"Come on, come on," Juvia muttered to herself as she glanced frantically at her watch. She waited for the lift for another minute, pressing the button every ten seconds, a little harder each time. She eventually decided it would be faster to climb the stairs. Laxus lived seventh floor, and she only had twenty-three minutes left to spend with him.

She then removed her high heels before she ran up the seven flights of stairs to the seventh floor. She didn't even waste another second, as she reached the seventh floor, she frantically rang his doorbell. The moment Laxus opened the door, Juvia just stormed in and quickly removed her coat.

"Hey beautiful, you look gorgeous—," Laxus said as he grabbed her and got his arm around her slim waist. But Juvia cut him off by unbuttoning his shirt. "We don't have time for the chit chat. Juvia only has twenty minutes left," she murmured as she was out of breath after running up the staircase.

Before Laxus could protest, Juvia had pressed her soft, sweet mouth to his. Didn't want to waste another minute, Laxus slid his finger through her wavy blue hair, loosening it from her ponytail before he kissed her desperately. He reached up the hem of her shirt, pulled it over her head before reaching for the front clasp on her bra. Quick tug, and her bra was on the floor. He cupped her gorgeous, large breasts before he grabbed her hips and pulled her against him.

Her skin felt so warm and soft under his calloused palms.

It was where he belonged to.

He was used to be her home too, once.

But not anymore.

Laxus was used to be her manager for few years in Crocus until she decided to resign and moved to Magnolia. He didn't realize she was fond of him until one day she confessed to him, "Juvia was in love with Laxus-san, but now Juvia had moved on with Gray-sama. Juvia just wanted to let this off her chest, and now Juvia felt this invisible weight lifted off her chest."

He didn't know why, but he felt being dumped at that moment.

His eyes could not get enough of her for he had always thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. But he was not interested in making deep emotional attachment, either. When he came back from his business trip, he learnt that she had already resign. He heard that she went to Magnolia because her boyfriend lived in Magnolia.

But few months ago she went back to Crocus by herself. She reapplied for the position that she had abandoned and they welcome her back. Laxus was still working there when she came back and he learnt that she was on break with Gray.

He did something despicable— he took advantage of her vulnerability. He always adored her body. Even after she's gone to Magnolia, sometimes he would imagine her naked body would entwined with his. He offered his convenient shoulder to cry on which then escalated to incredible sex. He was so caught up in work that he had fully intended to keep his distance from her, at least until he resigned.

But it didn't stop with just one night stand.

He found her very easy to talk to and unbelievably down-to-earth, not like most of the women he worked with who tended to be so ruthlessly feminist. Not that he liked dumb women, but he was not attracted to power hungry women. He never found her to be a threat to his masculinity. But then it seemed strange as time went by, sex hadn't even entered his mind when he'd climb in bed with her. He didn't even recall when the first time he felt some emotional attachment with her. He just knew that he wanted to kiss her softly and told her that he loved her when he woke up with her, but sensed it would make her run. They were so close that Juvia slept in his place almost every day until Gray apologized and wanted to make up with her. She then moved out and went back to Gray.

But their relationship didn't stop there.

She still wanted him— She sneaked in his place during her one-hour lunch break. It was a fifteen minutes drive from her office to his place. Hence, the longest she could spend time with was thirty minutes. She came to his place every day during lunch break. Sometimes, she would come on weekends too, only when Gray was out of town. Her boyfriend was a novelist, and sometimes he would be out of town for research or for author meet and greets, and that's the only time she could sleep overnight in Laxus' apartment.

They had been through a lot and he knew they had great chemistry together, but she was with someone else now. No matter how much Laxus satisfied her in bed, she would always come home to her boyfriend. He hated thinking that she would sleep with anyone, but him. Yet, he needed her. Desperately.

And he knew it was more than mere desire.

"Gray will be out of town this weekends, won't he?" he asked as he kissed her bare shoulder from behind. Her alarm suddenly rang which meant twenty minutes had passed, and she had to leave now.

"Yes, but Juvia will come with him this time. He will be having an award as he had the best-selling book nationwide," she answered, while turning off her alarm.

He always hated it when her alarm rang.

Because he wanted to spend more time with her.

Because he hated the thought of her went home to her boyfriend. The thought of her in bed with another man gouged a jealous hole in his stomach. A shot of anger filtered in, and he sucked in air to calm himself. He didn't want to sound possessive, and he knew he didn't have the right to stop her from sleeping with another man. He was not hers, after all.

"Sleep here tonight."

"No," she answered while climbing out of the bed and putting on her undergarments.

"Why not?" he asked tightly. He knew anger would not make her change her mind, but he's just unable to control it. He was tired of being her fling. He was tired of being her second choice.

Juvia shook her head, "No, Gray-sama is waiting for Juvia."

"Then break up with him," He didn't realize what he was going to say until it slipped out. He tensed, but hearing the words aloud didn't bring fear and uneasiness he had imagined.

"Then what happens after Juvia breaks up with him?" She challenged him.

"Then move in here. I willbe your new home," he answered firmly.

"No, just because what we are doing secretly works out, it might not work out when we are truly in a relationship."

Maybe things work out because they loved the thrill of doing it behind people's back. Maybe if they did live together, things would not be the same anymore. Maybe they would destroy what they had now if they decided to move forward. Maybe Juvia was right.

He gritted his teeth and balled his fists. "You made love to me when you're on break with your boyfriend, and you still come back to me even after you made up with him. We had great chemistry together, and yet you deny that you are still in love with me?"

"Laxus-san, you always know the answer," she smiled softly before she's gone.

For a moment he thought he saw a glimpse of sadness, vulnerability, and longing passed through her eyes when she looked over him.

Or maybe it was just his imagination.

##

a/n: After hours spent typing this fic, it's finally complete! Thanks for reading and reviewing!