The Little Water Mage {Gruvia}

Chapter Eleven: Boatride

Gray had stopped walking and she turned to give him a questioning gaze. However, what she saw made her heart stop. His eyes bore through her and straight into her heart. Never had he looked at her before with such an intense gaze. A gaze filled with an emotion she recognized all too well. One that she personally gave him many times and that she thought he would only give her in her dreams.

A kind, soft gaze, filled with pure affection.

If she had a voice at the moment, she would have lost it anyways as her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes were wide and her mind had stopped. The only thing she could hear was her increasing heart rate. She knew it was growing louder in her ears, yet it felt like time had stopped. She couldn’t react at all, only stand there dumbly with her mouth open slightly, waiting to catch flies.

Gray was just full of surprises today, and her heart couldn’t handle much more. First, he takes her out on a date, then he asked her to dance, now he’s giving her a look she only saw in her fantasies, one that she thought would never turn into reality.

And there he was, still giving her that look as he took a step forward to stand in front of her. “Juvia, I-”

“Boat rides! Free boat rides into the lagoon! You two there!” The older man called as he ran up and pointed at them. Both flinched, for the light atmosphere had been shattered into a million peices. “A boat ride for the lovely couple?” He smirked as their faces turned a dark shade of red. He was suddenly behind them, pushing them forward. “Come on now! A nice boat ride to watch the sunset would be a moment to remember!”

Before either one of them could respond in any way, they were out on a boat, Gray holding the ores. Both blinked as they sat across from each other. Gray’s irritation finally caught up with him as he turned around to yell at the older man on the dock that was only a little ways behind them now. Juvia would have laughed if she could, but instead let her mind wonder back to their previous moment. Was it real? It had to have been, because her heart was still racing. She smiled at the thought.

After Gray figured out that the old man was just going to laugh at him, he turned back to Juvia, blinking at the strange face she was giving him. It was a cross between admiration and shyness. Now that he knew how he felt, and even admitted it to himself, it was hard to look at her without thinking of her differently. He told himself to keep his act together and glanced to the side at the water. “So since we’re out here, you wanna take a ride around the lagoon?”

She smiled and nodded eagerly. That was all he needed to start rowing. It was easier than he thought actually. He looked around, finding that it was more like a shallow lake than a lagoon. He managed to find a nice spot in the middle of it, dodging the random patches of tall grass and cattails. Because there wasn’t a current, they wouldn’t drift, so he put the ores inside the boat by their feet.

Then he looked up at her to find that her attention was elsewhere. She had put her hand in the water, gazing down at it as if it were a long lost friend. He frowned at the sight, she was most likely thinking about the loss of her magic. He keep his gaze on her as she played with the water running straight through her fingers. He too thought about his own lack of magic. It was like the last connection to his teacher was lost. But not forever. Not if everything went the way he thought it would. Not now that he can admit how he feels about her.

The sun was setting over them now and it reminded him that he still had one day left to think about how to tell her. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell her now, even if it seemed like a good time. He needed to work out his thoughts first. Make sure that what he says doesn't come out as one of Lyon’s bad pickup lines.

That and the fact that she still seemed to have a lot on her mind. He couldn’t just jump in and say that he loves her. He knows better. She would completely flip out, or even worse, give a similar reaction to when he asked her to dance. If she couldn’t believe that, she would never believe he was telling the truth if he confessed now. No, he would wait for the right time, and until then, he’ll just have to show her little by little.

With that in mind, he slowly took her hand that was in the water and brought it back into the boat, looking down at it to avoid her gaze.

Juvia couldn’t see his face very well as the sun was almost completely set, but the soft expression on his face caught her attention, so she didn’t look away.

“You miss it, don’t you? Your Water Magic.” She blinked as he looked up at her seriously. Without realizing it, she couldn’t stop blinking, tears were trying to form as the memories of her magic came to mind. At how empty and vulnerable she felt without it, and then how weak it made her feel inside, knowing that she couldn't count on it if she needed to. She didn’t even try to stop her lips as they quivered when she nodded, closing her eyes and letting the tears slide down. He had noticed. He noticed how much she missed it. She would have been able to go the whole night without crying if he hadn’t brought it up, but she had just made him worried again. How useless she was. She couldn’t do anything in this world. Only sit back and let Gray handle everything. She felt so pathetic.

She couldn’t move without feeling like she was being stabbed, couldn't walk without stepping on glass, couldn’t speak and let him know what’s going on, she couldn’t do anything useful for him at all. The only thing she could do apparently  was cry. If only she could be helpful. If only she could share his burden. 

Gray’s heart fell at seeing how she reacted. She must have so much on her mind and with that one small question, he had released the dam. Well, way to go Gray, you made the poor girl cry again. But it was different this time. The emotions were changing in her eyes. They started with sadness, then turned into regret and disappointment. Finally, when she started to sob, she looked so hurt and angry, but not at him. He knew that look, saw it in the mirror every time he caught himself thinking about unnecessary things.

When he was angry at himself.

He bit his lip, reaching over without thinking and engulfing her in a hug. He could hear her breath hitch as she gasped. To be honest, Gray had no idea what he was doing anymore. He had never hugged her before, but then again, he had never needed to. She hadn’t ever cried in front of him like this. She just seemed so vulnerable, and he just reacted by pulling her into his embrace.

“I know everything is upside down here. Shoot, I haven’t even been myself since this morning…” He pulled back from her just enough so that he could look her in the eyes again, seriousness meeting shocked realization, his hands still holding her arms softly. He offered a reassuring smile, hoping that his next words would help her stop crying. “I’m here with you, alright? I know that your voice is gone, and that you're in pain, but you don’t have to keep everything inside. That’ll just make matters worse, believe me…” He knew from experience. She blinked and he finished with that same soft gaze. “So please don’t cry. I’m not any good with crying women. I’m kinda at a loss as to what ta say, ya know?”

Juvia blinked up at her beloved and smiled before nodding. She would have been laughing if her voice would’ve allowed it. He was worried about her, not only her pain, but also about how she was handling the situation. Without thinking herself, she leaned forward and rested her head onto his shoulder. She could feel him flinch, but then relax as he put his hand on top of her head. She hadn’t been this happy in such a long time, and even though it was completely dark by now, it felt like he had brought her the sunlight all over again.

Little did both know that they were being watched by a third party.

And they were smiling sweetly with a mysterious knowing gleam in their eyes.