2

The next morning, he wakes up with a really nasty headache and the first thing he thinks about is how he'd give anything to die right now.

His head aches and the insides of his mouth feel like sandpaper. His stomach feels like crap and he's pretty sure that it won't be long before he throws up and ruins his sheets or something. Which would really suck because he's just gotten them back from the laundry lady and he'd hate having to go and bring them to her days before her next pick-up. He can't really remember much of what happened yesterday but he's pretty sure that he went overboard and got piss poor drunk.

And look, obviously he didn't mean overdo it. He just meant to have a bottle or two, just to get rid of the uncomfortable heaviness at the pit of his stomach. It was the anniversary of his parents' death and honestly, it doesn't bother him as much as it used to. Usually, during death anniversaries, he'd go and take missions or hang out with his friends to try to take his mind off things but for some reason, yesterday, the feeling wouldn't go away. He's not exactly sure what made him decide to go get some drinks but he thinks it may have something to do with Erza repeatedly asking him if he was okay or if he wanted to talk.

And yeah, he gets that she was just trying to be a good friend and it was a really nice thing for her to do. But seriously. It happened a long time ago and he's moved past it and he doesn't really need her pity.

(Okay, fine. Maybe it also had something to do with Juvia not being there the whole day because she had some super important mission with Gajeel so he couldn't talk to her and stuff.

Maybe.)

He groans and tries to sit up, only to realize that he has something warm and soft in his hand. He forces his eyes open, flinching at the brightness of his room. He's kind of dizzy and his tongue feels so dry, as if his body had just lost the function of making saliva. Just how much did he drink last night? And what the hell is he holding?

He turns to the side and stiffens.

Fuck.

Juvia's sitting cross-legged on the floor, her head on the surface of his bed and one of her hands clasped tightly in his. The beanie on her head is lopsided and she's got a thin, sleeveless undershirt on. A good distance away from her, the sweater she must've been wearing is haphazardly lying on the floor.

He sits up, his mouth creasing into a frown. He's not sure why she's here or what the hell happened last night, but he's really bothered by her sleeping position. It looks uncomfortable and he can't believe that drunk-him didn't even have the decency of offering her his bed or something. Which is probably a good thing because he'd probably do something stupid like sleep with her if that happened.

Not that he was thinking about ever doing that, even if he was drunk.

He doesn't think about stuff like that.

He swears.

Anyway.

He quickly starts attempting to unlatch his hand from hers as he tries to figure out a way to wake her up without freaking her out. He doesn't exactly know what happened but he's sure that this whole thing is just as weird to her as it is to him.

Before he can, Juvia makes a small sound and lifts her head up, her eyes blinking blearily.

When she makes eye contact with him, her face turns into a deep shade of red.

"G-Gray-sama!" she squeaks.

"Er…hey," Gray mumbles. His throat is dry and the words are coming out of his mouth in a rough croak. He sits up, eyes trailing downward to their interlinked hands. "Um…could you just—''

"Of course!" Juvia quickly says, as she takes her hand back. Her face is still puce and she looks even more embarrassed than him. She quickly stands up and starts moving backward. "Well…now that Juvia is awake, she'll just get going now…"

"Wait, um…we didn't….I mean I didn't…" he sputters. "What I really meant was…I never did anything weird…did I?"

Gray did not think it was possible for Juvia's face to become even redder.

"No. Not at all," she replies, her voice unnaturally high.

"Oh." He forces out a weak smile as he tries to sound as casual as he can. "Because I was just wondering what you're doing in my room—''

He abruptly stops.

Shit. His room.

He wildly turns around and sure enough, right on his bed is the Juvia Body Pillow.

He groans and runs a hand through his face, mortified.

"This isn't what it looks like!" he hastily says, cringing at how guilty he sounds. "I don't use it or anything! I mean okay. I do sleep with it. Occasionally. But that's it. I don't do weird things with it. And well, you gave it to me and it'd be a waste to throw it away and …It was just…I mean…"

"It's a really good pillow," he lamely finishes.

Juvia nods her head, her face becoming even more flushed. "Juvia knows. She made sure that the body pillow makers used the best materials."

"Oh. Thank you," he replies, trying to ignore the throbbing of his head and how embarrassed he feels. "So."

