A/N: One day, I had a sudden wave of inspiration wash over me, and this is a story I wrote then. I wasn't really that satisfied with it, but I edited it many times, so hopefully, it's better now.
This is an AU in which Gajeel and Juvia are roommates, and it follows them through approximately 10 years of their lives. I imagine they moved in together when they were around 22/23 years old. This is Gajeel-centric, or at least told from his point of view, and the main focus is the Gajuvia broship, with a bit Gruvia and Gajevy on the side, and a microscopic mention of Nalu.
Those two are really my brOTP, and I like writing stories about them. :) Anyway, I hope you like this! :D
Whoever came up with the "Friends are the family we choose" quote obviously had no idea what he was talking about.
Gajeel certainly didn't choose to be stuck with the often hormonal and hard to deal with blue haired woman. Yet, there was no denying that he and Juvia were very close – they were best friends, if you had to put a label on them. Though really, that moody woman, his best friend? Gajeel had some pride, and a reputation to uphold. There was no way in hell he'd ever admit to being Juvia's closest friend, let alone admit Juvia was his closest friend.
But you know, she really was the one person he considered worthy of the said title. Even though she often made him watch some third rate crappy chick flicks, or made him listen to all the gossip he never cared about just because she had no female friends to gossip with, or she ended up heartbroken and he had to kick the bastard's guts. No, wait – he actually liked that part. Moving on.
…
Due to some circumstances from their past that neither wanted to remember, let alone mention, Gajeel and Juvia ended up pairing up, and even moving in with each other. Since they had become more or less close over time, they decided that living together would be a good idea – they would spend less money that way, and all in all the idea seemed very practical. The first few months were very awkward, though, since neither has Gajeel lived with a girl before, nor did Juvia live with a guy. But gradually, they got used to each other, and by the end of their first year of living together, there was no awkwardness between them (except for when Gajeel accidentally found Juvia's lingerie, or Juvia came upon certain magazines of Gajeel's). They made some ground rules and they stuck to them, and so, their cohabitation was peaceful and comfortable.
Of course, since they were two different people, some disagreements were bound to appear from time to time.
…
Juvia liked things neat and clean, Gajeel noticed, but it wasn't until she had actually threatened him that she would break his dear guitar and ruin his suits did he do something about his messy ways.
The places Gajeel used to live in, he lived in alone, so no one would complain when he'd throw his finished can of beer on the floor, or strip of his dirty clothes and leave them lying on the floor of the living room. There was no one to reprimand him when the place started to smell, and Gajeel didn't care about those things at all. If he found a mouse or a cockroach in his kitchen, his only reaction would be to sigh and lazily march off to find a poison or, if he was in a good mood, he'd try to catch the pests and throw them out.
Juvia, on the other hand, grew up with the almost obsessive urge to keep her home clean – sometimes even hospital clean. She lived alone, like Gajeel, but unlike him, she tried her best to keep her home welcoming, so every day she'd take a bit of her time and clean. Gajeel always thought that the reason for that was because, deep inside, she believed someone would return to that home, and therefore, the place needed to be spotless, else the one returning wouldn't be satisfied, and he'd leave again. Gajeel never allowed himself to have hopes like that – and maybe, that was his reason for being so messy. The dirty, run down apartment he would live in wouldn't be a place to call home, and so he wouldn't harbor any false hope of anyone coming for him.
Things had changed after he'd moved in with Juvia, though. Now, there was someone there to greet him in the mornings and wish him good nights, to scold him when he did something wrong or smile at him when he did something nice, and so, Gajeel decided that he should try and become a bit neater. The fact that Juvia had threatened to break his beloved guitar had he refused to listen to her didn't play any part in his decision at all.
Or maybe a small one. Nothing much.
…
Two years into their cohabitation, Gajeel had gotten used to every little habit Juvia had, and vice versa. Even the things that used to irritate him faded into background, and their fights, minimal from the beginning, ceased to exist almost completely. They still argued when Gajeel would return home with bruises, or when Juvia would return with puffy red eyes and a leaking nose, but those fights were more focused on the fact that "Gajeel-kun had gotten into a fight again!", or "I told ya that bastard was no good for you and you didn't listen!". In the end, Juvia would clean Gajeel's wounds, or Gajeel would beat up Juvia's ex (something she never complained about), and the next day, things would get back to normal.
