#erza reply

[tokkias]

what it feels like to fall in love ship: natsu dragneel x lucy heartfilia "Natsu?" "Yeah?" There’s a brief pause between when he responds and when she manages to articulate a reply. She looks almost contemplative, as though she hasn’t thought her question through or perhaps, that she doesn’t know if she even wants to ask at all. "Do you think you’ve ever been in love?" ao3

It’s quiet between them when she asks for the first time.

Rarely does the quiet exist between them, but when it does, it’s never uncomfortable. They’ve learned to coexist in a space together; Lucy engrossed in her novel while Natsu busies his hands with a lighter he found in her kitchen.

They sit on either side of the couch, legs sprawled out where they meet in the middle in a pile of tangled limbs. Though it took a few moments of adjustments and kicks to the abdomen, the position they find themselves in is comfortable enough that they’ve laid together in silence for what feels like hours.

Lucy’s reading some romance novel that Levy had recommended to her. She’d talked Natsu’s ear off about it on the way home, but even after all that, he couldn’t quite understand the appeal.

He doesn’t get it, but she seems to like it, so for now, he makes no comment.

She’s been so completely engrossed in the story since she flicked open the front page that she doesn’t even notice when he fumbles the lighter, nearly dropping it to the floor and scorching the carpet.

That’s why it catches him off guard when she speaks up for his attention.

"Natsu?"

His eyes flick up to meet hers, and he finds her book placed on her stomach to mark her spot, but her gaze is entirely on him.

"Yeah?"

There’s a brief pause between when he responds and when she manages to articulate a reply. She looks almost contemplative, as though she hasn’t thought her question through or perhaps, that she doesn’t know if she even wants to ask at all.

That apprehension disappears as quick as it comes, however, and she doesn’t give him much time to dwell on it before she speaks up again.

"Do you think you’ve ever been in love?"

It catches him slightly off guard.

He’s not sure what he was expecting her to say, but it probably wasn’t that.

Once the brief surprise passes him by, he gives himself a moment to consider what she’s asking of him.

Love? Sure, he’s felt love before. He’s not sure why she’s asking because he’s certain she already knows. He loves his friends, loves his family—his guild. It’s not something he keeps close to his chest, so he doesn’t quite understand why she’s asking.

"Yeah, ‘course," he shrugs. "I love you, don’t I?"

No, I mean— she pauses again in an attempt to articulate her thoughts. "It’s different," is what she settles on. "Loving someone and being in love with someone… they’re different."

Wordlessly, he tilts his head to the side in a silent plea for her elaboration.

"Romantic love," she says. "It’s like normal love, but…"

She pauses again, her gaze veering down in thought.

"I’m sorry, I don’t know if I could describe it," she murmurs. "It’s just something you know, that you feel in your heart."

Natsu furrows his brows as he contemplates for a moment.

A love that’s different. A love that’s romantic.

Sure, he feels a lot of love for a lot of different people, but romantic love? He’s never really thought about it.

He loves Erza, and he loves Wendy, and he (begrudgingly) loves Gray, but that’s the type of love one feels for a brother or sister, and he’s certain that it’s not what Lucy means. There are so many people he loves and has loved like that, that he’s not sure he can give her a real answer.

He mentally runs through a list of everyone he feels strongly towards, but few stick out as something different from the rest.

He loves Lisanna, but not like that, he doesn’t think. He’s not foolish enough to overlook the implications of how they played as children. It’s the closest he thinks he’s gotten so far, but he’s not sure he can regard it as such. Though she was a dear and close friend, nothing about playing house with her had ever gone beyond friendship in his eyes.

Before he can get too lost in his own thoughts, however, Lucy speaks up again, seemingly having dwelled on her definition enough that she feels confident enough to speak up on it again.

"It’s like… when you’re with that person, your heart starts to race, and your face gets hot, and you just want to be with them all the time," she begins to explain. "And sometimes when you’re not with them, it feels like your whole world is going to come crumbling down around you."

The last part she adds with such conviction and a hint of what he wonders might be sorrow, and it makes him think that she’s speaking right from her heart.

"When you’re in love with someone, you just want them to be safe and happy all the time, and it doesn’t matter why or how, but you want to be the one to make them smile."

The words romantic love hadn’t quite struck a chord in him, but as he listened to Lucy talk, something in her words began to resonate with him. He could recall the feeling of his chest tightening and his heart thumping as he was washed over with an emotion he couldn’t even begin to describe. It was pleasant, like he wanted to feel it forever, but also agonising, like something was stuck in his heart, clawing at his ribs to escape its wretched prison. He’d never been able to put a word to it, but was that love?

Lucy’s soft gaze graces him as he contemplates it, and suddenly, he’s hit with the feeling all over again, and things all start to fall into place.

He does want to be with her all the time.

It doesn’t matter when, or why, or how, but having Lucy by his side is almost as integral to his survival as breathing. He’s known what it’s like to be without her, and it’s not a feeling he wants to experience again. The thought of losing her, of living a Lucy-less life is enough to have the bile rising in his stomach. It makes him feel ill, makes his heart hurt so bad that he wants to banish the idea from his mind entirely.

He’s never given that feeling much thought before because it just seemed so natural to never want to lose her. He doesn’t want to lose any of his friends, but with Lucy, it’s just… different.

He doesn’t know if he could go on without her in his life. What would be the point of waking up in the morning if not to see her brilliant smile and her sunshine voice and to be blessed with the presence of someone who loves so deep and strong that it makes him question the definition of love that he’s held his whole life.

She’s kind, and she’s strong, and she’s funny, pretty, empathetic. She loves with her whole heart and then some.

Lucy is everything that is good in the world—you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love her.

Is that what romantic love is?

Does that explain why he needs to be with her, why he always wants to be close to her, why he’s so at peace when she’s around?

Things sort of make sense when he looks at it that way.

He’s always known he loved Lucy, from a time very early on in their friendship. Over time, he had grown to know that his love for Lucy was different—his love for her was more, but it had just felt so right that he had never questioned it.

Loving Lucy came easy to him. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

After catching himself lost in thought, he glances up at Lucy and finds her looking expectantly at him, waiting for an answer.

Maybe she didn’t realise the weight of her question. Maybe she hadn’t intended for her question to come with a realisation that maybe should have hit him long before now.

Has he ever been in love?

"Yeah," he breathes. "I think I have."

#nalu #fanfic #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction #fairy tail #ft nalu #natsu x lucy #mya writes things #nalu fic bingo

[samanthaa-leanne]

From the moment you laid eyes on Gray Fullbuster you knew it was game over. All the nights you spent reading romance novels and seeing how all it took was one look before most of the heroines fell in love with a man. You thought it was bogus. There was no way you could fall in love with a man with just one look. That was until you saw him. 

Gray Fullbuster was a well-known wizard throughout Fiore. You had heard about him well before you joined the Fairy Tail guild. You just didn’t expect him to look like that. When your friend and roommate Lucy introduced you to her group, the group she also wanted you to join. She introduced you to Erza first and you couldn’t help but think she was the sweetest person you had ever met. You didn’t know why Lucy was so afraid of her. That was until Natsu knocked over her strawberry shortcake and all hell broke loose. 

Natsu was something else. He tried being intimidating but quickly changed his attitude once he learned you could fight. Then all he wanted to do was challenge you. Lucy tried to scold him, but you agreed, and soon kicked his ass. Everyone in the guild was impressed with your skills. Even Natsu when he regained consciousness.  

“Wow Natsu, I can’t believe you got your ass kicked by a girl.” A voice said from behind you. 

You turned around to defend yourself when suddenly the most handsome man you had ever seen was standing in front of you. Your heart did a flip and you lost all sense of what you were going to say. 

“Gray I was wondering where you were.” Lucy said, trying to change the subject before another fight broke out. “This is my friend YN. She just joined the guild.” 

All of a sudden his eyes were on yours as he looked you up and down. Your cheeks turned a bright red as his eyes finally met yours. 

“Nice to meet you YN. You seem like a real badass from the ass whooping you gave dragon breath over there.” He said, motioning to a fired up Natsu who was about to hop the table to get his hands on Gray. 

“It’s nice to meet you too.” You said as calmly as you could. Your heart was still racing from his mere presence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few months had passed since you first met and joined Team Natsu. The missions you went on grew even more dangerous and there were some you didn’t know if you would complete in one piece, but without fail your team beat the odds. 

Your trust in one another grew everyday and soon you guys could predict each other's moves. Sometimes you even knew what the other would do before they did it. You gave a new definition to the word close. 

Your bond with your teammates was something you never wanted to lose. However your feelings for a particular teammate grew even more as each day passed. There were times you thought he felt the same, but then he would treat you like he did with all your other teammates. 

It seemed like everyone knew about your feelings for Gray besides him. He was oblivious. Not even Natsu and Happy’s not so subtle jokes clicked in that handsome head of his. You were okay with it though. You figured he was just pretending not to know about your feelings for him so it didn’t ruin your friendship. Which you didn’t want to ruin anyways so you shoved your feelings down and focused on your friendship instead. 

What you didn’t expect was to overhear a private conversation between Natsu and Gray about a month later at the guild hall. 

“So what do you think about YN?” Natsu asked as nonchalantly as he could. 

“She’s a pretty awesome fighter and a great friend.” Gray responded quickly, giving Natsu a weird look. 

“Just a friend huh?” Natsu asked, trying to hint at something he shouldn’t. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Gray shot back. 

“Are you sure you aren’t an idiot?” Natsu asked, his voice calm for once. 

“What are you going on about this time?” Gray replied with confusion written all over his face. 

“You really don’t know that…” he was cut off by Erza showing up and punching him in the stomach as Happy flew him a few feet away. 

“Ignore him.” Erza said as she joined the table they were at. You quickly walked away before anyone noticed you.

Gray nodded and went back to what he was doing. The questions Natsu asked had him thinking if he really did just see you as a friend. 

He couldn’t lie to himself and say he didn’t find you attractive, because he did. From the moment he first saw you he thought you were the most beautiful girl he’d ever laid eyes on. And then you beat the crap out of Natsu which just impressed him even more. But Gray didn’t believe in love at first sight. He believed in getting to know someone through and through and falling in love with the person they were. 

And that’s when it clicked. It was slow and he didn’t realize it until he really sat down and thought about it, but he was in love with you. He had been for a while now. He loved everything about you. The way you smiled when you saw something that made you happy. The way you always had your friend’s back no matter what the situation was. The way you tucked your hair behind your ear when you were nervous. You were everything he never knew he needed and at that moment all he wanted to do was find you and tell you he loved you. So that’s exactly what he did. 

You were on your way back to your apartment when you heard someone shouting your name. You turn around to find Gray running after you at full speed. 

“Gray? What’s wrong? Is everything…” You were cut off as his arms wrapped around you and he pulled you into him, hugging you tightly.

“I love you.” He said softly as he rubbed his arms up and down your back. 

“Wait what?” You asked, pulling back a little from his embrace. The look he was giving you was something you had always wanted to see. 

“I love you.” He repeated as if he couldn’t say the words enough. 

“Is this some kind of joke? Did Natsu put you up to this?” You asked as you scanned the surrounding area trying to catch the pink haired menace. 

“What?! No! Of course not.” Gray answered, baffled that this was your reaction. His mind was racing. Did he not think this through? Did you not feel the same way? 

“Natsu and I were talking and he asked me what I thought about you and at first I said you were just a great friend but then I got to thinking and I realized I’m in love with you.” He started, stopping to look into your eyes as he said, “I love everything about you. Your smile, your laugh, your ability to put everyone in the guild in their place. I just realized that you are everything I never knew I wanted or needed and I just had to come tell you.”

You didn’t realize you were crying until his fingers were wiping away the tears. You never thought he would reciprocate the feeling you had. 

“Aww don’t cry, pretty girl. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He said softly, pulling you back into his chest. 

“I love you too.” You whispered. “Ever since I first laid eyes on you. I never believed in love at first sight until I saw you.” You said truthfully, your tears calming down. 

He stepped back and lifted your chin so your eyes met. The smile he was giving you was so infectious you couldn’t help but smile back up at him. 

“Say it again.” He whispered, closing his eyes. 

“I love you, Gray Fullbuster.” You said, your smile growing with each word. 

He opened his eyes, leaned down, and pressed a soft kiss to your lips. “I love you too baby girl.”

#gray x reader #gray fullbuster #gray fullbuster x reader #fairy tail x reader #fairy tail #fairy tail gray #fairy tail gray fullbuster #samanthaa-leanne

[konohamaru-sensei]

wrote more stuff at work for friendoes. (Kakashi x OC| Natsuo x OC | Hawks x OC | Obito x OC | Gray x Juvia | Jellal x Erza)

for @goodnightlover

prompt: "i didn't die." "you were dead to me."

__________

Before he could take one look into the guild hall someone viciously attacked Gray by throwing her whole body onto him. It was not like he hadn’t been ready for this specific ambush, no, Gray had been trained for this for many years and this point and braced his body to take in the impact. Maybe he had even slowed down a little upon getting to the Fairy Tail building, so that all his teammates entered before he did, leaving him outside with only his attacker. Maybe.

“Gray-sama,” Juvia chimed, her head snuggling against his cheek and he murmured defensively something about how she needed to stop, but left his head right there for hers to touch. He was also glad to see her again, it had been at least a month since the last time they had spoken and he had thought a lot about her since then, so he was glad to have her right by his side once more. Not that he would loudly proclaim these feelings, of course.

Juvia grabbed him and pulled him closer, her voice sounding a little like she was sulking: “Gray-sama was gone for so long, Juvia was all alone.”

“Nonsense,” Gray said and got out of her tight grip, “You were with the guild.” Juvia made a face and it told him what he already knew: Juvia liked the guild and the people there a lot, but she liked spending time with nobody as much as with him. He told himself that this was nothing to be proud of, but he still was. Feelings weren’t cooperating with him as much nowadays as they used to.

She finally fully let go off him and jumped back on her feet, the blue top that she was wearing revealed a part of her skin beneath. A shudder went through Gray as he caught a glimpse of the scar that sat on her hip there. He pressed his teeth together.

“Gray-sama isn’t listening, is he?” Juvia said, putting her face closer to his again to gain his attention. “What is he staring at?”

Gray averted his face away from hers, feeling a little heated in his ears with her so close. “When will you finally get rid of that scar?”

“Never,” Juvia didn’t even hesitate before she replied. “This scar reminds me of Gray-sama and the sacrifice we are willing to do for our love.”

