A/N: Important PSA:

This is in no way, shape, or form a gruvia story. Honestly, it leans more towards the 'anti-gruvia' side, if anything. It's about Gray and Juvia's friendship and their romantic endeavors with Natsu and Lucy respectively. There's some unrequited feelings on Juvia's part, but that's where that ends. So if that's something that will offend you, please don't proceed. I don't want to upset anyone.

Moving on.

I am becoming the master of having an idea for a short fic and then having it spiral out of control.

This was supposed to be maybe...5 pages long? And here we are, 60+ pages and 1 companion piece later. Oops.

The idea came from this post from yesflowerprince on tumblr:

Juvia realizes that she likes Lucy, rather than Gray after Gray starts acting Natsu. She seeks Gray out, and she asks to talk to him about something later on. When they do so, she cries and confesses her love for Lucy and confusion. Gray begins to talk to her and tells her about his experience of accepting himself. She begins throwing out her things for Gray. But as she found od love letters she noticed they are addressed to Lucy realizig she had always subconsciously like Lucy.

I definitely took some liberty with it, but credit should be given where it's due and the concept was 100% theirs. So thank you for the inspiration!

This is my first attempt to write something thats entire purpose is to explore romantic relationships, so I'm hoping it's not too rocky. There is some sexual content as well (another first! Woo...?). It's nothing too explicit, and it's more in the 2nd chapter than the first, but just a warning in case that bothers you.

Big thank you to MiyuTanemura for betaing and giving me a title (which comes from 'Stand My Ground' by Within Temptation).

Also shout out of admiration to any of you who write Juvia on a regular basis. Holy ravioli was that a struggle.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Revelations

[In which Juvia makes two big discoveries about her love life while developing two deep friendships over hot beverages]

Juvia sat by herself at her usual table located in the far corner of the guild hall. She was idly forming shapes out of the remaining water in her cup while staring silently at Gray who sat several tables away with his teammates, smiling and going over a potential job request. She sighed happily, content to spend her day watching her beloved and imagining the endless possibilities that their future together held.

However, her plans were interrupted by Gajeel dropping down heavily in the seat across from her wearing a ridiculous expression that made him look like he'd just swallowed a lemon.

"Juvia, we need to...ugh...we need to talk."

She drew her attention away from Gray and turned to face her longtime friend, "Yes Gajeel? Is everything alright? Is Levy-chan okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, Shrimp's fine. It's not about her," he answered grumpily. "Look, it ain't my business and usually I wouldn't get caught up in this bullshit but you're my friend, so I'm gonna give it to you straight: Fullbuster doesn't return your feelings and he ain't gonna. He's already set on someone else."

Juvia started, immediately slamming her hands down on the table in alarm, "What?! There's someone else? How could there being anyone else when Juvia is meant to be with Gray-sama? Is it someone here? In Fairy Tail? It must be Juvia's love rival! How dare she-"

"Not bunny girl," Gajeel grunted, "and that's as much as I'm gonna say. Call it...instinct...but there's another person in the picture. He already belongs to someone else."

"Belongs to someone...? Someone besides Juvia? But that can't be possible, it just-"

"Let it go, Juvia," Gajeel said, words gruff but eyes offering her as much sympathy as he could muster. "This is crazy and it ain't good for either of you. You gotta stop. Just let it go. Y'know I wouldn't tell you this crap if it wasn't in your best interest. Now that's enough gross bullshit for one day. Where's that fire idiot; I gotta punch something."

Juvia watched the Dragon Slayer walk away, running his words over in her head.

'That can't be true...Gray-sama is meant to be with Juvia. Gray-sama just doesn't want to admit it yet, but Juvia can wait.'

A few days later Juvia was still listening to Gajeel's words echoing in her mind. For some reason she couldn't stop thinking about it, couldn't keep their conversation from bouncing around in her head. It was...odd. Nothing had ever rattled her enough to make her second guess her feelings like this before. Maybe it was because it was from Gajeel, who would rather cut off his own arm than have an emotional conversation with someone and therefore wouldn't have brought it up unless he deemed it absolutely necessary. Maybe it was because it was the first time someone besides herself had suggested that another person also harbored romantic feelings for Gray. Maybe it was because until now she had never even allowed herself to entertain the idea that the ice mage could be in love with someone else. Maybe it was all three.

It didn't stop her from her usual routine of following Gray around or declaring her love to him or even watching him quietly from afar and smiling happily in admiration of the love of her life. But the whole time, a tiny voice in the back of her head was repeating, "Let it go, Juvia. Let it go."

Sighing in frustration, she plopped down at the bar and rested her head on her arms.

"Is everything okay, Juvia? You seem a little down," Mira asked while bringing the water mage a cup of hot chocolate. "Here, chocolate makes everything better," she winked with a smile.

Juvia took the drink graciously and glanced once at Gray, who was in the middle of a brawl with Natsu, and turned back to the take-over mage.

"Mira-san," she started hesitantly, "do you think Gray-sama is in love with someone?"