After living in such a routine for more than three years, they decided they needed to change something – so they came to the conclusion they should move out of town. Neither had close friends except for each other, and they weren't attached at all to the town they were living in, so there were no problems. Gajeel could easily find a job in the new town with his skills – he was one of the best mechanics there was - and Juvia hoped she could find a job in her field, rather than working as a waitress or a cashier because she couldn't find any other jobs after finishing college.
They searched for a cozy place to live in – not too small, not too big – and they came across a town called Magnolia, less than three hours of drive away. They found a real estate agent, and after a month of sightseeing and making decisions, they bought a nice little apartment close to the center. The move took them some time, as they had some paperwork to deal with, but after another month, they finally left their old town and headed towards a new home.
Juvia didn't hide her excitement, but Gajeel stayed indifferent. He was the type of men that didn't like having high expectations, in order not to be disappointed - the complete opposite of Juvia, who, despite everything life had thrown her way, kept a positive outlook. Gajeel liked to believe that they were balancing each other out like that. He brought her back to Earth when she'd fly too high away, and she helped him be less grumpy, and taught him how to enjoy things.
…
Not even an hour after they finished moving their furniture into their new home, Gajeel regretted their decision to move into that apartment. On the same floor as them lived a noisy blonde who had a pink haired guy friend over, and, apparently just above them, was the home of a brunette who was seemingly drunk even though it was only three in the afternoon. As expected, the two women immediately thought that Gajeel and Juvia were a couple, and Juvia spent the next fifteen minutes explaining how their relationship was purely platonic, while Gajeel kept sending virtual daggers their way.
After they cleared up the misunderstanding, the blonde, whose name was Lucy or something (Gajeel didn't bother remembering), happily welcomed them and said that if they needed anything, she'd be happy to help. Cana, the drunkard from the upper floor agreed, and Natsu, the uninvited guest, as Gajeel could understand, nodded along.
When they were finally left alone, Juvia was beaming out of happiness – she liked their new neighbors a lot, and she was looking forward to befriending them. Gajeel just grunted in response, and plopped onto the old couch set in their new home.
It would take some time to get used to the change.
…
Three months living in the new town, and Gajeel was going insane. Their neighbors were very friendly - too friendly in Gajeel's opinion - and he was growing tired of the constant invitations to hang out delivered by either the drunkard, the blonde, or her always-uninvited-friend-but-more-than-friend guest. In all honesty, whenever he'd see Natsu's face, Gajeel would have the urge to punch him, something he didn't try to hide, and something Natsu seemed on with. (Apparently, the pink haired dude liked fights. His blonde friend-not-friend didn't.)
But the worst thing weren't the annoying neighbors, or the pink haired guest, but the fact that the pink haired guest wasn't the only one who was regularly visiting Lucy. No, the damned blonde had a whole army of guests which came and went when they wanted and how they wanted, and they left Gajeel with no peace.
The absolute worst one of them, however, was without a doubt that dark haired easy-on-the-clothes guy called Gray who had, imagine, "Stolen Juvia's heart! Kya!".
Now, Juvia always did have a horrible taste in men, and they all irritated Gajeel to no end, but for some reason, this guy angered him the most. It could be because of the fact that Juvia had gone crazy because of him, and now all she could think about was "Gray-sama, Gray-sama, Gray-sama", and she kept on making lunches and baking breads for that guy, and his living room was starting to get full of Gray-sama dolls, and Gajeel did not want those freaky things in his living room, or anywhere near him, for that matter.
He tried to talk some sense into Juvia, but the furthest he went was managing to convince her to keep her Gray merchandise in her own room. She was head over heels for Gray already, and if there was one positive thing about it, it was that because of her growing jealousy she was now hissing at Lucy, and Cana, and any other close female friend of Gray's, which at least meant they would be left alone for a while (hopefully).
