Forty-Five - Juvia Lockser
Juvia was ecstatic. She was on an actual date with Gray. Sure, they weren't alone, but Lucy was with Natsu, so she didn't have to worry about her being a love rival anymore. Gray still seemed a bit uncomfortable, but, over the course of the movie, he seemed to loosen up. She wondered if she could get him to willingly hold her hand.
She couldn't pay attention to anything that happened in the entire movie, she was so focused on thinking about Gray and wondering what he was thinking. To her disappointment, he seemed to be focused on the movie, instead of on her. By the time the movie was over, she was feeling discouraged. She had thought they had made a lot of progress; Gray had willingly come on this group date with her, out in public, but it seemed that their relationship hadn't moved forward after all. Juvia lamented on that as they all left the theater together.
"Juvia," Gray said suddenly, pulling on her arm as everyone continued walking. "I need to talk to you." He glanced at the others. "Alone."
Normally, Juvia would have been ecstatic to hear those words, coming from Gray. This time, however, she couldn't help but think that he probably didn't have anything good to say. She followed him forlornly, to the small alleyway between the theater and the neighboring restaurant. She remembered how they had first met in an alley, back when they had been enemies. He seemed to be struggling with what to say, so she spoke instead, saving herself the hurt of hearing the words from his mouth.
"Juvia knows what Gray-sama is going to say," she said.
"Oh good!" he said with a huge sigh of relief that felt like a knife through Juvia's heart. "'Cause I was tryin' to figure out how to say it through that whole movie. I don't even know what- Wait…." He looked at her in confusion. "Why'd you call me "sama" again?"
Juvia looked down at her feet. "Juvia understands that Gray-sama does not want to be with her," she said. She took a deep breath and looked up with resolve. "But Juvia will not give up!" she said. "Even if Gray-sama rejects her love again, Juvia will never give up! One day, Gray-sama will love Juvia!"
Gray looked very confused. Juvia wasn't sure why he would be, but she was more focused on making sure he knew she wasn't giving up. She waited for him to respond, but, again, he was quiet. He just stared at her, his expression slowly changing from confusion to incredulity. Just as she turned away, thinking it would be better to leave, he grabbed her arm.
"Juvia," he said. "You don't get it." She was sure his next words would be a rejection, so she braced herself for harsh words. "I already do." She didn't understand what he meant. He already did what? Her confusion must have been obvious on her face, because he restated himself. "I already do."
"Already what, Gray-sama?" she asked.
"Aww, you're gonna make me say it?" he asked, looking embarrassed. "Come on, Juvs. Can't you just act your normal self?"
"Juvia does not understand," she said slowly. "Gray-sama is not rejecting Juvia?"
"I'm not," he said. "And can we go back to just 'Gray'?"
Juvia pursed her lips for a moment before speaking again, her voice hopeful. "Gray… likes Juvia?" she asked.
Gray rolled his eyes and got closer to Juvia's face, causing her to blush.
"This did not go the way I planned," he said quietly. "So I'm gonna start over with what I was plannin' to say in the first place." Juvia stared at him as he took a deep breath and avoided her gaze. "I love you, Juvia," he said. "I think I have for awhile now, but I'm not too great with… uh… showin' it."
"G-Gray!" Juvia breathed, becoming overwhelmed with joy. "Juvia- Juvia is- Juvia loves Gray, too!"
"Yeah, I know that," he said, looking at her. "You're way more open with it."
Juvia smiled brightly and threw her arms around Gray's neck, causing him to stumble back a bit. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, a feeling she relished. When he pulled her back a bit, she was going to protest, wanting to hug him some more, but he made her forget all about that when he kissed her instead. Her heart soared and she returned his action with full force. When they pulled apart, after several moments, they were both smiling.
"Yo," a voice said. They both looked around to see Natsu at the end of the alley. Lucy and Levy were behind him, hands over mouths, looking excited. Gajeel was behind them, smirking. "Are you guys done yet?" Natsu asked.
"Shut up!" Gray said. Juvia saw that he was blushing, and wondered if he was going to push her away, to keep up his cold appearance. But he didn't push her away. Instead, still blushing, he took her hand in his and pulled her along as he shoved past Natsu and the others. "Let's go home, Juvia," he said.