Mira looked startled for a second and eyed Juvia carefully, "...why do you ask?"

Juvia sighed again, sipping her steaming drink, "Gajeel said that Gray-sama won't ever return Juvia's feelings because he loves someone else. Mira-san sees everything that goes on in Fairy Tail, so Juvia thinks she would know. Is that true?"

Mira reached out to squeeze the water mage's hand comfortingly, "May I be honest with you?"

Juvia nodded, "Please."

"Well he's never come out and said anything to anyone but," she glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot, smile turning into a full-blown grin, "I think instead of Lucy, your 'love rival' might actually be Natsu."

That was a weird thing to say. Natsu? How could that even be possible? Gray love Natsu? Gray belong to Natsu? They couldn't even be in the same room for five minutes without getting into a fight.

"Mira-san...have you been drinking...?"

Mirajane giggled and squeezed Juvia's hand again before releasing it and going back to the glass she'd been drying, "Of course not. And I can't really say if that's the absolute truth or not, it's just a feeling I've had for quite some time. And even if it was true, I doubt he'd ever say anything."

"Juvia doesn't understand."

The barmaid gently nudged Juvia's shoulder from over the bar in order to get her to turn around on the stool, "Look at Gray and Natsu and tell me what you see."

"Juvia sees Gray-sama and Natsu-san getting yelled at by Erza-san for fighting."

Mira laughed again, "Okay, yes, but try to look beyond that," she paused, waiting until Erza had finished her scolding. When she left, the two boys sighed in relief at her departure and sat down together, starting an amicable conversation as if they hadn't just been punching each other mere moments beforehand. "Now, look at Gray: see how his body language is open? How relaxed his posture is? He can be pretty secretive; Gray tends to keep his feelings to himself, but when he's with Natsu he's as open as I've ever seen him. Even when they're fighting his defense is less pronounced because they've been training together for so many years that they know what to expect. He might not even realize it, but I think Natsu makes him feel like it's safe to let those barriers down. They've been best friends for a long time, and call it what you will, but I've never seen Gray smile or laugh or express...well...anythingas much as I have when Natsu's around.

"Like I said, this is all just my observation from over the years," Mira stated flippantly, picking up another dish to dry, "but," she leaned in and whispered, "I think the real proof is in his eyes."

Juvia glanced over again, carefully focusing on the ice mage. Happy and Lucy had joined the table and Natsu must have been telling a story, based on his elaborate hand gestures, but Gray didn't even seem to be aware of what was being said. Instead he just gazed intently at the Dragon Slayer. He looked so calm, at peace in a way Juvia was shocked to realize she'd never noticed before. He was smiling in what looked like fond exasperation, but his eyes were shining with something much deeper. When Juvia studied them closer, she could see the longing interwoven with an undeniable love for the pink-haired mage that made her heart ache. It shook her to her core, because she recognized that look.

It was the one she saw every morning in her mirror.

"Juvia thinks she understands now...thank you," she said to Mira, offering her a watery smile and slipping away from the bar and out of the guild before bursting into tears.

The following week was full of rainstorms as Juvia spent the days in a deep depression, locking herself in her room and crying for what felt like hours at a time. How could fate be so cruel? All this time pining and going after the love of her life only to find out he truly had feelings for someone other than her. How was she supposed to go on now? Gray had stopped her rain. He was the first person besides Gajeel that she considered a friend, someone who cared about her, who treated her like she was worth something. She was so sure they were destined to be together...

She curled up on her bed, sobbing loudly as the rain outside continued to pound against her window.

It was the afternoon of the sixth day of her isolation when an unexpected visitor came by. The knock on the door startled Juvia into awareness, and she begrudgingly peeled herself off the mattress to head to the entryway. She wasn't sure who she thought she'd find on the other side of the door, but she certainly didn't expect it to be Lucy, shaking the rain off a purple umbrella and holding a bouquet of bright flowers.

"Lucy...?"

"Juvia!" The celestial mage beamed. "Hi, I'm so happy to see you."

This confused the water mage greatly, an emotion that she must have been expressing outwardly based on the small frown that appeared on her blonde guest's face.

"You haven't been to the guild in days, and no one had heard from you. I was getting worried."

"Lucy was worried about Juvia?" Juvia asked slowly, mind still not quite making sense of the situation.

"Of course I was, don't be ridiculous. We're friends, aren't we? And friends worry about each other when one of them disappears. Oh! That reminds me: I brought these for you." Lucy quickly pushed the flowers into Juvia's hands and refused to look her in the eye, a dusting of red rising to her cheeks. "I didn't know what kind you liked, so I got a mix of them. Umm..." she trailed off nervously and Juvia didn't miss the way she was fidgeting with the string on her umbrella. "Okay, well I'm glad you're okay! See you around." And with that she turned and darted down the hallway and out of the dorm.

Juvia looked down to the flowers in her hand and back to the place Lucy had just been standing and despite herself, felt her cheeks flush and something warm flared up inside her.

