7

Juvia doesn't show up to the guild the next day so he decides to ditch the mission he's got lined up for to go to the nearest candy shop and buy her an entire bag of saltwater taffy. She doesn't eat them often, because it's unhealthy or something and they're only sold at this candy store that's pretty far from where the guild and dorms are, but she's always loved them, even back during their Phantom Lord days. So he figures that it can't hurt to give her a bag when he goes to apologize.

And in case anyone's wondering, Lyon's not giving him the rest of the money. And it's fine, really. He's already got three thousand five hundred jewels and while it may not be enough for a new guitar, it's still a pretty hefty sum. He can pay off a good chunk of his rent or maybe he can use it to buy himself and maybe Levy, a nice dinner, when they come back from one of their missions together. So yeah, he's not exactly upset that he's only getting half of the money. It's not like he didn't try to hold up his end of the bargain, anyways.

Everyone in the guild is pissed because no one exactly wins. After what happened last night, he doesn't think that Juvia's eager to go on another date with Lyon and she's still kind of mad at Gray. So basically, she's not hopping on either the Team Lyon or Team Gray train any time soon and Cana and everyone else lose a lot of money. At least Juvia didn't have to stay long in the holding cell though. Gajeel was pretty worried that she had ended up staying there the whole night because he had completely forgotten that Gray and Lyon stripped all their clothes off and that probably included the wallets in their pockets. But Juvia brought money with her and she had enough sense not to lose her purse in the scuffle, so she was able to at least pay the fine and leave the police headquarters.

That doesn't mean she isn't pissed though.

Slipping past the dorm guardian and Titania is pretty easy. The dorm guardian's busy eating cake and Erza seems to understand why he's here so she gives him a free pass. He walks towards her door and doesn't waste time in banging his fist against it.

"Oi! Juvia! Open up!"

Juvia opens the door moments later and when she sees him, her face scrunches up into a little frown.

"What?" she says.

Gajeel holds the bag of taffy up and gives it a little shake. "I've got taffy."

"Is this supposed to be you apologizing?" Juvia says, completely unimpressed.

"Do you want the taffy or not?" he gruffly says because fuck, he's just gotten here. She can't expect him to say the s-word right away. It's not how he rolls. He needs to ease in to it. (What? He doesn't do apologies.)

Juvia chews on her bottom lip contemplatively. She's trying to look annoyed but Gajeel can see her eyeing up the taffy so he knows that she's not as mad at him as she's trying to make him think she is. He's about to say something when he catches the smell of cinnamon wafting from inside her apartment.

"Wait. Are you baking cookies?" he asks. Holy shit, he loves her cookies.

Juvia nods her head and folds her arms. "Yes. But, Juvia's not giving Gajeel-kun any."

He wiggles the taffy bag and says, "I'll trade you for a batch."

"Taffy's not just going to make everything better," Juvia says, her lips pressing into a pout.

"Come on, Sprinkler. You love taffy," Gajeel says, giving her a crooked grin.

Juvia looks at him for a few seconds, not saying anything. Finally she drops her shoulders and sighs. "Fine."

She opens the door wider and lets him in. He tosses the bag of taffy towards her and she clumsily catches it in her hands, caught off guard by the movement. She glares at him, annoyed but he just snickers and makes fun of her for having poor reflexes. He ignores her annoyed protests and walks over to the kitchen. When he gets there, his eyes widen and he doesn't know if he should laugh or be seriously freaked out.

On the kitchen counter are rows and rows of trays of cookies and cakes and bread. On her stove is a pot full of what looks like this syrupy, chocolate sauce thing and her oven is piping hot, two trays of what look like muffins shoved inside it.

"What the fuck?" Gajeel says.

Juvia defensively says, "Juvia was stressed."

Oh, right. She bakes when she's stressed.

"Do you have any idea what Juvia had been through last night? She was mistaken for a hooker because of what she was wearing! The guy in the holding cell she was in actually asked how much Juvia paid for her services!" Juvia hisses as she takes a piece of taffy out and starts unwrapping it.

