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The sun was setting quickly over the city of Magnolia, orange light barely peeking through as the moon and night sky began to settle in. It was calm and quiet. The city resonated with the soft sounds of people walking home after a long day of work, ready to rest and prepare for tomorrow.
And so it was for Juvia and Gray.
“I know we just spent the whole day together, but… can I walk you home?”
They chose silence—a peaceful one. The sound of Magnolia’s train whistle grew more distant as they made their way back to Fairy Hills, where Juvia resided.
The few children still playing outside were soon called in by their mothers. It was getting colder by the minute, and it would be unfortunate if they caught a cold.
That’s what Gray thought, at least.
A gentle evening breeze began to blow, making Juvia shiver slightly as cool air replaced the warmth of the day. The scent of night slowly settled around them.
“…Are you cold? Should I give you my jacket?” Gray asked hesitantly, breaking the silence.
“Juvia’s fine… it’s refreshing.”
“You sure?” he asked again, afraid of disrupting the fragile peace they had created.
Juvia smiled at him. “Juvia’s sure. Thank you, darling.”
Gray felt a little disappointed that he couldn’t give her his jacket. He worried she might catch a cold, considering how easily she got sick.
But that wasn’t the real reason.
Truth was, he craved her.
Maybe draping his coat over her shoulders would have been a good excuse to touch her. Maybe a light brush of his fingers against her arms. Or maybe, if he gathered enough courage, his palm resting on her back.
God, I’m such a loser, he thought. Juvia is my girlfriend. I can hold her hand whenever I want… right?
Right?
Gray glanced at her. He studied the soft outline of her features, the shadows cast by the setting sun. Even in the dimming light, she seemed to glow.
Then he looked at her hand—free, gently swinging with her steps. Her fingers were long and delicate, slightly curled inward.
What would happen if he just… reached out?
Gray moved a little closer—strategically—letting their hands brush.
He froze.
Juvia stiffened.
For a split second, he hesitated. Then he closed the gap. His fingers slid between hers, locking their hands together. It felt perfect. Safe. As if their hands had always been meant to fit this way.
The quiet remained.
“I don’t want this to end…” they thought at the same time.
⸻
After walking a little longer—very slowly, that is—they reached the girls’ apartments.
The ones where boys were definitely not allowed.
Neither of them wanted to say goodbye.
“So, uhm… thank you for walking me home, Gray-sama!”
“Y-Yeah! No problem! Uhm… I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Gray shifted awkwardly in place.
“Y-Yeah… G-Goodbye!”
Juvia leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before quickly turning to head inside.
“Goodbye—”
“Hey, Juvia!”
She stopped and turned back. “Yes…?”
“I love you.”
His voice was steady. His face was not.
“Oh! I love you too, my darling…”
She ran back and gave him one final kiss, standing on her tiptoes with her arms wrapped loosely around his neck.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. His other hand instinctively cupped her cheek.
She leaned into him immediately, deepening the kiss, her arms tightening around him.
Gray didn’t care who saw. He didn’t care who talked.
All that mattered was the girl melting in his arms.
Juvia’s fingers tangled in his dark hair as if she were afraid he would dissolve into mist if she let go. His hand stayed firm at her waist, pulling her close enough that even Magnolia’s evening breeze couldn’t slip between them.
Their kiss deepened.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Just unwilling to end.
When they finally pulled apart, their foreheads rested together, breaths mingling in the cool air.
“Sorry, Juvia really is going inside now…” she whispered, though her arms tightened instead of loosening.
“Yeah,” Gray said still not wanting her to leave.
Neither moved.
She stepped back first.
One step.
Then two.
Gray watched her go, hands slipping into his pockets, pretending this was normal. Pretending his chest didn’t feel like someone had replaced his lungs with fireworks.
She reached the door.
He turned around and walked three steps away.
“Gray-sama!”
He stopped instantly and turned back.
Juvia stood there, hands clasped together, rocking slightly on her heels. “Juvia forgot something.”
He blinked. “What?”
She ran back to him for a third kiss.
It was soft but certain, her hands cupping his cheeks, her lips lingering just long enough to make his brain short-circuit completely.
When she pulled back, she smiled.
“That.”
Gray stared at her like she had just declared war on his ability to breathe.
“You’re impossible,” he muttered.
“And you love Juvia.”
“…Yeah.”
She beamed.
“Okay,” she said again, stepping back. “Now Juvia will really go inside.”
She turned.
Gray took five steps away this time. Five whole steps.
