Chapter 74: The Water Woman
The guild hall was louder than usual, which was saying something. The morning sun streamed through the newly rebuilt windows, illuminating a scene of pure, unadulterated chaos that could only be Fairy Tail. Elfman was arm wrestling a table of visiting mages from a small guild in the east. Macao was losing a drinking contest to Cana. Mirajane was serving drinks with her usual serene smile, and Happy was attempting to steal fish from the kitchen when no one was looking.
And Juvia Lockser was standing in the middle of it all, her hands clasped in front of her, her blue eyes fixed on one person and one person only.
Gray Fullbuster had not moved from his seat at the bar in forty-five minutes. He had finished his drink twenty minutes ago. He was now staring at the empty mug as if it contained the secrets of the universe, because looking anywhere else meant looking at Juvia, and looking at Juvia meant dealing with the fact that she had been staring at him with an intensity that would have made lesser men flee the city.
"Gray-sama," Juvia said, taking a step closer. "Would Juvia like to get Gray-sama another drink? Juvia is very good at getting drinks. Juvia can get drinks faster than anyone. Juvia once got a drink for a man in a tavern and he said it was the fastest drink he had ever received."
Gray's eye twitched. "I'm fine."
"Perhaps Gray-sama would like something to eat? Juvia can prepare a meal. Juvia is learning to cook. Yesterday Juvia made a soup that did not burn the pot. It was a great success."
"That's... that's great. I'm not hungry."
"Perhaps Gray-sama would like Juvia to stand somewhere else? Juvia can stand anywhere. Juvia is excellent at standing. Juvia once stood in the rain for three days waiting for a man who never came and it was very sad but also a testament to Juvia's standing abilities."
Gray pressed his palm against his forehead and made a sound like a dying animal.
Across the hall, Natsu sat at a table with Lucy curled against his side and Erza's hand resting on his arm. He was laughing at something Lucy had said, his head thrown back, his whole body relaxed in a way that Gray had never seen before Phantom Lord, before Galuna, before all of this. He looked happy. Genuinely, stupidly, infuriatingly happy.
'He has two women,' Gray thought, watching Natsu press a kiss to Lucy's forehead while Erza smiled at both of them. 'Two. Women. Who adore him. Who want to be with him. Who look at him like he hung the moon and set it on fire just for them.'
He looked at his empty mug.
'And I can't even figure out how to talk to one woman without losing my shirt. Which I have, by the way. When did that happen?'
He looked down. His shirt was, indeed, gone. He had no memory of removing it. The mug in his hands was cold against his bare chest. Juvia was staring at his abs with an expression that could only be described as reverent.
"Gray-sama is so beautiful without his shirt," Juvia breathed. "Juvia is honored to witness such magnificence. Juvia will treasure this moment forever. Juvia will write about it in her diary. Juvia will…"
"SHIRT!" Gray lunged for the nearest piece of fabric, which happened to be a napkin, which covered approximately none of his torso. "WHERE IS MY SHIRT?!"
The guild erupted.
Cana was the first to break, her laughter exploding across the hall like cannon fire. She slammed her barrel down, ale sloshing over the sides, and pointed at Gray with a shaking finger. "He doesn't even know! He just loses it and doesn't even know!"
Mirajane had her hand pressed to her mouth, her shoulders shaking. "Every time. Every single time."
Elfman had stopped arm wrestling to stare. "A REAL MAN KNOWS WHERE HIS SHIRT IS!"
"THAT'S NOT HELPING!"
Macao was crying with laughter. Wakaba had dropped his pipe. Even the visiting mages were staring, their match forgotten, their faces a mixture of confusion and delight.
Gray found his shirt draped over a chair three tables away. He grabbed it and pulled it over his head, his face burning, his ears ringing with the sound of his own humiliation.
When he turned back, Juvia was still there. Still staring. Still radiating that impossible, overwhelming devotion that made his chest feel too tight.
"Juvia thinks Gray-sama looks good with his shirt on too," she said. "Juvia thinks Gray-sama looks good in anything. Juvia thinks Gray-sama looks good in nothing. Juvia thinks…"
"THANK YOU JUVIA THAT'S ENOUGH."
She beamed. He wanted to die.
