GRUVIA WEEK 2016
DAY 2: EYES
PAIRING: GRAY X JUVIA
SERIES: FAIRY TAIL

It was said, "The eyes are the windows to the soul."

Juvia wanted to see the soul behind those dark, lonely eyes.

It was already three months since Juvia moved to Magnolia. Her job-hunting was not so productive and her savings were already running low. She needed to find a job, ASAP. Juvia checked her wall clock. As soon as she recognized the time, the bluenette rushed out the door and came back in when she remembered the primary reason why she was in a hurry – her laundry. She quickly grabbed the basket full of discarded clothes and dashed downstairs to the building's washroom.

But the laundry was not the reason, it was an excuse. A good excuse to see her upstairs neighbor who did his laundry around that time.

It was in the fateful night of her first move when Juvia passed by a certain boy with a ruffled black hair. The raven-haired acknowledged her with a small smile before he went on his way. Her gaze followed him until he disappeared by the corner. Her neighbor was exceptionally good-looking but there was something more about him that appealed to her. There was something in his eyes, his dark midnight eyes, that she was too familiar with – loneliness.

The night was no different from the others. Juvia entered the same diner and sat on the same table. She also did the same thing. As soon as she settled on her seat, she looked for the familiar ruffled black hair, whom she had gone through a lot of trouble to find out his name, and found Gray near the counter in his white long-sleeved uniform. The man was arguing with a familiar brunette.

A waiter interrupted Juvia's eavesdropping. A young man with clear eyeglasses came up to her to ask for her order. She scrambled for the menu but immediately discarded it once she saw her person-of-interest heading for the door. Juvia rushed after him, leaving a confused young blonde in her wake.

Juvia followed the furious raven-haired outside the diner. She watched him absent-mindedly kick a soda can and threw his apron on the ground thereafter. She decided against approaching him while he was in bad mood but it was too late.

"Oh. I'm sorry. Is-is there anything you need?"

Juvia debated whether she should turn around or just run for her life. She decided to go with the former.

"Hey, you live in my building too, right?"

"Yes."

Juvia wanted to say something more than just a 'yes' but she did not exactly know how to follow that. She panicked when the awkward silence enveloped them. Her search for any topic to bring up between them was fruitless. Good thing it was Gray who broke the ice.

"I guess you like the food here, huh?" He nodded his head toward the sign of the diner.

Juvia blushed out of embarrassment but she could not just admit to the real reason why she came there often, could she? So, she thought about it hard. Did she really like the food? She cringed at the memory of the, she let herself call it spaghetti she ordered yesterday.

"Actually… the food here is really, really bad." She sheepishly admitted but her confession earned a whole-hearted laugh from the man.

In the last six months that they passed each other by the hallway or the stairs, Juvia never failed to recognize the same thing she saw in his eyes that fateful day. The loneliness. Even if he greeted her with a smile, she saw it. Gray's dark eyes betrayed his own smile.

But that night, under the moonlit sky, it was the truest she saw him.

"So, why do you keep coming here?"

The question alarmed the bluenette.

"Well… that's b-because…"

Gray sensed the bluenette's uneasiness so he changed the subject.

"So, I'm guessing you don't live here since you're renting the apartment downstairs." Gray said, stating the obvious. "Where are you from, then?"

"Oaktown."

"Oh. The chef here is from Oaktown. Do you know Gajeel?"

Juvia shook her head in response.

"Juvia is not familiar with a man named Gajeel."

"Juvia?"

The bluenette scolded herself for forgetting to talk like a normal person. She had probably freaked him out. She raised her head to check if he was still there and, surprisingly for her, he was. Gray leaned against the wall, all eyes and ears to her. Juvia then quickly apologized.

"You must find Juvia weird to talk like this."

"It's okay. It's your thing. I have my own thing too that you may find weird." He chuckled.

The tension that arose quickly dissolved all thanks to Gray's efforts. His cute little laughs helped a lot too.

"By the way, what brings you to Magnolia?"

But before she could respond, a voice behind her interrupted them.

"Yo, droopy eyes. The boss wants you."

It was another waiter from the diner. Juvia recognized the uniform.

"Yes, squinty eyes! I'm coming!" Gray retorted.

Juvia noticed how the waiter with the funny hair-color just casually dismissed the insult Gray threw at him like he was used to it.

"Look… uhmmm." Gray faced her before returning inside. "I have to go but my shift ends soon so if you don't have anything to do then maybe we can get some drinks after?"

Juvia was surprised by the invitation but she quickly regained herself. Good thing it was already dark so Gray could not see her blushing furiously.

"S-s-sure."

"Okay. Great. See you then?"

Juvia nodded in agreement.

But before Gray disappeared by the diner door, he turned to face her.

"It's Gray, by the way."

It was just mere seconds but Juvia saw it. She saw a glimpse of the soul behind those dark, lonely eyes.

A/N: Yoohoo! I made another entry. I really want to make it 'til the end but I'm not sure if I can since I'll be back to work on Monday. But if I can't write something I'll definitely cook something else for Gruvia Week. I hope you enjoyed this little, confusing, thing I wrote for you guys! Ciao.