AN: Here you go, guys. Slightly less smut, a little more romance... Sort of. Hahaha. Enjoy and please review!

Drowning Out the Outside World

The low rumble of approval from Gray's throat sent Juvia into yet another spine-tingling orgasm as she sat leaning over the headboard with Gray's mouth pleasuring her from below. The entire scene looked like they had entered into it in a hurry.

Juvia's tank top was bunched up above her breasts, as they bounced with each sway of her hips. Her panties dangled from her calf, as if discarding it completely took too much effort. They'd been at this new angle for quite some time that Juvia's knuckles had nearly turned white from her grip on the headboard. It was a new position, and one that they're sure they'll be repeating soon.

Gray had one hand between her legs, keeping her lower lips apart as he methodically sucked on her clit to stimulate her throughout her climax, while the other hand was on the small of her back, making her lean forward a bit to give him easier access.

As Juvia recovered from her orgasm, Gray slowly inserted one finger within her, making her squirm above him. The obscene sound of his finger squelching in her tight wetness made Juvia all too conscious of the fact that she's straddling his face.

"Gray-sama… Juvia is embarrassed." She moaned weakly, her voice strained due to the force of her previous orgasm. "Juvia might—Ahh! Gray-sama!"

Gray had inserted another finger within her and curled it forward, hitting that spot inside her that made her shiver with pleasure. "You might what?" He asked, the movement of his lips softly teasing her clit.

"Juvia might suffocate—"

"Juvia, I can carry you with one arm. You won't suffocate me." He proceeded to resume his previous ministrations by wrapping his arm around her hips and pulling her downward, giving his mouth and tongue unobstructed access to her center as he continued to pump his fingers in and out of her in an erratic rhythm.

She could feel yet another orgasm building up, making her buck her hips wildly against Gray's mouth. The very idea of Juvia, the otherwise prim and proper water mage, riding his mouth with wild abandon and drenching half his face with her juices was enough to make blood come rushing back to his groin.

Gray felt Juvia's hand on top of his head, running her fingers through his hair and gripping him tight. Aside from the slight flutter of her muscles around his fingers, her grip on his hair told him that she was close again. And as always, Gray wanted to give her the ride of her life. With increasingly harder sucks and a faster rhythm of his fingers combined with how sensitive she always gets when she comes, he brought her yet again to orgasm. This time, she didn't hold back a loud moan that the neighbors definitely, definitely heard… Rain or no rain.

As the spasms of her center weakened to a stop, Gray slid from beneath her to marvel at what he had done. He sat on the edge of the bed and observed Juvia, her back to him and leaning heavily onto the headboard, as she tried to catch her breath. Her blue hair clung to her back, her neck and her shoulders. Her entire body was glistening with sweat, and her backside was marred with the imprint of his hands when she first refused to ease down onto him.

Seeing as she was dead tired, Gray leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to lean on him. She was like jelly in his arms, all soft and malleable. He rested her head on his collarbone and just sat there holding her and inhaling the scent of her hair.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" he whispered in her ear, his tone filled with affection.

Juvia simply nodded and reached up to touch his cheek. She gave a faint squeak when Gray started to gently wipe her down between her legs, knowing how sensitive she was and how rough their towel was. And with a tenderness that no one would believe he had, he laid her down and wrapped a blanket around both of them, once again descending into slumber.

As if it were déjà vu, Juvia once again woke up to the sound of rain. But this time, there was a familiar tenderness at her center that reminded her of their activities earlier that morning, bringing a blush to her cheeks.

Somehow, despite how Gray always managed to satisfy her, she wanted more. His fingers were definitely skilled and his mouth even more so, but she knew that being with him in the truest sense was what she truly wanted. Perhaps this is his way of distancing himself from her?

Stop it! Juvia should be thankful for what Gray-sama can give her. If things go any further, there's always the possibility of a mini-Gray-sama or mini-Juvia, which, as wonderful as that would be, will only prevent us from focusing on getting stronger and getting the guild back together!

Juvia sighed. She didn't mean to be selfish.

"What's wrong?"

Gray's deep voice startled her and she turned around to find him lying back and staring at the ceiling.

"It's nothing!" She managed to squeak.

He sighed and figured he might as well let that go. "You know, I didn't plan for that to happen earlier. I got carried away and I tired you out. There was… I, uh… I kind of had something else planned."

Juvia just looked at him pointedly, waiting for him to continue.

"Errr… I know we haven't done it because we both don't want kids yet. And you didn't want me to pay a visit to the village apothecary to buy condoms because you didn't want to announce to the entire village that we were… Doing stuff. So the other day, when I came home a little late, I paid a visit to the next town, the one a couple of miles from here. No one knows us there. And that's where I bought… stuff."

She just blinked at him, not knowing what to say.

"Actually, I was supposed to bring it up earlier. But you had other things planned for me," at this he gave her a smirk, "And when I was, I mean… When it was your turn, I kind of got carried away. You seemed like you were really enjoying yourself, and I just couldn't stop. And, damn it, Juvia. I never thought I'd be hooked on the way you taste, but I kind of am."

Juvia blushed and buried her face in his arm. "Gray-sama! So embarrassing!"

"Juvia, look at me." He brushed her cheek with his fingers and nudged her chin up with his thumb until they met eye to eye. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is… Uh… Will you allow me to make love to you? It doesn't have to be now. Like, whenever you're ready, you know? I won't make you do it if you don't want me to, I swear! Only if you want to. Only if you really, really want to, and you're sure."

