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Finally, they had a brief respite from the battle, and Team Natsu was finally reuniting with the rest of the guild. They had a few injuries here and there, but nothing serious; they just wanted a break from all the fights and the strange yet powerful individuals they had faced. They had a "small" celebration in true Fairy Tail style with the typical fights between Natsu, Gray, and sometimes Gajeel joining in, along with the rest of the members. A normal day for the wizards of Fairy Tail.
There came a point when everyone was (in some way) having simple conversations without the need for a fight. Gajeel boasted about the kind of stories he would tell his baby with Levy, and Levy went along with it while Natsu kept asking when Levy would finally lay her egg.
At another table was Cana, who drank like only she knows how to, trying to get Lucy drunk by saying, "She deserves it for working so hard on the mission, she should relax a bit," to which Lucy tried to refuse while Erza encouraged Lucy to go along with it. Wendy was sitting next to Charle, watching everything unfold normally.
And that's how we get to certain ice and water mages. Gray, claiming that he needed to rest from all the battles, announced that he was going to his room. Juvia, without thinking, offered to accompany him, simply saying that she didn't want to be apart from him after being away for so long. Gray didn't refuse.
Already in the room, Juvia starts to talk. "Do you know, Gray-sama, Juvia misses you so much that she became Gray-sama herself!" said the blue-haired girl dramatically.
"What are you talking about? That's impossible!..."- began to say Gray, however, he didn't finish his sentence because he remembered a certain battle -"Transmute your bond with the woman you have fallen in love with." That's what Sai had said in the middle of their battle, just when Gray transformed into Juvia.
Gray began to blush as he didn't know what to say if Juvia started asking questions about why he had transformed into her or anything else her imaginative mind might be thinking; all these thoughts were running through Gray's head, who didn't know what to do and was starting to get nervous. The water mage noticed this and simply said, "Could it be that you also took the form of Juvia?" she asked innocently.
'N-No, it's just that...' Gray started to say, but he finally came up with an idea. 'The mage we were fighting had a strange power that tried to find out which woman was the strongest in my mind, and he transformed me into her because he thought women were weak and that kind of crap. Of course, it didn't work because I used your magic very well, and he realized how powerful you can be.' Gray finished with pride, thinking that with that, he had everything under control, and Juvia wouldn't keep asking questions and making him nervous.
He was wrong. Juvia didn't miss a beat. 'If you transformed into the strongest woman you know, wouldn't that be Erza-san?' she started. 'And if he wanted to fight you instead of transforming you into someone strong, shouldn't he have transformed you into someone weak?' Juvia finished. Gray, who hadn't counted on this, didn't know what to do. He should have imagined that Juvia wouldn't believe just any explanation. She was intelligent and would surely realize if he made something up on the spot.
Now he had to find some excuse or something to say, well that was one of his options, the other was to confess to Juvia how he felt, although this actually scared him since he always thought that when he did it, it would be a special moment, not a moment like this.
-Look, Juvia... W-What happens is that... A-And I...In that fight- he didn't finish his attempt to respond to the blue-haired girl as she had run towards him and was now tightly hugging him, with her head on his chest. Before Gray could say anything, Juvia spoke.
"Juvia already knows, Gray-sama." Gray looked at her, astonished and full of doubts. Juvia lifted her gaze and met his, seeing the confusion in his eyes, so she quickly clarified. "Juvia was talking to Lucy-san and Erza-san after they had been with Cana, so they were a bit drunk. Juvia mentioned how she had become Gray-sama, and they told Juvia that it was because of the power of one of the enemies they had faced, who had the power to transform him into the woman he..". Juvia, very blushed, looked away from Gray and didn't finish the sentence.
Gray, who was analyzing the new information, mentally noted that he would have to talk to Erza and Lucy later about not sharing other people's stories. He directed his gaze to the woman who was hugging him. He felt good, he wanted to be with her like that for a long time, every day if necessary. He liked it, and he didn't want to deny it anymore. He sighed and finally reciprocated the mage's hug, who was a bit surprised by this but didn't pull away.
Gray wasn't thinking anymore, he was simply enjoying the moment he was having. He enjoyed Juvia's scent, he enjoyed the way their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly, as if they were made for this. He enjoyed her company, he simply enjoyed Juvia. That's why, while resting his head on hers, with the words on his lips, Juvia anticipated him and said, "It's not necessary for Gray-sama to say it, Juvia already knows. And if she's sincere, she's known for some time. Juvia knows that words aren't Gray-sama's favorite thing, so she doesn't want to pressure him to say anything. Juvia just wants to have this moment for a little longer." Concluded the mage.
Gray clenched his teeth, even in this moment Juvia wasn't forcing him to do anything. She was thinking of him and worrying about him, he didn't want it to keep being like that, with her always being the one to say the difficult things. So, he made her lift her head and look him in the eye. "Juvia," he started, so she would look at him. "I need... I need you to wait for me, just a little longer. I want to tell you, you deserve to hear it. You deserve that and much more. It's just that I want to be strong enough to protect you, and for that, I need to finish this mission. So please, wait for me. I promise I'll do my best to make it quick. I'll come back to you very soon, and when I do, I'll finally tell you. I know you've been waiting for a long time, and I don't want you to keep waiting, but please, understand me, just wait a little longer and I will finally give you everything, finally, it will be just the two of us.
Juvia, who seemed to be on the verge of tears, gave him a smile and went back to hugging him tightly. Gray corresponded to the hug, holding her close. After a few seconds, the blue-haired woman gave her response. "Gray-sama knows that Juvia will always wait for him. Although Juvia would like to ask him something." When she realized that Gray had his full attention on her and was listening to her, she continued. "I just want you to promise me that you'll come back and won't get hurt, that you won't do anything too dangerous, please."
The request from the woman he loved moved him, and with a warm smile, he dared to take Juvia's face between his hands and give her a soft kiss on the forehead. Conveying all his feelings to her through this, and Juvia understood that this kiss was the answer to her request. He promised that he would come back to her, safe and sound.
The black-haired man, already very embarrassed by all the affectionate displays he had made in such a short time, hugged Juvia again. "If you want, we can stay like this for a little longer" he said, already very blushed. "Of course, Gray-sama," was Juvia's response.
Several minutes had passed since the Unison Raid mages had left, and the rest of the Fairy Tail members were sharing a cake that Mira had prepared at the last minute. As they were serving it, they realized that the ice and water mages were nowhere to be found, so Erza went to call them to eat. She was pleasantly surprised when she opened the door and found Gray and Juvia fast asleep and embracing in the middle of the bed, looking so peaceful and relaxed that the mage didn't dare wake them up. They could eat cake later.
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