Hello everyone! From April 1st to 7th, Gruvia fans will be delighted because it is our celebration of Gruvia Week! Visit the Gruvia Week Tag on Tumblr and other dedicated blogs for this couple. :)

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.

A Dip in the Pond

An Entry for Gruvia Week

Day One: Ice and Water

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She's been years in Fairy Tail and Juvia figured out the first time that she has crazy, crazy friends.

Crazy as hell.

Crazy as freezing hell.

So her current predicament stated when the guild decided to have a break after the Grand Magic Games and everything that has happened after that. All of them needed some catching-up to do with each other since most of the stronger members where gone sever years prior. Of course, the partying till midnight was there when they came back, but they were very busy training for the upcoming tournament that time to have some quality bonding with their family.

They experienced a roller-coaster of events during the course of the tournament. The water mage was happy with the results. They have won the games, proving every citizen of Fiore that they were indeed, the strongest guild. She was proud to be part of such family, a family who gets the source of their power from friends. Fairy Tail was always there beside her through all of the hardships she had gone through.

For having such a great and wonderful family, the water mage was very grateful.

So as she used her magic to make wonders on the waves of the sea to form a lovely fountain, which delighted the young Asuka, two loud and sweet voices rang her ears, calling her name.

"Oi, Juvia!"

She turned around and found two gorgeous ladies waving at her. Juvia waved back and ran towards Lisanna and Cana.

Juvia loved these two women to pieces. Cana and Lisanna were her closest girl friends. She's friends with every woman in the guild. There was Lucy, her so-called love rival (though she figured that she really liked Gray-sama's frenemy, Natsu), then there's Erza whom she shared an interest with desserts. She also has Levy, who lent her books whenever Juvia was bored. Then there's Wendy, who constantly asked her to fix her hair in different styles. Evergreen, who liked to fit what she had sewn and designed, Mirajane, who was like a big sister to her, Laki, whom she shared a problem with shyness and Bisca who taught her how to take care of animals properly.

They were all her friends but Lisanna and Cana were her best friends.

Cana, although she'd been known as a drunkard and often very vocal about herself, was a very loyal person. She remembered her tears when she was already down at that one time Fried enclosed them in a rune. Those tears were tears of acceptance. They were tears of a real friend, as Lucy told her before.

Then there's Lisanna, a vibrant girl who just came back from Edolas. It seemed most of the guild members knew her, Juvia and Gajeel, Lucy and Wendy aside, and there was no doubt that here presence was missed. Juvia thought it was hard for her to make new bonds with the lively lady but boy was she wrong. Juvia and Lisanna instantly clicked. She was only cheering Juvia up whenever she was sad and never failed to make Juvia's laugh be heard inside the guild.

These two ladies, as eccentric as they may seem, were like sisters to the water mage.

She came to a halt when she was already side by side with them, and the two girls dragged Juvia to a rather remote area of the beach. They walked and walked and walked until they reached a cave. There were many big rocks that they could use as a device for sitting but instead they chose the white sand that was tickling their feet.

Sitting down and engaging in casual talk, oh how Juvia missed the old times!

"If Juvia may ask, what are we doing here?" She was playing with the sand with her feet and she honestly thought that this was just an innocent get together of her trio.

The two girls in front of the water mage shared a look and smiled mischievously at her. As angelic as they looked like, she can't help but be bothered by the glint in their eyes.

Cana answered Juvia with a rather disturbing look that made the girl uncomfortable. "Juvia! It's the 25th of the month. You know how special it is for us!"

Oh, right. Juvia almost forgot about that.

"Juvia's so sorry! So, is she the next one?" Looking down at the sparkling sand, which now she thought was interesting, the water mage was quite ashamed that she let her mind drift away that she had forgotten this little arrangement of theirs.

Every 25th of the month is somewhat their friendship anniversary, and since they are members of a guild that has a reputation of being insane in their own way, they might as well do crazy things for fun. The three of them played this little game of dare with each other. Cana has become the "It" first, and then it was Lisanna and finally, Juvia. They have done this twice already, and today was going to be the third. It was still a baby ritual, but they hoped their bonds would grow stronger with each dare they fulfill.

The first time they have done this was with Cana dared by the two girls to not touch any type of alcohol inside and outside the guild. Lisanna and Juvia thought it was simple and they were really nice to her, but for Cana, it was living hell. Thankfully, she managed to go through the day without liquor, with Juvia and Lisanna watching over.

