AN: This chapter...ugh, so bad. sorry.

Chapter 5- The Teasing

They were walking through the streets of Magnolia, their hands brushing occasionally and sending sparks along their arms. Gray was just deciding that he needed to check again that Juvia really was attracted to him…you know, just to be sure. He glanced over at her and noticed she had her head turned away from him, she was watching a young, love-struck couple that were snuggling on a bench just up ahead.

"Juvia," he said to get her attention.

She turned to look at him and her eyes expanded comically.

"Gray-sama!" she exclaimed, "Your clothes!"

He immediately looked down and saw that he was clad only his boxers.

Shit.

"When did that happen?" he complained.

Juvia blushed and couldn't take her gaze from his muscular body.

Well, Gray thought as a smirk graced his lips, I guess that proves it then. Who would've thought my stupid habit would actually be helpful?

In a bold move, the ice mage shrugged and put his arm around Juvia's shoulders, just to get her walking again of course. She spluttered incoherently in a way that he found oddly endearing. Affection for the water mage bloomed in his chest as he caught a few of her words and realised she was telling herself to be calm and to not freak out. A vague idea swirled into the forefront of Gray's mind and he acted on it.

"Juvia," he said in a low voice, pulling her even closer.

She peeked up at him with her hands gripping each other tightly, "Gray-sama?"

Having her under his arm, so close and like they were actually a couple, caused him to, for a second, forget what he had been going to say. He found his eyes drifting to her soft lips.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia prompted in a whisper.

He blinked, cleared his throat and then brought his eyes up to meet hers, "What should we do now?"

His deliberately seductive tone seemed to fry Juvia's brain. She gasped, tripped over her own feet and fell forward, reflexively pulling him with her. Other pedestrians scrambled out of the way and then wolf whistled at the position the two Fairy Tail mages were now in.

Gray was on top of Juvia, his cheek pressed into her chest and his right arm beneath her neck while his left hand was settled on her hip. As much as he would've liked to stay like that, he reasoned it probably wasn't very comfortable for Juvia. He hurriedly got to his feet and stared at her blushing face as he pulled her up.

"Juvia is very sorry, Gray-sama," she mumbled.

"It was an accident," he said, casually waving it away and ignoring the fact that it had actually been his fault. He smirked, inwardly pleased at how he could affect her.

Wait, why am I so happy about that? I don't…agh, I don't even know what I want from her.

"Gray-sama, look!" cried Juvia excitedly as she pointed, jolting him from his confusing thoughts.

His eyes followed her arm and found she was indicating a stall that sold ready-made picnic baskets.

"You, uh…want to go for a picnic?" he asked her.

She clasped her hands together and held them against her heart, "It would be lovely!"

She disappeared into a daydream then, giving Gray enough time to go and buy one of the food filled baskets.

"Juvia," he called once he returned to her side, he shook her slightly, "Snap out of it."

She let out a dreamy sigh that made him wonder exactly what she was imagining. He sighed as well then and grabbed her hand, pulling her along and taking them in the direction of the park. Again Juvia unknowingly caught the attentions of many men and this time, probably because he knew she wouldn't notice; Gray did give into his more…primitive instincts. He fixed the nastiest glare he could muster onto his face and tugged the water mage closer to himself.

Juvia emerged from her delusion as they stepped into the vast, grassy park. She glanced at Gray and a small frown found its way onto her features.

"Gray-sama?" she asked, "Why are you growling like that?"

The ice mage snapped his gaze away from a particularly lecherous middle-aged man and found Juvia's face. His unintentional snarling stopped.

"Huh? What did you say?"

Juvia watched him curiously, hope bubbling up inside her. She smiled to herself and then answered.

"Nothing, Gray-sama."

He shrugged, "Come on, we'd better pick a spot then."

Juvia grinned, almost unable to believe that she was about to share a picnic with Gray Fullbuster himself. Calm down, she told herself, taking a deep breath as she followed the ice mage to a secluded spot shaded by a fat, leafy tree, keep it together.

Gray placed the basket on the grass and flopped down beside it, linking his fingers together and then placing his hands behind his head. He struggled to keep a smirk from his face, he knew the way his was resting would cause his muscles to tense and flex in a way that should distract Juvia. And she was distracted. He watched her eyes roam over his flagrant display of masculinity as she stood in front of him.

