Promise - A Gruvia story

So this story is for the Nalu Gruvia Big Bang Event ! Thanks for this event it was so cool ! I was in collaboration with anime-top-arts, go check her art on tumblr ! It's the cover of this fanfiction !

Playlist:

RM - forever rain

If Gray hated anything, it was to make a woman cry. Even more so when it was the one he loved. He had never seen Juvia in this state before. It was heartbreaking to see the girl he was in love with, devastated because of his behavior.

"How can you leave Juvia alone?" she said sobbing. "Am I not good enough for you?!"

Maybe he should have prepared her mentally. No, he was certain of his choice to not say anything until this moment. She would have begged him to go with him. He knew her too well. She was determined and brave, and that's a reason why he loves her.

"Juvia, I can't let you come with me. It's dangerous... too dangerous." Gray said looking at her while she winced.

"So, Juvia is not strong enough to go with you. Not strong enough to do a 100 years quest!?" She was not sad anymore, but rather she was… upset?

Seeing an upset Juvia was also brand new to him. How could she think horrible things like that?

"Juvia was an S class mage before, you know. She knows what it is, she is not dumb." The girl added.

This argument was going too far; way too far.

"I'm not saying that, Juvia," He took her hand in his while he was looking at her. She was so beautiful. "I lost you once, I can't lose you again. It's too difficult. I prefer to know that you are safe with Gajeel and the others at the guild."

Juvia blushed. Gray was never romantic like that. She loved this new side.

"Maybe I seem selfish, but when it comes to you, I'm the most selfish man in the world."

It was the first time that Gray said something like that, so he hoped that Juvia would notice it.

"When are you leaving?" She asked.

"Tomorrow at 2pm because we have to wait for Natsu and Lucy to wake up." He answered, not understanding why she was asking that.

From the way her lips pressed together to make a fine line, Juvia seemed to think about what to say next.

"We will talk about it tomorrow morning…" She turned to go home, but he took her hand not understanding what she was doing.

"What are you doing? I leave for the 100 years quest soon, so I want to stay with you until tomorrow."

"Juvia waited for you for more than 9 years during which you paid no attention to her feelings. And you think that the day you decide to notice her, Juvia must accept without complaining," she paused as if she were surprised by her own words. "She is not a doll that you can manipulate when you want to; she is a woman. A woman with a lot of feelings and a lot of fear. Juvia thinks you should understand that!"

And before Gray could say anything, she was gone. What just happened?! He couldn't lose her again.

A few hours later, Gray was at the guild, a drink in his hand while he thought of her. He was so stupid and stubborn. He only thought about him in the relationship. Two lovers are supposed to work together, and he hoped that Juvia would forgive him. The man spent his time brooding and crying over how stupid he was. A few hours later, the barmaid came to talk to him.

"Gray, you need to leave now. I have to close the bar and the guild. Can you turn around?" Mira asked from behind him, not noticing the tears rolling down his cheeks.

Gray turned around to look at her, his eyes red from crying. The woman was surprised by the unusual expression on his face. "Is everything all right?"

He took a little time to answer, he didn't even know how to reply.

"I'm not the one to whom you should ask," Gray answered taking a sip of his glass.

The satanic soul mage didn't understand what he meant by that. Just what was the problem?

"Don't worry Mira, I don't plan on leaving the guild until tomorrow morning. You can go home and sleep now."

She was worried about him, but sometimes people need time to talk. She knew that Gray was this type of person. With that in mind, Mira left the guild, still worried about her friend.

Gray stayed at the guild wondering what Juvia would do when he left for the 100 years quest. A series of questions ran through this mind. Would she cry and hate him? Would she not want to hear or see him ever again? He was afraid about tomorrow, because he may never know how she really felt about this. Would they ever finish their conversation from earlier?

A few minutes later, Gray could hear the door open.

"Mira I told you I'm fine, don't worry about me," He said but when he looked at the person who was in front of him, it was none other than Gajeel Redfox.

"Oi! Ice Boy!" Gajeel answered. "Are you okay?"

The ice mage could understand the irony. "Do you know if she is okay?" Gajeel didn't even have to ask who Gray was referring to.

"So, you care about her now, do you?"

Gray hated his tone. He already felt bad enough; he did not need that. He stood up and looked at him.

"Listen, I care about her. I can't live without her… I," He stopped, unable to utter words from his mouth.

"You what?" encouraged Gajeel.

"I love her."

A mischievous smile appeared on Gajeel's face while he looked at him.

"Gihee. Therefore, you see that you have to say it to her. She needs to hear that, Gray. She waited years to be with you, so you should understand that she was disappointed about the 100 years quest."

It was the first time in his life that Gray heard Gajeel speak this way so freely.

"You are right, I have to tell her that. She deserves it; she deserves everything. And it's my role to do that. She needs to feel loved."

"Oh my Mavis! That's what I wanted to hear!" Gajeel exclaimed with a smile.

"Thank you Gajeel," Gray said. "I feel better about myself now. I have to tell her tomorrow before I leave."

They both finished the night at the bar, drinking and chatting about their love lives. Gray never had a conversation like that with Gajeel before. It was very pleasant and weird at the same time. But thanks to that, he was less stressed.

Regarding of the conversation with Gajeel, Gray was still stressed like he had never been the next day. The pain in his stomach was strong. The things we do for love, huh? Gajeel was still sleeping at the bar. Last night made Gray realize how much the dragon slayer loved Juvia. He hoped that he would take care of Juvia when the ice mage left.

He hated himself.

A few hours later, the guild was crowded but he did not see Juvia. At Erza's request, he climbed onto the table as it was the moment he dreaded the most.

Goodbyes.

"We are here to make an announcement," Erza began "Gray will explain to you in detail."

They all knew the sister figure hated to talk in front of people, thus he started to explain the situation.

Then, a beautiful blue haired woman held his attention. Juvia. She was there after all.

After he finished explaining, he went to the water mage, determined to explain himself.

"Juvia we need to talk." Gray started.

"Yes, we have to," She answered; her monotonous tone made him more stressed than before.

They left the guild to go outside, they started to walk. She was very quiet, showing that their separation was going to be heartbreaking.

They stopped to walk when Gray took Juvia's hand, urging her to look in his eyes.

"Juvia... you know how important you are to me, but you also know that I am stupid and immature when it comes to feelings,"

While blushing, she started to look at him, and Gray was content to see a good reaction.

"I love you Juvia. I will always will. You are the most patient, beautiful, and understanding girl in the world, and I want to stay with you forever. No quests will be able to separate us; no love rivals. Nothing, and nobody."

"Gray-sama, Juvia is so glad that you have understood her feelings."

It was the best moment to show her his surprise. He brought his hands together and began to say, "Ice make ring."

That's when a stunning, ice ring appeared in his hand. He took Juvia's finger and let the ring slide on.

"What is that Gray-sama?" Juvia asked peering the ring which fit her well.

"It's a promise," He started "I promise to come back to you. I promise to make you my wife, and I promise to love you for eternity."

Then, Juvia started to cry and threw herself in his arms. Only tears of joy were shed.

All was well.