4A/N: Based roughly after the end of Grand Magic Games. This is my first Gruvia scene so I am both excited and nervous! I hope you guys like it!
Gruvia Scene: Whoever Said Love Was Simple?
By: xSteleAliniax
Gray sat at the bar, back at the noisy Fairy Tail guild hall, nursing a beer. Cana sat near him, not drinking from a barrel for once, though she did keep eyeing some of the barrels behind the bar. Gray growled under his breath, making the card mage glance over at him in surprise. He slammed a fist down on the counter in front of him, making the beer mug bounce and slosh froth onto the counter.
"What's up with you today?" Cana asked, snatching the mistreated beer mug from him and pulling it in front of herself. Gray didn't look like he was going to drink it anyway. "You've been totally on edge since we got back to the guild. Shouldn't you be celebrating our killer victory?" She took a swig from the mug, downing half of its contents at once. She wiped at the liquid on her mouth. "Ah, good stuff."
"Nothing's wrong." Gray grumbled, rather unconvincingly so. Cana shrugged and left him be for now. They had always been fairly good friends, ever since they had joined the guild as children, so Cana could tell that he just needed some time to think. However, she stayed close by, just in case he decided he needed to talk later.
Gray groaned again and slammed his head onto the counter.
"Oh, my!" Mira fretted from behind the bar. Cana raised an eyebrow at the black cloud of despair that formed around him.
Gray's mind was spinning in circles. He couldn't seem to think straight lately. What was wrong with him? He shouldn't be having these weird thoughts, they weren't like him at all. He didn't think about... That stuff.
"Did you notice?" Cana murmured to Mira. "Gray hasn't taken his clothes off in DAYS." Mira's whole face exuded surprise.
"Oh, you're right! That's got to be a new record!" Mira turned to Gray in concern. While it was perfectly normal for most people to keep their clothes on, Gray Fullbuster had a strange stripping habit that was widely known throughout the guild, and probably most of Magnolia. So the fact that he hadn't stripped in several days was most concerning to his guild mates.
"What do you think is wrong with him?" Mira asked, sounding like a mother hen.
"I'm right here, you know." Gray growled at them. The two flinched back and fell silent.
"Juvia... You must know how she feels about you. It's not like she hides it... She deserves a straight answer."
"Gray, my love! You must take me out on a victory date!"
Her arms encircling his arm, those blue eyes staring up at him in admiration, full of emotion. The faint blush of her cheeks whenever he looked at her, that sparkle in her eyes. The warmth of her skin pressed against his...
"Ugh!" He slammed another fist into the table, making Cana's freshly poured beer slosh out of its mug and into her lap.
"Hey, watch it!" She stood up and tried to wipe the liquid off but gave up after a minute and sat back down, sending Gray a glare for wasting her beer.
"I'm... Such an idiot..." He whispered desparingly.
"Huh?" Mira and Cana exchanged a worried glance. Gray's body shook where he sat, and tears pooled in his dark eyes. Cana's face softened. Mira looked on helplessly, wishing she knew how to help.
"I can't believe... I never saw it before." His voice shook, too, as tears spilled from his eyes and dripped into the counter.
"Aw, don't beat yourself up, Gray!" Mira patted his still balled up fist. "I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems!"
"It is!" He insisted, fist clenching even tighter. "I've been so heartless to her." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It isn't right, the way I've been treating her."
"Her?" Cana repeated with a frown.
"Hey, Frost Bite!" Natsu suddenly appeared behind them, a flaming fist clenched and at the ready. "If it's a fight you're after, than fight ME, not some stupid counter!" Natsu was just about to charge, when Mira suddenly transformed into a she-devil form and cast an evil glare on him.
"Whelp!" He fell backwards, flame going out at once. "N-Never mind, man!" He scuttled backward and then ran off in the opposite direction. Mira transformed back into her normal form with a look of pure sadness.
"You're talking about Juvia." She guessed. Gray sniffed and let out a shaky breath. "I don't think she sees your actions as being cruel, Gray." Mira said reassuringly.
"Yeah," Cana agreed, slapping him hard on the back. "She totally has the hots for you."
"I know." Grey's voice was a frustrated growl, though the frustration was aimed toward himself, not his two friends. "That's worse. She doesn't even care!"
"Oh, my." Mira worried again.
"How can she still have feelings for me after the sorry way I've treated her?"
"Why don't you ask her for yourself?" Cana suggested with a chuckle.
