Gray's POV:

Friday. Finally. And it's lunch time too, my favourite time. But it's not just because I get to eat lots of food, but because I get to see her and talk to her outside of classes. She's wonderful and she gets me.

I walk into the lunchroom and look to the table where our friends normally sit and I'm instantly captivated by her blue, ocean-coloured hair. My features soften into a smile. Her azure eyes turn to gaze at me as I make my way over.

As I am staring at her in her prim outfit with her Russian-style hat and butterfly clip, I fail to notice the perfectly placed banana peel on the cafeteria floor and I slip and fall flat on my back.

Most of the students in the cafeteria were oblivious, but there was one who immediately burst out laughing. I sat up and scowled at Juvia Lockser. She's so cute when she laughs, but that really did hurt.

Juvia gets up from the table with a smile and walks over to me. She kneels in front of me and holds out her hand. I take it and kiss it, then stand up, putting my arms under hers. "You didn't have to laugh so loudly," I say with a slight scowl.

She just smiled at me as we walked to the table. "But Juvia thought it was funny when Gray slipped." She sits down in her spot and I sit next to her with my lunch. Thank goodness I make my lunches homemade and packed in my lunchcase. Otherwise, my food would be a mess on the floor.

"She's right, Gray. You slipping like an idiot in the middle of the cafeteria is funny any day," Natsu chimed in with a childish grin. Lucy grinned a little too, but there was a little uneasiness in it. She knew what was coming.

I immediately got tense. I started to get up, my hands on the table. "Why you-" I was saying when Juvia delicately placed her hand on my arm. I looked at her and untensed; Juvia has a way of calming me down. It has made for a lot fewer conflicts between me and Natsu at the guild too.

I sit down easily next to Juvia. "I don't know what I'd do without you," I say and give Juvia a peck on the cheek. She blushes and smiles at me.

"Luckily, Juvia feels the same about Gray," Juvia replies. Her hand slides down under the table to rest on my thigh. I rest my hand on top of it and our fingers interlock. I smile as I eat one-handed and she does the same.

After a few minutes of yummy foods and good eats, I turn to Juvia. "I was going to ask you. It's Friday and there's a new movie coming out. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

Juvia looks at me with excitement. "Yes! Juvia would love to go to the new movie with Gray!" She says and hugs me. I hug her back and enjoy her embrace.

We pull apart as the bell rings for us to go to class. "I'll take your lunch trash," I say to Juvia. "You get to class. I'll be there in a minute."

"Oh. Okay," she replies. "Thank you."

I throw the disposable lunch tray away in the trash can in the corner of the cafeteria and then head to class.

I arrive just as the bell rings and find my seat next to Juvia. I habitually begin to unbutton my shirt but Juvia sees and quickly stops me. "Not here, Gray," she says, re-buttoning my shirt for me. She straightens out my collar with satisfaction.

"Oops," I reply with a nervous grin, my hand on the back of my neck.

~~~~~

The dismissal bell rings and we're out for the weekend. Juvia is at her locker because she keeps her textbooks at school. I lean up against the lockers right behind her open locker door and then she closes it, and I get the pleasure of resting my eyes on her beauty. Everything about her is beautiful. The way she tucks some of her hair behind her left ear, the way she walks with care and dignity, the way she crinkles up her nose when she concentrates real hard on a math equation, the way she organizes her textbooks in her locker alphabetically by subject and lines them up neatly in a row, the way she dresses in her prim and proper outfit every week day without fail, the way the sunlight reflects off of her and outlines her perfect face and delicate smile, everything about her is beautiful. I don't deserve her. She is my moon lily. "Hey you," I say, peering into her perfect eyes. "You ready for tonight?"

She nods, locking her locker lock. "Yes. Juvia is ready for the movie with Gray. Juvia was going to head by the guild to look for jobs before going to the movie with Gray tonight. Does Gray want to come with Juvia?" she asks.

I lean in and kiss her forehead. "I'll go anywhere with you," I say and Juvia blushes bright red, a conflicting contrast with her ocean hair and azure eyes. I reach down to hold her hand. Her fingers intertwine with mine and I feel complete as we walk to the exit doors.

We walk outside of the school building and it's pouring down rain. "Did you have a good day at school today?" I ask as we stop under the end of the portico.

She lowers her head. After a moment, she mumbles, "Juvia did not. Juvia was picked on for her outfit again." I put a single finger under her chin and lift her head. She looks up at me.

"Well they're wrong to do that," I begin to say. "I think you look hot in this outfit. Don't listen to them, Juv-"

"It wasn't just that," Juvia said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "They took Juvia's butterfly clip. Juvia's mother gave her the butterfly clip as a present b-before she... bef-fore sh-she-"

The tears begin to stream down Juvia's face and I embrace her close to my chest, letting her cry on my shoulder. The rain begins to pour down heavy around us and I just hug Juvia close to me. "Don't worry, Juvia. Don't you worry," I say, still holding her.

We stand there, her arms wrapped around me and mine holding her close to me. I slip Juvia's hat off and kiss the top of her head. Anger begins to well up in me, at the students who took Juvia's butterfly clip. How dare they?

The temperature drops around us as I grit my teeth and the rain turns into a small hail. After I realize what I was doing, I hold back and the temperature turns back to normal and the rain resumes, only lighter now.

Juvia looks up at me. I tuck a few stray strands of her silky hair behind her right ear and cup her cheek in my hand, wiping her tears away gently with my thumb. "I'll get your butterfly clip back. Don't you worry now," I assure her, a slight smile hinting in the corner of my mouth. "I love y-"

She cuts me off as she presses her lips to mine. Her arms hang around the back of my neck. I lean into the kiss and rest my hands around her lower back. I can feel her intending and the rain around us begins to dissipate, replaced with a mostly clear sky.

Our lips part and Juvia gazes at me with a quivering lower lip. "G-gray is always so g-good to Juvia," she says waveringly.

I grip her by the shoulders and gaze intently into her azure eyes. "Hey. I told you. I love you. There's not a thing in the world I wouldn't do for you." At that, Juvia's expression softens and a light smile grazes her lips. "Let's get going to the guild to snag a job or two," I say. I delicately place her hat back on the top of her head, sure to make it straight. Then, I reach down to hold her hand in mine as we begin to walk to the guild.