Juvia put the bouquet gently into a vase on her bedside table and padded back to the comfort of her blankets. She stared, fixated on the flowers in something like awe until her eyes finally closed and she drifted into a peaceful slumber. She was fast asleep before she could notice that the rain outside had slowed to a drizzle.

Juvia spent the following few days still holed up in her room, not ready to face her friends yet. The pain in her chest was still present, a constant reminder of shattered hopes and what would probably never be, but as the hours passed, she found herself dwelling more and more on the flowers and the person that brought them than she did on her abandoned dreams. The hurt was still there, but every time she remembered the way Lucy blushed nervously at her door the pain became a little bit duller.

When she was finally ready to return to the guild hall, she was went straight to the bar and sat down. Mira offered her a sympathetic smile and handed her a mug of tea without being asked.

"How are you today, Juvia? We haven't seen you in a bit; we were starting to worry until Lucy said she went to check on you."

"Juvia is...better, thank you."

The barmaid smiled, "Good, I'm glad to hear it."

The water mage sat in silence for a while, distracting herself with the sounds her boisterous family before someone joined her at the bar.

"Juvia! You're back!"

Juvia jumped in surprise and spilled her now cold tea all over her lap.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Lucy said, "I didn't mean to startle you, I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. Here, let me help." She reached over the bar and grabbed a dish towel before carefully using it to wipe up some of the liquid on Juvia's thighs.

Juvia's face was on fire from the feeling of Lucy's gentle touches. "I-it-it's okay, Lucy," she swallowed thickly and placed her hands on top of the blonde's to still them. "Juvia is made of water; she isn't worried about a spill."

Lucy, who seemed to finally notice where her hands were, turned bright red and pulled away quickly, "Oh! Right. That's right. I'm sorry."

They stared at each other in awkward silence for another moment before being interrupted by Gray and Cana approaching the bar. Juvia's heart stuttered and she stared at the countertop.

"Hey Luce, Juvia."

"Oh hey guys! How's it going?"

"Ugh, it's already after noon and I haven't had a drink yet. Mira, care to remedy that situation?"

Mirajane laughed, "Sure, Cana, just a minute."

"You're a saint."

Juvia watched her friends in silence before being startled out of her trance by the object of her affections.

"Hey Juvia, you okay?" Gray leaned down to meet her gaze and frowned, "You haven't been around the guild all week. Is everything alright?"

Juvia fought desperately to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes. 'Gray-sama cared that Juvia was gone. He's being so nice...it isn't fair...'

She cleared her throat, "Juvia is okay, thank you Gray-sama."

He offered her a small smile and a nod before heading elsewhere.

She watched him go despairingly while mentally telling herself, 'Gray-sama is not in love with Juvia. Let go. Let go. Let go.'

The water mage repeated her agonizing mantra until she felt her insides go cold.

Letting go was probably the hardest thing she had ever done.

Juvia realized that her whole existence had revolved around her love for Gray and now that she was attempting to get rid of it, she had no idea what to do with herself. Who was she? Who did she want to be? She didn't even know where to start. Juvia had always struggled with finding herself. The rain and 'gloom' she brought had isolated her from others as a child and from that despair grew the need to hold on to something external, something outside of herself in order to avoid fixating on her broken insides.

Her sorrow and loneliness from childhood eventually turned into apathy, the only sign of the sadness she showed was the rain that followed behind her. When she joined Phantom Lord, she finally had a home. Her guild didn't care about the rain she brought because she was strong. She was Juvia the rain woman, a member of the glorified Element Four. Other mages feared her and she reveled in her power. There was an expectation of excellence, and Juvia did her best to not disappoint.

Fairy Tail wasn't like that. Her new home called to her and welcomed her with open arms and expected nothing in return, and Juvia had no idea what to do with that. All of the sudden her life was filled with sunlight and love and acceptance. It was amazing, but it was overwhelming. She hadn't known how to chart this new territory. It made her feel exposed. The water mage was so unaccustomed to wearing her heart on her sleeve that when she finally allowed herself to experience her emotions openly they left her feeling scattered and unsteady. So she'd taken all that new, nervous energy and zoned in on a single point in order to feel more focused.

That point just ended up being Fairy Tail's ice mage.

It made sense: Gray was the one who saved Juvia. He was the first to accept and forgive her, in the aftermath of a fight no less. The first crack in her facade was made by his hand. The first rays of sunshine she had ever witnessed were by Gray's side, were because of him and it seemed like fate must have brought them together.

But fate must have had other plans because Gray never expressed the feelings in return and now she knew that he probably never would. So she decided to do the unthinkable: to move on.

She tried to take time to relearn herself. She hung on to 'Let go. Let go. Let go' until it actually meant something, until the words were more of a badge of accomplishment than a daunting to-do list . The process was nearly impossible in the first few weeks. She started small one day with deciding not to announce her love for him in the middle of the guild. Her throat felt a little strained from swallowing the proclamation down, but she managed and then vowed to try again the next day and the next until holding back the words didn't make her feel like she was suffocating.

