Chapter Text
Gray Fullbuster was known to be a great friend.
He never hesitated to help his friends with whatever they had issues with. Did they need help practicing their magic? He’ll help. Did they need a place to crash? He had a couch. Did they need him to sign attendance on class so they could skip? He’ll do it. Did they need a shoulder to cry on? He’ll try his best to console them.
He was a very good friend, which can explain why he found himself in his current situation.
Juvia Lockser had joined their friend group a little over two years before and she was great. Smart, strong, beautiful and kind. Also slightly crazy for Gray.
He, though, was not looking into a relationship; he had some random hook ups before but he wouldn’t let anyone get close enough. Instead, he kept her in arm’s length, and before he knew it, she was one of his closest friends, she was an amazing woman and he was very lucky to have her so when he saw her in trouble, he didn’t hesitate to help.
Their friend group had reunited at a bar the night of the first day of the semester and they were all were fun until Lucy stepped for a second to go to the bathroom, Juvia and Cana followed her. Since all of them had drank quite a lot already, Gray felt relieved the girls always go around in packs for safety, but kept in mind to pay as much attention as he could.
His gaze would shift from the general direction of the bathroom to his friends and he saw his three girl friends start to walk back in their direction and he relaxed, then Natsu asked him something.
After a few moments talking to Natsu and Loke, Gray saw Lucy and Cana return to the table, but neither of them sat back down, picking Gray’s curiosity.
“Can you see them?” Cana asked Lucy.
“Yeah. Back wall.” Gray glanced at Lucy’s expression and it was unusually dark. “I know she said she knows him but I remember him from earlier, he hit on me and if Natsu hadn’t step in, I bet he would’ve had grabby hands too.”
“Let’s keep an eye on them.”
As he wasn’t exactly sober, it took Gray a second to realise Juvia hadn’t join them.
Frowning, Gray looked at the direction the other two women were looking and thankfully blue hair wasn’t common so finding Juvia wasn’t difficult.
She was talking to a tall man with dark blue hair he doesn’t recognize.
It wasn’t uncommon for her to be hit on. Gray wasn’t very happy when it happened, but she had won third place as hottest girl on campus for two years, of course she was asked out constantly, including by Gray’s own foster brother when he stopped by for a visit much to his chagrin.
As far as Gray knew, besides a conversation and maybe a dance, she never took anyone on their flirts, but this guy seemed… different. She didn’t look like she was being polite or cold to make him go away.
The man was too close, a hand on her lower back as he leaned in, his other hand on the back of her neck as if he was just waiting to kiss her.
Even when she was letting him get away with it, her hands were on his chest, putting some distance between them and she looked uncomfortable.
Gray’s blood started to boil in his veins but remembered his friends’ words.
He got up and asked Lucy and Cana. “Who the fuck is that?”
Both girls didn’t even look at him. As they replied at the same time: “A fucking creep.” “Her ex.”
Because of the alcohol, it took Gray second to compute their replies. “Her ex?”
Lucy nodded, her expression even darker. “Her abusive ex.”
“What the fuck? You left her alone with him?” Gray growled, taking a step their direction, but Lucy put a hand on his arm, shaking her head.
“Fuck you, Gray. She asked us to leave.” Cana snarled back. “She didn’t have much control when she was with him so we are giving her control of the situation now.” The brunette’s gaze returned to Juvia. “She can do this and if she doesn’t, we’ll be there in a second.”
Gray didn’t know what was going on, of course he knew Juvia had had a serious boyfriend before, but she never wanted to talk about it and now he knew why. He wanted to go help her, but he could see the point the girls were making. He would find the whole story later, but for now he had to trust them and Juvia.
The three of them kept guard, looking at them talk. Juvia shook her head emphatically and the man snorted at that, starting to lower his head, clearly trying to kiss her as she pushed him away.
Before Gray could even think about what he was doing, his body was already moving.
“No, Bora-kun.” He heard Juvia say when he was close enough. “I told you I have a boyfriend now.”
“I don’t think so, Ju-” The man couldn’t finish because Gray’s hand was on his throat, pulling him away from Juvia and slamming his body on the wall.
“Are you sure about that, asshole?” Gray said between gritted teeth, hearing Juvia gasp in surprise. “What are you doing putting your paws on a woman after she said no?”
“Gray-sama!” Juvia exclaimed, a few people around them stepped back to not get caught in the crossfire. She stepped next to them, a hand on his cheek. “Let him go. Please.” Bora was looking between them with curiosity, barely afraid. “You’ll get in trouble.”