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Gajeel says, concerned. He knows that she can take care of herself, obviously, but he still worries about her and the idea of some asshole touching her inappropriately or something really ticks him off.

Juvia rolls her eyes. "Of course not. But the police officers mistook Juvia for being in a polyamourous relationship! They even asked Juvia how a threesome worked! And Juvia had to go home wearing her ripped dress!"

Gajeel starts laughing because come on, it's actually pretty funny. "Ghihi. Serves you right for getting it on with the two strippers in the street."

"Juvia was not 'getting it on' with Lyon-sama and Gray-sama in the street!" Juvia protests, flustered. She lightly whacks him on the arm, her cheeks puffing up as she tries to control her temper. "Stop teasing, Gajeel-kun! This is all your fault!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who freaked out and stormed out of the cafe!" Gajeel protests.

"Juvia may have...reacted far too strongly than what should have been appropriate," Juvia grudgingly admits.

"Really? 'Cause I hadn't noticed," Gajeel sarcastically says.

Juvia glares at him and pokes him on the arm, saying as she furiously chews her taffy. "Fine! So Juvia may have overreacted! But she was having a very bad night, thanks to you! And she had to find out that Gray-sama was lying to her. She never thought that Gray-sama would do something as awful."

Gajeel snorts. "Well, just goes to show you Stripper isn't as perfect as you think he is."

Juvia's brows pull together in irritation. "Don't insult Gray-sama, Gajeel-kun!"

"I'm not! I'm just trying to tell you to stop treating Stripper as if the sun shines out of his ass. Stop treating him like he's fucking god or something because he can be as much of an asshole like the rest of us," Gajeel gruffly says.

"Juvia's not like that! She knows that Gray-sama isn't...isn't perfect," Juvia defensively says as she starts twiddling her thumbs.

"Please. You're practically blinded by his ass-rays!" Gajeel snorts. "Geez, you should tone it down a bit, woman."

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia says, puffing her cheeks up.

"Whatever," Gajeel shrugs, clearly over this conversation.

"And most of all, Gajeel-kun went and told Lyon-sama things he shouldn't have known about Juvia!" Juvia says, continuing her tirade.

That set him off. It's like she's implying that he can't be trusted or something. He narrows his eyes against her and says, "If you hadn't exploded and actually let me explain, you would've known that I was only helping Lyon out 'cause I care about you and I wanted you to forget about Stripper."

"Why would you want Juvia to forget about Gray-sama?" she demands.

"I dunno. 'Cause I felt like you weren't really going anywhere with him. And I hated seeing you so sad over him—''

"Juvia was never sad over Gray-sama. In fact, he makes her happy! All the time! And he's always sweet to her...even when he...even when he makes it clear that he doesn't return Juvia's feelings..." Juvia corrects him, flushing and he can tell that she means it too. And yeah, he guesses that Stripper is always nice to her and makes her happy and doesn't try to avoid her, even when he's aware that she's all crazy over him. Gray hangs out with her a lot, even when they're not on jobs together.

He decides to continue anyways. "And Lyon is exactly like Stripper...I mean, they're both ice mages and they both strip and they're both okay-looking I guess so I thought—''

Juvia looks offended. "Juvia doesn't just like Gray-sama because he's handsome and he's an ice mage and he takes his clothing off at every second interval! She's not like that! She likes him because aside from Gajeel-kun, he was the first person to be kind to her in a long time! He saved her and treated her nicely even when she was the enemy! He showed Juvia how to trust and love and be happy! He took away the sadness in Juvia's heart, the rain that's been plaguing her all her life!"

"Well, sheesh! Forgive me for just wanting you to give Lyon a try!" Gajeel says, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Juvia can't turn off her feelings for Gray-sama just like that! She loves him!" Juvia retorts, as she pops another piece of taffy into her mouth.

"Okay, okay, I get it! But I don't see what I was doing so wrong! I just wanted you to be happy and shit! What's so wrong with that?" Gajeel says.

"Because Gajeel-kun told Lyon-sama some stuff he shouldn't have known!" She sighs and leans against the counter, ruefully playing with the taffy in her hands. "And...Juvia's just disappointed, she guesses. She was just really happy to know that she and Lyon-sama liked a lot of things but then...she finds out that he had just been pretending this whole time."

