author’s note: lolllll hiiiii :3 so as we all know!!! us gruvia lover have been FEDDDDD in these last few chapters! so im feeling inspired! here’s a silly little thing based off of the most recent chapters and most recent cover!!!!!! yaaaay chapter 211 cover mentioned!!!! also i lowkey wrote something like this years ago but from gray’s pov but like whatever lets just ignore my reheated nachos.
Juvia tilted her hat about a half inch to the right. No— too far. She tilted it back about a quarter inch. Her fingers even shook ever so slightly as she parted them from her cap. She took her gloved hands and lightly fingered her blue waves, cascading her hair over her bare shoulders. She grasped the frills at the top of her strapless dress and gave it one last good shimmy, making sure it was firmly settled against her chest. One last look in the mirror. She held her breath as she took in the scene before her. She looked perfect.
While she tried not to be too on the nose with it, the dress was purposefully inspired by the outfit she wore the day she and Gray fought Anchor. It was a monumental battle for them for more reasons than one. It marked a final step of the journey that was the 100-year quest, it tested Gray and Juvia’s emotional and physical strength, and it pushed their magic abilities to the limits.
And there were two particular magical moments that had nothing to do with their actual magic.
Although the gestures were not directly romantic, they were so much more than that. Both Gray and Juvia, in final acts of love and desperation, pressed their lips on one another, crashing mouths, breathing life into each others’ lungs. These were two of the best moments of Juvia’s lives.
So why have they plagued Juvia’s thoughts ever since?
The battle was well over. The 100 year quest has finally been completed. Fairy Tail was together again, at the guild, all of them. Just like old times.
But these weren’t old times. For specifically Gray and Juvia, they’d entered a new era. One where Juvia was able to officially call Gray hers— and Gray the same to Juvia.
And yet, Juvia’s heart sunk at the slightest glance at Gray’s lips. Just the thought of them made Juvia’s pulse thicken. She would lose any type of composure she had. She would sweat, panic, and find any excuse to put at least 4 feet of distance between she and Gray, all while nervously giggling like a maniac. Plainly, she didn’t know where to go from there.
How was she supposed to follow up with a kiss like their first two kisses? They were likely the most meaningful kisses she would ever have in her life. And then she would wonder, did they even count as kisses? What if she finally did kiss Gray, and he thought it was a let down. Nothing like the first ones they shared. Her mind would begin to spin with horrible scenarios of Gray being underwhelmed or unfulfilled.
So tonight was going to be the night.
Everything would be perfect. Her outfit was tastefully reminiscent of that fateful day. Candles were delicately placed and lit all across her apartment to help set the mood. And she prepared one Gray’s favorite dinners. A good old classic steak, cooked medium well, paired with a fancy bottle of champagne. After dinner, Juvia would get up, turn up the romantic music, and hold her hand out to Gray, inviting him to dance with her. Tonight was the night their lips would meet again, and it would be just as magnificent as the first time— if not more so.
As her face formed a determined grin, beaming at her work, she heard a knock on her door. It was show time.
She didn’t dare to take another look in the mirror out of fear of getting caught finding a flaw. She looked down at her dress, brushing away some nonexistent wrinkles, and took a deep soulful breath as she walked to her destiny.
“Welcome, Gray-sama~” She practically sang as she opened the door, waving him in with a grand swing of her arms.
As usual, he looked perfect. He wore a rugged black corduroy jacket on top of a light blue undershirt and a pair of grey trousers. Typical of him— understated handsomeness without even trying. Juvia blushed just thinking about it.
“Hey.” Gray softly smiled and stepped into the apartment, following Juvia’s lead. He was immediately struck by the entire apartment being lit by candlelight. As he pressed her shoe onto the floor, he felt the softest something underneath his foot. He looked down to see flower petals frosting the floor, but instead of smelling flowers, he was taken by the rich smell of meat.
“Whoa—“ He said, startled. “This place looks” He paused “And smells great.” He looked around to see what other details Juvia had tactfully thought of.
“Thank you.” Juvia smiled, feeling satisfied. “Juvia was so excited to host her first date night.” She lightly clapped her hands.
“First date night?” Gray raised a brow and snickered. “We’ve hung out here before. And at my place. And we’ve gone out to eat before.”
“Well yes-” Juvia let out a breath. “But this isn’t a hang out! This is a date night! A night dedicated to romance!” Juvia grabbed Gray’s hands and felt him jolt a bit.
“Oh jeez.” Gray felt his hands getting clammy. “No pressure or anything” He said nervously.
“No!” Juvia spat out. She was already ruining the mood. “No pressure at all! Gray-sama doesn’t have to do anything! Juvia has planned the entire night from start to finish. You being here, and being you is all you need to do.” She lulled.
Gray’s hands and expression softened at her earnestness, which was very typical for Juvia, and just one of her qualities that Gray was crazy about. “Alright. Then I’ll let you be the captain tonight. I’ll just sit back.” He gave her hands the ever so slightest squeeze.
Juvia squeaked in delight. “Perfect!” Just like her night would be.
And then the night actually happened.
The steak was burnt to a dry leather consistency paired with Juvia popping open the champagne cork square onto Gray’s forehead. And they enjoyed the inedible steak in silence, as Juvia’s record player decided it was going to out of commission for the night. As she tried to at the very least keep Gray captivated with her feminine wiles by lavishly twirling her hair in her fingers, she twirled the bottom inch of that lock straight into an open fame, singeing it clean off, filling the room with the aroma of burnt hair follicles.
After using her gloved hand to ungracefully put out the fire, instead of using one of her many water spells, she looked at Gray. As usual, she couldn’t get a read on him. To be fair, it was hard to get a read on a face that was chewing through bites after bite of rubber steak.
