A/N: LONG TIME NO SEE!
I'm alive and so is my will to finally get this chapter up for you guys! I've been so busy with work and school but those are my usual excuses, and while they're annoying to admit to, it's life sadly. Plus, I've re-written this chapter thanks to my computer crashing and forcing me to rewrite it.
So, a few things about this chapter and the following two chapters to come...These scenes between the characters are all happening at the same time, just in different locations. I wanted to bring that up just to avoid any confusion.
And second, this story is rated M mainly for suggestive themes and language...however I haven't decided how far I'll go with pushing this rating. There are some dirty thoughts in this chapter but I can assure you that they aren't straight up smut. This may change in future chapters but again, I haven't decided yet!
Anyway, that's it from me for now! Onwards with the long awaited Gruvia I promised you guys!
Charmed
o-o-o
Chapter Six: (Frost)Bite Me
o-o-o
Gray's calm yet agitated eyes scanned the glassy surface of the water, the sinking sunlight tinting the liquid to a pale orange. Despite the fact that he knew that they were running out of time, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia looking at the reflecting orange water, setting his heartbeat to a familiar throb as he thought back a few months prior to the moment he was currently in.
The only difference was, he couldn't see her.
His eyes scanned the cobblestone paths and buildings that adorned the center of town around the riverfront. At this time of day, everyone was usually out and about, walking down the paths talking about anything and everything, the scents of bread from the bakery enchanting the pedestrians and sending them into the lull of the evening.
However, laughter and the scents of pastries weren't present at that moment, and everything was still and bland.
Gray stared at his annoyed reflection.
Calm…everything about the water was all too calm.
He knew he was in the right place.
He scanned the water slowly and carefully, searching for the small yet barely visible signs of her presence. He'd been at this charade all day, and while Juvia was certainly giving him a run for his money, there was no way in hell he'd give up now.
Perhaps it was personal pride thing, regardless of the fact that he was on an entire team with his male guildmates, but he knew that it was never just the pure adrenaline of competition that drove him to his current location. It had to be pride, it couldn't be anything else.
He saw the way her eyes bore mischievously into his when she revealed herself to everyone in the fountain, he'd seen that look from her on multiple occasions, more than he'd like to admit to himself and the others. She wasn't playing around, she was ready for the game ahead. And he surely didn't doubt this.
Over the time that they'd spent living together, each of them had adapted to the other's habits and thought processes. They'd trained together, eaten meals together, and just drank up each other's company in silence. And in this time, Gray could honestly say that the two of them were in perfect sync with one another, so in sync that they could take down an enemy with just a quick glance at each other. Gray knew how Juvia moved, just as Juvia knew Gray's fighting style and gait.
Then there were the smaller details that would surely put him in the dog house with the rest of the boys if they ever found out he kept them to himself. He could just imagine the look on Natsu's face if he were to ever let it spill that Gray knew things about her that nobody else would care to find out, other than a significant other.
But Gray had decided that Natsu and the others didn't have to know that he knew that Juvia only wore her hair up in a ponytail on Fridays. They didn't have to know that her favorite ice cream flavor was strawberry, or that she would bite her lip while she was in deep thought. And they most definitely didn't have to know that her cheeks turned ballet-slipper pink when she was in a deep sleep.
The setting sun tinted the already orange water into a mocking scarlet shade, causing Gray to narrow his eyes in annoyance. He thought that by that point, he should've crossed paths with Juvia at least once, or at least get a solid clue as to where she would make a move. But no, she just had to make things difficult for him and test his patience and faith in his abilities. He'd last seen her standing so confidently in that fountain, and that was early in the morning.
Hours had gone by...and he'd been paying attention to the glassy surface of the water and its irregular movement for hours.
He let out another tsk as he glanced upwards at the grapefruit sky. He was running out of time.
He turned his back to the glassy water and closed his eyes, watching the floating orange stars dance across his dark eyelids as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes. He felt his brows furrow in slight frustration.
Where the hell are you, huh?
A small swish suddenly caught Grey's attention as his eyes flew open, chills running down his spine as he felt a familiar drop in temperature attack his skin. He slowly lowered his fingers from his face, and let his arm rest at his side for just a few seconds before the sound of accumulating water began to saturate the sound waves around the stream.