"Cut the guy some slack, Juves. It's just cause he really likes you. And for the record, I didn't tell him anything too intimate. Or embarrassing," Gajeel says as he takes one of the cookies off the tray and pops it into his mouth.

Juvia gives him a skeptical look. "Are you sure you didn't tell Lyon-sama about the incident in Freesia?"

Gajeel starts laughing, sprays of cookie crumbs flying off his mouth. "Ghihihi. No. But it would've pretty funny to see his face if he knew about it—ow! Fuck! Did you just throw a cookie at me!?"

"You wouldn't dare tell him!" Juvia says as she arms herself with another cookie.

"If you keep throwing cookies at me, I might tell Gray too—''

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia screeches as she latches herself on to his back. "Don't!"

"Ow!" Gajeel says as he tries to shake Juvia off. "Get off me woman! I won't tell okay!"

"But Juvia knows that you will!"

"No, I won't!"

"Gajeel-kun!"

"If you don't get off me, I will nail you to a tree!" Gajeel hisses as Juvia finally unwraps her arms from his neck.

"Fine," she mumbles as she stalks off. She starts stirring the chocolate sauce thing and he leans against the counter and gets another cookie. The two of them don't say anything for awhile. Juvia finishes stirring her sauce and she moves away from the stove, taking another piece of taffy and unwrapping it. Gajeel's about to tease her when he notices that she looks a little sad. She's playing with the taffy wrapper now, her eyes downcast, her lips pressed together in a small line.

"What's with the face?" Gajeel says as he stuffs another cookie into his mouth.

"Juvia's just..sad, she guesses. If even Gajeel-kun thinks that Gray-sama will never like her back, then...then maybe it really is hopeless," Juvia mumbles, her eyes fixed on the taffy wrapper. She looks like she's on the verge of crying and Gajeel starts panicking because he seriously cannot handle her when she's like this. Okay, fine, maybe he sort of can but that doesn't mean he actually enjoys it.

"Do you think that Juvia should just give up on Gray-sama, Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asks him, a serious look on her face.

Gajeel blinks at her, surprised at her question. He honestly never expected her to even think about something like that—she's always so optimistic and sure of herself that he thought that the idea of Gray never liking her back is something that has never crossed her mind. But here she is, standing in front of him, looking as sad as fuck, her fingers playing with the taffy wrapper, her bottom lip quivering. He always thought that she was just completely oblivious to the fact that you know, Gray isn't interested in her. But that's not the case, obviously and he suddenly realizes that maybe that's why she tries so fucking hard to win Stripper over.

"Nah," he says after a while. He shoves another cookie into his mouth.

"Eh?" Juvia says, immediately perking up.

"He digs you," Gajeel nonchalantly says.

"Really?" Juvia says, her eyes widening.

"Yeah. He's just being really stupid about it," Gajeel says with a small shrug.

She gives him a skeptical look. "You're not just saying that to make Juvia feel better?"

"Scout's honor, Sprinkler," Gajeel says as he flashes her an impish smile.

And he means it, anyways. He's seen enough to know that Stripper really cares about her, more than what any regular friend would. That idiot likes her back and even though he's being such a tool about it, at least Gajeel knows that Gray's not stringing Juvia along. And then, there's the fact that Gray really knows her—and they've only known each other for a little over a year. Gajeel's known Juvia for a long time and even he didn't know a couple of shit that Gray knew about her. He figures that if Gray knows all that stuff about her, then he's either a.) stalking her or b.) genuinely spending a lot of time with her. It's probably the latter, though because he knows that Gray and Juvia usually partner up for missions. And they seem to be genuinely comfortable each other and they balance each other out and stuff. Like she's all high-strung and cray-cray and Gray's kind of level-headed but then sometimes, it's Juvia's who's the calm and level-headed one and Gray's the batshit crazy one. Plus, Stripper's not a bad guy and Gajeel knows that even though he can be an ass sometimes, he'll treat Juvia right. And that's all that really matters in the end, at least to him.

