Juvia had lots of things going on in her head, they were in Magnolia and she was happy to see all her friends again her family, but she cannot get rid of the thought at the back of her mind.
What now? She and Gray, they used to live together but. Obviously, they did it because it was the best solution to save money and because there was only the two of them, but now it was all different.
She let escape a heavy breath while she was focused on a far point out of the window. She didn't see Lucy going next to her
"Is it everything ok?" The blonde asked.
Juvia managed to put a smile on her lips. It was rude to be sad while everyone was celebrating.
"Sure"
"Don't act, in front of me!"
Juvia looked in Lucy's eyes and bit her lips.
Lucy hugged her, recognizing her same fear "Me too, I am deadly scared about the future and about all the changing"This year has been.. Difficult"
A shadow darkened Lucy's eyes
Juvia squeezed her, smiling "We are all together now! Everything will be fine Lucy San! Juvia thinks that even if things will not be the same as before maybe this can bring something good! This year made us all grow! You and Natsu-san will be able to set things up and become even closer" She winked and then returned serious "He cares deeply for you, Juvia can see it"
Lucy blushed but there was no point in pretending with Juvia that She didn't care this much about her "more than a best friend" Juvia knew exactly how she felt.
"Juvia, Gray too, he cares a lot for you, you know, don't you?!"
Juvia stretched a sad smile "So..about tonight, Juvia was thinking that Fairy Hills is no more and She doesn't know where to go..Juvia would ask Gajeel but he will host Levy" Juvia joined her hands to her chest while little Hearts started to flow out of her eyes and Lucy laugh "those two…"
"Maybe Juvia will take a room at the Magnolia Inn"
"Juvia? Don't be silly! Obviously, you will stay at my place!
Juvia's face lit up, a night with a friend was exactly what She needed to cancel her sad thoughts
"Lucy-san, you paid your rent for a whole year without using your apartment? Your works for the Daily Sorciere were amazing! You surely must have been well paid"
"Oh Thanks, I am so happy that you read it! Do you really think that they were good? Wait.. Damn" Lucy clapped the hand on her forehead
"I didn't! Now that I think about it I am homeless too: This tavern will close in an hour and the guild is still in ruin so I think we have to think quickly for the night arrangement"
"Whatcha saying Lucy? You will come with me and Happy!" Natsu said overhearing her
"What?" A single glimpse at Natsu's face and Lucy became pink, looking into his best friend's eyes was becoming harder and harder so the idea of spending the night at his house made her embarrassed from head to toe "I mean thanks, Natsu, but I'll stay with Juvia!"
"She can come too!" He grinned
Juvia looked at Lucy and at Natsu and again at the way Lucy's cheeks were burning, she cherished every moment she had spent with Gray in their house and there was no way she would take from Lucy that kind of memory, even if it meant she would sleep alone in the wood!"
Thanks, Lucy san but now that Juvia thinks about it, she told Cana she would stay with her, so Juvia won't come!"
Juvia waved her goodbye leaving Lucy confused and embarrassed being dragged out from an over exciting Fire mage "it will be fun Luciiiiii"
Now She had to find Cana and ask her if she could find a place to stay. Cana always had a plan.
Meanwhile, the card mage went out of the pub looking around until she spotted a certain dark haired guy sat on a bench "Ehi sexy" she said sitting beside him.
"Yo," Gray said
"The hell are you doing here alone?"
"You know, just thinking 'bout. Stuffs"
"More like sulking if you ask me" She teased "so I heard a gossip: did you pleased her boy?" She smirked
"Oh come on Cana don't you even start!" He complained "I'm not in the mood"
"Ehi Ehi Ehi cool off! No need to stay all aloof, I am not here to joke I just wanna talk ok?"
Gray glared at his friend, her cheeks were red, her breath smelled like rum but not more than usual and she seemed serious.
"Ok, but there's nothing to talk about, it is true, me and Juvia we lived together! But then I left her and went to Avatar"
"And did you ask her for forgiveness kneeling before her?"