A smirk slowly began to form on his lips as the sound grew in a slow crescendo, filling his senses with adrenaline as he focused his eyes on the brick wall of the pizzeria building before him. He traced the lines and cracks of the red bricks until the sloshing of the liquid died suddenly, leaving the air still and chilled.
Gray inhaled the frosty air slowly, then released it all from his lungs with two spoken words.
"Found you."
Gray leapt towards the right and pressed his palms against the grassy patch along the riverfront, the dirt and blades of green molding to his rough hands as he pushed off of the ground, the scent of mud and chlorophyll filling his nose as a loud and violent splash filled the air.
He landed in a crouched position and barely had enough time to glance at the dripping wet wall before a familiar voice chimed out lightly.
"You've gotten better at dodging my attacks."
Gray's eyes were drawn to the voice like a magnet, because who else's voice would have this much of an effect on him? Well, other than Natsu's shrill declarations of fighting and asking Mira if the kitchen still had any more tabasco sauce that he liked to drench his breakfast in.
This was the voice that he'd woken up all those months of solitude and training, accompanied by glasses of orange juice and blueberry pancakes. This voice sang his praises when he'd perfected a new technique and the voice that mocked him when he'd slip up when trying to land an attack on an innocent tree.
His eyes met hers, and he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh smugly. "This was the first time that you've shown yourself since this morning. So yeah, I've had time to collect myself."
Her blue hair was still tied up in a ponytail, loose strands framing her face and getting slightly tangled in her long eyelashes. Her pink lips were curled into a mocking smile as she lowered her right arm from its forty-five degree angled attack position. The lower half of her body from her calves down was completely liquified, blending into the rest of the water like she was meant to be there, which of course she was.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the red piece of cloth tucked into the spandex shorts on her hip, mocking him with its bright red tint. He frowned as he realized that she had folded the cloth and tucked it in a way that would hide the guild crest from view, a perfect plan for the girls that would make it harder for the guys to just target one female by means of spotting the crest. No, this wouldn't be an easy game, and then again, none of them expected it to be easy.
She was smart to stay in the water. And Gray knew that once Juvia found a body of water, his odds of winning against her went down drastically. If he was going to get anywhere near that flag, he'd have to be smart about it.
Smart and slick, just like the ice creeping across the surface of the water slowly, just out of Juvia's peripheral vision. His eyes didn't linger on the frosting water for long, directing his attention back to Juvia. The last thing that he wanted to do was to give her any indication that he had already put a plan into motion. She may be a ditzy ball of energy on the daily, but when it came down to it, she knew how to fight her battles. She'd pick up on his averted look and discover his plan right away. His best bet was to talk to her and distract her, even though the orange-tinted water was getting darker..
It was in that moment that a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his neck from behind, startling him as he inhaled with a surprised gasp. Another pair of legs tangled with his as he felt a slight pressure on his ankles, a pair of feet resting against his skin as the body clung onto his back tightly, a waterfall of blue hair blinding his vision for only seconds before a small gust of wind cleared the locks away.
He stared into Juvia's calm eyes out in the water ahead of him, and his impressed smile put a small shimmer in her eyes.
"You've perfected it." he stated, more so than questioned.
She closed her eyes and smiled, dropping her intense aura just for a moment. "Juvia never stopped practicing."
Water clones...it was a topic that Juvia had been playing around with for the longest time, and a concept that she was determined to get right.
He'd watched her all those nights that year, nights that had started with days of endless training that consisted of jogs around the lake and friendly sparring that left the two of them breathless and on their backs in the dirt. At times, they would even fall asleep like that, and wake up to a sky filled with glittering constellations and unclaimed wishes.
She'd practice in the daylight while the strong sunshine poured onto her face, and her results would be far from perfect. More often than not, her attempts at creating a perfect copy of herself with water fell short of a few limbs, or they would just end up like giant blob-like shapes that resembled the gingerbread men cookies the bakery sold during Christmas.
Gray remembered laughing at her first failed attempts, telling Juvia that the blobs looked just like her and that they were basically twins, which would result in Juvia puffing up her cheeks and blushing in frustration as Gray was shot with a jet of water that left him soaked.
