Merry Christmas binnibells from your Secret Santa!
Promise - Gruvia
“I’ll be home for Christmas. I promise…”
Gray’s words still swirled around in Juvia’s mind. Gray and the rest of Team Natsu had left for a long and dangerous mission around three weeks before Christmas, and before he had left, Gray had promised to be home for the holidays. But time had flown by and now Juvia was sitting alone on her pale blue couch on Christmas Eve, holding a mug of warm hot chocolate, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
She quickly shook her head from side to side. She had sworn she wouldn’t cry. Still, it was hard to hold back and a few tears slipped down her cheeks and landed on her hands. Juvia sniffled quietly as she gently set the mug down on the glass top coffee table in front of her and wiped her face. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged herself, slowly giving in to the built up emotions inside of her.
Juvia was worried sick. She had never once received a lacrima message from Gray during his mission and she was scared something had happened. Her blue eyes wandered towards the tree and she stared at the present she had wrapped for Gray. The silver paper glimmered in the soft light from the fireplace and the dark blue bow wavered slightly as a draft blew through the room.
The room felt so empty, and Juvia felt so alone. Sobs wracked her body as she buried her face in her knees and cried, her sniffles and wails echoing off the empty walls of her shared home. Her body felt numb and she could tell that her eyes were puffy and most likely red. She took deep breaths to calm down and repeated to herself over and over, He’s coming home, he’s coming home…
Her breathing became more even and she inhaled sharply. She blinked the last few tear drops out of her eyes and shivered slightly. It was cold.
Just as she was about to stand to get a blanket, a pair of arms wrapped over her shoulders and a familiar scent surrounded her. Juvia’s eyes widened and she froze, completely still, as Gray continued to hug her. His head dropped down and he pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder. She turned and her eyes began shining with tears as she threw herself over the couch and into his waiting arms.
Gray let out a low chuckle as she cried into his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He squeezed her waist once before pulling back slightly and staring into her eyes. One of his hands came up to rest in her hair and he smiled gently.
“I told you I’d be home for Christmas.”
