Chapter 56

"Hi, Gray," Lucy greets. Then she notices his demeanor and body posture. "Gray… ?"

He seems a bit uptight. Shoulders hunched, his hands are thrusted into his pockets. It is like he is trying to make himself smaller than he really is.

"I thought I could do it on my own," he begins out of the blue. "But I need help."

She is always willing to help out a friend. After stepping aside, she gestures for Gray to come inside her apartment. "What kind of help?"

He remains rooted in place. "Juvia."

Now she is getting a little worried. "Did something happen with Juvia?" Lucy can only hope that they didn't get into some sort of serious fight.

"No, not yet. I'm still deciding on when."

"Gray, I have no idea what you're talking about. You're, like, speaking in riddles."

"I want to ask Juvia to marry me."

That gets Lucy to light up with a big smile.

"I need a ring first," he continues. "I thought I could shop on my own, but I need help. I was at the mall parking lot, sitting in my car. I couldn't get out so I came here…" Then Gray awkwardly laughs. "I guess I should have called you first…"

"Give me five minutes to change. I'll go shopping with you."

x-X-x

Now Lucy and Gray are standing outside one of the jewelry stores located on the upper level of Magnolia Mall. He might as well be shaking in his boots, tail tucked between his legs.

"You made it out of the car this time, great," Lucy comments, trying to loosen him up.

"That's something I guess." He doesn't tear his eyes away from the store.

Deciding to take it a step further, she stands in front of Gray to block his line of sight. "Hey, look at me."

He does without delay.

"You love her, right?"

"More than anything."

"You love her so much that you want to change her last name, right?"

"Juvia Fullbuster does sound great."

"And you want to spend the rest of your life with her, right?"

"Until I die."

"Then let's go find her a ring." Lucy grabs a hold of his wrist and leads the way.

They go over to a ring case and look it over. The lighting inside really makes the rings sparkle. It is all quite dazzling.

"There's… so many," Gray comments, feeling overwhelmed.

"Because everyone has their own taste, but we're here to focus on Juvia. So do you know what color of band she'll like?"

"Silver. And if silver doesn't work then something that looks like silver. She doesn't like gold or rose-gold."

"That's a start. What about gem color?"

"Uh, diamond. I guess. I never pictured the ring with color."

"You can't go wrong with that."

A man wearing a suit steps up to Lucy and Gray. He has dark hair with round glasses in front of his green eyes. "Have you two been helped out yet?" he asks in an English accent.

"No," Lucy replies. "My brother and I are looking for an engagement ring for his girlfriend." She goes with that so they won't be confused as a couple.

The man directs his attention to Gray. "Oh, that's wonderful!"

He isn't sure what else to say besides a quick "thanks" since reality is still setting in. He is shopping for an engagement ring. For Juvia. With Lucy.

"Well, I'm Harry," the man introduces, and clasps his hands together in front of him. "Is there something specific we are looking for?"

"Silver band," Lucy replies. "If that doesn't work, then something like white-gold or platinum."

Harry nods. "Keep to that color range, got it. What else?"

"A diamond stone, but as for the cut"-Lucy looks at Gray-"I'm not sure we're sure about that yet."

"I can show you different cuts if that helps," Harry offers.

"That'd be great," Gray says.

"When it comes to Juvia's style, she isn't all that blingy," Lucy voices.

Gray softly smiles as he pictures her clearly in his mind. "That's because her personality shines through."

Lucy nudges Gray with an elbow. "Aren't you just the sweetest boyfriend ever?"

He looks away, wanting to hide his pink cheeks.

"I'll keep all of that in mind while showing you rings," Harry says. "And while we're here, let's start with this case." Then he busies himself with the task of getting behind the counter.

Lucy's eyes scan over the rings. She skips over the really sparkly and blinged out ones. Juvia is more of a simpler person.

Harry uses a key to unlock the case and reaches inside. "What about this one?" He holds out the ring for Lucy and Gray to look.

It really is pretty. The band is covered in smaller diamonds while three big ones are the center piece.

"That seems a bit much for Juvia," Gray admits.

Harry puts it back.

Lucy points to one, not touching the glass with her finger. "What about that?"

"Which one?" Harry asks, readying to grab it.

"Third row," she replies. "Fourth one over."

After taking it out, Harry gives it to Lucy to hold.

Gray leans over to look at as well.

With a single diamond at the center, the band twists in two parts on either side. On each side, one of the stands has a trail of small diamonds.

"I like the twisting in the band," Gray comments.

"That's called a split shank," Harry says. "There are more styles with that."