His chest tightened.
Why does it feel like I’m leaving for a year?
He stopped when he heard the door creak open.
That was it. The end of the night.
“Gray…”
He clenched his jaw. “…Juvia.”
The door shut again.
He turned just in time to see her rushing back down the steps.
“You said my name!” she accused breathlessly.
“You said mine first!”
They stared at each other.
Silence.
Then they both laughed.
It bubbled out of them, warm and new.
Gray ran a hand through his hair. “This is stupid.”
“Very stupid,” she agreed.
“…You don’t want to go inside either, do you?”
Juvia shook her head slowly. “No.”
There it was. Honest. Bare.
Gray stepped closer again.
“We’re just standing here like idiots.”
“Lovable idiots,” she corrected.
He huffed a laugh and pressed his forehead against hers.
“…What if I didn’t leave?”
The words were quiet. Almost swallowed by the wind.
Juvia froze. Not dramatically. Not loudly. Just completely. Her fingers tightened slightly in his shirt. “W-What does Gray-sama mean…?”
He swallowed. His heartbeat was embarrassingly loud in his own ears. “I mean… what if I stayed? Not out here like an idiot. I mean… what if I snuck in?”
Her brain visibly short circuited. “Snuck… into Fairy Hills?”
He nodded once, trying very hard to look calm and failing spectacularly. “We’d just sleep,” he rushed to clarify. “I just… I don’t wanna say goodbye yet.”
That did it.
The teasing softness left her expression. What replaced it was something warm. Something vulnerable.
“Juvia doesn’t want to say goodbye either,” she admitted.
And that was all it took.
Sneaking into Fairy Hills felt like a forbidden side quest.
Gray climbed carefully, landing lightly on her balcony. Juvia pulled him inside in a flustered panic, shutting the curtains as if the building itself might gossip.
They stood there in her room. Alone.
It suddenly felt very quiet.
Very small.
Very real.
Gray rubbed the back of his neck. “This is normal.”
“Yes,” Juvia agreed instantly. “Very normal.”
They stared at each other for half a second.
Then both dissolved into quiet laughter, the kind that makes your shoulders bump together and your nerves melt away.
Juvia sat on the edge of her bed. “You can sit too…”
He did.
Close enough that their thighs touched but neither commented on it.
For a while, they just talked. About nothing important. About how ridiculous they were downstairs. About how they kept walking away like two magnets pretending not to be magnets.
“I really tried to leave,” Gray admitted. “I made it five steps.”
“Juvia made it to the door,” she countered proudly.
“Yeah, well… you came back.”
“You called my name!”
He couldn’t argue with that.
Silence settled again, but it was different now. Softer. Fuller.
Gray glanced at her.
She was looking at him like she still couldn’t believe this was real.
“Why are you staring?” he muttered.
“Because Juvia is happy.”
That hit him square in the chest.
He reached up before he could overthink it and gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. This time he didn’t hesitate. His fingers lingered slightly against her cheek.
“You don’t gotta look at me like I’m gonna disappear.”
“You might,” she whispered.
He softened. “I’m not going anywhere.”
That promise seemed to calm something inside her.
After a few minutes, she yawned, small and unguarded.
“Tired?” he asked.
“A little…”
He leaned back against her pillows and held out an arm.
“C’mere.”
She hesitated only long enough to blush.
Then she curled into him carefully at first. Then completely.
Her head rested on his chest, her hand clutching lightly at his shirt as if anchoring herself. His arm wrapped around her waist automatically, pulling her closer until there was no distance left to worry about.
It felt different from the kisses.
Quieter.
Deeper.
Her breathing began to slow.
He could feel it.
Feel her trusting him enough to fall asleep like this.
“Gray-sama?” she murmured.
“Yeah?”
“Juvia is very glad you couldn’t say goodbye.”
He smiled against her hair. “…Me too.”
She shifted slightly, nuzzling closer.
He tightened his arm just a bit.
Outside, Magnolia was silent now. The last of the lights had dimmed. The world had moved on to tomorrow.
But in this small room, time felt suspended.
Gray pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “Next time,” he murmured softly, “I’m just not even gonna try to leave.”
Juvia giggled sleepily. “Juvia will probably chase you anyway.”
He huffed a quiet laugh. “…Goodnight, Juvia.”
“Goodnight, Gray-sama.”
A pause.
Then, softer.
“…Goodnight, my darling.”
His heart did that fireworks thing again as he rested his cheek lightly against her hair.
“Goodnight… finally.”