Chapter Text
The guild hall was quieter without Team Natsu.
Juvia entered feeling a pang of sadness.
Looking around the guild, couples sat closer.
Families were forming, and she was alone.
Gray and her came so far, yet their first valentines day would be spent apart.
She tried not to think too hard about it, she didn’t want to make a big deal in front of the guild.
Cana had already started drinking hours earlier, claiming Valentine’s Day was “a scam invented by florists,” Juvia tried to smile, but she was someone who wore their heart on their sleeve.
She didn’t want to hear it so she made her way to the empty bar.
Her fingers curled around a glass of water she hadn’t touched.
Inside, her heart ached.
Gray was still on the quest.
Her eyes lowered to the wood grain of the counter, losing the world to her thoughts .
She wondered if he’d remembered what today was.
She wondered if he cared.
No, she scolded herself immediately.
Gray-sama was protecting the world with his friend.
He didn’t have time for silly holidays.
Still…
Her chest hurt.
“Juvia.”
She refocused to see Mira behind the bar. “You’ve been sighing all day,” Mira said softly.
“I have not,” Juvia whispered weakly.
Cana and Lisanna approached suddenly, “You have,” Cana said bluntly, taking a swig from her barrel mug. “It’s annoying.”
Lisanna sat beside her. “You miss him.”
Juvia’s fingers tightened.
“…Juvia does.”
Mira rested her hand over Juvia’s.
“You should call him.”
Juvia’s voice grew shakier,“I tried,” she admitted. “Gray-sama isn’t answering.”
Her voice changed, almost to anger. “He must be with Love Rival.”
Cana snorted so hard she almost choked.
Mira laughed gently. “Lucy only has eyes for Natsu.”
Juvia blinked, laughed weakly too, wiping at her eyes.
“Juvia is being silly.”
But her voice grew quieter before she admitted, “It’s just… right when Juvia thought Gray-sama would confess…” holding back tears, “He left.”
Cana leaned toward her, resting her chin in her palm.
“A girl like you is way too hot to be moping.”
Juvia gasped, surprised, causing Cana to smirk.
“I’ve known that kid his whole life. He sucks at feelings.”
She grabbed Juvia’s hand.
“But somehow… not for you.”
Juvia’s heart skipped.
Before she could answer, the guild doors burst open.
Gajeel came in, hand in hand with his soon to be wife Levy.
“Quit mopin’ about stripper.”
Juvia pouted,“Easy for Gajeel-kun to say. He has Levy.”
Gajeel laughed. “Yeah. I do.”
Then his voice softened, just slightly, “Look, the guys got problems,” crossing his arms. “But it’s obvious how much you mean to him.”
Juvia looked up at Gajeel, a faint smile filling on her face.
“He’s on a job,” Gajeel said. “That’s what we do as Fairytail mages.”
He shrugged.“If he can’t celebrate today… he’ll make it up to you.”
Her head began to fall in shame .“I know, Juvia just… hates being alone on the day of love.”
Gajeel jerked his chin toward the guild. “Then don’t be alone, you got us.”
Her heart warmed. Gajeel was right. Although the day couldn’t be spent with Gray-sama, she was still surrounded by love.
She began to cheer up as another familiar face entered the guild.
“Juvia! ”
Juvia froze.
Lyon Vastia stepped inside, holding a small white box.
Juvia immediately waved her hands, “Lyon-kun, Juvia is not interested in gifts from you—”
“It’s not from me.” He lifted the box slightly.
“…It’s from Gray.”
The entire guild went silent.
“…What?” Cana said.
Juvia stared.
“…From Gray-sama?”
Lyon nodded.
“He asked me to get it for you because he knew he might be busy today.”
Her smile grew as she accepted the box.
She opened it slowly.
Inside was a muffin covered in nuts.
Her mind filled with the memory of one of their dates at the cafe.
She remembered trying to feed him this exact muffin as he declined looking away.
She giggled remembering how red his face had turned.
Her body relaxed, filled with joy.
Mira beamed ! “See? He didn’t forget.”
“…Juvia should never have doubted her beloved.”
Struck with excitement she rushed to contact him.
No answer.
But she didn’t mind anymore. The gift showed her he was thinking of her.
That was enough.
After, Juvia left the guild walking through Magnolia witnessing love at every turn.
The muffin box still in her hands. She admired the couples talking around, the air full of laughter and love.
She was grateful, but couldn’t deny how much she missed.
Toward the end of the street, a stand of flowers caught her eye for a moment before she began to make her way toward Fairyhills.
“Juvie!”
She turned to see Merudy waving wildly beside the flowers.
“Hello, Merudy-chan.”
Merudy beamed. “Happy Valentine's day, these are for you!”
Juvia tilted her head, “Juvia appreciates it, but her beloved already—”
Merudy shook her head rapidly, “I didn’t get these, Gray did!”