The second time was with Lisanna being dared to do pole-dancing in front of the guild. Now, it was nothing out of the ordinary as many of them performed on the stage, with her sister taking the lead, followed by Juvia's best friend, Gajeel. Maybe her biggest problem that time was she actually doesn't know how to dance and she'll totally make a fool out of herself that day. How she got through "Cana's revenge" last month, she never wanted to remember.

Now, came this day when Juvia would do the dare. The blue-haired girl was excited as well as frightened. Her two friends, no matter how they were and no matter how much they love her, were also feisty vixens.

Lisanna shot Juvia out of her reverie. "See that cave, Juvia-chan?" she began, "There's a body of water there, but it's not just water, it's water with chunks of ice. Legend says there's a beast living under water and we dare you to swim there and check it out."

"It sounds like Titanic with a plot twist." Juvia smiled. That sounded easy.

Until Cana had butt in.

"Swim there without clothes on." The brunette let out a laugh before hiding it with a cough to let her know she was serious as her friend was gawking at her. "Yes Juvia, skinny dip in ice cold water."

Juvia raised her eyebrows at that and then blushed.

"B-but what if somebody else sees Juvia?" Her hands were protectively covering her chest as she yelled, visibly embarrassed. She was already shy when bathing with her friends, what more if someone else saw her body?

The youngest Strauss offered her a genuine beam. "Don't worry Juvia-chan! We'll make sure that nobody will see you but us!" She loves her dear friend but she wanted something fun to do this day.

And so, the three ladies stood up and walked into the cave. Cana and Lisanna, for the second time that day, shared a wicked look that Juvia hasn't noticed.

For the record, the whole cave was very icy. The ice has not definite shape whatsoever but it was decent enough to be admired at. Juvia looked at the small pond that they were talking about and it has loads and loads of chunks of ice floating in it. Juvia was somehow used to this kind of temperature, but her physical body can't help it and she began to shiver.

Monster living under the water was just a ridiculous excuse to challenge her to swim into this pond. She shot a look at her friends and wondered what they were up to.

Juvia was still examining the pond when Cana stood behind her and pulled the strings of her bikini top. To say Juvia was flabbergasted was an understatement.

She put her arms over her breasts, attempting to cover her healthy bosom. "C-Cana-san! What was that for?!"

The card mage smirked at her and then reached for Juvia's bottom, playfully tugging the fabric. "Come on! I thought we said skinny-dip?"

This type of scene was ordinary for them when the three of them take a bath together. Lisanna shook her head in disapproval with Cana's behavior. "Cana, Juvia can take her on clothes off."

Sighing and raising her arms in defeat, the brunette gave them a smirk. "Alright." She said, still grinning at them.

Meanwhile, Juvia eyed them warily. Sure, they are friends and they have seen each other's body in their naked glory, but she can't help but feel a bit embarrassed. The water mage was not confident with showing her assets, especially when she's with such beautiful ladies.

"Could you please don't peek at Juvia?"

It was a matter of moments before both of her companions burst out laughing. "Juvia," Cana said, whilst still chuckling, "We've seen that a bunch of times and even touched it on occasions, don't act all shy about it."

Now Juvia was really embarrassed.

"Besides, you have a body to die for!" Lisanna added, toning down her giggles, hoping that her friend with feel a little better with that compliment.

So Juvia defeatedly pulled down her bikini and quickly jumped into the pond before Cana could wolf-whistle.

She was enveloped in ice-cold liquid and she has to stay there for a while to check this crazy water beast they were talking about. The water was far from the water she was used to, far from the water that the rain has cried. She scanned the scenery around her and found multiple inanimate objects there. There were this small ice castle and different statues of knights and nobles. Well, that's funny, usually ice should float on water, so why on earth are they under the pond? There must be some sort of magic spell used for this just like Gray-sama does.

Gray-sama can do ice sculptures because Gray-sama is an ice mage.

And Juvia concluded that he made all this possible.

Realization hit her like the water sent shivers through body the first time she jumped in.

She quickly swam above, ready to bombard Cana and Lisanna some questions. Only when she reached the surface, they weren't there.

They ditched her.

They were gone.

Together with her swimwear.

Juvia groaned. "Juvia has been set up!"

Cana and Lisanna ran as fast as they could away from the cave. They came to a stop near the shoreline and took a break. Lisanna voiced out her concern for their friend.

"Hey Cana," she inquired, ixing her hair as the wind blew in an opposing direction, "Do you think Juvia will be alright?"

To this, the card mage snickered while holding the swim wear of their friend, trying to find a perfect place to hide it. "Don't worry Lisanna, she'll thank us later."

As she hid the bathing suit under a rock, the two Fairies saw the ice mage of their guild, making his way over them.

