The Gods of Fairy Tail

Chapter 24

The next time Juvia awoke she found herself back in her room, lying in bed with a cloth on her forehead. She removed the cloth and placed her hand to her forehead expecting to find a bruise or gash but she felt nothing. She got up from her bed and looked at herself in the mirror of her vanity. There was nothing there. Her forehead had no trace of a wound anywhere not even a small scratch. That's strange, she was certain that before she blacked out her head had hit something hard. Hard enough to leave some sort of mark.

"Aaah!" She was shaken from her previous thoughts by the sound of someone's voice seething in pain. Which was coming from outside her room.

With her curiosity peeked she quietly left her room and walked down the long corridor. At the end of it was a large room with a sofa and a fire place which had a warm flame burning. On the sofa sat Gray who was completely shirtless and across from him was Meredy who was dipping a rag in a bowl of liquid. Neither one of them were aware that she was in the room.

"I'm sorry sire." She apologized. "I know how painful this must be for you but you insisted that we use the last of Mirajane's miracle cure on Juvia so we're going to have heal your wounds the mortal way." 

"I'm well aware of that Meredy." Gray said. "I'm not complaining but you can't expect me to be completely silent during the whole process."

"No I suppose not." She said. "I'm going to get some bandages. I'll be right back."

She left the room by going down the other corridor. Once she was gone Juvia quietly moved closer to the sofa where Gray sat. She saw his back and it was marked with the most horrifying burn scars while the gold fluid of ichor bleed from them.

"What happened?" She whispered.

Gray jumped, startled by her appearance. Feeling embarrassed he tried to cover his upper body with whatever he could find but she stopped him.

"Please don't." She said. "Your wounds are still untreated."

"It's nothing." He said.

"How can you say that? They're terrible. How on earth did you get these injuries?"

"I...I...I just got a little burned that's all. Don't worry, Meredy will clean my wounds and in time they'll heal."

"I see." She said. "You know I know of a treatment that will make the healing go faster. Would you mind if I try it?"

"I guess."

"Wait right here."

She left the room and went to that little space where her own personal garden was. Using her powers she made aloe plants grow and flourish in just a mere five seconds. She took some cuttings then crushed and squeezed them to make an ointment. After that was done she returned to the room where Gray sat.

"Now hold still." She said.

"What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Well first I'm going to clean your wounds and then I'm going to rub aloe on your back. It's perfect for healing burns."

"You know you don't have to do that. I can have Meredy do that instead."

"That's alright. I don't mind. Now turn around please."

He did as she requested. She grabbed the soaked rag from the bowl of water, sat down behind him, and carefully started to wash and wipe away the ichor stains. He hissed at the stinging sensation.

"I'm sorry. Does that hurt?" She asked.

"It's fine." He assured her. "Keep going. It's okay."

It stung in such a horrible way but he ignored it because he knew that this process was needed for him to recover properly. When she finally finished cleaning him up she dipped her fingers into the ointment she had prepared and with great gentleness and care she began to rub the it all over his back. The whole time this went on Gray could feel his heart pounding a hundred miles a minute and his nerves going crazy. It wasn't that he didn't like her touch. The problem was he liked her touch very much. It soothed him and it felt better than anything he had ever come in contact with physically before. But it worried him and it made him nervous because he wasn't used to liking anyone's touch.

"There all done." She said. "Did you burn your chest too?"

"No." He answered.

"Would you mind if I checked just to be sure?"

"O...Okay." He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to reject her of anything at the moment.

She changed her position to sit in front of him so she could check for burns and any other injuries. There none to be seen but now she found herself staring intently at his very well built and well toned chest. It made her get a little flustered. Truth be told she had never seen a man without a shirt on before nor had she ever been this close to one. 

"Is everything okay?" Gray asked.

"Huh?...Oh yes. Um...Your chest seems to be very built- I mean healthy!" She cried with her cheeks turning bright red. "Healthy! Not a single scar or burn mark anywhere."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

She looked away from him while grabbing a little of her hair and rubbing it nervously. Her cheeks were so red and her skin was so fair. Even when she looked so embarrassed and flustered she was still so lovely. It was amazing how much she contrasted with everything down here. Everything in Gray's world including himself was cold, dark, and ugly but she was warm, light, and beautiful. At least that's how he saw it. He wondered how such beauty and warmth could still shine down here for so long. She was like a flower trapped in eternal winter yet she still  continued to blossom instead of wilting away.

"If you'd like I'll leave now." She said. "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. Do you want me to leave?"

She looked back at him and waited patiently for an answer but he didn't respond. He just sat there quietly, staring at her, entranced by her beauty. She opened her mouth to ask him the question again but found herself losing her voice when he leaned in a little. Now her heart was beating a hundred miles a minute and she thought that she could hear his intense heart beat too. He was trembling, he was as nervous and unsure as she was. But what was it exactly that they were so nervous and unsure about?

"You're shaking." She said softly.

"Am I?" He asked breathlessly.

"Yes."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"I don't know. I've never felt this before."

"Me either."

"How do you know that you feel same way?"

"Lucky guess?"

She wasn't even aware of how much closer they were moving toward each other.  Then their lips met. It was a soft kiss. One that was innocent and very chaste. One that could easily be expected from two people who had never touched anyone romantically or sexually before but the emotion behind it was no different from any other kiss. As shy and unsure as it was it still gave off the growing love and affection that they felt for each other. It was her first kiss and his. It was more wonderful than she ever imagined it would be and he finally understood why so many lovers longed for this.