Juvia bit her lip in the hopes she wouldn't start drooling. She tried to burn the image of him into her brain. She, of course, had seen him half naked before but this time felt a bit different, almost as if he was putting himself there just for her. He lifted his head up a little and made himself a bit more comfortable. The action caused his delicious arm muscles to slide and move beneath his smooth, biteable looking skin.

Her gaze drifted across his firm pectorals, stopping briefly on his guild mark before trailing down his taut, ribbed abdominals. One of her favourite parts of Gray's body was the cross shaped scar on his lower abdomen; it showed his strength and resilience. The urge to bite Gray nearly overwhelmed Juvia then, but the shock of having such a thought was the thing that kept her from acting on it.

Gray was concentrating all of his energy on not getting another monstrous hard-on. It was incredibly difficult when Juvia was eying him like he was that chocolate and blueberry sundae from earlier. He needed to get her to stop looking at him like that, at least for a while, he needed to be able to use his concentration for other things, like making her all hot and bothered. He hadn't anticipated how her reaction to him would affect himself.

"Juvia," he said in a husky voice as he petted the grass beside him, "Lie down here with me."

To his surprise, she looked as if she didn't want to listen to him but, luckily for him, she eventually did.

The day was turning out to be a warm one; the sun bore down on them and they were thankful for the shade provided by the tree.

"Juvia loves the sunshine," the water mage said wistfully.

"You do?" Gray turned his head to look at her.

"Yes," she sighed, "Juvia never got to see the sun until Gray-sama brought it to her…and now the sun will always remind Juvia of Gray-sama."

He could feel the blush creeping up his neck and he turned back to stare up at the tree above them in the hopes that she wouldn't notice. He inwardly cursed; her statement had been so innocent and sweet that it made him feel fiendish about whatever his 'revenge' plan was. However his guilt soon evaporated as he caught sight of her legs.

She had pulled the skirt of her dress up to high on her thighs so her legs could soak in the warmth of the sunlight even while their upper bodies were sheltered. Her feet were flat on the grass, making her legs bend slightly, showing off how well toned she was. He realised then that there was a distinct possibility that his genius plan to get revenge was failing.

So…much…skin…

Two reasons made him abruptly sit up, the first was that it would be harder for Juvia to tell he was sporting a giant erection and the second was that he would have a better view of her shapely, smooth legs.

She's gotta be doing that on purpose, right?

He mentally debated with himself, he wanted to know but he also didn't want to risk her covering up. In the end, his curiosity won out.

"Juvia," he started, forcing his eyes to the sky, "You've always seemed to be…kinda shy about your body…"

He wasn't sure where to go on from there and so was enormously grateful when Juvia spoke up.

"Gray-sama is wondering why Juvia is showing her legs?"

He made a noncommittal sound, hoping she would explain.

She did, "Juvia cannot resist the sunshine sometimes, just like she cannot resist Gray-sama…sometimes Juvia pretends…"

She trailed off, causing Gray to look over at her in confusion.

"What do you pretend?"

She sat up as well and stared at her lap as pinkness coloured her cheeks.

Gray prompted softly, "Juvia? What do you pretend?"

Her blush intensified and she turned away from him as she mumbled, "Juvia pretends the warmth of the sunshine is Gray-sama holding her and…t-touching her…"

Heat exploded through Gray and he forcefully exhaled as his body shook slightly from the powerful mix of sexual desire and affection for the water mage. He quickly moved so his left hand and knee were on the other side of her legs. On all fours, he stared into her shocked eyes, their faces only an inch apart. The limited space between them was highly charged, they could see nothing but each other.

"How?" he asked her, his voice rough, "When you pretend I'm touching you, how do you imagine I do it? Where do I touch you?"

Juvia's blood roared through her veins and she swallowed nervously, unable to fathom Gray's sudden actions. Her body was singing at his close proximity and even though her eyes were glued to his lips, she still couldn't believe what he said.

"Where do I touch you, Juvia?"

She couldn't think, he was so close, he was too close. She leaned backwards a bit and he followed, maintaining that one inch distance. Though some part in the back of her mind warned her it probably wasn't a good idea, she ended up lying back on the grass. Gray was hovering above her and she could feel the heat radiating off him. She wanted desperately to pull him down on top of her and close the gap between them.

His hungry eyes demanded she answer his question, or at least try to.

"G-gray-sama t-touches Juvia…"

"Where?" he demanded softly, "Tell me."

