Juvia couldn't stand the recent heat wave. Not only was it ridiculously hot, but the rains wouldn't be coming for a long time and Gray's clothes were scattered all over her house. While the latter issue wasn't necessarily all that bad, it was still extra work she didn't feel like dealing with in the unbearable heat of the day.

She was happy with her seal movement and it had put both her and all of her friends in a great mood after, but something had clearly gone wrong and Gray left the scene looking gloomy, talking about the grocery store. Now he was heartbroken and always passed out on her couch, with Ame curled up on his stomach and the same single beer bottle on her coffee table. Had he even gone to work in the past week?

"Just talk to me so I can get you out of my house and making money again. What happened?"

"I like her, Juvia," Gray started in a somber tone. His voice sounded strained, which led Juvia to think that perhaps Gray had been crying despite how hard it was to imagine, and the arm folded over his face, hiding his eyes from her, muffled his voice to a weary mumble. "I have this stupid crush on Erza. I tried to ignore it for a while, and when it was obvious that I wasn't getting over it anytime soon, I thought that I might actually be able to muster up the courage to ask her out,"

Juvia listened well, like a good friend should. But she couldn't say that she was impartial, unfortunately. That fated feeling she'd had when she met Gray had faded away over time but suddenly come back strong when she'd heard him say that he liked Erza. She didn't disapprove of the notion, it was simply that she felt there was something better-- she didn't really know; she just felt like there might be something more to their friendship.

Juvia came out of her thoughts and noticed that Gray had gotten quiet.

"And. . ?"

"And now she's dating Jellal. I don't know if it's because I was too late or if it's because I was never meant to be her. . ."

Juvia tool pity on him and decided not to delve anymore. "Well, at least she doesn't not like you. You guys are still friends, right?"

"Well. . yes. . . but it still hurts."

Juvia was both surprised that Gray was telling her this much and that he was affected this much. It was a stark, stark contrast to his cold persona. She gave a lopsided smile that she knew he couldn't see.

"I never pegged you as the type to care this much."

There was a prolonged moment of silence. She waited for Gray to say or do something.

"You don't peg me as much, do you?"

Juvia smiled, knowing that beneath that arm, even if she couldn't see it, there was a smile-- sad? probably; weak? probably; but it was there. She knelt beside the couch Gray was laying on and pet Ame, causing the cat to purr. She smiled.

"You gonna go make money now?"

". . . I'll pay you back in full."

Juvia didn't understand what he meant by that until weeks later.