Gray couldn't help but groan. It felt like someone was hammering in his head and his throat was itching, no matter how much tea and medicine he gulped down. He heard Cana entering his office, more like barging in actually, however he didn't have the power to scold her or even lift his head up so he just turned his face in her direction instead, mumbling something along the lines of what do you want.

If Cana was bothered by his rudeness, she didn't show. Instead she was looking at him amused, a knowing smirk plastered on her face. What she knew though, he had yet to find out. He had a very good feeling about it however. If Gray didn't know better, he would say she was enjoying his misery very much. A little too much for his liking.

"Someone got a little sick, huh?" She failed a pout, looking at him with anything but Thanks for pointing out the obvious. His sarcasm was getting the best of him and Gray was afraid his moodiness wouldn't be tolerated long by Cana, so he opted with simply glaring at her instead of answering. It wasn't like she was looking for an answer anyway.

"I wonder where you catched that cold.." she was now wiggling her eyebrows, her innuendo very clear. Gray felt heat creep up his cheeks. He was sure his cold wasn't to be blamed for this, but he could still pretend it was an upcoming fever if questioned. Cana however didn't get to ask because entering the office and standing behind her was no other than Silver Fullbuster.

"Son, you look terrible."

Cana laughed while Gray just glared at them both, holding himself back from flipping them both off. Because that wouldn't be professional. And he still had a certain reputation. Instead he decided to simply be honest.

"I feel terrible too."

"Then what are you doing here?" Silver looked at him with disapproval, but you could tell that it was worry that was showing in his features. Before Gray knew what was happening to him, his father had already pushed him off his chair and was throwing his jacket over him.

"Go home and rest, son. You're no use like that here."

"I can't. There's so much to do. I can't leave it all to Cana."

"Why, where is Juvia? She'll help her out."

"Juvia is sick too. He was actually taking care of her yesterday however lover boy forgot about himself and now here we are."

Silver looked at Cana with a raised brow before a huge grin appeared on his face. He turned towards Gray very enthusiastically.

"Oh, is that so lover boy?" The two were looking at him, eagerly awaiting his answer. But Gray wasn't having any of that. No way he would give this two even more reason to act like two weirdos. Instead he groaned at the new nickname his friend had given him. And even worse, his father picked it up! He put his jacket on properly before taking his keys and phone and walking to the door.

"You know what, you're right! I definently need to go home."

"Alright son. Call me if you need anything. I'll check up on you later." Silver patted his shoulder before making his way out of the office. Gray sighed before turning to Cana.

"You'll be alright here?"

"Of course. I handled worse. Although I think I'm still a little too sober.."

"Don't overdo it. I don't want the whole office smelling like alcohol.. AGAIN." To Grays dismay, Cana wasn't even listening. Instead she had already pulled out the first bottle. Gray just shook his head and decided to just let her be. He was too tired for an argument anyway. With one final wave towards her, he left the office. But not before Cana made another remark.

"Want me to call Juvia, I'm sure she will be more than willing to take care of you, lover boy."

"BYE CANA!"

Gray hadn't arrived home yet when the first message arrived.

*Ding*

Juvia: I'm so sorry.

*Ding*

J.: I feel terrible.

*Ding*

J.: Cana told me.

*Ding*

J.: I hope you're not feeling too bad.

*Ding*

J.: I should have known better.

*Ding*

J.: I'm the worst person.

Of course Cana would tell her. What else? Gray just rolled his eyes at his friends antics before focusing back on the messages he was receiving. He couldn't help but smile. Of course Juvia would feel bad about it and blame herself even though it was his own fault. He knew she was sick and he decided to stay and pretty much cuddle with her, although he truly hoped she forgot about that part, so yeah, his fault. He wasn't sure though whether he could convince the girl who was frantically texting him of that.

Gray: It's fine, don't worry about it. It's not your fault at all. I've just got a little cold, it's nothing serious. You know Cana, always there for the drama.

