AN: Let's see how our babies are doing? :)

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Gray couldn't remember the last time he had been that content with his life, not in the past six months that was for sure. After Daphne had cheated on him, his mood only improved when he was with his friends and he had a permanent frown on his face.

Since he met Juvia, though, it got much easier to smile.

It had been four days since their first date/first kiss and he was looking more and more forward to when they get to meet. They had lunch together with their friends at the university's cafeteria – she always made sure to sit next to him and he secretly enjoyed that a lot – and he visited her at the diner when it was time for her break.

Oh, how much he enjoyed those breaks. Gray had forgotten how great it was a new relationship, when they were still learning what the other liked and he was definitely enjoying finding out what she liked.

Juvia was like no one else he ever met, she was so responsible and so free at the same time, she'd make him forget about anything bothering him by just smiling.

Between them, he was the one holding back to try not get too involved, but by the way his heart beat faster when she was around, he was going to fight harder. But maybe he'd learn to stop to fight.

His phone buzzed and he couldn't fight the smile that spread on his face once he saw her name on the screen and opened her text.

From: Juvia

12:07: Are you even giving me a clue of where are we going?

12:07: I really need to know what to wear.

Gray grinned and shook his head, he had kept it a secret to where he was taking her on their second date and she wasn't taking it well.

To: Juvia

12:08: We'll go have lunch first, but nothing fancy in either place.

From: Juvia

12:09: That doesn't narrow it down at all.

He chuckled, imagining her pout in frustration and then received another text.

12:09: Okay, then. Should I wear pants or a dress? Tell me that at least.

Oh, he didn't even hesitate to type back an answer, her legs were fantastic.

To: Juvia

12:10: Dress. A dress would be nice.

Her answer came fast.

From: Juvia

12:10: I knew you'd came early to the diner for the view. ;)

12:11: Those dresses are very short.

To: Juvia

12:11: You say short; I say the right length.

From: Juvia

12:12: I'll be ready in twenty minutes.

To: Juvia

12:12: I'll be there in half an hour, don't need to hurry or anything.

Gray went to take a shower and get ready for their date; he hoped she liked where he was taking her.

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The moment he parked in front of Magnolia's Aquarium, Juvia looked confused and Gray suddenly felt nervous about his choice. She told him about how she used to go there every week until school started months before and he thought she'd like to come back.

Maybe he was being ridiculous.

"Uh... I thought..." Gray could feel his cheeks get warmer. "You said you liked the Aquarium."

"I do." Juvia was fast to assure him. "And I'll love to go in there with you, I was just surprised to see we are here." She put a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her in suspicion and Juvia smiled. "Juvia promises you she is actually very excited to go in there." It took him a moment, but he nodded and it was worth it because Juvia smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss. "Come on." She opened the door and stepped out.

Feeling slightly better about his choice, Gray came out of the car, locked it and walked his way over to where Juvia stood, looking quite beautiful with her light pink dress, her hair loose and falling down in waves over her shoulder.

"If you want to go anywhere else..." Gray told her when he was next to her, but she just shook her head and stepped in front of him, twining their arms together and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Just let's go inside." She kissed his cheek and he had to fight off a smile. "Juvia hasn't been in here for months!" She gasped. "What if they have new attractions? Oh, maybe they do! Come on, Gray-sama! I hope they do."

Juvia pulled him towards the line to buy the tickets and once they were inside, Gray couldn't take his eyes off of her. The aquarium was beautiful, of course, but Juvia was much more, especially when she was talking so passionately since they stepped inside about all types of fishes they were seeing.

"Did you know that fish have been on the earth for more than 450 million years?" Juvia told him and Gray shook his head and did not miss when she mindlessly slid her hand from his forearm to his hand and was more surprised with his reaction: he wanted to pull it immediately, but then she looked up, her eyes sparkling in excitement and the want went away in a second. "Mammals have only been on earth for around 200 million years."

"Wow." Gray raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." Juvia nodded. "There are more species of fish than all the species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals combined." She told him. "And there are over 27,000 identified species of fish and an estimated 15,000 fish species that have not yet been identified. Fifteen thousand species there are not identified yet! Do you have any idea what it would mean to identify them?"

He smiled at her enthusiasm. "I guess a lot in the fish circles?" She playfully hit him on the shoulder and Gray chuckled. "So, this is what you want to do? Discover fish?" He waved towards the aquarium. "I know I sound like a jerk right now, but... I don't see the appeal." Gray said honestly, hoping she wasn't offended.

Thankfully, she wasn't.

"Not many people do." She shrugged and looked back to the aquarium, but he kept staring at her. "At my third foster home, there was this big aquarium and Mrs. Howard, she took care of us, she liked them, her husband had a pet store and he always brought some of the rare fish home to cheer her up for a few days before bringing back to the store. One day, Juvia was curious when a new one arrived and she asked Mrs. Howard. She looked at me and asked if I liked her fish. Juvia was shy, but she nodded and then Mrs. Howard grabbed this large book and gave it to me.

