"What?"
Mira smiles gently as she wipes down the counter, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes. "I said Juvia went on a mission, Gray. She'll be back in a couple of days."
The ice mage blinks and nods, putting his hands in the pocket of his pants to avoid fidgeting with them, too embarrassed to act casual. "Oh. I thought she'd be here when we got back."
Team Natsu had just gotten back to the guild, taking a break from the 100-year quest. Gray expected a lot of happy tears and bone-crushing hugs from one specific person, but when they walked through the doors, it was strangely absent.
Mira sends him an apologetic gaze which makes Gray look away to hide the fact that he is affected by this. He inadvertently finds out that he is missing his shirt.
"Thanks, Mira." He says and walks away. Sighing, he heads over to his friends' table, which is one of the rowdiest in the guild thanks being to Natsu making a scene.
They will only stay here for a few more days, and then they will resume with the 100-year quest. He hopes in that time Juvia will return.
XxX
It's been a few days and Juvia is still not here.
Gray is sitting over at the bar, nursing a drink and ignoring the usual ruckus the guild is known to have.
"Stop making that face in the middle of the day. You'll scare Asuka-chan off." Mira makes her way over to him to refill his glass, giving him a look. Gray raises a brow.
"I'm not making a face. Besides, Asuka is too preoccupied with the lovebirds right now." He denies and rolls his eyes, tilting his head back to drown his drink.
Mira glances at the aforementioned lovebirds, a small smile on her face.
"Natsu and Lucy are good with kids." She chuckles, then looks back at him with a mischievous look in her eyes, one that he knows all too well and hates with a passion. "Speaking of lovebirds..." She singsongs, grinning. "Juvia will be back in two days so you can stop your sulking now."
Gray scowls, eyebrows knitting together. "Juvia and I aren't like that." He exclaims, cheeks starting to burn and ignores her skeptical raised eyebrow. "And I am not sulking."
Mira hums, unconvinced as she dishes out beer for the others in the bar. Despite his vehement refusal though, he finds that his shoulders sag in relief at the knowledge that the water mage will be home in two days.
"Sure, Gray." She shrugs and refills his drink again. "Anyways, they'll probably need a day or two journey, but they should be finishing up soon."
He perks up at that, confused. "They? Who is she with?"
Gray mentally tracks the people Juvia would probably go on that mission with.
He recounts Gajeel teasing Levy on a table by the corner, Pantherlily with the other two exceeds, Cana drinking her ass out just a few chairs beside him and Lisanna helping her sister out at the guild. He comes up blank.
"Oh, I forgot to mention. It was a joint mission with Sabertooth and she went with Rogue." The white-haired she-devil explains a little too innocently, and there is a glint in her eye but Gray doesn't notice because he is too busy being surprised by the team-up.
"Juvia and Rogue?" He says doubtfully and there is a crease between his brows. "How did that even happen?"
Mira turns around to hide her grin as she answers. "Well, the mission was originally from Sabertooth but the job specifically requested a water-mage and I'm sure you can imagine the rest."
"I see." He frowns, staring holes at his glass before finishing his drink. He gestured for a refill.
Mira does so, but not without comment. "Don't sulk, Gray." And before he could protest, she holds up a hand, shushing him. "It's obvious you're sulking, why else would Erza delay your departure. She's worried about you."
"Wha-" He spills his drink as he stares at her with wide eyes. Mira only laughs at him as she tends to other patrons in the guild.
XxX
It's two days later and Gray is one of the earliest in the guild.
Mira is sending him these looks he'd rather not decipher at all. She is smiling like she is the devil herself and he knows that its early morning but he is too tired to deal with her right now, so he disregards her presence entirely and just sips his coffee in peace.
"Hey, Gray." Lucy appears with her own breakfast in tow. "You're early today."
He shrugs as he puts down his cup. "Just making the best of my time with the guild before we leave for the quest again."
"Right." The blonde nods but a smile is lifting the corner of her lips, small and secretive. "I'm sure Juvia will be here any minute now."
