As graceful as Juvia was, there were things that she did not do well at. One of those things was ice skating.

It was one of those things that was never brought up - until her, Gray, Natsu, and Lucy went for an ice skating outing one day. She'd been against the idea from the start, but, when you're one against three, the odds are most definitely stacked against you.

So, they found a pond for ice skating a little less than a mile away from Magnolia, and the 'double date' commenced.

Juvia had stayed to the side for the first half of the outing. She was watching the trio. Well… more like, the duo and Gray. Natsu and Lucy were pretty much on their own, slipping and sliding all over the pond. At the least, they could stay on their feet. That in itself was a feat, in Juvia's eyes. She stared blankly at the pond, and didn't even notice when a figure skated in front of her.

"Juvia?"

"Gray-sama?" She looked up, the sun causing her to squint her eyes. There he stood, in all his shirtless glory. A blush almost instantly lit up Juvia's cheeks, and she stood slowly, dusting the small amount of snow from her dress. "Does Gray-sama need something?"

"Uh… Yeah. Aren't you gonna come out on the pond?" he asked, watching the water mage. She frowned, and twiddled with her thumbs.

"Juvia… does not know how to ice skate."

"Wha…? Then why did you agree to come along?"

…

"Right, okay." Gray sighed, unconsciously going straight for his belt buckle. "So, you'll learn how to skate. How 'bout that?"

"Eh?!"

Next thing Juvia knew, she was clinging on to Gray's arm for dear life. He had dragged her onto the pond, and took her out to the middle. Her legs were wobbling, and it only grew worse as he backed away. She cautiously tried to reach for him, but ended up falling straight on her rear. "Gray-sama… Juvia is no good at this," she whimpered, staring up at the raven-haired wizard.

"It just takes practice - don't worry about it…" he said, pulling her up from the ice. Juvia frowned, staring down at her tattered skates. Gray only sighed again, running a hand through his hair.

"Tch… How about we try this a different way." Carefully, he took both her wrists in his hands and dragged her along slowly, being careful not to go too fast. The tears that had begun welling up in Juvia's eyes were now disappearing, replaced only by a grin.

But then, she felt herself slipping. Gray's grip had begun to loosen, and she was stumbling around on her skates, trying her best not to fall.

She was unsuccessful.

Juvia fell forward, and time seemed to stop. Juvia was falling right onto Gray, but he was putting his hands out to grab her shoulders and stop her.

His efforts were almost in vain.

He had managed to keep the both of them standing, despite being on the slippery, icy surface. But Juvia was hugging against him, her fact buried in his chest. Her breath was coming out in short pants, but when Gray looked down at her, he noticed she wasn't upset at all.

"Gray-sama!" she cooed, causing him to steady her back on her feet again. Lucy and Natsu had both paused in their actions to watch the exchange.

"Sorry about that…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I probably should've caught you."

"Juvia is fine, Gray-sama," she practically whispered, closing her eyes in content. He looked away in annoyance, but his tsundere act didn't stop Lucy from noticing how his hand reached subtly for Juvia's. The blonde girl grinned to herself, before skating away, giddy with the news that Gray wasn't as cold towards Juvia as he liked to let others believe.

"So, should we try again?" Gray asked, followed by a nod of approval from the bluenette.

Juvia was starting to like this whole ice-skating thing.

A/N: Two for one day, hooray. I'm starting to feel a bit sick, but I'm super excited for tomorrow's prompt. I've had something planned out the whole time, and I like the idea I have. I hope you enjoyed Day 5, and the fest is coming to an end. I'm a bit sad, but I can always find more things to write about.