"So does that mean Gajeel-kun gives Gray-sama his blessing?"

"What?" he says, flummoxed. What is he? Her father?

"Juvia cares about your approval," Juvia tells him.

"Yeah, he's okay, I guess," Gajeel mumbles although he's honestly kind of flattered that she'd ask for his opinion and actually take it into consideration. It makes him feel like he's her big brother or something and she's giving him the permission to watch over her and look out for her. (And to beat the living crap out of Stripper if he ever hurts her in any way.)

"Juvia's sorry she overreacted," she tells him.

He grins at her. "I'm sorry I interfered in your love life. I shouldn't have done that. I swear that I'll never do it again. Or maybe I should've helped you get together with Stripper instead of Lyon."

"Yeah, you should've," Juvia giggles.

"So we good?"

"Yes." Juvia suddenly gives him a mischievous grin and pokes him on the arm. "Hmm...you know what Gajeel-kun? Maybe Juvia should interfere in your love life. She knows for a fact that you and Levy-san have been getting really cozy lately..."

Images of Juvia dragging him on dates and making Levy-dolls and generally just doing crazy shit flashes across his mind.

He gives a terrified shudder and grimaces. "Fuck, no. Nobody wants that."

She spends the rest of the day baking, eating saltwater taffy and finding seventy different ways to scare and annoy Gajeel. She does it mostly by telling him all the plans she has lined up for getting him and Levy together and when he starts yelling in protest, she just laughs and tells him that she needs to do it ("Because after all, Gajeel-kun, Juvia has to repay your kindness for setting Juvia up with Lyon-sama"). She bakes three more batches of cookies and bread (because even though she's not stressed anymore, she's already mixed the batter up and it would be waste not to pop it in the oven) and Gajeel makes fun of her for it. She doesn't really mind though because she knows that he's very nice, even when he tries hard not to show it. And she's glad that he told her that Gray might, sort of like her back and that he's okay with it—it's a little silly, but she sees Gajeel as a big brother and she values his opinions.

The two of them sit there, on her kitchen floor, eating cookies and saltwater taffy, just talking like they used to, for the good part of the day. Then Gajeel gets up and grabs three trays of cookies and tells her that he wants to bring them home. She laughs and scolds him for making a mess before grabbing a tupperware and carefully placing all of the cookies in it. She hands it over to him and he gives her a small noogie on the head a he walks out of the door, tupperware of cookies carefully tucked under his arm.

Lyon comes by an hour later to apologize, saying that he managed to sneak past the dorm guardian and Erza just to get here (which is very nice of him). He gives her another bouquet of flowers, lilies this time and she smiles and tells him that it's okay. He's really very sweet and what he did for her was very romantic in a sense—no one has ever liked her so much that they would pay her best friend to dish info about her before. And she can't really fault him because she supposes that if given the chance, she would've taken the same opportunity to be with Gray.

She probably won't be able to lie to Gray though, even for just a moment; she is who she is and she doesn't think that she can change that, even if she did somehow know his exact preferences. She loves Gray but she loves herself too and even she's not crazy enough to completely change herself for another person. She doesn't think that Gray-sama would want that anyways—she thinks that if he does, by some miracle, end up returning her feelings, he's going to like her for who she is, her crazy quirks included. He's just that kind of guy. He's not a jerk like Bora.

"Let me make it up to you, Juvia-chan," Lyon earnestly tells her. "Let me take you out on another date. Or friendly dinner, rather."

Juvia shakes her head and gives him a wry smile. "It's okay, Lyon-sama. You don't have to make anything up for Juvia because she already forgives you. And besides, she thinks that she's had enough dates for now."

"But this time, I won't lie to you or pretend to share your interests! I'll be honest this time! I promise—''

"Lyon-sama," Juvia gently tells him. She places a hand on his shoulder, firmly meeting his eyes. "You're a really sweet guy. And Juvia thinks that any girl would be lucky to have you. But she can't lead you on like this. Not when she doesn't feel the same way. It wouldn't be fair."

Lyon's lips quirk into a resigned, bitter smile. "So this is it, huh? There's really no chance of you returning my feelings?"