" It was my intention. But.. she simply said she was fine with just me, being alive and that she was not upset!" He said passing a head on his nape
"And did you believe her?" She glared at him
"…" "Nope but I don't know, maybe it is for the best, we are here now and.."
Cana put a hand on Gray's trembling leg: "Gray, I know you since we were kids so don't you try to lie to me, you are here, alone with a bottle of shitty vodka crying on yourself. This is not for the best"
"It's just, I don't know what to do, maybe She just, You know expected me to fuck things up, it's like she do not expect me to care for her and She just takes what I can give and this is. "
"Wrong?" Cana finished his sentence
"Yeah. But I don't know how to fix things. I would rather have her to yell at me, slap me, being angry so I could have make amend, I was ready to do everything she asked, but like this, I can only see that she is hurt inside and that I don't know how to fix things!"
"Did something happened? She is deadly sexy to resist for six months, alone, together!"
She grinned
"Oh come on Cana you said you won't jok…" Gray blushed furiously but Cana interrupted him
"Hey I am just trying to understand how fucked you are!"
"We kissed!" He admitted passing a hand through his hair
"Whoa, I didn't expect this so you really did not resist her stunning body and her deadly cuteness, After all!" She laugh
"Look I just.. Even after I kissed her, more than once actually, we spent the evening kissing… but then I told her she couldn't sleep in my bed because, You know? I wanted her to understand that I was serious about us.."
"Yeah, that you weren't doing it just because you were horny with Blue balls after months of seeing her walking around with her sexy ass"
"Yeah Thanks! but I am not made of ice! So I told her to go. She went away kissing me goodnight and she told me she would understand if it was just once and that she would not tell anyone.
She never mentioned it again to not make me uncomfortable and I am not good with this things! I didn't know what to do! But I was not uncomfortable, I kissed her because I wanted to! but I don't know how to drum this in her head! She is damn stubborn!" Cana rolled her eyes at the fondness in his voice
"She is always there for me, doing things at my pace while I would just smash my head against a wall because I am an idiot! I made her feel like this, this insecure and just when I was trying to convince her that I was right there, first it appeared this fucking marks on my body and I didn't want her to be in danger so I too started to pretend that that kiss never happened and then when I was starting to control my marks I met Erza and I had to left. For six fucking months! How the hell can I hope now that she can trust me? It seems that I always hurt her in some way. Maybe I just have to stay far from her, to give her a little bit of space!"
"Whoa, you sure became a talker during this year. I think I have never heard a longer speech from you before" Cana smiled "However Is this what you want? I mean space? Time? What was on your mind during this six months?" Cana asked looking right into Gray's eyes
"I missed her"
She nodded "But now you want to leave her all over again, look, Gray, i can read my card and I know for sure that the future is not a written path but more like a flow that changes constantly and only your choices can tame it so if you want Juvia to trust your feelings, show her how much you care, maybe it will be not today or tomorrow but keep staying by her side and one day she will know you will not leave right because you prove her by staying! Enough with all this crap! Just stay close to the ones you love and everything will be fine!"
"Is this a premonition of the Amazing Cana? I've heard you have worked in a circus with Bacchus!" Gray smirked
"Yeah Well barrels are not free, idiot! However, I Will make a bet! I bet there will come the time She will know that you love her as much as she loves you and that you have loved her From the very beginning!"
"Yeah," Gray said "wait, what do you mean From the very beginning? I did not. I mean I didn't know. I… Fuck what's the point of going against your words, witch?"
"Amazing Cana never Fails was my slogan, hottie! Past and future have no secrets for me!"
Juvia went out of the tavern and met Cana on the door: "Cana san, Juvia was just looking for you! Can Juvia ask if you have a place for her to stay tonight?"