"I like this one more than the first one." Then Lucy hands the ring over to Harry. "I think sticking with the split shank will be good."

"I'm with her on that," Gray adds.

The trio goes through more choices. Now on their third case, options are being narrowed down.

Lucy and Gray both point at the same time. "What about that one?" they ask in unison.

Harry looks back and forth between the two. "Who goes first?"

"Let Gray since I picked the last one," Lucy replies.

So Harry looks at Gray. "Sir?"

"Second row…" He starts counting the spacing under his breath. "Over seven."

While Harry retrieves it, Lucy nudges Gray. "That's the one I was going to pick, too!"

"Really?" he asks.

She nods.

Harry holds out the ring for them. The main feature is a round cut diamond. The band doesn't have any stones, but it splits in three different ways. The split shank detailing really flows together.

"Oo, I like that one!" Lucy gushes. It looks better out of the case.

Harry chuckles, handing it off to Gray to hold. "She has reacted like that before."

Gray is smiling. "I really like this one, too. Like, I really like it." Now he is just admiring the ring. He can picture it on Juvia's finger.

"Gray…" Lucy begins. She is still going to ask the question even though his face says it all.

He looks at her. "Hm?"

"Are you saying yes to the engagement ring?" she asks.

He cracks up. "Yeah, I'm saying yes."

Lucy starts clapping.

Meanwhile, Harry is smiling away. "Shall I bring up the paper work?"

Without warning, Gray freezes up. He almost drops the ring onto the counter. "I don't know her ring size…"

"Calm down," Lucy tells him. "We can figure something out." Her mind starts racing.

"I can still take down the needed information," Harry assures him. "You'll still have to select a diamond. I can have some shipped here and you return another day to look at them. If you don't like any, I can always have more shipped."

Gray hands off the ring to Harry just so he doesn't accidentally drop it. "That'd be great."

An idea hits Lucy. "Gray, I got it."

He looks at her. "What?"

"Juvia and I will have a girls only shopping day. I'll bring her here to get fitted. Wait, no, we'll both get fitted so she won't get suspicious. We both have boyfriends so we'll need to know our ring sizes someday, right?"

"Lucy, you're a genius," Gray praises.

She shrugs. "I try."

Then he cracks a grin. "And maybe Flame Brain will take a hint…"

Pink tints her cheeks. "Don't you think two months is too soon to be engaged?"

"Love knows no bounds…"

"I've had a couple or two get engaged after a month of dating," Harry says as if to make her feel better.

Lucy is surprised. "All right, a month seems crazy."

"So two months doesn't seem bad, right?" Gray teases.

She playfully rolls her eyes. "I highly doubt Natsu will get back from Paris just to propose to me."

"I'm sure I can talk him into it…"

"Don't. You. Dare."

"Or what?"

"Or you get Juvia's ring size on your own." She is all talk though. Of course, she is still going to help out Gray.

Gray sighs in defeat. "Fine… I'll wait until three months of dating."

"I think a year seems fair," she admits.

"Well, when the time comes, bring her boyfriend here," Harry says.

He nods. "Oh, you can count on that. You've been great."

"And you had your sister helping you out as well."

Gray smiles, looking at Lucy. "Yeah, she's pretty great, too."


A/N: First update of the new year, woo! I'm looking forward to 2017 (one year closer to 2018!) :D I never woulda guessed that CAF would still be going on strong even now XD Anyways, yay for GrayLu as a BrOTP! I love them that way :D

PS. Did Harry Potter make a cameo in this chapter? Maybe…

Happy New Year :D


Flamexofxchaos: Haha, still not her XD

ForgotMyPassword: Normally I post on Sun-Mon, but I was able to post earlier than that for a change :P Aww, thank you! I hope things get better for you sooner rather than later! And I don't plan on it!

PurplePink2005: Good guess, but nope!

GalaxyNaluFan: I still think it's crazy! Hits me every time I work on a new chapter. So much for being a one-shot :P Eh, I'm sure fate woulda stepped in and made sure they met. Maybe Wendy dragging Natsu to an Ashley book signing or something…

Fairy Tail Lover: Whelp, at least you know who it is now :D (having wifi is great, I need Sam Winchester's skill of always having it). But thank you! I'm glad you're liking this work so far :)

Guest: I'm glad you're enjoying this work! I try updating on Sundays or Mondays since those are my off days from work. My free time in between goes to hanging out with people, sleeping, and writing my personal works.

NaluAnime: I try updating on Sundays or Mondays since those are my off days from work!