Author's Note: Woo! New Chapter! I didn't get it to 4k words but I got it high enough to get this story to 40k words! (I did the math lol) Woohoo! Shoutout to LordofAnimeCrap and Juviafullbuster1 for reviewing! Thank you so much! To all you readers out there, please review! It would mean the world to me! Just a head's up, I have a chorus concert tomorrow (wish me luck please!), and I don't have an idea for the next chapter (oops!) so it might be a little short. Sorry!
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!
Juvia
"Where are we?" Gray asked. The two of them had stopped in front of a tall building.
"My apartment complex." Juvia told him, entering the building with Gray following closely behind her. "There's someone I want you to meet."
"Who is this person?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow as they stepped into the elevator.
"Well, they're not exactly a person," Juvia told Gray, a smile on her face. The elevator dinged, and the door opened. Gray and Juvia stepped out of the elevator, walking down the corridor before they stopped at a door.
"Is this your place?" Gray asked as he watched Juvia rummage her windbreaker pocket for something.
"Yep!" Juvia pulled out a key, unlocking the door and opening it. "Come in," She told him, stepping inside the apartment.
There was a door to the immediate right, but the living room and kitchen were rather open, they could both be seen by the entrance. There was a door that led to a balcony, and to the left of them, there was a hallway. Juvia led them down the hall. There was one door on the left, two doors on the right, and a closet at the end of the hall. Juvia went up to the second door on the right and opened it. "Close your eyes," She instructed.
Gray closed his eyes, trusting Juvia not to make him hit a wall. She moved him so he was right in front of the door. "Move forward." He took a few steps forward before he felt a hand on his shoulder that turned him to the right. "Open!" Juvia cheered.
Gray opened his eyes to see a beautiful fish tank stand in front of him. It was rather big, with little caves and lots of plants. There was a blue UV light shining down on one of the caves. Gray didn't see any fish though. "Nice tank," He commented. "But, I don't see-"
Juvia went up to the tank, tapping the corner of the glass twice with her finger and once with her nail. In an instant, a beautiful black betta fish with a glimmering blue tail swam out from underneath the cave with the blue light, gracefully making its way up to Juvia.
"Gray," Juvia stepped aside from the tank. "Meet Teru!"
Gray looked at the Betta fish. "Hi, Teru." He greeted. The fish stared at him for a few seconds before hiding in one of the plants. "Aww," Gray frowned.
Juvia laughed. "Aww, I think he's scared of you."
Gray turned to Juvia furrowing his eyebrows. "I'm not scary!" He protested.
Juvia shrugged, sitting down on her bed. "You don't know how Teru feels about that." She told him, holding back laughter.
"Hey!" Gray exclaimed. Juvia burst out into a fit of giggles. Just then, a flash of black appeared before Gray. In the blink of an eye, there was a cat on Juvia's lap. "...What?" He asked.
"Oh, this is Gajeel's cat, Pantherlily." Juvia introduced the tuxedo cat. The tuxedo cat glared at Gray.
"Why does he have that scar?" Gray asked, looking at the cat.
"Not sure," Juvia shrugged. "A fight or something?"
Lily climbed off of Juvia's lap, stalking over to the edge of the bed. He stared at Gray for a few seconds before he lowered himself down to the bed. "Uh… Should I be concerned?" Gray asked.
"No," Juvia shook her head. She saw Lily start to shake his rear as he stretched out his front paws. "Maybe," She quickly added.
"Maybe?" Gray asked. Without warning, Lily jumped at Gray, letting out a sharp hiss. Gray yelped, the cat digging his claws into his skin.
"Lily, no!" Juvia yelled in shock, getting up from the bed. She ripped Lily from Gray, throwing him to the floor. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking at Gray.
There were multiple scratches on Gray's face, some of which were bleeding. "I'll be fine," He told her. He then winced in pain. "I can understand why he got that scar now," He mumbled.
"Gray, you're bleeding!" Juvia frowned, caressing his face as she looked at the numerous cuts on his skin. There were small scratches on his jawline and chin, and on his forehead lay a scar far bigger than the others were which was partially covered by his hair.
"I think I'll live." Gray shrugged, secretly enjoying the attention he was receiving.
"But you don't know where that cat's claws have been!" Juvia protested. "Come," She grabbed Gray's hand, taking him to the bathroom. She opened the medicine cabinet, searching for a first-aid kit.
Gray sat down on the edge of the tub, watching as Juvia pulled out a little kit. "Are you becoming a doctor or something?" He asked. Gray closed his eye, feeling some blood from the scratch on his forehead drip down towards his eye.
