Morning, dearest readers!
Today I am taking the opportunity to highlight some great authors cause they deserve more recognition. 😌
For instance, if you haven't read Princessstarryknight's prompts for Gruvia Week or tobethefairybest's Strong Tides, they are amazing. 😍
Also, tobethefairybest, thewritingstar, i-write-fanfics-to-procrastinate, aconstellationofmemories, be-dazzled and so many others have posted their Gruvia/Jerza/NaLu/etc. fics on Tumblr.
I totally recommend you to check their pages/fics out after you finish reading this one. Which, by the way, I hope you're ready for another one of my infamous plot twists. 😏
Happy reading!
July 4th, X791
Gray was living a nightmare. He hadn't thought anything could be worse than watching Lucy being kicked and punched by Minerva, but his imagination proved him wrong.
Somehow, his brain replaced the image of Lucy with Juvia. With every blow and pained scream, he would see Juvia's face. It was pure torture and he couldn't stop it. Couldn't save her.
"Gray?" Erza asked in concern as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It'll be alright. She'll be ok."
He didn't move. Jaw clenched, heavy breathing, face devoid of colour. "She's getting hurt and there's nothing that I can do."
"I know." Erza sighed, gently squeezing his shoulder. Natsu tore his attention away from Lucy to glance at them in concern.
"What's wrong with him?" Before Erza could reply, Gray turned to them in desperation.
"Please make it stop." He pleaded upon watching Juvia getting punched so hard she was thrown to the edge of the sphere.
Erza frowned. "There must be a way for us to stop this."
"We have to save Juvia before..." Gray couldn't complete the sentence.
Her eyes widened. "Wait, Juvia?"
"She's in danger and we're just standing here. Why aren't you doing anything?"He yelled. Gajeel, Cana and Mirajane also glanced at him in concern.
"But she's not." Natsu looked at him in confusion.
"Gray; Juvia's outside the bubble. She's safe." Erza said and the ice mage followed her line of view.
Juvia was standing with the other competitors; clearly distressed and worried, but uninjured.
The illusion was broken. When he looked back at the bubble, he finally saw what everyone else was seeing.
But it had felt so real. Why had this happened? What was wrong with him?
Erza helped him realise this after everything had calmed down. While Lucy was being healed in the infirmary and everyone discussed what happened, Erza dragged him outside so they could talk.
It wasn't long before she was pissed off by his obliviousness. "Men. Why are they so stupid sometimes?"
"Can't you just explain it to me then?" Gray raised a brow.
"Gray, if your reaction today hasn't shown you the truth, then I don't know what will."
"What are you talking about?" He was too mentally exhausted for this.
Erza watched him in concern for a moment. "Do you remember our previous conversation?"
He nodded. "Of course."
"I told you that it was time to give Juvia a straight answer about how you feel." Erza recalled.
Gray looked away. "But I don't know that yet."
"I think you do." She disagreed. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Think about it, Gray. I've never seen you so broken and desperate as when you thought Juvia was getting hurt."
He flinched once the memory returned. "Seeing her...like that… it was torture."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Erza offered a sympathetic look. "But you should learn from this experience."
Silent, Gray reflected on what had happened. His reaction, the feeling of dread upon realising that he might lose her and; more importantly; the knowledge that he couldn't see his life without her anymore.
Juvia had become too important to let go. Even if he didn't need her, he wanted her and the warmth, comfort, support and love she provided.
For once, the reminder that she loved him didn't make him uncomfortable or conflicted. Now that his worst fear had come true, in some form, he decided that being afraid wasn't worth it.
It was time to choose hope and take a leap of faith, starting by giving Juvia the answer she deserved. The answer which was, finally, clear. "I do love her."
Erza watched him for a moment before a smile lit up her face. "And she loves you."
Gray looked at her with gratitude. "Thank you, Erza, for helping me realise it."
"Of course." Closing the distance between them, she brought him in for a hug. "I know this isn't easy for you."
Moments passed before Erza pulled apart and looked deeply into his eyes. "But believe me when I say..." He only remembered seeing that dreamy, hopeful look once before; when they had been reunited with Crime Sorciére. "Love is worth it."
A few minutes later
As it turned out, realising he loved Juvia was one thing, but telling her was completely different. He wasn't sure why it was being so difficult after having already admitted it to Erza.
"What's wrong, darling?" Juvia watched as Gray nervously ran his hands through his hair.
He had asked her to come with him outside the infirmary so that they could talk, yet he had said nothing.
"I need… I need to tell you something." He finally looked her in the eyes.
"What is it?" Heart hammering inside her chest; she hoped this was the long awaited moment of his confession.
"Well, I…You see..." Gray stumbled with his words.
"Perhaps we can talk later?" Juvia suggested, gently.
"No." He firmly denied. "I have to do this now."
She waited again. Nothing. "Maybe you could show me what you mean?"
During the time she had known him, it had become clear that he was more a man of action than words.
His eyes widened before nervousness morphed into determination. He moved quickly but cautiously. An arm wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer while watching her reaction.
Juvia smiled, arms instinctively encircling his neck. Then, his free hand reached for her cheek and softly stroked it for a moment.
Gray started leaning in. "Juvia, can I…."
She didn't let him finish. "Yes."
