You'd think that an ice Wizard would hate going to the beach. But Gray actually enjoyed it quite a bit. The weather was warm but if he got too hot it was easy to cool down with his magic. Not to mention, it was perfectly acceptable for him to wear minimal clothing.

"Gray you're naked!" Lucy exclaims.

Perhaps not that minimal.

Gray turns around to see where he discarded his swimming trunks and hurries back to put them on.

"Sorcerer Weekly paid for us to come here because they want pictures of Fairy Tail wizards having a day at the beach for their Summer issue. Not idiots in the nude." Lucy scolds Gray.

"You're one to talk." Gray retorts. "You're practically nude yourself. That bikini you've got on under your cover up barely covers anything."

That earned him a smack upside the head.

"At least I'm not flashing my goods to anyone like you." Lucy says.

"Fair enough." Gray says and rubs the back of his head.

He looks around at all of the people on the beach. There were Fairy Tail guild members and a few civilians. But the one person he wanted to see most, seemed nowhere to be found…

"Looking for Juvia?" Lucy asks teasingly.

Gray stiffens up and Lucy giggles. When he turns around to see her smirking face, he bristles with annoyance.

Ever since the 100 Years Quest ended, it was pretty obvious to everyone that he returned the water mage's feelings for him. It was true, he was in love with Juvia. But he didn't love all of the teasing from his friends that came with it.

"No. Aren't you wondering where Natsu is?" Gray asks.

That got her. Lucy blushes and looks away from him.

"Well yeah but it's not like I'm dying to see him or anything." Lucy says as she sets down her stuff and starts to unpack.

"Really. Because I think you may have bought that new swimsuit just to impress him." Gray says.

That earned him a whack in the head from her beach bag that knocked him into the sand.

"That is completely idiotic!" Lucy exclaims before taking off her cover up, revealing her pale skin, and white bikini to the salty air of the beach. "Besides, it's Natsu. You know he doesn't care about stuff like that."

"Hey Ice Princess!"

Speak of the devil, Gray thinks to himself as he turns around and sees Natsu running up to them, carrying a beach ball under his arm.

"Come play volleyball with me! I know that I'm better at it than you! I'll totally kick your ass!" He taunts.

"We've only been here for ten minutes and you're already challenging him to a fight?" Lucy asks.

Natsu looks over Gray's shoulder, to see Lucy and his playful demeanor instantly changes to a flustered one when he sees her. Gray was shocked. Natsu has never shown any interest in women or relationships before. He's never gotten flustered by them either. While all of the guys in the guild would be drooling over sexy women, Natsu couldn't care less. Until now, apparently. His eyes were glued to Lucy's form and his cheeks began to heat up.

Lucy began to get flustered under his gaze. Gray could tell she was just as shocked by Natsu's reaction as he was. Although Lucy was probably hoping this would happen someday, but she didn't expect it to actually come to be.

"W-what do you think Natsu?" Lucy asks shyly, tilting her head to the side and pushing her chest forward a bit to try to look more attractive.

"You look…great." Natsu answers.

Lucy blushes and looks away from him.

"Oh…thanks." She says. "You like my new bikini?"

"Yeah it looks perfect!" He compliments and Lucy has to cover her mouth to stop herself from squealing in surprise and excitement. "It's perfect for playing ball with me and Gray! Think fast!" He exclaims and tosses the ball at her, and it hits her in the head.

Gray smiles and laughs. Natsu sure had them both going for a second there. But sure enough, he was still his same old dense self. It was obvious he was into Lucy but he still didn't know how to show it properly yet. So nothing out of the ordinary or groundbreaking would be happening today.

"Gray-sama!" A familiar voice calls to him from the ocean.

Or so he thought. When he turns to see Juvia, he suddenly realizes why Natsu was so flustered when he saw Lucy in her swimsuit, because he was feeling the exact same way about seeing Juvia in hers.

She was wearing a simple light blue bikini, the same color as her hair. The top was held together by a knot in the front under her breasts, tying the two pieces of fabric together. So her cleavage was on full display. And as she made her way out of the water and towards him, he couldn't help but stare at her legs. He always thought they were her best feature. They were strong, hiding powerful muscles under smooth, soft skin. Soft skin that glistened in the sunlight from the water droplets that remained from the ocean. By the time she was in front of him, he was practically in a trance, lost in her beauty.

"Could you help Juvia put up her beach umbrella by her towel? Gray-sama?" She asks when he doesn't answer her.

She was confused. He was staring at her, but he couldn't seem to hear her. And his eyes didn't seem to be on hers, they seemed to be looking at something lower…She waves her hand in front of his face and he snaps out of it.

"Huh? Did you say something Juvia?" Gray asks, embarrassed that he caught her staring.

"Yes. Juvia asked if Gray-sama wanted to help her set up her umbrella?" Juvia asks again.

"Oh yeah! Sure!" Gray answers a little too quickly.

She brings him to her towel and he immediately gets to work with the umbrella, using the task as an excuse not to look at her so he could get his thoughts in order. But then when he turns around to stand the umbrella up, she bends over to try to pick up a hermit crab she spotted, and his thoughts became even more scrambled. And now the umbrella wasn't the only thing standing up.

Even before he returned his feelings for her, he'd always found her attractive. I mean who wouldn't. But seeing her like this now that he knew he liked her, he couldn't help but let his imagination indulge in thoughts of what her smooth skin would feel like under his hands. And what it would be like to touch the places that were covered underneath the fabric of her swimwear. How it would feel to have those long, gorgeous legs wrapped his waist while she moans his name in the throes of passion-

"Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser sharing a towel together on the beach! So cool!" Jason exclaims, spotting them and coming over.

Gray lets out a sigh of relief. This would be a good distraction from his smutty thoughts, for sure.