"It was an encyclopedia with so many types of fish, I've never seen anything like that before. There were fish, jellyfish, sharks, octopus, sharks and a whole section about mammals. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. She told me to see if I could find what the one she had was. It took me the whole afternoon, because I'd get distracted about other fish." She smiled at the memory and Gray's heart beat a bit faster at how she looked. "But eventually I did."

"What type of fish it was? Do you remember?" Gray asked.

"Yes. It was a Bangaii Cardinalfish." She told him. "Did you know that the male will hold both eggs and babies in his mouth until the young are ready to swim on their own?"

"Really?"

Juvia nodded. "It is known as 'mouth brooding'. Anyways, after that I was so fascinated with what I saw that I read that book over and over again. Every time a new fish was brought, she'd ask for Juvia to see if she could find which one was it. She was the best foster parent Juvia had."

"What happened to her?" Gray asked.

"She passed away in her sleep, she was already old when Juvia got there." Juvia looked down, sadly and blinked away the tears. "After that, Mr. Howard couldn't take care of us so we were relocated. He gave me that book, you know? I still have it after all these years."

"That's nice." He kissed the top of her head as a reflex. "I still don't get the magic of fish, but I can see why you do. So this is why you want to be a marine biologist."

The blunette nodded. "You should've seen me the first time Juvia went to a proper aquarium. It was in a school trip, I was twelve and I spoke more than the guide." Gray chuckled, imagining a small Juvia speaking non-stop at a field trip about fish, like she had been the whole time they were there, throwing lots of data at him. "When we were leaving, he told me that the people who studied fish were called ichthyologists, but told me that marine biologists had a wider range. It makes me curious and I started to gather information about it; the human race only explored 5 per cent of the ocean, there are so much we still have to discover. Fish was only a way of getting into this, but now... I really am in love with it."

"Your story is more interesting than mine." Gray told her as they slowly walked around. "My dad is an architect, he has a construction business and all that. He never pressured me into it or anything, but I kind of always thought it was what I wanted. And it is. I like creating things. I have no imagination to create stories or draw a picture or whatever, but I can see buildings, I like it and I'm good at it."

They stopped and Juvia let go of his hand – which he oddly missed it – stepped in front of him and put her arms around his shoulders while his hands went straight to her hips, bringing her closer. "Well, it's not about being interesting or not, it's about finding your passion and you found yours." She tip-toed and kissed his lips lightly. "I know virtually nothing about architecture, but if you want to speak for hours about it, I'll listen because it's what makes you happy."

He couldn't help but to smile a bit and then teased her. "Does that mean I need to hear about some weird algae that glows in the dark for hours too?"

"It's called fluorescence." She told him. "And Juvia won't make you, if you don't want me to."

Gray shook his head. "No, I do. It's who you are and if you can listen to me, I can listen to you. Besides, you are a font of weird facts, who doesn't want to hear those?" Juvia laughed and Gray kissed her. "Now come on, we have a few more things to see." He raised his chin towards a sign and Juvia looked over her shoulder to see it. "Apparently we'll see the penguins next."

"Penguins!" Juvia exclaimed in happiness when she returned her gaze to him. "When Juvia came here last their little habitat was under renovations and she didn't get to see them! Juvia loves penguins!"

"I can see that." He said, amused as she held his hand once again and started to pull him.

"Come on, come on, come on!" The blunette was overexcited. "Did you know that most scientists agree that there are 17 species of penguins? And out of the 17 species, 13 are either threatened or endangered, with some on the brink of extinction. This aquarium rescues injured penguins and set them free once they are fine."

"See? You know a lot of facts."

#

Once they left the Aquarium, Gray understood Juvia a lot more and the facts she kept throwing his direction were quite good and about five minutes after they arrived to see the penguins, she had about seven children listening to everything she was saying regarding penguins: they asked and she answered them the best she could.

By the end of it, he gave a few steps back and watched her as even adults listened to her explanation about the animals. Gray found out that he didn't mind at all to listen to her and see her get so excited about a subject and he waved off her apology for being kidnapped by the swarm of children.

Seeing Juvia only had a little over an hour before she had to go to her shift at the diner, Gray drove her home. Apparently she wasn't ready to say good-bye because she asked if he wanted to go up for a while. Gray found out he wasn't ready yet as well and was quick to agree.

Her apartment was a very simple one, very small as he thought it would, but very cleaned and organized. The living room had only one couch with three seats, an old stand and an even older TV. There was a very small hall and a door at the end and he assumed it was her bedroom and at his right there was the small kitchen, there was no table but he could see she used the counter by the high chairs next to it and he noticed there were about four batches of cupcakes ready.

"Juvia was very nervous about today." The blunette said when noticed his gaze. "She told you she bakes when she's nervous."

Gray frowned. "Why were you nervous?" He thought they had been doing fine that week.

"You make me nervous." She shrugged and Gray raised his eyebrows in surprise. So... they were not as fine as he thought they were? Seeing his obvious confusion, Juvia cleared up. "Good nervous, not bad nervous." Not looking convinced, Gray kept looking at her in suspicion. "It's just... Juvia really doesn't want to mess this up, not after she pretty much gave an ultimatum about this. Whenever you are too close, Juvia's stomach just starts to have butterflies and I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing, or say too much. Juvia talks too much when she's nervous. Why do you think she couldn't stop talking today? I was very nervous."

