Gray loosened his tie as he entered the house. He removed his coat and threw it on the rack as he made his way through the kitchen. He then grabbed a bottled water from the fridge and a leftover pizza to heat up in the microwave.
He leaned on the counter and massaged his neck as he closed his eyes. It had been a tiring day. He and Lyon had been arguing regarding a specific project, and that was more exhausting than his actual work. That fool only knew how to irritate him. He shouldn't have agreed to partner up with him. So annoying.
When he was done heating up the pizza, he held the plate with the bottled water on his arm, and ambled towards the living room. He planned to watch some sitcom to lessen his stress.
Gray stilled under the arch that led to the living room when he saw her. Oh, right. He had been away for two days and he was so busy that he forgot about her. How could he forget?
He stared at her back for a while and listened to her humming a tune. She seemed relaxed and happy as she wiped the large photo frame clean. He was about to turn back when he noticed the specific frame she was holding. The picture of his mom.
His eyes turned to slits and anger rose from his chest. Is she planning on removing it? As expected, there was nothing good from this marriage. Sooner or later, his mother's traces in this house would disappear and be replaced by her! And to think he decided to give her a chance just a couple of days ago.
"What are you doing?" He asked in repressed fury as he put down the pizza and water on the centre table.
Juvia looked at him with a smile. "Ah! Gray-sama... hello," she greeted before continuing to wipe the frame, unaware of his raging emotions. "I had nothing to do so I decided to clean for a bit. The feather duster doesn't help much so I took this down to wipe with a cloth." She even faced the frame on his direction to let him see.
Before he could reply, he saw her climbed the chair and put the frame back on its place. She then climbed down, crossed her arms and stared at the frame proudly.
"Look, Gray-sama, isn't it cleaner now?"
Gray pressed his lips together, feeling complicated. He glanced at her and saw how dirty her dress had become because of all the cleaning. She must've started hours ago for her to accumulate that much dirt. Even her face and hair have some dust on them. Did she clean the whole house?
He hadn't noticed when he came in since he wasn't paying attention but now that he had scan the surroundings, the house seemed much spotless.
Both Gray and Silver didn't really clean that much. They hired cleaners every once in a while. Since they both have so much going on, there were times when they would forget about it. Especially Gray, since he wasn't really at home most of the time.
He looked up at his mother's photo. She was beautiful in it, smiling kindly. Looking at her, it was as if his mother could see his messed up thoughts few moments ago and he felt terrible.
What chance... he didn't give Juvia a chance, he straight up assumed the worst about her.
He wasn't this kind of guy before, or was he?
"You're only planning to eat pizza, Gray-sama?" Juvia broke the silence. "I can cook you a good meal if you want. Let me just shower."
Gray called her before she could totally left. She stopped on her tracks and looked at him with questioning gaze.
"Sorry," he uttered in a low voice but enough for her to hear.
Juvia tilted her head in bewilderment. "For what, Gray-sama?"
Seeing her innocent reaction, Gray felt a punch on his stomach. "I... I thought you're gonna remove my mother's frame."
She stared at him for a while before realization dawned on her face. "Oh."
Gray felt worse at her reaction. He saw pain flashed her eyes for a moment and he had this urge to apologize again. Today wasn't his day. He was pissed at work and facing an unfamiliar young stepmother wasn't really that much of a help to lessen his irritation. It was also not helping that he wanted to be angry at her because of their situatuion, so when he sees a reason to be so, he flared.
Silence lasted for a few seconds before Juvia broke it. "I understand. But you have nothing to worry about, Gray-sama. I won't do that."
Juvia would be lying if she said she wasn't bothered by it. But it wasn't the first time she was misunderstood so she was kinda used to it. But coming from Silver's son, it hit where it really hurts. Nonetheless, she understood where he was coming from. After all, she was a stepmother—although not in the true sense of the word.
"You... won't?" he asked, confused.
She gazed at Mika's photo, her eyes clouded. "I've heard a lot about her from Silver-sama. I know how important she is to him. I won't do something that will hurt him. He's very dear to me," Juvia muttered, a bit upset.