He smirked, "Or better yet, show me."

Every detail of the moment would be forever etched into his memory, from the way she blushed, to the way her lips were parted invitingly and the way her seductive eyes met his shyly. Juvia's hand began to move slowly. Gray's body tightened and hardened at the thought of where she might place that delicate hand.

A shrill, childish giggle erupted nearby, shattering the intensity that had built up. Both mages jumped and turned to find the source of the laughter. Two young children were chasing each other and, sadly, their game would lead them over to where Juvia and Gray were lying in their compromising position.

Gray flung himself back away from the blue haired woman and then sat with his left leg bent to support his arm as he moodily stared at the other people in the park. He pulled in a few deep breaths and then glanced back at Juvia, giving her a wicked grin and a wink.

"Don't worry; we'll finish that conversation later."

Juvia made an odd, squeaky noise and at that moment, Gray didn't care at all that he had been inappropriate, he put the that fact that they were guild mates out of his mind and didn't examine his thoughts and feelings too closely.

His eyes fell onto the picnic basket.

"So," he said as he dragged it closer, "Are you hungry?"

"Juvia is hungry for something," she mumbled under her breath, "but it's not food…"

"Shit," breathed Gray to himself, feeling his temperature shoot up and his cock strain even more against his boxers. He straightened his leg out and slammed his eyes shut for a moment, keeping his face averted from Juvia while he fought to control his urges.

"Juvia is thirsty, Gray-sama."

His eyes flew open again just as the water mage sat up and reached past him for the basket. The basket was just a little out of her reach however and so she fell forward and, well, she landed with her forearms taking her weight on the other side of Gray's legs. Her perfect ass was right there in front of him, practically begging him to touch it. His hand even twitched.

"Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama!" she exclaimed, scrambling away and then holding her cherry red cheeks in her hands.

"It's fine," he said, forcing his voice to be smooth and handing her the basket, "And I think there's some fruit juice in there if you want it."

Juvia grinned coyly and knelt as she opened the basket and began searching its contents.

"Here it is, Gray-sama," she cried happily, withdrawing a bottle of dark red berry juice and showing him.

He couldn't help but smile at her excitement, "What else is in there?"

Juvia pushed the basket back to him and then set about trying to unscrew the lid of the bottle. She struggled with it and Gray was about two seconds away from offering his help when she managed to open it with a rather violent twist. Her motion was so forceful however that some of the dark liquid sought revenge. It splashed onto her dress and began to seep in. Juvia gasped in horror and Gray sprang into action, taking the bottle from her.

"There's a public restroom just over there, near the gate," he told her, "Why don't you go and rinse the juice out before it stains?"

She bit her lip and nodded, unable to stop herself from feeling mildly embarrassed about what had happened, she blamed it all on the fact that she was still so flustered from the way Gray had been over her.

Sighing because she would have to sacrifice some of her time with Gray, Juvia got to her feet and began walking towards the restroom he had pointed out. She didn't really need to wash out the juice in the restroom but she went anyway. The restroom building was squarish and made of fat stones and logs. Thankfully there were no long lines of people and she was able to immediately enter the area designated for females.

She covered her hand in a layer of water and scrubbed at what was marring her dress. She could have easily done so while remaining with Gray but she thought maybe it would do her some good to get away from the ice mage, maybe she would be able to pull herself together and regroup mentally before returning to him.

After several long minutes, she had gotten most of the berry's liquid out, but she guessed her dress would probably need to be professionally cleaned. She inwardly shrugged; it didn't matter much to her. Now that that was done, she exited the building and stared down at the grass as she strode along. She couldn't understand Gray's behaviour, he seemed almost like he was…interested in her. She flushed and contemplated that maybe she was being rewarded for the choice she had made earlier in the day, to leave him alone and be good.

If that's the case, she thought with growing delight, Juvia will gladly accept the reward.

She beamed and looked up, expecting to see Gray where she had left him.

He wasn't there. Panic stole the smile from her face and made her glance around hurriedly, searching for any sign of him. The picnic basket was tipped over, its contents spilled.

Gray was nowhere to be seen.

AN: Thank you to all of my reviewers! Reviews are the best source of inspiration and motivation :D Also a big thanks to my reviewer 'it's as easy as abc', she's been great to talk to! ;)

Also, sorry if there are some mistakes :P Annnywaaay, please review :D