“Well, it reminds me of failure.” He shook his head. “It reminds me that I have to get much stronger to be able to make sure such a sacrifice will never be necessary again.”

She clasped her hand together and was already half singing again. “Gray-sama is already so strong. Juvia thinks, he should trust more in his own strength and of course into her ability to protect him.” She blinked with her big, dark blue eyes at him.

Somehow her reply made him angry. He turned around to her directly. “But that is not how it should be!” Gray yelled, a little louder than maybe necessary, because the conversation in the guild hall suddenly came to a halt. He couldn’t stop himself anyway. “I should protect you. That’s how it should have been back then, and it should definitely be now. I don’t- I don’t ever want to see you dead again. That’s why I’m on this laughably long quest. That’s why I need to be stronger. That’s why I hate…” He tapped with his hand to his own, now magically naked, chest and circled the scar, “.. this scar that marks my utter failure.”

“But..,” she reached out her hands to lightly touch the back of his hands, “… Juvia didn’t die.”

“You were dead to me.”

Gray pulled his hand back and took a step away. “You were not moving, not breathing, your blood was not circulating in your body, but mine, keeping me alive while you were slipping away. And I couldn’t do anything, but watch yet again. You don’t understand how often I see this in my nightmares!” Yes, he could have checked the pulse a little longer, stayed by her side just for a few more minutes to watch help arrive. If he had been patient, if he hadn’t lost his cool, he’d known she was alright right away, but too many people had sacrificed themselves for him all through his life and when it was her it was just too much.

Juvia stood still in place, her hand still reached out to his that was now out of her reach. His anger puffed into smoke and his heart sank when he noticed the tears in the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry-,” she started, but he cut her off by stepping forward: “No, don’t- don’t apologise-“

“Fuck.” He picked up the hand that was still hanging in the air with both of his. “I don’t- don’t hate that scar this much. I don’t mind that you have it, I’m sorry for yelling.” There was very little that he hated more than Juvia crying because of something he had done. It had happened too often and needed to stop. “I’m sorry, okay.” Then, softer. “I – I know that you’ll always look after me and I am very thankful for that.”

She put her head down against his hands holding hers and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning his own head down so he could put his forehead into her hair. They just stood like this for a while until Natsu could be heard through the open doors: “Geesh, do all of ya need to be so damn dramatic?”

#there arent even fairies in this show! #gruvia #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #this got sooo much logner than necessary #fic tag

[kiliinstinct]

Chapter 28:

Rating: R Pairing: Nalu FF.Net || AO3 [Ch: 1] ||| [Prev] | [Next] Thanks to @phoenix-before-the-flame for their awesome Beta work, as usual. March Post Dates: 15th and the 28th (Yes, my Birthday!) April Post Dates: To Be Decided

When Gajeel was finally questioned, it was days after he'd willingly been led through the gates and brought into the dungeons. His cooperation led to an easy time of sitting around in proper chairs and choosing his own cot to bunk in, all while Kage sulked in his renewed prison. The shackles that scraped his wrists and ankles were a formality more than anything else; One he seemed unbothered by. 

His interrogation wasn’t in the official chambers where Makarov sought counsel with Erza, Laxus and Mirajane days before. Instead, when Laxus came to retrieve him, eyes narrowed and posture full of unspoken threats, he'd been led to a small room in the depths of the keep, where the draconis assumed was their chief’s private quarters.

While this was a curious turn of events for him, what made his studded brows rise was when Laxus irritably slammed the door behind him, leaving Gajeel alone with the short chieftain and no one else. The room was cramped, too small to host many occupants regardless, but he didn't even hear the click of the door lock. 

“Have a seat.” Makarov drawled, mustache twitching as he glanced his way. He was seated behind a grand red oak desk that filled nearly half the room. Tomes in messy piles and stacked parchments littered its surface, with odd knick knacks and baubles that didn’t quite fit thrown into the mix. He casually motioned to one other seat that Gajeel had almost missed. And rightly so, it was nothing more than the tiniest of stools, splintered beyond belief and standing on rickety legs despite the ashy burn marks that littered its surface: a stool made for a child.

“Yeah, no. Not sittin’ on that,” Gajeel replied dryly, leaning against the doorframe instead, “you sure about having me in a room alone with you, old man?”

“Why?” Makarov lowered his hand, confidence gleaming in his eyes, “Do you think you pose a danger to me?“

He shrugged, “Dunno, do I?” Lifting his shackled hands he bared his teeth in a sardonic grin, “or these give ya a sense of security?“

The old man's chuckle as he relaxed into his chair made Gajeel frown. Was he missing something here?

”I didn’t take you as a man to make jokes. If you were going to attempt anything, I think you would have already. A man of your strength could break those shackles in minutes.“

'Not even that.' He thought idly, but brushed the words aside as more thoughts gripped him, ”What would you know of my strength?“

”Boy,“ There was a near irresistible urge to snarl that Gajeel swallowed in the back of his throat, body bristling in offense, ”I've three clansmen all with the blood of Draconis in them. Surely you know that they scented you the moment you came near our walls?“

A chink in Gajeel's facade was finally made. His grin faltered with his confidence. Of course, he didn't doubt they'd catch a whiff of him if he'd smelled them, but to have passed that information along already? They were quick. The element of surprise was now lost, and that disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.

”That ruins my fun,“ He snorted, arms crossing in disdain, the shackles clacked together.

Another soft chuckle left Makarov as he propped his short legs on the edge of his desk, managing to look more indifferent than the large draconis had been. “I’ve been informed of your attunement. Metal I believe? Erza’s report of your camp was quite thorough.“

His eye twitched before he could control himself: another chink added.

”So I was right.“ He whistled, watching Gajeel with a keen eye that felt as if it were seeing straight through his mind. “A fascinating element to wield no doubt.”

When speaking with Jose, their banter always felt like a dance around threats and subtle digs of information towards one another. As if the other clan leader was always looking for a way in to sniff out Gajeel's weaknesses, but he never learned any more than what Gajeel chose to reveal.

In a span of a minute, here in this dinky room standing before a geriatric who hardly came up to his thigh, Gajeel felt uncharacteristically small. He didn’t like the clever glint in the old man’s eye or how he steepled his fingers. He didn’t like how he managed to learn what even his own clansmen didn’t know. This was a sensation that made bile rise in his throat, shame fueling the tension in his shoulders as hurt pride demanded he act out.

But he had more discipline then that and stayed still while his sharpened nails dug divots into his biceps. 

“Do you fairies always spoil the fun like this?” The question was pointed and petulant, but Gajeel felt he deserved the momentary childish barb. 

”Oh we have our own ways to have fun, I guarantee you.“ The old chief finally settled down into his seat, dropping the casual attitude as one drops a burning coal, ”Now, with that out of the way, do you want to remove those shackles or keep pretending you can't? I think we both know you wouldn't get very far if you attacked me anyway.“

That confidence was one thing shared between Makarov and Jose, Gajeel noted. A grim knowledge of one's own abilities. It was an asinine trait, but having the wind torn from his sails so soon into the conversation had left the draconis feeling out of sorts as he dragged his feet to finally sit down.

A part of him was more than satisfied when he heard the legs crack under his weight, struggling to stay intact. If he couldn't keep his abilities a secret longer than a day, fine. At least he had this. 

”Fine. You got me.“ He growled, not bothering to hide his irritation. ”But we're not here to discuss what I can do, are we? You got questions and I got the answers you need.“

”Now we're to the meat of the matter, very good,“ Makarov entwined his fingers under his chin and hummed in agreement, watching as Gajeel fiddled with the shackles but made no attempt to rip them off. He'd save that for later.

“Since you've made it obvious you come from Jose's clan,” The old man continued, voice dripping with acid at the name of the other leader, “Clearly you have a reason for giving us Kage without any demands for compensation. Before I ask you anything more pertinent, let me make one thing clear: Kage's return does not give you access to the Celestial your leader has been after and she's no bargaining chip. Are we clear?”

Gajeel snorted, his grin finally returning, “Crystal. She’s of no use to me anyway.”

And now, it finally felt as if he'd regained his foothold as he watched Makarov's stern expression drop. He decided to run with it, continuing before he could start his line of questions. Gajeel leaned forward, ignoring how the stool creaked as he propped his elbows on his knees.

“I’ll let you in on a secret. Jose thinks he sent me here to get on your good side, learn your towns in and outs and buddy up with you all before dragging the girl out by those golden locks he’s so obsessed with. That was the mission assigned to me,” The more he spoke, the more Makarov's expression changed, hardening into a silent, dangerous rage that fueled Gajeel's amusement.

“He still thinks that, and while I was down for playing along for a bit, there's no point in that now.”

“... and why is that?”

Gajeel's laugh dripped something close to madness, “Let me see your other Draconis members and I might tell ya.”

.

.

.

In the restless hours between Porlyusica begrudgingly giving Natsu the go ahead for freedom and the strange draconis being led through the gates, the Draconis of Fire was not sitting still. In fact, just outside the doors of the keep, he paced, snarling and spitting fiery fury each time he was dragged back to his quarters by those who watched him.

His fellow villagers were glad to see him on his feet. But still, they couldn’t help but wish that the old hermit had ordered him more time in his home. If only to give his frazzled keepers a break now that he was set loose. Keeping him confined to his home was infinitely easier than dragging him back to it after a long walk that always led to the keep; No matter how many times they'd convince Natsu to try a different path, to entice him elsewhere, he found one way or another to lead them back to his planned destination.

It was this constant back and forth and his demands to be let in that Makarov had found him before his meeting with Gajeel. In fact, he'd gone out specifically to settle the fiery man down, who refused to be calm and listen to reason.  Having the opportunity to tell his chief the truth about the newcomer had eased him minutely, but he continued to stay close, refusing all attempts to bring him home.

“You need to eat-” Max had attempted to lure him with the promise of a meal and he looked exhausted from the conversation, ”Seriously, Mirajane promised to cook a different kind of soup this time so-“

”Can eat it here.“ Natsu cackled, ignoring the hard stare of Wendy who'd come along. She was adamant to stay by his side ensuring he wouldn’t push himself too hard. He was talking more than he should, he knew, but the parchment Lucy had left behind was long consumed by his own flames and he hadn't the patience to bring anything similar with him.

”Seriously, Wendy. He’s being difficult. Maybe I should swap with Lucy-”  

Natsu's ferocious snarl ripped from him without thought, startling the other roma to silence. He muttered a quiet apology a moment later. The mere thought of Lucy being anywhere near the keep was too much. He wouldn't allow it. Considering Kage's attempts to kidnap her and the possible ties this new draconis had to Jose’s clan, Natsu would rather open his wounds than have her near

But he didn't bother saying this outloud, his feral snarls and disturbed pacing was enough to get the point across.

”... Natsu,“ Wendy mumbled, trying to placate him, ”Makarov already knows. No one's going to let Lucy get hurt, you know this. Please calm down.“

Her tired, meek tone was almost enough to mollify him, deflating at the look of her. She'd sat upon a nearby stump, fingers digging into the bark with claws she couldn't contain any longer. Their instincts were in sync with the arrival of a new draconis to their chosen flock and the knowledge he wasn't alone was sobering.

But he dug his heels into the dirt and shook his head, ”fine, but I ain't leaving.“

She sighed, looking at Natsu's current charge in sympathy. ”Maybe you should go get your replacement. You look like you could use some rest.“

”And leave him alone to bust the door down?“ The man asked, cringing at the thought, ”No offense to you Wendy, but I don’t think you can hold him down if he starts getting bright ideas.”

She pointed to her nose, sniffing the air as her eyes gleamed, Natsu caught the motion and immediately knew she had caught something in the air he'd missed, ”It's alright, he'll stay put.“

”Pfft, yeah right. Like I won’t-“ He began, following her action to taste the air. The wind had changed direction, something she would have sensed first before him and with that came the familiar scents of not just Erza, but the one person he hadn't wanted near at all, his statement changed in an instant, snarl returning through sharp teeth, ”Why is Erza bringing Lucy here?!”

Max stiffened with his eyes going wide as he began backing down the path. “You know what? Good idea, Wendy, I really SHOULD go. Have fun with that.“

It was almost comical how fast he booked it down the gravel path, shouting for Freed at the top of his lungs. At least it wasn't Warren, Natsu thought, that man's telepathy was irritating on a good day. He would hate having his every thought broadcasted.

But with the knowledge of Erza and Freed both coming his way, the Draconis knew he'd have little time to act and wasn't about to put Wendy in a rough spot in the scant minutes he had. A conundrum that left him grumbling in annoyed dissatisfaction.

”... do you really want Lucy to see you like this?“ Wendy asked under her breath eyeing him closely. The remark felt pointed, but the reason behind it was unknown to him.

”... What, mad? She's seen me mad before. Ain’t like this is new,“ He stated, letting her question distract him from the agitation still boiling under his skin, ”What's your point?“

”Well, uhm,“ She fumbled with the hem of her shirt, brows knitted together as she considered her next words, “since you two are together now, I thought you'd want to put your best foot forward. That's all.“

The restless anger that had him pacing disappeared with the wind, leaving him rooted on the spot. Confusion made him stare at with comically wide eyes as heat burst to his cheeks. His face felt far hotter than it should have as he spluttered, voice a blank monotone, ”Since we're what?“

His empty stare must have spoken more than his mouth  as Wendy turned a violent red. Tearing her gaze away, she wrung her hands nervously as she tripped over her words, “Oh-  are you not? I just could have sworn you-“ She cut herself off again, switching sentences on a dime, ”Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I completely- I thought-!“

An awkward laugh poured from his lips, cutting her off, fighting off the rising embarrassment that threatened to steal his voice. He asked hoarsely, dreading her reasoning but desperate to know all the same. “What did you think? Who said we're together?“

”You... you were covered in her scent the other morning,“ the air draconis explained, covering her beet red face, ”so I assumed. I'm sorry!“

It all clicked at that moment. The way she refused to meet his eyes the day before, the flush that dashed her cheeks when mentioning Lucy. Wendy's odd behavior had nothing to do with some private thing in her life distracting her but rather... Natsu's jaw dropped, staring quizzically in disbelief as the younger Draconis fidgeted in her seat.