But that never stopped her.
He would watch silently from the shadows of the trees by the lake of their cabin as she waved her hands with a concentrated scowl on her face, biting her bottom lip as she struggled to command the water to bend and twist itself into her desired end result. He watched as the energy drained from her eyes as the water fell back into the lake with a pathetic splash, and he watched as she lightly slapped her cheeks to hype herself up for the task once more. This would last for hours upon hours, until fatigue finally captured the bluenette and Gray would have to step out of the shadows to carry her sleeping form back into the cabin and tuck her into bed. It wasn't that he resented this task, in fact it became a normality to his daily routine.
Normal and expected...except for that one night.
The night that the water was especially warm…
"You know this means that neither of us have won the game, right?" Juvia asked him suddenly, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder as she pointed to her double latched onto Grey's back. "While you may be touching her, she isn't actually Juvia. Which goes without saying that a kiss from her will not count either."
The clone on his back tightened her grip ever so slightly. He could feel the pressure of her surprisingly dense thighs around his, her arms cradling his neck and shoulder blades securely. As if to make a point, the Juvia clone pressed her cold lips to his cheek. He could feel her lips spread into a smile on his skin, sending an uncomfortable shiver down his spine, as if the cells of his skin could tell that this Juvia wasn't the real deal.
Gray nodded slowly. It only made sense that this was the case, and even if it weren't and the two of them had dignified that it was okay to tag a clone, it still wouldn't feel like true victory to any of them.
Plus, what fun would it be if they ended this game right that second? They'd only just reunited.
And despite the sunset, Gray felt a sense of heightened excitement rush through his veins as he flashed her a cocky grin.
They were just getting started.
"Agreed."
A startled gasp escaped Juvia's pink lips, and Gray maintained his proud smirk as her wide eyes glanced down at her legs, the liquified parts of her limbs frozen solid thanks to Gray's efforts. Complete and utter shock filled her facial features as she looked down at the trouble she'd gotten herself into thanks to him.
"After all, that wouldn't be fair now would it?" he asked her in amusement as she looked up to glare at him with icy eyes. He took relish in this look of hers, pride filling his features as his plan was a success.
Juvia tore her gaze away from Gray and bit down on her bottom lip as she exhaled slowly, her hair falling in front of her eyes. With a sudden shot of cold down Gray's back, he felt Juvia's clone disappear, her limbs reverting back to liquid as it poured down his back and trickled down his shoulders and neck. "No," she replied grimly "No it wouldn't."
Gray couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at realizing that he would soon score a point for his team. Deciding that he had wasted enough time, Gray stepped out onto the water, a soft crunch echoing in his ears as the water below his feet froze into a thick pad of frost that supported his weight. As he willed it to, the ice began to stretch out towards Juvia slowly.
His path to victory.
He moved forward, walking slowly towards his goal until something made him stop him in his tracks. He frowned as his footsteps slowly came to a halt, and before he could ask himself why, his eyes gave him the answer.
She began to struggle slightly, grunting softly in frustration as her thighs squeezed together in attempts to wiggle her way out of the ice, or to at least find some way to find a weak point in her icy prison. Her cheeks were flushed, the shade of a child's lips after they'd eaten a cherry popsicle. She placed her hands on her exposed thighs and pressed down, trying anything to break free. She threw her head back suddenly, exhaling as she glared down at her icy ankles.
Gray felt his mouth become dry, his muscles tensing up as he continued to watch her struggle, his eyes sweeping over every inch of her body as she fought for freedom. He watched drops of water race down her legs, their movement slowing the more he watched.
In every male's life, there came a time where they would be exposed to the infamous locker room talk, a series of hot shot proclamations and empty words about how tough they were or how many girls that they'd eaten up within the past week. Some considered it a right of passage, sharing their stories about sex and hookups and gossiping about who they'd like to do it with next. Even if they lied about their experiences, they just wanted to contribute to the conversation.
"Horny men are just as bad as gossiping teenage girls" Gray had once overheard Lucy say to Levy, watching as she had rolled her eyes at a group of lusty men that kept whistling at the two girls as they walked past them in town.