“Yes, Gray-sama. Let me go.” The man croaked in a mocking tone.
Gray rarely got that angry, but that man was really pushing it. He could barely hear Juvia’s pleas, as he looked at the man’s dark eyes. What the fuck did Juvia ever see in him?
He felt strong arms pull him back and realise it was Natsu when he said in a low voice “Chill out, man. He probably deserves it, but you have witnesses.”
Gray saw Juvia at the corner of his eyes, looking worried and embarrassed. He hated he was the one who caused it.
“You are damn lucky.” Gray told Bora and let him go, Natsu pulling him away far enough and Juvia was in front of him in a blink of an eye.
Even though Gray was the one who attacked the other man – Bora, Gray remembered his name –, Juvia was checking him for injuries.
“Are you okay, Gray-sama?” She asked, clearly worried.
“Peachy.” His dark eyes still trained on the other man. “You better fuck off somewhere else, asshole.” Gray said with venom to Bora, who smirked, making Gray feel uneasy when he looked in Juvia’s direction.
“You always come back to me, Juvia-chan.”
“Not this time, Bora-kun.” Juvia said with determination. “Like I said, Juvia is not available.”
“This one?” Bora pointed at Gray, who would’ve stepped his direction but Natsu held him back. “You still call him -sama, Juvia. That’s what you used to call me before we started dating.” Juvia flinched with his words. “Dressed like that” he looked pointedly at her dark pink short tube dress that made her body look amazing “and playing hard to get doesn’t suit you.”
“Juvia is not playing anything.” She said, exasperated, but stated to pull her dress down, suddenly self-conscious and Gray hated it.
Gray knew men like Bora before so he needed to hit where it hurt: his ego.
“Let me go.” He whispered to Natsu, who was frowning looking at the exchange. The pink haired man nodded slowly and stepped away from him.
“Bora, was it?” Gray stepped closer to him and for his pleasure, he saw a flash of fear in his eyes as the man stepped back. “You might be too stupid, but have you never heard of pet names? Terms of endearment? As it turns out, I like when my girlfriend calls me Gray-sama.” He lowered his voice so the only people who could hear them were the ones standing right next to them. “Makes me feel like one of her gods when I’m making her say it over and over again while she begs for me. Something I was told you could never do. She truly has upgraded.” He heard Juvia exclaim his name and he could imagine her face was red, but he would deal with it later, as it was Gray’s turn to smirk when he saw hatred in Bora’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it one day. Or not. Just not with Juvia. Now fuck off to whichever hole you crawled out from.”
“I was her first.” Bora all but spat out.
“And I’ll be her last.” Gray stepped closer to him.
“She always comes back if I want her too.”
Gray snorted. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Oh, you will. Guess who is taking his last semester here in Magnolia?” Bora said, smugly, and stepping aside from Gray, creating distance between them. “And since there’s only one University around here…”
Gray narrowed his eyes, understanding what he meant. “If you know what’s good for you, I better not catch you trying to chat Juvia up. Juvia? Do you want this man to talk to you.”
“Absolutely not.” Came Juvia’s immediate answer.
“There you go.” Gray said. “Now leave before I change my mind.”
“I’ll see you around… Juvia-chan.” Bora said, glancing at Juvia.
Gray was going to take a step back, but Juvia put herself in front of him, giving Bora enough time to leave the bar.
“It’s really not worth it, Gray-sama.” She said and she held him back until the man was gone. “I’m so sorry about all this.” Juvia whispered, ashamed and looked around, their friends and some other people were looking at them. “I’m sorry everyone. Juvia will…go.”
Juvia turned around to leave, Gray held her by the wrist and waved off the concerned girls, who stepped in her direction. “I’ll take you home.” He said and she opened her mouth to protest, but he was quick to interrupt her. “I don’t trust that crazy bastard to not be waiting around for you. We also need to talk.” He said, leaving no room for arguments, so she nodded and looked away. “I’ll settle our tabs at the bar, go get your coat.”
#
“So let me get this straight.” Gray said as they talked in front of her building after taking a taxi – he would never drive after drinking even after the whole situation with Bora sobered him up quite quickly. “He broke up with you because you were gloomy? Really? That dude has a lot of self-esteem that he thinks he will ever get anyone hotter. Ever.”