Across the hall, Natsu was watching the whole thing with a grin that Gray wanted to punch off his stupid handsome face. Lucy was giggling into her hand. Erza's expression was composed, but her eyes were bright with amusement.
Gray caught Natsu's eye. Natsu raised his mug in a toast. Gray's response was something that might have been a threat or might have been a prayer.
He turned back to Juvia, who had somehow gotten even closer while he wasn't looking. She was close enough now that he could smell rain and something floral, close enough that he could see the way her eyes caught the light, close enough that he could count her eyelashes if he wanted to. He did not want to. He definitely did not want to.
"Juvia," he said, his voice coming out rougher than he intended. "You don't have to... I mean, you can... you should probably..."
He stopped. Swallowed. Started again.
"You don't have to follow me around the guild all day. You're a member now. You should... meet people. Talk to people. People who aren't me."
Juvia's face crumpled.
It was the most devastating thing Gray had ever seen. Worse than Deliora. Worse than Phantom Lord. Worse than the time Natsu ate his ice cream out of spite. Her lower lip trembled. Her eyes welled. Her hands clutched the front of her dress like she was physically holding herself together.
"Gray-sama doesn't want Juvia," she whispered. "Juvia understands. Juvia is too much. Juvia is always too much. Juvia will leave Gray-sama alone. Juvia will go somewhere else. Juvia will…"
"NO!"
The word exploded out of him before he could stop it. The guild went silent. Every head turned. Every eye fixed on the shirtless idiot standing at the bar, his hands outstretched like he was trying to catch something falling, his face the color of a ripe tomato.
Juvia stared at him with eyes that held the hope of a drowning woman spotting land.
Gray wanted to die. He wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. He wanted to be literally anywhere else in the world, fighting anything, facing any enemy, doing any task that was not standing here, in front of everyone he knew, trying to explain why he didn't want the beautiful woman who adored him to leave.
"Don't go," he said, the words scraping out of his throat like broken glass. "You're not... I didn't mean... you can stay. If you want. I don't mind. It's fine. It's whatever. I don't care."
He cared. He cared so much it was terrifying.
Juvia's face transformed. The devastation evaporated, replaced by a radiance that seemed to light the entire hall. "Gray-sama wants Juvia to stay?"
"I didn't say want. I said it's fine. It's not a big deal. Anyone could stay. It's a guild. People stay places. That's what people do. They stay."
"Gray-sama wants Juvia to stay," Juvia repeated, and the certainty in her voice made something in his chest crack open.
He didn't correct her.
The guild, which had been holding its collective breath, erupted. Cana was laughing so hard she had slid off her barrel. Macao was wiping tears from his eyes. Mirajane was smiling that knowing smile that made Gray want to requisition a new face.
Natsu appeared at his shoulder, Lucy and Erza flanking him like a very attractive, very amused honor guard.
"Smooth," Natsu said.
"Shut up."
"Really smooth. Poetry, almost."
"I will kill you."
"You're also missing your shirt again."
Gray looked down. His shirt was gone. Again. He had no memory of removing it. Juvia was staring at his chest with that reverent expression again. The guild was laughing again.
He wanted to die. He also, traitorously, did not want Juvia to stop looking at him.
Natsu clapped him on the shoulder, hard enough to stagger. "Welcome to the club, stripper."
Gray watched him walk back to his table, back to his women, back to his impossible, infuriating happiness. And for the first time, the jealousy that had been burning in his chest since the canoe felt different. Smaller. Less like a fire and more like a spark.
He looked at Juvia, who was still beaming at him like he had given her the moon.
Maybe, he thought, he didn't need to be Natsu. Maybe he just needed to be Gray.
"Juvia," he said.
"Yes, Gray-sama?"
He took a breath. Let it out. Took another.
"Can I buy you a drink?"
The smile that broke across her face was like sunrise after a storm. "Juvia would love nothing more. Juvia has always wanted Gray-sama to buy her a drink. Juvia has dreamed of this moment. Juvia has written poems about this moment. Juvia has…"
"Just... just sit down. Please."
She sat. He sat. The guild, mercifully, returned to its chaos.
Across the hall, Natsu caught his eye again and raised his mug. This time, Gray raised his own.
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Next Time: The Unfrozen Heart