Juvia watches him walk away, deciding to take Natsu’s advice as a last resort. “Good night, Gray-sama!” Gray stops and turns around, an unsettled look on his face.
“Ew. Don’t call me that.” He walks back over to Juvia, his frown deepening as she just smiles at him, eyes vacant of remorse. “You know I don’t like that.”
Juvia twitches, a loose nod accompanying the words. “I’m…sorry.” She shrugs, ducking her head coyly. “It was a joke—you know? But yeah I shouldn’t…” She smiles, not bothering to finish her sentence.
Gray’s eyebrows raise confrontationally, his mouth pressing into a harsh line. “Juvia do you like me?” He sighs in dissapointment when her eyes immediately go distant, like she’s looking through him and not at him.
She nods enthusiastically, “yesIwanttohavethirtythreebabieswithyouandlivetogetherforeverand—“ Gray’s huff cuts her off, her eyes refocusing on him.
He runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head, “You could do that stuff with anyone though—why me?” Juvia blinks caught off guard, the answers come to her easy, Gray-Sama is kind, caring, and gentlemanly, but she can’t get any words out.
Gray stares at her, then bites his lip, clearly battling with himself before his eyes flick away, “Okay look, just get back to me when you…can answer.” He steps back, waving awkwardly, “Good night Juvia.” And she watches him disappear behind his front door.
Frustration overcomes her in an instant and she yanks out the one wish willow, tossing the box away without reading any of it. No other love potion had worked at all and she was praying that this was the exception. She pulls the thing out of the box and listens to the tune, mind made up before the music even dies out.
She puts all her anger into snapping the bark, staring at the two halves in her hands with apathy. Her ears start to buzz as she drops onto a nearby bench, the feeling building into a crescendo until it abruptly stops, her ears not even warm.
“I wish Gray Fullbuster loved me more than anyone in the fucking world.”