Gray was surprised with that piece of information. "I thought you were excited about the Aquarium."

"Oh, I was." Juvia agreed. "But she'd have talked either way; if we'd have been stuck in traffic for three hours, she'd be talking for two and a half. The Aquarium actually calmed me down because it is my area, so, thanks for that." She offered him a shy smile.

"Juvia, you don't need to feel nervous. At least not so nervous you need to bake four batches of cupcakes." He told her. "I was nervous too, you know?"

"You were?" Juvia looked at him in suspicion.

"Yeah." Gray nodded. "I thought I was being stupid by taking you to the place you've been a hundred times. For a moment there I thought I screwed up."

"You didn't, not at all." Juvia took him by the hand and led him towards the couch, sitting first and he followed her.

"I know that now." He shrugged. "We will hit a few bumps, but, well... We are learning as we go. I just want you to know that you don't have to be nervous, or pretend anything with me. It's better to be real."

Juvia stared at him for a few moments before nodding. "Unfortunately that won't stop make me from her nervous baking, but Juvia will try to cut it out to two batches."

Gray snorted. "Good enough. By the way, if you baked those because of me, I am entitled to some of them, right?" He had had some of Juvia's baked goods and he all but became an addict, she really knew how to make a good cupcake.

Juvia giggled. "Of course. Juvia will let you have as much as you want."

Nodding, Gray cupped her face with one hand and leaned in, kissing her lips slowly for a few moments and she sighed contently with the gesture. Taking it as encouragement, Gray started to kiss her deeper and Juvia surrendered quite quickly, her hands on his hair.

Gray couldn't keep a straight thought after that: she kissed like no one, giving one hundred per cent, holding nothing back and he couldn't help it but to match her enthusiasm.

A few minutes into kissing with no concerns whatsoever, Juvia pushed him away slightly and he looked at her in confusion; did she want for him to stop?

His answer came when she pushed him so his back rested on his couch and a moment after that, she moved quickly and suddenly she was straddling him, cupping his face with both hands and kissing him again with fervor.

What else could've he done other than follow her lead?

One of his hands moved to the back of her neck and the other rested on her hip while Juvia decided that her hands would be of more use if they went up to twine her fingers on his hair.

It was all a blur after that, Gray lost how many times they came up for air just to dive in and kiss again. They had been kissing each other ever since their date, her breaks were occupied with them making-out and Gray had learned a lot about her, a few of her noises and he was more than eager to keep his exploration to what she liked best.

Gray had forgotten how fun it was to have a girl in his arms, just kissing and enjoying each other. He almost forgot they were running a tight schedule and she needed to leave in a few minutes. But his hands didn't forget the fact his hand was on top of her, so he started moving her on top of him and it felt great.

Juvia gasped with the sensation and he did it again a few more times, mindless of anything else; he was exactly where he wanted to be.

They repeated the process a few times before Juvia stopped kissing him and when Gray opened his eyes, his vision was unfocused for a second but he could see the blunette had her face in a deep red color and her lips were starting to swell because of his kisses.

Such a fine vision.

She bit her lower lip for a moment before speaking. "Uh... Gray-sama, Juvia is not prepared for this yet."

Gray frowned. What did she mean? She didn't seem to have a problem with his kisses during the whole time they were together. So, to clarify exactly what she meant, he asked: "This what?"

If possible, she became even redder but looked down; it was Gray's turn to become red, since he could easily see the bulge on his pants. He cussed inside his mind but clarified the situation to her.

"Yeah, not ready either. Not ready yet, anyway." Gray told her and she looked at him in disbelief; the blunette moved just a bit atop of him to make a point and he had to bite down the loud noise it would've come out. "It's a biological response to a pretty girl kissing me and on my lap. But just because my body is clearly ready, doesn't mean my mind is."

The blunette nodded in understanding. "Yes, Juvia's too. I think it is too early." Gray hummed in agreement. "What are you comfortable with?" She caressed the back of his neck slowly. "We should set some boundaries for now."

He thought for a moment. "Kissing is more than fine with me as of now. You?"

Juvia also took a moment to think. "Kissing and Juvia doesn't mind if you touch the skin she's showing." Gray glanced down to her body and he found out he liked her way of thinking, a lot. It meant he could put his hands until the middle of her thighs, and with the modest neckline of her dress, he'd have access to her neck, throat and a part of her cleavage. It was deal he would gladly make.

"Alright." Gray agreed, "And if those boundaries change..."

"We'll tell each other and change them." Juvia completed for him and the dark haired man nodded. She kissed him again, just a peck on the lips. He was so glad Juvia accepted his reason, some women would've taken it the wrong way. "Now, we have around fifteen minutes before Juvia has to go get ready for work. Should we test those boundaries?" She raised an eyebrow in a silly flirty way and Gray laughed, pulling her for another kiss.

Yes, Gray was pretty content with his life.

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