"Hey Gray, thanks for the help!" Cana said, swinging her arm over his shoulder.

To other people, the simple gesture could lead to a face that can rival a tomato, but to Gray, this was nothing out of the norm. He was immune to this kind of friendly hugs. Living with them all his life had boost up his female-defense system.

"No problem. What was that for anyway?" The ice mage was asked by these two ladies to create an ice castle and different ice figures under water, which was very tricky to do as ice was less dense than water. Being the talented ice mage that he was and chanting spells so that it'd work was how he managed to pull it off.

Lisanna was really getting nervous about this. Cana gave her a look that screamed "Don't you dare." Of course she wouldn't say anything of the sort. It was time for Juvia to do her dare anyway.

"Um, we're having a surprise for Asuka! It's an underwater show actually." The girl kept on smiling at Gray, hoping that he wouldn't catch her lies.

"Oh." He nodded to himself. "Then you must need Juvia for breathing-underwater thingy."

Smiles lit up the faces of Cana and Lisanna. Sometimes, he wasn't aware that he's already thinking and talking about Juvia. It was nice to know that things were developing for the two of them.

"Oh damn right. We're actually looking for her. Could you check your creations once again before we start our show for Asuka?" Cana patted Gray's back and pushing towards the way to the cave. It was very fulfilling to see someone close to you start taking an interest in someone.

Gray sighed. "Okay." The ice mage started to walk. "Don't let Asuka stay in the cold water too long or she might catch a cold."

Cana thought he sounded like a father at that statement.

"I swear something' going to happen."

"I hope Juvia won't kill us."

As he made his way to the cave, his mind wandered off to Juvia. She really shouldn't be in his musings everytime, but everywhere he went, something reminded him of her. He's still in the midst of figuring out his feelings for the water mage, but he could honestly say that he liked her presence, her voice and her personality, no matter how bizarre it can get. Gray liked to take things slow and see where any of these could lead to.

He cared for her, to say the least.

Contrary to popular belief, Gray knew her affection towards him. It wasn't hard to notice when she's always starting a conversation with him, always offering him food and drinks for his own comfort.

That's it. For him, it was just a crush, an admiration. What made Gray realize that it was something deeper was when their senses were linked together. It was a funny sensation, feeling every single move the other person was doing. He felt his left leg hurt back then and judging from the fact that Juvia can't walk properly after she woke up to go after Zeref and Meredy, he knew she hurt herself also. And Gray didn't like her getting hurt.

That time, Gray felt her feelings, as strong as her will to live.

It was almost the same sensation when they combined their magic to defeat Lyon and Chelia back at the games. Unison raid, as Levy stated, was a form of a combined attack by two magic users who have strong bonds with each other. The combined magic left a tingling feeling for Gray and he thought that it was enough proof that they were indeed nakama and were concerned for each other.

So why was he delaying his actions? Erza said he should give her a clear response already. It has been unfair for her to not receive an answer.

But Gray knew that Juvia was one of the most patient persons in all of Earthland. He knew she was waiting for him.

What if her patience grew thin and decided to give up on me? He groaned at his own thought.

He could always try and give her some hints. She always does that.

Or maybe just give her an answer. Well, he does care for her.

"G-gray-sama?" A voice echoed through the cave. Gray knew that voice very well.

"Juvia?! Where are you?" A tint of panic was evident in his voice compared to Juvia's calm one.

"In the pond, Gray-sama…" A figure with blue hair showed behind a big rock. Juvia revealed herself, trying hard to hide away the rest of her body. Her shivering voice was all the reason Gray jumped into the water.

"Gray-sama, no!"

"Juvia, what are you doing here in the freezing water! You'll get sick!" He scolded her and reached up his hand to her.

To which she refused and hid herself even more.

It was an odd behavior Juvia was showing but she needed to get out of the water.

He swam towards her. "Come on Juvia, get out of the water."

She looked away and blushed furiously. "I can't. I'm naked."

One glance was all it took for him to compete with her red face. He looked away but can't help tease her. "What are you doing here skinning dipping?"

It was actually their thing. Teasing each other when no one was looking.

Juvia shrieked. "Cana-san and Lisanna-san dared Juvia to. Before I knew it, then ran away with my bathing suit!"

Oh, so that was what Cana was hiding under the rock, eh?!

He laughed at her for falling for Cana's tricks. "How do you find the water?"

"I-It's cold. Juvia wants to get out of here." Despite the comfortable atmosphere the two of them have, the woman still wasn't making eye contact. "And stop teasing me about not having something on. You're not wearing anything either!"