And Gray pointedly looks away. "I don't know what you're talking about." He ignores the amused snort and focuses on the doors.
A few hours pass and there is still no sign of Juvia that Gray is getting antsy. It's midday, the guild is livelier than ever, Natsu had dragged Lucy off to an 'adventure', Gray's fourth cup of coffee is surely cold by now and Juvia is nowhere in sight.
Mira graces his vision to replace his by now cold coffee and Gray's eyes stray from the door. "Can you get me a bottle of beer, instead?"
She tutts at him, hands on hip. "Coffee and beer. Really, Gray?" She admonishes. Tilting her head, she regards him for a moment. "I told you to stop sulking."
"I'm not sulking." He makes to cross his arms, but realizes a second too late that the action does look like he is sulking, so he flails them around last minute. He also realizes that his shirt is gone, along with his pants, leaving him only in his boxers.
"Really now, then what are you doing?" Mira raises one perfectly arched brow at him, as if telling him he is an idiot. And frankly, he feels like one too.
"Not sulking. I'm... waiting." He says reluctantly. He sighs as the woman lets out a grin and Gray swears, he can see the devil.
"Waiting, eh?" Mira chirps happily, ecstatic that she finally managed to get him to admit it. Her smile turns a tad bit suspicious, and Gray stares warily. "Don't worry, delays in jobs are normal. Perhaps they're spending some quality time together after a job well done."
The ice mage scoffs, this time crossing his arms for real. "Knowing Juvia, I doubt that. She's probably dying to get back to m- to the guild."
Mira hums, putting her palm on her cheek as she thinks. "I don't even think she knows team Natsu is back. Maybe she and Rogue are tired and taking a break. The guild will still be here then." She ponders aloud, eyes twinkling with mirth.
Gray's mood plummets with her words. In his mind is Juvia with Rogue, spending some alone time together. "Gray!"
At Mira's startled exclamation, Gray snaps out of it. The table is frozen. He clears his throat and retracts his magic. He apologizes, thanks Mira for the coffees and heads out to clear his head.
Walking around town, he looks up at the sky, blue and endless. It reminds him of Juvia, her endless devotion, her unwavering loyalty and without him noticing, it brings a smile to his face.
He sighs. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
XxX
When he returns to the guild, the girls are huddled in a corner and giggling about something.
His curiosity gets the better of him and he walks over casually. He catches a glance of blue hair and a blue winter hat and suddenly, it's his mission to come closer to take a good look.
It's Juvia. She's back.
At the sight of her, the weight over his shoulders disappears and his heart is lighter. She must be very tired or distracted because although her back is to him, she hasn't noticed him yet, too busy gossiping with the girls. Usually, she could detect him a mile away.
He takes advantage of the situation and watches her for a moment, appraising her form for any sign of injury, smiling in contentment. However, his smile slides right off at her next words.
"He is really cute." She gushes and despite him being an ice mage, Gray's whole body turns cold.
"What!" His mind is numb and his mouth must have a mind of its own because the shrill squawk surely did not come voluntarily from him.
Juvia jumps and turns around, and they have a second of wide-eyed eye contact before she launches into him for a hug.
"Gray-sama!" She exclaims as his hands come up to wrap around her waist like it's second nature. It feels nice, to have her in his arms. Comfort and bliss wrapped up in a single person.
"Juvia." He breathes but his mind is still a mess and he has been waiting for days and his brain is going overdrive, surely because of all the caffeine he consumed. So, what comes out of his mouth next is, without a doubt, Mira's fault. "I can't believe you think Rogue is cute."
Juvia withdraws from him to look him in the eye, confusion clear in those deep blue orbs. There is silence, almost waiting for the pin to drop. And then, because she is a shameless minx, Cana lets out an inelegant snort before doubling over in laughter.
Lisanna is smiling as she pats him on the shoulder, shaking her head. "You've dug this one yourself, Gray." He blinks at her slowly, a hand still around the water-mage's waist when he catches sight of her sister, slinking away from the group with an (obviously fake) innocent smile.