And he had to admit that she was right, especially after witnessing the kind of talk that went on in pubs and bars that they'd stop in during missions far away from Magnolia. Gray remembered one particular mission that he, Natsu, and Gajeel were sent on in which they had stopped at a hole-in-the-wall bar on the outskirts of Magnolia. There were a group of men sitting on the opposite side of the room, drunk out of their minds and slurring words of promiscuity and desired acts that they wished to perform on other females. It was the kind of talk that made Gray extremely uncomfortable, his fists curling into tight barricades as the ice in his drink frosted over his cup. Others just simply ignored it, letting the words roll off of their backs and paying no mind to them. Those were the lucky ones, the men who were immune to the triggering language of the male libido.
The slurring had continued, causing Natsu to glare into his cup as his grip began to heat the liquid inside, while Gajeel's cup had shattered in his grip.
When they finally returned to Fairy Tail, the three of them ignored the greetings they received and they all went their separate ways, Natsu walking right over to Lucy and wrapping her up him his arms and Gajeel scooping up a shocked Levy and holding her close.
Gray remembered Juvia's happy voice chiming out in the air as he approached her, only to hear her voice halt as soon as he pulled her up from her seat and buried his face in her hair.
It was the kind of talk that made them all sick to their stomachs, and it was that talk that began to plague Gray's mind as the present and past blurred itself together, the water around Juvia flashing from frosted water to the lilac bedsheets of a soft bed.
The thoughts began to plague him once more, thoughts that haunted him late at night with their tempting taste of lust. And while yes, he would categorize these thoughts as a lesser form of the drunken locker room talk, he still fought to keep them from entering his head despite their persistent badgering. They had worsened progressively over the past year, after all, living with her hadn't helped in the least bit.
According to the drunk men back in the bar, there were many different features to a woman that a man could declare his fancy towards. Some men enjoyed boobs, while others placed their infatuation on butts or other areas of the female body.
And as for Gray, he'd come to the realization that he was a legs kind of guy.
Because he began to imagine that the drops of water dripping down her legs were his fingers, sliding over her porcelain skin slowly and tantalizingly, travelling backwards and up past her thighs up into a place of no return. He imagined that her frustrated grunts became pleasurable ones, that she threw her head back with the utmost bliss of having his hands on her body and his lips leaving their mark on her neck. He imagined that he was the cause of every sound, hurried breath, and every moan that was released from her body…
Moans that he hadn't heard since...
"You're blushing."
Her voice immediately grabbed him by the chest harshly and dragged him back into the moment as she stared at him with confusion. Her hands were still pressed against her thighs, having ceased her attempts to escape to watch him carefully. Her brows furrowed together as she tried to piece together her observation.
Shit Gray cursed silently as he pushed away his dirty thoughts and clenched his fists. He couldn't afford to get trapped in a wave of seduction.
"Wh-What?" he responded dumbly, silently cursing to himself once more.
Juvia pointed a finger at him. "Your face is blushed, Gray-sama." she narrowed her eyes at him, biting down on her bottom lip as if she were in deep thought, pressing her thighs closer together as her other hand rested steadily on her knee.
His response was smooth. "Heh," he grinned "I'm just getting excited to win this game."
Gray knew that Juvia wasn't stupid, as carefree as she usually acted around him and the others, he knew that the bluenette held a high level of intelligence to her that even Makarov had acknowledged. Gajeel himself had often told him and the others that Juvia wasn't as ditzy as she appeared to be, though he didn't have to be convinced of this for long.
So yes, he knew that she suspected something when she didn't immediately respond to him, continuing to stare him down with suspicion shimmering in her eyes like glitter.
The setting sun turned the water a darker shade of orange, almost as if to get the two mages to get going already and finish the game. Juvia turned her head to glance at the glowing sun that was on its way to disappearing into its slumber.
Before Gray could continue his advance forward, a small cracking noise caught his attention. He froze, blinking slowly as he looked down to his feet to see if the ice paddies he created could no longer hold his weight. However, they held firm below his feet, showing no signs of breaking.
Before he could ask himself where the noise was coming from, his eyes widened in realization as they flew to land on the breaking ice around Juvia's ankles.
Crap!
Before he could open his mouth and lunge forward, he watched as she slowly spread her lips into a glossy, victorious smile.
