Game Break

by: merudy

A/N: It's Valentine's Day in an hour and a half and I am this desperate to write something GRUVIA. I swear I did my best. [published the title on a whim. don't judge, i might cry]

EDIT, april 2020, literally after 5 years: whACK i've re-read it and realized how ooc it is. however, i was really hooked into sassy!juvia at the point in my life in which i wrote this story, so i might as well stick to it. i personally find my own fic cringey af, but i was literally 13 at that time, so i figure it's ok? HAHAHA

11:56 p.m., his watch read.

Gray Fullbuster sighed as he made his way through the female dormitories, missing the gentle monochromatic walls of the male dorms. It was Gray's second time back here and it was sickening him to death — first and foremost, his presence here would be worth a day's detention at Makarov's office, and second, everything was pink. The intensity of color at this time of the night was making his eyes burn. How the hell did this happen to him anyways?

Right. Gray had allegedly borrowed Lucy Heartfilia's literature essay on the pro's and con's of eating grilled fish, raw sharks and salted paper to the economy (without her knowledge, he forgot to ask) and was supposed to return it before she realizes he took—borrowed—it while she was on a so-called study date with Natsu, her so-called best buddy. The pair was disgustingly attracted to each other — Natsu being an overprotective dumbass and Lucy being a blushy twit — but neither would admit their feelings and just stuck to being friends. Gray believes they do a lot of stuff together more than studying sometimes, but he doesn't really care much about his annoying roommate's sex life.

What a bunch of daft idiots.

Now, what was Lucy's unit address again? Gray snatched his phone from his pocket and flicked at the memos, scrolling down to Lucy's contact info. He was pretty sure Natsu added her address somewhere. Ah, here it was.

Lucy Heartfilia, 18. Hargeon Dorms, Level 7 (Fairy Hills), Unit 413. Walk the left path from the elevator and turn east at the 2nd hallway. Room number is missing, so keep going until you find a mahogany door with an 'LH' sign in front.

He thanked the heavens and entered the elevator, pressing 7. After hearing the soft 'ting', he walked silently and prayed that she didn't change rooms. Imagine Gray's relief when he successfully found the mahogany door like the note specified, and the "LH" sign at the shape of a key adorned in front. There was, however, a small change. A new signboard shaped like a raincloud hung right below Lucy's.

It was a dark, wooden nimbus cloud that was obviously handcrafted (Lucy's was personally made, that girl is rich as hell). The lonely nimbus had the initials 'J.L.' in white glitters.

"Who the fuck is JL?" A puzzled Gray thought before he remembered — if he guessed right, Lucy may have told the gang some days ago about her new roommate, a transferee from Phantom College. He hasn't seen the new girl yet. According to Lucy, her roommate was still moving in and in the middle of arranging her transfer papers, hence no appearance in school.

Gray turned the knob, relieved that it wasn't locked. He knows that Lucy wasn't inside (she's actually still with Natsu at this hour) and that she's had enough scoldings from Erza for always forgetting to lock her door before she leaves. Gray found himself lost in thought before pushing the door open

"Fuck," he cursed silently. "Should I knock or...?" Gray thought, then shook his head and dismissed the thought that the roommate could be inside, since one, the door should've been locked, and two, she must sleeping already at this hour anyway. He could slip the essay in Lucy's table and silently slip out like he originally planned. If she was awake, he knew hell would follow anyway. Being pepper-sprayed in the middle of the night was not one of the ideal things on his mind right now. The new roommate could throw his body off a balcony or something.

And even if roommate doesn't kill him, Lucy would find Grau in the morning and send him to bloody hell. His wellbeing doesn't matter at this point, it was his fault for stealing—borrowing—Lucy's essay, anyway.

He kept racking his brain out to at least remember JL's name. What if she was awake? Would she get angry? How would he apologize? Running wasn't an option now. Gray would have to suffer eternal damnation if Lucy doesn't find her essay back in her bag tonight—or tomorrow, depending on how Natsu's handling the situation—if things escalated quickly, they could be having wild sex now or something.

And so with a sigh, Gray decided to push his luck. He went through the trouble of coming here anyway. But before he could take a better look around the room or open his mouth to confirm human presence, he heard the most beautiful sound in the world.