J.: I'm glad to hear that. I still feel bad though. Is there anything I can do for you?

G.: How about you get well yourself and then you can worry about me :)

J.: I'm getting there. Feeling much better already. Thanks again for yesterday.

G.: Sure, anytime. That's what friends are there for, right? ;)

Gray stared at his phone, waiting for her reply. Was that the right thing to say? They were friends right? Suddenly an uneasy feeling formed in his stomach. Maybe he was getting too far ahead of himself. She was sick when they had that conversation after all. She probably didn't remember most of yesterday.

*Ding*

The moment his phone signaled a new message, Gray was pretty much staring at it. He wouldn't admit it but it was crazy, how eager he was to get a message from her. He would definently deny the stupid grin on his face if anyone ever saw him. No way, Gray Fullbuster isn't that kind of guy. He doesn't get all excited over a simple text message. And yet, here we are.

J.: I just had an idea.. but I'm not sure how you'd feel about it.

Well, now he was intrigued.

G.: Tell me and find out.

J.: Well, you just said that friends are there to take care of each other, right?

G.: Yeah, I did say that. So what's the idea?

J.: Nevermind, it's stupid. Forget about it please.

G.: Don't be ridiculous Juvia. Come on, tell me!

A few minutes passed. Gray assumed she was contemplating whether to tell him of her idea or not. He sure hoped she did because he was pretty curious. No way was he going to let her chicken out now.

J.: Don't laugh.

G.: I won't.

J.: Promise?

G.: Promise.

J.: Alright then.. Well, I was thinking.. since we are friends, like you said, and we are both sick.. we could take care of each other?

Take care of each other? Gray stared at the text, a stupid smile on his face. It was moments like that he was glad he lives alone because if anyone saw him like that, looking like a love sick idiot..

Wait, wait, hold on. Did he just use the L word? Canas nickname came to his mind. Lover boy. Did she have a point all along? Gray shook the thought away. He was going crazy. Gray Fullbuster has most likely lost it. There was no way he felt that kind of emotion. Sure, a crush from time to time. But not love. He knew better than that. And yet, he couldn't deny that the girl had awoken emotions in him he hadn't felt before. He had yet to figure them out tho..

J.: I knew it was stupid.. just forget about it please!

Gray was so deep in thoughts, he didn't realize that he left her on read for a few minutes already. He panicked, afraid he had messed up already.

G.: NO!

J.: No?

G.: Sorry, I meant.. no, it's not stupid.

J.: It's not?

G.: I like your idea.

J.: You do?

G.: Yes.

J.: Oh.. well, I'm glad you do :)

The smile on his face didn't falter once during their conversation, despite the uneasy feeling regarding his newfound emotions.

He was genuinely happy that Juvia wanted to spend time with him. He wasn't exactly the most outgoing person after all. But he did have to admit that he made an effort with her from the beginning. There was just something special about her..

Although his happiness did get clouded by some doubts which started creeping up on him. Was he supposed to come over to her place again? Would Gajeel be there this time? He was sure the guy wouldn't be thrilled about it. And he had alreadt been to her place twice. Would she think he was taking advantage of her hospitality?

Should he invite her over to his place instead? What if that freaked her out? He didn't want to make her uncomfortable. There was also another issue at hand. Gray glanced around his apartment. There were clothes thrown everywhere. He was also sure that his fridge was empty and were that the leftovers from two days ago piling up on his dining table?

He groaned. There was no way he could let Juvia see his place like this. What kind of impression would that leave? Especially because her place seemed to be cleaned over the top. It was spotless. Thinking back to the plate incident, that didn't surprise him. This however made the current state of his place appear even worse to him.

Was there enough time to get some stuff from the store, clean the place and make himself look a little more presentable before Juvia arrived? He didn't know but he was about to find out.

G.: My place this time. Can you come over?

