Hello, boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.

How long has it been since I've posted. Sorry. I've been way too busy. 2018 has been a long year. I'm sorry. But hopefully, this chapter will serve as an apology.

And, if anyone is interested, I recently submitted a fanfic to the gruviazine that will be released sometime this year. For more details, look up gruviazine on tumblr.

So without further ado, our feature presentation.

V is for Vacation

In life, it's not where you go, it's who you go with. ~ Charles Shultz

Gray Fullbuster wasn't one to be excited to be on a train as he stared out the window. Trains were just a way of moving from point A to point B. And thankfully, he wasn't a Dragon Slayer, getting severe motion sickness at even the thought of a moving vehicle. For the ice mage, trains are more of a tedium than anything else. He spares a glance across the seat and saw his girlfriend in a completely different mood than him.

The water mage watches everything pass by in unconcealed wonder. The beach is unlike every beach she had ever been to. The sands are white to the point of translucence. The ocean is bluer than her hair. The palm trees are perfectly positioned so that they enhanced the view. It was perfect. Strata Resort was perfect.

Gray can't help but smile watching his girlfriend. Even the act of moving from one place to another loses its tedium when you're with someone as captivating as Juvia. Though he would never say anything as cheesy as that in public.

"Ahh, thank you Gray-sama," Juvia blushes. "Juvia thinks Gray-sama is captivating as well."

Gray couldn't believe that he said that out loud. But if it makes his girlfriend happy, then it was worth it. At least the other guys aren't around to hear him say that. Thankfully, before he can die of embarrassment, the train started to slow down, preparing to arrive at their destination.

Strata Resort was the go-to destination for anyone who was looking for a five-star good time. Great beaches, amazing locals, vibrant nightlife, it's everything you're looking for in a getaway. However, it was expensive, incredibly so. A week's stay is as much as an S-class mission. And yet, Gray and Juvia get to spend a week here for free after Gray won (or more appropriately, co-won) Fairy Tail's most romantic man contest.

Gray takes in a deep breath of the sea air after stepping off the train. It feels amazing.

"Wow!" Juvia takes the words out of Gray's mouth. "This is incredible."

"And it's all paid for," the Ice Mage adds. "So, let's get to the hotel and check in quickly so we can see what this resort has to offer us."

Calling where they are staying a hotel room would be a grave understatement. Their room is more of a one room bungalow overlooking the ocean. Its design was light and tropical, creating an intimate feel of a romantic getaway. Gray is slightly impressed with the atmosphere. And if he was, then Juvia must be over the moon. Sure enough, when he turned around, he sees his girlfriend holding her breath in rapture. Just as expected.

"This is amazing," Juvia breathes. "A week alone with Gray in this paradise." Gray watched as his girlfriend pinched herself, no doubt trying to see if this was real life. The Ice Mage sighed somewhat dramatically. His Water Mage was such a silly girl.

"As amazing as this room is," Gray points out, "and as much as I would love to keep you in here for the rest of the week, we should probably head out."

"Okay," Juvia agrees. "Just let Juvia grab some clothes and we can head out." She reaches into her bag and pulled out something from it. She hurries to the bathroom to change, something that amuses Gray. He has seen her naked body before. The fact that she still feels she must hide from him even though he's naked on a daily basis is funny to him. Still, that's one of the little quirks about her that makes him love Juvia.

Juvia comes out of the bathroom, dressed in a green top with spaghetti string straps and a high-slit floral blue skirt that shows off her amazing legs. Seeing her makes him feel hot under the collar.

"When did Gray take off his shirt," Juvia asks.

Sure enough, when he looks down, he sees his bare chest. How does he not even notice himself taking of his shirt? You'd think he would pick up on this by now. But no. Oh well.

Juvia puts her hands behind her back. While she is doing this unconsciously, it has the effect of accentuating her impressive bust, an act that grabs Gray's attention. "Can Gray and Juvia go to the boardwalk and see some of the shops?" Her voice was small, as if she was worried her boyfriend would say no.