When too many silent seconds passed, she began again, ”I really AM sor-“

”It's not the first time her scent’s been on me,“ Natsu said hurriedly, cutting her off again as he regathered his thoughts, ”I-It’s been on me before loads of times. Like... this ain't known? Why would now suddenly mean we're a thing?“

Wendy whined, peeking through her fingers at him, ”All over your face Natsu?! Her scent’s never been on your face before! And when we were coming to see you she bumped into us and- and- Your scent was all over her neck! What was I supposed to think?!“ 

Her voice cracked, striking a new octave strong enough to make his ears ring. He tried to hurriedly defend himself, but words didn’t escape-  That didn’t mean anything! That was because he-

His teeth clacked at how quickly he shut his mouth as the memories of his escape with Lucy came flooding back.

He was hardly aware of himself, too tired and comfortable to argue with Lucy when she was being weird. So he did the first thing that came to his mind, sinking his teeth in her ear. He didn’t remember much after, with sleep claiming him as he rested his head in the crook of her neck. It was the most restful sleep he’d had in a while before Kage’s scent forced him awake again. 

It felt right in the moment but now, during the day, wide awake and running on adrenaline, he finally pieced together why Lucy had reprimanded the action. He hadn't meant it the way Wendy had translated it, but -

He choked out a squeak, an oddly shrill sound that made Wendy jump in her seat. If she could smell that, then that means- ”... oh god the old lady….does she…?“

Wendy could only nod and Natsu felt another stone drop into the pit of his stomach. The approaching scent of the girl in this scenario was a staunch reminder of how little time they had left to talk privately and each second slammed another fact straight through Natsu's brain. 

Why had he been so touchy? Not just then, but lately? How often did he cross that line with Lucy and not realize it?

It was too much to think about. He decided, teeth grinding, especially with two enemies currently in the keep. Changing directions, he stuffed the thoughts of Lucy into the back of his mind (to hopefully forget), and spun towards the door of the keep. There were more pressing matters at hand. Wendy leapt from her seat, latching herself to his arm. A surge of wind wrapped itself around them, gently pushing Natsu away from the door.

”No, no, no!“ She cried, face still a flaming red. He could feel her heated cheeks against his arm and guiltily looked to his feet, still attempting to walk forward, ”Natsuuu, I really AM sorry, but you can't go in there! I swear I mostly kept it to myself so-“

He froze when she did, both realizing the emphasis she put on 'mostly.' With a voice lowering to such a whisper that his own ears could barely catch it, he tilted his gaze back to her, ”... mostly?“

”Oh no!“ She flinched, burying her face into his bicep while her fingers dug into his skin, ”I didn't mean that-! Well, I mean, I did, but it wasn't supposed to happen-'. He didn't stop her rambling, but the way they both could now hear Erza and Lucy's voice down the path helped spur her to get to the point.

“It’s just the old lady right? Only she knows?” He hissed.

Wendy gnawed at her bottom lip guiltily. ”I…..may have accidentally let it slip near Gray...“

No.

Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, she hesitantly added, “... who was... talking to Cana.”

NO.

“Oh you’ve gotta be fucki-” Horrors upon horrors fell upon Natsu's shoulders. He needed to get inside the keep to see the old man again. Or connect his fist with something solid, like the face of that strange draconis before anything else happened. His exclamation however, was interrupted before he could finish the thought.

“Natsu!” Erza bellowed, commanding voice cutting through the air. They both froze.  She was on a warpath barrelling towards them in armored fury, leaving Lucy behind to watch with unhurried steps. “If you think you can bully Wendy into letting you in -”

Wendy looked just as overwhelmed as Natsu felt, ducking behind him to hide from her wrath. She sprang into action at Erza’s accusation, peeking out to wave frantically to the angered woman, ”It's all right! He wasn't trying to go in, I swear!“

Eyes shifted to meet Natsu’s in a silent plea, making him force a grin (albeit a terrified one) and nodded, ”Was just teasing her! I wouldn't put Wendy through that, haha.“

But then his eyes narrowed, hoping his fellow draconis would catch the underlying, 'this doesn't make up for it' message behind it. Nodding, she accepted the claim, as both seemed to take on a more relaxed air with practiced ease. 

First he needed to chuck a pillow at Makarov and Freed. Now he had to noogie Wendy and prank her. How many people were going to get added to his 'be an annoyance' list before this week was through? 

”Ah, very good then,” Erza said, her approach slowing when she caught up. She eyed them both suspiciously despite their assurances, but thought better than to continue the line of thought. Rather, she examined Natsu from head to toe and frowned deeply.

“Shouldn't you sit down?” She questioned, “While I understand your need for exercise, you've been out of bed for some time now. You should rest your legs.”

Natsu rolled his eyes and snorted. Seriously he wasn’t gonna keel over if he stood up.

“I'm fine-” Natsu cut himself off, looking over Erza's shoulder to meet the brown eyes of a certain celestial Romni finally catching up to them.

“It really doesn't matter what state you're in,” She beamed, face practically glowing with her greeting, “You're still ready to cause trouble, aren't you?”

“I-” Suddenly, words became difficult all over again. As if the damage in his throat had returned tenfold, forgetting all the hours and magic put behind healing it. He couldn't find the words to reply to her and laughed breathlessly.

At Wendy's curiously wide stare, he shook his head to regain his thoughts and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, ”I'm just... tryna to make sure no one else gets hurt. That's all.“

And that was the perfect distraction he needed, eyes narrowing as he remembered his earlier ire. At his sudden glare, Erza matched his expression and crossed her arms. ”What’s the big idea bringing Lucy up here anyway?”

”I don't see why not.”

“There's TWO good reasons inside those doors-!”

Before Natsu and Erza could continue, Lucy jumped between them with hands on her hips, eyes glinting dangerously in his direction. “I thought we got over this speaking as if I'm not RIGHT here half a year ago?”

He flinched, “Ah... but I-“

Her expression soured, “But?“ She repeated, a hint of her magic sizzling in the air.

The return of her magic threatened to pull a grin out of Natsu, but the scent of danger radiating off her made him immediately backpedal, ”Nothing! Sorry!“

”Thank you.“ 

He didn't miss the way Wendy inhaled sharply, giving him the most deadpanned stare he'd ever seen from her.

While Natsu chose to ignore Wendy, he looked to Erza who avoided his gaze. Whatever her reasoning for bringing Lucy along, it would remain a mystery.  And rather than risk angering her further, he moved to claim Wendy’s stump, flopping onto it with a dramatic huff.  His thoughts had been in disarray since leaving his home, But now this? It was too much to think about.  Not today, he could think about it another day.

Lucy, on the other hand, took the moment to question Wendy about the draconis' inability to stay home now that he'd been given permission to walk around. Recounting the tale of Natsu's exploits against the keep door had her exasperated in seconds, but her smile grew at a subtle humor as well.

Erza had fallen silent. She vaguely listened with a curious expression. Yet her eyes flickered from place to place, unable to stay focused. 

In fact, Natsu noticed once he'd broken through his own sulking, the redhead could barely stand still: feet shifted and fingers drummed along her forearm. Once or twice her gaze settled on a specific room attached to the keep before darting back to Wendy and Lucy's conversation.

Natsu knew restless energy enough to recognize it in Erza and her revealing it was fascinating enough to distract most of his errant thoughts.

“In a hurry to go somewhere?” He cocked his head and waited for a response, surprised when Erza jumped. That was... not normal. 

“Not particularly,” Her breezy reply was too controlled and Natsu didn't buy it for a second. Ignoring Wendy and Lucy's sudden silence, he hardened his gaze and waited until Erza's uncharacterized fidgeting grew even more so, “why are you looking at me like that?”

“Why are you lying?” He countered, voice cutting sharp through the cracks of his throat.

With eye twitching, her tone dropped to a hiss, “Not everything needs to be YOUR business.”

Fear shot through his system like lightning and he gulped. Abort! Abort! “Fine, whatever! I bet it's something girly anyways.”

“You're clearly trying to provoke me,“ she crossed her arms, fiddling with straps of her leather bracers, ”considering your injuries, I'll choose to ignore it: back. off.“

Foolishly realizing he'd backed himself into a corner, Natsu was stuck between pushing her buttons further or doing just as Erza suggested. Whatever was on her mind, it wasn't worth the risk, but the curious gazes from Lucy and Wendy began to crack Erza's shell as a blush crept down her neck.

There wasn't a chance to call it out, as those flickering eyes finally caught something in the distance, widening in relief. “Ah, your charge has finally arrived. Good. I can go then.”

“Wait,” Lucy chimed in, puzzled, “what was the point in bringing me if you're just going to leave-“

Her question went unanswered as Erza beat a hasty retreat towards the keep. Turning right at the entry door, she entered the side building, where Natsu realized the smell of their other stranger was currently dwelling. His eyes narrowed as she slipped inside. Odd, but not important enough to dwell on now, not when Freed and Levy's scent invaded his senses.

”Oh, that's what she meant,“ Wendy clarified, ”He was downwind and I couldn't smell him.“ And his rising voice, chatting about the inner meanings behind rune writing and enchantments, went over all of their heads except for the short romni who walked beside him eyes gleaming in excited interest.

”Tch,“ He grumbled, ”getting more crowded by the minute.“

Now how was he going to sneak into the keep with not two, but four pairs of eyes here to watch him?! He sulked so far down into himself that he slid off the stump. Some day out this turned out to be.

.

.

.

Natsu was right to question Erza's actions. She was flustered from his perceptive senses,  annoyingly sniffing out her calm ruse. But a different worry weighed heavily on her mind, one that had her hanging on the edge with apprehension. Her old friend and temporary guest was at risk of being imprisoned right along with the other two. And his fate entirely hinged on the answers he gave in the next hour.

Her intentions with Lucy and waiting for Natsu's next keeper to arrive were layered. While Freed recovered quickly and was back to his prime, even she'd noticed Natsu's penchant for calming down around Lucy. It was an effect that garnered Erza's curiosity as well as mystified her; If it meant easing everyone’s frustrations, then it was an effect she was willing to put to use.

But she had to admit to herself, there was an altogether different motive to her actions today.  

She knocked on the door to Jellal's current quarters mostly out of polite tradition, but didn't bother waiting for permission. Using it as her introduction, she entered the small room that had once been used for storage and immediately looked for the current subject of her thoughts.

She didn't have to look long.

Jellal made it easy and the size of the room gave no options for hiding either way. Seated by a makeshift table of old barrels, he pored over a book he'd brought along with him, brows furrowed in concentration. It gave the impression he hadn't heard her at all, but the subtle pause when he skipped the page told her otherwise.  

This gave her ample time to get comfortable, grabbing the nearest, rickety chair and  barring the door from other potential visitors. Silence built between them as she watched him flip through another page, clearing his throat at odd intervals. She took the time to study his profile, noting the changes from the time she'd seen him two years earlier.

His hair was a mess, shaggier than she was used to and sheared unevenly as strands of blue brushed along his shoulders. What once was a man of pale skin, now looked tan as if he'd been under the sun for months of travel, but most noticeably, was the red tattoo etched into the right side of his face.

”You didn't have that when we last met,“ She broke the silence, pleased when he paused in his reading, softly shutting the book with a finger marking his place.  

He glanced back with a light smile crinkling his eyes.  He knew he should’ve greeted her when she came in, but he was too engrossed in the pages to pull himself away so soon.

”Many members of my clan become tattooed once they reach a certain age,“ He explained, trailing a hand along the red lines thoughtfully, ”In my case, this was due to a promotion in rank, more than anything else.“

”... does this rank perhaps have anything to do with why you sought me out?“ The question was pointed, seeing no reason to dodge the meat of the matter. 

Chuckling, Jellal shrugged, ”Ah, so we're starting this so soon?“

She murmured his name in a soft warning, eyes narrowing, “I've given Makarov my faith in you, but that doesn't mean I'm allowed to avoid protocol. I need to know why you're here.”

“And I suppose wanting to see an old friend isn't a good enough reason?” He asked, voice lowering as he looked at his book, not expecting an answer, “it would be ridiculous to assume I miraculously found your location out of a drive to see you again, but I won't lie and say I didn't wish it were the truth.”

She warmed at his confession, the implication plain as she coughed into her arm to hide it, “Please, be serious. If you don't answer me honestly, I'll have no say in where you end up next. It'll be out of my hands.”

“My apologies.“ The book was set aside and he turned in his seat fully facing her. ”Then you want to know what reason could I possibly have to work with a man whose clan has made attempts on your family's life all for the sake of kidnapping a certain girl. Am I correct?“

Erza's teeth clenched and she nodded, allowing him to continue. A few seconds passed in awkward silence and she feared he wasn't going to continue, but eventually Jellal hummed and pulled the sleeves back on his hands, holding his arms to the dim light for her to see.

His hands trembled as he held them aloft from strain of a secret shame she knew nothing of, but she spied the thin faded lines of old scrapes that litterred his skin under the sickly purples of fading bruises. They coiled around his arms and fingers, and drew her attention to what he quietly wanted her to see.

His wrists were swollen with old rope burns and she bit back a gasp. She hadn’t seen them before, and bile climbed into her throat as she wondered just how they looked before Porlyusica had a look at them.

She knew immediately what he intended to tell her. “... you were imprisoned by them.”

He nodded, covering his arms with a swift flourish, “the only one I consider myself allied with is Gajeel. Even then, it's merely out of convenience. If not for him, I'd still be tied up like some animal.”

Shocked, Erza tried to put the pieces together despite missing far too many points for a clear picture, ”I need you to tell me the whole story. Please.“

Wetting his lips with a swipe of his tongue, Jellal took a second to consider and nodded. “Jose is looking for a celestial, but he’s doing so blindly. He has no idea which one he needs so any of us not hidden to the North are fair game. When I was in their camp, Erza, I heard him boasting that he'd finally found the right one. The one your clan has taken in. A girl of golden hair whose family was massacred a year ago. I’d heard of their demise and grieved deeply for them, but I had to see for myself if there was a survivor. And if Jose was right.” 

“Right? Right about what? What would he need a celestial for?” She pressed, voice growing cold.

“There are numerous myths and legends in my tribe, Erza,” he said amiably, running a finger along the spine of his forgotten book, “and I honestly can't say I know for sure, but... this book may hold the answer. Gajeel had it. Swiped it from Jose himself, I imagine. It may hold the answers you and I both seek.”

“And Gajeel?” She asked, “what's his angle?”

He fell silent, for the first time since their chat began, he looked insecure, uncertain. ”That man has many secrets and faces. I don't think he ever lays out his full hand for anyone, but he's made it clear he doesn't plan on bringing the girl to Jose. He has his own agenda.“

Exhaling, all the tension Erza had upon entering the room fell off her shoulders. She couldn't sense an ounce of dishonesty in his words, and it was more than enough for her to feel Makarov would allow him to stay.

