Yeah, hi. This...is something different for you guys. Gruvia, from Erza's point of view. I hope you enjoy. And no, this is not supposed to be taken as Gray/Erza. It is not.
Mashima Hiro owns the awesomeness that is Fairy Tail. I'm just a fangirl who ships too much...
Little Things
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.love is a fluttering rose.
First there are big things, and then there are little things. The big things are exactly what they sound like: big. They are the things that everyone usually notices, that everyone usually reflects on, no matter the level of intelligence or importance. But the little things are the trivial, more irrelevant things that everyone normally looks or brushes right past. The little things are not as important. But Erza believes that everything deserves to be reflected upon, no matter whether it's a big thing or small thing.
And so, Erza always notices the little things, along with the big things. To her, the little things always splash a little more color to her rainbow of a world.
And the little things are never boring.
It's a regular day at the guild, all sunny skies and annoying guildmates trying to maul each other. Erza's sitting in her usual spot by the bar, Mirajane wiping down the surface, and she delicately nibbles on the frosting of her strawberry cake. The strawberry blends in with her hair, long, deep scarlet, and chocolate orbs sparkling with wonder.
Fairy Tail's infamous water mage sits at one of the tables comfortably, shoulders brushing with Fairy Tail's ice mage. Gray's abdomen is naked, as usual. And his scowl is set in place, as usual. And as usual, Juvia's ogling eyes and hearts bring his irritation to the edge. The water mage is eating her favorite chocolate cake, and Gray is sipping on his favorite iced tea.
As far as Erza can see, little conversation is going on between them. But there's something underneath Gray's furrowed brow, something buried under Juvia's obsessive gaze.
It's a small, but very noticeable and a very interesting gesture. Erza's fork pauses in her hand; some chocolate frosting falls from Juvia's lips and trails on her chin. Gray brings up a gentle thumb, mouth temporarily released from its scowl, eyes lightly focused, and his thumb wipes away the frosting from her face. Juvia smiles in appreciation, and lifts a napkin for him, but he licks the chocolate off his finger with his mouth. And like a flash of lightning, they're back to their usual selves, his scowl deeper than ever and her obsession louder than ever.
Erza's eyes become less wondering and more expecting.
How sweet.
.love is a garden of colors.
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.love is pounding hearts.
The little frosting escapade leaves Erza's mind as quickly as it came, and now it's another sunny day, sky as clear as glass and bluer than a sapphire. Today, Erza and her obnoxious team are going on a mission, a particularly difficult mission. Natsu is "fired up", Lucy is reprimanding him and warning him not to burn down the whole town, Wendy is trying to tame the spectacle, and Gray scratches the back of his head with his hand. Erza browses through the mission flyer a fifth time with darting orbs, and lifts her head when she hears a very worried voice.
The water mage pokes her head from behind a pillar (because she is stalking her beloved Gray-sama), and shouts with blobs of tears squirting from her eyes, "Gray-sama is taking on such a dangerous mission! Juvia will miss him! Juvia will pray for his safety!" The guild almost floods.
And Gray grits his teeth, "Juvia, relax…" And Juvia rants rather darkly about Lucy trying to steal her man away from her, to which the blonde summoning mage retorts violently to. Erza doesn't bother to continue listening; normal, usual things. But then she feels Gray shuffle away from his spot beside her, and she spares a quick glance his way. He escapes to behind the same pillar Juvia is standing by, but he isn't out of Erza's range of vision, and the bluenette continues to wail and cry comically.
"Gray-sama!" She bawls like a little girl, like usual, and Gray fails to hide his irritation.
But there's something different. As quick as a second, Juvia isn't crying comically anymore. She wipes her tears and looks up at Gray with the most wilting look in her midnight eyes, more wilting and terrified as ever.
Gray's midnights soften as well, and he's looking down at her with a ghost of a smile spreading on his lips. It's like a shadow, and is almost invisible.
"Gray-sama will be…okay, right? O-on…this mission?" She's sputtering like a helpless infant, but she can't help it. "It's dangerous; even the master said so…"
And he puts a hand on her head, as a comforting gesture. "I'll be fine. You doubtin' my strength?" He gives a hearty laugh, and she gives a little teary giggle.
She shakes her head no, curly azure strands flowing about her head, and he whispers in a lilting tone, "I'll come back for sure. And so will the others."
Erza's attention is gone from the flyer and lost on the water mage and ice mage. A smile floats its way on her lips.
How lovely.
.love is gentle caresses.
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.love is a crying sky.
It's a cloudy day; the sky feels like it wants to cry. Erza sits at her usual spot at the bar, chin resting in her palm, brooding. She and her team returned from their previous very dangerous mission with moderate injuries, much to the relief of the rest of the guild.
When clouds come, the guild is dreary. The wild fights and arguing have died down to just hasty, troubled conversations. And the scarlet head's eyes fall on the guild's water mage sitting very impatiently by the entrance, eyes glued on the massive double doors. It's as if she's nailed to that spot. She hasn't moved at all.
She's waiting for Gray, who took on a very special solo mission. He said he would come back in three days. It's been five days already.
"Maybe we should look for him," Mirajane states out of the blue, worry rising like clouds in her sky eyes. Erza doesn't grace her with a response, and instead eyes Juvia with shaking orbs.
Erza observes that something is there, maybe not as clear as day, but still there. It's cloudy, but she sees it, fitting snuggly in both Gray and Juvia's hearts. Erza is not jealous, mind you. Sometimes, Juvia is idiotic, loud, and unreasonable. But Juvia is wonderful, a woman one of a kind, with a love burning brighter and hotter than even the sun. Juvia is a benefit to the guild, ever since the war with Phantom Lord.