He stands up and moves forward, trying to put as much distance as he can between the body pillow. Immediately, his stomach rebels and his headache becomes even more acute.

"Gray-sama?" she anxiously says. "What's wrong? Maybe Juvia should go and get you some medicine. Or make you breakfast."

"No, I'm okay. Really. Just a small headache."

Juvia suddenly looks guilty, although he can't imagine why. "Sit down Gray-sama! Juvia will get you some medicine—''

"No, really I'm good. I probably just need some water." Juvia's flushing harder, almost as if she's just remembered something really embarrassing. Oh god. Was it something he said last night? In an effort to distract himself from that unpleasant thought, he looks at the ground. Which turns out to be a really bad idea because his eyes lock on the orange-yellow splotches on her skirt. "What is that? Don't tell me that I…"

Juvia weakly smiles.

"Um…yes. Gray-sama did vomit on Juvia last night while she was trying to bring him home," she says as she twists her fingers together.

"You…you were the one who brought me to my apartment?" he says. A second later, he internally slaps himself. Of course, she's the one who brought him home. There's probably no other reason why she's here.

"Er…you kind of drunk dialed Juvia," she says.

"Oh."

He feels so mortified. He's feels so anxious just thinking about what she might've witnessed or heard while he was drunk. He wonders what he might've said. Probably something really humiliating, judging from the look on her face. He tries to think but everything seems so blurry and surreal. And he can't believe that he threw up on her.

"It's not Gray-sama's fault!" she hastily says. "He was drunk! He couldn't control himself! And really, it's okay! Juvia could just wash them off!"

"Did I puke all over your sweater too?" he asks as he looks at the sweater on the floor.

"Um…yes. But there's only a little stain. Juvia managed to dodge! So really, it's okay! Gray-sama shouldn't worry!" she earnestly tells him.

He frowns at her, his brows creased in worry. Look, he's not exactly sure what happened last night and why he called her out of everyone else, but he knows that she did him a big favor. She probably didn't have to stay or anything but she did and she hasn't once mentioned the body pillow, which he's really grateful for. She's being a really good sport about this whole thing and he thinks that it'll be a really rude thing for him to do if he just lets her go out in her vomit-crusted clothes. His apartment is a long way off from where she lives and he doesn't want her to have to deal with people staring or being all judgmental.

"Do you want to take a shower before you go?" he blurts out before he can stop himself.

(Fuck. Fuck. What did he just say?)

Juvia's mouth pops open like a fish and she blinks at him several times, almost as if she can't believe what he's just said. "W-What?"

Gray shifts in his place, suddenly uncomfortable. He gruffly says, "Well, you can't just go out like that, can you?"

Juvia's face turns red again and she places her hands on her cheeks. "J-Juvia…taking a bath…in Gray-sama's bathroom…n-naked—''

"Oi! Stop it!" he says, flustered.

She bites her bottom lip, suddenly becoming serious again. "But Juvia can't possibly impose on Gray-sama—''

"No, really. It's okay. I don't mind," he says, trying to convince himself that it's no big deal. Natsu and Erza sometimes take showers in his place whenever they come back from missions and are too tired to go to their own apartments. Friends do stuff like this all the time. And Juvia is his friend. So, it's really not something that he should overthink.

Juvia looks at her feet, mulling it over. He can tell that she's a bit tempted. And he doesn't blame her. Her hair looks greasy and her eyes are red and sore and he's not trying to sound rude or anything, but she kind of smells. A part of him is hoping that she'll say no so he doesn't have to deal with the awkwardness. But he also knows that he'll probably feel bad if she does.

"But Juvia doesn't have any extra clothes…"

"I guess…" His face becomes unbearably warm. "I guess I can lend you a shirt or something. And I don't have pants or shorts that can fit you but…I don't know. I think the shirt will be big enough to cover the stains on your skirt. And you'll feel fresh."

A dreamy look crosses her face. "Juvia…in Gray-sama's clothes…it's almost like we're dating—''

"Oi! You know it's not like that!" Gray hastily says.

She gives him an eager look. "Can Juvia keep the shirt afterwards?"

"No!" he retorts, cheeks red.

Juvia blinks back at him.

"I'll just go get your—I mean my shirt," he mumbles as he hurriedly leaves the room.