”Then I can only hope Makarov is able to figure out his motives for the rest of us.“ There were still many unknowns, but at least this much seemed to be in their favor.

Unfortunately, he didn't share her optimism as his lips thinned into a grimace, “I can assure you that he will speak the truth when the time comes, but he'll do everything he can to avoid sharing all that he knows. I can vouch that we're not here to cause trouble, but any further than that, is a mystery.”

“Thank you for being upfront with me,” Erza was emphatic with her words, her interest now falling on the book he was carefully studying, “... would you like to meet her?”

“Her?” Jellal blinked and Erza beamed.

”Lucy,“ She said, ”you are technically cousins, are you not?”

.

.

.

Night fell quickly for those who wanted to spend more time out and about. Natsu in particular, though distracted by his friends as best as they could, fumed at the wasted day. By the time the chill started to creep into the air, he'd been whisked back to his home and the night crickets serenaded the night sky by his window.

Erza remained in Jellal's room for hours, learning what she could and catching up with her old friend. When she fell into the comfort of her own bed, her mind buzzed with information and puzzle pieces that were far too varied to connect.  

Makarov, too, rested with his mind surrounded by deep thoughts. He frowned as he recalled his conversation with the new Draconis and tossed and turned above his furs until a fitful sleep claimed him.

It was a night full of peace and restless unease teetering back and forth on scales, waiting to balance out. Even Gajeel, given a small room to rest in, laid on a cramped cot that barely held his frame. Long hair trailed down in a wild mass to brush the floor that he swept up to rest on his chest. He smirked, combing his fingers through the long locks. His talk with Makarov led him one step closer to his goals and the shackles had been removed.

But he caught the slide of a wooden board and the familiar bolt of iron latches being shoved into place, effectively locking him. And the nearest window was too narrow for him to slip through.  He fiddled with the random baubles in his pockets and studied the ceiling above him, mind abuzz with possibilities. 

His travel partner, Juvia, should have made it back to Jose by now, he figured. While the woman was more reserved, willing to follow orders than lead, he trusted she'd feed Jose the information they agreed upon and stay at the other chief's side in his absence. She could take care of it, but that left him with his other goal. He thought it would take longer to find what he needed, but everything had fallen into his lap with very little effort. 

Withdrawing his hand from his pocket, he cupped a blue gem nestled in his palm. He eyed the small orb lazily, throwing his other arm behind his head. It glowed slightly in the darkness, and it hummed with a magic all of its own that he could feel lightly tugging against him. Beautiful and rare; a gem that could be mined in the depths of his true home. He rubbed a smudge off it and snorted, glaring into its translucent surface as if peering into a far off space.

“Now I know I ain’t taking that long for you to stop paying attention to this thing,” He said dryly as one does to a person standing in front of them. “It's only been what? Four years? Don’t tell me my old man was right about you givin’ up.”

It was a tasteless barb, one that held no heat, but sparked a response in the gem. The shimmering mass of liquid inside flickered and spun itself into an image pieced together by bits of light until he saw the innards of an old cave, illuminated by thousands of gems in its likeness. It refocused on the silhouette of an older man, peering back into its depths as he growled in turn.

”Your father,“ The man said, rolling his eyes, ”has lost the bet. He thought it would take you another ten. Good to see you alive, kid.”

He cursed, already annoyed two seconds into the conversation, “Of course he did, the ass. You're looking rather alive today, have you been able to see the sun more than once a month?”

The voice in the gem grumbled, ”You're as insufferable as he is. Get on with it. I doubt you're using up the magic in your lacrima for pleasantries.“

”Gihee, maybe I just wanna string you along just to piss-“

”Gajeel.“ The voice rumbled and the gem shook violently, spiking with heat as magic flared within its depths and somehow, so did the walls of his room. Dust fell from the ceiling and onto Gajeel’s shoulders as he flew up, stiff and alert,  glancing wildly around. He strained to hear any signs of others becoming aware of the magic surge. A beat passed and he sighed. Good, no one was alerted. He refocused on the gem and squeezed it tight with a snarl. 

“Cheating asshole,” He spat. What was it with old men ruining his fun today? “Your good ol’ pal and rival has been busy makin' connections, but he ain't got what he wants yet. On the other hand, I got exactly what YOU want.”

“...meaning?”

He smirked, eyes wild with brimming excitement, “he's here. I found him.”

Another flare of heat came from the gem, strong enough to crack the surface. But the break didn’t matter as the light began to fade. The lacrima, made to send only one simple message, had lost its stored power. With his message sent and the sudden chaos of shocked shouts within the stone cut out. Chuckling, Gajeel pocketed the stone to charge it with his magic once again. Now in a much better mood than he was before.

His whistling echoed off the walls and down the hall of the keep. The balanced scales teetered once again as the uneasy restlessness was overpowered by a sudden peace.

The village settled. Stars sparkled their light along with the moon above, and somewhere far off on the edges of the Magnolia forest, another camp settled to sleep as well.

All, but one. The Phantom Chief, receiving news from a reserved woman who recently returned. Her report was given succinctly and he'd waved her off with an impassive facade.

In truth, he was holding back cackling loud into the night. It would only be a matter of time for him to get what he wanted: glorious. 

He'd have to promote Gajeel when he returned and maybe commend Kage as well: if the lowly peon managed to survive.

#nalu #fairy tail #fairy tail fanfiction #natsuxlucy #Natsu Dragneel #Lucy Heartfilia #FT Fanfiction #My Writing #Kili's Fanfiction #Gajeel Redfox #Wendy Marvell #Erza Scarlet #jellal fernandes #did i hint to jerza? #yeah probably

[itzgruvia]

Gruvia Week 2024

Day 2: Perserverance.

type: soft/fluff/attempt of Humor, comfort.

characters: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Cana Alberona, Gajeel Redfox, and Jason.

This fanfic is also available in AO3.

"Juvia! Hurry or we'll watch it without you!" Lucy's voice rang through Gray and Juvia's house as she called for her "friend. And Juvia really wished she ceased to exist in this moment.

Her interview with Jason was released today in the Lacirama TV and it's going to be viewed worldwide, that itself was stressful for Juvia, it doesn't make it any better that Jason did not mention that her footage will be released all across Fiore.

That liar.

"i am coming!" she sighed, her heart accelerating with anxiety.

she brought the tray of food with her, they were just simple snacks she made for Natsu since she knows he'll ask about them in the middle of their watching session, and she doesn't want him to eat everything that's in her fridge.

Once Juvia came in to the living room everyone was hooked into the screen, except for Gray (and Natsu because he sniffed the snacks) who was leaning by the side of their navy blue coach, he was probably worried that she might not be comfortable.

It eased Juvia's heart a bit.

"Cheer up, it's just an interview" He said, as she bent down to put the tray on their small wooden table.

"Right, it is just an interview witnessed by the whole population of Fiore" she replied, anxiously rubbing her hands over each other. she felt Gray's hand rubbing her arm in comfort and leaned closer to her ear.

"do you want me to tell them to leave?" He suggested.

it's ideal to accept his offer since Gray isn't ashamed of calling out people, or to deny anyone's request if it doesn't sit well with her, it made her stomach flutter with awe.But she couldn't just kick her friends out, it doesn't feel right, especially since they are here for the sake of supporting her.

they don't exactly know why Juvia is avoiding the interview. Just thinking about that answer makes her fume with embarrassment, she hopes she'll melt by then.

Juvia looked at him warmly, and shook her head "Thank you Darling, Juvia appreciates it" she gave a tight grab to his hand and he smiled back, although he is unsure about her response.

Cana waved over for her to sit next in between her and Erza :" come over here star girl" she called her over with a smirk in her face, the nickname makes Juvia cringe internally.

"please don't call me that Cana" she sat down, Cana wrapped her arm over her shoulders.

"why do you feel embarrassed anyways? we are you friends, we won't judge you" her red-haired friend said while she drank tea. Juvia knows she is right but this is about Juvia's hidden guilty pleasure and she doesn't want to be laughed at or brought up to the guild.

Juvia just hummed in acknowledgment.

" besides, you've done enough embarrassing things in your life, this is nothing against it" Gajeel added, Juvia was unimpressed with his teasing and wanted to wipe off that smirk from his face.

Natsu only chuckled at that with his mouth full of blue berry biscuits she baked this morning.

"Maybe shut up and let us hear the interview? it's about to start" and comes her lover to the rescue as usual, even though she did not find the joke bothersome, it is nice to know that Gray is protective of her feelings, he doesn't show it most of the time but when he does, it's subtle, and it always catches Juvia off guard.

"Hello everyone! and welcome back to our show of Q and A with our famous mages!!" Natsu groaned as the rowdy voice disturbed his highly sensitive ears.

"why does he have to do that all the time?" he complained, while rubbing his ears gently.

"Someone has to break the news to him" Lucy added from her seat on the love chair, a frown of irritation was visible on her face.

everyone couldn't agree more, he is a good interviewer but too enthusiastic.

"today we are ready to show you our special guest! she is classy , calm like the water! gentle as the sea but also scary as the turbulence of the ocean! She was a former enemy of FairyTail!" everyone complained about the comment he made, it was completely unnecessary to bring up past disputes and mistakes, but for Juvia it wasn't that bad, even if she wants to wipe away her crimes from her past, that was still something part of her.

" an S-class mage who summons the rain around her, everyone, make some noise for....JUVIA LOCKSER OF THE SEA!!!" there was an added footage of clapping heard from the TV, and flashing lights to make her entrance exciting, it is evident that he put a lot of efforts to make it 'cool' like he usually says.

Juvia's face finally appeared on the screen.

"Here's our girl!" Cana commented, her smile brightening up, Juvia blushed slightly from the attention.

the first questions were all introductory, how Juvia was feeling today, what she ate in the morning and what she is wearing ect, then comes the part of Fans Questions that Jason usually calls FanQs, they are letters sent to the Lacirama device using an app that connects socially to everyone in the world, they get to choose the most interesting questions.

"So Juvia, how come you weren't so tired of pursuing Gray Fullbuster? wasn't he avoiding every affection?" Gray cleared his throat awkwardly, although he is trying to play it  nonchalant but Juvia can feel that he was guilty about it.

"oh, well Juvia did feel tired sometimes but she didn't fell out of love just because Gray-sama didn't love me the way I l oved him, Juvia was happy just seeing him by my side"

"ohhh what an answer!" Cana said.

"Ugh"

"That's adorable!"

"if I were you, I'd leave him" Natsu claimed, that earned him a slap behind his head from Gray.

"Cool!cool! so cool!" Jason exclaimed, making the camera shake with him:" another question from the fans, how do you keep on loving someone without feeling a burnout?"

Juvia took a moment to reply to the question, she hummed in contemplation :" Juvia thinks is because of Perseverance, Juvia didn't expect Gray-sama to fall in love with me, she just focused on being there with him every moment, if he needed help Juvia will be there, and if he needed space she will give him that"

" you would huh" Gray teased, and Juvia looked away shyly, it wasn't completely a lie but she remembered how persistent she was back then, a simple no from him wouldn't make her leave immediately.

"Cool, cool! and very romantically cool!" Juvia just smiled, averting her eyes from the camera in shyness.

"is this why you were acting embarrassed all day?" Erza asked, her cup of tea already empty.

"no, Juvia will never shy away from showing her love towards Gray-sama" she replied confidently.

And then she remembered the unsettling sensation in her stomach, soon they will realize her hidden hobby that would make the world laugh at her. She clinched her teeth.

"then why do you look like Jason is going to reveal some top secret of yours?" Erza's questions were making Juvia feel more nervous than before, especially when her brown eyes are regrading her as if she is hiding something.

"Um..." she couldn't master up any words to cover up her anxious demeanor.

"And now to the last question from the lovely fans! what is Juvia Lockser's guilty pleasure! I am sure every famous mage has some hidden hobby that makes them feel cool! so cool!"

Juvia's smile froze awkwardly on the screen, as if she was caught red-handed.

"well! Juvia is feeling tired, I should probably take a nap-" as she abruptly got up from the couch startling her friends in the process, two big hands caught her shoulders and pushed her gently and firmly down to her seat.

"sit down" Gajeel demanded, still looking at the TV.

Juvia starting to feel the heat temperature rise up.

"is there any chance Juvia could avoid this question?" she asked with shyness, and a bit guilty, she doesn't like to disappoint her fans.

"No sorry Miss Lockser, it's against the rules of FanService" he responded bluntly, Juvia knew that there was no way out to deny a journalist who has a great amount of zeal and curiosity as Jason's, and she can not make up a lie in front her fans, it makes her feel superficial.

she took a breather and sighed.

"alright, if that's what the fans want" she looked at the camera head on "In Juvia's free time, I make puppet shows alone in my apartment, I have my own puppets that I knitted and ... yes... Juvia enjoys it "

"this won't be aired all over Fiore, right?" she whispered to him and he eagerly shook his head as a yes.

"of course Miss Lockser! rest assured it is just a test for our new show!"

she should have denied agreeing with him that day.

There was silence in Juvia and Gray's salon except for the cool chanting of Jason's as he ended the show, Juvia had her face hidden behind her hands, she couldn't face her friends after her revelation, actually, she doesn't think she could face anyone in Fiore.

" That's what got you anxious the whole day?" Gray asked with a hint of amusement; she looked up at her lover who was smiling at her, and not in a teasing way but actually in wonder.

her friends were all looking at her exceptionally, as if they were waiting for her to mention something.

"what?" she asked dumbly. "Juvia you make puppet shows! that's amazing!" Lucy started, and walked excitedly towards her friend.

"yeah, puppet shows are so fun, I remember watching one when I was so little, I died laughing" Cana added with the same range of enthusiasm.

"wait so.. you don't find this embarrassing?" She asked, her friends complained loudly.

"what's there to be embarrassed about? they are just puppets" Gajeel replied, his gaze

held a little bit of softness as he looked down at her.

"well, they are puppets talking to each other and ...making voices?" she tried to find a reason to make her hobby sound unusual to her friends, but they don't seem to find it that way except for fun and creative.

"Not to mention, they are very hard to make, and it costs a lot for the material" Erza added, her eyes held a sense of pride, it made Juvia feel comforted compared to before.

