Hey Jealousy - A Fairy Tail Fanfic - Chapter 12

Gruvia fans rejoice!

All characters property Hiro Mashima


Chapter 12 – Melting the Ice

Juvia had seen the outside of Gray's apartment countless times. In sunshine, snow, wind and rain, she had spent many a lonely day outside her beloved's home waiting for him to appear while daydreaming about what the inside might look like should she ever be lucky enough to be invited in. But the scene that greeted her when she finally crossed her crush's threshold was nothing like what she had ever imagined.

Clothes.

On the floor.

The table.

The couch.

The lamp.

The houseplant.

Everywhere.

Like its owner, the apartment seemed to be in a continuous state of undress.

Gray scratched his head. "Sorry for the mess," he sweat-dropped. "I wasn't exactly expecting visitors."

As the ice-wizard frantically gathered up some clothes from the couch to make room for them to sit, Juvia gave herself a tight hug. So many times she had imagined a scene just like this, and now that she was here, she could hardly believe it. "Is this real or just a dream?" she thought.

"Would you like something to drink?" Gray asked behind an armful of clothes as he walked towards his bedroom.

The blue-haired girl started. Here she was standing around while her darling was working! "Juvia can make some tea!" she offered, racing into the kitchen before Gray could protest.

The kitchen was not quite as messy as the rest of the apartment, but only just slightly. Socks sprinkled the sink, a pair of black cargo pants threatened to slide down the side of the fridge, and a coat served as an improvised rug on the wooden floor. Juvia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the uncluttered stove – at least there was no chance of fire! Spying a teapot on the front burner, she took off its lid and filled it with water using her magic.

"You okay in there?" called Gray from the other room.

Startled, Juvia spilled some water on the stovetop. "Yes, Gray-sama, Juvia is fine!" She grabbed the nearest towel she could find and tried to sop up the mess, but noticed the cloth wasn't soaking up the water. She took a closer look and was mortified to realize that it wasn't a towel she was holding in her hands at all, but a pair of Gray's boxers.

"Gray-sama mustn't catch Juvia with this!" Blushing furiously, the water mage flung open the nearest cupboard to hide her contraband, but found it full of clothes squashed on top of some otherwise neatly stacked plates and cups. She pulled out a crumpled t-shirt to make room, smashed the boxers in its place, and then slammed the cupboard door just in the nick of time.

"Hey, I was wondering where that shirt went!" Gray's sculpted arm shot over Juvia's shoulder to snatch the t-shirt out of her hands.

Juvia spun around only to see navy blue eyes staring intently into her bright blue ones. The room suddenly seemed to shrink around the two mages who became acutely aware of how close they were to each other at that moment.

As Juvia gazed into Gray's eyes, she saw an unnamed emotion swim in his irises. It was as though he were pleading with her for something, and her heart bled to soothe his unspoken longing.

"Gray-sama," Juvia whispered, shivering in anticipation.

Never had the t-shirt in Gray's hand been dropped to the floor with such passion as that moment when the ice wizard flung the unnecessary garment to the ground, twined his arms around Juvia's waist, and kissed her with an abandon that surprised even himself.

Juvia had expected Gray's kisses to be cold like his magic, but the intense heat that came from his body made her wonder if he had been taking fire lessons from Natsu on the side. But if he generated fire, he was all blue flame – the kind of oxygen-less blaze that took one's breath away.

She wasn't sure when Gray had backed her up against the wall; all she knew was that he was pressing his body into hers and kissing the water girl like a man dying of thirst.

Juvia ran her fingers along Gray's naked back, reveling in the tightness of his sinewy muscles that she had always admired from afar. In response Gray's hands slid up to cradle her face while his tongue tasted her mouth, savoring the sweetness. He felt his pants growing damp, but he wasn't sure whether it was her body or his that was causing the wetness.

Gray broke the kiss with a shuddering breath and laid his cheek against hers. "Sorry…I never was good with words," he murmured against her ear, the coolness of his breath sending goosebumps down her arms.

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama is always eloquent," the water mage sighed. The ice boy had almost turned her into a puddle, and she hoped there was a mop somewhere in one of his cupboards that she could use to clean up the mess.

Gray winced. "Stop that. I'm just a regular guy, okay? I'm not special." He backed away from the blue-haired girl with difficulty. He wanted to keep kissing her, oh so much, but he had to get some things cleared up with her before they went any further.

Juvia's eyes widened. "But Juvia thinks Gray-sama is special!"

"Yeah, about that. Like I said, I never was good with words but we gotta talk." Gray extended his hand towards Juvia. "Come on."

Juvia placed her hand in Gray's, not sure where this was going but obeying nonetheless.

The raven-haired wizard led his love to the couch, sat her down on one end, then seated himself on the other. His dark spiky hair covered his face as he looked down and avoided Juvia's gaze.

"Gray-sama?" The bluenette's heart sank as she wondered what could have happened to make Gray switch gears like this so abruptly.

Gray shifted in his seat, fighting the urge to rip off his pants that had begun to feel more constricting than usual as he struggled to say the words that had swirled in his soul for so long. "Juvia, I have a confession to make." He took a deep breath. "I've always known you liked me."

Juvia covered her mouth with a gasp. He had known all this time?

"I just…never wanted to like you back."

The girl's eyes filled with tears at these unwelcome words. What had started out as a dream was rapidly turning into a nightmare for the water mage. "But Gray-sama," she pleaded, "why?"

He covered his eyes with his hand. "Because everyone I've ever loved, I've lost. My parents. My teacher. Even Lyon to a certain extent. Some of it was my fault. Some of it wasn't. But either way, the people I've cared about the most - they are all gone."

