Gruvia Week 2020
Day 2: Alluring
Fairy Tail World
Pairing: Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser
Series: Fairy Tail
Rating: M for sensitive language and content
Day 2: JUVIA'S SMILE
It was a long road ahead and Gray's beaten body couldn't wait to jump into his bed for a much deserving rest. A day or two would do.
The ice-make mage got tired of listening to flame-brain's whining two towns ago. Flame brain had the audacity to complain when he was the reason of the three day delay. Okay, okay maybe not just him. There was Erza and Gray to blame too. Lucy was crying all the way down to Magnolia. Something about the reward cut and her apartment rent. Gray was just thankful Natsu shut his mouth up before he fed him Erza's luggage, wagon included, to keep him quiet. That would make them move faster.
Team Natsu arrived at the foot of Magnolia. Gray sighed in contentment. Finally, some good news. Gray couldn't wait to reach his apartment.
"Oi! Isn't this Juvia?"
Gray's heart jumped a little hearing the name – her name. He immediately searched for her vibrant blue hair in the crowd, only to find a cherry one standing next to a newsstand, holding what appeared to be a magazine in his hand. Gray scoffed inwardly. Since when did that flame brain start reading or even become interested? Then, he suddenly remembered something. Gray took a second look at that little magazine flame-brain was holding. To Gray's horror, Sorcerer's Weekly's latest issue was now all over Magnolia. The vibrant blue hair he was searching for was on that issue.
"What? Let me see."
Erza walked up to the newsstand, leaving her wagon behind. Team Natsu followed, minus Gray, and gathered around the stand to get a hold of the copy and confirm the news themselves.
"Wow, it really is her."
Once Gray heard the confirmation from Lucy, he dashed to the newsstand and snatched the copy from Natsu's hands.
"Hey!" complained the Fire Dragon Slayer. But they fell on deaf ears.
Gray perused the magazine, running his troubled eyes from top to bottom and then back up. His midnight eyes turned green, figuratively, as he confirmed that it was really Juvia, his Juvia, on the cover and she was too provocative – with her point finger resting on her lips, telling the viewer to keep quiet. And her legs? Her legs were wide open, leaving so little in the imagination.
Gray's blood boiled in anger and then something else.
And what was up with that caption? Some like it hot? A picture of fire-eating Natsu rolled by his head, causing one eye to twitch. Juvia liked it cold because she loved a certain ice-mage, right?
"Are you gonna buy this issue, young man?"
Blood rushed to Gray's head. Why would he buy a magazine when he had the real thing back at the guild? But Gray composed himself and played it cool.
"No, thanks." He returned the magazine on the stack and rejoined his group.
"What kind of magazine objectifies women like that?" complained Gray.
Which earned a raise of a brow from 'some-like-it-hot' Natsu.
"You didn't say that with Mira-chan's cover last week." reminded Natsu.
Gray froze at the sudden guilt that hit him. He had no qualms staring at Mirajane in a green bathing suit enjoying the beach. So, why was he acting like he was on a higher moral ground? Gray had to think of some excuse and quick before Natsu called him out of his bullshit.
"T-that's d-different!"
"Huh?" Natsu walked past him, oblivious of the fact that his question turned the ice-mage make tomato red. "But I don't see any difference." Said Natsu, which he meant finding no difference in Mira and Juvia's pose in their respective magazine covers.
Lucy the Celestial mage, feeling a little playful, chimed in. "Why are they different, Gray?" She didn't stay behind to know.
"I-i-it's just different, alright!"
Lucy shook her head. "How many years now and he is still denying it. Poor Juvia." said Lucy to herself, chuckling.
When his team was in a good distance, Gray ran back to the newsstand. He collected all the jewels he received from the job and handed them all to the old woman owner. Then, he grabbed all the copies of Sorcerer Weekly and left the owner dumbfounded.
Gray walked around Magnolia hogging all copies of Juvia's Sorcerer Weekly issue: some peeking out of his cross-body bag, while the rest he carried. He smiled at himself, proud of coming up with the best idea – by buying all the copies of Sorcerer Weekly, no one would see her Juvia in such daring pose. Gray felt triumphant.