"Juvia would still like us to be friends," Juvia earnestly says as she latches on to his arm. Internally, she winces at how incredibly cliché it sounds. "Please don't act all weird towards Juvia, Lyon-sama! She really does enjoy spending time with you! Honestly! She likes you!"

"But just not in the same way you like Gray," Lyon sighs. He silently stares at the ground for a few minutes. Then, he looks up, squares his shoulders and nods his head. "Right. Well, if you truly feel that way Juvia, then I'll step down. For real this time. I'm the kind of man who knows when to quit."

"Juvia hopes that you won't try to avoid her or anything like that," Juvia worriedly says.

"Of course I won't. I'd never miss the opportunity to be around you," Lyon sincerely tells her.

"Are you mad Lyon-sama?" Juvia asks, because she really doesn't want to lose his friendship and she knows that he means well.

"At you, Juvia-chan? Never," Lyon sweetly tells her.

He stuffs his hands in pockets and nervously hems in his place. "What if he won't return your feelings? Are you really willing to wait and risk it?"

She looks at her shoes, silently mulling it over.

"Yes. And if...if Gray-sama ends up liking someone else then Juvia will be like Lyon-sama. She'll step down," she uncertainly says, after a moment of contemplation. She playfully pokes him on the arm. "She's the kind of woman who knows when to quit too."

It's going to hurt her and saying the words felt so horrible, like she can't even bear to think about it. But she loves Gray and she wants him to be happy and if him being happy means letting him go, then she's more than willing to put aside her feelings for him and be mature. And if she's going to be honest, she's thought about this scenario, far too many times. She's not naive enough to think that everything's going to fall into place and she'll just get everything she wants. She's lived through the death of her parents and a lifetime of loneliness in the orphanage so she knows that sometimes, life really does just suck. She thinks that if that time ever comes, she'll be prepared at least. She will be hurt but prepared.

"Well, I hope for your sake, he doesn't keep you waiting for too long," Lyon tells her.

Then, Juvia surprises him by leaning forward and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. Lyon stiffens, face red, eyes wide with shock. She whispers in his ear, "Thank you for the date, Lyon-sama."

She doesn't want him to get the wrong idea but he definitely deserves it. He stands there for a few moments, in stunned silence, before meeting her eyes and giving her a soft, lopsided smile.

The two of them talk for awhile and when Lyon tells her that he has to go, she makes him bring an entire container full of bread and cookies. He says goodbye before quietly slipping out of the apartment, his spirits seeming higher than it had been when Juvia had turned him down.

She busies herself by tidying up the kitchen and fixing up a hole in one of her dresses. Then, she takes a long, hot shower before slipping into her pajamas (the cute ones with little, yellow butterflies). She's a little disappointed that Gray hadn't showed up, but then again she had expected it. He's kind of like Gajeel. It takes a while for him to approach people, especially after an awkward misunderstanding.

She's about to curl up in her bed with a nice book Lucy lent her and her Gray-sama doll when she decides that she feels a little too hot. She takes her pajama bottoms off before wiggling underneath her covers, the book in her hands and her Gray-sama doll tucked in her arms.

She's just finished reading the first chapter when someone knocks on her door. She slips out of her bed and pads across the living room floor, not bothering to put her pants on. It's probably just Erza or Bisca, asking her for help in whatever they're cooking. It happens fairly often since she is a pretty good cook and the other girls are sometimes really hopeless at making food. She's somehow become the go-to culinary advisor in the dorm.

She wrenches the door open, her eyes widening when she sees that it's Gray.

"Juvia!" he says, his cheeks flushing when he sees that she's only wearing her pajama top.

"G-Gray-sama! J-Juvia didn't expect you here!" she sputters, her arms flailing. Gray's cheeks grow redder. Juvia pauses, becoming even more embarrassed when she realizes that very slight movements can cause her panties to be seen. Steams (literally) escapes from her ears and nose when she suddenly remembers that she's wearing her blue, lacy panties—the ill-fitting ones that show off a good chunk of her butt.

