Chapter 2- The Explanation
Other than the black boxers he wore, the only other material he had on was the length tied around part of his face; it prevented him from answering her directly. His dark blue eyes went from being wide in shock at her sudden appearance, to weary and then to demanding.
He clearly wanted to be free from his bindings, if his muffled words were anything to go by. He was resting against the headboard of her large bed, his hands were tied securely with ropes to the sturdy beams of the four-poster and, with longer ropes, his legs were likewise secured.
Juvia bit her lip, unable to stop herself from thinking that he was laid out for her like a feast, a special treat just for her. Before she could swoon, Gray made a sound that sounded like her name. She slapped herself, entered the room and quickly closed the door. Then she rushed over to him, climbed on the bed and knelt between his spread legs.
"Juvia will save you, Gray-sama!" she told him excitedly.
He raised an eyebrow and said something she couldn't understand against the gag. She blushed and then leaned forward to untie the knotted material. His eyes grew wide once again as her movement brought her breasts alarmingly close to his face. He pressed his head back against the headboard, moving away from her. Juvia yelped as her fingers became pinched.
"Gray-sama," she whispered awkwardly, "Juvia needs to undo the-"
He grunted in response, cutting her off and lifting and then turning his head to the side. The woman, with her fingers now blessedly free, flexed her digits for a moment before attacking the knot that she had now had easier access to. Busy as she was, she didn't notice the hint of pink tinging the other mage's face. Juvia pulled the strip and tossed it away, it fluttered harmlessly to the wooden floor.
"What the hell?" demanded Gray, frowning at her.
"J-Juvia d-doesn't know!" she stuttered, her blue eyes huge.
"You're telling me this wasn't all your idea?" he asked her dryly.
She shook her head frantically and then froze, realising she had gotten confused. She wailed and she nodded emphatically. Gray strained against his bindings, feeling for a second that he should possibly try and comfort the distraught woman. His actions caused his muscles to clench and become even more defined.
Well, at least that got her attention, he thought sardonically. She was staring at him with complete adoration shining in her expression. Surprisingly however, she seemed to catch herself and her features became serious.
"Why are you here, Gray-sama?" she asked quietly.
He snorted, "How the hell should I know? One minute I was walking down the street and the next I wake up here."
"Oh," she said softly, frowning in thought as she moved and brought her knees up so she could wrap her arms around her legs. Gray blinked and found himself frowning as well.
"Hey, I would've thought you'd be happier," he remarked, "Isn't this one of your weird fantasies or something?"
She didn't really need to say anything; her delightfully pink face said it all.
"This is not Juvia's fault!" she exclaimed, then she bit her lip worriedly and sunk down in her quietness once more before mumbling, "Juvia didn't say she wanted Gray-sama tied up…"
"So it was your idea," accused Gray, his eyes narrowed at her.
"Juvia is so sorry Gray-sama!" she cried as she launched herself at him. Her slender arms wrapped around his muscular torso and held him tight as she pressed her face against his chest. He hoped she couldn't hear how his heart sped up…from the shock of her sudden action of course.
"J-juvia meant it as a joke!" explained the woman hurriedly and, to Gray's horror, she sounded like she was almost in tears, "She didn't mean it!"
"A joke, huh?" asked Gray.
At the sound of his voice rumbling through his chest, Juvia snapped back to her senses. She became aware of how she clung onto him and she immediately threw herself back, landing at the foot of the bed. She knelt and held her hands up.
"Forgive Juvia!" she cried earnestly.
Self-loathing bubbled up inside her. After all, it was no less than ten minutes ago that she had promised to leave the ice mage alone and be a good girl. Her gaze drifted around the room as she fought her desires. She wanted desperately to go back over to Gray but, equally, she wanted to prove to herself and him that she could control herself and stick to her word. She let out a frustrated scream and pulled on her soft blue hair, curling into a tight ball.
"It's too much," she whispered hoarsely, "Juvia doesn't know what to do!"
"Juvia," Gray commanded, causing her lost gaze to find him, "Get a grip already."
He pulled against the ropes that were around his wrists and it again caused his impressive body to tense and move in a mouth-watering display. Juvia sat up. Gray would've laughed had he not been trying to be serious.
"Untie me," he ordered.
The blue haired woman nodded slowly and crawled over innocently. Instinctively, Gray reacted by trying to shuffle backwards as he felt heat spread over him. He breathed deeply as she set about undoing the ropes around his ankles, trying not to let his eyes wander over her curves.
"Good job, Juvia," he praised offhandedly once she was finished. He watched her closely for her reaction. She was lit by a brilliant smile as stars sparkled in her eyes.
