Summary: Inspired by That 70's Show. Gray defends Juvia deepening her opinion of him being a knight in shining armour.

Pairings: Gray/Juvia with implied mentions of Juvia/Lucy friendship, Gray/Erza friendship, and Erza/Juvia friendship.

YouTube: A Gray/Juvia video to 'Two Steps behind You' by Def Leppard.

Gray didn't know how he got here.

He had started this morning like he had always done so, half-naked and lounging in the guild building, when Juvia suddenly burst into the guild with a look of wild desperation. It had taken some pleading, begging, and big watery blue eyes as well as the stern prodding from Erza's rather sharp sword, but Gray found himself wearing a smart (yet constricting) shirt as he attended the Lockser family barbeque.

Though he wasn't sure if barbeque was the right word for it.

Everyone seemed to be dressed in their finest and sat at banquet like tables while servants did the cooking.

Juvia seemed to enjoy herself though.

Her smile was almost as radiant as the sun as she basked in her parents' adoration. They had both been astonished but pleased when they had seen Juvia outside without the rain following her and looking happier than ever before. Juvia had suddenly, quickly, became the centre of the attention and Gray had all but been forgotten.

He might as well not be here.

He really didn't mind though because it meant no one noticed or cared that he seemed to have lost all of his clothes as he helped himself to some chicken and sat under the shade of a great big oak tree in peace.

It was rather interesting to see where Juvia came from.

It was similar to that terrifyingly gigantic estate Lucy had come from and it made Gray wonder if that was why Juvia and Lucy got on so well in spite of Juvia constantly accusing Lucy of trying to steal away Gray.

"Urgh!" a disgusted voice groaned from behind Gray. "I swear the quality of society goes downhill every year."

Gray turned and was startled to see a pale face eerily similar to Juvia's. Every fine, sharp, feature of hers was etched into this boy's face. He even had the very same shade of blue eyes that Juvia had. It was discomforting to see such disdain in a face like Juvia's. Their first encounter not included, Gray was used to seeing a sunny smile and open warmth in Juvia's eyes.

Gray was so surprise to see this boy that it takes him a moment too long to realise that the boy had insulted him.

"Whatever," Gray muttered coolly, unbothered, "I'm only here because Juvia begged me to come."

"She is annoyingly relentless like that," the boy grimaced, "you have my sympathies."

"It's all right," Gray shrugged, a little discomforted that someone that was supposed to be family had no problem putting Juvia down like that, "Juvia's stubbornness can be irritating," especially when it came to her embarrassingly gigantic crush on him, "but this is what friends are for. Doing crap like this for each other."

"Friends?!" the boy said scathingly, "Are you sure? I've seen you evade her almost every turn since you got here and grimace whenever she called out your name, Gray-Sama."

Gray pulled a face at that. "We're friends!" he snapped defensively. "It's just….Juvia likes me a bit more than I like her, y'know?"

"I know," the boy nodded, "and I don't blame you. She's so loud, and annoying, and clingy. She never stopped crying as a kid, she was such a gloomy guts, and of course, because she also had to be so very powerful," Gray gritted his teeth as the boy sneered mockingly, "it affected the weather. This is actually the first barbeque we actually had outside. Usually we had to eat inside because of that freak."

"Okay, that's it!" Gray snarled furiously. "I'm not taking this crap anymore!"

The boy opened his mouth but before he could utter another irritating word, Gray sunk his fist into the boy's gut. The blue haired boy groaned loudly as he suddenly collapsed onto his knees and clutched his stomach in agony.

"Gray-sama!"

Gray stiffened as he waited for Juvia to turn full-Erza on him for hitting one of her relatives but instead Juvia flung her arms round his neck and squeezed tightly before she released him to smile one of her sunniest smiles.

"Juvia saw what Gray-sama did!" she cried out as she clutched her hands beneath her chin admiringly. "Gray-sama had defended Juvia's honour against nasty cousin Juan!"

A glassy look entered Juvia's eyes as she gazed up at Gray adoringly.

Everyone else could see Gray for what he was – a typical boy standing in his underwear – but right now all Juvia could see was a magnificently noble, handsome, man in shining armour as he straddled his white equally noble steed.

Literally.

Gray could virtually feel her fantasy being projected onto him.

"Oh no! Stop it!" Gray whined. "Stop looking at me like that!"

He could virtually see the love hearts in her eyes.

"Juvia!" he yelped. "I said stop looking at me like that!"

"Juvia cannot help it!" Juvia squealed as she snuggled close to Gray's chest. "Gray-sama is her knight in shining armour!"

Gray sighed in defeat.