He quickly opened the door and kicked off his shoes near the entrance. Manners maketh man, whatever. Once he was on his socks, he instinctively searched around for the beautiful, beautiful sound that could always lighten up the darkest of his days.

Gunshots and virtual screaming.

Someone was playing his favorite video game and whoever it was, they was doing an amazing job. And Gray was going to join 'em, who the hell cares about angry females out for his blood. At this point, Gray had stopped giving a single fuck about intruding someone else's personal space or dying in Lucy's hands. Call of Duty is his literal life source.

Now completely instinct-driven, he half-runs into the source of his beloved game sounds. Lucy's unit was pretty big, mainly because she was born in big bucks— there were probably three doors that each led to 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Gray skids in front of a slightly-open blue door and pushes it open without further thought.

On the opposite side of the door was a large flat-screen TV with a shocking number of consoles underneath. In front of the TV sat a figure on a navy blue sofa, cookies boxes of pocky on her side and a PlayStation controller in her hand. In this angle, Gray could only watch ongoing game on the TV, partially obstructed by a ponytail that swung to various directions.

Gray didn't know how long he just stood there until the speakers emitted a horrible, screechy sound of tires braking, when the girl threw her controller frustratedly beside her. What happened afterwards was complete hell. Gray suddenly finds a gun — a stun gun?— pointed right at his face from the fuming girl behind the couch. He raises his hands in defense — because woah, a stun gun is way worse than pepper spray.

"Woah, woah, hey, calm down!" He exclaimed and jumped to the side as the girl threw a hydroflask right from nowhere. "That's dangerous, damnit! I'm Lucy's friend— look, let me open the lights!"

Gray kept his hands in the air as he quickly flicked the switch at his side and took a better look at the girl who was about to taser him. She had pale skin, a slim figure, and her hair was very unusually blue. The girl's face was currently adorned in various shades of red, her midnight eyes were large with anger. Gray would've thought she was hot if it weren't for the situation they were in, especially with those pretty damn legs. He was a sucker for long legs.

The girl — J.L., Gray guessed — squinted and tried to glower at him. "Lucy-san did not tell Juvia she was expecting a visitor… especially one that would come at midnight."

Gray didn't like the way she emphasized 'midnight'. For fuck's sake, was she implying that he came here to get laid? Hell no! Damn, he didn't even think of Lucy that way. Furthermore, Gray wasn't very fond of making bad first impressions on people. In this situation, he was well aware that everything is absolutely his fault, hence the stun gun situation.

He kept racking his tired brain to think of anything to say. One wrong word and he's tasered— lucky to be alive to wake up the next morning, but misfortune could easily pass by and he gets tasered in the balls and die. Far-fetched, but Gray doesn't want to risk anything. He gave the blue-haired girl a once-over, knowing quite well that he has the physical advantage, but not the ability to scream for help like a madman. Any girl was capable of the latter.

"Err... who's Juvia?" Is what he came up with after what seems like an eternity. Way to go, dumbass. Well, he can't help himself to try and understand something he can't comprehend, right?

The girl looked at him like he was a madman. Well, he was about to be.

"Juvia... is me." She replied bleakly. Damn it, Gray. Fuck first impressions, you fucking dumbass.

"Ah—er— nice to meet you, Juvia." He replied with a grin to hide his stupid ass. Can't blame him, it's not everyday that a person address themselves in first person.

"What are you doing here, huh, mister? Lucy-san is out with her boyfriend."

Wow, this girl bluffs well. Gray might have believed her if he didn't know better about Lucy and Natsu's friendship better than anyone, he just really doesn't give a shit.

"Look... Whatever you're thinking now is not what's happening at the moment, ok? Lower your gun and I'll explain. It's dangerous," he requested, eyeing the contraption with slit eyes. Juvia had absolutely nothing to lose and ignored his plea. Gray fished out the essay paper from his pocket and held it out for her to see.

"I came here to give her homework back, it has her name on it, see?"

Juvia squinted her eyes from her position to confirm and lowered her weapon. "Ok... Juvia assumes that you told Lucy-san about this?"