"Then Juvia has wasted enough of our time."
And with a sudden splash, she was gone.
An exhilarating whirl of bubbles invaded Juvia's vision as her liquified body plunged into the water, a chilled rush of energy fueling her as she let herself sink down into the shadowy depths.
She closed her eyes and frowned to herself as she dropped her cool facial expression for an exhausted one. She was sure that she had been done for when he froze her in place, Gray's ice was as impenetrable as a glass plate attempting to crack a diamond. She knew that better than anyone. However, ice was still made of water, and there was nothing more natural for Juvia than water. It only took Juvia a matter of seconds to use Gray's sudden hesitation to concentrate on the frozen molecules fused with her skin to take control of them and break free.
But even so..
Juvia glanced upwards towards the surface, her hair flowing upwards in its ponytail.
All he had to do was walk forward and place his hands on her, and it would've been over. She would have been completely angry with herself for coming so close to the end without being caught only to lose to her Gray-sama. And she had come so close to letting her team dwindle down another player.
So why hadn't he tagged her? He was coming for her, and he stopped suddenly, watching her struggle with a strange look on his face as it appeared to have been painted with an uncharacteristic blush. It was almost as if he were distracted by something beyond her field of vision entirely.
She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter as she admitted to herself that she enjoyed the blush invading his masculine face, puffing out her cheeks as a wave of affection began to invade her body.
Why is he the hottest human ever? She thought to herself as she finally opened her eyes to stare at a koi fish swimming lazily a few feet away. This game surely would have been easier if she were facing Natsu or Gajeel. Then she wouldn't be feeling so distracted at the moment, or rather, she wouldn't have to jump below the surface of the water just to compose herself. Well, more to gain a vantage point in carrying out her plan to steal the win in the fight.
A muffled splash brought Juvia back to her senses as a swarm of bubbles began to gather like bees a few feet above her, white foam blocking her vision of the figure that had made such a splash, not that she didn't know who it was, rather that she hadn't expected him to dive under the water so eagerly.
Within a few more seconds, the bubbles vanished up towards the surface, and he stared down at her with a fierceness that she'd only ever seen during intense battles. The look almost startled Juvia to a familiar chill, something that she hadn't felt in quite a long time. To others, she could only compare the feeling to eating a giant ice cream sundae or finally solving a difficult puzzle. It was something along the lines of pure dopamine overtaking her system and sending her cells into a frenzied, excited overdrive. She knew that it was impossible, but she swore in that moment that excited chills danced across her liquified body. Some time ago, Juvia was sure that her old self would have ran into his arms out of ignorant bliss just because he asked her to.
Times have surely changed, and the look on Gray's face confirmed this for Juvia.
She narrowed her eyes when she saw the thin strip of ice stretched across Gray's mouth and nose.
The severity of the moment finally sunk in, and with a small exhale of bubbles, Juvia allowed her limbs to partially return to flesh. He watched her do this, knowing that she was about to make her next move.
They locked eyes, and their fates were sealed.
He was done playing games, and so was she.
The temperature of the water around them began to drop at a rapid pace, forming small shards of frozen water that tangled themselves in Juvia's hair and eyelashes and poked at the parts of her arms that were no longer liquid. Her eyes widened when she realized what Gray was doing, and she'd be absolutely damned if she would let him succeed. Acting as quickly as she could, she spread out her arms and allowed her magic to flow down into her fingertips and she released it in a sudden burst. She felt a rush of exhilaration as she allowed the water to roll smoothly around her body in a quick whirlpool. She felt her magic building up in her body, relishing in the familiar bliss when a sharp jab of pain shot up her right arm, causing her to release a gasp of bubbles that popped on her cheeks. The pain wasn't excruciating, but it hindered her enough to make her grit her teeth as the water around her began to slow in its defense efforts.
She saw the smug look on his face as he watched her struggle, and it infuriated her.
She thought that if she kept a defense of water around her that she would be safe, that if it had moved fast enough the current she created wouldn't freeze along with the rest of the river around them, just as the ocean never froze in the winter time. But that damned ice mage had managed to sneak the ice past her shield.
Juvia's eyes glanced down towards her pained arm, then above her towards the surface.