Juvia snorted. “I think there’s a compliment buried there somewhere, Gray-sama.” Gray smirked, he never denied Juvia was beautiful and she knew it. “He was… nice at first. We met when Juvia was sixteen, he was eighteen. We started dating a year later and Juvia was not exactly bleeding friends back then so there was no one to tell me what he was doing.” She sighed, looking up at the starry sky. “He… told me what to do, how to do it, with whom, when. Even… even my clothes. He always said he preferred his girl dressed modestly so other men wouldn’t ogle or be tempted. If Juvia dressed anything well fitting, he would throw a fit.” She sighed, pulling her jacket tighter around her. “Even today. I thought I was over the voice he instilled in my head, but just a few words from him today about my look and it feels like I dressed out like a whore instead as a young person going out.”
Gray blinked in surprise. Juvia looked absolutely stunning with her dark pink dress that showed every curve of her body. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she looked radiant to have met up with all their friends after such a busy summer until she saw her ex.
“This was supposed to be a closed chapter in Juvia’s life.” She started to pace and Gray just let her. Maybe she needed to tire herself out. “He broke up with me multiple times during the year we were together… I’ve worked so hard to change, to find out who I am, to be myself, not whatever he wanted me to be. I have friends. Real friends who like me for me. I haven’t seen him in three years! I never want to see him again yet just a few words in and I’m sixteen again, horrified I’m not good enough.” She stopped and looked at him. “I’m so sorry you got dragged into this, Gray-sama.”
Gray shrugged. “You didn’t. That whole thing was all me.”
“I’ll… I’ll talk to him tomorrow or whenever.” Juvia sighed and Gray frowned in confusion. “Juvia assumes he had been drinking and his inhibitions were all gone tonight. Thank you for stepping in though, Gray-sama, but you are off the hook about pretending you are Juvia’s boyfriend. I had to come up with something on the spot, thank you for playing along.”
Gray shook his head. “I don’t think you should tell him we are not dating just yet.” Juvia snapped her head his direction, confused. “Drunk or not, he doesn’t sound like the type of guy who likes to hear ‘no’. He should definitely listen to you, but if he doesn’t, why not have an added layer the protection of a fake boyfriend?”
She was shaking her head at his final words. “That is not fair to you. Juvia can’t ask you to-”
“Juvia, I’m your friend.” He crossed his arms over his chest . “If we need to tell people we are dating for a few months so a psycho ex-boyfriend doesn’t bother you, I’m down for it. He really didn’t seem like his mind was all there, I’m concerned. We already have the same friend circle, we all go together to parties and stuff, you already like to stand beside me. Not much will change.”
Juvia hesitated. “People will talk.”
“Who cares?” Gray shrugged. “People always talk, let them.” Juvia still looked concerned. “Like you said, you worked very hard to get here. Don’t let him tear it down. We make this work in name only this semester, then he will be gone and the story we will tell everyone is that we are much better as friend. End of story.”
He saw sadness flash in her eyes but it was gone as quickly as it showed up.
“We really shouldn’t do this.” She massaged her temple.
“Blame me if it all goes to shit.” He rolled his eyes. “It won’t, though.”
#
For the first week, there was no sightings of Bora, much to everyone’s relief, even though it was a matter of time.
Gray had noticed Juvia had worn her old clothes for a couple of days after the first meeting, baggy and not form fitting at all; he didn’t mention anything, hoping she would wear what she wanted to, not what she thought she had to. He was glad to see her back into her normal clothes on day three, being radiant again.
The story of their new found relationship status was going around like wildfire, courtesy of their friends who loved nothing but to gossip and as Gray had promised, nothing had really changed. They hang out the same, she still sat next to him as much as possible, made him laugh, still tried to take him on a date. They were living life as normal but Gray could see her looking around at some moments, as if looking for Bora to ruin the moment.
Gray hated it. Hated him.
The Juvia he knew was always so happy and carefree. Seeing that being ripped from her was torture, which made Bora Public Enemy Number One.
Thankfully planning Lisanna’s birthday party seemed to have taken Juvia’s mind out of seeing her ex all the time, so she applied herself into it when she wasn’t studying or working. Gray saw a bit of her sparkle return to her and in the end, she and the others had planned a great party for the white haired woman.
The night of the party everyone was having fun, it seemed the Strauss’ home couldn’t get fuller as it felt like all of university attended.
Gray and Juvia were chatting with Lucy and Natsu when the blonde made a face.
“Don’t look.” She said, stating to smile again to cover up her discomfort. “Bora is here. He is looking around.”
Gray noticed Juvia’s body tense and he swore under his breath. “What the fuck is he doing here?” He asked.
“Probably came with someone else.” Lucy was still pretending she had not seen Bora and they were just talking.
