(Spoils for Chapter 499 and up if you care.)

To say that Gray Fullbuster was unexperienced with matters of the heart was much more than understatement. A lie would be a more accurate way to describe it, since he knew absolutely nothing about romance. He didn't even really know he was in love until he thought he lost her, and after that, he was still afraid to admit his feelings. No one really knew why, it's not like she'd reject him. But when the war was over, and the guild was just like it was before, he thought he'd finally tell her. It might as well be official, it pretty much already was.

Gray and Juvia were inseparable. He'd walk her to the Guild every morning, they'd hang out together while there, and almost always go on Missions together. According to any outsider, they were already together. In fact, that was even brought up to Gray, as one afternoon, he walked up to the bar to snag a drink, leaving Juvia with Lucy and the girls. Mirajane slid a drink to the Ice Mage, smiling brightly. "Good Afternoon, Gray."

Gray grunted a friendly greeting, taking his beer with a smile. "You too, Mira."

As Gray took a swig of beer, Mira spoke again, a mischievous curiosity in her voice. "Ya know, Valentine's Day is coming up, and since this is you and Juvia's first Valentines a Day as a couple, you better do something special."

Gray nearly did a spit take with his beer, his eyes growing wide and his cheeks turning red. "W-we're n-not together, Mira." He gained his composure again, starting to sweat a little.

Mira frowned, shaking her head sadly. "Oh, well I figured after everything that happened, you guys were already a couple. You act like it all the time." She said.

"Well it's not my fault you just go making assumptions." Gray huffed, the red in his cheeks finally fading as he took another swig of beer.

"It's not just me making assumptions," Mira turned around, a small smile creeping across her face, "The whole guild thinks so too."

Gray did another spit take at this, rage making his face red again. "So you all just go around behind our backs making assumptions about us?" He asked in a huff.

"Oh, Gray, calm down. You know, they aren't considered assumptions if they're proven true..." When Gray looked at Mira with confusion, she continued. "Well, for Valentine's Day, you could make it official." She winked.

Gray snorted, but turned to look at Juvia. When the Water Mage saw him looking at her, she waved and smiled brightly. Her bright expression made Gray smile a bit too, and he waved a small wave in return. Mira chuckled a bit at their interaction, and she walking away to wait on another Wizard.

Gray reflected on her words for a minute, before abandoning his beer and walking over to Juvia. He quickly grabbed her wrist gently, looking in her eyes and speaking with quiet urgency. "Meet me outside." She nodded her head and followed him outside.

"You okay, Gray?" Juvia asked, her eyes wide with worry.

"Yea, I'm fine. Hey Juvia." Gray fumbled with the right way to say what he needed to. "Do you, you, you know we're friends right? And I, I care about you..." He almost face-palmed at his ridiculous question.

"Of course my beloved," She smiled in a sweet way, "You care about all of your friends at Fairy Tail."

"No I mean like..." Gray mumbled, sweat building up on his forehead as he captured her hand in his, "Like, you know, I... ok Juvia, remember when you almost died for me?"

"I don't think I could forget."

"First thing first, don't do that again." He said, a lighter tone in his voice. "Second, I don't know if you really know how much that hurt me. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. But now, I have you, and I still haven't given you my answer like I promised.' He finally started to build up confidence, and the words rolled right off his tongue. "Here's my answer, and I'm sorry it took so long. Juvia, I, I think I'm in love with you." His voice grew quieter as his statement, but Juvia still heard it, her eyes immediately filling with joyful tears.

"You didn't need to tell me." She said, tears streaming down her face, and her bright smiling making Gray's heart swell. "I already knew..."

(Words: 747)