If she stayed in her liquified form, her limbs would freeze along with her environment, and she knew that Gray could have frosted over the entire river by that time if he really wanted to. Now, a smaller portion of her body being frozen like it was before was no issue, after all half of her body was solid, and it was that leverage that gave her the magic energy to focus her warm blood down into her ankles and manipulate the ice. But her entire body? That was a completely different story, not to mention the risk of nerve and muscle damage she'd give herself if she fell into the icy trap. And as she felt her muscles in her arms tense up with stabbing pain, she knew that she had to solidify her body.
And that was exactly what he wanted her to do.
She was falling into his trap despite her best efforts, and she knew that he was certain she'd figured it out.
She closed her eyes and the water around her began to slow, hushing the aquatic howls of the rushing water as the temperature continued to drop. The water around her body began to feel like jello, and as she slowly opened her eyes to see Gray moving closer to her, she realized that she had to act right there and then.
He wanted to play dirty? Fine. She'd show him dirty by giving him just what he wanted.
She smiled confidently at him, which prompted him halt his advance out of sheer suspicion.
She arched her head back and with a sudden rush, she allowed her body to solidify completely, feeling her magic rush into her solid fingertips as the cold water stung her cheeks, a smile spreading across her lips as she brought her hands in front of her.
That ice mask could only supply Gray with so much oxygen. He'd eventually have to return to the surface to replenish his air. Of course, she would have to eventually do the same, but who else could hold her breath in record time other than Juvia herself? Nobody that's who.
With a sudden burst, she released her magic and the water around her surged into a giant current, and with an innocent smile, she sent it flying.
"There's no way in hell I'm going in there."
The bakery stood before them in all its glory, a smaller brick building adorned with sugary pink windowpanes, a color fitting for a building that made its living off of selling pastries and anything that was made of sugar. It was considered by some to be one of the best bakeries in Magnolia, and one of the many who agreed with this statement was currently inside.
And outside, however, stood a small group of petrified fairies.
"I thought everyone was gone...h-how did she get in there?" A shaken Elfman questioned his fellow guildmates as they stood shoulder to shoulder a few feet away from the butter-yellow painted entrance.
"I heard the owner gave her a key a while back." Freed stated, his eyes focused on the door with sheer horror overflowing his eyes. "He said that he liked her attitude...or something like that."
"O-Or he just likes how her hair m-matches the cherries he puts on his angel food c-cake." Bixslow commented shakily, clenching his fists nervously.
"Y-Yeah...cherries…" Elfman barely agreed before running his hands through his hair and grunting in frustration. He turned to face his teammates in desperation. "I'm not going in there! I can't!"
"You lost in rock paper scissors!" Bixslow exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air for exaggeration, his babies chanting this fact with him. "You took an oath!"
"An oath, an oath!" the babies chanted.
"I don't even know why we played rock paper scissors." Freed commented, crossing his arms and nodding to himself. "Bixslow and I are out of the game, so by default you're the only one who's eligible."
The two men looked back towards the bakery, and the horror in their eyes returned.
"J-Just don't make direct eye contact." Freed stuttered quietly.
"And m-make sure ya don't eye the cake on her plate." Bixslow added carefully.
Elfman swallowed nervously, glancing over at the female next to him, her brown hair flowing down her shoulders in waves. "Couldn't you just-"
"Absolutely not." Evergreen replied, cutting him off with a glare. "I'm not going to help you sell out my teammate, especially since you were the one to tag me."
Elfman glared right back at her, his bravery slowing coming back to him. "A true man isn't afraid to ask for help when he needs it."
A true man also knows his limits… he silently added to himself, shuddering at the image of what he'd find behind the doors of the sweet building.
Evergreen rolled her eyes at him, but not before she bit down on her bottom lip softly, taking in his words with a secret relish. A few seconds was all she needed before she puffed out her cheeks and grabbed the red flag tucked into her hip. "Well, this has been fun." she said, throwing her blank flag up in the air and catching it as she turned her back to the boys and waved. "I'm going back to the Guild. Have fun playing chicken!"
The men watched her leave, each of them sighing as her words of truth sank in.
They turned towards the entrance once more, Bixslow and Freed sighing in exasperation as they watched Elfman begin to sweat uncontrollably.