"I definitely want a puppet show every time I get back from a mission" Natsu claimed. The cookie plate was all empty and no crumbs were seen.

"so why not make us one tomorrow?" He suggested, he tried to grab another cookie and found nothing but air, he grunted in disappointment.

After their friends left their house, it was filled with a good quiet ambiance, the coffee odor was filling it instead, Gray was making two cups and setting a muffin plate (that he kept hidden from Natsu because he ate too much) for their table.

"that was ... completely unexpected! Juvia's puppet show is not ridiculous?" announced the blue-haired mage as she paced around the living room back and forth, to connect the events that happened.

Gray just hummed, she knows that she kept on bringing it up, and even if her lover advised her to sit down while he started making the brunch, she couldn't help the buzzing excitement and the overwhelming sensation.

" Juvia has to make the best puppet show tomorrow! because imagine if she disappoints them?" she turned around to her Gray as he came by with the muffin plate and the two cups of coffee.

"how about you sit down first and then we'll worry about it?"

She finally sat down with the bitter taste of coffee in her mouth, drinking it slowly as she looked at the Lacirama Television showing Juvia's magazine with "PERSEVERANCE" as the headline title.

the magazine opened straight to Juvia's page, showing the passage of her interview that she had with Jason.

"Perseverance was something Juvia held to so she can keep on going, and not only to win Gray-sama's heart but it is also to find true self and to grow into someone I w ant, it wasn't easy of course, but if you obtain this as a trait, Trust me you'll accomplish anything you set your mind to, Juvia promises you that"

comments of fans were displayed under the passage, they were all showing their support and gratitude to what she said. it was heartwarming.

she felt Gray's lips on her cheek, she felt her heart about to explode.

" I'm v er y proud of you" he said softly, looking at her with amazement and love, and all Juvia could do was scream inside a pillow.

her perseverance was worth it.

#gruvia week 2024 #gray fullbuster #fairy tail #juvia lockser #fairy tail juvia #juvia loxar #fairy tail 100 years quest #gruvia #gray x juvia

[t0ast3ry]

FAIRYTAIL HEADCANONS

By toast

-at this point there's a box at the guild acting like a lost and found for gray when he looses his clothes and cant find them

-i feel like Lucy would carry around those fire blankets to put out fires when natsu gets too reckless

-erza is probably the best person to go sweets shopping with because she's friends with almost every bakery owner in every town shes done a job in

-i feel like at some point since carriages are pulled by donkeys/horses n they walk a lil slow natsu would just walk along side the carriages when the journey is too long.that or he'd ride on the horse considering it's not a vehicle???????

-gajeel probably gives advice on piercings while fighting enemies

-laxus seems like the type to listen to bossmusic while he's lighting because it makes him feel more badass

-natsu probably gossips to Lucy unintentionally because of his dragon hearing

-" on that note,natsu probably mutters under his breath replies to convos he hears in the distance nobody else hears and people think he talks to himself

-i like the idea of gray chewing on his own ice

-elfmans sandals are probably deadgive aways on missions so he sucks at stealth and hiding(I mean considering his size I feel like hiding is already a far stretch

I don't know if any of these headcanons have already been said but I will say that I thought of these on the top of my head and if it is similar to anyone's I DID NOT COPY THEM Purely coincidence. Let me know if you want more!!!!

#fairy tail #nalu fandom #gray fullbuster #erza scarlet #elfman strauss #laxus dreyar #fairytail lucy #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #headcanon

[houseoflibra-if]

What do the ROs voices sound like? Are there any specific accents you're imagining for them as well?

Hello, I apologise for the late reply but I will answer these question together since it's the same thing.

It took me a while to find voices that fit my characters, so take what I will write down here with a grain of salt. It isn't perfect, but it's what I envision for now.

Voices:

A: They have a rich voice, one that isn't too deep but not too light. Their tone of voice is is mainly friendly, but they may sound uptight at times. (Avira sounds similar to the English dub of Erza from Fairytail. I haven't found one for Aurelius yet.)

C: Their voice is on the lighter side compared to the rest of the ROs. They may sound haughty at times, and their tone of voice is mainly sarcastic. (I would say their attitude in terms of speaking is vaguely similar to rarity from my little pony.)

E: Their voice is on the deeper side, and they usually maintain a low tone of speaking. E has a rich and deep voice which helps them to intimidate people (for fun). (They really do bring out the typical cold type of character in terms of speaking manner lmao)

N: Similar to E, their voice is deep. But N's voice is also husky. Due to their nature, they tend to drag their pronunciation of the letter 's' at times, but they can hide it pretty well. N has a wide vocal range though, they are capable of talking in a higher pitch but their natural voice is deep.

As for the accents, I'm not too sure what to put yet. As such I won't give out any answers on that for now, sorry!

#house of libra resurgemus #interactive fiction #twine if #ask #interactive game #ro #ro:nyoka #ro:castora/castor #ro:esme/esmeray #ro:avira/aurelius

[invaderhogtwopointohno]

The Flash (2023) Spoilers:

I have a lot of thoughts about this movie (not interested in getting into Erza Miller, you can decide on your own about them.) but I really gotta say I loved this movie for many reasons: the biggest being that the entire theme of the movie is that the experiences that we endure, good or bad, shape our world view in dramatic ways and make us the heroes or villains that we eventually become.

Justice League!Barry experiences the traumatic death of his mother in a different way than it’s usually- in most versions of the Flash his mother is still murdered but he is either with his father or not there, but the absolute devastation that Barry was literally just lying on the floor up in his room working on his homework when his mother was murdered and he didn’t even hear anything? That really changes his sense of powerlessness in her death.

JL!Barry is shaped by this event- his father being blamed for his mother’s death, going to prison, Barry’s constant fight for the truth through his work at Central City’s crime lab, even if he is not appreciated there. This sets Barry down his path to being a hero because he endures that experience for several years and is very verbal in his pursuit of justice. He even says that he doesn’t have grand dreams about catching his mother’s killer, he just wants to get his father out of prison for it- he doesn’t care why or who did it- he just wants his family back.

Alt!Barry does not have that trauma. That is the whole reason why he is not worthy of his powers. We laugh at the Flash because he’s silly and fun and the heart of the Justice League (he even comments that he feels like he’s a glorified janitor) but his powers are so god-like that we have seen what happens when someone way more evil has access to them. JL!Barry has had the experience of learning his powers, understanding the limits and the conditions and the dangers of them- his experiences have shaped him into the hero that he is.

When they are in Russia and they realize that they haven’t found Superman, Barry doesn’t hesitate to save Kara anyway, even without his powers, because he is a hero- he has always been a hero. Alt!Barry doesn’t know what to do- he doesn’t make the heroic choice without thinking. He gets upset when he gets shot (even though he has super healing so he’ll be fine in like a few seconds) and gets angry at JL!Barry for not explaining that they can be hurt.

JL!Barry’s reply is actually really important in highlighting the huge difference between them “How come you didn’t tell me we could be shot!?” -”Why would you assume we couldn’t?” This is the big tell that their life experiences are so vastly different because Alt!Barry thought with his super powers he was invincible, he was a walking god- but that is not the reality. After learning that JL!Barry had messed with the timeline to save his mother’s life- thus creating the universe they were in that will inevitably be destroyed because of his interference, Alt!Barry just assumes that he can fix everything to.

“Sometimes there is no solution. You have to left go.” Echoing his mother’s words to Alt!Barry when he eventually realizes that by changing everything he is just dooming a universe by his own actions and he needs to make it right. Evil!Barry is just an older version of Alt!Barry that is obsessed with trying to be a hero and “fix everything” because of what JL!Barry told him- everything that takes place is all a direct result of JL!Barry’s own actions because he was trying to give his own life experience and knowledge to someone who had never experienced what he had gone through. 

Alt!Barry hadn’t known what it was like to be helpless, powerless- JL!Barry had watched his mother die, he had felt that huge sense of responsibility towards the greater good- JL!Barry understands his limits, he regrets his choices as hero- he even laments that he felt powerless in helping against Zod even though he was able to save one child in the chaos, he knows that he wasn’t ready to be a hero yet and felt like a failure. Alt!Barry finally coming to terms with this realization when he finally sees what he will become if he doesn’t stop and then saving JL!Barry by sacrificing himself was a really difficult moment- he had finally realized that he could be a hero if he just stopped trying to fix everything and let everything happen the way it should.

I also like the other themes of the movie: the existence of fate, the metaphor of time being spaghetti was funny, that small moments with the people we love are vastly more important than anything and we should cherish them, and I also liked how they made fun of and broke down the Justice League when JL!Barry was tryin to find the members (Aquaman being a magic mermaid!!) Also my favorite joke that I feel was really underappreciated was when Alt!Barry called Kara “solar powered” and that he was trying to get into solar energy (best joke and no one in my movie theatre laughed but me lolol).

#the flash #the flash 2023 #barry allen #dc comics #superman #supergirl #aquaman #wonder woman #batman #the justice league #and look at that- a hero movie that actually follows its own rules that establishes consequences for actions #I loved the movie you can hate all you want #iris west

[discodreaming]

HELLO! i've now opened my inbox for my followers/mutuals to talk to their favorite character!

you can send in random sentences, inbox prompts that you see on my blog or even confess your love!

please be sure to be respectful and kind to not only me but the muses.

this will be very much like roleplaying. to continue communication you can send in more inboxes or you can even link the inbox to a conversation to communicate with your beau/family/friend!

please do not request any minors/anthropomorphic in romantic or sexual ways, I'm begging you. i will only reply to the platonic/familial ones.

you may talk to at least 2 muses at once in one message, all to prevent being overwhelmed. this may change once i get comfortable enough to handle more.

all romantic and nsft inboxes or starters towards muses will require slow burn

all ships are multishipped but can be single shipped if you guys can build up their romance meter!

this will only be reader x character, oc x character i will put on either another blog or a different post.

* note: i will accept 5 oc x character in this post for the time being: 1/5

however for certain events i can bend these rules for you to get a romantic scene with your crushes!

or even just hanging out with your friends!

characters i will write for right now:

note: this list will change every now and then as i advance further into the shows or a character is requested more!

if you don't see a character you like here and would like to see me try my hand at playing them, don't be shy to tell me!

bold = characters I've played before

one piece! ( pre timeskip )

romantic options: nico robin, nami, sanji, zoro, usopp, buggy, sir crocodile, dracule mihawk, shanks, portgas d. ace

platonic options: chopper, franky ( may change ), luffy ( im currently on the pretimeskip )

up to debate: please ask !

rwby ! ( all season 9 ages )

romantic options: weiss schnee, blake belladonna, yang xiao long, jaune arc, taiyang xiao long, raven branwen, qrow branwen, emerald sustari, sun wukong, neptune vasillias, james ironwood, winter schnee, mercury black

platonic options: ruby rose, nora valkyrie, lie ren, pyrrha nikos, penny polendina, professor ozpin, oscar pine, neopolitan

up to debate: salem, cinder fall

fruits basket !

romantic options: shigure sohma, hatori soma, ayame soma

platonic options: tohru honda, yuki sohma, kyo sohma

castlevania animated !

romantic options: trevor belmont, adrian 'alucard' tepes, sypha belnades

edens zero !

romantic options: rebecca bluegarden, weisz steiner, homura kogetsu, kris rutherford, shiki granbell, labilla christy

platonic: happy, witch regret, sister ivry, hermit mio, valkyrie yuna, elise crimson, justice

d.gray man !

romantic options: yu kanda, lavi, tyki mikk, howard link, cross marian

platonic: allen walker, lenalee lee, nea d. campbell, wisely kamelot

psycho pass !

romantic options: akane tsuneori, shinya kogami, nobuchika ginoza, shuusei kagari, yayoi kunizuka, shion karanomori, shogo makishima

platonic: tomomoi masaoka

owari no seraph

romantic options: guren ichinose, ferid bathory, kureto hiiragi, shinya hiragi, seishiro hiiragi, crowley eusford

platonic: yuichiro hyakuya, mikaela hyakuya, shinoa hiiragi, yoichi saotome, shiho kimizuki, mitsuba sangu, krul tepes

yuukou no moriarty

romantic options: william james moriarty, albert james moriarty, louis james moiarty, sherlock holmes, fred porlock, sebastian moran, mycroft holmes, james bond

fate/ ( /zero & /stay night)

romantic options: saber, kirei kotomine, gilgamesh, cu chulainn

platonic: shirou emiya, rin tohsaka, waver velvet

up to debate: kiritsugu emiya, irisviel von einzbern, archer emiya, tokiomi tohsaka, diamuid ua duibhne

please don't: shinji matou, ryuunosuke uryu

fairy tail

romantic options: lucy heartfilia, gray fullbuster, erza scarlet, mirajane strauss, laxus dreyar, gildarts clive, loke, elfman strauss, juvia lockser, fried justine, evergreen, bickslow, rogue cheney, sting eucliffe, kagura mikazuchi, aguria yukino, natsu dragneel, mystogan, cana alberona, gajeel redfox, erik, jellal fernandes

platonic: wendy marvell

record of ragnarok

romantic options: adam, jack the ripper, kojiro sasaki, qin shi huang, hades, beelzebub, hermes

platonic: souji okita

up to debate: the valkyries, nikolas tepes, thor, poseidon, apollo,

obey me

romantic options: lucifer, mammon, levianthan, satan, asmodeus, beelzebub, belphegor,diavolo, barbatos, simeon, raphael, solomon,

platonic: luke

up to debate: thirteen, mephistopheles

kingdom hearts ( kingdom hearts iii )

romantic options: terra, aqua, xemnas, zexion, saix, axel, demyx,

platonic: sora, kairi, riku, roxas, namine, xion, ventus, vanitas, ephemer, skuld, brain

genshin impact

romantic options: wriothesley, albedo, alhaitham, ayaka, ayato, baizhu, ajax, cyno, dehya, diluc, eula, ganyu, itto, jean, kazuha, kokomi, xiao, heizou, shenhe, kaeya, rosaria, yae miko, beidou, lisa, kaveh, zhongli, nigguang, neuvillette, yela, candace, thoma, yanfei

platonic: hu tao, venti, faruzan, sucrose, chongyun, freminet, layla, mika, fischl, collei, noelle, yun jin, barbara, xingqiu, amber, bennette, xinyan

up to debate: keqing, lyney, aether, lumine, wanderer, lynette, kuki shinobu, sara, kiara, gorou, mona, nilou, yoimiya, charlotte

please don't: klee, sayu, qiqi, diona, dori, nahida, yaoyao

final fantasy

romantic options: cloud strife, tifa lockhart, aerith gainsborough, zack fair, reno, rude, genesis rhapsodos, reeve tuesti, angel hewley, sephiroth, vincent valentine.

platonic: barret wallace, yuffie kisaragi

detroit become human

romantic options: connor, markus, gavin

platonic: kara, hank

devil may cry

romantic options: dante, nero, vergil

platonic: trish, nico, lady, v

jojo's bizarre adventure

romantic options: dio brando, joseph joestar ( part 2 & 3 ), caesar anthonio zeppeli, jotaro kujo ( 4-6 only ), rohan kishibe, bruno bucciarati, leone abbachio, narciso anasui, johnny joestar, gyro zeppeli, diego brando

debating: jonathan joestar, jolyne cujoh, weather report

#( 🦊 inbox asks ) #one piece x reader #op x reader #rwby x reader #fruits basket x reader #castlevania x reader #edens zero x reader #d.gray man x reader #dgm x reader #d gray man x reader #psycho pass x reader #owari no seraph x reader #ons x reader #yuukoku no moriarty x reader #ynm x reader #moriarty the patriot x reader #fate/ x reader #fate x reader #fairy tail x reader #drifters x reader #blood of zeus x reader #record of ragnarok x reader #obey me x reader #kingdom hearts x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #final fantasy x reader #dbh x reader #detroit become human x reader #devil may cry x reader

[kakashis-formal-simp]

Asking her out

(Erza x reader)

It had been three years. For three long years, you have been crushing on Erza. You knew about her past and always felt like she liked Jellal. It’s honestly the only reason you hadn’t asked her out yet. Though recently it’s become apparent Jellal and Ulter might be together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m gonna ask her out today, Juvia, I’m tired of pinning for her and hoping there’s a chance she likes me back”

“I’m cheering for you Y/n, hopefully, you will have better luck than me and my beloved gray” Juvia cries.