J.: Are you sure? I don't mind you staying at my place again.

G.: Is Gajeel going to be there?

J.: ...

J.: Yes..

G.: My place it is!

Gray texted her his address before starting with the tiring task of cleaning. He wasn't aware how many clothes he had sprawled out all over his place until he had to pick them up at once. When it looked decent enough, it sure wasn't going to sparkle, he was a young man living alone after all, he threw on his jacket and jogged to the nearest store.

To his luck, Juvia had texted him saying that she was going to take a little longer because of an ongoing discussion with Gajeel about her having to stay in bed. That bought Gray enough time to finish his tasks and he was grateful to the big guy, although he would never tell him that.

He had just put the last thing away when his doorbell rang. He still looked like a mess, but considering he was sick, he just shrugged it off. Juvia would understand.

The doorbell rang again. Gray raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't take Juvia for the impatient kind, but there was still a lot he had yet to learn about her. Practically sprinting to the door, he threw it open, already anticipating the bluennete, only to find someone else in front of him. Someone who looked nothing like the girl he was looking forward to seeing.

"Hey, man! How you doing?" Natsu came barging in, a huge grin on his face, followed closely by a tired, but still amused Lucy.

"What.. what are you guys doing here?"

"Checking up on you. Cana said you're home and sick."

"Is there anyone Cana didn't tell?"

"Probably not, she sent it in our group chat."

Gray groaned, clearly annoyed while Lucy just laughed at him. Telling Juvia was one thing, he was kind of glad she did that, but also telling everyone else? That was a move she could have slipped. He hated being sick already and having everyone make a fuss around him just made it worse.

"Hey, be glad! We're here to take care of you."

He kinda already had someone else for that. But he couldn't just say that. And especially not word it like that! Cana had already managed to create enough rumours, he didn't need to empower them. Now he wasn't sure how to avoid the matter though, considering Juvia would arrive any moment now and those two idiots he called his friends seemed to have gotten quite comfortable with his couch already.

"Oh, you bought food?"

"Not for you." Gray didn't bother covering the annoyance in his voice. The twitch of his eye would give it away anyways.

"Who then?"

"You're not expecting anyone, are you?" Lucy seemed genuinely concerned. At this, Gray felt bad. They were here to check up on him after all. Besides it's not like he could hide Juvia.. and he wasn't going to tell her not to come. He just hoped she wouldn't be as bothered with the company as he was.

"Juvia is coming over." He mumbled quietly, not sure if he actually wanted them to know. He wasn't sure why though.. Juvia is his friend after all, there was nothing weird about her coming over.

"Juvia? Your new employee?"

"Yeah.. We're friends now."

"Friends, huh?" Lucy was looking a lot like Cana in that moment. What was with woman and that look anyways?

"Yes, friends." Gray put more emphasis on the last word. Before he could say anything else, the doorbell rang. He really hoped it was Juvia this time and not another one of his friends. He could deal with Natsu and Lucy, but more of his crazy friends could seriously pose a challenge.

"I'll get it!" Natsu was making his way over to the door already when Gray tackled him.

"Don't even think about it!"

"What's your problem snowflake?"

"You're my problem, hothead!"

The argument turned into a fight quickly. Lucy just sighed before stepping over the two boys and making her way to the door to greet the confused girl standing there.

"Hey there. Juvia, right?"

The girl nodded, still looking a little lost. Lucy gestured for her to come in before introducing herself as one of Grays friends. Then she pointed towards the two boys, still wrestling it out.

"Don't mind that, just give them a few more minutes."

"Is that normal?"

"Yeah, that's just them being friendly with each other. Come on, I'll get us something to drink while those two battle it out. How does tea sound?"

"Um, sounds good.. thank you."

Juvia trailed behind Lucy, but not before looking over to the pink haired boy who was trying to throw a punch at her very shirtless friend/boss. Oh, dear.. Juvia could only wonder what she had got herself into.