Juvia was speechless. “…He did?”
Merudy nodded eagerly. “He randomly contacted me through Erza. Although I think our sensory link helped. He said a dozen roses was fine…”
She smiled softly. “But I could feel his worry. He ended up sending enough jewels for the whole stand. Guess he’s never really bought a girl anything because he overestimated. But, you deserve it”
Juvia stared at the endless roses on the stand. The sight of them brought her back to another memory.
The night they had their first dance.
His hand on her back.
The petals falling around them from Natsu accidentally lighting the flowers on fire because someone was looking at Lucy.
She remembered his blush as his hand reached for hers.
Her face burned.
“…Juvia cannot accept this…”
“You can, would you really refuse something from your beloved Gray? ” Merudy said gently.
“This just feels like too much.”
“He didn't think so.” Merudy said flatly.
“How will Juvia get this back to Fairyhills?” She said a bit overwhelmed.
“Don’t worry! I called a friend!”
Behind them, Juvia heard footsteps as Jellal appeared.
“I can help transport them.”
Juvia looked at him a bit surprised.
He began to speak more, “With Erza away, I have all the time in the world on a day like this. Helping someone she cares about feels right.”
Juvia smiled.
“Thank you Merudy and Jellal. Juvia is grateful.”
Together, they all pushed the dozens of roses to Fairyhills.
By the time they reached Fairy Hills, the sun had begun to set.
The girls gathered around her in disbelief.
“He bought an entire stand of flowers for you?” Cana said.
Lisanna giggled. “He’s completely in love.”
Juvia pressed her hands to her cheeks, her thoughts drifting into fantasy.
Suddenly, Gray was standing before her, holding her hand. “Stay with me.” he begs.
Juvia jumps in glee as he drops to one knee, sprouting a ring.
“Juvia?”
She jumped back into reality.
Evergreen crossed her arms. “You can’t keep all these here.”
Juvia pouted, “Why not?”
“The stand can’t even fit through the door!”
“…Then Juvia will share them.”
She began taking each bouquet, handing them out to the girls.
Each smile she received made her chest glow brighter.
She saved one bouquet for herself and carried it to her room.
Relaxing, she felt pure joy.
She wanted now more than ever to call him but stopped herself,reassuring her mind he would call when he could.
Soon, as she settled in, she hadn’t realized how much she needed to rest until her head hit her pillow and she drifted off to nap as the muffin and bouquet resting beside her.
A few hours later
A knock woke her. Her body jumped.
She reached to open the door. As the light peeked through her vision focused on Evergreen
“Elfman’s acting weird.”
Juvia’s eyes widened, "Weird?”
Evergreen nodded. “Come help me spy on him, please.”
Juvia rubbed her eyes before agreeing. “Juvia will come, just give her ten minutes to freshen up.”
She quickly got dressed, brushed her hair, and exited her room following Evergreen.
They followed him quietly through the streets of Magnolia.
They watched as he cut through the side streets.
Something felt off.
He continued to walk until they saw the solarium.
Juvia frowned. Was she about to witness Elfman breaking Evergreen's heart on valentines day.
Evergreen whispered, “If he’s with someone, I’ll punch him.”
Juvia’s heart raced as she stepped inside. As she crawled hoping he didn’t see her.
She looked harder.
He was just standing there next to a telescope.
As she crawled closer the scene became much more clear.
He was also holding a card.
The card read, Juvia
What was happening
Evergreen giggled softly. “ Sorry for tricking you. Gray asked him to do this.”
She was still confused as she stood up, approaching Elfman,
Elfman handed the card to her.
Her fingers traced the card as she opened it.
When you miss me, remember we both look at the same stars every night.
Her eyes began to water. It was the exact same thing he said to her as they overlooked Magnolia in the helicopter.
She remembered how beautiful the stars looked in the endless sky.
Her body dissolved into water as tears fell freely.
And then—
Her communicator rang.
“…Gray-sama?”
She answered immediately.
“Gray-sama!”
His voice came through.
“Hey.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Juvia loved everything!”
He laughed quietly.
“I’m glad… well… I’m not good at it, but i tried.”
“You don’t have to try so hard. Juvia already loves you.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“…Still, I want to be the man you deserve.”
“You already are Gray-sama.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Juvia.”
“…Happy Valentine’s Day, Gray-sama.”
He exhaled softly.
“I don’t have long. Just wanted to hear your voice.”
“…Juvia was worried Gray-sama didn’t want to speak to her.”
He scoffed. “That’s dumb. You know what you mean to me.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I know.”
His voice softened.
“ I have to go now, Goodnight, Juvia.”
“…Goodnight, Gray-sama.”
The call ended.
Juvia stepped to the telescope.
Looked up at the stars.
Somewhere far away,
She knew he was looking at them too.
This valentine’s day had been perfect.