~~~~~

The guild is a nice 10-minute walk through the heart of Magnolia from the high school. Juvia and I usually walk there every day after school. It's pretty much the go-to place. Plus, Gramps isn't just a master at magic. He has masterful knowledge in all academic subjects, so he can be a good tutor when we need one.

Math and Science are my strong subjects, so Gramps helps me with my History. I'm in AP Calculus BC and Juvia is in Pre-Calculus, so I help her with Trigonometry sometimes. She proof-reads my writing for me because I always have some sorts of mistakes in my essays and Juvia is really smart when it comes to writing.

Well, she's really smart period. As of yet, she's our class's valedictorian. Right behind her as saluditorian is Lucy. I come at a close third in the class but I'm hoping to become saluditorian by taking enough AP courses next year. Natsu is down at 23rd in the class. He doesn't always apply himself in school. If he did, he'd be up in top 5.

~~~~~

As we walk through the town's market district, the streets are abuzz with people bartering and trading. I spot a flower vendor selling roses and I quickly run over, buy a small bouquet, and return to Juvia, holding them behind my back.

"Where did Gray go?" Juvia asks.

"Oh... nowhere," I reply with a grin. I know that that excuse never works so I show Juvia the roses. "I got these for you, Juvia."

Juvia stares at the roses with awe. "For Juvia?" she asks. I nod with a sheepish grin. She takes the roses and brings them to her nose to smell them. "Oh they're lovely. Juvia thanks Gray," she says and gives me a peck on the cheek. I blush a little and shove my hands in my pockets.

Juvia clings to my arm and we continue walking through the town towards the guild.

~~~~~

Outside of the guild, we can already hear the clambering. But it's not the sound of scuffling, more of partying.

"Oh that's right!" I exclaim. "It's Gramps' 140th birthday today. I bet they're all having a blast." Juvia looks at me with wonder. "What is it Juvia?"

Juvia shuffles her feet. "It's just that Juvia has never been to a party before." I stand there with my mouth gaping wide open.

"Well we're going to have a blast! We'll only be here for a bit because we have the movie, but you and I are going to have so much fun," I say confidently. "Gramps likes to have traditional dancing at his birthday celebrations. Do you know how to waltz?" I ask.

Juvia looks down to her feet. "Juvia has never danced before. Not with a partner," she says discouragedly.

"Hey," I say and sit down on the ground, peering up at Juvia. "You'll do fine. Just follow my lead."

Juvia begins to mumble, "Okay Gr- Oh!"

I interrupt her as I quickly stand up and pick her up bridal-style and begin to walk to the door with her in my arms. She laughs at my childishness and her face lights up again, making me smile. I put down on her feet. "Ready?" I ask.

She nods and we walk in, almost unnoticed. Natsu and Lucy notice us and come running over to us. "Where have you guys been!?" Natsu shouts drunkenly.

I raise an eyebrow and then look at Lucy puzzledly. I mouth the word drunk and Lucy nods her head emphatically. Just then, Natsu almost falls over and I stand him up straight.

"Whoa there buddy. Let's sit you down," I say. Juvia has a hard time holding in her laughter because Natsu is hilarious when he's drunk. Everyone else is just used to it. He normally isn't allowed to drink, but every year at Gramps' birthday celebrations, some of the other guys end up giving him loads of beer just for entertainment. Gramps doesn't mind either. He allows everyone to drink on his birthday. It's like a tradition.

"Have you ever had a drink before, Juvia?" I ask.