“He will come around soon Juvie,” patting her back you sigh, I really hope Erza says yes. You’re staring at her from across the guild hall. She’s absolutely breathtaking. Looking back at Juvia,

“I guess it’s time to bite the bullet,”. Standing up, you make my way over to her.

“Sorry guys, I gotta steal Erza for a bit,” Glancing at team Natsu and back to Erza.

“Is everything alright, Y/n?” She's so cute when she’s confused. I’ve never asked to talk to her alone like this before.

“Would you mind stepping outside the guild hall with me for a minute?”

“Of course,” she replies. The walk outside was short and slightly awkward, but anytime spent with her is a gift.

“What was it you needed Y/n?” Erza questions.

Sighing you look down towards the ground. Looking back up at her bracing yourself, “Erza, I understand if the feelings are not mutual, but I really like you. I would love nothing more than to take you to dinner,” adding quickly, “Of course, if you don’t feel the same no pressure” the nerves consuming your body. Erza’s shocked to say the least. “I…you mean like on a date?” she blushes.

“Yes, a date,” sighing, maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

“I see, I was unaware you felt this way towards me. I would love to go on a date with you,” she smiles. God, she’s so perfect. “Really? You want to go out with me?” beaming you quickly add, “sorry, I’m just surprised.” revoked to a small smile.

“Of course, I’ve… admired you for some time now. I would have asked you out had I known the feelings were mutual,” Erza blushes and looks toward the ground. It’s so cute seeing her blushing and nervous like this. “Curses,” she mumbles. “I am a coward for not asking you out first,”. “You’re not a coward Erza” laughing you add, “You’re extremely brave and everyone in the guild knows that,” you’re smiling so hard it’s starting to hurt. “How does tonight at 6 sound?”

“It sounds wonderful, I look forward to seeing you Y/n”

You both agreed to meet outside a cafe in Magnolia. It has sandwiches but it also has the strawberry cake she loves. Walking towards the door you see Erza walking towards it as well. Smiling at her, “you look absolutely divine, as you always do” you complimented her. Erza looks at you shocked as her face quickly matches her hair. “I…You’re” she stumbles over her words. You watch as she takes a deep breath regaining some composure. “I never knew you were so good with words, Y/n. You also look breathtaking”, she blushes looking you up and down. “With you, the words come naturally, all I do is say the first thing I think” looking at her you chuckle as she blushes even more. Now she’s avoiding eye contact. “Sorry, I don’t mean to make you bashful,” you apologize. “No…no, it’s quite alright, Y/n. I’m just not used to this is all. Should we head in?” Erza questions. “Yes, of course, after you,” holding the door open for her, you follow her inside. Despite living in Magnolia for a while now you haven’t been here before. The place was smaller but had a cozy feel to it. Following the waitress to the table, you take a seat across from Erza. “This place is quite adorable isn’t it, Y/n? They have the most amazing strawberry cake,” she adds excitingly. “You’re adorable,” you smile at her. “Ah, thank you,” Erza responds bashfully, looking down at her lap. Admiring her, you watch as the waitress walks up to take your order. Erza orders two slices of cake while you order a sandwich. “So,” Erza looks up at you, light pink dusting her cheeks, “what made you decide to ask me out?” she questions. “Well, I’ve liked you for some time now, and I got tired of wondering if the feelings were mutual,” smiling at her. If only she knew how long you’ve been pinning after her. “I see, I have also liked you for some time. Though I never thought you would feel the same,” Erza studies her hands towards the end. “Really? What made you think I wouldn’t feel the same? I mean you would have to be insane to not like you,” you lean forward to be closer. “While, a lot of people are scared of me, and you’ve never outright said you liked women,” erza smiles at you. “Yeah, I guess I’ve never straight up said I liked men and women, but you would have to be insane not to like women,” Erza laughs at that. You add, “I’m glad I asked you out, and that you said yes,” Erza smiles, “I am glad that you asked too,”. The waitress comes up bringing the food. The rest of the date went well. You and Erza talked about anything and everything. After paying for her food you offer to walk her home.

Part 2 here

Helpppp, I can’t figure out how to make it let me post more, I have to cut the story in half because it was “too long”

#erza scarlet x reader #erza x reader #erza scarlet #jellal x erza #erza fairy tail #ft erza #fairy tail #fanfiction #natsu x reader #gray x reader

[tokkias]

“hugging and absentmindedly kissing their neck, resulting in mortification for one of them” for nalu 🥺

friends to lovers prompts . always open

this one was also requested by @bumblebeehug :] hope u enjoy ao3

Natsu’s arms wrapped lazily around Lucy’s waist as his forehead rested on her shoulder. He had seemingly completely tuned out the conversation going on around him as the rest of the team discussed future job prospects. When they’d asked what sort of jobs he wanted to take, he simply replied, whatever lets me kick and pays Lucy’s rent—a sentiment she appreciated but knew would go completely forgotten the moment he let loose and set fire to some poor, unassuming building. His vague guidelines left the rest of them free to pick and pitch their own options to the rest of the group before he busied himself nuzzling his nose into Lucy’s side.

Natsu had always been handsy. He’d always liked to touch her, even when his timing was truly and deeply inappropriate. While it had once bothered Lucy to no end, when they finally stepped from the "friends" stage into the "something more" stage, she had grown to enjoy his little affections. His skin was always so warm against hers, and his touch soothed her in a way she couldn’t even begin to describe. It always brought such comfort to feel his arm around her shoulder or his hand on her waist. She’d be remiss to complain about it and lose out on the love she felt in Natsu’s affections, so when he snuggled up to her in the guild hall, she simply let him be as she quietly revelled in the affection.

"This one’s for 150,000 jewel—wipe out a couple monsters in Mount Hakobe," Gray said, sliding a piece of paper across the table for the rest of the group to examine. "Should be easy enough."

Erza picked up the leaflet and examined the fine print.

"This sounds like a fair option," she mused. "What do you think, Lucy?"

"Split four ways doesn’t cover my rent," she sheepishly replied.

"Five ways!" Happy chimed in, much to Lucy’s chagrin.

Before Lucy could sink her teeth into the sniggering exceed, Erza interrupted with her pick.

"I picked up a retrieval job—280,000 jewel to clear out a cave of monsters and reclaim a set of gemstones in there," she explained. "High risk, but high reward."

Lucy hummed in soft affirmation, her eyes sparkling at the prospect of such a high reward. Before she could get too carried away, she glanced over at her partner, hanging onto her side.

"What do you think, Natsu?"

Natsu, who had clearly not heard a word come out of Erza’s mouth, simply grunted in response. He seemed much more occupied grazing his lips over the exposed skin of her shoulder. Lucy felt a light blush dust her cheeks when she became aware of what he was doing. Just because she was used to his affections didn’t mean she would ever stop being flustered by them. But seeing as he was doing no harm beyond making her a little flustered, she let him be and tried to draw her attention back to the rest of the table.

"What’d you pick out?" Gray asked, trying to ignore their teammate’s lack of social awareness.

"Well, I- um-" she stuttered out, trying to maintain composure as she became hyper-aware of the sear of his lips on her skin. "This one’s a few towns over, but-" Her breath hitched as she felt him trailing slowly up her skin.

He paused for a moment, seemingly finding purchase in the dip between her shoulder and neck, and Lucy found herself able to relax now that he had stopped his upward trail.

"They’re looking for a group to help them with, ah-!"

She was cut off when she felt Natsu press a light kiss to her shoulder, which made her jolt in surprise. Gray and Erza both regarded them with strange looks that Lucy simply tried to ignore as she gently swatted Natsu away from her. He begrudgingly shifted his attention away and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Sorry… I, um- what was I…?"

Her hands shook slightly as she glanced back down at the piece of paper that she had torn off the request board. The words were beginning to blur together, and suddenly she felt hot. Sucking in a breath, Lucy glanced up at her teammates faces and saw them looking back with expectant gazes. Natsu wasn’t even doing anything anymore, but the absolute mortification of him doing something like that in public had fully settled in. Determined not to make a scene, however, Lucy tried to quickly move on.

"It’s- um… monsters, or, er- no! Bandits, I think…"

She still couldn’t quite make out the words on the paper, so she simply had to rely on her memory from when she read it the first time—which was slowly beginning to grow hazy on her.

"Do you guys need a room or something?" Gray said, his uncomfortable gaze flicking between her and Natsu, attached to her side.

"No!" Lucy cried out in embarrassment, capturing the attention of the group at the table next to them, to which she offered a sheepish and apologetic smile. "No, we’re- I’m fine."

He looked sceptical, but Lucy was not about to let Natsu’s inappropriate affections come between her and making rent on time this month.

"There’s been a group of bandits targeting a small town, and-" She swallowed thickly as she felt Natsu’s warm breath on the back of her neck. "And they’re looking for a group of wizards who can help th-! Natsu!"

What little composure left in her body was swiftly drained away as she felt her partner press his lips to her neck with no regard for the circumstances or surroundings. Instinctively, Lucy smacked Natsu’s arm in an attempt to swat him away, no longer trying to maintain any subtlety when it became clear that he had none. She could hear his cackling as she buried her face in shame, hiding her cherry-red cheeks from the rest of the team in her mortification.

"If you two need some time alone, we can always reconvene later," Erza awkwardly suggested, averting her gaze from the duo and their one-sided public display of affection.

"No!" Lucy all but shouted. "N-no! We’ll just take the job you picked. Is that okay with everyone?" She asked, her words coming out fast and leaving no time for reply. "Great! I’ll let Mira know!"

With that, Lucy grabbed the flyer off of the table and stormed off in Mira’s direction, gaze down so far that she was practically only seeing her feet in an attempt to maintain any shred of dignity.

She simply supposed that the loss of dignity was the price she paid for a relationship with one Natsu Dragneel.

#nalu #fairy tail #fan fiction #fanfiction #ft nalu #natsu x lucy #nalu fanfiction #nalu fanfic #mya writes things #i have no idea what im doing with my tagging im ngl

[katana-no-neko]

Call Me By My Name

Chapter 3 | ao3

It didn't take very long before Natsu started flying lower, knowing the city was nearby. Lucy gripped onto his neck again as he carefully dropped down. "We're here! Natsu cried, landing in a plain just outside the town and crouching so Lucy could climb off of him. "This is Magnolia. There's a restaurant here I like to visit, I've got a few friends working there that I've known since I was a kid." Lucy hummed in response as Natsu shifted forms. "One of them is kinda scary though, so watch out." She laughed at his comment, wondering what kind of person could scare a dragon.

They walked through the gates of Magnolia, Natsu greeting the guards jovially. They welcomed him in response, but paused at the sight of Lucy's ears. She hesitated, her ears drooping. "Hey, Lucy's great, knock it off," Natsu scolded the guards, taking Lucy's hand and pulling her in.

"So where is this restaurant?" she asked, distracting herself from the wonderful feeling of his warm palm tightly grasping her own.

Natsu grumbled as he picked up whispers and stares toward his new friend. "Right down this road!" he replied, dragging her quick enough that she couldn't take notice of the lingering looks. "Here we are!" he was pleased to announce, pulling her in the door of a little hole-in-the-wall, the sign "Fairy Tail" above the door.

"Hi guys!" Natsu shouted as he entered. Several of the staff and customers greeted him back, but Natsu mostly ignored them, pulling Lucy to the bar where a white-haired woman behind it was chatting with a red-haired woman. Natsu snickered as he heard more whispers about Lucy - this time in disbelief that Natsu brought a girl, no one minding that she was a fae. Letting go of Lucy's hand to sit down, he quickly took it again once he had, finding that he liked the skin contact.

"Mira! This is Lucy!" he said to the woman working at the bar. "Two breakfast platters, please!" Mira smiled, greeted Lucy, and shouted the order to whoever was in the kitchen. Lucy was pleased to realize that the woman couldn't care less she was a faerie.

"Natsu, I don't know if I can eat a whole platter of food..." Lucy started.

Natsu laughed. "Those are both for me!" He pulled a menu from a stack on the bar and handed it to the blonde. "Here, pick whatever you want! Everything is great here."

Lucy perused the list, seeing lots of food names she didn't recognize. "Um, uh... What would you recommend?" Lucy asked Mira.

The woman smiled. "Can't go wrong with pancakes! Ours come with whipped cream and strawberries, if you'd like. That's what Erza over here has," she suggested, gesturing to the plate in front of the redhead, where a stack of thick pancakes sat, half-eaten.

Lucy's eyes lit up - they looked delicious! "Yes, I'll try that! One order of 'pancakes', please and thank you."

