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On his way to the guild that morning, Gray never could have expected to end up in a full‑blown drama over something as simple as choosing flowers.
And yet, the day had started off perfectly. He had trained with his girlfriend by the canal in one of Magnolia’s parks early in the morning. It had been three months now since Gray and Juvia had become a couple and, by the same token, three months since the 100 Year Quest had ended. When the mission had finally wrapped up, Gray, for once, hadn’t wasted more time than he already had and had finally confessed his feelings to the water mage. Well “confessed” might have been a strong word. Juvia had suspected for a while that the ice mage shared her feelings, but she had simply been waiting for his green light so she could shout from every rooftop that he was hers. Which she had promptly done after Gray’s declaration, on the night of the guild’s celebration ,much to Gray’s dismay (and enjoyment).
Since then, the couple had settled into their little habits: taking more missions together, going on dates, sleeping at each other’s places (meaning: managing to sneak into the girls’ dorm without making a sound when it was at Juvia’s) and training together in the morning , one of Gray’s favorite routines. Besides loving to spend time with the woman who made his heart race, he genuinely enjoyed training with a mage whose magic complemented his so well.
After training, Gray and Juvia headed to the guild together, and as soon as he arrived, he ended up bickering with Natsu for some forgotten reason. Around lunchtime, while Gray was eating across from Lucy who was showing Erza the latest issue of Sorcerer, Juvia joined the group for a moment. Instinctively, Gray shifted to make room for her, and she slipped into the seat beside him. Eyeing Gray’s plate with interest, she stole a slice of apple from his salad. He didn’t say anything; if it had been anyone else, he would have told them off, but it was Juvia and it was just an apple slice after all. He noticed Lucy and Erza watching the scene with amused smiles. He chose not to comment.
After finishing her bite, Juvia explained that she was heading out with Levy to the craft store so Levy could choose the color of the yarn Juvia would use to knit a hat for Levy and Gajeel’s future baby. Levy was nearing her due date and Juvia had been chosen as the baby’s godmother since she had accompanied them throughout the pregnancy. And she absolutely wanted to hand‑knit the baby’s first hat. Gray nodded and wished her a good afternoon as the water mage slipped away with the pregnant woman.
As he watched his beautiful girlfriend walk away, a faint smile on his lips, he noticed, once again, that Lucy and Erza were staring at him intensely.
“What?” he asked, slightly annoyed.
“No, nothing…” Erza replied, still smiling.
Gray raised an eyebrow, doubtful.
“It’s just…” Lucy began, “weird to see you like this. In a relationship!”
Gray sighed and looked away, too embarrassed that his cool‑guy persona was being shattered so openly.
“Not that it’s a bad thing!” Lucy corrected quickly. “It’s a good thing. A great thing. We’re really happy for you. You deserve it,” she added sincerely.
Gray looked back at his friends and gave them a nod that said everything.
“So, Gray… how long have you and Juvia been together now?” Erza asked. “Jellal asked me the other day and I wasn’t sure anymore.”
“Three months,” he answered. “Actually… it’s been three months today,” Gray added, almost surprised at himself for remembering the date. He wasn’t exactly the type to care about anniversaries. Dates usually held more bad memories than good ones for him.
“What?! Today is already your three‑month anniversary?” Lucy exclaimed. “What did you two plan?”
“Uh… nothing special. It’s just three months, nothing very symbolic.”
Erza and Lucy exchanged a slightly panicked look.
“What now?” Gray asked, already annoyed by whatever they were about to say.
“Gray…” Lucy sighed. “We’re talking about Juvia. Miss ‘I know the exact number of days since your first meeting’. For her, every day means something, remember?”
Erza nodded in agreement.
Gray knew that. He remembered the scarf, the body pillow and all the other bizarre gifts Juvia had given him over the years. But since they’d started dating, she hadn’t mentioned any dates. He had noticed that, at the beginning of their relationship, Juvia had been more timid and reserved than usual as if she were afraid of overwhelming him. He kept telling her she could be herself, that he could handle it, that he liked her that way and she had loosened up a bit… but he could still tell she wasn’t as intense and passionate as she used to be.
Oh crap. He needed to do something for their three‑month anniversary and show her that he was serious about them.
Panic hit him instantly and he looked at the girls, visibly stressed.
“Oh crap, crap, crap! What was I thinking?! I need to do something!” Gray blurted out.
“Calm down, Gray,” Erza tried to reassure him. “It doesn’t have to be huge. A simple gesture will do perfectly.”