“You should do something.” Natsu said, taking a sip of his drink. “If you two want to make he think you are dating, you should do way better than this.”
Shit, Gray thought, but he had an idea. He leaned in Juvia’s direction and whispered. “Come with me, smile and don’t look around trying to find him.” Juvia looked up, hesitant. “Trust me.” He offered his hand.
Juvia nodded, grabbed his hand and put on her best smile on. “Always.”
He quickly located Bora and he moved between all the people, making sure not to bump into him, bringing Juvia to the quieter place of the house, the TV room, where other couples were talking in whispers.
“Sit here with me.” Gray was quick to grab a seat as a couple left the sofa. It was tight with the other people squeezing in, but that was the point. Juvia was sitting awkwardly on her side, Gray had to put his arm on the back of her neck and they had to snuggle close together. Nothing they haven’t done when sharing a taxi, or after having a little too much to drink after a party. “This way, for someone looking from the outside, we are...” He waved at the other couples. “You know, two committed people who don’t need to go looking into hooking up.”
Juvia smiled and nodded, burrowing on him as much she could so she could hide and Gray, once again, felt hatred towards her ex. She never before dimmed herself like she was doing now.
“I’m sorry about all this.” She whispered. “I should’ve stayed home.”
“None of that.” Gray scolded. “He is the one in the wrong here, not you. We shouldn’t even need to do this in the first place. You should be free to go wherever you want to.”
“Thank you.” She smiled up to him and stated to chat for a few minutes, forgetting about Bora. They talked about their classes, Gray’s hockey practice, Juvia’s hobby of swimming. They always seemed to end up that way anyways, talking to each other, close and usually one touching the other. On this occasion, Gray’s hand was resting on Juvia’s hip, his thumb doing circles on her bone, her head on his shoulder and a hand on his chest.
More than once, Gray thought how easy would be to lean in and kiss her. If they should ever. Every time it happened, he got more and more tempted and this time was particularly hard, as besides the alcohol they were also trying to sell a relationship so touching and closeness were the point of it
Juvia’s eyes drifted towards the door, Gray could feel her body stiffen and he knew it was Bora.
“Don’t look at him.” He whispered and her eyes drifted back to him. “He doesn’t matter.”
“Okay.” She replied, with a shy smile.
“Is he still there?” He asked after a minute and Juvia nodded. “Fucking creep. Do you want to leave?” He moved his hand from her hip to her cheek. “Or…” He hesitated. Should he... suggest what popped in his mind? He might regret not saying it, so he blurted it out. “We could… show him we mean business?
Juvia blinked. “What?”
“What I mean is…” Maybeit was his three or four tequila shots and his beer talking, but he gathered the courage to speak. “We could kiss, show him we are dating.”
The woman looked at him in surprise. “Two years and all Juvia needed to do was having Bora around? Juvia would’ve called him here herself much sooner.”
Gray snorted. “Ha ha. Shut up.” He rolled his eyes. “We don’t have to, but it might give him a hint we are not joking around.”
Juvia hesitated. “I don’t want you to do something you don’t really want to do. Or do this just because-”
“I offered.” His eyes drifted to her lips then back to her eyes. “I’m not going to lie here, Juvia. I have... wondered what it would be like.” God, was it only four tequila shots? He shouldn’t be saying all that.
“Did you?” She asked, bewildered.
“Oh yeah.” He nodded. “We get this close most times we go out, it’s very difficult not to imagine where things could lead to.”
“We could…” Juvia brought her face closer to his and suddenly, Gray felt nervous. “…just to show him. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“Yeah, it can mean absolutely nothing.” Gray agreed. “Just once so we can fool him and know what’s like.”
“It makes sense to me.”
Gray closed the distance between them and let their lips touch; he coaxed her mouth open and it wasn’t at all like he thought it was going to be: it was much better.
He felt like his body was being electrocuted, his heart was beating faster, all he wanted was to keep kissing her forever.
Juvia had a hand on the back of his neck, Gray’s hand returned to its place on her hip, moving it to her lower back.
They didn’t know how long they were kissing but eventually they needed to come up for air for more than a second. Gray rested his forehead on Juvia’s, who still had her eyes closed.
“Well… That happened.”
“Shhh. Juvia is committing this whole thing to memory.” She put a finger on his lips.
Gray rolled his eyes but he wanted to check if Bora was still around without being obvious so he looked at the other couples before glancing at the door, noticing he was gone.
“At least we know kissing makes him disappear.” Gray mentioned to Juvia, who scoffed.