"Just let Juvia put on some clothes and er...or let her get a robe—''

"It's okay. I don't mind," Gray blurts out.

Juvia blinks at him, giving him a blank look.

"I mean, I won't be here long and—you really don't have to go to the trouble—it's not like I want to look at you naked—not that you look bad naked—you probably have a really good body—not that I would know cause I haven't been staring at your breasts or ass or legs or anything—I mean, I'm not a pervert!" Gray says, the words escaping from his mouth in stuttering gasps.

Juvia giggles a little. He looks cute when he's all flustered like this. It's very rare that she sees him this way, because it's always her that's reduced to a blubbering mess whenever they're next to each other.

"Okay," Juvia says. She steps aside and opens the door wider. "Would you like to come in Gray-sama?"

"N-No," Gray mumbles. "Erza would probably kill me."

"Oh. Right," Juvia says. Erza-san takes her job as the dorm guardian very seriously. "Maybe Juvia shouldn't have let Lyon-sama and Gajeel-kun in. If Erza-san caught them—''

"Lyon was here?" Gray interrupts, looking annoyed.

"Yes. But it wasn't like that! Juvia and Lyon-sama were just talking! And Juvia wasn't wearing this," Juvia hastily tells him.

"Oh. Okay," Gray says, quickly schooling his features. He clears his throat and cards his fingers through his hair. "Well, I guess I'm here...to apologize too. For...for trying to ruin your date—''

"Friendly dinner—''

"Friendly dinner with Lyon. It wasn't any of my business and I didn't have the right to interfere. I'm sorry. And about the food poisoning and the hot soup I would never—''

"It's okay. Gajeel-kun told Juvia everything," Juvia interrupts. She nervously twists the hem of her shirt. "Juvia guesses that she needs to say sorry too. Juvia...Juvia may have overreacted. Just a bit."

Gray grins at her. "Well, me and Lyon did get you arrested for public indecency so I think you being mad is justified..."

"Juvia will never live that down!" she says as she clutches at her cheeks.

"Hey, neither will I! Now what will everyone think of me!" Gray says as he shakes his head. "I'm not the kind of guy who shares."

There's something in the way he said it that makes her insides twist.

"Can Juvia ask you a question, Gray-sama?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Why did you try to ruin Lyon-sama and Juvia's date?"

"W-What?"

"Juvia asked you—''

"I heard what you said," Gray mumbles, looking more and more flustered.

"You never answered Juvia's question," Juvia says, as she looks up at him from beneath her lashes and nervously bites at her bottom lip.

Gray shifts in his place uncomfortably, looking down and avoiding her eyes. He doesn't say anything for a long time, his hands stuffed in his pocket, the heels of his feet shuffling against the floor. A million romantic possibilities start racing across her head. Maybe, he'll tell her that she's the love of his life. Or maybe he'll say that he can't even bear the idea of her being in close proximity with another guy. Or maybe he'll say that he wants to be with her forever. Juvia's face steadily grows warmer with each scenario.

Finally, he meets her eyes and gives a nonchalant shrug, "It's because I care about you."

Juvia's shoulders sag in disappointment. It's not exactly the answer she wanted to hear. "What?"

"You're my friend and I though Lyon was trying to take advantage of you. I care about you and I just wanted to look out for you," he says, sounding completely serious.

"Oh."

She could've just let it go and invited him over for some cookies or said good night, but at the last minute she decides not to. They've had conversations like this before and Gray always gives her answers like this and she never pushes him because she doesn't want the conversation to sour. But this time, she wants to get an answer out of him. A real one. Because she knows, she knows (and she swears she's not making it up this time or perceiving it through her usual overtly-romance-prone lenses), that he doesn't mean it. That he means something else.

"Are you sure that's the only reason Gray-sama?" she asks, arms folded, eyes narrowed. Maybe being firm and serious will get him to actually take her seriously.

Gray looks at her and gulps. "Yes."

"Really?" Juvia asks him.

Gray looks down and nervously starts unbuttoning his shirt. When he realizes that he's about to strip, he makes an embarrassed squeak and quickly starts buttoning his shirt back.