He decides to try and cook her breakfast.

She's probably hungry. While he was leading her to the bathroom, she kept telling him that she wasn't, but still. He wants to do something nice for her. But the thing is, he can't really cook that well and breakfast for him usually just involves eating cereal. And he can't focus because of the nasty pounding in his head isn't going away. What happened to him last night? Did he hit his head against the pavement or something?

He roots through the fridge and finds some bread. He can't remember when he bought it but it still looks fresh and there aren't any molds on it so he figures that it's still good. And besides, Juvia would probably like toast better than cereal.

He pops a couple of slices into the toaster and takes out some jam spread. Then, he grabs some pills from the medicine cabinet and swallows two before drinking some water. That should alleviate his headache for the moment.

From where he's standing, he can hear the water running. He tries not to think about how close she is. Or how naked she is. But it's really hard not to because he's never really been in a situation like this before. Yeah, he's bathed naked with Erza and he's seen Lucy naked loads of times but it's different with Juvia. And it shouldn't be because she's just his friend so he shouldn't feel weird about it.

Oh fuck, who is he kidding? Of course he should feel weird. It's Juvia.

Having her take a shower in his place is a really bad idea. He still must've been drunk when he made that offer.

"Gray-sama?"

He looks up, stiffening when he sees her. Her wet hair is neatly hanging over her right shoulder and she looks fresh-faced and clean. She's wearing one of his white sweatshirts and it's a little too big on her so it falls over her side and shows off her shoulder. It also covers up most her skirt so it kind of looks like she's not wearing anything underneath.

Not that he's thinking about that.

"Juvia would like to thank you again, Gray-sama! It was really kind of you to let her use your shower! And lend her your shirt!" she cheerfully tells him.

"Yeah, sure," he mumbles, trying to ignore how she smells like his lemon soap. Inwardly, he wonders if his shirt will smell like her when she gives it back. He won't really mind.

"And uwaaahhh Gray-sama even made Juvia breakfast!" she says, a dreamy look mapping across her face.

"It's just toast," he says as she pulls a seat out. He winces at the loud scraping sound, the pounding in his head becoming more painful.

"Gray-sama? What's wrong?" she says, worried.

"Nothing," he quickly says as he tries to discreetly rub his head. The pounding is becoming worse and he's not exactly sure but he thinks that he's got a bump at the back of his head. He winces as he experimentally touches it. From across him, Juvia's not touching her food. Instead, she's giving him this weird, guilty look.

He frowns. "Don't you like your toast? Did I heat it up too much? Or would you like another flavour of jam?"

Juvia quickly shakes her head. "No! Juvia is very grateful that Gray-sama took the time to make her breakfast! It's just that…it seems like you're…I mean you look like you're in pain."

"It's nothing," he says as he dismissively waves a hand. "It's just this damned headache! It won't go away even after I drunk some medicine."

Juvia's bottom lip suddenly trembles and she avoids his gaze, her eyes fixed on her twiddling thumbs.

"Does it really hurt?"

"Yes," Gray says before he can stop himself. "It's like someone hit me with a sledgehammer last night. Repeatedly."

Juvia makes a small, whimpering sound. Gray looks at her in concern.

"Juvia?"

She looks up to meet his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"This is all Juvia's fault!" she blurts out, completely stricken.

"What?" Gray incredulously says.

"Juvia's the reason why Gray-sama's head hurts so much!" she wails.

"What are you talking about? It's probably just from the hangover," he hastily says as he attempts to placate her.

"No! It's not just from the hangover! It's because of Juvia! She flipped you over to the floor!" she guiltily says.

He blinks at her. "W-What? Why?"

"But Juvia didn't mean to! She swears! It was only because Gray-sama tried to kiss her—''

"I tried to do what?" he says, alarmed.

"It was because he lost his scarf and he was telling Juvia that she made him feel warm and fuzzy and—''

"I lost my scarf? The one you gave me?"

"Yes! But she's sure that it's just lying around her somewhere," she hastily says when she sees how upset he looks.

Gray feels tense and he can't relax. He can't lose that scarf. He just can't. It takes him a couple of seconds before he realizes that he's being over dramatic. Its probably just lying around his apartment somewhere. He couldn't have lost it while he was out wearing it because he's gotten so good at not stripping it off. He should relax.

