Cuddle Buddies

Gruvia Week 2021, Day 2: Warmth

Genre: Romance

Rating: K

Summary: Gray doesn't cuddle. But special circumstances *cough-Juvia-cough* might change his mind.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Gray Fullbuster does not cuddle.

He'd like to say it was because he was an ice mage – he had a low tolerance for heat, regardless of whether it was coming from the blazing sun or another's warm embrace. It was just how he was made.

But the truth was, even if he weren't an ice mage, he still couldn't see the appeal of having someone's sticky, sweaty body squashed against him. How it can even be remotely considered comforting was beyond him.

He could pat you on the back, ruffle the hair on your head, and even sit beside you – but definitely no hugs.

Except if he absolutely had to.

Like, if it was a matter of life and, well, severe hypothermia.

And so, it was because of this that Gray found himself in one of the beds in the infirmary, cuddling with Juvia Lockser.

Whether he wanted to or not was already out of the question. After all, it was his fault that it had come to this, and he had no choice but to provide her with his body heat until her temperature rose back to normal.

"Feeling better?" Gray asked, absently stroking the soft locks of Juvia's hair as he held her close.

"Y-yes, Gray-sama. Thank you," she mumbled, her breath tickling the crook of his neck, sending shivers down his bare back.

Despite this, Gray didn't budge from his position. It wasn't because he was actually enjoying this. In fact, he could feel beads of sticky sweat forming on his forehead, neck, and chest. He was just worried that Juvia still hadn't fully recovered, that was all. After all, Juvia could be so stupidly selfless a lot of times, saying she was okay even when she clearly wasn't. He knew her enough by now to see right through her.

"Are you sure? You're still shivering," he whispered. Instinctively, he pressed her body closer to him, willing his warmth to transfer to her.

He felt Juvia push against him a little so she could look up at him. Her face was still pale, although he could see a little pink blooming on her cheeks. She also managed to give him one of her bright smiles without her teeth chattering.

"Yes. Juvia's really fine now." She moved her hands from his chest to his face, cupping his cheeks. Instantly, he felt warmth course up his face, though he wasn't sure if it was because of Juvia's hands or... something else. "See? Juvia's hands are warm now, thanks to Gray-sama."

He averted his eyes from her, feeling both bashful and guilty. "Don't be stupid. It's also because of me that you almost froze to death."

Juvia laughed softly. "Gray-sama is so dramatic! It was just part of training. Juvia will get used to it, don't worry."

After Gray discovered that he could actually use Juvia's water body as his weapon of ice destruction, the two of them wasted no time training their newfound spells. At first, everything worked the way they wanted it to, until Juvia started experiencing hypothermic bouts right after training. They eventually figured out that frequent use of Gray's ice magic on Juvia's water body made it difficult for her to control her body temperature.

They were already practicing the new spells for three days straight when Juvia had her first hypothermic episode. Gray could still remember how proud he felt after flawlessly executing Juvia Hammer when he noticed that it took some time for Juvia to reform her physical body. And when she finally did, all color drained from his face as a deathly pale Juvia reached out to him before collapsing, his reflexes activating just in time to catch her before her solid body hit the ground. His heart drummed wildly as he saw icicles clinging to her blue hair, her usual red lips now devoid of any color, her body shivering uncontrollably.

For a moment, Gray was transported back to that chilling snowstorm all over again, holding a lifeless Juvia in his arms. His blood ran cold.

He shook off the memory and carried Juvia to the guild's infirmary as fast as he could. The moment he placed Juvia on the bed, Wendy was already by their side, doing everything she could to raise the water mage's dangerously low temperature. Wendy mentioned something about using body heat to defrost Juvia quickly, and Gray wasted no time taking off the freezing woman's coat and enveloping her corseted body in his embrace.

Looking back, he thought he probably wasn't the best choice to provide body heat, but the thought of someone else holding Juvia was... well, he'd rather not think about it.

Someone must have called for Porlyusica because the next thing Gray remembered was the old lady checking up on Juvia, lauding Wendy's efforts, and telling him to continue what he was doing.