Wendy drags the still laughing Cana away, giving him a reassuring smile. The other girls leave them alone, smiling in amusement and Gray knows he had played right into Mira's game.
He turns to look at the blue haired girl again and sighs when he sees the small smile at the corner of her lips.
"What was that about?" She asks now that they are alone, and Gray groans.
"I've had a long day, a long week really." He lets out a long exhale as they claim an empty table for themselves.
Juvia clings to his arm, which he finds he doesn't mind all that much. He hasn't for a long time.
"If Juvia had known you were back, she would have finished her mission early." She bemoans and Gray tells her that it's not a big deal, even though it clearly was. A voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like Mira hounds on him. It clearly was if you were sulking that much. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and Juvia eyes him dubiously. "You haven't answered the question, Gray-sama."
Gray chuckles. Trust Juvia to be stubborn to a T.
"I guess I got caught up in one of Mira's games." He admits and glares at her for laughing. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
"I'm sorry Gray-sama. You're usually too cool about these things." Her face is bright, smile wide and Gray has to force himself to look away. "What did she say?"
"That you went on a mission with Rogue."
Juvia tilts her head at him. "Juvia did, though."
And Gray's mind is back on overdrive. He figured it was a misunderstanding when the girls started laughing at him and that Mira was playing tricks on him. But Juvia actually went...
"Wait, so you actually think he's cute?" Gray accuses her and he is horrified to note that his tone slightly sounds petulant.
Juvia only stares at him in shock for a minute, then turns her head to cough in her hand. Gray waits impatiently as he watches her hide her bursts of laughter behind her palm. "Juvia, stop making fun of me!"
"Sorry, Gray-sama." She gives him a sweet smile, and he forgives her instantly. "But you are an idiot."
Never mind. Where did his sweet Juvia go?
"What?" He frowns at her, slowly getting angry. He is about to ask her how smart Rogue is, but then she grabs his face, effectively shutting him up.
"Juvia was talking about Frosch. Frosch is really cute." She enunciates each word, pressing his cheeks together.
"Oh." He blinks when she lets go of his face and blinks again when the words finally register. "Oh."
He had been so focused on Rogue that he had forgotten about the exceed always tagging along with him. Yeah, Gray is an idiot.
Juvia giggles, staring at him with a fond smile. It makes his heart ache. "Gray-sama is cute when he is jealous."
"I'm not-" He starts but at her very pointed eyebrow raise, he stops. "Yeah, I was jealous." He acknowledges and Juvia's smile widen.
"Why were you jealous, Gray-sama?" She asks softly and Gray is quiet, contemplative. Juvia bites her lip, worried. "It's okay if you aren't rea-"
"No, it's fine." Gray interrupts her, shifting so that he is facing her. "I've been really selfish, huh, Juvia?" He smiles at her and when Juvia shakes her head to contradict him, he takes hold of her hands, small and pale, like porcelain. "I was jealous because I didn't want you to leave me."
"Oh, love." Her gaze is gentle and her smile is soothing and Gray's heart is constricting in his chest. "Even if you've been selfish or stupid or difficult, Juvia won't ever leave you. Because Juvia loves Gray-sama."
Juvia has always said those words, she has never failed to remind Gray that he is loved, that he is not alone. And he loves her a little more for it every time.
Oh.
Gray smiles at her, calm and steady. "And Gray loves Juvia."
The water mage freezes, hands stiffening in his hold. Her huge blue eyes are blinking at him repeatedly, and he suppresses the urge to embrace her. Cute. When she finally processes his confession, she throws herself into his arms and he wastes no time squeezing her back and it is glorious. She's warm and she smells nice and he can see himself in the future, doing this every day.
It feels almost like coming home.
It is at this moment that Mira appears out of nowhere, placing drinks down at their table.
"You're welcome, lovebirds." She says with a grin worthy of the devil.