4

"Juvia, baby, put your shoes on," a black-haired woman called as she kneeled down to her four-year old's height to put her favorite pair of shoes on her. The little girl nodded obeying her mother.

"Yes mommy," the small child obeyed lifting one foot up to fit in her small black boots wobbling a bit as she tried to keep her balance. Juvia was smaller than most four-year olds, her hair was like her father's blue and wavy and barely past her shoulders. She looked a lot like her mother, pale snow like skin, cat like blue eyes, cute button nose, and plump rosy lips. Her cheeks were constantly rosy, the shade became deeper when the child blushed, which was something she did quite often.

"You and Gajeel will be home tonight, mommy and daddy will be going out for dinner okay?" Juvia's mother said as she picked her up setting the little girl on her waist as she began walking into a hallway to go into her son's room. Juvia nodded, resting her head against her mother's shoulder. "Mrs. Dreyar will be babysitting the two of you, I believe her son is coming with her as well. Take care of your brother for me, yes?"

"Hai, Juvia is in charge?" The little girl looked up to her smiling mother who couldn't help but chuckle at her words.

"Make sure your brother doesn't hurt himself," Mrs. Redfox kissed her daughter's temple hoping to distract her from her question.

"Hai," the little girl nodded as she was being put down to the ground. Her mother knocked on the door of her older brother notifying him, his mother and sister were coming in.

"Oniisan!" Juvia squealed as she ran to him giving him a hug that made him make an 'oof' sound since she managed to hit his stomach, not on purpose but because of the hug.

Gajeel rolled his eyes his mother scolding him for it before she began to leave him instructions. They were the typical ones she always left when their parents had to leave to an important dinner. Take care of your sister, don't hurt yourself, keep the house clean, don't make a mess, get in bed on time. Gajeel knew the drill, so he just kept nodding his head as he looked around for some of his toys.

"Take care of your little sister Gajeel, and don't play rough with her." His mother gave him a stern look sending the message to her son.

"But Mom she's the one who plays rough with me! When I'm playing tackle football with my friends Juvia runs and jumps in!" Gajeel grumbled frowning at his sister. "When my friends and I are playing video games she attacks us!" He kept on complaining and Juvia innocently looked up at her mom. The little girl couldn't help it, she was barely going to start school and knew no other kids her own age. Of course, she would want to play with her brother and his friends! She had no one to play with!

Their mother knew about Juvia's actions and she didn't blame her son for his frustration, but her little girl just wanted someone to play with. She was shy and barely spoke to anyone other than her family. Sometimes she scolded herself and her husband for not teaching their daughter to be sociable. In fact, they thought they didn't need to since their son was a blabber mouth as a baby! Of course, now he's become quieter, but he manages to make friends.

"Gajeel, I understand Honey, but she's your little sister." Their mother began as she sighed. "If you play with her just for a little bit, she'll leave you alone." She stood in front of her son, staring down at him hoping he would do as she said.

"Fine, only for a little bit Juvia," Gajeel glared at her for a second before his facial expression softened as she smiled at him raising her arms up him, so he could carry her. Gajeel grinned picking her up and setting her against his waist.

"Oniisan!" The little girl wrapped herself around her brother snuggling against his neck. Juvia loved her brother very much and everyone knew about it. Gajeel of course, loved her equally back. They both protected each other, Juvia always tried to cheer her brother up when he was upset. Gajeel was always there to accompany Juvia whenever she was alone. They were like peanut butter and jelly. Mainly because Gajeel was Juvia's only role model, besides her parents, since he liked teaching or showing her new things.

"Well, Mrs. Dreyar will be arriving in a few minutes. She's bringing her son with her so be nice to him." Their mother gestured for her children to walk out of the room to head for the living room. "The both of you, alright?" She turned glancing at both of them knowing how her kids could sometimes be. She had a quick flashback of her daughter attacking a girl who had decided to take away one of Gajeel's toy cars. As well of her son deciding to punch a boy in the face for insulting him. Oh Mavis, if the flashbacks kept on coming, then Mrs. Redfox would most likely ditch her husband from the important dinner, but no. Her husbanded needed her and she would be there for him. So she cleared her throat in attempt of ignoring the many flashbacks.

"Mrs. Dreyar, the new neighbor?" Gajeel asked arching a thin brow as he watched his mom fix her short black hair. He lifted Juvia a little higher on his waist since she slowly began to slide down to his hip. She on the other hand clung onto him like a baby monkey would do on their mother.