“Great. His only useful feature and Juvia would rather not have him around, but it’s a small price to pay for kissing you, Gray-sama.” She winked.
With a chuckle, Gray got up and offered his hand to help her up. “Let’s get something to eat. I am definitely drunker than I thought.”
#
On one hand, Juvia was very happy to have not seen Bora during the next week. On the other hand, she had had no excuse to repeat the kiss from Lisanna’s party.
They were sharing even more time together, Gray would take her home almost daily, they would hang out by themselves after their friends were gone. Nothing really had changed but everything had at the same time.
Now she knew what kissing him felt like, how he explored her mouth, his hand on her back. He was so tender. Would it be like this every time? How would he kiss when he was excited? Or sleepy? Or horny? She was dying to know but she needed to guard her heart. Gray had told her multiple times he was not looking for a relationship and she had accepted it. Mostly. She still would enjoy every second of whatever he would give her.
Maybe she could give him a little nudge.
They usually met with their friends at a diner at 6pm on Wednesdays, a little mid-week get together to look forward to where they would indulge with breakfast for dinner. It was always a lively occasion and Gray usually took Juvia home, since she didn’t have a car.
That time wasn’t different, so when Gray stopped in front of her building, both spoke at the same time.
“Juvia was thinking-” “I realized something-”
They both chuckled and Gray made a movement with his hand so she could speak first.
“Juvia was thinking we shouldn’t be caught… unprepared again when we see Bora-kun again.” She tried to sound nonchalant.
“Oh?” Gray said, using the same tone. “I was thinking the same thing. It would make sense if we could be… more natural next time. We were quite rusty...” She looked at him offended. “I’m not saying it wasn’t good, but I think it should be more organic.”
They stayed in silence for a moment, until Juvia asked: “Want to come up to Juvia’s apartment so we can practice?”
Gray was already unbuckling his seat belt. “Very much so, yeah.”
#
To Juvia’s delight, their “practice” rounds were happening almost every day. It seemed all Gray needed to release himself on her was an excuse and for the first time in a long time, Juvia was grateful for Bora’s showing up act.
Even their friends were used to the couple leaving their get togethers early to make out – not that they would say it, most rolling their eyes when Gray would say they needed to keep up appearances.
They usually ended up going to one of their apartments and spending a couple of hours kissing the hell out of each other.
They did get one thing right, though, was how organic it all was after they started kissing. He didn’t even realize his hand would go straight to her lower back when they were together in public now, Juvia didn’t notice she stopped being so jealous, more focused on spending time with him.
Juvia caught glimpses of Bora at the corridors and campus, but she was quick to dodge him and finding Gray. Apparently, Bora was too much of a coward to approach her while she had her “boyfriend” around.
She knew she could handle if he did, she was prepared now, but the fact was that she didn’t want to. If she could avoid the headache, she would. Plus, she was having the time of her life sneaking with her Gray-sama to kiss him senseless multiple times a day so she didn’t want to ruin her very good mood.
With all that happening, Juvia was still guarding her heart. She knew they were having fun, she knew he would never intentionally hurt her but she needed to prepare herself for when all that was not needed anymore and they would return to be just friends. It was going to be hard, but she cherished all the moments they had together. She would enjoy the hell out of this opportunity and when they “broke up” she would have all the amazing memories, which was why she jumped on the opportunity to have more.
They were, once more, at a party. Juvia loved Halloween and dressing up, so going to the party was great, but going with Gray was even better.
Cana threw the best Halloween parties, everyone knew that, and the fact her dad was cool with her using their huge house was a plus. And, as it always was the case, the place was packed.
Juvia was dressed as a belly dancer while Gray was an airplane pilot, and seeing his expression when she removed her coat when he got to their friend’s house was worthy of how cold she was until she got used to the temperature of the house.
“This is not fair.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “You should have showed me what you were wearing before we got here.”
Juvia giggled. “And miss the party? Look at all this!”
“Fuck the party.” Gray said, his hand resting on her waist, his thumb playing with the hem of her belly dancer top.
“Be nice.” Juvia tip toed and kissed him, his hands moving to her lower back, making her shudder. “Two hours and you can take Juvia home.”
He groaned in annoyance. “I’m timing you.”
The time flew by after they met up with their closest friends, as it was always the case. Juvia was dancing with Cana on the made-up dance floor on the living room when she saw her friend wink and move away before she felt a hand slide on her exposed belly.
She knew instantly it was Gray and it caused her skin to have goosebumps.