"What do you mean a place to stay tonight?" Asked a deep, way too familiar, appealing voice and only with that Juvia had goosebumps on her skin
"Gray sama, Juvia didn't know you were here too! However there is still no fairy hills so Juvia was thinking where She could go and maybe I can stay with Cana and…"
"Sure we can go out like Crazy girl all night long Juvia!" Cana shouted hugging Juvia "the two of us will be unstoppable and every hunk in the town will pay us a drink!"
Juvia seemed uncomfortable and Gray took her from Cana's hand!
"Why didn't you ask me?" He asked
"Well time for me to go little birds, Juvia You know where to find me if you want to have fun," Cana said walking away swaying left and right more than it needed
Gray took Juvia's hand "let's go" He simply said smiling at her
Maybe, Cana was right, now it was on him to prove her that he was right there for her! Always! He just had to work hard and maybe one day she would really trust his feelings
"I don't come here from long ago so maybe it will be a total mess, please don't scream when you see my house!"
Gray said turning the key of his front door. He knew well she was a neat freak.
"Gray sama's house will be perfect just like him and besides Juvia already knows how messy you are, Juvia always collected your clothes after you throw them around in our house"
For a strange reason, the mention of "their" house made both of them blush and averted their gaze from each other.
"So" He was the first to speak "you can sleep in my bed"
Juvia's face flushed dark red
"I mean, I Will take the couch!" Gray said passing the hand in his hair
"Gray sama doesn't have to worry about Juvia, Gray sama was enough kind to let Juvia stay here so she will take the couch!" She said putting her bag on the sofa but Gray suddenly took it.
"Juvia!" His voice was serious "can you stop please?"
"Stop what Gray sama?"
"Being this…nice to me! It is right my duty to be worried about you! I want to! And why the hell am I kind for letting you stay here? Do you really think I would leave you alone?" He said going closer
Juvia smiled "you are right Gray sama! Juvia knows how much you care for all of your friends! Please excuse Juvia if she gave you the impression that she thinks poorly of you. Juvia would never!"
"Seriously? All of my… Friends?" He yelled the word friends a bit too much. It was so damn frustrating! He closed his eyes to regain his composure. This girl.
"Juvia will find another place as soon as possible!" She said taking her bag from Gray's hand "good night Gray sama" she tipped on her heels and kissed him on his cheek going in his bedroom.
He remained stood as a dried fish and he couldn't say anything more to her. He would yell it in her face: that he didn't want her to go and that she was not one of his friends but right now she Probably would not believe him.
He could even kiss her again and there was the high possibility she would think he was doing it out of duty or pity or because he is nice enough to Kiss all of his friends or whatever crap she was able to think about. Her mind surely worked in a strange way! He knew her!
He then started to hit his head on his cushion. Repentantly.
Stubborn. Impossible. Amazing girl!
Gray woke up. Someone during the night must have brought him in the wood because there was a smell of.. fresh morning dew in the air and his house never smelled this good.
The Sun was high in the sky.
Maybe that vodka he had drunk the night before really was shitty because his head ached for the light.
But wait, he didn't remember his house to be this luminous. Usually, he could wake up in the middle of the night or at lunchtime without notice the difference.
He grunted as he sat on the couch. He had a sheet around his hips and Obviously was naked under it. But he didn't remember he had that on, the night before.
A name popped out in his mind and everything made sense all of a sudden.
Juvia.
He shut his eyes wide opened and stood, being sure to put the tissue around his..jewels.
Wait. was he really in his house?
The night before it was a total mess. There were pizza's containers and bottles, one-year-old pizzas and bottles, all around, his windows were shut and dusty and everything smelled bad while now it was all, perfect.
No pizza, no bottles, no dust! The air smelled just fine, the windows were spread opened and a refreshing breeze came in together with the warm rays of the sun.
For the first time in his life his house seemed, beautiful! Like the ones you find in magazines. He didn't even know it was this Big.
This was just a Juvia thing: taking something shattered and broken and bring it to life again. He had seen her do it with almost dead plants, old objects, broken clothes, a sick squirrel and above all, himself.