"You're right. It's probably just lying around here somewhere," he says, trying to act as if it's no big deal. He squares his shoulders and attempts to steer the conversation in another direction. "So um…let me get this straight. I tried to…er…kiss you and you threw me on the floor—''

"But it was an accident! Juvia swears! And the second time—''

"There was a second time? I tried to kiss you a second time?"

"No, that was only once—''

"But then what—''

"Well, the second time, Juvia accidentally let go of Gray-sama because he grabbed her breast instead of—''

"I grabbed your breast?" Gray says, becoming more and more mortified. What else did he do last night? Bits and pieces of what happened start flashing across his mind but they all seem so disjointed. It's like he can't focus long enough to piece them all together. The weird thing though, is that he seems to remember a lot of close-ups of Juvia's face. And having the urge to kiss her.

Shit that really did happen.

He clears his throat and looks at his toast. Well, she doesn't need to know that he's remembered it. Probably best that she still thinks he can't remember anything. And he can't believe he groped her. Again. He suddenly has this vision of himself being creepy and overly aggressive and sexual. He just hopes it hasn't reached the point where he was forcing himself on her.

As if reading his thoughts, Juvia quickly says, "No, Gray-sama didn't try to do anything with Juvia! He never did anything like that despite being drunk. It was an accident!"

"An accident?"

"Well, Juvia was trying to help Gray-sama up after she threw him on the floor for trying to kiss her, not that Juvia wouldn't want a kiss from Gray-sama!" she says. "She just wanted to have our first kiss by the beach or a fountain or when it's raining and snowing."

Gray gives her an incredulous look.

"Oh and also, she didn't want to take advantage of Gray-sama while he wasn't in the proper state of mind," she hastily adds.

"Well…thank you," he says, not really sure how to respond. He presses his lips together; feeling a bit off that she's acting as if he'd rather get stabbed in the gut than kiss her. She shouldn't think that. Kissing her is probably not that bad. "But I um…I also probably wouldn't mind kissing you, even if I am sober."

Shit. Did he just admit that he wanted to kiss her? Because, really he doesn't want to. Well, he wouldn't mind if he had to. But they're friends or whatever and friends don't kiss each other. Unless it's a friendly peck on the cheek. Which is something that he also wouldn't mind. Fuck, what is he even saying?

Juvia's face reddens and steam literally rises from her ears.

"I mean, if it was a choice between dying and kissing you, I wouldn't mind kissing you," he stupidly says.

"Oh," Juvia says looking disappointed.

Oh god, this is a disaster. He never should've offered to let her take a bath here. Or make her toast.

"Well," he says, clearing his throat. "Let's just finish our breakfast."

"Are you sure, you're okay Gray-sama?" Juvia asks him, worried.

"Yes. My headache's gone now," Gray mumbles.

"Okay," she says, avoiding his gaze as she spreads some jam on her toast.

The two of them sit there in complete silence for a few minutes.

Eventually, Gray lifts his head up and again asks, "Did I um…do anything else weird last night? I mean did I say anything…I shouldn't have said?"

"Oh…um…no. You didn't do or say too many inappropriate things."

"So you mean that I still did or said them?"

"Wow, Gray-sama! This is really good toast," Juvia says, not answering his question.

Gray frowns at her but decides not to call her out on it. He probably should stop bothering her and reminding her of that night. It couldn't have been easy dragging him back to his apartment. He knows what kind of person he can be when he's drunk. All of his friends have told him once or twice how annoying he could be when he's smashed. It was really nice of Juvia to help him out, even when she didn't have to.

And he's never going to say it out loud, but for some reason, he feels a strange sense of reassurance knowing that she was there last night with him. He can't be sure but he just knows that her presence was enough to make his parents' death anniversary a bit easier to bear.

Sometimes, he can't believe how incredibly nice she is.

"Juvia?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For being there last night," he says.

"Sure, Gray-sama," she says. She gives him a wide smile. "Anytime."

Before he can say anything else, someone loudly knocks on his door. He scowls, annoyed as the knocking becomes even louder and more incessant.

"Okay, okay I'm coming!" Gray irately says.