"Great choice," the woman named Erza told her with a smile. "New friend, Natsu?" she questioned the dragon.

"Mhm! Lucy, Erza. Erza, Lucy," he quickly introduced. "Erza lived in my dragon clan for a bit, that's how I know her. She used to beat up my cousin and I for fighting."

Erza's brow twitched. "If you weren't setting such a bad example for Wendy, I wouldn't have had to knock sense into you." The redhead caught Lucy's questioning look, the girl clearly curious to know more about their history. "It's as he says, I used to live with Natsu's family. I owe them a lot. They took me in when I didn't have anywhere else, and then helped me find a home here in Magnolia, with Mira's family."

"And that's how I know Mira!" Natsu further explained. "I used to play with her little sister a lot when Dad would visit to check on Erza." Lucy nodded her understanding, and then her eyes drifted to Erza's ears.

"You're..." Though much shorter than her own, Lucy was confused when she saw pointed ears on the redhead.

Erza nodded. "Half-fae," she explained. "And half-dragon," she continued, pulling her cheek back to show enlarged canines similar to Natsu's.

Lucy gaped. "That can happen!?"

Mira chuckled at Lucy's naivete as she brought Natsu's breakfast out, the dragon finally deciding to drop her hand in order to eat. "It's not the first and it certainly won't be the last. You'd be hard-pressed to find a human town without any part-beings," she informed Lucy. "In fact, hardly any of the staff or regulars here at Fairy Tail is fully human."

"But how? I thought relations between different beings was illegal! That's what I was told, anyway..."

"Oh honey," Mira laughed. "It hasn't been illegal for generations. Someone told you wrong."

Lucy's eyes drifted to Natsu as he devoured his breakfast. "Yeah," she started. "That sounds like my father." Feeling her gaze, Natsu looked back to her and gave a smile. With a start, Lucy blushed and brought her eyes back to Erza. Lucy had a million questions for the fae-dragon, but was hesitant to pry.

"Erjha-" Natsu gulped down his mouthful of food. "Sorry, Erza doesn't get any cool dragon magic or anything. Stronger than a human, but she can't transform and doesn't have an element. Doesn't stop her from being terrifying, though."

"Nor do I have fae magic," Erza continued, punching Natsu in the shoulder for his comment. "I can't control with names. Only pureblood fae are able to."

"That makes me wish I wasn't pureblood..." Lucy commented offhandedly, waving off Natsu's sad look at her remark. "Do any part-dragons inherit dragon magic or...?"

The group thought back to their personal encounters. "Laxus -that's the grandson of the restaurant owner- can create and control lightning. His mother was a lightning dragon," Erza replied.

"There's this other guy I know, used to live in the eastern dragon clan, who has super sensitive hearing, more than most part-dragons," Natsu started. "But I think he said his dad was a naga so that might've come from him."

Mira smiled. "So I guess the short answer is, 'yes', sometimes part-dragons inherit more magic than Erza did," she finished before heading to the kitchen with the call of her name.

"Interesting..." Lucy replied. Natsu smiled at the thoughtful look on her face as she considered the new information and then grinned wider at the way her eyes lit up when her pancakes were sat down in front of her. She thanked Mira and eagerly cut a bite, making sure to scoop a strawberry and whipped cream onto her fork. "Mmm!" she cried, savoring the taste. "This is so good, Natsu!"

"I'm glad you like it," Natsu told her, eyes squinted with how wide his smile was.

#nalu #nalu fanfiction #fanfiction #call me by my name

[madmanwonder]

Type ask (crossover) Hey Jaune, is Pyra jealous that your dating Erza?

“I am in a polygamous relationship with Pyrrha and Erza.” He replied with a smile and blush to his cheeks.

#rwby #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #fairy tail #erza scarlet #crossover au #crossover au ask #shipping post #shipping ask #heavenly knight #arkos #heavenly spartan knight

[rose-riot-johnson]

3rd and 4th place tie alongside Fairy Tail's, Erza Scarlet according to a poll I originally posted:

Trafalgar D Law, from One Piece

Hello my Tumblr Peeps👋😃 Since I wanted to work on a One Piece fanfic for a long time, I have thoughts on my decision to work on him even before a poll I posted a while back, so on working on a fanfic about Trafalgar D Law, I figured why not and have fun writing about it🤷‍♀️😃👍

Please Don't Leave My Crew, I Like You A Lot (Trafalgar D Law (One Piece) x Female Reader)

Genres: Angst, Comfort, Fluff, and Funny Light Hearted Fluff

Eversince the day you became Trafalgar D Law's crew member (member of the Heart Pirates), you were always there for him, while you weren't sure why Law wanted you as part of his crew. You weren't upset about it not finding anything wrong about it nor thinking it was a mistake in anyway. You just ended up being atleast mostly curious, if you were being atleast honest with yourself.

Law can be at times distant and/or a little strict, however he has been kind to you, as well. Despite of him being protective of you, he usually treats you better than the rest of his crew, including Bepo. You just couldn't help that he appears to have a soft spot for you.

One day, you asked Law, "Hey, Law. Since you do seem to think highly of me, would it be alright, if I do join you on your adventures, sometime when we do land on an island or village or something?", then you explained, "I figured I'd ask, because I'm curious about why you have me as your crew member, while you only have me stay on the ship. I mean, if it's a no to me coming with you and/or a no to talking about it, then I promise to leave your answers, as such, until you decide differently.". Trafalgar D Law, then showed you a very, annoyed look on his face, as he said, "I'm not in the mood to talk right now! I'm sorry, if I come off as rude. I just need to think about this. We will discuss later! Please leave before I snap! It's not your fault for my bad mood! I just need time to process everything you said, including your question when I came down!". You did as he asked you to do. You just weren't sure what crawled up on him, all the sudden.

You went to your room on Law's ship, while comtimplating, if he only said that his bad mood wasn't your fault to make you feel better, worried about if everything you said got him snippy with you, and if he changed his mind about having you, as a member of the Heart Pirates crew. For hours you had to think things through, then your anxiety caved in, to the point where you jumped to the conclusion that you thought he took you in, for you to become the member of the Heart Pirates crew, only out of pity, so your anxiety has your mind made up.

After Law cooled off, he decided to go to your room to apologize and talk to you, however unfortunately when got into your room, he saw you packing your clothes. "What's going on and why are you packing your clothes, (Female Reader)?", he asked, as he became concerned. You answered, "I really do enjoy you as my captain, I really enjoy the crew, and stuff, so nothing against or anything. I have been thinking about that pissed off look you gave me and everything you said to me while angry with me, then I ended up having anxiety as I went to my room, so I think it would be best I leave the crew.", then you started to sob.

Law was shocked and confused then he asked, "What? Leave? Are those the only reasons why you want to leave?". As you continue to sob, you replied, "It's not that I want to leave, it's that I haven't been feeling much use in the crew and earlier today you seemed very, upset with me, so I felt I should leave so I don't upset you nor anyone else in this crew again. I just feel that you only took me in the crew, because you felt sorry for me. I feel like I'm nothing, but pitiful, so this is why I have to leave.". Law started to feel bad about not letting you on any adventures with him and the crew for you to stay on the ship, while being very nice, so he knew he had to tell you before it's too late.

"(Female Reader)... Please listen to me. It's not it at all.", he said, while trying to comfort you,"You see... I... I... I took you, because I like you a lot and I wanted you to be my apprentice... With not taking you with me, I didn't realize I was harsh with you, until you told me this. I just should have known better. I should have letted you come with us more, (Female Reader).". You were surprised that he told you this. You just never knew he was gonna say this.

Law, then continued, "You see, (Female Reader). I only had you stay on the ship, because I was worried that Doflamingo and other enemy pirates, would harm you, or even use you as hostage. So, I decided I didn't feel safe with you coming with us at the time. I felt safer you stayed on the ship. My anxiety does get to me, too.". Afterwards you asked, "Is this why you gave me an annoyed look, Law?", as you give him a confused look. He answered, "No... No... No... My crew just won't stop tormenting me about you. My crew told me that, if I like you so much, I should definitely take you with me. Then they tormented me chanting about you and I sitting in the tree, crap.".

Law then said with a tear rolling down his face," So, what I really wanted to tell you is, I'm sincerely sorry I blew up at you and I'm sorry for not taking consideration for your well-being and your potential. I really shouldn't have held you back. I know my annoyance is no excuse for me blowing up at you nor using my tone that I did use towards you. Will you forgive me, (Female Reader)?". You had to think for a second about the fact that things are starting to make sense on why he did what he did, while his words comforted you for a moment. You then told Trafalgar D Law, "Okay, Law. I will forgive you and since you explained what happened and your explanation of why you did what you did with your words of wisdom, I decided I will stay, as a member of the Heart Pirates, after all.", as you smiled and winked at him. He became relieved as he thanked you for your forgiveness.

Eversince you and Trafalgar D Law had an understanding, he started including you on more of his adventures with his crew, even if they constantly teased him about you. After a while, the Strawhats, including the captain of the Strawhats, Luffy noticed your captain with you in public and he had it figured out you and Law are also in a relationship together, as well. Unlike Law's crew, Luffy didn't teased him about you, which had Law relieved.

As months passed by, one night for Law to avoid his other crewmembers' teasing being the reason of hitting his other members (like Nami hits Luffy, Zoro, etc...), without he crew knowing, he snuck in your room, so he can give you quiet kisses and cuddles. That night was definitely relaxing for you and Law both. Luckily for Law, by the time Bepo and the rest of the crew woke up, both him and you woke up, afterwards quietly sneaking out of your room.

The End

I decided to write a fanfic about a One Piece character and I decided to write about, non other than Trafalgar D Law. He's definitely my 2nd favorite One Piece character and I have been wanting to write about him for a long time. So I do hope, as much as, writing this fanfic about Law, made my day, that this fanfic made your day, my Tumblr Peeps😁👍

*Fun Fact: Those who are curious who is my #1 favorite One Piece character is, my #1 favorite character of One Piece is definitely Roronoa Zoro

🗡️😁⚔️

#trafalgar law #law trafalgar #trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgar law x y/n #trafalgar law x reader #one piece fanfiction #angst #comfort #one piece fluff

[winterlogysblog]

FAIRY TAIL FANFIC | PHONE CALL

Title: Phone Call

FF.NET | AO3

Pairing: Gray Fullbuster/ Juvia Lockser

Based from this beautiful Chapter Cover....

Gray fidgets with the miniature communication lacrima in his pocket as he figures out the perfect time to excuse himself from the group.

"We could set up camp here." Erza declared.

Wendy nodded and started setting up the camp with Carla. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy soon followed. Gray sighed and placed his satchel on the ground, and helped out for a bit before sneaking away.

He walked a couple of meters away from the group and blended into the crowd of the town.

—

"Our tents are done." Erza proclaimed. "Now, Natsu, Gray, and I are going out to hunt for our dinner. Lucy, Wendy, you two guard our camp.

Erza fixed her armor and looked around and noticed that a certain ice mage is missing.

"Where's Gray?" 

"He's here just a second ago," Wendy replied, shifting her head from left to right trying to find him.

"That jerk's slacking off again!" Natsu shouted. "I'm gonna find him and beat his lazy butt." He ran forward, leaving everyone behind.

Erza sighed. "I'll go hunting."

"Happy, follow Natsu and make sure he doesn't break anything."

"Aye, sir!!" The blue cat gave the knight a salute before flying away.

"Gray-san's grown habit of running away whenever we're about to set up camp or check in a hotel," Wendy spoke.

"Yeah." Lucy nodded. "It's weird, he never does that before."

"What could he be doing?"

—

"Hey, how have you been?" Gray said, leaning his back against a wall, his miniature communication lacrima prompt up in his ear

"Juvia's good, she just got back to the apartment. How's the mission?" A soft voice passed through the lacrima.

"Tiring, being able to hear your voice is sorta therapeutic."

"Juvia misses you." Juvia giggled, clutching a pillow to her chest.

"I miss you too."

Gray responded with a low chuckle before continuing their conversation.

"How's the guild?"

"Still the same. Although, we got some new members." Juvia responded.

"This isn't another Touka situation is it?" Gray arched a brow.

Juvia giggled. "No, this is different."

"Jellal, Meredy, and Cobra joined."

"I guess that makes sense." Gray nodded.

"Meredy planned on taking Juvia on a job with her and Jellal," Juvia added.

"Also with Jellal." It's a weird feeling but Gray doesn't like the idea of Juvia going on a mission with him even if he knows there's nothing wrong with it.

"Meredy thinks it'll be a fun bonding experience," Juvia replied.

It makes sense, both Juvia and Jellal are close friends with Meredy. It's normal for her to want both of her close friends to get along. However, Gray can't help but still get that uneasy feeling.

"Is there anything wrong, darling?"

"Nothing, it's great that they joined the guild, who knows, maybe in one of Jellal's missions, he'd stumble upon Erza again." Gray joked and he received an adorable giggle from the water mage.

"Where is Gray-sama now?"

"Some random corner in the town we're in, I gotta separate myself from the others mainly because Natsu is way too loud." 

"Has Gray-sama eaten yet?"

"We just set up camp, Natsu and Erza are probably out hunting." 

"You're not gonna help them?" 

Gray shrugged. "They can handle it, I wanna talk to you."

—

Natsu is finally able to find Gray, he's leaning at a brick wall in some random corner, his miniature communication lacrima is up against his ear, clearly speaking to someone.

"Oi!! Stripper!!!" The dragon slayer called.

Gray jolted up, his attention shifted towards Natsu.

"Natsu's here, I gotta go." He spoke over the lacrima.

"Alright then, take care Gray-sama, Juvia loves you," Juvia responded.

Gray smiled before hanging up. "I'll call again tomorrow."

"Who's that?" Natsu asked, running towards the ice mage.

"It's just Juvia," Gray mumbled a response.

"Ohh he loves her~." Happy giggled while flying in circles.

"Ugh." Gray rolled his eyes. "This is why I don't tell you guys about stuff." 

"Hey!!" Natsu gasped, offended by the statement.

#gruvia #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #fairy tail #fairy tail 100 yq #fairy tail 100 years quest #fairy tail fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #gruvia fanfic

[itzgruvia]

Gruvia fanfiction: hurt/comfort, sad and a little bit of fluff by the end.

Warning: mention of self-harm, depression, anxiety, bullying, and blood.

Original posted in AO3

____________________________________________

Juvia was never one to indulge herself into someone's personal business, unless she was asked for.