"Alright man, time to-"
"I'm not going."
The cobblestones were damp and cold under their palms as they clutched onto the rocky ground with their heavy breaths, water dripping down their cheeks and necks as their vision worked to regain its clear image.
They'd played the game of 'catch' for what felt like hours. Juvia would send a dangerous current Gray's way, while he would freeze it and send the ice flying back towards her. They'd hopped in and out of the water at least twenty or so times, traumatizing the innocent fish that only wished to swim lazily through their day. It was pretty certain that about half of the water from the river had splashed out of it and onto the buildings and sidewalks, the small portion of their environment looking as though there had been a mini rainstorm.
Gray glanced upwards from his kneeling on all fours position through his sopping wet bangs, glancing at a fatigue struck Juvia who was breathing heavily into the ground propped up onto her elbows. Her hair was practically glued to her cheeks with water, and as her eyes met his, he was unable to get up from his position and willingly boost his stamina.
Juvia watched him carefully, contemplating what her next move would be as she glanced up towards the sun. Her eyes widened as she realized that if she was going to make another move, it had to be in that very moment.
They had only a few more minutes till the sun disappeared.
"Are you gonna give up yet?" Gray asked her, grinning at her as he let out a small huff of amusement."
This irked her. "Bite me." she told him, pushing off of the ground so that she was kneeling.
Gray laughed. "Sounds tempting."
Did I really just say that out loud? A small voice in Gray's head asked himself, even though he dismissed the voice in his head to mimic Juvia's actions in glancing up at the dying sunlight. He gritted his teeth in frustration, glancing down at the ground as he tried to comprehend what could possibly help him win in this situation. He knew that if he sprinted towards her, she'd have plenty of time to liquify her body and escape his grasp.
But if he didn't do something soon…
"Juvia is tired!" he suddenly heard her exclaim, watching as she threw her head back and began to massage her temples with her fingers. "Gray-sama, you've really pushed Juvia to her limits today."
Gray watched her in fascination for a few moments, wondering how it was possible for someone to go from such a serious demeanor to a state of complaining. Well, not that he should be so surprised. He'd witnessed this type of behavior from people like Natsu and Lucy, and even he himself had been guilty of it from time to time.
Letting himself so, he pushed off of the ground as well and sat down on the damp cobblestones, exhaling in exhaustion. "You should talk." he replied to her, sighing as he looked off into the water at the cautious koi fish now swimming freely.
"Then let's end this."
Gray directed his attention back to Juvia, who was wringing out her hair before she flipped her blue locks over her shoulder. She shot him a serious look as she began to stand up straight. "We've run out of time. I'd say we were both evenly matched, and Juvia is sure that Gray-sama wishes to end this as well."
She waited for his answer, knowing that he had exerted all of his energy for the day and that he wanted to get back to the guild just as much as she did. She could feel her mouth water in anticipation for the food and desserts that their mini ball would surely provide, wishing to drown her day with strawberry whipped cream and vanilla sponge cake.
And, just as a way to speed up the peace agreement, Juvia smiled softly as she tugged at the sopping red flag still attached to her hip, and held it out in front of her for Gray to gaze upon the blank surface.
"See? Juvia is not holding the correct flag." she told him as his eyes widened in surprise. For emphasis, she let it fall to the ground with a small sloshing noise. She put her hands on her hips, acting proud of herself for concealing the truth for as long as she did.
A few seconds passed before Gray's surprised expression turned into an exhausted yet amused one as he laughed.
"Well that's just perfect." he laughed to himself as he looked up at the sky, sighing as he finally made the move to rise from his sitting position. "All this time and I could've been tracking down the real flag holder."
You and I both know that's a lie and a half his inner voice said sarcastically as he cautiously took a step forward, pausing before he took another step, watching as Juvia mimicked his actions. "But, what can ya do?"
She watched his every move with her ocean blue eyes, though Gray recognized that familiar sparkle that hid effortlessly behind her irises.
"So we do it at the same time." he said, rather than asked as the distance between the two of them shortened. Their environment slowly began to fade to a dark gray, the orange sunset melting away like a popsicle on a hot day.