When that became a little easier, she then worked to cool the jealous burn inside her when another girl got close enough to touch him. She focused her energy on making her magic stronger instead of focusing on her favorite things about Gray. She worked on enjoying the talks she had with Mira over cups and cups of hot chocolate instead of watching his every move. She sat with members of her family, starting to truly form deeper bonds with them instead of staying by herself in the corner. Every time Gray or his team took a mission, Juvia would take a job, too. It gave her something to think about and accomplish instead of following Gray secretly on his jobs or waiting around for him to come back. The battles gave her an outlet for her frustrations and helped dissipate the longing. Focusing on the job in front of her kept her from focusing on her pain.

It felt like chipping away at stone, every triumph just another tiny crack in a monument of changes. But eventually she started to feel like herself again. The pieces she thought she'd lost forever pulled together inside her. It became easier to smile, to laugh, to breathe even when Gray was nearby and when it finally felt like her world was evening out she decided that she might be ready to try actually being Gray's friend. Her heart still hurt a little when they spoke, but she'd have to work around it.

"Hey Juvia," Cana greeted one day. "I noticed you haven't been hanging off our resident icicle much lately. Everything okay in love-land?"

"Yes, everything is okay. Juvia and Gray-sama are just...friends." She had been telling herself that for so long now that the words almost came out without a hitch. She felt a small sense of victory when saying them out loud didn't leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

Cana grinned before taking a swig of her beer, "Whatever you say, doll."

In the midst of all these changes and self-discovery, Juvia found herself spending more and more time with Lucy, of all people.

The blonde mage seemed to have a knack for popping up when Juvia was suffering the most and acted like it was her personal goal to make Juvia smile. She wasn't always around, seeing as her team liked to keep busy but whenever she was Juvia was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Lucy radiated goodness and Juvia soaked it up as much as she could while struggling through this new chapter of her life. It was very weird but very welcome. She was both surprised and fascinated by how much she started to crave Lucy's attention.

These feelings were different. It wasn't like it had been with Gray. There was no loud clap of thunder in her mind, no shocking epiphany that her desires might extend somewhere past platonic. It was a small flower unfolding in her chest, a gentle light flickering at the edges of her vision until it no longer allowed her to ignore it.

"Mira, Juvia has a question," she started during one of their girl talks while contemplating the new development between herself and the celestial spirit mage.

Mirajane paused in her drink mixing and nodded for Juvia to continue.

"Juvia has...a friend...who needs advice. What should they do if they think they might have feelings for someone?"

"Well I'm not sure, Juvia. I guess it depends on what kind of relationship they already have with that person."

The water mage hesitated, "What if they were friends but weren't always friends...what if they had feelings for someone they used to consider their...rival?"

Mira smiled brightly, "Oh? And who might your 'rival' be?"

Juvia flushed. "Juvia is just asking for a friend," she squeaked.

Mira raised an eyebrow suspiciously, and Juvia had the feeling she could see right through her. "Well I'd say to just tell them how they feel. There's nothing wrong with having feelings for someone you used to compete with, it actually could make things kind of fun. But you know," she grinned, "if your friend really wants advice on loving their rival, there's someone they could ask who's an expert on the subject." She nodded towards the table where Gray was sitting with Cana.

Juvia's face remained bright red as Mira said, "Just a suggestion!" and winked playfully before leaving the bar to deliver some food.

Juvia thought that sounded like a terrible idea.

So instead, she tried to push even the idea that she could like Lucy far from her mind. She was just a friend. Just a beautiful, nice friend who Juvia had zero romantic feelings for.

But unfortunately her heart wouldn't let it go, and it was when she was going through her belongings one night that she made a frightening discovery.

Juvia was finally ready to get rid of the stuff that reminded her of Gray. She had held onto it for so long because she had been afraid to part with it, but now she felt that disposing of it was just one more thing to help free her. She pulled out a box from under her bed and started to throw things in the trash. She had piles of pictures, a couple articles of clothing she had secretly swiped when he stripped at the guild, some other odd items that reminded her of him, and lists upon lists: her favorite things about him, the nicest things he'd ever said to her, the plans for their future wedding.

Looking at everything now, she was struck with the sudden weight of how overwhelming it all was. Had she really written down silly plans and taken clothes from a boy whom she had convinced herself was in love with her? Even when all he'd really ever shown her was the same love he gave to the other members of their family? Even when he had clearly expressed - on several occasions - that her advances were unrequited and uncomfortable? How far had she pushed him by drowning out any words she didn't want to hear?

Gray was special to her. He would always be special to her, but Juvia was surprised and ashamed to realize how many lines she had crossed in trying to make him love her.

Ever since the day they'd met she'd put him high on a pedestal, worshipped the ground he walked on, and wanted nothing more than to have all of his attention directed her way. Juvia had looked at Gray like he was the answer to all of her problems, like he must belong to her because she was the one he chose to rescue.

