Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

A/N: This story takes place when Gray and Juvia are living together: spoilers are definitely inbound. Thank you very much for reading! :)

Lagging along the dirt-paved road, Gray's eyes lowered, half-closed from fatigue. He had left Juvia at home so he could tend to his newly assigned mission from Erza: gathering information about E.N.D. from nearby towns. Erza professed over and over that those towns he had just finished collecting tidbits of were information goldmines - which, she greatly overestimated. Sighing, Gray recalled how long it had been since he was last home: at least a few weeks. Juvia was probably worried and upset about Gray's long disappearance, but not more than Gray himself. He had just wasted a few weeks searching every nook and cranny for a reliable source that could lead him to E.N.D.. The only information that helped even a little bit was that E.N.D. had a cult that completely worshiped him - but something like that wasn't much of a surprise. Of course E.N.D. would have creepy little followers.

After inserting the key in the doorknob, Gray unlocked the door and entered the house. He looked around, investigating for anything that looked abnormal. Luckily, everything seemed fine, except for a dimly lit lantern set on the kitchen table. It was no cause for alarm to see a lantern, in fact, it was normal. The last few times Gray left without notice, there was a plastic wrapped plate of food with a note attached to it and a lit lantern on the table. The note was the odd part... The first time Gray saw it, he read it to be polite; but all the note had on it was the hope to see him again soon. He couldn't handle reading the rest, and crumpled it up, throwing it across the kitchen. Anywhere was fine as long as he couldn't see that note. The note itself wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but the words of love and praise made Gray cringe in guilt. He left Juvia all those times without saying anything to her, and she still made meals for him, talked to him the same way, and treated him the same way. He couldn't quite understand her loving a guy like him.

Reluctantly, Gray took a seat at the table, and unwrapped the plastic wrap trapping his meal. With the plastic wrap now in the grip of his index finger and thumb, a handwritten note full of hearts was clinging on the plastic with the help of tape. Guilt rushed in full-force, reminding him once more how long he has been gone. Frustrated at himself, Gray crumpled up the note and plastic wrap together, and jogged to the trashcan. Instead of rudely throwing the note around for Juvia to pick up later, Gray decided to dispose of it himself, but while he did so, he noticed a pile of plastic wrap and notes already stuffed in the trashcan.

The same notes he had always thrown away before looking at them crowded the inside of the trashcan. Gray squinted his eyes to read the words off one of the notes that was stuck on the trash bag by some sticky substance.

Gray hesitated before reading, "Enjoy your meal..." Of course there was a 'Gray-sama' added in, but Gray rather not say his own name in such a praising manner.

More guilt set in as Gray thought of Juvia writing notes, and cooking food that could be left out for a while in consideration for his taste buds. Everything Juvia did for him seemed to be carefully thought out and considerate, but for him, what has he done these past months for her other than ignore her friendly gestures out of guilt?

Gray forced an airy laugh as he rummaged through the trashcan for more notes. She couldn't have possibly made a meal for me everyday since I've left! Gray thought, hoping that she wouldn't have done such an unnecessary thing.

Piles of notes and plastic wrap invaded the wooden floorboard, overlapping each other and sometimes falling farther away from the other piles. Every note was original, and had its own special touch to it. Like butterflies instead of hearts, or hopes to see him soon rather than tasting her food filled with love. Gray let out a dry laugh. He clutched at the notes and plastic wrap underneath him, cursing at himself.

Juvia... Was such a reckless woman... Who did unnecessary things for him.

Gray leaned forward to pull the plastic wrap into his arms. After getting it all in the crevices of his arms, Gray quickly shoved it back into the trashcan. He glanced down at the notes he intentionally left, and picked them up one-by-one as carefully as possible. Once he had them all, he placed it in his dresser's top drawer where his underwear was located. It seemed fitting in a way, but Gray ultimately decided to push aside the underwear to make room for the notes. He blushed. The thought of anyone finding out what he did, especially Juvia, made him nervous. He didn't want anyone to misunderstand: the only reason he kept the notes was to be considerate. Gray calmed himself down by assuring himself that he could easily explain it without looking suspicious.

Breathing out a sigh of contentment, Gray sat back down at the table, and made sure to eat every single crumb of food left on the plate. Once finished, the desire to sleep tugged relentlessly at his eyes, almost forcing them shut. Gray smacked his cheeks to regain his energy, and stood up, about to blow out the lantern. Before he could, his eyes caught sight of a pen and a pad of sticky notes.

Gray sighed.

Juvia woke up to the sound of Gray's hushed voice. She thought it was another one of her realistic and suggestive dreams, but once she rubbed her eyes and looked closely at the Gray in front of her, she felt as if it couldn't possibly be a dream. Just to make sure he was real, Juvia reached out and pinched his cheek. Gray's eyes widened, embarassed. The reaction Gray gave just now was different to the Gray in her dreams; the one in her dreams would probably pull her face to his chest and start kissing her head. Knowing now that the Gray in front of her was real, Juvia let go of his cheek and embraced him in a tight and passionate hug, trying to take in his warmth. (Even though he was technically cold.)

Hugs weren't something that Gray welcomed easily, but he knew Juvia must have been worried about him these last few weeks he has been gone, so he allowed it. Her hug went on for an uncomfortably long time - so long, that Gray contemplated whether or not he should end the hug himself. Suddenly, Gray felt his shirt moisten. He had a clue or two as to why his shirt was wet, but he didn't want to consider them. He hesitated before looking down at Juvia, who, confirming his fears, was crying.