Until he passed by another newsstand which actually hanged a number of magazines for display. Gray checked inside his pocket and came up empty.
Now what should he do?
Gray dropped on his bed like a hot potato, sprawled over the mattress like a spread eagle. Damn, he was exhausted. He was tired running around Magnolia all afternoon to do random jobs and earn jewels to buy all of Sorcerer Weekly's Juvia Lockser issue. Now he had a hundred of those issue stacked beside his bed.
He failed to realize that Sorcerer Weekly wasn't sold in Magnolia alone. (But we will give it to Gray for trying.)
He raised the well-wrapped gift he found earlier at his coffee table and inspected it. The ribbon was blue and neatly placed in the middle. He recognized the craftsmanship to be Juvia's. She was good in that kind of stuff -making pretty things. Gray, on the other hand, could not make anything that can pass as pretty even if his life depended on it. Except when using his ice-make, that's his wheelhouse.
Gray ripped the white wrapper to see what was inside.
Only to find the 101th Sorcerer Weekly issue he was about to add to his collection. But this one had a sticky note on it.
'IS GRAY-SAMA PROUD OF JUVIA?'
"Baka." The cute handwriting pulled the corners of Gray's mouth into soft smile. She even put a cute little heart at the end. "Of course, I'm always proud of you." said Gray, talking to the seductively shushing Juvia on the cover. "But I'm not too happy about this position…"
Gray's thick brows furrowed. The more he stared at the cover the more he regretted it. He was feeling a nosebleed coming so he better just flip the page and find where the actual interview was printed. He needed to see words instead of the picture of Juvia's leg parted... he needed to stop. But he was in his room, alone. So, it wouldn't be so wrong if he just took a peek… no. But now one's gonna see him if he… no. It wouldn't be right. Still, he was a young, hot-blooded man and it's the healthy thing to do – no, no, no!
He flipped the pages frantically, trying to fight the temptation to linger on that cover, and stopped only when a page piqued his interest. It was a half-page photo of Juvia. His eyes softened, lingering on Juvia's photo. He knew Juvia wasn't a vain woman. She hated getting her photo taken or talking about herself. So it surprised him that in this particularly issue, Juvia indulged the readers.
Juvia's photo came out well – perfect even – but it was nothing compared to the real thing. It would do, for now. Looking at the colored portrait, Gray allowed himself to admit that he missed Juvia. That woman got under his skin and now she became a permanent fixture in Gray's life, even to the point that sometimes he'd feel a sudden sense of emptiness when he was away from her for too long.
Gray's dark longing eyes were not the only ones that traced Juvia's features. His finger followed his gaze: from the crinkle of her blue eyes, pink-powdered cheeks down to her disarming smile.
Nothing was more alluring than a woman's beautiful smile.
Gray heard that somewhere and he couldn't agree more. Of all of Juvia's sexy features: her breasts, her waist, her legs, the sexiest curve on Juvia's body was her smile.
Gray never told a soul about it but that smile, that curve of her lips that was full of love when she talked about him, when she said his name, that smile that made his stomach flutter. It was the last thing he thought about at night and the first thing he saw in his mind in the morning.
Gray turned to the next page and read the words written on it. Just as he expected, instead of sharing about herself, Juvia talked about Gray the whole time. He let out a sigh of satisfaction. He cushioned one arm behind his head while the other held the magazine as he read, all smiles and all satisfied.
He didn't have to worry anymore. Those lowly bastards may see Juvia in that provocative position but the world would know, when they read the actual article, that Juvia Lockser belonged to him – Gray Fullbuster. She was his.
They could look but only Gray was allowed to touch.
"That's my Juvia." He smiled to himself; that full grin grew wider and wider as he read all the nice things Juvia could say about him.
Writer's Corner: This one is a little short, right? And I guess you guys know which cover I mean. Hehehe. C'mon, Gray's a guy so of course he'll be all over that. Who are we kidding? Hahaha. So, Natsu is still dense as usual. Grayb is more adjusted to the world.
Drop some love, my loves and keep safe and healthy. #GruviaForever