"Gray-sama," she breathed.
As always, he was uncomfortable with her adulation, he just couldn't understand what she saw in him. To his surprise, her daydream didn't last long and she quickly pretended it hadn't happened. That's interesting, he thought.
Juvia got back to her knees and manoeuvred herself so she could reach the ropes near his hands, leaning awkwardly because she didn't want to force herself to close to his face again. She was finding it incredibly hard to hold herself back from petting the magnificent, bound creature while she had the chance.
No, she scolded herself. She imagined if some weirdo found her in tied up on a bed, she would want to be freed as soon as possible and wouldn't want them taking advantage.
"Juvia," began Gray, his tone curious, "I can't help but notice you're being really good about this whole thing…I wonder if you're, I don't know…getting over me?"
She frowned fiercely at the knot she was trying to loosen and didn't look over at him as she responded.
"Does Gray-sama wish for Juvia to get over him?"
He sighed, "Juvia, I've told you, I just want you to be normal…Uh, I mean, there's nothing wrong with how you are now! It's just that, uh, maybe you could…uh-"
"Be more in control?" she supplied somewhat glumly.
"Yeah, something like that," he answered.
His odd tone caused her to glance down at him, she jumped just slightly.
"Gray-sama?"
His heated gaze slid over her and caused her stomach to clench and her pulse to quicken. Unfortunately for Juvia, Gray seemed to catch himself. He pulled his eyes away and stared pointedly across the room, almost as if he was daring her to accuse him of checking her out and thinking about her being in control. She said nothing and continued to struggle with the ropes, her fingers clumsier now with that image of Gray's expression fixed in her mind.
It was another two minutes before the thick rope fell away and when it did; it revealed the angry red streaks it had left behind. Juvia gasped and gently grabbed Gray's hand, holding it close as she inspected the damage. Tears welled up in her eyes; she had cause pain to the main she loved. She cradled his hand in both of hers, careful not to touch the sore area around his wrist.
"J-juvia is so sorry Gray-sama," she whispered, her voice as broken as her heart.
Gray was shocked, though he supposed he shouldn't be, that Juvia was so upset that he was hurt, especially when it was so minor an injury. She had seen him hurt plenty of times, what made this different?
"It's Juvia's fault," she whimpered, "She should not have listened to her love rival's idea to make those requests."
So that was it, he thought, she blames herself?
He wasn't sure what she meant about the whole 'love rival' thing but he knew he shouldn't let her cry over him, over something as silly as rope burn. She was in a fragile state for some reason, he realised, she'd been acting different since she arrived and he wondered what had changed about her.
"Hey," he said quietly, pulling his hand away from hers, "It's not like I'm dying."
Juvia's lip trembled and so Gray lightly cupped her face, forcing her to look at him.
"This is not a big deal, Juvia," he told her softly, "There's no need for you to waste your tears."
"But Gray-sama-" she protested weakly. He cut her off by placing his thumb over her soft lips. He could feel her slight gasp of surprise against his thumb and, strangely, the sensation was mirrored in a certain, lower appendage of his. He mentally shoved away thoughts that had sprung to mind, cursing himself for even being able to think about things of a sexual nature when he had a woman in tears before him.
"Here's what we're gonna do," he declared, "You're going to finish untying me, I'm going to go back to my house and find some clothes and then I'm going to come back here."
She blinked confusedly at him, her whole demeanour saying 'But why on Earthland would you do that?'
"Juvia," he said seriously as he stared intently at her, "You and I are going to spend the day together and I suppose you could even say we're…gonna be on a date."
Part of him couldn't believe what he'd just said and another part told him that it was the right thing to do…to cheer her up of course, he wasn't suggesting a date because he liked her romantically…right?
"A date with Gray-sama?" Juvia mumbled beneath his thumb.
He quickly removed his hand from her face, feeling again that odd phantom touch under his boxers. He cleared his throat.
"Yeah, got a problem with that?"
"No!" she answered quickly, "Juvia just…is not sure why Gray-sama would want to do that…"
He shrugged, causing her to become temporarily distracted by his moving muscles again.
"Just because," he responded lazily, "Now come on and untie my other hand, or I might start to think you really did want me all tied up…"
Juvia couldn't stop the little giggle that bubbled up; she had to keep her head down so that he wouldn't be able to see the sheepish expression she wore that would reveal some of her desires. He made a derisive sound and also turned his head away as she worked on the knot, so that she wouldn't see the flush that had come to his cheeks.
AN: Hey it sorta jumps povs a bit dunnit? oh well...Let me know how i'm doing so far anyway eh :D I could just end it here, but if you lot want another chapter, about their date and stuff, let me know ;)