Juvia knows that maybe she should let up but the thing is, she isn't trying to make him uncomfortable. It's just that, there have been moments like these, moments where she thinks that he might, maybe return her feelings. It's like the times he would insist on going on missions with her when he could've asked any other person or the times where it seemed like he wasn't listening to her but he actually was or the times he would buy her things, little souvenirs from the places he's been from for his missions—she can still remember that one time he bought her that bracelet from Hargeon "because it looked nice or something and I thought you would want a souvenir" and he hadn't bought anything for anyone else. It's moments like these that gives her hope that her affections for him might not be as one-sided as she thinks it is. And right now, what she really needs is hope.

"Yeah, pretty much," Gray nonchalantly says.

"Oh. Okay," Juvia says, her chest heavy with disappointment. She takes a step back and places a hand on the doorframe. "Well. Juvia supposes she should—''

"Okay. Wait. Maybe...maybe you're right. Maybe there is another reason," Gray quickly says.

"Eh?"

"Maybe I did it because I was sort of...kind of...jealous. Maybe," Gray mumbles.

Juvia can feel a frisson of excitement bubbling up from inside her but she tries to contain herself. She knows that it probably took a lot of Gray's nerve to actually say it out loud. She figures that he must be really uncomfortable right now because of it. She's going to have to be mature and act calmly about this whole thing so that he won't feel as awkward.

"Okay, Gray-sama. But you don't have to be jealous. Juvia's got her eye on only one guy," Juvia says giving him a playful wink. She just can't help teasing him a little.

Gray looks slightly surprised at the fact that she hasn't screamed, exploded or reacted with an over the top response. Clearly caught off guard, he rubs the back of his neck and says, "Right. Okay. Well. I'll just get going then."

"Okay. Good night, Gray-sama," Juvia cheerfully says.

She's about to close her door when he turns around and nervously clears his throat. "Oh right. Um...before I go...I was wondering...if you're free tomorrow night..."

"Y-Yes. Juvia's free tomorrow night. Why? Does Gray-sama have any plans?" Juvia eagerly asks.

"I...um... managed to reserved a table in Maceo's—''

"Maceo's? Gray-sama! That place is expensive!" Juvia says, alarmed.

"I can afford it. And I heard that you liked it so..." He clears his throat, looking embarrassed. "Anyways, since you're free tomorrow night and I've managed to get a reservation..."

"Y-Yes?" she sputters, her mind already reeling with a million different scenarios. Is he going to ask her out on a date? What if the date goes so well that he'll end up falling in love with her and asking her to marry him? Or...or what if passion overtakes them and they end up having sex? Juvia starts internally panicking, That can't happen yet. She needs time to adjust. To be able to prepare. Gray can't just fling this at her—

"Oi! Juvia! Are you still there?"

She quickly snaps back into focus. "Yes, Gray-sama?"

"You know what? Never mind," Gray says nervously.

"What is it, Gray-sama? Juvia's sorry she wasn't listening. She'll listen this time," Juvia says, desperate for him to get the words out.

"Look, I don't want you to take this the wrong way but..."

"But what?"

"Would you like to go out with me? To Maceo's. You know. If you want to," Gray says, his ears turning red.

He's not saying that they're going as friends. He's not inviting her to a friendly dinner. He's inviting her to a date. An honest to goodness date. And she knows that if Gray isn't really comfortable with the idea of calling it a date, then he would have clarified and make it clear to her. And said something like, "Oh, it's not a date, just a strictly business dinner between two comrades discussing an important mission." But he didn't.

"You mean...like a date?" Juvia asks, just to be sure. Internally, she's trying to control herself. She must keep calm. She can't freak him out.

Gray just shrugs.

It's not exactly a clear-cut answer but it's Gray so that's basically good enough for her.

Calm down.

Calm down, Juvia—oh, who is she kidding? This is Gray. She can't just calm down.

"YES!" Juvia screams, momentarily turning into her liquid form.

"Ahh!" Gray yells, when a bit of her water splashes against him and she melts across the floor.

She quickly reforms herself before he can freak out any further and gives him a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

"It's...it's okay," Gray says, looking still disturbed. He starts backing away, his left eye twitching in anxiety. "Well, I guess I should get going..."

