrows shot up, flustered, and when Gray said nothing, she quickly shook her head, blue ponytail whipping around her face. "Ah, no...Juvia is alright," she insisted, beaming at him. "Gray-sama's state is much worse than hers."

"Don't give me that." Gray sighed, reaching to take the first aid kit from her hands. "Come on, let me take a look at you, Juvia."

Juvia stiffened in her seat, trying to keep as still as she could even with the awareness that his eyes were on her. But under the pressure of his gaze, she couldn't stop her fingers from fidgeting—with the folds of her skirt, the loose thread peeking out of her sleeve, the wisps of blue hair curling around her face. Everywhere he glanced, she felt her skin grow warmer, as though caressed by sunlight, and it was everything she could do to stop her lips from stretching into a big, unsuppressible smile that would give her away immediately.

Even after so long, she always found it ironic how an ice-mage such as himself was able to bring such fire to her face.

His eyes scanned over her a couple more times before he finally leaned forward to get a better look. He was close enough that she could see the dark specks of blue in his eyes, and when his fingers reached out to brush a lock of hair away from her face, she swore her heart almost leapt out of her chest.

Gray's eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, you've got a nasty cut on your cheek."

Juvia didn't reply as he cleaned out the cut with fresh water, enjoying the feel of his fingers against her skin. Countless missions they'd completed together over the years, and still, never had he patched her up so affectionately before. Her thoughts began to bubble with joy over what was yet another change she'd seen in him recently.

"Keep still, would you?" Gray muttered, his face solemn and eyebrows dipped in concentration. "And stop acting like you're nothing."

"Gray-sama?"

"You're important too," he said quietly. "You keep forgetting that."

She said nothing as he turned away from her, packing the extra bandages back into the first aid kit, avoiding her eyes.

What was there to say?

Juvia had to admit she'd noticed a subtle difference in his behaviour towards her lately. He sat closer to her when they were watching movies. He'd help her in the kitchen, even if he knew he wouldn't be of much use. He stayed up late talking to her, the dim shafts of sunlight streaming in through their living room window being the only indicator that maybe, just maybe, it was time for them to sleep.

She'd never felt closer to another person. She'd never been as happy as she was with him. And at first, she worried that her mind was playing tricks on her, that she was simply imagining these changes in him, but now, as she watched him throw a smile over his shoulder before heading back to the kitchen, she knew in her heart that she wasn't.

Slowly but surely, the last wall of ice around his heart, the last piece of self-defense he'd held in place all these years—it was finally beginning to melt.


She never thought she'd be the one to hurt him.

She never thought she'd inflict pain on him in this way.

She never thought she'd be the cause of his body to be covered in cuts and gashes, but she was.

Gray stood metres away from her, his eyes clouded with darkness as he smirked a wicked smile. "That all you got?" he taunted, cocking his head to the side. "You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to kill me before I kill you, Juvia."

She was still standing too, just like him. How was she still standing? The pain was surreal. Every inch of her body felt as though it was lined with shards of ice, yet she remained on her feet, the water flowing from her hands in hot streams to strike at Gray without her command, without her permission.

Her magic was never meant to be used to hurt him, only to protect him.

But the magic coursing through her veins, the very magic she'd grown up with and learnt to harness over the years—it didn't feel familiar to her. It felt toxic, tainted in some way. She knew, as she watched him slam a fist to his palm, it was the same for him.

His magic was used to create, not destroy.

"Juvia will not lose to you, Gray," she said, her lips forming the words before she could even register what they were. Hearing herself say these things with such hate and malice towards the one person she ever loved broke her heart clean in two. It clawed at her from the inside out, because it wasn't her. She never once said his name with anything other than love and admiration.

The collar around her neck, constricting her like she was an animal, began to tighten slightly as though choking her, draining her of what little resolve she had left and replacing it with growing hatred for the man stood in front of her.

Blinking through the blizzard, she could still see Invel in the distance, his hands laced behind his back and his glasses glinting in the light. His lips curled upwards in a menacing smile, and seeing this, Juvia let her eyes travel back to what she supposed was his main focus: Gray.

Gray's own hands were wrapped around the collar too as he struggled against Invel's magic. Though, with dread, she realised his expression was something entirely different. If looks could kill, the one he was flashing Juvia at that moment would knock her off her feet.

It was terrifying how someone as known to her as Gray could suddenly seem like a stranger to her. But still, she knew he was fighting too, just as she was. As long as she could see him, the familiar dark spikes of his hair, the guild mark on his chest—she knew she wouldn't lose her sanity, no matter how much Invel's magic gnawed at her ribs and tore at her heart.

Seeing him reminded her that she loved him, as much as anyone would love the person who brought light into their world. Seeing him reminded her that he had to live at all costs, even if it meant she couldn't.

She had to lose this battle.

Though, she had to lose without letting Gray be the one to kill her. Juvia couldn't do that to him, not when the guilt of losing his loved ones was finally beginning to subside. If she was to allow him to kill her, it would break his soul, crack him in a way he would never be able to heal again.

Another strike from Gray, another fall to the ground, the breath completely knocked out of her.

Her resolve was clear in her mind: she had to lose.

Juvia slowly brought herself to sit up, trying her utmost to ignore the pain of her body that was ripping her apart. She didn't have enough strength left in her bones to control her magic, but maybe if there was something else she could use to end this battle, anything else.

Her gaze zeroed in on a shard of ice, a remnant from Gray's previous attack, buried under the snow just feet away from her. With trembling fingers, she reached for it, her face twisted in pain as she fought against Invel's hold on her body.

She had led a good life, filled with so much love and happiness. She had the opportunity to make such great friends, to fight for a guild that quickly became her new home and accepted her for who she was. She was able to love unconditionally and irrevocably, something she thought she'd never have the chance to do.

Positioning the ice to her chest, Juvia closed her eyes. She didn't want the last thing she'd see to be Gray covered in the marks she'd left on him, his eyes dark and lacking that playful gleam she loved so much. She wanted to remember him as the man who held her close when they watched scary movies, who became a child as soon as it snowed, who would rush into her room at any hour, just if she called his name once—the man who took away the rain and showed her the warmth of the sun…

The ice in her hands shattered and she felt warm lips suddenly press against her own.

Hands held her close like they never wanted to let go, and for a brief moment, the cold seemed to drift away with the wind because Gray was kissing her, hard, urgently, as though he was pouring everything he could give into her and more.

At first, she stiffened, shocked, but then her fingers found their way into his thick hair, her mouth sweeping over his longingly, relieved, alive. His answer passed through like a warm ocean wave, washing away the darkness lingering at the edges and leaving only him: the touch of him, his smell, the way he smiled against her lips.

Gray pulled away slightly, short-breathed as he pressed his forehead against hers. "We're going to fight this, you hear me?"

"Gray-sama, Juvia..."

He took her hand in his, holding it against his cheek. "You're not going anywhere. I'm not losing you."

Juvia smiled weakly, pressing her lips against his once more. "We're a better team than they are," she said softly, hope coursing through her at the return of his smile. "We can defeat them."

Gray smirked, brushing away her snow-streaked hair with gentle fingers. "Let's show the Spriggan Twelve what teamwork really is."

As she got back to her feet, the magic simmering in her blood, tingling in her fingers and toes, she squeezed his hand tightly, thinking back to that day so many months ago, when he had tended to that cut on her cheek.

'You're important too', he had told her.

And she knew, that to him, she was—just as he was to her. They were a team, after all.