"Hi Jason!" Juvia greets the photographer cheerfully. "Juvia found a hermit crab in the sand!"

She shows him the little crab and he inspects it.

"So cool!" He answers, predictably and Juvia sets the creature back down in the sand.

"Have you gotten any good photos so far?" Gray asks.

"You bet!" Jason answers enthusiastically. "You Fairy Tail wizards make the hot beach look so cool! And seeing an ice make wizard, and a water mage, the two coolest magic element wizards standing here together in the sun has inspired an awesome idea for a photo! Can I take a picture of you two together on the towel?"

"Oh Juvia would love that!" Juvia says and bounces on her feet.

Gray gulps, as the action causes her breasts to move a bit and he was suddenly beginning to feel flustered again.

"Would Gray-sama pose on the towel with Juvia?" Juvia asks him.

Even though Gray knew that getting close to her when her body was so exposed like this was a bad idea, he couldn't say no to her. He's already disappointed her too many times.

"Sure, why not." Gray says simply and the look of joy on her face was enough to make him smile too.

"So cool!" Jason exclaims.

Jason directed Gray to sit on the towel, so his side was facing the camera. And then he instructed Juvia to sit on top of him…on his lap…

"Uh…She's gonna sit where?" Gray asks, with his face starting to turn red.

"She'll be straddling you on your lap." Jason explains.

"Is Gray-sama okay with that?" Juvia asks, blushing a bit as well.

Gray looks her over once again and considers his options. She's just sitting on his lap, surely he could control himself right?

"Yeah, hop right on." Gray says as confidently as he can.

Gray gulps as Juvia swings her leg over him so she's straddling him and then sits herself down in his lap. He was eye-level with her ample chest and he could see the droplets of ocean-water roll down the valley between them. And the feeling of her warm, supple thighs on either side of his hips, squeezing him was making his mind head straight for the gutter as he imagined being in-between her legs for something other than a picture. He gently squeezes her sides as it takes all of his will-power to stay calm and collected. But any control he may have had over himself slipped away instantly when she gently held his chin in her fingers and tilted his head up to look at her.

"Gray-sama, is there a problem?" Juvia asks in a soft voice while Jason takes some pictures of them.

She was so beautiful. Like an ocean Goddess. And he couldn't deny how badly he wanted her, and neither could his body. And soon Juvia could feel that against her and she gasps.

"Yeah. A big problem!" He mutters.

Gray gets up immediately and runs into the changing room, losing his swim trunks in the process, but that didn't matter. He was alone now. He could take care of himself in here. But what he didn't realize is that the cause of his arousal had followed after him to return his clothes to him.

So when Juvia pulled back the curtains to announce herself, she got a full view of what she had done.

"Gray-sama are you alright-Oh!" Juvia exclaims when she sees the cause of his distress.

Her pale face turns bright red and she covers her hands over mouth to keep from screaming as her eyes stay fixed on his crotch unable to look away, and neither could Gray. His eyes were fixed on her, wondering which one of them would speak first.

"You...you were right." Juvia says softly. "That is a...big problem." She gulps and averts her gaze.

Gray takes the opportunity to grab his trunks and pull them on. She was staying silent, which was less of a relief and more of a worry to Gray. Normally she couldn't stop talking and she'd cling to him. But now she was silent and unsure as she looks away from him.

"Gray-sama..." she says softly.

"Yes Juvia?" Gray replies.

She turns to face him again and meets his gaze.

"Did Juvia...do that?" She asks shyly.

Normally Gray would've lied. He would have denied it, called her crazy and stormed out while she chased after him. But things were different now. Now that he had become a man who could protect her, he didn't have to reject her advances. Nor did he want to. He wanted her more than anything, and she had a right to know that.

"Yes." Gray answers.

Juvia's eyes widen and she lets out a soft gasp.

"You're so beautiful Juvia, and you look so sexy in that swimsuit. I couldn't help but get turned on. I'm sorry." Gray explains.

"Why is are you sorry Gray-sama?" Juvia asks.

Getting more confident, she steps closer to Gray and he gulps.

"Juvia has always wanted Gray-sama. So now if he wants Juvia..." She says and stops right in front of him, standing up on her tip-toes to kiss him. "He can take her."

So he did.

He wraps one arm around her waist and holds her cheek in his other hand and brings his lips to hers.

Juvia was surprised at first, but let herself melt into the kiss. Her hands moving up his chest to rest on his shoulders as they kissed.

As they make out, she presses her body more firmly against his and Gray's hands can't help but wander her body.

She presses up against the tent in his trunks, causing Gray to groan "Juvia" and Juvia to moan "Gray-sama", a noise that only turns him on more.

But before she can take off her top like she was working on doing, Gray places his hands over hers to stop her.

"Wait." He says.

Juvia's lustful gaze turns to one of worry. Gray felt a twinge of regret, knowing because of their past that she was afraid he would reject her again. But he wasn't. In fact he was doing the opposite.

"Come with me." Gray says simply and takes her hand to lead her out of the changing room.

Juvia's heart soars with excitement.

"Gray-sama, what are you doing?" She asks.

"Taking you on a date." Gray says and Juvia stops breathing for a moment.

"Oh Gray-sama! That makes Juvia so happy! But why do you want to go on a date instead of just making love to Juvia?" Juvia asks. "Does Gray-sama not want Juvia in that way?"

"No. I do. But I figure that if we're gonna do this, I wanna do it right." Gray tells her. "And you mean too much to me for me to just screw you before I've done something to show you that I care about you."

Juvia blushes and runs up closer to Gray to hug his arm.

"Juvia knows that you care about her. But whatever Gray-sama wants to do, Juvia is fine with." Juvia says.

"Alright then let's go on a date." Gray says.

And with that they walk into the woods together.