But Gray was just a boy with his own dark past and his own broken pieces and Juvia had inadvertently put the weight of her world on his shoulders. Many times she'd listened to the murmurs of her guild mates hounding him for being so cruel to her by not acknowledging or returning her affections. Now she found herself wondering if really she was the one with good intentions turned sour by her callous disregard for his feelings.

Trying to push away the spark of guilt, she continued to discard love letter after love letter until she found something that made her pause.

Some of those letters weren't addressed to Gray.

There weren't many, but at least a handful were addressed to Lucy.

"What...?" she wondered in astonishment and blatant confusion. She had no memory of writing them. Often times she wrote letters late at night when she was delirious from exhaustion and drunk off dreams of love and more times than not she couldn't recall what she had written in her sleep addled state by the time she woke up the next morning. She always saved them but had never really taken the time to reread any until now.

And now she was curious.

The first letter to Lucy was one she had written after the Tower of Heaven incident when Juvia first joined the guild. She took up several pages thanking the Celestial Spirit mage for saving her during their battle and for considering Juvia a friend even after she had put her through such horrible things when she helped kidnap her for Phantom Lord. She said she hoped Lucy and her would continue to grow closer together and remain friends, now that Juvia had joined Fairy Tail.

The next letter was a list of all of Lucy's good qualities. She remembered writing it now. It had been a day when the blonde was particularly depressed about a job that went poorly. She had confessed to the water mage in a low voice and with teary eyes that she felt like a failure because she let her team down, because she wasn't strong enough. Juvia had gone home and written down all of the things she loved about Lucy and all the things that made her perfect from her enchanting smile to her fierce determination to the radiant light that shined from within her. Juvia admired her confidence and beauty. She could see the way Lucy endlessly loved both her Fairy Tail family and her spirits. She was clever and funny and occasionally had a red-hot temper like many other members of the guild which Juvia couldn't help but find equally ridiculous and adorable.

The last couple of letters were more poetic, filled with silly metaphors and pretty imagery. Lucy was sunshine, always so bright and vibrant and bringing joy to those she touched. She was sweet like wildflowers but tough like stone. Her eyes were dark pools of warm honey and filled with the flare of thousands of stars. Her hair shined like spun gold and it would be nothing short of amazing to have the privilege to run fingers through it, across her pink lips, down the smooth expanse of her skin.

Juvia's face was flushed with embarrassment by the time she put them down. She guessed she'd been too distracted or maybe too nervous to ever give Lucy any of these notes, and she was grateful that she hadn't because this...this was too much. She thought about the place in her heart that Lucy had recently taken residence. She thought back to her conversation with Mira and how she had felt strongly enough about the change in her relationship with Lucy to come out and question just how deep those feelings ran. And now coming across these letters...things she had written in the hours when her heart was the most open and her soul was bared for the world to see...what on earth was going on with her?

Far too tired to deal with the flutter in her chest or the meaning behind her own compilation of words, she crawled into bed and fell asleep with thoughts of the celestial spirit mage circling in her head.

"Juvia," Lucy grinned. "You have bubbles on your cheek. Here." She leaned forward with a lazy smile, deliberately moving slowly so Juvia could watch as each muscle shifted under her skin. The water mage felt a feather-light touch as her blonde companion wiped a group of soapy bubbles off her face.

Juvia closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of hot water lapping against her abdomen, the sweet smell of bath bubbles, and the spark from where her and Lucy's bare bodies were entangled.

Lucy's bathtub might not be meant for two people, but they certainly made do.

Smiling peacefully, the water mage scooped up a handful of bubbles and used her finger to plop some onto the tip of Lucy's nose. The blonde giggled and swatted Juvia's hand away playfully.

"Lucy is the most beautiful thing Juvia has ever seen," she murmured while softly stroking Lucy's calf.

There was a moment of water splashing over the sides of the tub and knees clacking into each other while Lucy rearranged herself until she was on her knees, looking at her partner with a pink flush and half-lidded eyes.

"These last few weeks on separate jobs were terrible," she said quietly. She reached forward until her hands were gripping the opposite side of the tub, body held between Juvia's thighs. Then she pressed her lips to the water mage's ear and whispered, "I think we should make up for it, don't you?" into her skin.

Juvia shivered despite the overwhelming heat from the water. She wound one arm around Lucy's waist and curled the other into her hair, moaning faintly when their chests pressed together. "Yes," she whispered back. "Yes, Juvia does."

She felt more than saw Lucy's smile, "Good." Then Juvia turned her head and pressed their mouths together. Lucy sighed happily against her lips and ran her hand up and down Juvia's thigh agonizingly slow until she moved closer and with practiced precision slipped her fingers-

Juvia bolted up in bed, panting heavily and face on fire. Her blankets were in a disarray, tangled tightly around her legs. With a trembling hand she carefully brushed her fingers along her lips, feeling the phantom tingle of where dream-Lucy had kissed her.

'What is happening?'

She thought back to the letters. To the flowers Lucy gave her and the way she'd nervously tugged at her umbrella. To the way her heart raced when Lucy touched her thighs trying to clean up her spilled tea. To the heat and passion she felt just now in her vivd dream.