The one guest he wasn't that bothered by, though, was a short blue haired girl who was actually Lucy's best friend. The only reason for that was that she didn't make any noise, and so, she didn't disturb Gajeel. He quite liked that.
…
A year since they moved into the new apartment, almost five since they started living together, things weren't looking up to Gajeel. Gray and Juvia had gotten closer and the guy seemed to have started getting interested into her, Juvia's crazy jealousy outbursts lessened completely so now she was all chummy with the girls, and Levy - the blue haired shorty - and Gajeel had gotten very chummy themselves.
It wasn't like he totally hated her companionship, but things were just starting to get too weird – for so long, it was only him and Juvia, and now all of a sudden there was Bunny Girl, Salamander, Drunkard, Titania, the Stripper bastard, Shrimp, and many others. Gajeel was getting overwhelmed by the company, but it didn't seem to bother Juvia at all. It made Gajeel feel weird, though he tried to hide it. However, he didn't manage to do so for too long, and one day, Juvia confronted him about his strange behavior.
He stubbornly denied everything at first, of course, but Juvia eyed him with those killer eyes of hers and in no time he gave in. He told her about his confusion and how he felt strange, and how he was bothered that she didn't feel strange at all, and by the end of it, Juvia could no longer hold in her laughter. Gajeel felt hurt because of her sudden laughing fit, but before he could react in any way, Juvia threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.
She stopped laughing and just held Gajeel close.
After a while, she whispered, "Juvia won't leave Gajeel-kun behind".
Gajeel tensed under her, and then started stuttering and stammering, embarrassed by what Juvia had just said. He vehemently denied that was what was bothering him, but Juvia just answered by tightening her grip on him, and in the end he just sighed and let her do whatever she wanted.
After the talk they had, Gajeel truly felt better, and he knew that he wouldn't be replaced, just how he'd never replace her. They might meet new people, make new friends or even fall in love, but no matter what, they were Gajeel and Juvia, and their relationship wouldn't change.
With those thoughts, he felt his dislike for the Stripper disappear a bit.
He also felt a strange need to see Levy right away.
…
When Juvia told him she and Gray had started dating, Gajeel spit out the beer he was drinking. Year and a half after they moved into Magnolia and Juvia met Gray, the guy apparently manned up and finally asked her out. Now, while Gajeel understood that it was about the damn time, because the tension between the two was starting to become suffocating, that didn't mean he liked it. Naturally, his first reaction was to jump out of his seat and head towards Gray's place so he could "beat the shit out of the bastard". Juvia tried to stop him, of course, saying that there was absolutely no need for Gajeel to beat Gray up because he had done nothing wrong, but Gajeel turned around, and with a straight face said that it was just a precaution.
Juvia snapped and punched him on the face, and continued to hit him until he promised that he wouldn't do anything.
When they both calmed down, Gajeel asked her, in a serious voice, if she was happy, and if she believed that Gray could make her even happier. She smiled at him, a wide, radiant smile, and that told Gajeel everything he needed to know. He patted Juvia on the head and then got up and said he was going for a walk. Juvia warned him not to do anything stupid. Gajeel waved without turning around and exited their apartment.
Of course, he was going to visit Gray.
While he promised he wouldn't beat him up, he didn't promise he wouldn't warn him, and as someone who's acted as Juvia's protector for such a long time, Gajeel felt the need to chat with Gray a bit. When he appeared at Gray's front door, the guy didn't seem surprised at all – Juvia probably knew Gajeel was going to Gray's so she told him. As soon as he entered, without saying anything else, Gajeel told Gray that he "better take care of Juvia, or I'm gonna beat you up so bad, you're gonna wish you never met me." Gray, unperturbed, said that he will, and the guys had a stare battle for a few moments, before Gajeel smirked, and headed for the door.
Gray shouted that Gajeel should better take care of his own girl business.
Gajeel showed him the finger but said nothing as he decided to pay Levy a sudden visit.
…
After more than seven years of living together, Gajeel and Juvia had come to the point that was bound to appear sooner or later.