Juvia shook her head, kneeling down on the cold bathroom floor next to Gray and opening the kit. "No, I'm actually becoming a marine biologist." She told him. "This might hurt a bit," She warned him, taking out some cotton balls and disinfectant. She put the disinfectant on a cotton ball and rubbed his cuts.
The disinfectant on the smaller cuts stung only a little, not enough to get a reaction out of Gray. When the disinfectant touched the scratch on his forehead, Gray winced, gritting his teeth. "Huh," Juvia mused, looking at the cut. "This one's far deeper and much bigger compared to the other cuts." She commented.
"How did Lily pull that off?" Gray asked, furrowing his eyebrows as Juvia continued to clean the cut.
"I'm not sure," Juvia told Gray. "This could possibly leave a scar."
"Really?" Gray asked.
Juvia nodded. "Yeah, possibly." She tossed the bloody cotton ball into the trash, pulling out a packet of bandaids from the first aid kit. "I think the only one that needs a band-aid is that one on your forehead," Juvia concluded, taking one band-aid from the pack and putting it on the cut atop Gray's forehead.
"Are you done?" Gray asked, watching as Juvia closed the kit.
"Not necessarily," Juvia said, getting up and putting the kit back into the medicine cabinet. She grabbed a washcloth and wet it. "I just need to clean up that blood from your face." She kneeled down in front of Gray, leaning forward and grabbing his chin with her thumb and forefinger as she carefully rubbed the cloth across his face.
Gray bit his lip, watching Juvia as she cleaned his face. He felt heat start to rush to his cheeks as he observed the girl in front of him. Gray found it rather cute to see her eyebrows furrow and her eyes squint as she focused on the task at hand. The way her cerulean waves fell around her face and cascaded down her shoulders, resting atop her-
"All done!" Gray's eyes widened as Juvia's voice snapped him out of his voice. He opened his left eye, seeing the brilliant smile that graced her features. That vibrant smile was his favorite thing about her.
"Thank you." Gray nodded at her. "Also, about what you said earlier, you're a marine biology major?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah!" Juvia nodded. "I love marine life!" She beamed, her cheeks pink. "I love everything about water, actually- especially the ocean. There are so many things down there that have yet to be discovered- it's like an entire world is down there waiting for us!"
Gray smiled at her enthusiasm. "That's nice. But, if you're a marine bio major, then how did you know about all of this?" He asked.
"When we were little, Gajeel got into a lot of fights. Belno would usually fix him up but sometimes I did." Juvia informed Gray.
"That's it?" Gray asked.
"Yeah," Juvia nodded, hesitating slightly.
"You hesitated." Gray pointed out.
"Fine," Juvia sighed. "When I was little, I got into my fair share of fights as well." Juvia admitted.
"No way, really?" Gray asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
Juvia nodded. "Yeah. Gajeel was my only friend for a while, so I guess that I kind of took after him."
"You seem like the kind of person who wouldn't lay a finger on anyone." Gray told her.
Juvia laughed. "Well, tell that to younger me and she would've found that funny. What's your major?" She asked.
"Engineering," Gray answered. When I was little, my brother and I would always make things out of the snow. It kind of came naturally to me, so it was rather obvious when I picked my major."
"You mean Lyon?" Juvia asked.
Gray nodded. "Yeah. He's a sports major, and I'm a sports minor."
"What sport?" Juvia questioned.
"Ice Hockey," Gray informed her.
Juvia blinked. He didn't seem like the hockey type to her. "Ice Hockey?"
"Yes, Ice Hockey." Gray nodded. "In fact, that's why I was at the university. I was practicing ice hockey with Leon." He explained. "We're on the team."
Juvia blinked. "There's a team?" She questioned, tilting her head slightly to the side.
Gray laughed. "You didn't know that?" He asked.
Juvia shook her head. "No. I didn't even know there was a rink." She admitted.
"Well, do you know how to ice skate?" Gray asked.
Juvia shook her head. "I never learned." She told him.
"Do you want to learn how?" Gray grinned.
"Not really," Juvia mumbled, shaking her head.
"Why not?" He asked.
"What if I fall?" Juvia replied.
"Aw, come on!" Gray encouraged. "It'll be fun! Don't worry, I'll catch you if you fall."
Juvia sighed. "Fine, I'll do it."
Gray beamed, grabbing Juvia's hand and leaving the bathroom, exiting the apartment and heading to the elevator. "I promise, once you get the hang of it it'll be as easy as walking." He told her, entering the elevator with her.
