Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.

While I enjoy a good introspective chapter. I don't like them one after another. But, here we are. Let it be known that this was the third rewrite of this prompt. I don't know. Discovery is a difficult topic to write about.

Well anyways, enjoy.

Discovery

"Dammit," Gray curses as he loses another shirt, thankfully keeping his pants on. It would be a pain in the ass to hunt for it. At this rate, he's going to have to spend money on more shirts. It was frustrating, especially considering that the 100 years quest isn't a paying job in the sense that he will gain a fantastic amount of Jewels, only a wish.

"Well, maybe if you would stop stripping your shirt every two hours, you wouldn't lose it," Lucy chastises. She's been getting sassy as of late.

"Speak for yourself," the Ice Mage snipes back. "Your clothes get ripped apart every quest we've been on so you aren't in a position to talk."

Lucy has the grace to blush.

"Enough," Erza demands in that no nonsense voice that tells everyone that they need to end the conversation. "We need to move on to our next objective. Gray," she continues, pointing a thumb to her carriage, "Grab another shirt from your bag. It won't do if you aren't fully clothed."

The black-haired man groans and checks in his bag for another shirt. Digging around, he finds a curious feeling shirt and pulls it out. A wave of nostalgia washes over him. It is a black shirt with a butterfly design on it. He can't even remember putting it in his bag but he is instantly reminded of a certain blue-haired water mage.

"You own something like this," Happy mocks, covering his mouth with his paws in an attempt to stop himself from laughing.

"You wanna say something," Gray sneers as he puts on the t-shirt. It still fits.

Natsu looks at the butterfly shirt and starts to laugh. "Hah, what a girly shirt."

Gray grabs the Fire Dragon Slayer by his muffler. "Yeah, and when I kick your ass with this shirt on, what does that say about you?

Natsu glares fiercely. "What did you say?"

Two armored fists to the back of the dome silences Natsu and Gray. "Enough. We are on a tight schedule. I don't want to fall behind on our next objective because you want to fight."

Gray rubbed his head to alleviate some of the pain. "Fine, fine."

"By the way," Erza continues, "I don't remember you having that shirt before. When did you get it?"

Gray shrugs his shoulders in an effort to remain nonchalant. In truth, he has only worn this shirt once before. That was during the dragon attack on the capital. He had to find a shirt to replace the one he stripped during the final round of the Grand Magic Games. He didn't want to go shirtless for the rest of the battle so Juvia had gotten him the closest shirt available, this butterfly shirt. Gray really couldn't complain about the design of the shirt since it wasn't his money that bought it. More surprising still, he didn't throw it away. In fact, after the battle was over, he kept it in the deep recesses of his closet.

If someone would have found the shirt and asked why he didn't throw it away back then, Gray would have responded by saying that it was wasteful to trash a shirt that had nothing wrong with it, especially because he loses shirts on a frequent basis. But now, Gray can admit (at least to himself) that this shirt in particular makes him feel close to Juvia. It was a shame that he couldn't bring her on this mission but it was for the best. At the time that he started the mission, he was still sorting out both his feelings for the azurette and the guilt he felt for being the reason she had that scar on her stomach.

This journey has been eye-opening, perhaps in large part to three different incidents.

The first was a weird meeting with Juvina of the celebrity guild, Fairy Nail, sorry, meant to say Juvina-sama because she's a star. Juvina-sama had told Gray that the Gray of her guild, a stripper named Gren, doesn't really pay attention to her and she wonders if he hated her. It was weird to see someone with Juvia's face talking about someone with his own face, like she was calling him out. But It was at that moment that the Ice Mage admitted out loud how he felt like he wasn't good enough for Juvia, that she deserved someone who was confident in themselves, someone who could protect her. But soon, he will be that man.

After that encounter, he and Juvia met up again. She had told him to beware the White Witch, that she was coming. The White Witch had subdued the guild while they were gone in order to destroy the seals on the Wood Dragon. Gray and Juvia had taken on one of the Wood Dragon's God Seed. This monster tried to absorb Juvia's body to make it a part of it. However, that proved to be its undoing. When Gray told the monster that Juvia was his power to live, Juvia's body began to heat up and he realized that he could use her body to mold it and make it into ice to strike. When he made the Juvia Hammer and stunned it, the Ice and Water mages got to work using their Unison Raid attack to dispatch the God Seed. It was the first time Gray had been honest to Juvia on what she meant to him and it made him really embarrassed but relieved. When the Dragon was destroyed, Gray could take solace in the fact that she was okay and he had protected her.

The third incident came after the battle was over. Through the magic of Aqua Aera, the team was transported back to Edolas. Coming back was quite the unexpected boon but what was waiting for him there nearly sent Gray into a coma. Edolas Gray had married Edolas Juvia and they had a kid. He didn't stand a chance. Griege was way too cute for his own good. In the safety of his own mind, the Ice Mage had considered what it would be like to be in a relationship with Juvia but the thought of marriage way, way far down the line to even consider. But looking at this child, something in his heart lurched. This child, who had no connection to him other than being born the son of his alternate self, made him feel complete. And he wanted his own Griege, but only one with his Juvia.

Gray smiles, tracing the shape of the butterfly, thinking about Juvia. This journey has really helped him on the path of self-discovery, making him into the man he wants to be.

The group walks in silence, ready to continue their quest to kill the Dragon Gods. Gray wonders if Juvia's thinking about him. Although that's really a stupid question. He knows that she is. She isn't very subtle.

"Hurry up, butterfly man," Natsu jeers.

"Shut up." A witty retort.

Erza shakes a fist at them, threatening to punch them both. That makes them behave.

All of a sudden, he can feel eyes on him. It's Lucy and she's looking like she has discovered something fun. Gray feels himself pull back as a defense mechanism.

"That is an interesting pattern, Gray" she leers. Maybe other people wouldn't have put 2 and 2 together but Lucy could. "You know, I can think of someone else who enjoys butterflies."

Natsu perks up his ears. "Really? Who"

Gray internally panics. She knows. She knows and she can tell everyone here his (worst kept) secret. Deflect, man. Deflect. "I'm pretty sure Nasha likes butterflies."

The blonde blushes hard. Direct hit.

"Aw, man. I'm still not happy you didn't let me take Nasha," the pink-haired mage grumbles. "It would have been cool to show her off to everyone."

"That wouldn't be fair to her parents," Lucy explains. And the two of them start to have an argument over the ethics of kidnapping your alternate self's child.

Gray smirks. He may be able to admit to himself that he is in love with Juvia but he isn't ready to say the words out loud.

At least...not yet.

And that's the end of the chapter.

Let us never forget Gray's butterfly shirt and the almost certainty that it was picked out by Juvia. And you can't tell me that he hadn't kept it all these years.

Anyways, liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.

Until next chapter,

A. Angel