“Yeah, give her something romantic or something she likes and she’ll be over the moon,” Lucy added.
Gray started thinking about classic gifts you give a girlfriend. Chocolate? Too Valentine’s Day. A card or a poem? Gray was definitely not a man of many words. Flowers? Oh, that was good. Juvia loved flowers and Gray knew she often bought herself bouquets of all kinds to decorate her room.
Triumphant, he stood up abruptly and threw a quick:
“Thanks, I gotta go!” at the girls.
As he stepped into the flower shop, Gray couldn’t help but note, somewhat grimly, that it was the first time he was buying flowers that weren’t meant to sit at the base of a tombstone. Approaching the counter, an elderly man, likely the owner, smiled at him from behind the register.
“Hello, young man. Can I help you?” he asked.
“Yeah… I’m here to get a bouquet… for my girlfriend,” Gray replied, still not very comfortable with anything remotely romantic.
“Oh, I see. Well, you’re in the right place! Is it for a special occasion?”
“Yeah, for our three‑month anniversary,” Gray said, unsure whether the florist would judge him for making such a gesture for “just” three months.
“Aaaah! I understand. The beginning of relationships, always the most romantic period,” the florist teased with a wink. “Do you know your girlfriend’s favorite flowers?”
Gray froze. He had thought that once he was inside the shop, everything would be easy.
He was certain Juvia had told him before, but to be fair, Juvia said a lot of things: her favorite tea, her favorite novel, her favorite mug, her favorite bench in Magnolia’s park…
The florist seemed to pick up on his uncertainty and asked another question:
“Do you know her favorite color?”
That, Gray knew.
“Yeah, it’s blue.”
As he said it, a cluster of blue flowers behind the man caught his eye.
“Those. I’ll take those, please,” he said, pointing at them.
The florist turned, looked at the flowers in question, then faced Gray again.
“Are you sure? You know, blue roses…” he began.
“Yes, yes, yes! I feel like those are the right ones,” Gray said, suddenly enthusiastic and confident.
The florist shrugged, accepting the choice and began assembling a bouquet: three blue roses, a few sprigs of baby’s breath, some greenery for volume, all wrapped in white satin‑finish paper and tied with a blue ribbon. After paying, Gray took the bouquet and headed toward the guild, hoping Juvia was already back, more excited and proud than he cared to admit at the thought of giving his girlfriend her gift.
As he stepped into the guild, he quickly spotted his girlfriend from behind, her long ocean‑blue hair flowing down her back. She was standing and showing the yarn she and Levy had picked out at the store to Lucy, Erza, Gajeel and Panther Lily, all seated at the same table.
He approached quietly, on tiptoe, the bouquet hidden behind his back. Once behind her, he tapped her shoulder lightly. Juvia turned around, smiling brightly from her purchase and her smile grew even wider when she realized the person who had surprised her was her boyfriend.
“Oh, Gray‑sama! Juvia was wondering where you had gone. Look at the color Levy and I chose!” she said, showing him a tangerine‑colored yarn, Levy’s favorite color.
“It’s a nice color,” Gray replied, pretending to be interested to make her happy before continuing: “I have something for you.”
He pulled the bouquet from behind his back and handed it to her, cheeks red, awkward, looking anywhere but at her.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Juvia freeze, surprised. He gave her three seconds before she jumped into his arms.
1… 2… 3…
Juvia still hadn’t moved.
“Juvia, are you okay?” Gray asked, worried. Had he broken her?
“It’s… for me?” the water mage asked, uncertain.
“Yeah. I picked them myself, just for you,” he said, even more uncomfortable now that he felt the girls, Lily and Gajeel staring at him.
Something seemed to sadden Juvia all at once as if a gray cloud had appeared above her. She who usually radiated looked suddenly pitiful.
Gray tried to catch her gaze and, when he finally did, she grabbed the bouquet, looked at the floor, whispered a thank‑you and hurried out of the guild.
Gray was completely lost. Had he done something wrong? Broken some boyfriend code? He had given her flowers, for god’s sake, nothing bad!
He looked at his friends, silently asking for answers.
Lucy was the first to react, shrugging incredulously. Erza and Lily didn’t seem to know either.
“Don’t look at me. I don’t understand half of what goes on in that Rain Woman’s head,” Gajeel shot back.
Then, when Gray’s gaze met Levy’s, he knew she knew. She looked slightly embarrassed to tell him the truth.
“Tell me,” Gray almost begged.
Levy let out a long sigh.
“Well… I couldn’t help noticing you gave her blue roses,” she said as if that explained everything.