"Yeah, 'course I did." Gray lied. He was going to tell her tomorrow, maybe. But he wasn't risking the taser at this time, and at this hour of the night.

"Lucy-san's room is on the other side of the hallway. You can slip it down the door and leave. Please don't look at her panty closet."

#

"You spied on Lucy-san's underwear closet and took pictures, didn't you."

"No."

"And you came back here to tell Juvia that you're sorry for scandalizing her roommate and to not to tell her and her boyfriend what you did."

"No again. Listen to me, ok, they're just friends. And they're my friends." Gray clarified.

"Friends don't come uninvited at midnight to return essays they've paraphrased." Juvia replied, squinting her eyes. "Will you please leave Juvia alone now?"

Gray propped himself from her doorframe, his arms crossed and a smirk playing on his face. "I was curious about you."

Juvia rolls her eyes. "Please go home."

Gray takes a step inside her room to annoy her. "No. Do not move another step— Juvia will call her personal plumber!"

"Yeah, ok, I'm leaving." Gray backs out to the hallway. He's tired and this girly shit was making him go crazier. If this girl can hold a stun gun as easy as how a person holds a pen, her plumber must be a serial killer.

"My name is Gray, by the way. I'll see you soon then, Juvia?"

And he exits the unit with a wink, leaving the blue-haired girl gaping at him.

#

The cafeteria was crowded as usual. Not Gray's kinda place, but he meets his friends here for lunch everyday anyway. Today, only Lucy, Natsu, and Erza occupied their usual table.

He raised an eyebrow towards the maroon turtleneck Lucy was wearing. It was fishy in way one or another. First of all, it obviously wasn't hers (she wears tight ass clothes all the freaking time). Second, it was way off season to wear a long sleeve and a turtleneck — ok, she was obviously hiding something upper extremities and God knows what it is. Gray's eyes flitted suspiciously over to the pink-haired boy sitting across him.

Looks like someone's out of his usual self for a reason. Natsu Dragneel, Gray's all-time favorite rival and buddy, just got laid last night. Probably.

Well, hopefully. Then again, Gray doesn't give a shit.

"Everyone, my new roommate will be going to school starting today!" Lucy announced brightly. "She has blue hair and is really nice. You should greet her when you see her!"

"You've said that like 4 times this week already, Luce." Natsu groaned as he filled his mouth with a Frank burger. "Basically the whole week. Nobody has shown up yet so far, eh?"

"She's been on campus a couple of times because she's taking care of her transfer papers! Ugh, you'd better start paying attention to your environment now, Natsu."

"I do, though?" Natsu raises an eyebrow. "I mean, I can smell you a mile away."

"I don't mean it like that!" Lucy exclaimed, blushing. Gray rolled his eyes. Open flirting is disgusting.

"Her name sounds familiar," Erza commented as she took a sip from her strawberry smoothie. "Juvia, right? I think I her as an opponent in a quiz bee in the last battle with Phantom."

"Yes, that's the one— Natsu, God, eat quietly!"

"Yeah, Natsu, keep it down will ya? Lucy's gonna remember how you chomped her down last night." Gray said as he stood from his seat. It was obviously a bluff, since he really doesn't care about their sex life or the lack thereof anyway. However, Natsu choked on his burger, Lucy's face turned the same color as her turtleneck, and Erza spat her smoothie everywhere.

"What?"

What an amazing turn of events. Gray leaves it to Erza to deal with those two and excuses himself to the toilet. The cafeteria's comfort rooms were absolutely disgusting, so Gray found himself wandering near the main offices, where most CR stalls were ok because they were designed for faculty and visitor use. Yes, schools only use their budgets for outsiders. They could totally be assholes to students.

However, something in front of the bulletin boards caught Gray's eye. There stood a familiar figure— slim, blue-hair, and damn nice legs.

"You seem nicer in the morning," Gray felt a playful grin dancing on his lips as he passed behind her. "Juvia."

The newcomer gasps at the sound of her name and looks up. She pales at the sight of his face and points a finger.

"I—it's you!"

a/n: ooook, so i've tried cutting off most of the sassy! parts and tried to make it juvia-ish but kinda bitchy like that. my baby juvia's a RESPECTFUL bitch, after all.

—merudy / dragnoots on tumblr