Juvia nodded as she took another step. "You tag Juvia. And…" she suddenly trailed off as a faint blush began to invade her cheeks, unable to speak the following words without worrying what phrase would spill out of her mouth without her permission.
Gray dry swallowed the cooling air around them as they finally closed ninety percent of the distance that had been between them. "You kiss me."
The two of them said nothing for a couple seconds, staring into each other's eyes before they both shook their heads, as if to release the awkwardness from their bodies.
"Sh-Should we count to three?"
"Y-Yeah! Sounds good to me!"
Juvia inhaled and exhaled slowly, realizing that this was the moment she had literally always dreamed about, even though the kiss was more indirect than anything. She could do indirect kisses, it wasn't like she had to kiss a stranger on the lips. Gray was the last person she would describe as a stranger. After all, how could he be a stranger to her when she lived with him for a year?
"One."
After all…
"Two."
She also couldn't categorize Gray's lips as foreign to her.
Gray stretched out his hand towards Juvia, his fingertips just barely making contact with her forearm. He felt warm shivers go up his spine as she leaned in closer to him, her lips only an inch away from his cheek. He could feel her breath warm against his skin, and he forced his eyes to stay open for fear of hallucination. He let her scent overtake his senses, shaking away the flashbacks of the summer nights spent with laughter and waking up in the same bed even though they usually slept separately.
Oh how things had changed.
"Three." she said softly, her breath tickling his skin.
When neither of them moved from their positions, they glanced into each other's eyes as the sun began to say its final goodbye to the day.
It was as if this final change of light triggered something in the two of them, sending their adrenaline into a final dosage of overdrive as they both realized what was about to happen.
Gray suddenly jumped backwards, creating space between Juvia's lips and him as he landed on his toes. With a grin, he launched himself forward and reached out for her arm.
Juvia, however, had other plans.
They had both moved away from each other at the same time, both realizing that they could still fight for their teams.
Juvia had leapt backwards as well, and when her feet made contact with the cobblestone, she also launched herself forward with a final ounce of determination.
This surge of energy, however, was completely blinded by a couple of loose cobblestones as they fell victim to the road's devilish trick. As Juvia stuck her landing, her shoe got caught in the small gap in the ground and with a surprised gasp, she began to fall face forward into the ground.
Out of instinct, Gray immediately dove to cradle her head before it could smash against the stones, however he overestimated the distance he needed and ended up losing his control over his body. The two mages dove headfirst past each other, their heads slamming into the other's as Juvia's lips sloppily grazed Gray's cheek and his fingers brushed against her arm at the same time.
The sunset had vanished completely, leaving the two Fairy Tail mages grunting on the wet ground in pain.
Juvia's high pitched whine rang out as she began to rub her head slowly, biting down on her lip as the pain radiated throughout her skull. Gray hissed through his teeth as he did the same, both of them lying on the ground as they rode out the initial waves of pain.
Their legs brushed together as the two of them struggled to sit up. They both ignored the other's grunts of pain, sighing as they turned to face one another. Juvia's face lit up in amusement as she saw Gray slowly feel the red flag off of his forehead, having landed on top of it.
Gray looked down at the flag in his hand and blinked at it slowly before he raised his eyes to meet Juvia's once more.
They both turned to glare at the loose cobblestone in the ground.
"If anyone asks, this never happened."
"Agreed."
A/N: And there you have it! I'm so so happy that I'm finally finished with this chapter! It's been haunting me for months, and I can finally share it with you guys! I can't thank you enough for your patience and support!
Hmm...so obviously there's something going on with these two...but you'll have to wait to find out what exactly! And what are the guys so scared of in the bakery?
I'm so not ok that the manga is ending.
BIG BIG hugs to all my amazing reviewers! Your messages make me so unbelievably happy!(I apologize if I miss anyone): Gir276, Mechanical-Rose-Sama, Nanami B, Adrillian1497, Darkxander, iheartpickles, missbehavin, BrennaCoris, Lady of Eldrich Literature, Kaula, Galaxy Princess, quite-a-riot, BakaFangirl, Uchida Akira, and Forbidden-Hanyou!
Get ready Gajevy fans, your chapter is next!
As always, Love you to Fiore and Back! xx