you took the path of least resistance

You're standing by the grey ice water,
Out in the wind above ground out in the water.
You had yourself a crazy lover
Become unfrozen trying hard to forget her.

— "Grey Ice Water", Modest Mouse

Prompts courtesy of the 100_prompts community on Livejournal (table 30-C).

01. defiant

Whenever Gajeel asks her exactly why she holds onto her feelings for "that stripping ice bastard freak" so strongly, despite the likelihood of them being returned, she does little more than smile at her oldest and dearest friend, her gentle expression belaying the fierce determination and loyalty he has now come to expect from her, as she murmurs a soft and simple, "Because."

02. powder

The first snowfall of the year is little more than soft, powdery stuff that isn't at all conducive for making even a proper snowball, let alone anything else, but she's nonetheless running about with all the excitement of a giddy child as she flits about, trying to catch the pale snowflakes on her tongue before she attempts to make yet another snow angel half a moment later, and he really can't help but allow himself a crooked sort of half-smile at the sight — when no one else (with the exception of a very well-hidden and a very knowing Erza, of course) is watching him, of course.

03. grateful

He's never told anyone before, not even Lyon, but it is, in fact, possible (albeit incredibly rare) for an Ice-Make mage of his caliber to feel uncomfortable at low enough temperatures, and as he wraps the thick woolen scarf a bit more snugly about his neck in an attempt to ward off the freezing mountain wind, he can't help but appreciate the fact that she's got such a thing for anniversaries.

04. decent

"Gray-sama, Juvia knows you're working on your stripping habit, and she's very proud of how far you've come, but she really hoped you would make more of an effort tonight — it's not every day Juvia gets to eat with Gray-sama at a five-star restaurant, you know!"

05. union

To this day, Chelia insists that the Unison Raid they performed on the last day of the Grand Magic Games was the most romantic thing she had ever seen.

06. cleansed

For as long as she can remember, the pitter-patter of a gentle shower had always been a constant presence in her life, and yet she had never felt quite so refreshed and revitalized until he brought the warmth and light of sunshine into her life.

07. go

"Juvia wants to stay in bed all day too," she murmurs, her amusement evident despite the growing flush on her cheeks while he continues to press open-mouthed kisses against her neck and shoulders, as they lay together in the mess of tangled sheets and comforters of her bed, "but if Gray-sama wants to do this again soon, she thinks you should leave Fairy Hills before Erza-san finds out you're here and kills you for breaking the rules."

08. shame

Naturally, with his luck, it's Happy who asks about the strange marks scattered across his neck and torso, and he finds himself flushing redder than Evergreen did when then entire guild officially found out that she and Elfman were dating.

09. objective

At the sight of two of them chatting so easily with one another at the bar counter while sharing a stack of enormous blueberry pancakes with one another, Mirajane and Cana exchange identical conspiratorial smirks with one another; Plan "Get Gray to Finally Confess His Very Obvious Feelings for Juvia So They Can Get Married and Make Four-Hundred Babies" was officially set in motion.

10. strength

He would never admit it to anyone, but he's always thought that the way she's able to best him so easily at arm-wrestling is actually really hot.

11. life

It's a proven fact that water is the source of all life on the planet, magical and mundane alike, but it isn't until he sees that small, crying bundle cradled against her chest that he actually understands how true that is.

12. contempt

"I'm going to tell you this only one more time, Lyon, so listen up: if I ever see or hear that you're hitting on Juvia again, I swear I'll personally make sure that any possible Lyon Juniors you might want to make will never exist — got it?"

13. wrong

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you, Gray," Macao begins as Wakaba nods sagely from behind his ever-present cloud of smoke, "since you're about to become a married man and all: from now on, Juvia was, is, and always will be right, and if you want her to be happy and stay that way — oh, and keep getting laid, that's important, too — that's just something you're just going to have to come to terms with."

14. sweeten

It's not that he doesn't like desserts or anything; he just thinks they taste a million times better when he's licking the frosting off of her lips and their clothes are scattered all over the room.

15. hands

She realizes with a start that he has the hands of an artist, and a moment later she's content to lean forward with her arms resting on the tabletop, watching dreamily as he uses those very same hands to create an icy mace that is then promptly thrown at Natsu's head, his pants following in its wake shortly thereafter.

16. strangle

On the rare nights he still wakes up, drenched in a cold sweat as he recalls his nightmares, where the taloned hands of age-old demons tighten around his throat and the voices of the dead (Father Mother Ur Ultear) resound despairingly in the deepest recesses of his mind, she never fails to press her lips to his forehead and rub his back gently, a silent affirmation of her love and of her presence, to send him back to the cool void of content and dreamless slumber he so desperately craves.