"Yes, the new neighbor, Gajeel, don't be rude to him." Their father walked into the living room fixing the cuff of his jacket. He was a man of medium height, blue wavy hair like his daughter, and piercing red eyes. It was a weird genetic, but it ran through his family, including onto his son, who was almost a carbon copy of him.

"Well how old is he?" Gajeel asked as he put Juvia down onto the ground, holding her hand. Juvia wondered as well as who the new neighbors were. She had never heard of them nor wanted to, especially if they had a son. What if he was mean? What if he was crazy? Or worse, what if he tried to hurt Gajeel!? Juvia furrowed her brows at her thoughts immediately wanting to protect her brother from the new boy stranger kid thing.

"Don't know kiddo but be nice. Take care of your sister alright? Mom and dad will be home late, my boss is managing a dinner for the whole company and I need to show up to present my department." Their dad ruffled his son's messy short hair and picked up his daughter kissing her cheek. "Watch for your brother okay princess?" Ever since Juvia was born, she automatically became a daddy's girl. Her father loved her so much to even dressing up in a pink tutu with his son to celebrate her teddy bear's birthday party.

"Yes daddy," the little girl kissed her dad's nose cupping his face with her small tiny hands.

The doorbell rang indicating Mrs. Dreyar's, the new neighbor, arrival. Mr. Redfox put his daughter down who quickly walked to her brother grabbing his hand. Their parents answered the door greeting Mrs. Dreyar and her son.

They spoke for a little bit, the Redfox parents spoke to their new trusted neighbor giving her instructions for their children. By her side stood her son silently. He had blonde messy hair, about the same height as Gajeel, a bit tall by a centimeter, and a bored expression on his face. Juvia couldn't help but stare at the boy she had never met in her short-lived life. For four-year-old, she thought he was really pretty.

Juvia and Gajeel's parents left, leaving them with Mrs. Dreyar and her son. The four of them stood in the living room silently before introducing themselves. Juvia's ears tingled as she heard the boy speak, who's name was Laxus. She quietly said his name to herself, repeating it over and over again.

"Well, I'll be starting on dinner, Laxus be nice to Gajeel and Juvia," Mrs. Dreyar said as she headed towards the kitchen. The woman had brown hair, unlike her son, and green sharp eyes.

Juvia tightened her grip on her brother's hand once they were left alone with Laxus, indicating her shyness as she stepped back. Gajeel rolled his eyes at his sister wondering when she would stop being timid of others. He ignored her letting go of her hand before he began speaking to his new acquaintance.

"I'm Gajeel, and this is Juvia my little sister. She's really shy, so ignore her rudeness." Gajeel advised to the new neighbor who just chuckled at the comment. Juvia on the other hand didn't seem to like the comment very much.

"Juvia is not rude!" She stated stomping her left foot onto the ground receiving another eye roll from her brother. So, she decided to kick him on the ankle causing him to hiss in pain. Juvia pouted walking away from her brother and Laxus muttering to herself as she headed to her room.

"Ow," Gajeel rubbed his ankle earning a chuckle from Laxus. Gajeel scowled at the boy for daring to mock him.

"Maybe if you let her speak for herself she wouldn't have kicked you," Laxus grinned hoping to make a new friend since he had just moved a few weeks ago and had met no kid his age til now.

"Yeah well, I got to play with her, so she won't be bothering anyone for a bit. Want to help?" Gajeel asked nudging his head towards their hallway which lead to the bedrooms.

"We're not going to be dressed up in pink and talking to stuffed animals...are we?" Laxus nervously asked as he glanced at what could be Juvia's bedroom. He was an only child and from what he's heard, little girls could be very hard to handle.

"Nah, Juvia isn't like most girls," Gajeel smirked, he felt accomplished since his little sister was different from most little girls and he liked that. Juvia was like a mini Gajeel when she wasn't being shy or timid. Laxus did nothing but nervously chuckle not knowing what to expect.

"Juvia will now bless you to be on her pirate ship!" Juvia held a plastic sword up high as she spoke to her brother and their new friend. They were dressed in some weird fantasy pirates and now being blessed by a four-year-old.

Laxus wasn't going to admit it, but he was having quite a bit of fun playing with Juvia, since he was an only child. He didn't have anyone to play with and who knew little girls were so funny? Not he, if he didn't think right, Gajeel was also having fun. He found a liking when hearing Juvia's giggling. It was something he found adorable and he was surprised to admit it. Most little girls he met were squealing all the time and wailed like a banshee for everything. Juvia, she wasn't like that, she was funny, sweet, and wild.