Was she finally willing to admit that she had feelings for her? That she was in love with Lucy Heartfilia? The gorgeous celestial spirit mage? Her first real female friend? Her once considered 'love rival'?

But how...what...where did she go from here? How was she supposed to process this craziness now that she accepted the revelation? What the hell should she do now?

Then suddenly, like she was struck with a bolt of Laxus' lightning, she knew exactly what she needed to do, or rather, who she needed to see. After tugging on her dress and a pair of boots, she sprinted out her door in the direction of the one she hoped would provide some guidance.

After all, there was only one other person she knew that was also desperately in love with their rival.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia yelled, pounding loudly on his front door, "Gray-sama! Are you home? Gray-sa-"

The door was flung open revealing Gray standing in just his black boxers and looking at her through hazy eyes.

"Juvia, do you have any idea what time it is?" he mumbled sleepily, "I'm really not in the mood to-"

"What did Gray-sama do when he realized he was in love with Natsu-san?"

That seemed to jolt the ice mage into awareness. His eyes widened in shock and he glanced around outside to make sure no one was there to hear them.

"What? What're you...how did you...what?"

"Juvia wants to know how Gray-sama handled it when he realized he was in love with Nats-"

She was cut off by a cold hand being placed over her mouth. It was only removed after she had been yanked inside the flat and the door was slammed shut behind her.

"Jeez, you can't just go around shouting stuff like that where anyone could hear you," Gray grumbled, pale complexion only serving to better highlight the dark flush across his cheeks. "Well I'm awake now," he sighed, "what's going on?"

Juvia huffed in irritation at having to repeat herself for the third time, "Juvia wants to know what Gray-sama-"

"Yeah, yeah. I got that part," the ice mage interjected, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What I want to know is why you'd think that and what it has to do with anything."

Juvia frowned, twisting the hem of her dress in her hands nervously. "Please, Gray-sama," she mumbled quietly, "Juvia needs your help."

Gray's gaze softened when he noticed how distressed she seemed. He let out another deep sigh and put a hand on the water mage's shoulder. "Why don't you go sit down; I'll make some tea."

By the time he handed her a hot mug she was seated comfortably and cuddled under a blanket (it was an oversight on her part that she hadn't expected his house to be freezing). She sipped the steaming liquid as she watched him settle at the other end of the couch, legs crossed and facing her.

"Gray-sama makes good tea."

He shrugged, "It's not like it's hard. Plus, it was always cold in Isvan; drinking hot tea was pretty normal, so I had a lot of practice making it as a kid." Gray looked up from his own drink to gaze at Juvia curiously and she could feel herself getting nervous under his examination.

"So..." he started after a moment of tense silence, "care to explain to me what exactly's going on and why you felt the need to show up at my door to wake me up in the middle of the night?"

Juvia felt her face heat up in embarrassment, but his tone was surprisingly gentle even with the accusation.

"Juvia needs relationship advice."

Gray stared at her warily, "Juvia...if this is about you and me, I'm sorry but I've already told you-"

"It isn't about Juvia and Gray-sama," she responded quickly, watching as the tension in his body quickly dissolved.

"Okay," he breathed out a sigh of relief. "Good. Okay then. Relationship advice..." he paused before asking dryly, "...and you thought that with no love life to speak of and zero relationship experience I would be the best to ask...why?"

"Mira said she thinks Gray-sama has been in love with Natsu-san for a long time and she can see it in his eyes and-"

"Ugh...seriously? What the hell, Mira," Gray groaned, tipping his head back to glare at the ceiling.

Juvia giggled and pressed on, "So she's right then? That Gray-sama loves Natsu-san?"

"Tch. No way. Me? Love that fire-eating freak? That's ridiculous. He's an idiot. He's the most obnoxious person alive. He's...That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," he started to babble, suddenly jittery and voice climbing in pitch. "Nope. No love here. Just-I definitely don't care about-Of course I don't, that's just...why would I-"

"Gray-sama," the water mage cut him off mid-ramble and eyed him skeptically, "it's okay to tell Juvia the truth."

She watched in fascination as the flush on Gray's cheeks from before came back with a vengeance, deepening and spreading down his neck while he pulled his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

"Right. Umm..." he trailed off, abnormally shy and refusing to meet her eyes, "Yeah. Yeah I do."

Juvia was surprised that hearing it from him didn't hurt like she thought it would.

"How did Gray-sama feel when he figured it out?"

"Scared," he admitted quietly. "Dumb mostly, like there must be something wrong with me. I never..." he took a deep breath then paused, and Juvia waited patiently for him to continue, "I never really wanted to get close to anyone again after everything that happened before I came to Fairy Tail. I felt like bad luck, y'know? Everywhere I went someone got hurt. The thought of losing someone else was too painful.