She takes his hand before he can leave and laces her fingers with his. He looks surprised at the contact but he doesn't shrug her off. "Do you want cookies Gray-sama?"

"Um...Erza would probably kill me—''

"Juvia made Juvi-bread. Or Gray-bread if you don't want to eat her."

"I wouldn't mind eating you," Gray says looking like he's considering the idea. Then, when he realizes what he's said, he quickly sputters, "I mean, I don't mind eating Juvi-bread!"

"Of course, Gray-sama."

"Well...I am pretty hungry." He gives her a grin that makes her want to melt. She thinks that if the reason why he's acting like this around her is because of her date with Lyon-sama, she's going to have to thank Gajeel for interfering after all.

Her best friend is a genius.

Gray nods his head and steps inside. "I guess I can stay for a few minutes."

The End

Author's Note: Wooooo, so we've finally come to the last chapter of the fic. Thank you so much for all of your support and reviews! I feel so happy! =D I always have this silly, little grin whenever I read through what all of you have to say. You guys are so sweet. I''m glad you liked it as much as I had fun writing it.

I sincerely apologize for the delay. I had a couple of issues with my files but I promise that it won't happen again if ever I decided to write anothe multi-chap fic. Anyways, there are a couple of points that I wanted get across in this fic and I hope that it translated well. I'm not going to discuss all of them because I feel like it's pretty obvious but I do have a couple of things to say though about the writing process:

1.) I tried to make sure that I didn't demonize Lyon because I LOVE him and I absolutely dislike Gruvion fics that make either Lyon or Gray out to be some sort of douchebag. Lyon himself isn't a bad guy. Aside from the fact that he creeped me out in his first appearance, he's actually a pretty decent, sweet guy and the only reason why I ship Gruvia over Lyvia is because the former has had more development than the latter. Gray and Juvia have known each other longer, have already established a solid, stronger relationship. They've been through a lot of things together, experiences which bind them closer with each other. This is why in the fic, I really tried to show that the reason why Juvia has stronger feelings for Gray is simply because they're closer with each other and have a deeper relationship with each other. Hopefully, this was translated well enough into the fic.

2.) In Chapter 5, I made it a point for Gray to voice out how it's unfair of Gajeel to blame him or call him a douchebag for rejecting Juvia or not responding to her feelings properly. I don't like it when people give him so much flack for it. Yeah, he was a bit harsh in rejecting her but he is still entitled to his own choices and opinions. Also, I understand where he's sort of coming from with his reluctance to start a relationship with Juvia. it's difficult when you're close friends with someone and you know that there's a possibility you could be more. It's a big risk to take. As cliched as it sounds, I feel like Gray doesn't want to take the next step with Juvia because he's not ready and he's afraid of losing her if their relationship all goes to shit somehow. Believe me, it happens, I've lost a lot of people and had a lot of close friends become strangers because of this scenario. And of course, I support and agree with the popular theory among the fandom which is that Gray is afraid to move the relationship forward because of all the people he has lost.

3.) I tried to emphasize how I don't want Juvia to "change" for Gray. Which doesn't mean that I don't want her to grow up or mature as a character. I want it to be a sort of healthy balance you know? That's what love is. Love is sort of becoming a better person for the sake of your significant other but at the same time keeping true to yourself, being re-assured that you will be loved and will love each other for who you are, flaws and all. I don't like it when people keep saying that Juvia needs to change to be with Gray. Why can't Gray also change for Juvia? Be warmer and less closed off. Also, Juvia has already matured and grown so much in the manga and she's even toned her obsessiveness down. But I also want her to sort of mature on her view of Gray. I don't want her to put him on a pedestal anymore or as Gajeel puts it,"be blinded by his ass rays." This is why I kind of wanted her to see that Gray is capable of being jealous and of doing stupid things because of it like every other person. muffin-dragon227 basically summed this up in the answer given to my question about why Juvia was upset.

Anyways, that's pretty much it! I'm grateful that you all followed through with everyone's crazy shenanigans! Thank you so much! ^_^