"G-g-gray-sama!" Juvia wailed, tears in her eyes.

"Oy! Hey! Jeez, I didn't think you'd be offended by it, seeing as we're already doing a bunch of stuff anyway. I was just asking! You don't have to cry if you don't want to go through with it! A simple 'no' would have been fine!"

"No, Gray-sama, it's not that. Juvia wants to, she really does! It's just that… Juvia thought… Juvia thought you didn't want to make love to her because it was Gray-sama's way of keeping the distance."

"Distance, what distance?" Gray was genuinely puzzled.

"Because…" Just the thought of it was enough to break her heart, and the tears kept flowing, "Because Juvia thought that you didn't want her to assume that any of this means anything. Gray-sama may not love Juvia, and that's okay! And if Gray-sama wants to have fun with Juvia, it's okay, Juvia will give him anything he asks."

"What?! I—"

"And Juvia likes being this close to Gray-sama. Because even if it's not love, sometimes, Juvia imagines that it is. Especially when Gray-sama smiles at her, when he's being kind to her, when he takes care of her, when he's patient with her during training, and when he makes Juvia feel good. Juvia was just hoping that when she makes love to him that… That he would love her by then." At this, Juvia tucked her chin into her chest and tried to wipe off the tears that were soaking her pillow.

"So that's all you think this is for me? Fun?" Gray asked, surprised at how bitter his voice sounded. "I may be a lot of things, Juvia, but I'm certainly not cruel enough to play with your feelings that way."

"Juvia didn't want to speak up before because Gray-sama might push her away. Juvia knows what this is for her, but she doesn't know what Gray-sama thinks of this. Gray-sama is a man of few words, but it leaves Juvia confused sometimes."

Gray sighed; she had a point. He had never really outwardly said anything about the way he felt for her. Part of the reason for this was because he himself wasn't sure. But he was sure as hell that this isn't just some little game for him. In fact, he found himself to be a little more emotionally invested than he had wanted to be.

"Juvia…" He started, again hating the fact that he wasn't all that good with words, "I'm sorry if I haven't made my intentions clear. That's because I myself don't know what I want or how I really feel. But let me give you this: Despite the fact that we've been away from everyone and we don't even know if we'll ever see them again, despite the fact that we're in the middle of nowhere training to defeat a dreaded enemy that could kill us with the blink of an eye, I've never been happier."

Juvia sniffled and wiped her cheeks before looking up at him, her azure gaze meeting his dark eyes.

Gray continued, "I chose to be with you on this journey. If you hadn't offered to join me, I'd have gone alone. That's because I trust you, and, selfishly enough, I knew that you'd do anything for me. But I never meant to make you feel like I'm just using you. I'd never do that. And I'm sorry if you've been feeling that way. I've never really felt like this towards anyone. I can't even explain it. But there's more to this than just what we do... physically."

Juvia was listening intently, knowing full well how Gray felt about loving people and losing them. She was actually quite taken aback by the fact that he's actually talking about what he's feeling.

"I loved my parents, I loved Ur, I love being with Fairy Tail, and I love my nakama. I know what that kind of love is like. But with you, it's different. I never knew what it's like to want to wake up next to the same person every day, but I do now. I never knew it was possible to want to give someone everything without asking for anything in return, but you make me feel that way." At this, he softly placed his hand on her cheek, softly stroking her soft porcelain skin.

"I don't understand how just hearing you laugh or seeing you smile or having you around me makes me feel alive… Like I'm worthy of something, like I can do anything. And, worst of all…" Gray paused, dreading this familiar feeling whenever he so much as thinks about it, let alone says it out loud.

"What is it, Gray-sama?"

"Worst of all, I know what it's like to lose people I love. It always happens and it scares the shit out of me. That's why it's so hard for me to admit that I want you here, that I want to be with you all the time. And when I think of losing you… I… I can't even stand to think about it. Whatever it takes to keep you safe, I'd do it. Even if it kills me." At this, Gray felt tears prickling his eyes, but he tried to blink them back. "I don't really know if anything I've just said makes sense, or it it's what you want to hear. And maybe it's not love yet, not the kind you read about in romance novels. I'm sorry if I'm slow at these things. But I just wanted to make sure you understand that I feel more for you than you think. Even if I have a really shitty way of showing it."

Juvia was stunned at just how much Gray had said in one go. Maybe Gray didn't love her yet. But who's to say he won't? He'd been emotionally scarred all these years, and allowing himself to feel this way towards someone has always led to awful consequences. Perhaps she had been selfish. Perhaps she failed to understand that Gray wasn't like other people, and even if it takes him a while to realize how he felt about someone, when he does get there, it runs deeper than any other emotion.

"Juvia, I hope you don't get tired of me for being so stupid about these things." He whispered, a little scared to meet her gaze.

"Juvia understands, Gray-sama. And she loves him regardless. Juvia can wait, however long it takes. Because there's no one else Juvia wants but Gray-sama. Even if it takes him a long time to speak up about this, that's just a part of him Juvia is willing to accept."

Gray smiled down at her, his face a mixture of affection and genuine warmth. This strange, silly, beautiful, strong, persistent woman chose to be with him when she could have had her pick of other men in the guild. She chose him, and he wasn't going to squander that chance.

"Hey, Juvia."

"What is it, Gray-sama?"

"I hope you don't think I'm just saying all these things to get you to sleep with me." Gray said, a huge grin on his face.

"Gray-sama! Way to go ruin the mood!"

AN: More to come a little later. Might take a while. But comments and suggestions are always welcome!