Melted Ice & Frozen Water(Gruvia)

nིiིnིeིtིeིeིnི

Gray stood outside of Briar's door, laying on the wall and smoking a cigarette.

He only wore sweatpants, cooling off from the heated interaction that had occurred between the two just hours before.

The sweet taste of cigarettes after sex was something Gray always looked forward to, and he reveled in the peace of the quiet night.

It was another lonely night when Briar had booty called him, and he happily took up her offer.
They technically weren't really dating anymore, but that sure didn't stop them from having nightly meet-ups.

Gray watched the rain fall from under the safety of the front door overhang, puffing out smoke from his mouth.

His mind buzzed with thoughts, sounding like a fly in his ear. It annoyed him endlessly, but he couldn't stop Erza's words from ringing in his ears.

"So stop."

So simple, yet they held so much weight to them.

Despite his anger and frustration and heartache, he just couldn't seem to let himself move on.

He couldn't, it wasn't possible.

Gray wanted desperately to forget all he did, to forget all his feelings. But he just couldn't.
He had never been more happy than when he was with Juvia.

He hadn't remembered being that happy since childhood, when his mother and father were still around.
Before he was thrown into foster care, before he got transferred from home to home, before Briar and all his friends.

He had never been truly happy until she entered his life. Like she was a beacon of light in all of his darkness and sadness.

He had melted under her touch, letting himself be vulnerable for the first time in his life. He shared his pain with her, wore his heart on his sleeve.

He didn't do that for anyone.

Gray took another puff of his cigarette, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm an idiot." He mumbled, still staring out at the endless rain.

"Fuck."

•••

Juvia laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She listened to the soft pattering of rain on the roof, willing her to sleep.

But she couldn't find the will. Her eyes stayed wide open, her whole body still as her ears rang loudly.

Juvia felt cold, despite the blankets covering her body. Every single inch of her body felt cold, overwhelmingly so.

Without her Gray-sama to wrap his strong arms around her, she felt hollow.
She felt tears begin to pool in her eyes, her imagination recreating the fleeting feeling of his skin against hers.

Maybe if she tried hard enough, Juvia might be able to feel whole again, warm again.

'Juvia is an idiot, Gray-sama never cared about Juvia, so why does Juvia still care about him?' Juvia thought, letting the tears slip past her eyes.

Everything stood still as Juvia cried, and it was starting to feel like all she ever felt was sadness.

•••

The room was quiet around Erza, something so unusual it made her uncomfortable.

Jellal laid beside her in bed, snoring softly. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, and she tried to stop herself from shaking as she let a few tears slip past her eyes.

'God damn it, why is everything so fucked up?' Erza thought, thinking back to her fight with Gray in the mall.

She hadn't spoken to him in two weeks, and she was beginning to feel awful.

He was all alone, just like he had been when they were children.

Gray and Erza had shared a past together, comforting each other when one would be returned by a family who didn't want them.

They had always been there for each other, through everything.
And yet, they were being torn apart before Erza's very eyes.

Gray had always been someone to shut everyone out because he was afraid of losing the one's he loved.

He had lost his family, his teacher, Juvia, and now his friends were drifting away.
Erza couldn't help but feel responsible, the guilt tearing her up inside.

She suddenly felt Jellal shift, and he sat up and looked down at her.
"Erza, are you crying?" He asked, looking down at his one and only love.

Erza could only nod, her tears now falling endlessly. She couldn't speak in fear of crying out in pain, and Jellal rolled her over into his chest.

"Fuck Jellal, I'm a monster." Erza whispered to him, shaking uncontrollably as she hugged Jellal tightly.

"No you're not, you're human."

•••

Natsu blinked away tears as he yawned, stretching his arms out after finally placing his book down for the night.

It was late, around two a.m. and he smiled at the moonlight streaming through his living room window, thinking of Lucy as he always seemed to.

He had never been a reader, in fact it used to be the bane of his existence.
At least, that was until he met Lucy.

Natsu stood from his couch, walking over to his glass balcony doors. His apartment was on the second story, so he had a beautiful view of the stars from his balcony.

He walked out onto the small balcony, leaning against the railing as he looked up at the stars and reminisced about all the nights he's spend on the balcony with Lucy, his arms wrapped around her as she leaned on the railing, pointing up excitedly at all the constellations in the sky.

"Natsu!"

A sudden voice startled Natsu, and he looked down from his balcony to see a figure below him.

"Lucy?!" Natsu yelled back, extremely confused.

'Am I dreaming?'

"Ring me up! It's urgent!" Lucy yelled, and then ran for the entrance to the building.

Natsu blinked a few times before suddenly hearing a frantic buzzing from his apartment speaker, and he ran to buzz her in.

It was only a matter of seconds after he buzzed her in that Natsu heard light knocking at his door, and he opened it to a calm, yet frazzled looking Lucy.

She looked sheepishly at the ground, now seemingly embarrassed at her intrusion.
"May I come in?" She asked, not meeting Natsu's eyes.

Natsu nodded and moved out of the way to let her in, suddenly realizing he was without a shirt or pants.

Lucy walked in and he closed the door, scratching the back of his neck as he dead-bolted it.
"I'll-uh, be right back, I'm just gonna-"

Lucy cut him off, shaking her head.
"It's alright, not like it's anything I haven't seen." She squeaked, making Natsu's whole body feel like it was on fire.

"Uh, so why are you here?" Natsu asked, still standing at his front door with Lucy.

Lucy sighed and looked up at Natsu, suddenly wearing a hard look on her face.
"It's about Juvia. I'm worried she's in danger, and I need your help."