Juvia turned around to face him and he looked incredibly handsome, the first few buttons of his costume were undone, he had rolled his sleeves too and he looked like sin.
Apparently, he knew how to dance, which really surprised her. In two years, she had never seen him dance before, yet there he was, moving his hips with hers. The way he looked at her, Juvia was sure she would melt at any second.
The music stopped and Juvia was feeling so warm and giddy, she needed more. She grabbed Gray’s hand and pulled him to the corner of the room; she grabbed him by the shirt and brought his lips to her.
Gray complied straight away, backing her to the wall, kissing her roughly. His hands going from her hips, to her ass and down to her legs so he could pull her up to him. She knew what he wanted her to do, so she let him move her legs to wrap them around his hips and it felt glorious.
Their kissing sessions had been virtually just that and even though it had been amazing, this was much better. They didn’t even care there were people around – most of them didn’t care what they were doing as well.
“Since when can you dance?” Juvia whispered when they had to come up for air.
“I can’t.” Gray kissed her neck. “I am slightly tipsy and followed your lead. You really know how to move your hips.”
“You should see Juvia moving when she is taking off her clothes. It’s mesmerizing.” She said and he stopped kissing her to look at her, eyes wide. “You know, Juvia has heard about something called friends with benefits.” She mentioned. “We are already pretending to date, might as well get the benefits of it.” For a second, she thought she had been too greedy, and he was freaking out, but instead, he smirked.
“That can be arranged.” He squeezed her ass one last time and put her back down. “Give me a second and we’ll leave.” Juvia frowned for a second, but he glanced down to his pants and she could see he was a bit too excited. “I don’t think people will want to see me walking around with a boner.”
Juvia giggled and kissed him again. “Juvia is flattered.” She said. “She will take care of that for you when we are alone.”
He groaned. “Not helping.”
She was laughing but stopped as soon as her eyes met Bora’s over Gray’s shoulder. She tried to hold on to her good mood, but she was very annoyed. Gray noticed the change and looked over his shoulder, seeing her ex dressed as Beetlejuice, staring at them.
“We really need to find out who he hangs out with and never invite them again.” Gray muttered in annoyance as he straightened himself, adjusted his pants to it wasn’t as obvious how turned on he was and turned to look at the other man. “Do you mind? How long have you been standing there?” Gray scowled. “This is fucking weird, man.”
But Bora, wasn’t looking at Gray, his attention was on Juvia. “You have really changed. The clothes, the public displays of affection...”
“Yes!” Juvia exclaimed. “Yes, I have changed, the Juvia you knew is gone, please understand that. We are never going back together.”
Bora smirked. “We’ll see.” He, then, left, leaving Gray and Juvia flabbergasted.
“We’ll see? We’ll see?” Gray said in anger, trying not to shout. “What does that even mean? You are mine! I mean, ours! Do we need to have sex in front of him to prove you are not going back to him? Because I’ll do it! Fucking lunatic!”
“Gray-sama.” Juvia said, putting a hand on his cheek so he would look at her again. She was calm, and collected. “It’s not worth it. Juvia won’t get back to him. He might need... more time to realize it’s not happening.”
“But he-”
“Is not going to ruin a perfectly amazing night that is not over yet.” She pointed out, stepping closer to him and pressing her body on his. “You are taking Juvia to your place and we will forget all about the last 2 minutes.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head. “Say ‘yes, Juvia-sama'.”
He couldn’t help but to snort. “I’m not calling you that.”
“Not yet.” She winked. “Juvia has her ways.” She put a hand on the back of his neck. “So... how about we go get some benefits out of this friendship-turned-into-fake-dating thing?”
His eyes twinkled. “You go get our coats; I’ll call the taxi.”
#
Lips still locked with Juvia’s, her legs wrapped around his waist, his body pinning her to the door, one hand resting under her thigh, holding her in place as Gray opened the door of his bedroom. She was holding on to him for dear life, once the door was open, he put this other hand under her thigh and lifted her, stepping into the room, kicking his door closed.
Only a few steps in and Gray lowered her to his bed, lying down on top of her, her belly dancer costume giving him access to a lot of her skin. He started to kiss her neck, making her gasp, her hands between them, trying to undo the buttons of his shirt very awkwardly.
Taking a hint, Gray got up and quickly worked on his buttons, removing the shirt and Juvia’s mouth watered. She had seen his great body before, but she never really touched, not where she wanted to. She sat down and reached for his stomach, biting her lip when she felt the muscle there.
