Author's Note: Sorry for the late and kinda short update (This chapter is 2k words)! I only had one idea for this chapter until a good 2 hours before I published, oops! I had this idea for a while, but I didn't know when or where I could implement it, and I kind of forgot about it. The name Cashew is an inside joke between my friend and I. I was reading her the first chapter out loud, and she thought I said Cashew instead of Gajeel lmao xD Also, kinda random, but I have a chorus banquet tomorrow! My sister bailed on me :c but since we already bought a ticket for her, I'm bringing my friend instead! I can't wait!
Shoutout to Ushindeshi, aliciacevbra, and LordofAnimeCrap for reviewing! And also, a big, thiccshoutout to my friend, JustCheese (Guest), for reviewing! I told her if she reviewed I'd give her a big, thicc shoutout, lol!
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!
Gray
"S-sorry," Juvia mumbled, her face flushed red from embarrassment.
"No, it's fine," Gray looked away from Juvia, hiding his embarrassment and slight frustration. "You should probably pick that up," He told her, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.
"Right." Averting her gaze from Gray's dark blue eyes, she reached for her phone. Her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Who is it?" Gray asked.
"Belno," Juvia answered, pressing the accept call button and holding the phone up to her ear. "Hey, mom,"
Gray watched intently from the corner of his eye as Juvia pursed her lips, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. "I'm not sure, let me check. I'll call you back when I'm done." Juvia pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up.
Gray quickly turned his gaze back away. "So, what'd she say?" He asked.
"She told me she was stopping at the grocery store and she asked me if there was anything I needed," Juvia answered, getting up from her seat.
"Is there?" Gray questioned, getting up as well.
"We'll find out," Juvia held onto Gray's hand. "Come,"
Gray obliged, following Juvia down the hall and into her bedroom. She walked up to the fish tank, letting go of Gray's hand and opening the little bottle of fish food. "I need more fish food," She mumbled to herself. She tapped the corner of the tank twice with her finger and once with her nail. "You wanna feed him?" She asked, turning her head to look at Gray.
Gray shrugged. "Sure," He walked up to the fish tank, taking the small container from Juvia's hands. "How much do I feed it?" He asked, looking at the pellets.
"Just a few little pellets." Juvia answered. She hummed, noticing Teru wasn't coming out. She tapped the glass again.
"I think Teru's hiding," Gray commented.
"Yeah, but Teru usually comes out, though." Juvia peered into the tank, trying to spot her fish.
"Maybe he's not hungry?" Gray suggested, looking into the tank as well. He couldn't see any signs of the fish.
"Maybe," Juvia agreed, her eyes still set on the cage.
Gray stared intently at the cage, his eyes skimming over one of the plants and stopping. Oh no. Gray had spotted the fish, its blue scales hiding behind a fake green plant. "Do you see him?" Juvia's voice snapped Gray out of his thoughts.
"Uh…" Gray started, unsure of how to answer Juvia. "Yeah, but…" He bit his lip. "Is he sleeping?" He asked, pointing to the green plant.
Juvia looked into the green plant. "Oh, yeah, Teru's probably just sleeping." She assured Gray. "Look," She told him, tapping the glass. Teru didn't move, however. "Huh," She hummed.
"How old is he?" Gray asked, pulling out his phone. He opened up safari
Juvia thought for a moment. "He's ten. Why?"
Gray typed something into his phone. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the results. "Juvia," Gray started. "Betta fish have an average lifespan of four years."
Juvia gasped. "Four years?!"
"There have been a few instances where some have lived for 10, though." Gray added. He looked at Juvia, the distressed expression on her face making him feel guilty.
"Oh, no, no, no," Juvia opened the tank, grabbing the fake plant by the leaves and tilting it slightly. A gasp of horror escaped her lips as the fish's limp body slid in between the plastic leaves and fell onto the rocks. Juvia held her hands to her mouth, staring sadly at her fish. "Teru no," She whimpered.
The betta fish laid there with cloudy eyes, unmoving. Gray wrapped his arm around Juvia, pulling her close to him. "I'm sorry about Teru," He whispered, hugging the cerulean haired woman.
"It's fine, but it just feels weird…" Juvia admitted, resting her head against Gray's chest. "Earlier this morning Teru was swimming like normal, but now…" She paused her sentence. "That must have been how Erza felt, huh?" She asked, her voice low. "Except, the death of a dad would be much worse than the death of a fish."
"Yeah," Gray agreed, gently taking his hand and stroking her hair.
Juvia sighed, pulling away from the embrace. "I can't just leave Teru there," She reached for a little fish net next to the tank. "Teru's been with me for as long as I've lived here, which is practically for as long as I can remember." Juvia told gray. "I can't believe that after all this time, Teru's finally passed." She stuck the net into the tank, gently scooping up the betta fish.
"How did you not know that bettas normally live for four years?" Gray asked, following Juvia out of her room. "Aren't you a marine bio major?"
Juvia opened the door to the bathroom. "Yeah, but I just never really thought about it." She admitted. "All I knew was that Teru was alive and well, so it never occurred to me. Juvia slowly turned the net over, watching the fish fall into the toilet. She looked sadly at the fish's dead body. "Goodbye, Teru," She mumbled, a few tears welling up in her eyes.
"Nice knowing you," Gray watched as Juvia flushed the toilet, the fish slowly disappearing along with the water. He turned to Juvia, only to see that she was crying slightly. "Hey, don't cry," He gently cupped her cheek, wiping away a stray tear that had started to fall down her cheek with his thumb.
"I wasn't there to say goodbye," Juvia mumbled, looking down at her feet. "Teru was probably so lonely in those final moments."