“Are you alright?” His eyes widened with concern, embarrassing Juvia.
“Y-yes!” Juvia nervously giggled. “Of course!”
At a desperate attempt to shift the focus off of Juvia’s mortification, she disjointedly rose to her feet.
“Y’know, we may not have any music,” Juvia steadied herself in her heeled shoe, taking a breath. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t still dance.”
Gray smirked, straightening up in his seat.
Juvia reached out her hand. Just as she did so, one of those damned petals wanted to make sure it stole the show of her big night. Suddenly, her heel slipped right out from under her— fully derailed by the feathery shard of a flower, making her ankle twist and buckle, and instead of her mouth meeting that of her precious Gray’s, it was meeting the face of her floor.
“Ooowww…” Juvia gave a final and deflated squeak.
“Juvia!” Gray exclaimed, startled, quickly meeting Juvia on the floor. “Are you ok?”
Juvia lifted her face to Gray on his knee staring down at her. “No,” Juvia rigidly shifted onto her butt, still sat on the floor, sulking in her defeat. “Juvia is not ok.” She pouted.
“Is it your foot?” Gray stayed at her level, and ever so gently cradled the foot that sent Juvia tumbling.
Normally, that small gesture would’ve sent Juvia’s heart fluttering, but she was too embarrassed to allow her heart to do so. “No. Juvia’s foot is fine.” She sighed.
Gray rose an eyebrow “Then what’s-“
“This night is not ok!” She burst. “Every little part of tonight that Juvia very carefully planned has gone wrong.” She dramatically threw her arms up.
“Juvia,” Gray lightly said, amused, letting a smile break through. “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic? I mean, what happened to this night being ‘no pressure’.”
Juvia sunk at Gray’s attempts to lighten the scene. “Ok so, maybe that wasn’t totally true. Maybe there’s some pressure.” She admitted.
“Why? Did I do something to make you feel any type of pressure?” Gray’s face softened even more.
“No!” Juvia quickly spay out. “Of course not! Gray-sama didn’t do anything.”
“Then why do you feel pressure?”
“Because-“ She quickly replied and felt her resolved get caught in her throat. “Because Juvia wanted tonight to be… the night.”
“Uh…” Gray froze. “Ok, uh, Juvia, I love spending time with you, and getting to know you even more, and just being with you. Hell, these have honestly been the happiest few weeks of my life.” Gray’s voice shook with nerves. He looked down and scratched at his head. “But I don’t… think I’m ready for… Marriage— at least not right now anyway! Maybe soon, well— probably soon—- I don’t know I haven’t given it that much thought but—“ He was rambling so fast it was hard for Juvia to piece it together.
“Wait, Gray-Sama, stop.” Juvia cut off his scattered monologue. She took him by his hands, calming him. “That’s not what Juvia meant. Although, I must admit, hearing ‘marriage’ and ‘soon’ is definitely something Juvia is not going to let you forget.”
“Oh.” Gray finally breathed. “Then what did you-“
“Tonight was going to be our first kiss!” She shouted. “Or— well— maybe our third kiss? I’m really not sure. Which has been apart of my headache with this whole thing.”
“Oh!” Gray was embarrassed again. “Well— uh—- yeah I guess I haven’t given it all that much thought.”
“How?!” Juvia desperately exclaimed. “It’s been all Juvia can think about! When will it happen? How will it happen? Will it be as amazing as it was before? All the questions are killing me.” She folded her arms across her knees and buried her head.
She heard some scuffling. “Juvia.” Gray’s voice was deep and soothing. She looked up to see Gray standing, extending a hand down to her. “Are you ok to stand?”
Juvia nodded somewhat sheepishly, reaching out to meet Gray’s grasp. She could tell he was giving her extra support as she stood, seemingly ensuring that her foot was in fact ok.
As soon as Juvia was up, without a second thought, Gray engulfed Juvia in his arms, tightly pressing her against him. “Y’know, you worry way too much.” His voice was gravely.
Juvia felt her brow furrow. He was right. She did worry too much, and she felt foolish for it. She buried her face even deeper into Gray’s chest. “How can I not? Juvia just wants everything with you to be perfect.”
“Juvia.” Gray sighed. He brought his left hand up and pressed it sweetly against her head, moving the hat ever so slightly from its former perfect angle. “Nothing in life will ever be perfect. I think we both have learned that by now.”
Juvia let out the tiniest chuckle. There was a lot of truth to that. “I guess so.”
“And don’t you get it?” He kept his chin comfortably atop her head as he continued. “When I’m with you, I don’t care if we’re hanging out at the guild, fighting side by side, or eating overcooked steak. I’m with you. And that’s what makes me happy. Every second I get to spend with you makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world. So you don’t need to set up a whole fancy dinner to try and have the ‘perfect’ night. The night was perfect to me the second I saw your big, dumb, beautiful, amazing smile as you opened up that door.”
Juvia un-nestled her head and looked up to see Gray smiling down at her with full eyes. “Really?”
“Really.” Gray whispered and brought his face half an inch closer. “So you don’t need to work yourself up so much about our next kiss. Whenever and wherever it happens, I know it’ll be-“
Gray’s lips were suddenly met with Juvia’s. His eyes were wide within a split second as Juvia had closed the small gap between them in the best possible way. Her pouted lips were softly parted ever so slightly, and he felt himself melting. As their lips thoughtfully sunk into one another, Gray instinctively brought his rough hand up to cup her soft cheek, and Juvia met his hand with hers.
Finally, the two parted, and Gray tilted his head as much as he could as Juvia reached her neck so that their foreheads touched.
“I dunno’” Juvia hummed. “That felt pretty perfect to me.”
Gray chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”
The couple continued to hold each other, carefully swaying by candlelight to the music of their hearts, soaking in the perfect night.
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