Tears ran down Juvia's face, her concern for herself blotted out at the thought of her love's misery. "Juvia is so sorry!" She reached out and took Gray's free hand into hers. He didn't grab her hand back, but he didn't move it away either. Knowing Gray, Juvia took it as a good sign.

"It hurt like hell to lose them," Gray continued, running his fingers through his hair. "And so I decided that I would never care about anyone that deeply ever again. Funny, huh? An ice mage with a frozen heart?"

Juvia only squeezed his hand in reply.

"After our battle, when you said you were going to join Fairy Tail, I thought you were kidding," he said, after a pause. "When you actually joined the guild, I had no idea it was because of me. Eventually I saw the signs that you liked me, but I didn't understand why. What did I do to deserve it? I couldn't figure it out.

"Then as I got to know you, I realized that you were more than just a strong, S-Class mage. You were a sweet girl, a kind person, beautiful inside and out. You genuinely cared about Fairy Tail. All of us. I started to care for you too, but I was scared to feel anything more for you than just nakama. What if I lost you? I didn't think I could face that."

The water mage clutched Gray's hand possessively. "Juvia promises that Gray-sama will never lose her!"

Gray gave a bitter laugh. "But I almost did today. I figured it out when you left the guild with Lyon this afternoon. At first I chased after you on instinct alone. But talking to Gopher made me realize that while maybe I wouldn't lose you to a demon like when I lost my parents or Ur, I could still lose you if I didn't man up already and tell you how I felt."

The raven-haired mage gripped Juvia's hand, pulling her to him. He brushed her wavy hair away from her face that held an open and sympathetic expression that cut him to the quick.

"I'm not gonna live in the shadow of Deliora anymore. Ur wouldn't have wanted that. I love you, Juvia, and I plan to make up to you for the rest of our lives how badly I've treated you these past few years. I can only hope you forgive me and love me too."

Juvia's response was to tackle Gray and shower him with kisses.

"YES!" she said as she rapidly planted her lips over his face, along his neck and across his collar bone. "Juvia loves Gray-sama with all her heart! He is her sunshine and happiness! There is nothing for Juvia to forgive!"

"Alright, alright!" Gray laughed, though still a little uncomfortable with his girlfriend's eagerness. "But we need some ground rules!"

The water mage sat up, completely unaware of how adorable she looked with her hair and clothes mussed after her surprise kiss attack. "What kind of rules Gray-sama? Juvia thought Gray-sama didn't have those kinds of hobbies?"

Gray blushed hard at Juvia's way off-the-mark take on his comment. "I don't! It's nothing like that at all! In fact, Rule One is that there's no more of this 'sama' business. It's Gray. Just Gray. I'm not better than you – we're equals. Got it?"

Juvia bit her lip and looked slightly uncomfortable. "Juvia does not wish to show disrespect. But she will try her best to follow this rule!"

The honesty that shone from Juvia's face seemed to satisfy Gray. "Good. Rule Two: no more Lyon. I'm willing to run the risk of losing you, but it sure as hell ain't gonna be to that jerk. Even Natsu would be a better choice than that jackass!"

Juvia looked aghast at the thought of being kissed by the loud, reckless fire wizard who always smelt of barbecue. "Juvia promises! No Lyon or Natsu!" The pleased look on Gray's face after hearing her promise sent her heart fluttering and fueled her desire to follow whatever rule he would declare next, reasonable or not. "Any other rules Gray-sa-, er, Gray?" She peered at him from under her eyelashes, hoping he didn't notice she had almost already broken Rule One.

"Yeah. You have to lay some ground rules too. This is a 50/50 partnership. You have an equal say, so shoot!" Gray leaned back against the sofa and crossed his arms behind his head, eager to hear what the water mage might come up with. The ice wizard was ready to grant her any wish she pleased; Mavis knew she deserved it!

The blue-haired girl looked pensive as she considered. She didn't dare ask too much of her new boyfriend lest she scare him away, but she didn't want to disappoint him with her requests either. Then out of nowhere, an idea popped in her head and her pretty features brightened at the unexpected inspiration.

"Rule Three," she began shyly. "Juvia joins Team Natsu."

Gray blinked for a split second. "You wanna join my team?" The young man's forehead scrunched in thought then soon smoothed back out. "Well, I don't see why not. You were kinda part of the team anyway when we fought Jellal Fernandes at the Tower of Heaven. Sure, why not? I don't think the others would mind. Besides, a deal's a deal!"

Juvia beamed, causing Gray's heart to twist. "Wow, making her happy makes me happy! Why did I fight this for so long?" he thought. "Anything else?" he asked, raring to make her smile like that again.

The normally innocent look on Juvia's face turned devilish as her mouth curved into a wicked little smile. "Rule Four: Gray-sa, that is, Gray must kiss Juvia whenever she asks."

Gray felt his cheeks, as well as other parts of his body, warm at this unexpected request. "Uh, erm, of course!" he stammered, finding it suddenly difficult to think. Unconsciously, he began unbuckling his pants in response to the increased heart rate, heavy breathing and shifting of blood in his body that usually signified a different kind of grappling than the one he was going to participate in with his girlfriend.

Juvia's eyes widened. She had said kiss but her boyfriend seemed to have other ideas, and there was no way she was passing up this golden opportunity. "Juvia asks now!" she cried and dived on top of him, her hands bumping into his as she tried to hurry him along in his stripping.

Gray laughed in spite of himself. "Wow, a girl who encourages my stripping habit? It's my dream come true!"

"No, Gray. This is Juvia's dream come true!" And the water girl kissed him with a burning passion that melted any remaining ice that could possibly still be lingering around the young man's heart.


A/N - Daawwww Gray and Juvia!

Poor Lyon!