Whoever's knocking loudly says something in return but he isn't able to catch it because of the pounding of his head. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Juvia give a nervous look as she attempts to discreetly move to the side. He frowns. What's wrong now?

He wrenches the door open to find Gajeel standing outside, holding a pile of clothes in his hands.

"Finally," Gajeel grumbles.

"Sorry," he replies as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Gajeel's loud voice isn't helping his headache at all.

"You look like shit, Stripper. Had a late one?"

"Yeah."

"That seems like one nasty hangover," Gajeel remarks.

"Yeah, it is," he mumbles. "What are you doing here?"

"I think Gogo mixed up our clothes again," Gajeel says. Oh right. They both have the same laundry lady. He waves around a couple of clothes. When Gray sees a flash of his scarf, relief washes over him. Okay. So he didn't lose his scar after all. It just got jumbled up with Gajeel's stuff. He quickly makes a mental note to never mix his scarf with his other laundry. "These are yours right? Or are these Salamander? I swear that old lady is half-blind. Or crazy. That's got to be the only reason why she would think that I'd ever wear the same shitty clothes as you and—"

He abruptly stops, his eyes narrowing.

"Wait."

"What?" Gray says.

Gajeel squints and elbows him away. "Is that…."

"Hi Gajeel-kun," Juvia squeaks.

Oh shit. He completely forgot.

Gajeel stiffens, his eyebrow twitching and his fingers curled into fists. Gray's not exactly sure how he's doing it but he thinks that steam is literally puffing out of Gajeel's nose. "What the fuck are you doing here, Sprinkler?"

Juvia shrinks back against her seat and splutters, "Er Juvia was just…she was helping—''

Gajeel turns to look at him and roars, "WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE YOU, STRIPPER-FUCK?"

"Gajeel-kun, please!" she desperately says, standing up and exposing her clothes. "There's a really good reason why Juvia is here. Gray-sama never—''

"WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?" Gajeel explodes, livid.

"Oi, oi this isn't what it looks like!" Gray says.

"Did you two…you mean you…" Gajeel trails off, his voice shaking in anger. Suddenly, he rounds up on Gray, grabs his shoulders and begins to shake him. The clothes fall around them in a heap. "You took advantage of her didn't you!? You slept with her while you were both drunk—''

"I never did anything!" he defensively retorts.

"Bullshit! She's naked and wearing your shirt! And her hair is wet so she must've taken a shower—'' He pauses, a look of realization dawning on his face. "She took a shower here didn't she?"

"Um…yes," Gray says. "But—''

"You bastard! You did sleep with her!" Gajeel snarls. He turns to look at Juvia. "Did he Juvia? Sprinkler, answer me! Because if he did, then I swear I'll—''

"Gajeel-kun, Gray-sama and Juvia never did anything! And she was never drunk! She doesn't drink! You know that!" Juvia wails as she tries to come in between them. "Juvia just fell asleep after bringing him home—''

"You think taking a shower could hide it!? I could smell his scent all over you!" Gajeel scowls.

"Gajeel-kun, please lower you voice. You're going to wake Gray-sama's neighbours—''

"Fuck the neighbours! They're going to have to get used to the noise because in a while Stripper will be screaming for mercy—''

"We didn't do anything, okay!? What's it going to take for it to get through your thick head!?" Gray snaps.

"Bullshit! You expect me to believe that you two just spent the whole night holding hands?" Gajeel snorts.

"That's exactly what we did," Juvia fiercely says. "Gray-sama and Juvia just held hands. Juvia didn't even sleep in Gray-sama's bed."

Gray flushes and Gajeel stares at her in disbelief.

"You've got be kidding me," Gajeel says as he lets go of Gray.

"It's true!" Juvia says, puffing her cheeks up in slight anger. "Gray-sama was upset because he thought he lost his scarf and he couldn't sleep without it and so that he'll feel better, Juvia said that she'll stay with him. And well, after a couple of…incidents…he finally went to bed but he couldn't sleep because of…things so Juvia offered to hold his hand. Gray-sama has been nothing but a gentleman!"

"Sure," Gajeel says, clearly not believing a word of what Juvia's just said. He furrows his brows and crosses his arms. "Did you two at least use protection?"

"What!?" Gray splutters.

"You heard me. Did you two use protection!?"