"But you always fall when first learning how to walk." Juvia pointed out. "You always fall a lot."
"Look at you now, though!" Gray exclaimed, stepping out of the elevator with Juvia. "You walk perfectly fine!"
Juvia sighed, smiling regardlessly. "I'm not going to win this until I try, am I?" She asked.
Gray shook his head. "Probably not."
"Well, your enthusiasm is cute." Juvia winked.
"I am not cute," Gray protested.
"Yes you are," Juvia cooed, pinching his cheek and holding back a giggle.
"No, I'm not," He mumbled, his voice messed up by his pulled cheek.
"Yes, you are~" Juvia sang.
Gray took Juvia's hand and pulled it away from his cheek. A smirk crossed his face as he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "I think you're cute," He challenged.
A blush instantly lit up Juvia's cheeks. She opened her mouth to protest, only to close it again due to a loss for words.
"Speechless, huh?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow. "How adorable." He mused.
Juvia pouted, saying nothing. She moved their hands from near his face to their sides, holding hands with Gray as the two of them walked happily to the campus. It was only a few minutes long before they arrived, entering the rink and heading to the locker room.
"What size shoe are you?" Gray asked.
"I'm a size seven." Juvia told him.
Gray opened the storage room, heading in for a few seconds before coming back out with a cardboard box. "Here you go," He placed the box in her hands.
Juvia sat down on a nearby bench, taking off her shoes and putting on the new ones. They were blue with white laces. "Uh, how do I stand?" She asked, looking at the bladed shoes.
"Just stand," Gray told her. "Are they on tight?" He asked.
Juvia nodded. "Yeah, but, I'm kinda scared…" She mumbled.
"Would you like to see me walk in them?" Gray offered.
Juvia smiled. "Yeah, sure."
Gray disappeared behind a wall of lockers and came back a minute later, shoes in hand. He sat down next to Juvia on the bench, putting on the skates. With ease, he got up, walking in front of her as if he were barefoot. "See? It's pretty easy!"
"Yeah, but that's because you've been doing this for…" Juvia paused mid-sentence. "How long have you been doing this?"
"Can't remember," Gray shrugged. "Just try it, it's not that hard!"
"Fine, but… could you help me get up?" Juvia asked, her voice timid.
Gray smiled, taking her hands in his. "Come on, get up."
Juvia frowned. "Now I'm really scared…" She mumbled.
"One," Gray said.
"Huh?" Juvia tilted her head in confusion.
"Two," He continued.
Juvia blinked. What was Gray saying? Was he...
"Three,"
"No, wait!" Juvia shouted, but she was too late. Gray had pulled her up from the bench. Juvia's feet wobbled slightly as her grip on Gray's hands tightened. She moved one of her hands to his shoulder for more support. "This feels weird…" She mumbled, her body shaking from lack of balance and fear.
"That's normal," Gray moved his free hand to her waist, eliciting a blush from the blue-haired woman. "Try walking."
"N-no!" Juvia exclaimed, shaking her head.
"I'll walk with you, don't worry." Gray assured her, giving her a smile. Juvia gulped nervously, keeping her eyes glued to her feet as she took a small step forward. "There you go!" Gray encouraged her. "It's like dancing, just follow my lead." He informed her.
With each step Gray took, Juvia followed. Their steps started out small, like baby steps, until they slowly started to transition into normal steps. The two of them circled around the locker room as if they were waltzing with one another. "Juvia," Gray grabbed her chin, pulling up her head so her eyes looked into his dark blue, almost black, ones. "You can't keep looking at your feet forever."
"O-okay," Juvia squeaked, her cheeks heating up.
"You think you're ready to walk by yourself?" Gray asked.
"No?" Juvia answered, though it came out as more of a question. While she didn't feel ready to walk by herself, she just didn't want to let go of Gray. Not yet.
"Good," Gray answered, slowly releasing her and stepping aside.
"Gray!" Juvia complained, a twinge of anger in her voice.
"Gotta catch me first," Gray winked, walking painfully slow towards his locker to get his skates.
Juvia furrowed her eyebrows in a mix of determination to catch Gray and to learn how to walk in the skates. Hesitantly, she took a step forward, trying her best to balance her weight to the middle of her foot. She then took another step, keeping her hands out to help her maintain balance. A big smile broke out onto her face as she took yet another step. "I think I'm doing it," She said.
"You're doing great!" Gray threw a thumbs up at Juvia. "Keep it up!"
Juvia walked around the opening in the locker room where she and Gray were previously dancing. It was surprisingly easy to walk in skates.