"I missed you.." Juvia breathed out in-between a sob. Gray's eyebrows arched at her statement.

Juvia was not one to use herself subjectively. Acting as if she were another person, she would speak for Juvia as Juvia. Nobody was exactly sure why Juvia rarely used 'I' to refer to herself, but they accepted it without any quarrels. However, Gray knew of only one time he could remember her using 'I' to refer to herself, and that was when she confessed to killing his father. She was broken down and guilt-ridden that day, and made sure not get too close to him or his parent's graves out of respect. The words she spewed out were nothing but sincere apologies and promises to leave him alone, all while using 'I' and not 'Juvia'.

Using 'I' to talk, for Juvia, wasn't a mistake: it was a way of proving to that person that she truly meant what she said. The realization made Gray's cheeks flush.

Through analytical contemplation, Gray concluded that a mere head pat couldn't do much harm in terms of influencing Juvia's love for him. After all, a simple head pat was something even friends do for each other in times of comfort and sometimes even playfulness. Gray stopped just an inch above Juvia's head, rethinking his action. The awkward silence was becoming unbearable as Gray still hadn't said a word to Juvia. Picking through all the potential scenarios that could result in response to his head pat, Gray exhaled in irritation; he was litterally stressing over something as small as a head pat. Squeezing his eyes shut, he let his hand slowly fall on Juvia's head and come back up to complete the short head pat.

Looking up in surprise, Juvia saw Gray's beet red face turn around the second she looked at him. She smiled. The feelings bubbling up inside her were pure joy and shock. Gray had patted her head! Her brain was thinking of various romantic scenearios that involved a head pat, but she ultimately decided that Gray did it just to be nice. It was usually like this: Gray comforting her in his own special way that made her heart skip a beat.

"Ah... Juvia..." Gray managed to sputter after cooling his head down. Juvia locked her gaze onto Gray, showing that she was paying attention. "Come to the kitchen." Juvia tilted her head thoughtfully, guessing that Gray was hungry and wanted her to cook him a meal.

Juvia let go of Gray and got up from her bed in one quick motion. Along the hallway, Juvia skipped straight to the kitchen, already thinking of many romantic breakfasts to make for Gray. A plate of food caught Juvia's attention despite her primary focus being to cook a spectacular meal for Gray. Normally, Juvia would have ignored everything if she was busy doing something for Gray, but a note sticking to the edge of the plate of food probed her curiosity. She paced quickly to the table to read the note, and was met with a happy kind of shock.

The note read, "Eat." Other than that one little word, a signature adorned the almost empty note, Gray's signature. As simple as it was, it made Juvia swoon from left to right in utter ecstasy.

Once Gray entered the kitchen, shyly if one were to mention, Juvia got straight to the point.

"You made this for Juvia, Gray-sama?" Juvia asked, all smiles.

Gray puckered his lips, feeling embarrassed, "Yeah.."

"Really?!" Juvia asked, waiting for reassurance. It was answered with a quick nod from Gray. "This meal made by Gray-sama... For me..."

Gray's eyes widened a bit. Once again, Juvia used 'I' to refer to herself: meaning... She was accepting the meals as her's and her's only.

From the seat opposite of Juvia, Gray watched her savor every bite of his average-tasting food. Compared to Juvia's cooking, Gray was an amateur. The difficulty of her cooking ranged from beginner level to master depending on what she felt like cooking. It was amazing to see her cook sometimes. Sometimes she would be cooking several things at once, and none of the food came out burnt - rather, it came out perfectly.

Juvia gazed at Gray with warm eyes after finishing her meal. Before getting up, she placed her spoon in the plate and kept the note clutched carefully in her free hand. She quickly, yet cautiously, set her empty plate in the sink and rinsed it off, not leaving a single stain. Finally, after she finished the necessary labor, she ran to Gray, her arms wide and prepared for hugging.

Two hugs in one day; that was a world record for Gray: a record that he wasn't going to be boasting about anytime soon. But this time, if only for a short while, he slightly hugged her back. And by slightly, it was just his arms awkwardly hovering over her back until eventually, he softly patted her shoulder. Juvia didn't mind the awkward touch. After all, that was part of the 'Gray-sama package'. She hugged him even tighter before she let go and properly thanked him.

"Thank you for the meal, Gray-sama." Juvia thanked, bowing politely. Gray's cheeks felt slightly flushed at the gesture.

"It was nothing.." Gray mumbled, crossing his arms.

Juvia only smiled at Gray's embarrassed reply.

Now finished with her meal, it was time to create a special 'love' dish for Gray. At the kitchen sink, Juvia washed her hands and dried them in one swift motion. In the middle of drying her hands, she noticed the calendar stapled to the wall. It was Tuesday. (A.K.A. trash day.)

"Oh. Juvia almost forgot." Juvia said to herself as she jogged to the trashcan to empty it. Gray watched her, worried that she may notice some of the missing trash.

Quickly taking off the trashcan's lid, Juvia almost immediately noticed the trashcan that used to be full was now half-full. She hummed a short tune, trying to figure out what could have happened. A little investigating went a long way: all the notes she had written were gone.

"That's odd..." Juvia mumbled, touching her lip thoughtfully, "the notes are missing."

Gray's face burned red as he tried to think of a way to stop any theories that might be popping into Juvia's head. "It's just your imagination! S-say, let me take care of the trash today."

The friendly gesture made by Gray-sama completely cleared her mind of any suspicion, and she watched lovingly as Gray took the trash out in what looked like a panicked rush.

Once Gray left, Juvia giggled softly, "Gray-sama is very hyper today.."