"But," he glanced up with a wistful smile, "I ended up getting attached to everyone anyways. It's hard not to in a guild like ours, y'know? I didn't want a new family, but I still ended up with one. And then one day Gramps brought Natsu to the guild and that idiot flame brain busted up into my life and has stayed there ever since. Even though we drove each other crazy, still drive each other crazy, he was always there. He was so loud and pushy and irritating that it was impossible for me to forget about him or get him off my mind. And we started spending a lot of our time together until it got to the point that I couldn't stand to not be with him for too long. Which is insane, right? There we were, spending most of our time together beating each other senseless, and I somehow managed to fall in love with him? It's ridiculous! Who does that?" He broke off long enough to let the edge of hysteria ease out of his voice. "It was like suddenly I woke up one day and it all just hit me. I realized that he makes me feel things in a way I thought I couldn't anymore. He makes me want to be better, stronger...he makes me think I can get through anything as long as he's got my back.

"But I just-" he swallowed thickly, "I love him so much it's stupid. Why the hell did I have to start having feelings for Natsu of all people? I tried to fight it. I tried to will it away, but I just couldn't do it. No matter what I do or how hard I try I can't stop looking at that fire-breathing dumbass like he hung the goddamn stars in the sky.

"Eventually it became clear that trying to ignore my feelings was a useless endeavor so I just learned to accept it. I love who I love and I guess I can't change that, even if I wanted to. But I wouldn't want to, not really, not anymore. Natsu makes me happy. He pisses me off endlessly, but he makes me happy. As long as I have him in my life that's good enough. All he has to do is stick around and I'll be okay."

"But Gray-sama has never told him?"

Gray looked up at her in alarm, nearly dropping his drink, "Hell no! And you can't either, yeah? Can you imagine what he'd say if he found out? He'd never let me live it down! Besides...what if it freaked him out and he couldn't stand to be around me anymore? I'd rather be his friend than risk making him so disgusted with me that it scares him away.

"Ah...and now that I'm thinking of it, well...I guess I owe you an apology. I always knew how you felt about me, but I didn't know how to handle that. I'm sorry I was never very gentle with the whole situation. It was just...a lot. I didn't know what to do, so I guess I just tried to ignore it."

"There is no reason to apologize. It's okay that Gray-sama doesn't feel the same way. Juvia finally understands now," Juvia responded gently, then frowned, "Juvia is sorry, too. She has not been respectful of Gray-sama's wishes or boundaries. She hopes Gray-sama can forgive her."

Gray looked surprised at her apology but grateful all the same. "Thank you," he mumbled softly. "And it's okay, I forgive you."

Juvia sighed in relief. "Juvia is grateful for Gray-sama's kindness to her," she said, then paused before adding, "And Juvia thinks Gray-sama should tell Natsu-san about his feelings."

The smile he gave her became too sharp and forced and it hurt her heart, "Did you know that dragons mate for life?"

"Yes..." she answered, momentarily startled by the odd change of subject. What did that-

"Well Dragon Slayers are the same."

Ah.

His statement brought her back to the one and only time she and Gajeel had a real conversation about his love life.

"Is Gajeel ill?"

The Dragon Slayer groaned irritably in response and laid his head on the table, "Buzz off, Juvia. Not in the mood."

Juvia rolled her eyes and sat down next to her friend, "Juvia will stay here until Gajeel tells her what is wrong with him."

He glanced up at her. It was his turn to roll his eyes when he noticed the determination in her stare.

"It's nothing, just..." he sighed and she followed his gaze over to where Levy was reading a few tables over.

"Gajeel...has feelings for Levy-chan?"

She received a glare in response.

"Juvia thought that everyone already knew that."

"Good grief," he muttered. She grinned when his face turned the color of his eyes.

"Juvia doesn't understand what the problem is. Gajeel should just tell Levy-chan how he feels."

He rolled his eyes again. "Yeah well, not everyone is as willing to declare their stupid feelings to the whole damn world as you are," he said gruffly before continuing, "besides, it's more complicated than that."

"How?"

Gajeel let out an agitated sigh, "Look, this is...real personal so don't you go sharing it, got it?"

She nodded and he continued reluctantly, "Dragons have one mate for life. Just one. That's it, forever. Dragon Slayers are the same."

"Okay...so what?"

"So what?!" He shouted angrily before realizing where they were and dropped his volume again, "So it's a permanent bond. When a dragon chooses their mate, it's a done deal. Finished. The fucking end."

"Juvia thinks that sounds lovely and romantic."

He stared at her flatly, "It's a pain in the ass. It ain't some magical voodoo shit that makes them love you back either. They can just as easily reject the bond as they can accept it."

"And Levy-chan is Gajeel's mate?" Juvia asked slow and soft as she finally understood what he was getting at. "And he's afraid she will reject him?"

She watched sympathetically as he slumped back onto the table's hard, wooden surface, "How could she not? After all the things I've done, the things I did to her, to her team...Shrimp's way too good for someone like me."

Juvia patted his arm and smiled, "Gajeel will never know unless he tries."

"Yeah, right," he grumbled in response, "whatever. Let's get the fuck outta here. I'll go grab a job." She watched as he shot Levy one last longing look before stalking away, thus ending the discussion.