She was private herself, and she never wanted to ask for help or advice concerning her anxiety disorder, even if she deeply wanted to seek their comfort, but this isn't about Juvia.

it was about her only lover, her sweet man, and compassionate boyfriend.

Through out their intimacy and romantic relationship-which was still developing- they always tried to share their problems, their insecurities, it has been difficult for both, especially for a person like Gray, always wearing a ghost-like shield to separate his friends from his life.

Juvia could say the same thing about herself, mostly because she doesn't want to bother people.

But they went through this, they discussed about it and how they'll try to lean on each other when it gets too hard, and so far they have been showing a little bit of vulnerability.

At least that's what Juvia thought.

It was a late afternoon, Juvia was finally done with her classes and ready to join her friends in the FT salon room, and end the evening with a nap, she can feel a headache coming to upturn her night.

She wanted to take the stairs rather than the elevator, to get her legs pumping after sitting in the hard wooden chairs in her class, it makes her legs numb and uncomfortable, And once she was about to take the next stairs, she heard murmuring, two people were conversing in hushed tones. it didn't take her too long to realize who thery were.

Gray and Erza, of course no one can miss her orotund voice.

Juvia knows they were having a private conversation, something she shouldn't be listening to, but she couldn't budge from her crouching position ( how did she get to crouch in the first place?).

She wasn't jealous, she is very much confident about that, because she knows better than be jealous of Erza, and despite her overriding imagination and her traumatic past that deprived her from having any trust towards her new friends, she believed that Erza is better than a cheating friend. moreover, she wouldn't do this to Jellal, or Gray or to her.

But Juvia had a feeling that this might be something she had to hear, even if she'll feel guilty after it.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Erza asked, rarely does Juvia get to hear worry laced in her voice.

"Yeah" Gray replied, although it took him a brief moment to do so. Matter of fact, she noticed how tired he got in the last few days, but she didn't worry too much about it, she assumed it might be university loads of assignments.

"You know you can talk to me about anything" she assured the boy, a weird sense of worrisome began to crawl over Juvia; why is she pushing him to speak up? must there be some history that Gray didn't bother to mention to her?

"I am alright Erza... trust me" he responded.

there was quietness for a moment, Juvia urged to take a little peak from where she is hiding but she doesn't want to risk being founded, it will cause problems and Gray might even be disgusted and break up with her and all her friends will find her weird and leave her alone like before-

her exaggerated overthinking stopped abruptly when she heard the rustling of fabrics.

she carefully leaned to see that Erza was rubbing his arm in comfort. It was all peculiar to her.... well maybe not new but unusual, especially to Gray, she isn't that affectionate compared to Natsu and Lucy.

Well, if Juvia were to be general, the Red haired woman was never this gentle with anyone but she has her motherly moments.

so this was very surprising for Juvia, and it made the worrying pit in her stomach stronger.

"If ... you have the idea of doin-"

" I am not going to do it" he retorted, in a rather sharp manner, he sighed after a moment.

"I swear it's nothing like that... I'm just tired" he added, less bothered than before.

"Alright... let me know when you need me, okay?" gripping his shoulder gently, Juvia could see the nod of her boyfriend; he agreed.

once they started to move, Juvia panicked for a second, if they do find her here she'll throw a bunch of stuttering words thus making her look like an idiot and ending her perfect romance.

but instead, they both agreed to take the elevator down to the common room ( which made her remember to go there as soon as she undress from her outfit), fortunately for her, she doesn't have to stand in an awkward anxiety inducing situation.

Once she heard their voices disappearing and the sound of the elevator, she slowly left her hiding place and ran upstairs to her dorm floor, all while her brain is racking through what she had heard.

Gray is hiding something from her and he doesn't want to tell her. That's one thing she is confident about.

But what she doesn't know is the content, what he is going through, is it bigger problem than she can imagine? She has never seen Erza that worried and particulary towards Gray.

it says a lot.

the loud chattering of her friends didn't distract her from her circling thoughts about Gray, he was sitting next her, their knees touching while arguing with Lucy about whatever topic that Juvia didn't bother to listen to.

She doesn't know if she should ask him about it, she feels like she might be pushing him into a corner and making him pour out his stress out and that's not something Gray is found of, she knew that by experience and she doesn't want to make the same mistake.

However, she is scared, what if ... it's a huge thing that concerns his life? She knows that Gray tasted that empty sense of life once when he was young, he told her that and Juvia cried by the end which made Gray nervous.

And what if Gray isn't happy? what if he doesn't want to ... go on anymore? she can't always trust his pretty smile, she can't be reassured by that even if she knows him by the back of her hand.

"Juvia?" her beloved's sexy! voice called out to her, while nudging her knee with his slightly. She snapped out of her haze, and looked at him.

he didn't look all worried but the usual frown on his face slightly changed, something that meant that he was observing her silent demeanor.

once she immediately set her eyes on his beautiful handsome face, she fought against the overthinking of hers. Gray would do that no more, not after what he told her; the fact that she was here with him and breathing with him was enough for him to continue living (his words not hers).

so maybe Juvia is overthinking it.

"what are you thinking about?" , he asked.

she blinked, feeling nervous after she got caught dazing in front of her friends, although she couldn't see Lucy in her spot anymore.

"it's nothing, just some assignments to do" she chuckled to hide the nervousness from her voice, but she knows that she failed just by forcing that small laugh from her lips.

Gray kept looking at her, an invitation to vent about whatever is eating her up, but Juvia doesn't know how she can bring forth a subject that concerns him, plus how can she tell him that she was eavesdropping into a private conversation?

.... it's not like she followed them, it was a coincidence.

However, if she stores this worry to herself, it will haunt her tonight, and she has an assignment test tomorrow, she can't afford to go without sleep in her system (not like she never done that before).

Maybe stating it at first won't make it a problem.

"well... I heard something today" she began, fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

Gray leaned on his arms, his elbows on top of his knees, she felt a little bit comfortable talking with the fond gaze that he is wearing in his face.

"I accidentally heard you and Erza talk about something today, in the staircase.." she told him, not daring to look at his eyes.

"Juvia didn't mean to first of all, but based on the conversation, Juvia is feeling a little bit worried about you..."

she finally glanced at him and she felt the anxiety pile up in her stomach.

Gray's face was... conflicting, like he was scared but he is masking it with anger.

" you were eavesdropping? what the hell Juvia-"

"Juvia wasn't! I was taking the stairs!"

"you never take the stairs!"

"i do when I want to walk!" Juvia never wanted to raise her voice at her beloved, but the way he is taking the conversation was ... nerving, as if he is accusing her of discovering a secret door that holds his deepest scars.

he got up from the coach, ready to leave the conversation, running away from it.

"My love, Juvia was just asking!" Juvia tried to follow after him.

"don't ask questions I won't answer Juvia!" he looked back, harsh expression covering the fear in his eyes.

Juvia gathered a moment to breath in, she doesn't want her anger to control her emotion, but it made her feel so unfair, it was so unfair that she got to share her deepest scars, her trauma, her fear, her joy, her sadness.

and he offered her everything, so why is he pushing her away?

" what is it that you are hiding from me?" she asked quietly.

" I don't need to tell you"

"that's so unfair!" she yelled, her fists clenched from her sides, and she finally blurted it out, in she failed on keep her emotions controlled.

she can see her friends coming through the entrance door, concerned over the raised voices. It is actually way more concerning when it's the rarest couples who fight.

Gray looked taken back by Juvia's tone. She rarely does that to anyone, but if she did it towards him, it indicates that there's something bigger.

"i always reach out to you, even when I am afraid" she continued, she felt her face heat up like a furnace.

" so what are you afraid of?"

the question triggered something in Gray. She can see his usual frown vanish from his face, and for a moment she saw him scared, as if she caught a glimpse over his past self.

but Gray clenched his jaw and turned around to leave, Cana and Lucy didn't try to reach out to him, they just let him leave with their mouth agape from what they've witnessed.

Juvia felt the frustration hitting her at once, clenching her hair tightly, she can sense the painful clutch.

she fell back into the couch, huffing in disappointment.

It turns out asking him was a problem.

Gray is hating himself, no matter how much he blasts the music into his ears, it couldn't block the loud noises in his head.

he admits that this was the worst fight he ever had with Juvia, everything was sudden to him, like a slap to his face, Juvia never yelled at him with anger, actually, she never yelled at anyone before.

but it's his fault anyways, he was defensive because he was a coward, who didn't want to show his scars to her. how could he? Juvia was a gentle soul although she always tries to deny it with her past "Shameful acts" of whatever, but everyone has their own piece of tainted wrongdoings.

Gray doesn't care if she killed someone before, she is still that blinding sunlight that engulfs his cold chest with warmth.

and he is afraid that if he pulls up his sweater and shows what he did to his wrists will make her see him in a different way, whether with disgust, fear, or pity.

he had seen those people before. he met them, and he was friends with them before they stripped him from his secret self-harming and pulled down their masks to reveal their true colors.

pity, disgust, fear...

if only Erza hadn't stopped him in the staircase, if only she wasn't so frightened-

Gray sighed, he pulled his headphones away from his ears.

no he thought, here's no one else to blame but me.

come to think of it, Erza had the right to ask him about his wellbeing, he kind of found it hard to keep on the same damned routine of university, and on top of that the unnecessary load of assignments he has to do, it makes him anxious just the thought of them.

but it doesn't matter now, he had another problem to fix...

Gray was never a fan of communication, and after today? he can sure label himself as the worst at communication, he shouldn't have yelled at her, he shouldn't have looked at her that way, she deserves better.

maybe if he could just end it.

"when you face a problem with someone you love, you harvest your self-hater and think that people deserve much better than you do, and then you end everything."

she heard him coming closer to her place, where she is swinging her legs from the rooftop. She would have been terrified if there wasn't another rooftop built right under it, so the fear of breaking a leg or two from a fall is impossible to happen.

she felt a heavy weight over her body, warmth embraced her as she slowly tugged the coat with her fingers, although she wasn't feeling the cold.

she saw from the corner of her eye,Gray shifting his position over the railing of the roof, leaving his legs dangling similarly as hers. she didn't have the courage to look at his face again, which made her frustrated to death, because the silence hanging between them was driving her mad.

should she say something? should she start by apologizing? she could if the heavy lump didn't pressure her from forming words.

"I'm sorry", she heard him say, oh so softly that made her heart hammer with speed.

why should he apologize when she started this whole mess? she opened her lips to argue against who's fault it was, but he beat her into it, " I didn't mean to yell at you"

Juvia finally turned her head to look at him, he was avoiding her eyes and instead looking blowing them, his black messy hair was moved by the wind of the season, and it made him look so ethereal.

she shook her head instead and looked below them as well. She noticed a small creature-probably a squirell- settling himself in one of the tree branches, enjoying his treat.

"Juvia is the one who is sorry, I shouldn't have listened to your conversation.."

" I could have just explained what you heard instead", this time their eyes locked at each other, she feels the heavy awkward air began to shift away alongside the wind.

she would be lying if she said that she wasn't curious about their conversation because she knows that if they don't discuss it right now she will be left with a sleepless night, yet she doesn't want to push him into pouring down his scars if he doesn't want to.

"Juvia doesn't want to pressure you-"

"I want to."

he interrupted her, and Juvia doesn't have a choice but to listen and give in into her curiosity impulse.

Gray took a breath, and Juvia felt the nervousness seeping from him, so she hesitantly offered her hand towards him, she doesn't know if he is comfortable about it or not, so an offering is better than a bold move, like she usually does.

He looked surprisingly at her hand and smiled slightly, grabbing her hand while interlocking their fingers together, "you usually just hold it, why are you being polite?" he said, pointing out the fact that she is impolite when it comes to showing her affection towards him.

Juvia snort:" for now I'll be polite "

she grasped his hand for reassurance, and smiled at him.

"well.." he began, "since you know that I didn't enjoy my life in Korea, and that I had to work a lot and study everyday like some slave, and why my mental health was dropping all the way down" , he stopped for a moment, breathing in through his nose, and exhaling; and Juvia waited patiently, she could even wait for ages she won't mind.

"I used something so I won't try and kill myself"

Juvia's worrying pit started expanding, making her whole body tense with the thoughts running over her head about her beloved hurting himself.

" I used to self-harm."

the blue-haired girl remembers the feeling of being absorbed by fear, how her whole body freezes whenever she encounters a crowd, how the fright will make her shiver non-stop and her mind draws blank. She is familiar with this.

but she never felt fear choking her being like right now.

self-harm.

just the thought of seeing her lover sinking those sharp razors to his wrist so he wouldn't try suicide as an option, she felt like crying.

Gray broke the eye contact between each other, realizing how much of a shock that might have been to her, she can sense how tightly he is holding her hand right now, as if she would run away from him any moment.

"i am sorry" he apologized, he looked dejected, and Juvia could maybe see a glimpse of his old self.

but why is he apologizing? does he think that she'll run away out of disgust from what he suffered? does he think that Juvia would leave him because he had other means to keep himself from dying?

"Do you think that Juvia will leave you?" Gray didn't glance at her, so she grabbed his chin with her hand, turning his head to look at his grey eyes, they were red, ready to brim with tears. "This isn't your fault, and ju via wouldn't even think of leaving your side after opening up to me."

she can feel the tone of her voice quiver, but she held it because her sweet lover man is the one who has the right to tear about it, not her, no matter how much she wants to.

"you are very brave my love." she said softly, cradling his cheek, which were cold under her hand. she knows that he won't believe it, not now at least, it might need time for him to realize how courageous and strong he is, she is aware that he went through this all alone.

"i am not going to leave you alone, Juvia promises on her life."

the lid broke and everything in it scattered out.

Gray cried silently, and Juvia brought his head into her chest, to cradle him from all the pain and the danger of the world, she can sense her own tears ready to fall like a rain shower.

they held each other tightly under the glimmer of the stars and the dark sky, while the whistles of the wind gave them a bittersweet shiver, but all they could feel was each other's warmth.

Gray wants to not give in into his self-blame tendency, and while it's hard, opening up to Juvia made him feel that something clicked, like a puzzle joining to fill a whole picture.

Juvia completes him.

and so they cried, their fingers still locked together and the time passed not knowing for how long they were in each other's embrace. and nobody broke their heartfelt moment.

#gruvia #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #gray x juvia #fanfiction #attempt of writing #fairy tail #this fanfic lowkey has a universe i made by myself #wink wink