Gray would have dragged his body through broken glass just to see her smile. Being pulled around to some local shops was a small price to pay for the woman he loved.

"Wow, this is nothing like Magnolia," Juvia gasps in surprise. The boardwalk is loaded with trinket shops, each begging for business. The Water Mage places like these. There is a certain purity in these booths that one cannot get in brick and mortar stores. Perhaps it's because people put their heart and souls into these booths, showing a bit of their personalities to the world.

Gray, for his part, is less enthused about these shops. He has no problem accompanying his girlfriend to the boardwalk. He also has no problem buying whatever Juvia's heart desired. For the Ice Mage, this was less about buying something and more about spending time with his girlfriend.

"Wow." Juvia's squeal of delight break him out of his train of thought. "That is so cute."

Gray turns to see what got Juvia so excited. "What is it?

Juvia hands Gray what she was looking at. Turns out it's a sand colored picture frame, decorated somewhat garishly with seashells and small conches. Of course, it's the kind of thing that Juvia would be interested in. "Do you want it?"

The blue-haired woman looks positively sheepish, as if admitting that she did makes her a bad person. "Juvia couldn't possibly ask for something like this from Gray."

The black-haired mage heaves a long-suffering sigh. One of the problems Gray has faced while dating Juvia is that she always feels like she must please him, as if his approval or disapproval was the be-all, end-all of any discussion. The Ice Mage figured that this was the result of her formative years being lonely. One day, sometime soon, he hoped, she would be free from this self-actualizing loop. "I wouldn't ask if I did want to buy it for you. So, do you want it?"

Juvia's eyes glow like sapphires. One would have thought that Gray just offered her the world with her reaction. "Juvia will treasure this forever."

That smile? Oof. Right at his heart.

The rest of their day is them strolling through the boardwalk, buying various knickknacks for people in the guild. (Juvia reasons that it was a nice way to give back to the guild that allowed the two of them to enjoy this vacation.) After a quick bite to eat, the two of them return to their room. Gray is ready to stay in for the rest of the night, but Lucy had convinced Juvia and Levy that they should all go to this night club called Ebb and Flow. It takes a bit of convincing and much buttering up, but the Water Mage finally cajoles her boyfriend in coming with her.

Neither of them had any clothes for clubbing. However, Strata Resort isn't a five-star resort for nothing. The resort offers them a selection of clothes for them to wear. Gray chooses a simple lilac shirt and black pants. He prayed that he would keep them on so that he could return it. It was one thing to lose his own clothes thanks to his stripping tendency. It was quite another to lose someone else's. Turning to look in the mirror, the Ice Mage smoothed out any wrinkles he saw.

"You ready," he calls to his girlfriend, still dressing in the bathroom.

Juvia emerges and Gray's jaw almost dropped. She is wearing a tight-fitting navy blue one piece that accentuates her generous bust and goes down to her knees. And it may be his imagination, but the dress seems to sparkle when she moves. Her hair is done up in a high ponytail, showing off her bare shoulders. Seeing Juvia dressed makes like this made him not want to leave.

Juvia, for her part, is oblivious to the reaction she is causing in her boyfriend. She saunters up to him and turns around. "Can Gray please zip Juvia up?"

Gray sees the zipper smack dab in the middle of her back. Her bare back. Her very sexy back where he could see tiny freckles if he stares long enough. Gray runs a cold finger up her spine, causing Juvia to shiver. "Gray," she moans throatily. "We're gonna be late."

Said mage moves his lips towards the bluenette's ear. "Is that such a bad thing?" His voice comes out husky and needy. "We can stay here. The bed looks mighty comfy," he drawls.

When it comes to Gray, Juvia is almost always ready to give in. This one time, she wasn't. "Can we go to the club for a bit?" Her plea comes in short pants. She really wants to see Strata's nightlife. But she also knows if Gray asked her again to stay in the room, she will surrender herself to him.