A known perfume came from the kitchen.
He yawn and went in.
On the table, there was his favorite breakfast. Crumble eggs and crusty bacon. His stomach rumbled but something else stole his attention. He recognized Juvia's handwriting on a paper. She always put little Hearts on the I! It was a bit childish and plain cute.
"Juvia will go with the girls looking for another place where we can live until Fairy hills are back. Don't worry Juvia will keep a secret that she is at your place.
P. 's orange juice and something for lunch in the fridge, eat it! Gray sama has to take care of his health! :)"
Gray wanted to eat that paper instead! Seriously! What the hell! "Juvia would keep a secret that she was with him?" This was becoming ridiculous!
Ok, she was stubborn! But if she wanted war she would have it! He won't lose at this Game!
Gray met Juvia at the tavern that was replacing the guild, in the afternoon. She was deadly tired apparently, but obviously, she didn't know if she could come back at his house without asking him first. Can you believe it?
"Juvia is sorry" she whispered when no one was at their table
"Hu?" He glared at her "we haven't found anything Today so if it is not a bother Juvia would come again at your place tonight. Can Juvia?" She asked shyly
He just shrug his shoulder and kept playing with the ice in his drink smirking internally. His plan was settled. She would see!
They spent the rest of the day organizing their work: They had to choose a master, rebuild the guild, keep working obviously because they all needed money.
The evening went smooth. They all laugh listening to Levy complaints about Gajeel, apparently he sang all day long, in the shower, in the kitchen, he even sang while he trained.
Then it was Lucy turn to complain about Natsu being overexciting over everything and that he wanted to fight endlessly, even if Happy's version was different and he said Lucy's too was wild as Natsu and that they kept playing around like children all night long. Obviously, because they liked each other!
When Cana asked Juvia about her previous night, she smiled and said she had slept very well.
Gray throw her a glance, expecting something, a comment about him sleeping naked or being a mess, but she just blushed without saying a word about him.
At night, Gray was watching Juvia from afar while she was chatting and laughing with Lucy. Something warm enveloped his stomach and suddenly he just wanted to go there, put her on his shoulder and bring her home but his plan was still at the beginnings and he didn't want Juvia to just be with him. He wanted all. He had to prove her his intentions.
He went closer. It was becoming a habit for him, after his return, to find himself close to where she was. Like she was a sort of a planet and he could only gravitate around her space. Never too far but not yet too close.
He decided that he could add a bit of tease to his plan so when it was time to go he went close to Juvia's ear and he, casually, brushed a strand of hair from her shoulder "can we go home now?" He whispered only for her to listen and being sure of making a single second eye contact.
She was there to faint and he smiled.
"Excuse Juvia, but she is very tired so she will go.." She said to her friends.
"I will walk you, I'm tired too," Gray said walking to the door.
"Thank you, Gray sama!" She said waving goodbye
Out of the pub, Gray put his hand in his pocket being sure of leaving his arms spread at his side. Even unconsciously she would cling to him. She did.
"You know Gray sama, maybe next time we have to organize better our exit because I think this one was a bit obvious.."
"You say?"
"Juvia is sure she will find another place soon so it won't be for too long"
"Ok"
He opened the door letting Juvia in.
Juvia looked around. Something was different.
Gray went to the couch and started nonchalantly to leave his shoes.
Juvia walked around the room. She smelled something, familiar, in the air: Vanilla and coconut.
This was exactly the same fragrance she used to buy in the convenience store of their village.
"Did you sprayed some essence Gray sama?"
He said nothing, he just looked at her, playing dumb and kept his task of making himself comfortable.
Juvia looked around, on the table there was a tiny pot with jasmines and a sunflower
"Eh?" She yelled, "Why there are Juvia's favorite flowers?" Juvia used to take them from our garden but Why are they here?"
"Juvia go take a shower first, ok?" Gray said
"Sure!" She said still uncertain about what she had seen.