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia squeals. She places her hands over her face, embarrassed.

"What? It's a valid question. I mean…I already gave Juvia the talk—''

"You did not give me the talk. Master Jose did. To the both of us—''

"—but she can be really naive you know—''

"Juvia knows perfectly well what a condom is and how to use them—''

"I just want to know if you used 'em. Or if you used good ones. I don't want you to end up pregnant with his spawn!" Gajeel says it as if it's the worst thing that could happen. "If she gets pregnant, I'll kick your ass! And then, I'll make you marry her—''

"What? Pregnant…marry? No one's marrying anyone!" Gray says.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia whines as she gives him a warning look.

"What?" Gajeel nonchalantly says. "You always told me that you wouldn't want to have baby out of wedlock—''

"We didn't do anything okay!?" Gray exasperatedly says.

"Prove it," Gajeel demands.

"How? You won't believe either of us," Gray says.

"Well, I'm not leaving until I'm sure that nothing happened between you two. Otherwise, I'm just going to beat the living shit out of you—''

"Gajeel-kun, you will not be hurting Gray-sama!" Juvia snaps.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" He suddenly gives her a hurt look. "And don't start with me. You didn't even tell me you were dating Stripper."

"That's because there's nothing to tell you!" Gray says.

"I wanna see your room," Gajeel suddenly declares.

"What?"

"I wanna see your room. Just to sniff it—''

"Why would you even sniff it?"

"To see if you two have been doing it—''

"We haven't—oi, oi! Where are you going?" Gray says as Gajeel starts stomping towards his room.

"I'm gonna sniff your room!"

"Gajeel-kun!"

"This is an invasion of privacy!"

"Not if it's got something to do with Jujubee! And oi, Sprinkler put some clothes on! Stop walking around in that—''

"Juvia doesn't have any clothes—''

"Don't tell me that he ripped those apart or something. You guys are nasty—''

"It's not like that! Gray-sama didn't rip anything! If you just let Juvia explain—''

"Oi, quit it! You have no right to enter my room!" Gray says.

"If you really didn't do anything with her, then you wouldn't act so nervous," Gajeel says as he opens the door. He freezes.

"Go on! You've open the door! Smell as much as you want. You'll see that—''

"What the fuck is that?" Gajeel hisses pointing at the body pillow.

"Um…er…." Gray stutters.

"That's Juvia's gift for Gray-sama! You already knew that! You saw her give it to him," she says as she places a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to placate him.

"But why is it here!?" Gajeel angrily demands.

"Well, you saw me accept it—''

"But I didn't think that you would actually use it!" Gajeel roars.

"What are you talking about!? I never used it—''

"Don't lie to me! I can see the creases! A blind man can see that it's been used! Repeatedly. What the fuck have you been doing with Juvia's body pillow!?"

"Nothing!"

"You're a sick bastard!"

"I never did anything!"

"I knew you shouldn't have given him this gift!" Gajeel says as he turns to look at Juvia.

"Gajeel-kun, please—''

"Now this sicko has been fucking around with it," Gajeel says, his voice lacerating.

"I haven't been fucking around with anything. I've just been sleeping with it—''

"YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING WITH IT?"

"No, not that way—''

"YOU'RE DEAD YOU PERVERT—''

"I'm not a pervert!" Gray yells back just as Gajeel lunges at him.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia yells as she attempts to hold Gajeel back. "Gray-sama, go!"

"What?"

"I'LL KILL YOU STRIPPER FUCK!"

"Go!" Juvia urgently says.

"Sprinkler, let me go!"

Gray takes one look at the violent expression on Gajeel's face and decides that he'll probably have a hard time defending himself with his headache. Or just defending himself in general. Gajeel looks like he could rip a buffalo apart with his bare hands.

He quickly scrambles out of his apartment, trying to ignore the sounds of Gajeel yelling and Juvia trying to placate him.

Great. He's just been run out of his own apartment. And he didn't even finish breakfast.

He's seriously never getting drunk again.

Author's Note: I finally figured out how to end it! I know some of you wanted it to be more serious but as usual I couldn't help ending it on a humorous note. And adding some Gajuvia brotp. Heads up to those who could see the ATLA reference :)

Thank you for reading and please review if you have the time! :)