Gray and Juvia decided to move in together.
Since they have been dating steadily for two years, Gray thought it was time for Juvia to move in with him. She was, of course, overjoyed, but her happiness was short lived as she remembered her oldest and her closest friend. Juvia told Gray that she had to talk to Gajeel about it before they made everything official, and Gray agreed, since he understood the bond those two shared. As soon as Gray asked her to move in with him, Juvia returned to her home, to tell everything to her best friend.
He was not surprised at all.
Thinking rationally, Juvia and Gray were a happy couple, with stable lives and stable incomes, and it was not surprising they wanted to take a step further into their relationship. Actually, what was surprising was that Juvia and Gajeel, two people who were neither in a romantic relationship, nor related, lived together for seven years. That was, after all, a long time for just friends to live together.
But they did just that, and honestly, Gajeel loved those years they spent together. He loved the years it was just the two of them, but he loved the years after they moved into Magnolia and met all those new people even more. They formed many new and strong bonds, but trough it all, their bond didn't break – moreover, it strengthened. Meeting new people had just helped to show them how much they meant to each other, and that, that wouldn't ever change.
Gajeel reached for Juvia's arm and squeezed it, and as she looked up at him he grinned at her. Juvia returned his grin and squeezed back, and even without saying anything, they understood each other, like many times before. But some things just needed to be said.
Juvia told Gajeel that she loved him, and that he was a very special person to her, her best friend, and the closest thing she had to a brother. Gajeel laughed in his own, special way, and told Juvia that she was an idiot, because "I ain't the closest thing you have to a brother, I am your brother". She burst into tears after that, and they spent the next hour laughing and talking about Gray and Juvia's future plans.
When she moved out of their apartment two months later, Gajeel couldn't deny that he felt lonely. But the drunkard on the floor above and the noisy blonde and her irritating boyfriend across the hall lessened that feeling a bit. Besides, it wasn't as if Juvia had moved to the other side of the planet – the Stripper's place was just a few minutes away. And after all, Gajeel decided that his place wouldn't be empty for too long, anyway.
He had his own girlfriend, and he was not at all opposed to the idea of moving in with her.
…
Two years since Juvia moved in with Gray, the two got married.
All of their friends had gathered to celebrate, and, as always, they partied and they laughed, and just a little bit, they cried (because the girls were all emotional and the guys were not too far behind). And Gajeel would forever deny it, but, while he was walking Juvia down the isle, and while he was giving her away to Gray, he barely stopped himself from crying. Juvia looked at him, wearing the brightest smile, and Gajeel knew he never saw a bride more beautiful than her – but his Levy would not fall behind.
He could see the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, but he flicked her on the forehead and told her that she should save her tears for when she was finally married to the good for nothing stripper. Juvia giggled and agreed, and as they stood in front of Gray, Gajeel reluctantly let go of Juvia's hand, letting Gray take it. He sent him a strong glare, one that promised hell if he was ever to hurt her, and Gray just nodded in acknowledgement, rivaling Gajeel's glare with his own determined one.
Before he pulled away, Gajeel kissed Juvia on the forehead.
Then he walked over to his spot, and sat next to his other most important woman. Levy smiled at Gajeel, and he decided he couldn't wait until he got to see her walk down the isle.
After the ceremony was over, the guests moved to the reception hall. The first dance was, naturally, shared by the newlyweds, but the second dance, Juvia kept for Gajeel. As they twirled to the gentle sounds of music, Juvia told Gajeel that this was one of the happiest days of her life, and that she was overjoyed she could share it with him. Gajeel nodded and grinned, saying that soon, he would be sharing his own happiest day with her. Juvia contained her squeal and secretly looked in Levy's direction. She then hugged Gajeel tightly and wished him all the luck in the world. He wished that back to her, and they finished their dance.
…
So then, in the end, maybe the one who came up with the "Friends are the family we choose" quote did know what he was talking about.
But still, Gajeel had his pride, and a reputation to uphold. There was no way in hell he'd ever admit that. Probably.
A/N: I hope you liked it, and please tell me what you thought about it. :)