"At least Teru died peacefully," Gray reasoned. Juvia didn't say anything. "Hey," He gently grabbed her chin, lifting her head so their eyes met. "I know someone who could cheer you up,"
"Who?" Juvia asked.
Gray winked. "It's a secret. But trust me, you'll love him."
Juvia sighed. "Alright," She agreed.
"Let's head out then," Gray smiled at Juvia, letting go of her chin and heading out of the apartment alongside Juvia.
As the two of them walked down the street, Juvia spoke up. "Um, Gray?" She asked.
"What's up?" Gray asked, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. Juvia was twiddling her thumbs, which Gray found to be rather adorable.
"Can I…" Juvia started, only to cut herself off.
"Go on," Gray encouraged her. "It's okay if you don't want to say it,"
"Can I hold your hand?" Juvia asked, her cheeks turning pink.
Gray smiled in amusement. He held Juvia's hand inside of his, entwining their fingers. "No need to ask," He assured her, lightly squeezing her hand.
"Is this your place?" Juvia asked, looking up at the house they were standing in front of.
"Yeah," Gray answered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a house key. He inserted the key into the lock, twisting the key until the door made a clicking noise. "Are you ready?" He asked her.
Juvia blinked. "Should I be scared?" She asked.
"A little," Gray teased, pulling out the key and opening the door. "After you," After Juvia had entered the house, Gray followed right behind her, closing the door behind him. Not even a few seconds after the door was closed a jingling noise could be heard coming from down the hallway.
In the blink of an eye, a miniature goldendoodle came running up to the two, letting out a yip at the sight of a new human. Juvia let out a surprised gasp, her facial expression instantly brightening. "Oh my god, it's a puppy!" She exclaimed, lowering herself to her knees.
The light brown ball of fluff ran up to Juvia at full speed, his tail wagging at a quick pace. He sniffed vigorously at her face, and after he was done sniffing he licked her nose. Juvia laughed, petting the dog's head. "He's such a good boy!" She fangirled. "What's his name?" She asked Gray.
"Cashew." Gray answered, smiling as Juvia hugged his dog.
"Cute!" Juvia exclaimed, scratching Cashew behind his ears. "Oh my god I love him," She squealed. "He is such a fluff ball- can he do tricks?" Juvia asked excitedly.
Gray nodded, laughing lightly at Juvia's childlike antics. "Yeah. Cashew, sit." He commanded. Cashew stared at him, tilting his head to the side. "Sit," He repeated, but to no avail.
"Cashew, sit," Juvia tried. Cashew sat down, sticking his tongue out. "Good boy!" Juvia exclaimed, ruffling up his fur. "Shake," She held out her hand to Cashew. Cashew lifted up his paw, placing it on top of Juvia's hand. Another gasp escaped Juvia's lips as a huge smile encompassed her face. "Good boy!" She cooed.
"Why does he listen to you and not to me?" Gray asked, sighing.
"I think he likes me," Juvia hugged Cashew who licked her cheek in reply. "That's it, I'm taking him with me," She started, getting up from the floor while still holding Cashew.
"I think everyone in my family would kill you if you took him," Gray laughed.
"Aww," Juvia pouted, setting Cashew down. Cashew jumped up, standing on his hind legs as he raised his paws up towards Juvia. "Awww," Juvia cooed again, this time more happily. She picked Cashew up again. "It's like the scene from the lion king," She laughed, holding the miniature goldendoodle high up in the air.
"Yeet-" Gray made the exact same pose as Juvia but instead making the motion of throwing the dog.
"I could never!" Juvia exclaimed, lowering Cashew and holding him close to her. "You're cruel,"
Gray laughed. "I don't know, I think he likes it," He flicked the back of Cashew's head, which resulted in Cashew's tail wagging even faster. "Wanna take him on a walk?" Gray offered.
Juvia nodded. "I would love to!" She grinned happily.
Gray grabbed Cashew's leash and a little bag from off of a nearby stand. Juvia set the dog down, and Gray attached the leash onto his dog's collar. "All set," He held out the leash to Juvia, reopening the door behind them.
Juvia happily took it, stepping outside of the house alongside Cashew and Gray. Cashew instantly started sniffing at a nearby plant. "Oh, yeah, he's always too busy sniffing around to even go to the bathroom," Gray informed her.
"How cute," Juvia hummed. "How old is he?"
"Three," Gray answered. "He looks small because he's a miniature goldendoodle."
"Awww," Juvia cooed. "He's so cute I can't get over it!"
As Gray and Juvia walked around the city streets, talking and laughing with one another, they eventually made their way back to Juvia's apartment complex. "Thank you for taking me to meet Cashew," She smiled brilliantly at Gray. "He really did make me feel better." She held out the leash for Gray to take. "As much as I want to keep him, I understand that your family loves him as much as I do."
"Yeah, they're all head over heels." Gray laughed, taking the leash. "And it's no problem,"
"You make it seem as if you're not head over heels for him." Juvia commented, reaching down to give Cashew one last pat on the head. "And I find that pretty hard to believe,"
"I like him," Gray assured her. "But I guess you could say that I'm head over heels for someone else, though." He smirked, leaning forward and giving Juvia a kiss on the cheek. Juvia's face instantly turned pink, his actions rendering her speechless. "See you later, Juvia." Gray winked, walking back home with Cashew.
"B-bye, Gray…" Juvia mumbled, watching as Gray walked off.
After he was out of earshot and out of sight, Gray facepalmed. "Head over heels for someone else?" He asked himself. "What the actual hell was that? That was probably really cringy, wasn't that, Cashew?" He asked the dog.
Cashew made a motion with his head that looked like a nod. Gray sighed. "You could've at least made me feel a little better about myself…" He groaned.