Juvia looks at me with sudden confidence. "Has Juvia?" she asks rhetorically. "Juvia was the undefeated drinking champion back in her days at the Phantom guild." I stare at her, shocked at first but then proud. My Juvia is a boss.

Hearing word of a challenger, Cana walks over to Juvia. "Yes, but you're not a part of Phantom anymore. You're a member of Fairy Tail," she says. "Right now, I am the undefeated drinking champion of Fairy Tail, but word has it that you are a threat to my title?"

Juvia has an unsure look on her face. She doesn't want to be rude. Juvia had just joined Fairy Tail 7 months ago, so she doesn't feel 100% comfortable with all of the other members of Fairy Tail. She looks back at me questioningly and I nod for her to accept the challenge. "That's right." Juvia says with a confident smirk. "Juvia challenges Cana to a drinking challenge."

Fairy Tail drinking challenges are competitions between two drinkers to see how much alcohol they can hold without falling over. Competitors stand at the bar and one by one, go through shots of Magnolia-distilled vodka. The first 10-15 shots usually get downed fast. Spectators will count each shot that gets downed. Each competitor has a barstool behind them and they can sit down if they give up, but with two drinkers like Cana and Juvia, that is highly unlikely.

The last challenger to Cana was Gray. Gray got up to 43 shots before passing out (Wizards can naturally hold more alcohol on average than humans. For reference, 36 shots of vodka will kill the average human). Cana had still been standing but she was wavering a little bit.

Mirajane lines up 50 shot glasses to start off. "Are the competitors ready?" she asks. Juvia and Cana look at each other to confirm and then nod their affirmation. "Alright then. Ready. Set. Go!"

And the two competitors are off to downing their shots in unison and the spectators began counting.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5...."

"....14, 15, 16, 17...." Juvia has to slow down for Cana at this point.

"....27, 28! 29! 30!...." The spectators get excited as the competitors pass 30 shots.

"....39! 40! 41! 42!...." By now, they are doing a shot every 20 seconds or so. Cana is wobbling a little bit, but Juvia has almost no trouble standing up straight. I gaze at her in total awe. She is so hot right now.

"....47!....48!....49!!....Whooooaaaa!!!" Cana threatens to fall over. She starts wobbling away from the bar and then towards it. Then she stills herself with her legs and she tries to stand up, but she falls backwards on the floor, defeated. Juvia is left with her legs shaking, but that's about all she has to show for downing 49 shots. Then Juvia downs the 50th shot just for the heck of it.

"....50!!!..." Everybody whoops and cheers for Juvia. It was a pretty amazing feat. I walk up to Juvia, wrap my arms around her lower back, and kiss her, tasting her vodka-tainted lips. "You were amazing," I say.

Juvia smiles at me. "Thank you, Gray. Juvia is just glad she had her Gray to cheer her on," Juvia replies. Then she walks over to Cana and lays down on the floor next to her. "Congratulations, Cana. I hear Cana beat her previous record of 43 shots," Juvia says.

Cana leans over on her side and burps. The two of them laugh at that. "Yep! That's right And congratulations to you! You're the strongest drinker I've ever known," Cana tells her. "And now your our champion."

Juvia stands up and offers to help Cana to her feet, but Cana shakes her head. "I think I'm going to embrace the floor for a little bit longer first," she says and pats the floor with her hand.

Juvia smiles curtly and turns around to Gray standing right behind her. Juvia burps out of surprise and then blushes for her rudeness. Gray kisses Juvia's forehead and then leans his head against hers. "It's really cute when you blush," he says. At this, Juvia smiles.

Gray leans back and pierces Juvia's soul with his deep blue eyes. Then his gaze softens into a curt smile. "How about we grab a job before we head out?" he asks. Juvia nods and Gray picks her up and takes her to the job board. He sits her down on the bench in front of it.

"How about this job?" Gray points at a flyer.

Juvia shakes her head.

"What about this one?" Gray asks, pointing at another one.

Juvia contemplates that job, but then shakes her head again.

"Ooh! Ooh! This one's perfect!" Gray exclaims and takes the flyer from the board, proudly showing it to Juvia with a childish grin of excitement.

Juvia laughs a little from Gray's silliness. "Yes. Yes, that one is perfect for Gray and Juvia."

"YAY!!!!" Gray shouts and dances around with the flyer. Then he instantly calms down and acts all serious, all except for a silly smirk that grazes his lips. "Now that we have a job, how about we go see that movie," Gray says.

"Yes," Juvia says, still sitting down. "Let Juvia have a few more minutes to settle and then she will go to the movie with her Gray."

Gray sits down next to Juvia and puts his arm around her, waiting patiently for her to be ready. After a few minutes, Juvia gets up and the two walk out of the guild hand in hand.

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I hope you're liking this story. I just finished watching the first 48 episodes of Fairy Tail on Netflix and I ship Gruvia so hard. I don't know when I'll be able to write the next chapter but I'll try to make it soon! Be sure to vote and comment!