Their first kiss was passionate and even though it didn't happen the way Juvia had been dreaming of, she loved it nonetheless.
Surprisingly, she was the first to pull apart. Not because she wanted to, but her ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps.
Turning to see who was nearing them, her entire mood changed. Growing tense, she removed her arms from around Gray's neck and stepped away from him.
He seemed confused, but let her go. Quickly catching onto the tension between her and the new arrivals, he put on a defensive stance. "What's going on?"
Doranbolt seemed apologetic. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to speak with Juvia."
She glanced between him and Lahar once realisation came upon her face. "I see."
Gray looked between them in confusion. "What is this about?"
"It's classified." Lahar answered curtly.
"Now, will you please come with us?" Doranbolt raised a brow.
Taking notice of the handcuffs on his belt, Juvia nodded. "Okay."
"Wait, what?" Gray yelled, alarmed.
She offered a reassuring look. "I'll be alright, darling."
"But…." Closing the distance between them, she surprised him with a fiery kiss.
"We'll talk more later, okay?" Not waiting for his response, she quickly turned around and let the two agents escort her away.
Later Juvia found herself in a small office-like room inside the Mercurious Palace. Her first visit to Fiore's most famous building yet she had no time to enjoy it.
Instead, she worried about why the Council wanted to question her. Did this mean that her worst fears had come true? Had they found out….
"Will you please sit?" Lahar pointed to a small chair on the opposite side of the desk where the two agents sat.
Juvia complied, letting out a long sigh. She watched them for a moment, awaiting for the questioning to begin. "So...what did you want to speak to me about?"
Doranbolt picked an envelope which had her name in front. "Many years ago, when I was infiltrating Fairy Tail, I managed to get a hold of some of the guild's inside information."
"What kind of information do you mean?" Juvia asked; acting oblivious.
"But that's not why you're here." He said after receiving a warning look from his partner. "You're here because the council granted me access to all of your files."
"Is that even legal?" She questioned.
"Of course." Lahar vehemently affirmed.
"But imagine my surprise when I discovered that your file..." Doranbolt opened the envelope, revealing three thin pieces of paper. "Was nearly empty. Your records only date back to X781; when you joined Phantom Lord."
"So you're saying that the Council lost the rest of my information?" Juvia inquired.
"Lost it?" Lahar chuckled before getting serious again. "The Council doesn't simply lose records."
"We concluded that either someone must have stolen it...Or the records were hidden elsewhere." Doranbolt commented.
"So you believe that I stole my records for some reason?" Juvia raised a brow.
Much to her surprise, the two agents shook their heads. "No."
"We know by now that's not true." Lahar informed.
"You see, after we failed to find your info, Lahar and I decided to look further back." Doranbolt reached for another envelope.
Daniel Locker; it read on the front and Juvia's heart started hammering again. She knew this name all too well.
"Do you recognise this man?" The agent showed a picture from inside the envelope.
She chose to remain silent; attempting to hide how nervous and unsettled this conversation was making her.
"I'll take that as yes." Doranbolt declared, smiling smugly.
"Daniel Lockser was quite an influential man." Lahar claimed. "Born from one of the Ten Wizard Saints at the time; Sarah Lockser; and neighbour to the Heartfilia family. Not to mention, he was quite a powerful mage himself."
Doranbolt continued before she had a chance to react. "So powerful, in fact, that the Council elected him to go on a mission to infiltrate the Alvarez Empire."
There it was. Her worst fear confirmed. They know. "I had no idea."
"Not many people knew about that mission." Lahar explained. "It was supposed to be the most covert operation."
"Which is why…" Doranbolt set Daniel's picture back on the table. "No one knows what happened to him after he went there." A pause. Silence and tension. "He disappeared without a trace and was declared later dead."
"Oh." Juvia thought about how this wasn't completely untrue….
"But you see, Lahar and I have a different theory." His turquoise eyes bore into hers. "We think that instead of being found out and getting killed, Daniel was very successful in his mission."
"We believe he may have chosen to stay in Alvarez. Perhaps because he met someone and fell in love." Lahar chimed in. "Maybe he even had a daughter."
Their strategy wasn't bad, but Juvia had been trained not to give in so easily.
Doranbolt watched her, searching for a sign of surrender. "A daughter who was then raised in Alvarez. Who surely knows a lot more about Emperor Spriggan and his 12 shields than the Council does."
Juvia finally decided to speak up. "It's a nice theory, but do you have any proof?"
"This is our proof." Doranbolt picked her records again and slammed the envelope into the table. "The fact that your records date back to X781, the same year when Alvarez attempted to invade Ishgar, isn't a mere coincidence."
Lahar stood, his stance serious and alert. "They sent you to infiltrate Fiore in case the invasion failed, didn't they?"
So, thoughts?
Did it ever occur to you that Juvia might have been from Alvarez? I must say, as unlikely as this theory is I have enjoyed coming up with the whole backstory.
And what did you think of the Gruvia "confession"?
PS: I have plans for this to become a short multi-chapter story, but when the next chapters will be posted I can't say for sure.
I worry this story might join my growing list of unfinished works. It's a pity, but I no longer have all the time in the world to write nor the physical ability to do so due to my RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury). 😔
I hope everyone has the best day possible. 😉