“Yeah, I picked them because it’s her favorite color and they looked nice,” Gray explained.
“I know… but blue roses have a very specific meaning. They represent the impossible, the unreachable, the unattainable or a love that cannot be realized. And knowing Juvia…”
“She definitely knows the meaning,” Gray finished for her.
The pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Gray had to think fast to fix the situation and reassure his girlfriend and, in doing so, prevent a storm of sadness from falling over all of Magnolia. He already saw gray clouds forming outside through a window, clouds that definitely weren’t in the forecast.
Oh crap. He needed to fix this fast.
Before anyone could say another word, Gray bolted out of the guild.
When he burst into the flower shop, clearly panicking , the owner, who had been counting the register, looked up in surprise at the person who had just stormed in. Then he understood immediately.
“Blue roses, huh?” the man behind the counter asked. “I tried to warn you, young man…”
“Yeah, I know, and I should’ve listened! Tell me, do you have a flower that says I’m sorry I gave you a bouquet that basically meant our relationship was impossible, I’m an idiot, I’m really sorry?” Gray asked with complete seriousness.
The florist seemed to hold back a laugh.
“I don’t have flowers that say exactly that, but I probably have something that can fix the mistake.”
Juvia had rushed up the Fairy Hills stairs four at a time, shoved her key into the lock and slipped into her room to finally let her heartbreak explode.
How could her Gray‑sama hurt her like that? Giving her flowers to say their relationship was impossible? She thought they were doing well. She had even made an effort not to be too much since the beginning of their relationship. But maybe he simply didn’t love her? She began to sob. Maybe she kissed badly? She cried harder. She wanted to get rid of the bouquet still in her hand, throw it in the trash, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t do that to something Gray‑sama had given her, even with such a cruel message. It was stronger than her. So she hurried to place it in a vase, then went to cry every tear her body could produce (which was a lot, since her body was made of water) into her bed.
She didn’t even realize she had fallen asleep until she was jolted awake by someone knocking at her door. She touched her cheeks : dried tears. She would have stayed under her blanket, but the knocking grew more insistent.
When she opened the door, she saw Lisanna, who gave her a reassuring smile. She placed a hand on Juvia’s arm and said:
“There’s someone here for you at the entrance.”
Before Juvia could say anything, the white‑haired mage insisted:
“You really should go see.”
Resigned, Juvia went downstairs.
Her surprise was immense when she saw all the girls of Fairy Hills gathered in the entrance hall, smiling, some holding back giggles at the sight of a tomato‑red, extremely embarrassed Gray surrounded by several, no, an absurd amount, of bouquets of red and white roses in enormous vases.
She let out a small gasp.
Gray took a step toward her when he saw her.
“Juvia, I’m really sorry about the bouquet earlier. I had no idea what it meant. I only gave it to you because you always wear blue and I wanted to give you flowers in your favorite color… And anyway, these flowers,” he said, gesturing around him, “actually represent what I feel for you.”
Gray awkwardly handed her a bouquet of red roses.
“These mean love.”
Then a bouquet of white roses.
“And these, apparently, mean sincerity. So please believe me when I say I love you, that I’m sorry, that I don’t think our love is impossible and that I’m just an idiot who doesn’t check flower meanings. I just wanted to give you a gift for our three‑month anniversary…”
Gray’s words instantly warmed Juvia’s heart. Their three months?! How had she forgotten? She knew the date was coming, but ever since Gajeel and Levy had told her she would be the baby’s godmother, she had been thinking only about the millions of gifts she would make for the child and had completely forgotten what day it was. She suddenly felt a little foolish.
Seeing Gray’s devastated expression, she pushed the bouquets aside with the back of her hand and jumped into his arms, knocking him to the floor under the laughter of all the girls.
Two days later, after Gray managed to sneak quietly into Juvia’s room in the evening, he realized he might have been a little intense. Her room was overflowing with bouquets. On the desk, on the dresser, on the windowsill, even on a chair. But what caught his attention most was the bouquet on her bedside table: among all the red and white roses, it was the bouquet of blue roses.
When Gray asked Juvia why that one, she answered with a shy smile that blue roses now had a new meaning for her: the very first flowers Gray‑sama had ever given her.
From that day on, Juvia declared that Gray should only ever give her blue roses, that they were officially her favorite flowers. Even on their wedding day, a handful of blue roses could be seen tucked carefully into her bouquet: a quiet nod to Gray’s very first clumsy, sincere and loving gesture.
Written by a human in Ellipsus.