"Her water body is slowly heating her up, so she's going to be fine," the healer had said. "You can continue training your new spells so her body gets used to it, but don't be stupid and overdo it," she added, glaring at Gray.

After that incident, Gray was extremely hesitant to continue training the new spells. But Juvia was adamant about pushing through, claiming that it would be good for her to develop a resistance to cold as well.

Gray eventually relented, on one condition: that he would help her raise her temperature quickly with his body heat.

At first, Juvia couldn't believe her ears. Did Gray-sama just offer to hug Juvia of his own free will? But when Gray repeated his request while looking straight into her eyes and without blushing the tiniest bit, Juvia's confusion turned to bubbling happiness. She launched herself at Gray, muttering, "Gray-sama can cuddle with Juvia all he wants. We can start now!" It was only then that it hit Gray how incredibly embarrassing his request was, and he instantly turned a bright shade of red as Juvia continued clinging to him.

And so, cuddling after training became a routine for them, the afternoons spent sharing a bed at the infirmary becoming a common occurrence. All reluctance Gray had at the beginning was instantly erased every time Juvia would transform back to her physical body, trembling from the cold and seeking the warmth of his body. It wasn't as bad as that first time when Juvia looked as pale as a ghost – they were careful not to overtrain – but it still alarmed Gray enough to make him not want to let Juvia stray from his embrace for at least an hour until he could feel her body's warmth mixing with his.

"Still, you know you can always ask me to stop the training anytime, right?" Gray asked, staring at her intently. "I'm serious, Juvia. I don't want you overdoing things, saying you're okay when you're not. Promise me you won't lie to me about these things."

He was ready for her to tease him about how worried he was for her, but Juvia just gave him a sweet smile. She pinched his cheeks, earning a groan from the ice mage. "Juvia promises. Now, stop worrying so much. She's really fine now."

Gray sighed and loosened his hold on Juvia. She extracted herself from his grip, and Gray felt the loss of her body right away.

Juvia sat up from the bed and straightened her clothes. She looked back at Gray.

"Let's try again tomorrow?"

"As long as you're fine."

He would always be there to help her, anyway.

"Juvia Geyser!"

Activating her Sierra form, Juvia absorbed Gray's magic, causing her water body to shoot up like a geyser. Sharp spikes hit the tree branch they were targeting, breaking it in a clean sweep. Juvia then melted into a puddle and reformed her normal body.

"Nice, Juvia!" Gray grinned, running towards her. He was about to hug her like he usually did when she stopped him with a firm hand on his bare chest.

"Juvia's okay now, Gray-sama. It took her a while, but she can normalize her body temperature quickly now." She smiled from ear to ear.

Gray frowned, studying her for any sign of hypothermia. "Are you sure?" He touched her forehead underneath her bangs. "If you're cold, then –"

"Juvia appreciates Gray-sama's kindness, but really, she's fine," she reassured him.

"But Porlyusica said we should –"

" – keep training so Juvia can get used to it," she finished for him. "And now, Juvia has gotten used to it, so Gray-sama has nothing to worry about!"

After a pause, he answered, "Alright. Whatever." He started walking back to the guild when Juvia called out to him.

"Gray-sama?"

"What?" It came out harsher than he intended, and he caught the concern in Juvia's expression.

"Is Gray-sama mad at Juvia?"

No, he wanted to reply, because really, his mind was relieved that Juvia was fine. They could finally train using their full powers and without that cloud of worry hovering over him. He could stop going easy on her and go back to the way it was. They no longer had to waste hours of precious time just staying in bed, holding each other.

It was all good.

But why does he feel... angry? Why couldn't he stop himself from balling his fists and gritting his teeth from frustration?

Why did it feel so wrong?

Juvia's warm hand on his tensed shoulders shook Gray out of his reverie.