(Turns out Juvia had been right, because a few months later she watched on happily as Levy and Gajeel walked into the guild hand-in-hand, Levy grinning with pink cheeks and Gajeel looking thoroughly uncomfortable as the solid script mage tugged him around the hall and that was the end of that.)

"Juvia? You okay?" Gray's hesitant calling brought her back to the present.

"Gray-sama will never know unless he tries," she stated, repeating the same words she'd said to Gajeel not so long ago.

"What...?"

"Gray-sama will never know unless he tries. Juvia still thinks you should say something to Natsu-san."

Gray gaped at her for a moment before looking away with a scowl and crossing his arms indignantly. "Don't you get it? Even if I did tell him, it wouldn't do anyone any good. Natsu already has a mate, even if he doesn't realize who it is yet. Bringing up how I feel would not only be incredibly humiliating but also totally pointless. Trust me, it's better this way."

"But Gray-sama-"

"Juvia, stop," he demanded but it came out more like a plea. He hesitated and gave her a small smile. It didn't reach his eyes. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. Anyways," he blew out a breath and ran a hand nervously through his hair, "We've gotten way off topic. How are my feelings for Natsu supposed to help you with anything?"

Juvia took a big gulp of her tea while trying to work up the courage to explain the real reason for her impromptu visit.

"Juvia wanted to know how it felt for Gray-sama to be in love with a rival because...because Juvia thinks she might be, too."

Gray tilted his head, studying her curiously, "In love with your 'rival'? But who..." he trailed off before his eyes widened and he grinned, "Lucy? You're into Lucy?"

It was the water mage's turn to blush and Gray laughed as he watched color spread across her face.

"I think that's great, Juvia," he said sincerely, "Luce's great. I think you'd be good for each other."

Juvia beamed, "Really?"

Gray nodded and the warmth in his eyes made her heart swell, "Really. So then, how do you feel now that you figured out you have feelings for her?"

Juvia's looked away embarrassed, "Gray-sama!"

"Hey, I spilled my dumb feelings to you. You can tell me the truth, too. Turn about's fair play."

Juvia pouted but couldn't help the way her lips quickly turned up at the corners.

"Like Gray-sama and Natsu-san, Juvia didn't like Lucy at first either because she thought she was her rival in her love for Gray-sama. But Juvia started thinking more and more about her...she was the first girl to ever call Juvia her friend, even after all the terrible things Juvia did to her when in Phantom Lord. Even when Juvia would pick fights with Lucy about being her love rival, Juvia realized she was starting to use it to try to get Lucy's attention just as much as she was Gray-sama's. Juvia is confident in her magic, but she has never felt as powerful as she did when she and Lucy did a unison raid. Lucy saved Juvia that day, just like Gray-sama saved Juvia when he stopped her rain. Juvia thinks Lucy is strong and beautiful and when she smiles her eyes are so bright that Juvia feels like her insides are boiling."

Gray rested his head on his knees and considered her thoughtfully, "Not that I have any room to talk, but you should tell her. I think you'd be surprised at what she'd say."

Juvia hummed in response. "Has Gray-sama always liked men?"

Gray groaned, "Jesus, Juvia. I guess...I don't really know. I realized I liked Natsu when I was pretty young, so I never really felt that way about anyone else. I guess I never stopped to think about it."

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama is disgustingly sappy about someone he punches on a regular basis."

Gray barked out a laugh, "Yeah, I supposed you're right. And what about you? Is Luce the first girl you've liked?"

Juvia thought about it for a moment before settling on, "Juvia likes anyone. She has liked men and women and both and neither." She paused before adding, "Juvia likes people who have beautiful hearts. She likes people that are pretty inside and out. It's one of the reasons she loves Gray-sama."

The ice mage glared, flushing brightly and grumbling, "I'm not pretty."

The water mage just giggled and rolled her eyes because anyone in their right mind would agree that yes, he really was. Boys.

"And Lucy...Lucy is the most beautiful thing Juvia's ever seen," she confessed softly, words an echo from her dream.

They fell into an easy silence until Gray finally broke it.

"This is nice," he told her while swirling around the remaining contents of his mug, "spending time with you like this? It's nice to have someone to talk to. I've never really felt like I could tell anyone this crap before." He looked up finally and offered her a smile. "Thanks, Juvia. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful."

Juvia felt a wave of peace wash over her at his sincerity and thought that maybe, just maybe, she could make this work.

"Juvia thinks it's nice, too. Perhaps...we can spend more time together? As...friends?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

They sat in another content silence, both lost in thought until Juvia smiled mischievously, "Maybe Juvia will tell her rival about her feelings when Gray-sama tells his."

Gray blinked at her owlishly for a moment before bursting into laughter, "Well, if that's the case then we're both going to die alone."

The water mage couldn't stop grinning as she leaned forward to playfully smack Gray's arm.

'Yes,' she though to herself, 'Juvia can do this.'

Thank you for reading!