Water and Ice (GruVia)

Water and Ice (Chapter 6)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah, sorry for the short chapter earlier :P Ran out of inspiration. Again. Hopefully, this one will be longer.

~GRAY'S POV~

I was anxiously waiting for Juvia at the Fairy Ball. The ball began at 7PM, and it was now 7:10. When would she come? Oh no, what if she decided not to go with me? What if she's with Lyon again? I shook my head. You're not thinking straight, Gray. Stop it. Who...Who cares if Juvia decided not to go with you? Besides, you don't even l-- I couldn't finish. I couldn't say that I didn't love Juvia. Why? Why could't I say those words?

And that's when I heard catcalls and whistles behind me. I turned around to find Juvia walking towards me, wearing an ocean blue party dress and matching bow flats. Her hair was tied in a neat ponytail, showing her beautiful face to the tiniest detail. I stood there, frozen, until she made her way in front of me.

She said cheerfully, "Hello, Gray-sama! Juvia is here!"

"Oh...H-Hi, J-Juvia...You look...b...b...be..."

"Beautiful?" Juvia chuckled.

"Y-Yes...Beautiful..."

Even though both of us were blushing, she said confidently, "Thank you, Gray-sama! Juvia thinks Gray-sama looks handsome as well."

I gulped. "Uh...Th-Thanks...So, you wanna...sit down?" I said, gesturing to a table for two. Juvia nodded and we both sat down. A comfortable silence fell. I just stared at Juvia, being taken in by her beauty. How come I hadn't noticed it before?

I stammered like an idiot, "So, er, Juvia...W-What's your favorite color?"

"Um...Juvia's favorite color is ocean blue, of course."

"Oh...right...."

"D-Does Gray-sama like Juvia's dress?"

"Of course, I like your dress. It looks good on you."

"J-Juvia feels...awkward."

"Awkward? Why?"

"...Juvia doesn't know."

I tried to think about something that would cheer Juvia up and looked over at the dance floor. A little light bulb clicked in my mind. "Hey, Juvia." I said, standing up and reaching my hand out to her. "Want to dance?" I gave her a flirty smile. At first, Juvia just looked at me, then she smiled and took my hand. We both walked over to the crowd of dancing people and joined them. Juvia danced pretty well. "Juvia, I didn't know you were such a good dancer!" She smiled sweetly and giggled. Then, to our surprise, the song changed to a slow song. We looked at each other and blushed. Then, I boldly asked her to dance with me. She gladly took my hand, and I pulled her close. Her head rested on my chest, and I had one arm snaked around her waist.

Across the room, I saw Lucy dancing with Natsu. She noticed us and mouthed, "Kiss her!" I turned pale and mouthed back, "No!" Lucy shot me a look. She meant business, so I just obeyed. If I'm to be honest, part of me wanted to actually spend some time with Juvia. Alone. I lifted her face up and we stared at each other. I smirked and took her hand as we ran outside into the night. "G-Gray-sama? Why did Gray-sama bring Juvia here?"

I took a deep breath. I said in my strongest voice, "Juvia, I took you here because...Because I want to talk to you."

She blinked. "...About what, Gray-sama?" She didn't look me in the eye and had a small smile on her face.

"About...Well, you see, Juvia...I...I lo-"

"Oi, Juvia!" A masculine voice interrupted me before I could finish my sentence. It was Lyon. Just great! He slung an arm around Juvia's shoulder, which made my blood boil as I clenched my fists. "Juvia, I've been looking for you everywhere. Come on, let's go."

Juvia gave him a confused and slightly annoyed look. "G-Go where?"

"Oh, I don't know...You want to go to my apartment, and...you know, have a little fun?" He whispered in her ear seductively. That was it.

I wasn't taking any more of this. "Lyon, don't try me. No one does that to a comrade of mine."

Juvia wanted to change the subject. "G-Gray-sama, what did you want to say?"

I turned to her. "Uh...I...I wanted to say that...I loved the party. But I'm tired now, and want to go home."

"Oh, okay! Gray-sama can sleep in Juvia's apartment this time!"

Lyon spoke up. "Whoa, whoa! Why do you get to stay with Juvia, popsicle stick?!"

Juvia abruptly escaped from Lyon's grip and clung to my arm. "Lyon, don't talk to Gray-sama like that." She said threateningly. She cleared her throat. "Gomen. We have to go." I was a little shocked, but I smirked at Lyon and Juvia and I walked to her apartment. I said, "Juvia, thanks for sticking up for me earlier..."

"Lyon-kun was being mean to Gray-sama. Juvia will not allow that."

I chuckled softly. "Sorry I had to make you come home early...You know you didn't have to make me stay here."

"Oh, no. Gray-sama once let Juvia stay in his apartment, so Juvia wants Gray-sama to stay in her apartment this time."

"...Yeah, okay....Um...It's getting late. We should probably get some sleep." Juvia bit her lip and nodded. "What's wrong?"

"Um...J-Juvia...only has one bed..."

"That's okay. I'll sleep on the couch."

"...Juvia doesn't have a couch...Only beanbag chairs..."

"Oh...Uh...Then can I sleep on those?"

"Gray-sama is too big..."

Both our faces had big splashes of red on them. "Uh...Then I guess we'll...share the bed?"

Our faces grew redder, if that was even physically possible. "...O...k-kay..." Juvia stammered. She quickly got into the bathroom and changed. Since I didn't have any clothes, I didn't bother. She bit her lip nervously as she got into the bed. I followed after her and wrapped the blanket we shared around my body. As I lied on the bed with her that night, I thought to myself, Man...Lyon interrupted me again before I could give Juvia a straight-cut answer...