"Oh shit!"

The both of them remained in silence for a moment. Gray wondered why he hasn't helped Juvia to get her clothes until now. The water mage still wasn't looking at him as she tinted her cheeks with a crimson color.

"Lisanna said you were having an underwater show for Asuka." A little talk should help lighten the mood. "I created chunks of ice to prevent the sculptures below from melting easily."

Juvia turned to face him and she scoffed. "Those aren't true. They dared me to swim here and even scared me that there's a beast living underwater."

With all the thoughts about giving her a response earlier, or at least give her hints or whatever you call that, Gray Fullbuster just thought of an idea.

With this idea in mind, the ice mage thought this was perfect timing and was looking forward to get his idea in action before the day ends.

Truth be told, she wasn't expecting this. She didn't expect to be in a cave, to be swimming in a pond, in the nude, with her beloved Gray-sama, who was also in the nude.

Juvia always thought that she would jump at him and make some babies.

Well, there goes her perverted imagination.

Yet, when this opportunity came, her shyness has won over.

She never was one to admire her own body. She doesn't like it, with her body turning into water and all. She doesn't like her skin tone either. It was too pale, thanks to the sun that was hiding from her for seventeen years.

As a result, her body stayed hidden by her own resolve.

She was glad that she could show a little skin now. She started believing in the beauty of her body during the Miss Fairy Tail Contest, then that photo shoot for Sorcerer Weekly. Over the years, she has overcome that shyness but not everytime. The last time she showed her body in a bikini was in the Naval Battle at the Grand Magic Games, where practically the whole of Fiore was watching.

But with Gray-sama, she was still acting all shy.

"Juvia," His voice snapped her out from her musings. It was too near which means—

Gray's left hand snaked its way to one of her shoulders and began massaging her there. She shivered, this time not from the cold but from the sensation this guy was giving her.

She was beginning to heat herself up and this would be embarrassing if he caught her.

"W-what is it, Gray-sama?" she asked, putting a little distance between them. But Gray was persistent and made his way towards her and cornered Juvia into place.

"We could get your clothes later. But right now," He went closer to her, his lips gainst her ear, his hands caressing her shoulders, "Right now, I'm going to introduce you to the beast that lives here."

She doesn't know if her red face could be even redder. He looked at her in the eyes before crashing his lips against hers with so much desire.

His hands made their way to her curvaceous body up until they reached her breasts, her hips and her arse.

Juvia always thought that she'd be the one initiating those moves but apparently Gray was being bold today and decided to do it herself. He was the beast, the predator of this cave and she will be forever his prey.

Eventually, after having a steamy make out session, that melted the ice in the water, Gray got Juvia's clothes and went to give them to her.

The water mage was still shy dressing in front of someone. "Gray-sama, turn around!"

"What?! It's not like I've never seen or touched it!"

They went back to the main shore to meet their friends. Fairy Tail was having a party, with drinks already distributed to everyone.

Although both of them were still blushing, Gray intertwined his fingers with hers.

A smile graced Juvia's face. It was an awkward push for them but nonetheless, it was a start.

They made their way to the Fairy crowd. Juvia can't help but steal a kiss on his cheek.

Which was not gone unnoticed by Cana and Lisanna.

"Told you," Cana said, as she gulped down a barrel of wine. "Something happened." She smirked.

Lisanna shook her head with a smile plastered on her face, evidently happy for her friend.

"I wonder how far they went."

Cana almost spat her precious alcohol.

"You're thinking of such things?"

Lisanna rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her drink. "Come on, gray yanked off his boxers before making his way to the cave. And let's not forget about Juvia being stark naked when we left her." The youngest Strauss reasoned out.

Cana raised her brows before drinking again. "I like the way you think."

They both grinned.

"Cheers!"

Hi! This is my first entry for day one for the Gruvia week. I know, lame start but tomorrow's prompt is my favorite. I'm getting all giddy thinking about it. I was waiting for it since April 1st starting like 16 hours ago and I can't post this because I have a different timeline with most of the shippers. Seriously, I'm on the edge of my seat since I woke up and sat down in front of my laptop.

My sister was laughing at me for writing this. Seriously, she's not getting my admiration for this couple.

As of now, I'm writing the fourth installment of this one shot collection and looking forward to finish up until the seventh one this evening.

I'm sure all of us will be overwhelmed with Gruvia love through the week. Enjoy drowning with the feels!

Thank you for taking time to read. Please point out if I have any grammatical errors and gladly tell me all of them so i can edit them. If you have anything to say about my work, just leave a review and I'll gladly respond to them. :)