Gray doesn't answer her. Instead, he zips her up, turns her around slowly, and melds his lips to hers. Juvia sinks into that kiss, kisses that included lip nibbling and tongue touching tongue. Gray Fullbuster did not fight fair when it came to this.

"Come on." There is a smug look on his face when he pulled away, knowing that she has been left hot and bothered. "Everyone is waiting for us."

The first thing that greets Gray and Juvia when they entered the club was the pulsating music that vibrated in the air and literally shook them. This may not be either of their scenes, but it was clear that Strata's nightlife is vibrant. Strobing lights and the humidity of multiple bodies hit them like a Mack truck. Gray looked at Natsu and Gajeel. The two Dragon Slayers look positively ill. Their heightened senses must be working against them.

Suddenly, he feels himself being pulled by Juvia into the sea of bodies. When she finds a spot that had enough room for the two of them, she sidles up to Gray and presses her body against him. The Ice Mage's heart stops the instant their bodies intertwined. The heat radiating from Juvia, the softness of her body, it makes him salivate.

"Dance with Juvia," she commands.

Dancing may not be Gray's forte, but it wasn't like he has two left feet like Natsu. He guided Juvia's hips so that she's flush against him. The two of them sways to the pulsating beat. Juvia's fingers dances across Gray's shirt, undoing it one button at a time and exposing his abs. Gray, for his part, drags his lips along the long column of her neck, not caring if anyone is watching. In fact, let them watch. That way, the world can know that the two of them are taken.

Time slips away from the two of them. They were in their own world, dancing the night away. It is only when an announcement from the PA said that this was last call that the two of them break from their reverie.

"Did we really dance the night away," Gray asks, more to himself than to Juvia.

"It looks like we did," Juvia responds. "But it doesn't matter as long as Juvia is with Gray."

Gray's heart swells at that. What did he ever do to deserve Juvia's love?

"Com'n." Gray gently pulls Juvia's arm towards him as he walked to the exit. "I think that bed is calling us now. And these clothes, these clothes are getting in the way."

The Water Mage cocks her head cutely, not understanding what Gray was getting at.

A wicked smirk crossed his face. "We are staying in a wonderful hotel, right," the black-haired man cajoles. "This is supposed to be a romantic getaway. It would be a shame if we didn't take advantage of the experience, right?"

Juvia flushes beautifully, finally understanding what Gray was intimating. Without warning, she pulls on her boyfriend's shirt and melds their lips together, surprising Gray. Eventually, he reciprocates, grabbing her under her knees and wrapping them around his waist. Thankfully, the hotel isn't that far of a walk from the club. Or else the people here are get more than an eyeful of his and Juvia's physical relationship.

Perhaps they are so into each other that neither of them notices that they were in their hotel room in no time at all. Gray wastes no time unzipping Juvia's dress and pulling it off her body. At the same time, Juvia quickly undoes Gray's shirt and pants.

"Eager, are we," the Ice Mage asks, breathless from their kissing.

"Gray-sama, please." It has been a while since Juvia called her boyfriend Gray-sama. She has been doing her best to drop the -sama but occasionally, the azurette would find it slipping from her lips.

Gray is amused. "So needy." His voice comes out huskier than intended. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I left you like this."

Juvia moans wantonly as Gray drags an icy finger along her naked stomach.

"We've got a whole week together in this paradise. We might as well make the most of it." And with that, Gray begin pleasuring Juvia.

Suffice it to say, they got a very late start the next day. But who needs a schedule when you're on vacation?

Word Count: 2,296

And that's the end of that chapter.

So this is a direct sequel to C is for Competitive. This is also a cross post for my other fics. If you want to see part of Natsu and Lucy's vacation, read R is for Rival. If you want to read Gajeel and Levy's vacation, read R is for Relax.

Anyways, I've got nothing left to say.

So, liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.

Here is the prompt for the next chapter.

Loving Juvia is intense. Her feelings hit me like a tsunami, especially for someone who was denied love from the start of her life. Just like her element, her love gives me life.

This is an easy one. What's the W word here?

Four more chapters to go.

Until next time,

A. Angel