She went in the bathroom, it was comfortable and a shower was right what she needed. Maybe she was too tired and she was seeing things.
She undressed and entered the cabin
"Hu?"
She took a look at the shelf in the shower: a strawberry shampoo, Vanilla Conditioner for perfect waved hair, Cocoa body cream and so on. She didn't expect Gray to use all these products and they were exactly her favorites. All of them. They were right the ones she used usually. Strange..
She went out of the cabin. Next to the sink there was a Pink fluffy towel.
She loved fluffy things and she loved pink.
She went into the bedroom to take her clothes. Her bag was on the chair but it was empty. She looked around and saw her hat hung to a crutch. She opened a drawer and her clothes were all there, not really well-folded but. The thing is: she didn't remember she had unpacked her things the night before but apparently she had, she must have been really tired for forgetting…
She sat on the bed. Being on Gray sama's bed brought butterfly in her stomach. She squealed and throw herself on the mattress. There was something under the pillow: it was a book. She took it: it was not one book, it was exactly the book she was reading few months ago and that she never finished because… Because Gray was gone and she had no concentration to even read a line. Why was it there? And exactly in the place, she used to leave it after reading at night?
She went out of the bedroom with the book in her hand, really confused and still undressed
" my turn!" Gray said going to the bathroom and throwing a glance to Juvia's astonished face.
His plan was working.
He stared a bit too much to Juvia's legs in that pink towel while she walked wide eyes to the dining room. It was not the first time he saw her like this, after six months of living together, but it never lost his appeal.
"It never will" he thought.
He entered the bathroom and inhaled the strawberry scent of her shampoo. How badly had he missed It!
Juvia went close to the Windows just to be sure about what she was seeing: there was a curtain, a light Blue curtain, like the one she had bought for their house but it wasn't there yesterday. She had cleaned. She would have noticed.
She went in the kitchen, on the table, there were two cups, extraordinary alike with the ones they had, with a heart shaped in the middle. She opened the cupboard, exactly in the lower shelter there was a stock of her favorite earl Gray tea. In the second shelter, there was pasta, in the third all the things she used to bake. It was all as it was in their house but it was impossible.
Gray walked out of the bathroom. Juvia was on the couch, still wet in her towel and with her head on her knees
"What's wrong?" He said worried going close to her
"Gray sama! Juvia thinks she is hallucinating! She is seeing things.. All around the house!"
He laughed "Juvia you are not hallucinating!"
She looked at him "what do you mean?"
He looked right in her eyes taking her face in his palms "I did it! I want you to feel at home! This is my way to tell you that I don't want you to go anywhere! If you want we can start all over again, this will be our home and I swear I will never leave you again! I really like how you always try to make me feel loved but it is fair only if you let me do the same! I want you to be happy, Juvia and I will do anything!
Juvia was speechless, she just clutched her fingers in Gray's chest to take balance. Even if she was sat her mind was blank. Gray smiled and closed the distance brushing his lips on hers.
This was too much for her to take and she fainted in his arms.
After few minutes she opened her eyes. She was in a towel in Gray's arm on the couch while he caressed lightly her hair and brushed his fingers against her face. She was in heaven.
"Gray sama?" She said
"Yes?" He smiled
"Do you still have that lacrima communicator?"
"Yeah sure, Why are you asking?"
"Juvia thinks you have to call Polyushka san because Juvia must be stuck in a sort of dream, she sees and listens and feels… things, even right now! There's no way Gray sama would say what Juvia heard. Maybe some enemy gave Juvia a potion or Juvia is getting Crazy! Call the doctor Gray sama!" She whispered deadly serious with her eyes wide opened
"Seriously? A potion? You think you are in a dream?" Gray stood up abruptly mumbling and grumbling.
Impossible. Stubborn girl!
"This must be the punishment"I deserve this!" He said bumping his head on the wall.
"Well, I only have to work harder to convince you, I guess!"