Gray was watching her and he gasped in surprised when she pulled him by the waist belt of his pants, bringing him closer.
“Too many clothes.” She told him as she undid his belt, the button and fly.
“You too. I was promised a mesmerising performance.” Gray said kicking down his shoes, pushing down his pants; he was finally standing in only his underwear and she could see his erection.
Juvia smiled and stood up, Gray took a step back to give her space but she got closer to him and gave him a kiss, her hands travelling over his chest, his own hands on her waist.
She turned him around and pushed him on the bed, he fell back, sitting down. While being watched, Juvia started to remove her bracelets, then necklace. She found the clasp of her skirt and she heard his breath catch, as she let it fall and pool around her feet, she was standing with just her underwear and costume bra.
She turned her back at him and reached for the clasp of her bra in the back and undid it, letting it fall alongside her skirt.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Gray wasn’t moving a muscle, just looking at her with wide eyes. She found the courage and turned to face him, standing only in her underwear.
Gray finally reached out to her, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her his way. Juvia had put a knee on each side of his hips as she sat on his lap. He looked down to her, his hands on her ass.
“Was this mesmerising enough?” Juvia asked, a hand on his cheek and an arm holding onto his shoulders.
“You are perfect.” He whispered, his hands moving slowly to her waist, then ribs and finally her breasts. “How are you real?”
“I could say the same.” Juvia hand going down, touching his arms, his chest. They were touching everywhere except for their sexes.
When they kissed again, they were barely containing themselves, they were trying to touch everywhere at once, desperate for each other. Gray’s lips trailed down to her neck, cleavage and finally to her breasts, starting to move her hips into his hardness. His mouth sucked on her nipple and she moaned loudly, making her arche her body.
With his hands back to her ass, Gray started to move her on top of him while he kissed, licked and bit her breasts.
Juvia felt as if her body was on fire, everywhere he touched.
“Gray-sama.” She breathed. “More.”
“Fuck yeah.” He said and in a blink of an eye he had flipped them over, Gray lost no time of covering her body with his, his hips resting on top of hers, legs around his waist as they resumed their kisses.
Juvia reached to the hem of his underwear, pulling it down as much she could with their current position. “Take it off.” She whispered and he lost no time in doing so, trying to not be too far away from her, and at the same time, Juvia was pulling down her own underwear down.
He returned to be above her and Juvia looked down, finally seeing him fully naked and god, he was amazing.
“Do you want to continue?” Gray asked, kissing her cheek.
“Yes.” She touched his cheek. “If you do.”
Grinding his erection on her hip, he said. “Oh, I do.” He kissed her deeply one more time and then rolled, reaching into his bedside table.
He opened the drawer and whispered: “Shit. Come on.” He opened the second drawer, rustled with some things inside and said louder: “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Juvia frowned. “Gray-sama?”
He laid back down next to her, an arm over his eyes. “I… don’t have any condoms.” He said with a sigh. “The box was empty, I haven’t checked in a while, I kept seeing the box thinking I had some, but didn’t realise I was out.”
Juvia could feel the frustration coming off him and she could understand him, she was expecting them to go all the way that night.
“You could... knock on Loke-san's bedroom?” She suggested, thinking of his roommate. “He must have one he can spare?”
He snorted. “Yeah, not happening. I did that once, traumatized me forever. We are friends, but I did not need to see...” Gray shuddered. “I never know who he will bring home. Or how many people and he always hooks up at parties.”
“When was the last time you needed them?” She tried not to snoop, she was curious, though, but she braced herself for his answer.
He stopped to think. “A couple of months after we met, maybe?”
The answer surprised her. “That was... two years ago.”
Gray shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t need sex all the time like some people do. Don’t get me wrong. it’s great and I really, really, really wanted to do it with you right now, but I can go without.”
Juvia didn’t know why he hadn’t hook up with anyone in two years, the romantic part of her brain hoped it was because he met her, but she would have to think about it later on, she had more pressing things to do.
With one swift move, Juvia was sitting on his lap once more, hands on his stomach, making Gray peek from under his forearm in question.
“Well... there are things we can still do until you buy condoms.” She said, moving her hips.
His hands went straight to her hips. “Oh, don’t you worry, I’ll be buying a new box in the morning. This won’t ever happen again.” His eyes roamed her body as she moved on top of him. “What things are you referring to?”
With her index finger, she trailed a path from his chest down to his abs. “You know, Juvia has been dreaming about this exact situation: you wanting me so much you would let me do what I want.” She leaned in and started to kiss the same path her finger did. “I have a long list of things I would like to do to you.”
