Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, its characters and their stories.

4.- First

Over the past few months Gray felt him and Juvia were growing more and more closer. They spent almost all their free time together. Talking or quiet, it was the same. Since that day he had told her she looked beautiful he had began to accept something he hadn't wanted to for the longest time. Something that he had secluded to the furthest part of his mind and to which he neither wished to look upon nor analyze. At first they were just random things that intruded his line of thought while on a mission. Like, if he was with team Natsu he would sometimes miss Juvia. At the time he had told himself it was just because their magic merged so well that he missed having her to fight along with. If he, instead, was on a job with Juvia, he would start to notice things like the small gestures she would make while talking, the way she moved while on a fight, or how her hands would fidget with each other whenever she was nervous. He was beginning to be too conscious around her, but then again, he buried those thoughts deep enough so they wouldn't disturb him. Then, when the Games started, that irritation with tints of hatred had invaded him like a plague when he heard Lyon talking with Juvia. He had never felt hatred for Lyon before, not even when the Moondrip incident happened. Rivalry perhaps, but never hate. He was like a brother to him. He didn't like at all the bet Lyon proposed, though. Juvia belonged in Fairy Tail, Juvia belonged with him. He didn't pay too much attention to that last piece of thought. With the passing of time he also started to, perhaps subconsciously, learn things about Juvia herself. What she liked for breakfast, her favorite drink, the different tones of voice she used when talking... He specially liked the one she used when talking to him, when actually talking to him. It was soft and gentle, it made him feel peaceful. Then he recalled how, at Ur's death anniversary, she had given him that scarf. He remembered how he hurt her when first rejecting it, but at the time he was drunk and wallowing in melancholic memories. That didn't mean he didn't regret it later and come back looking for it. He remembered the warmth the scarf provided his body when the snow started to coat the silent streets of Magnolia, and the warmth that ignited his heart when he thought Juvia had knitted it for him. Those thoughts and many more were what filled his head for months. He had tried to push everything back to a corner of his mind, but the first time a word like perfect had crossed his line of thought accompanying the image of Juvia, he had started to fell uneasy. Now, he had nothing else in mind. He couldn't escape the realization downing on him. He had actually started to fall for Juvia. For his crazy, noisy, and most of the time, annoying, stalker. But she wasn't like that anymore. Juvia had changed. And he had changed too. Now she was calmer around him, she wasn't acting as obsessive as before, and he had been attracted to that. To her now peaceful company, to her sincere -and not maniac- smile, to all of her, really. His behaviour towards her had also shifted, likely as an answer to that attraction. He was beginning to be more open about himself, feeling more comfortable when talking with her than he had with anybody else in years. The influence they both had in each other was showing in their demeanor. Their guildmates had already noticed, Erza asking more than once if he had finally told her anything. What was there to tell? He showed with his actions what he wanted, right? He hadn't given much thought to what to do next after the realization came, he just spent the following days thinking and thinking about anything that came to his mind. And so, today, while he was on the guild with Juvia just relaxing after they had had dinner, he recalled a question she had asked him a long time ago, while eating some ice-cream in the middle of a job in Hargeon. She asked what had been troubling him after they got back from the Games, and he hadn't been able to tell her. Now, without even thinking about how odd it would sound, he blurted the answer out loud to a question no one had asked.

"I felt guilty for Ultear's disappearance." As his words were no more than a mere whisper, Gray prayed that Juvia hadn't actually heard them. He took a deep breath, but before he could release it, Juvia's sweet voice cut in.

"What are you talking about, Gray-sama?" So, she had heard it. Gray looked up from the glass he was holding, and searched for her face. She looked confused for some seconds. Then, he saw understanding beginning to emerge in her eyes. It had been about nine months since they went on that job, the battle against Tartarus happening in between and all, but she still remembered.

"Why would you feel guilty about that? No one knows what happened to her."

"You remember that minute we saw into our future?" Gray lowered his gaze to his hands. He saw Juvia nodding in the reflection of his glass. "I don't think we just saw it." He paused for a bit, hesitant to share what had tormented him for a long time. He inhaled deeply. "I know we actually lived it, and that time was turned back." He heard Juvia gasp.

"You think Ultear used her magic to turn back time? But...but then...why would she, why wouldn't she c..." Juvia stuttered while trying to articulate her thoughts. Gray knew what trail of thinking she had followed, though.

"Why wouldn't she show up after that?" he asked her. "She showed up, right before she died." He hesitated, trying to keep his feelings in place. He saw Juvia extending her hand as if to take his, but she stopped midway, and posed them on the table. "I assumed her magic took a toll on her body, consuming its time. When we were leaving Crocus we passed an old lady on the road, I think...No. I know it was her." He could feel tears gathering in his eyes as his vision blurred.

"But why would it be your fault Gray-sama?" This time Juvia's hand actually made it to his. She squeezed his hand in an attempt of comforting him.

"That minute into the future, I was dead. Thanks to her we knew what was going to happen. I could dodge the blow because of her, because of her sacrifice. It was just like Ul all over again. They died for me." At that point he couldn't control it anymore, tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his face.

"It wasn't your fault. With her sacrifice Ultear saved a lot of people. That minute gave us who were fighting hope. It wasn't your fault Gray."

He listened to her. He knew Juvia was right. After having gone round and round with it during months he had came to the same conclusion. It was just that the feeling wouldn't leave him. But he knew she was right. It wasn't his...'It wasn't your fault, Gray.'

Juvia hadn't called him Gray-sama.

She had forgot the suffix.

It wasn't like it had never happened before. In that horrible memory of his death the last word he heard was Juvia's heartbreaking call of his name. But it was the first time she had dropped the suffix while not in immediate danger or a battle. He froze. He could still feel Juvia's soft hand on top of his. He could feel his pulse throughout his whole body. He heard it in his ears. When he looked up, he saw Juvia had too noticed what she had called him. He searched for her eyes, and when he found them, he locked his gaze with hers. Her blue orbs radiated nervousness. Gray didn't really know what to do, so he just followed his instinct and leaned to her until their lips collided.

The kiss was gentle. He extracted one of his hands from beneath Juvia's and caressed her face. Gray could feel his heart racing beneath his skin, and Juvia trembling under his touch. Her lips were so soft and warm, he was soon feeling the need for more. But faster than he would have liked, they were parting, both gasping for air. He locked gazes with her once more, his hand still resting on her cheek.

"Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow, Juvia?" he half whispered, still looking into her eyes. He knew what she would answer before she even opened her mouth.

"Juvia would like that very much, Gray." The corners of his lips perked up, and he found himself leaning to her once more.

A/N: I am so so so so sorry this is up so late and that it is too short. I promise tomorrow's chapter will be longer. I know a lot of you have asked that I write it longer, sumimasen.

Thank you too all that read, reviewed or favorited the story (aka NelieNyx, NollyLvn, Bubblycutie and Awesomnessdude, Gruvia2988, Killing Kunoichi, sparkles princess, Anani00, annabelisawesome, membridget, and the guests).

I remember you that I will be uploading the following days more one-shots as continuation. If you would like to read them I will be posting them as chapters under the story "Care is an ambiguous word" as well as separate one shots.

Thank you so much for reading! ^^ i am so sorry once again for the shortness of the one-shot. R&R! :3