It's a Gruvia Life [Gruvia] {The FT Love Chronicles; Book 4.5}

A Real Ring: Part A

~Gray~

Gray inhaled, the smell of something cooking waking him up. Is that French toast? He thought, opening his tired eyes. Slowly, he sat up and stretched, yawning noisily.

“Good morning, Gray-sama!” Juvia suddenly appeared from the hallway, smiling brightly.

“Juvia!” He shouted, nearly falling off the bed. “How did you get in here?!”

“Gray-sama gave Juvia a key,” she said, her smile faltering. “She—she thought she could surprise Gray-sama by cooking him breakfast.”

“Oh.” He had forgotten about that. He had given her the key nearly a month ago, and she hadn’t used it at all—much to his surprise. “Well, thanks.” He stood, offering her a smile. “It smells good.”

She blushed, looking absolutely thrilled by the comment. “Juvia is glad! If Gray-sama is ready to eat, Juvia will set the table.”

He followed her as she headed towards the kitchen, but paused when he noticed her blush deepen. “What?” He frowned.

“I-Is Gray-sama going to put on his clothes first?” She asked, glancing down then turning away as her blush deepened even further.

“Damn it!” He snapped, slamming the door to his room closed when he realized he was completely naked.

~Juvia~

After Gray slammed the door—practically in her face—she sighed. Her face was on fire, and she had to shake herself to convince her heart to stop beating so fast. She had seen Gray without clothes several times before—thanks to his stripping habit—but none of those times had been in his home. More specifically, his bedroom. “Ah!” She squealed to herself, covering her face with her hands as it caught fire again. “Juvia shouldn’t be thinking these thoughts while in Gray-sama’s home!” In an attempt to calm herself, she hurried to the kitchen and began putting the French toast on plates for herself and Gray.

“That looks great,” Gray said, entering the kitchen just as she sat the butter and syrup on the table.

“Juvia hopes Gray-sama likes it,” she smiled. When Gray and I get married, I’ll get to cook like this for him all the time! We’ll eat our meals together, and go on jobs together, and live together, and—she dropped the butter knife in her hand at that thought.

“Juvia?” Gray asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“It slipped out of Juvia’s hand,” she chuckled, awkwardly, quickly picking it up off the table and returning it to the butter container. She picked up the syrup bottle after Gray was finished with it, and realized her hands were shaking. Once Gray and I are married, we’ll live in the same house. That also means we’ll…sleep in the same bed!

“Is something wrong?” Gray’s concerned voice brought her out of her thoughts once more. Too quickly, she shook her head to reassure him. He knew she was lying, and a frown pulled at the corners of his mouth.

“Gray-sama?” Juvia asked, after several minutes of uneasy silence.

“Hm?” He asked through a mouthful of toast.

“After Gray-sama and Juvia get m-married, will Juvia live h-here?”

It was his turn to get flustered now, and he dropped his fork. It fell to his plate with a loud clank and splashed some of the syrup onto the table. “What?” His voice was a little too high, so he cleared his throat. “What kind of question is that?”