17. lullaby

As a child, her father had been the one to sing her to sleep, before she'd been left with only the rain as her constant guardian and companion; to see him do the same for their own children, now, leaves a bittersweet ache in her heart, but then he glances at her from the corner of his eye and gives her that smile she so adores, and the sadness is gone as she falls in love with him all over again.

18. untouchable

Like most couples, they enjoy experimenting in the bedroom from time to time; the nights she takes charge, restricting his movements by means of various restraints and forbidding him from touching her in anyway, are the ones he looks forward to the most.

19. whispered

The constant sound of carefully hushed voices and poorly-veiled comments of simultaneous disbelief and approval have been grating on his nerves all day, and it's barely mid-afteroon when he finally loses it, scrambling on top of one of the many long tables in the guild hall and glaring at his fellow guild mates; "So Juvia and I are dating, now," he says as she fidgets in her seat, not entirely sure how to respond to this most recent development, "if you have something to say, then say it to our faces instead of whispering behind our backs!" — then again, he's just as surprised as she is when, after a moment of stunned silence, the entirety of the guild erupts into hearty, raucous applause.

20. prayers

Gajeel can actually be pretty scary where her well-being is concerned, he thinks to himself as he watches the Dragon Slayer stalk back to where Levy is sitting on the other side of the guild; he only hopes he doesn't do anything to incur the former Phantom's wrath in the near future — doubly so for her, actually, as he's been on the receiving end of her anger only once before, and it isn't something he particularly wants repeated.

21. obvious

After all this time, he'd figured she already knew how he felt about her — it was why he hadn't thought she'd actually faint when he finally mustered up the courage to say he loved her, after all.

22. rhythm

"If Gray-sama listens closely," she tells him one lazy afternoon, tracing idle patterns on his chest as she smiles down at him, "you can hear the rhythm of the rain — it reminds Juvia of a little heartbeat, almost."

23. afterlife

There is a flash of lightning and a deafening clap of thunder before the rain begins to fall in earnest, and as the remnants of bloodstained battlefield are washed away by the water's flow, he knows that this is her way of saying farewell from the next world — not that it does anything to assuage his grief, of course.

24. hidden

She really can't help but smile and bring a hand to her chest, where the pendant of his distinctive silver necklace rests above her heart whenever she hears someone inquire as to how he lost the piece of jewelry in the first place.

25. parade

"Hey, Natsu: if you're looking for Grey, he and Juvia went off to his place together earlier today to figure stuff out for their Fantasia Parade float, and — oh, wait, never mind," Lucy looks simultaneously amused and slightly uncomfortable as something in her mind clicks into place, "you're probably better waiting here with me instead of — Natsu Dragneel there is absolutely no way I am letting you go to Grey's while Juvia's there do you understand?"

26. touch

One of her favorite things to do in winter is to cuddle in front of the hearth, and while he doesn't care much for the fire, or even the heat generated by the flames (it reminds him too much of a certain pyromaniacal idiot) he is most certainly not opposed to the amount of heavy petting that occurs in such situations.

27. free

It hardly comes as a shock when the guild discovers she's picked up his habit of stripping in the most random places and at the most inconvenient of times (albeit not to quite the same extent as him); it's hardly her fault, however, as she'd never before realized how unconstrained such a thing really was — at least, that's what she tells anyone willing enough to listen.

28. enjoy

"Yo, Gray," Cana tells him with a tipsy, good-natured grin one muggy summer evening, "I know it's hot out, and I know you think she's hot, too, but," and here she glances down quickly, pointedly, as beside her Bacchus throws back his head and laughs heartily (the Drunk Falcon is becoming an increasingly familiar presence at Fairy Tail's bar, and he dimly wonders what Gildarts would say if he found out exactly how his daughter and her boyfriend met in the first place), "if you ask me, I think you're probably enjoying watching Juvia eat that popsicle a bit too much, you know?"

29. shining

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are — Gray-sama, not now, the baby's sleeping, and… Yes, Gray-sama, you will always be Juvia's first and brightest sunshine, can she please finish — Gray-sama!"

30. overflow

"Stupid brats," Makarov mutters from atop the table he is currently commandeering as a makeshift raft in the freshly-flooded guild hall, "at least we know she said yes."

This was really fun to write, and I'm glad I was able to do and use this as my first Gruvia-centric contribution to the fandom; honestly, I think I might love this pairing a bit too much. Also, I think the use of an LJ prompt community, of all things, is a bit telling of my age and history when it comes to fandom/internet usage as a whole. Oh, well. C'est la vie, et al.

For the record, in my experience it's been proven time and again that Modest Mouse song titles and lyrics are always a wonderful go-to when you can't quite figure out exactly what you want to title a particular fic. Heh.

As always, comments, feedback, critique, and reviews of any sort are always welcome. Thank you so much for reading!