“Oh? How long?” Gray was a little breathless.
Her hands went lower, brushing a finger at the head of his penis, making him gasp, his hips buckling. “Well, long enough to last us a while. Definitely last us tonight.”
“I-I see. Sound like a good plan.” Gray nodded enthusiastically. “I also have some suggestions on how to pass the time tonight.”
“Yeah?” She moved her body lower and kissed his hipbone, a hand on his other one, missing the part he needed her to touch the most.
“Yeah. Show me yours and I’ll show you mine?” He suggested.
Juvia nodded, her hand curling around his erection, pumping it for a moment before lowering her lips to it and after that, the only noise in his bedroom were of his moans and pleas.
#
Morning came too soon and with it, their responsibilities. Juvia needed to study for big tests the next week and Gray had practice with his hockey team and also study . It didn’t stop them to wake up slightly earlier and have Gray’s fingers inside her until she came and then have her grind on his erection until he did.
The night before had been pretty damn amazing and if not for the fact they were busy, they would’ve stayed inside all day.
Gray had given Juvia a shirt and shorts she could wear to go back home. They hadn’t planned to have her sleeping over and going home with her costume would’ve been uncomfortable so he drove her home. They might of not have kissed in front of her building for a while before she left the car, but that was neither here nor there.
After he left, he stopped by a pharmacy, though. He was not going through what happened the night before again. Even though what they done had been amazing, he was very excited to go all the way.
Once he got home, he saw Loke was awake in the kitchen, half naked, holding a cup of coffee and looking at him expectantly.
“So...? Has Juvia popped your cherry?” Loke smirked. “I noticed her coat and heels on the floor when I got home. Unless you hooked up with someone else, which I doubt.”
“Shut up.” Gray scowled as he put a plastic bag on the counter. “Of course it was who Juvia stayed over and no, she didn’t pop my cherry.” Loke raised an eyebrow, clearly he thought he would get dirty details. “No condoms.” Gray muttered.
Loke gasped in outrage. “Why didn’t you knock? I have an emergency stash, you know that!”
“I didn’t want a repeat of seeing you naked with the two cheerleaders… and Adam.” Gray glared.
“That was a great night.” Loke said wistfully and then focused back on Gray. “So you two… had fun other ways?” He probed.
“Well…” Gray cleared his throat but said nothing else and Loke beamed.
“Good for you. At least you got some..” Loke said in triumph. “Clearly not exactly what you wanted, but some.” He pointed at the plastic bag. “Condoms?”
"Yeah. Not going to let that happen again." Gray opened the fridge to fix himself some breakfast. “I hadn’t even checked the box in about two years, it seems.” He got some bread out. “I didn’t realise it had been that long.”
Loke watched as Gray started to make a sandwich. “So... is this real now?”
“What? No. This is just fake dating to help her. That guy is crazy.” Gray said, waving his friend off. “Last night he was saying bullshit about her going back to him.” He sorted. “As if she would.”
The orange haired man nodded. “Sure, sure. I’m just curious: I understand kissing, the guy should see you get a little physical, but how does having sex help with the fake dating, exactly? It’s not like he will watch. So I was just wondering.”
Gray stilled for a second. “We realized we were already doing this, might as well have fun with it.” He resumed with his activity. “She is beautiful, I thought you would be jumping in excitement that I was doing this. Are you telling you’d pass at the opportunity?”
“Oh, no. That has me written all over, there are a few of my friends I wanted some benefits with.” Loke said. “This has not Gray written on it, though. You don’t do casual, Gray. Even your one night stands were never one night.” Gray turned to face him. “And Juvia… she has always been special to you and you to her.”
“Are you worried about Juvia? She is the one who suggested this. I’m not doing anything wrong here.”
“Oh, I’m sure she did and you are doing nothing wrong. Believe it or not, she is handling it exactly as I thought she would, good for her, seizing the opportunity and getting some.” Loke said. “But she knows what’s at stake here for herself. You don’t.”
“What does that mean?” Gray asked, confused.
Loke sighed. “She knows her feelings, she is doing this knowing what it’s coming and what’s going to be like when you two stop doing whatever this is.. You… have no idea.”
“I know where I’m getting myself into.” Gray crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at his friend. “And when this is over, I’ll be fine.”
Loke sighed. “If you say so.” They heard a door open and the orange haired man put on a smile. “If you excuse me, my lady friend is awake.” He patted Gray on the back and walked away, leaving Gray frowning, trying to understand what his friend was going on about.