"Gray-sama shouldn't be mad at himself for freezing Juvia. It wasn't your fault," Juvia said softly. "You didn't have to go out of your way to help Juvia –"

"That's the problem!" Gray snapped, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. "You always think you're a bother when you're not. You always think about others first without thinking about yourself and your needs! Tell me, have I ever complained about helping you, Juvia?"

She stared at him, confusion written all over her face. Finally, she spoke. "You didn't, Gray-sama. But Juvia didn't want to impose herself because she knew that Gray-sama's not the cuddling type –"

"The hell I'm not, but I want to!" he exclaimed before he could even think of his words. "It's not that I feel responsible for what happened to you, but either way, I want to take care of you. I want you to rely on me when you need to – no, not just when you need to, but whenever you want to. All the time if that's what you want. Do you get me?"

Juvia opened her mouth to speak, only to close it again. Gray's words finally caught up with him, and he felt blood rush to his cheeks. He fought the urge to freeze Juvia and run away to where his feelings won't catch up with him.

After a few moments of wishing that the earth would swallow him whole, Juvia broke the awkward silence. "Is this Gray-sama's way of telling Juvia that he's okay with being cuddle buddies?"

"Cuddle... buddies? That's not... that's... what?" Things just kept getting more and more embarrassing.

Juvia stepped closer to him so that they were mere inches away from each other. Unlike Gray, she didn't seem the least bit bashful when she explained, "Juvia feels like it's Gray-sama's way of saying he'd like to continue hugging Juvia, frozen or not. Is Juvia right?"

"Ye – no," Gray stuttered.

"No? Gray-sama doesn't want to hug Juvia?"

"No – I mean, yes! Uhm, what I want to say is, I don't mind it... if you want... not that I want to, but you – it's up to you! Whatever you want!" Gray finished, losing his cool every second. Tsk, he thought, why did she have to be so blunt about it?

Juvia just stared at him, obviously trying to decipher his jumble of words. Gray took the opportunity to redeem himself. "But you're okay now, right? You're not bluffing?"

Juvia shook her head.

"Okay, in that case..." Gray let himself trail off as he motioned back to the guild. He couldn't wait to go home, have a nice, cold shower, and just forget all the cheesy things he said today. Tomorrow was another day.

He turned around, picked up his discarded shirt, and wore it. He was about to walk off when he felt Juvia's arms circle him from behind, her warm and curvy body pressed against his back.

"Juvia... wants to hug Gray-sama," she whispered, every word a warm breath against his shoulder blade. "She's no longer freezing, but if Gray-sama meant what he said... she wants to rely on Gray-sama even when she doesn't need to. Just because she wants to."

Sometimes, he couldn't help but marvel at how Juvia could totally get him, even when he couldn't properly put his feelings into words. He smiled as he felt warmth spread all over his body.

Gray loosened Juvia's hands so that he could turn around and hug her properly. One of his arms wrapped around her head and the other one around her waist. He buried his head on her hair.

"I meant what I said," he said softly, inhaling the sweet scent of petrichor in Juvia's hair. He felt Juvia's arms tighten around him.

They stayed like that for a few beats before Juvia looked up with a smirk and said, "If Gray-sama wants a hug from Juvia so badly, he should just have said so."

Gray turned red and was about to deny it when he stopped himself. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but their after-training cuddling sessions had become a routine he wasn't willing to let go of yet.

"Shut up."

Juvia gasped as Gray swiftly carried her, bridal style, and walked to a nearby shade. He set her down with her back against the tree trunk and sat beside her. He put his arms around her and held her close to him.

"Gray-sama?"

"Hm?"

"Cuddling is nice, isn't it?"

For the record, Gray still hated cuddling. But if Juvia was his cuddle buddy...

"I guess... it's not that bad," he whispered as he rested his head on top of hers, hiding his flaming cheeks.

A/N: I honestly had a hard time thinking of a story for this prompt because I just wrote Winter Warmth a couple of months ago, but I'm glad I was able to come up with another (fluffy) idea for literally the same prompt. Just so you know, it might take a while for me to post the next update, but I'll complete Gruvia Week 2021, I promise. And thanks for the lovely reviews for Day 1! :)