And Gray deserves someone as wonderful as her. Gray is wonderful in his own way, a brother to Erza and the one who made her stop the crying, who wiped away the tears. And for him, she forever sealed away the sadness. He locks away his pain within the depths of his heart, lets his piercing memories melt away into the rabid ocean of forgotten feelings. He needs to be healed. And Juvia, that little lovely girl, can heal him. Juvia, the powerful water mage; Erza still remembers that time in the dead of night, Juvia collapsing in tears in the scarlet head's armored arms. Erza knows about her loneliness, about the pain, and she could do nothing but stroke her back and whisper nothings into her ears. "You're the same as us. You'll be healed, I promise."
Gray has healed Juvia, and Juvia has healed Gray. And it's wonderful. Love is wonderful.
Juvia waits; Erza reflects, because she notices the little things that no one else ever pays attention to.
The doors swing open; Juvia is first to catch the very bloody and very beaten Gray stumbling into the guild. She wails, tears spilling, and adjusts him to lie on her lap. "Gray-sama!"
The rest of the guild crowds the two on the floor. Natsu's fists flare, Lucy screams, Wendy goes in for emergency aid, and everyone furrows his or hers brows in anger or sadness. Erza eyes Gray, stoic, and chanting "He'll be alright," in her head like a mantra.
But Juvia is the only one shedding tears. Juvia is the only one bawling. A lone raindrop falls from the clouds; the sky finally cries.
Gray smiles up at her weakly, hand chokingly coming up to brush his thumb over the high curve of her cheekbone. Strained, he croaks, "Sorry, Juvia. D-don't…cry…" She holds his hand close to her heart.
This escapes everyone else's eyes. Everyone else looks over this, dismisses this as nothing. But not Erza. Erza always notices the little things.
She smiles, warmly, because this is everything she has ever wanted.
How comforting.
She just wishes she can be healed by the one she loves, as well.
.love is a sunny sky.
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.love is falling to pieces.
The sky is crying bloody tears, thunder booming in the distance and lightning flashing. The guild is unusually silent, the members slumping and dragging around like zombies. A cold shudder envelopes the air; it's too quiet.
The doors open; in comes Juvia, stumbling and swaying in an almost exhausted motion. Erza swivels around on her barstool; Juvia's eyes are red and sobby, puffy by the lids and Erza can't help the frown carved in her lips. She shouldn't be crying. Why is she crying?
The water mage takes her usual seat at one of the tables. She mumbles small "good mornings" to the other guild members but there's no enthusiasm in her tone. She finds a particularly interesting spot on the floor and stares at it for what seems like an eternity.
Then the tears fall, in the corner of the room, in a black shadow, away from everyone's sight and attention. They sparkle in the subtle black and Erza has an urge to wipe the tears away. They shouldn't be there.
"Then why are you out on your own, crying?"
Erza gingerly touches her hand to her cheek, because that is where the tears had been a long time ago.
"Don't cry."
The water mage tries hard to wipe the tears away, to feign a smile, to mend her broken heart but she fails miserably, because not even Erza knows what it takes to completely heal a shattered heart. Erza always notices the little things. Maybe love is the answer for her, but then again, Erza's love is incomplete, left to freeze in the depths of her heart, never to be melted away.
The ice mage sitting a few stools away from the redhead swallows thickly, clearing his throat and running a hand through raven hair. Erza understands how hard it is to suppress the sadness, and so when Gray looks at her, she shoots him a tender smile.
"Heal her."
Because even if there is no one to heal Erza, Gray can heal Juvia. And Gray, he's good at healing people. And with this, Erza's smile brightens just a smidge more.
He seems startled for a moment, uncertain and puzzled, but then nods and he slackly walks away from her and envelopes the water mage in a lovely embrace in the shadows.
And the tears are wiped away. And Juvia smiles, brighter than the hottest star and sweeter than honey.
And Erza sighs, because healing is wonderful.
.love is gluing the pieces back together.
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.and lastly…
It's snowing outside today, flurries falling from the dull sky and coating the world in pure white. The atmosphere is gloomy; Erza sits, chin in palm, exhales fogging the clear window.
But the world brightens somewhat; obscuring the winter wonderland are two figures, an ice mage and a water mage. Erza watches as the two hurl snowballs at each other, along with Natsu's fireballs and Lucy's screaming. It's a joy-filled day, with smiles and laughter burning up in the sky.
The little things like these, smiling happily with a friend are always the moments that matter. It all matters, but these little moments add warmth to a cold heart, and love to a hated heart. And, Erza reflects, the little things always splash her palette of a world with more colorful colors.
Love dances in the air, and suddenly, Gray is kneeling on one foot in front of a gaping Juvia. She covers her face with her hands, tears spilling, and Gray slips the ring on her finger. She shouts in delight, jumps into the ice mage's arms and he twirls her around. The rest of the guild members crowd them with enthusiasm and cheers, and Erza's smile can't spread any wider on her lips. If it does, her face will split in half.
Erza knows how it feels to lose someone held so dear.
"It's like a sword piercing your heart, and the pain will never go away until the one you love comes back."
And with charm, with subtleness, and with reason, her chocolate orbs glinted with sadness, along with a genuine, tired smile.
"Make a move, before she slips away."
Because they always slip away, like icy water between her fingertips. They float away into the sea of forever, and they never come back.
Sometimes, Erza wonders if he will ever come back.
She is already deciding on color schemes for the wedding. And she takes a nonchalant sip from her hot chocolate, relishing in the happiness and love. Doesn't everyone deserve love like this? Doesn't everyone deserve to smile?
Erza hopes, one day, that she'll be able to smile just like Juvia, with a blue-haired, tattooed man kneeling down in front of her with a ring.
Because Erza always notices the little things.
And the little things are just wondrous.
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.love is beautiful.
I hope you liked it. Drop a review and tell me how I did. :)