It was as if her feelings for Silver were disrespected. She owed a lot to that man and the last thing she have in mind was pull off something like that. But she wouldn't blame Gray because she could sympathize with him.
"Knowing that, you still married him?" He asked, bewildered. For some reason, Gray felt his chest stuffy.
Juvia's brows furrowed. "But of course. It's actually one of the reason I like Silver-sama. His heart belongs to you and Mika-sama. To have a small part of it dedicated for me is enough."
Silver was the one who made her feel a parent's warmth. For that, she would be forever grateful. She respected, admired and loved him as her family, just like Gajeel.
Gray stared at her as she looked dazedly at the portrait. He could see no pretense on her face. He had not been able to properly look at her this close. She was really pretty. She wasn't the gorgeous type like his friend, Lucy, but she was attractive in her own right.
Looking at her peaceful gaze as if she had come to terms that Silver would never love her the same as he loved Mika, Gray felt pity for her.
Wait. How the hell did he come from hating the idea of her in this house to actually pitying her? And to think he had only met her for a few days!
But it's also not wrong for him to say he had known her for so long. Silver had told her everything about her, what she does in every day, what she likes and what makes her cry. Subconsciously, he listened to all of it. Thinking about it, he could even remember that she's fond of butterflies and sunset. Heck, he doesn't even know his own favorite food!
Gray immediately avoided her eyes when she turned to him. His heart beat fast as if he had ran. What was he avoiding her gaze for?
"I'll head to my room," he said before turning to leave.
"What about your pizza?" Juvia followed him out. She had been thinking earlier what to cook for dinner so she was in a daze. What happened to Gray during that?
"Later."
He did not wait for her reply as he ran upstairs.
"It's been a long time since I last saw you smoke," Silver commented as he walked out of the house.
Gray was at their front porch, leaning on a pole, smoking. He had the urge to smoke after their little dinner. Most of the talk was exchanged by Juvia and his father. They did try to involve him but he wasn't feeling it so he kept quiet. It was different than when he was alone with her at lunch. Seeing them laughing in front of his face made his stomach churn. It was unbearable.
But Natsu was right, Silver was happy with her. He indulged her whims, laughed with her and all. They were a picture of a happy couple. He couldn't imagine it before but now that he wtnessed them together, nothing looked out of place. Their relationship looked real and it made Gray conflicted.
Gray breathed a sigh. "I needed this," he finally answered his father.
Silver stood beside him. "I'm sorry, son."
He didn't answer and instead inhaled and blew some smoke after a while.
"I know it's hard for you to accept all this. But I hope you can at least be nice to Juvia-chan. She's an amazing woman, though weird at times, it doesn't lessen how great she is."
Gray played with his tongue before asking, "Does she reminds you of mother?"
His father laughed out of the blue. "No," his gaze turned distant as he added, "They may be the same in some aspects but no other woman could compare to your mother. I loved your mother, love her still."
Gray frowned. "Then why did you marry Juvia?"
Silver looked at him as if he was stupid. "I didn't say I didn't love Juvia-chan. Oh I do," he said, in his eyes were a peculiar mix. "But it was different kind of love. You wouln't understand so stop asking. My point is, nothing would change, Gray, except an addition to the family."
He frowned even more. It seemed like Juvia was aware of his father's feelings. Did she love him so much that she was willing to settle with someone who could only give her part of his heart?
He closed his eyes. Why does that matter to him? What's important was his father. Now that Silver was intent on making Juvia part of their family, he shouldn't oppose him anymore. Silver deserved to be happy and if Juvia can make him, Gray was willing to welcome her. Besides, she wasn't a bad person. She was sincere, affectionate and kind. Despite her age, she was also mature. Even more than him, considering how he acted after finding out their marriage.
Gray sighed. "You don't have to tell me to be nice to her. It was strenuous for me to even ignore her. I doubt it would be as easy if I treat her nasty."
"She's one of a kind, right?"
Gray grimaced to see his father's proud face. "Shut up."
"You'll like her, I'm sure of that." Silver said before he walked inside of the house.
Gray resumed smoking wondering how sure he was.