"Oh, no..." Mira watched as Juvia entered the guild hall, blue eyes immediately scanning the crowd.
"HUH?!" Gray gave a start and sat up at once, turning around on his bar stool so fast that his head felt a little dizzy. Or maybe that was the beer he had just drank. No... Cana drank most of that. Maybe it was because he had been crying like a fool...
He spotted her across the hall, eyes narrowed as they scanned around, presumably looking for him. When they finally landed on him, her whole face lit up and she smiled, making her way over to him. Gray gulped.
"Well, that's my cue to leave." Cana chuckled, sliding from her stool. "Hey, Natsu! You still want someone to fight?" She took off toward the slumped dragon slayer.
"Hello, my darling!" Juvia chirped when she was close. "Were you waiting for me?" Her eyes looked hopeful.
"Yes." He admitted. Stars shone in her eyes. Happy. She was happy. Because of him. Because of one word. "Juvia. Will you step outside with me?"
"Ah! Yes, of course, my darling! Anything for you!" She gushed with hearts in her eyes. Gray couldn't help an amused smile.
"Come on," he stood from his chair and held out a hand. Juvia glanced at it with wide eyes and then took it in hers, her grip nearly crushing in her excitement. He breathed a chuckle. Well, this wasn't so bad.
He led her out back, and up onto the roof where they could be alone. They sat there for a long moment, both just watching the stars twinkling in the night sky. It was a cool autumn evening, and the sun had only just set. It was peaceful and tranquil. And for once Juvia wasn't going on about her love for Gray. He didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one.
"Juvia," he said finally, still looking outward. The lake sat just behind the guild, and the bright light from the moon reflected off its smooth surface, casting a silvery blue about it. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" She asked, turning to face him. She wasn't gushing with love at that moment, her face was composed, though still curious. Still, he could FEEL the heat of that love radiating off of her. It was warm and comforting, like a nice fire on a cold winters night.
"I wanted to apologize..." He had to pause to take a deep breath. This was harder than he'd thought. Her hand still held his, their fingers entwined and resting between them on the roof. Her very presence was making it difficult to say what he needed to. "I know that I haven't been treating you as you deserve." He finally got out. He still couldn't meet her gaze, though, and kept his eyes downcast. He didn't want to see the pained look in her eyes. "I've been horrible to you."
"What do you mean?" She asked, genuinely confused. "You've always been very good to me. Even when we were still enemies, and I was with Phantom Lord, you still showed me mercy."
He gasped at that. He had completely forgotten about that battle. When Juvia had been a part of Phantom's Element Four, Gray had been forced to fight her in order to stop their giant from casting an evil spell upon their guild hall. But, even then, he hadn't been able to really fight this woman. Even though she was creepy as hell back then, and had obvious intentions to destroy him... He still hadn't given that fight his all.
"And remember when you saved me from falling from Giant?" She said. "You didn't have to do that. You could have let me fall. Like a raindrop..." She whispered.
"I'd never let that happen, Juvia." Gray said, his voice a promise. Now it was her then to gasp.
"Gray-"
"Listen," finally, he turned to meet her gaze, and the determined look in his dark eyes made her heart stop. She held her breath, waiting for his next words to come. "I know how you feel about me... And if I'm being honest with myself, I've known for quite awhile. Still... I ignored those feelings and continued to push you away, without giving you any sort of explanation. It wasn't fair to you. And I'm sorry, Juvia."
Juvia was so surprised by his words that she was left speechless, an almost impossible feat for the water mage. Gray squeezed the hand he held and gave her a soft smile.
"I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, because, Juvia?"
"Y-Yes?" She whispered.
"I think I really like you. And I hope we can start over." He held her gaze.
"Start over?" She asked, frowning slightly. Gray smiled.
"Yeah, let's try things your way this time." He brought their locked fingers up to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. She swooned and nearly passed out from the feel of his icy lips there. "Will you go on that date with me?"
Her eyes went impossibly wide. It was her dream come true! She threw her arms around his neck in a crushing embrace.
"YES! Yes, my darling Gray!"
Gray chuckled and returned the hug before whispering,
"Thank you, Juvia."
A/N: Hey guys! So I hope you liked this angsty Gruvia Scene! It was inspired by Gray and Erza's conversation during the Grand Magic Games, when she was telling him to give Juvia a straight answer. I wanted to do a scene in which Gray finally realized what everyone else already knows, that he likes/loves her XD A bit angstier than the scenes I usually write, but hopefully it's still good!