"You ready to go?" Gray asked. He had his skates on and was waiting at the doorway.
Juvia nodded. "Yeah!" She smiled, following him out of the locker room and to the rink. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the ice, her previous fear coming back to her as if it were a tidal wave heading straight towards her.
"You coming?" Gray asked, stepping onto the rink.
"Um," Juvia mumbled, staring at the ice with wide eyes. "Eventually…"
Gray laughed slightly. "Come on," He held out his hand to her. "This time I won't let you go until you say you're ready."
"Promise?" Juvia asked, slowly moving her eyes from the ice to Gray's soft eyes.
Gray nodded. "Promise."
Juvia gulped, sending a silent prayer to anyone who was willing to listen to her before grabbing Gray's hand, stepping onto the ice. "I think I'm gonna fall I think I'm gonna fall I think I'm g-"
"Relax," Gray rested her hand on his shoulder so she could regain her balance. "We haven't even moved yet."
"Dear god," Juvia mumbled, feeling quaint.
"Hey, it's okay," Gray reassured Juvia. "I'm gonna start moving, okay?" He asked. "If you want to stop then just turn one of your feet."
Juvia nodded, gripping Gray's shoulder tightly. He started moving backward, and the second she moved slightly she turned her foot to the side, stopping the two. "Juvia, we just started." Gray informed her.
"S-sorry…" Juvia mumbled. "I'll try not to do that."
Gray slowly moved backward, making sure not to make any sudden movements. Juvia moved her other hand to hold onto Gray's shoulder, her breath hitching in her throat as Gray wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm gonna go a little faster, okay?" Gray asked.
Juvia nodded hesitantly, taking a deep breath as Gray sped up. He turned to avoid running into the rink walls, and Juvia's skate accidentally hit Gray's. She yelped and closed her eyes as she tripped, sending both of them crashing down to the floor in the blink of an eye.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw that she was lying on top of Gray. She moved her hand only to freeze up when she felt his toned muscles through his shirt. A blush instantly made way to Juvia's face like wildfire, and she shot up, her hands on either side of his head as she was still sitting on him.
"Ow," Gray mumbled, rubbing his head. "That escalated quickly." He looked up at Juvia, a smile on his face. "You okay?" He asked.
"Y-yes!" Juvia squeaked. "I-I'm so sorry!" She apologized, her voice shaky.
"It's okay, it's natural to fall a few times when first learning how to ice skate." Gray informed her. "And besides," He added, slowly sitting up. He slinked his arms around her waist, leaning his head close to hers. "I think you did pretty good," He whispered.
Juvia moved one of her hands from the ice to rest on Gray's shoulder. "Gray…" She breathed, her voice soft. She slowly moved her lips closer to his, tilting her head to the side as her eyelids started to close, when suddenly.
"Tsk, tsk," A third voice made Gray and Juvia jump, their eyes widening. Juvia scrambled off of Gray, letting out a yelp as she felt her body move against the ice. The two looked up to see a man around their age shaking his head in disapproval as he skated in circles around the two. "Haven't you two head about getting a room?" He asked, doing a scratch spin and stopping in front of the two.
"Way to ruin the moment," Gray hissed, a scowl on his face.
"My my," Lyon mused, looking at Gray's face. "What do we have here? That's a lot of scratches." He commented, a smirk making it's way to his face. "You got some scratches on your back too?" He asked.
"Shut up," Gray growled.
Juvia looked between the two, blinking in confusion. "Um…" She mumbled, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Oh, pardon me." Lyon turned to Juvia, smiling apologetically at the girl. "I'm Lyon, Gray's brother." He introduced himself. "You must be Juvia, no?" He asked.
Juvia nodded. "Yeah," She confirmed his suspicions. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too," Lyon smiled. His face lit up. "Oh, Gray would just not shut up about you- not like he shuts up anyw-"
"I hope you realize that I'm right here!" Gray protested, getting up from the floor. "And I only mentioned her like, once!"
"Yeah, once every minute," Lyon snickered.
Gray chased after Lyon, who did a 3 turn and dodged. "Gotta be quicker than that~" He teased, doing a scratch spin before skating off with Gray hot on his trail.
Juvia laughed, watching the two brothers as they bickered and chased one another across the ice. Lyon was graceful in his movements, his words clever and his voice smooth like silk. Gray, on the other hand, was more rough with his movements, barking at his brother with a glare that had the intent to kill on his face. Both of them were rather different from one another, yet Juvia couldn't see such a better pair of brothers standing before her. Now, if only she could get off of the ice...