"Bow down to Juvia!" The little girl exclaimed the two boys in her room obeying her wish. Gajeel sighed wanting to be done with playing with his sister, but he had twenty more minutes to go till she began to feel tired. Juvia tapped the boys, well more like swatted, backs instead of their shoulders. Both of them winced at the action and feared that she might hit their head.

"We will now defeat the evil duck and make him a slave to our ship!" Juvia exclaimed running around making Gajeel chuckle as he watched his sister stab random stuffed animals around her room. He was a great model for a little girl since she usually sat by his side when he played his video games, and they weren't just car racing or anything. It was full on shooting and stabbing people with blood spatter showing on the television screen.

"Your sister's pretty violent for a five-year-old," Laxus whispered as he looked around for the said duck they were supposed to defeat for his evil ways. He quirked a brow when he saw no view of a duck or anything like it.

"Like I said, she's not like most girls. She rarely likes playing with girl things. She likes playing football instead." Gajeel scratched his neck from the white feathery scarf he wore, he was the angel of death and apparently had to wear the scarf with an eye patch and a plastic knife. He wanted it off but knew his sister would be bothering him about it if he did.

"Is she any good?" Laxus questioned thinking of a four-year-old playing football. "By the way, where's the duck we need to make our slave?" Laxus kept on watching the little girl run around, her blue curls bouncing everywhere she went. It was pretty cute, but he continued to scan the room for the duck she seemed to want to enslave.

"She doesn't know the rules very well, so she jumps onto whoever has the ball and finds a way to take it from them. And the duck is in my dad's office, it's stuffed and on a high shelf. She'll never get it." Gajeel informed as he pretended to kill Juvia's stuffed eel by stabbing it multiple times, Juvia praised him for his way of stabbing it making Laxus worry a bit for the little girl's future for a moment.

"Oh, so is she going to fall asleep anytime soon?" Laxus punched a white heart shaped pillow throwing it back onto Juvia's twin bed. Which he was a little shocked to see that it was dark blue and had lightning bolt designs all over it. He expected some princess type of thing, but no. Juvia really wasn't like other girls.

"Give her a few more minutes of running around and she'll be snoring." Gajeel ran towards his sister lifting her up so she could fly around her room since she was also a magic pirate captain fairy. She smiled and began to stab air which apparently were her imaginary enemies.

"Laxus kill any enemy that is in Juvia's way!" Laxus did so and continued to play around speaking to Gajeel here and there. It had been a really long time since he had this much fun. Which was a bit weird since he was playing around with a four-year-old and he was ten.

There was a moment where the two boys sat down to rest from all the jumping and running they were doing for Juvia and rested against the side of her bed. The little girl's demands were beginning to get exhausting and they were ready for her to just drop.

"So, where you from?" Gajeel kept his eyes on his sister so she wouldn't hurt herself since she was now wearing Gajeel's long white feather scarf. So, he decided to get to know his neighbor.

"Tartaros, my dad transferred to here. You go to Fairy Tail Private?" Laxus began to remove his costume Juvia gave him which consisted of a blue tiara, a necktie, and a plastic hoop earring. He himself was getting curious of his new-found friend and was glad they began to get to know each other.

"Yeah, I've been there since I was little," Gajeel answered glancing at Laxus before he went back to watch his sister. She was still playing around, and he began to grow impatient.

"Juvia goes there too?" Laxus too glanced at the little girl who was currently attacking a doll.

"She's about to at the end of summer," Gajeel replied smirking as he heard his sister throw threats at random dolls and stuffed animals.

"You got a PlayStation?" Laxus wondered hoping Gajeel did have one since he also had one himself.

"Yeah, I got the full Call of Duty collection, want to play once Juvia falls asleep?" Gajeel stopped watching his sister as his conversation with Laxus grew.

"Of course, I almost got the collection completed, I'm just missing Modern Warfare and Ghost." Laxus replied as he began to get excited to play video games with Gajeel.

"I begged for Modern Warfare for years, I just got it for my birthday a few months ago." Gajeel spoke forgetting about his sister becoming more curious about Laxus.

"Dang, I'm supposed to get them soon since I didn't want to move to Magnolia, my dad promised to get them for me." Laxus shrugged, he really did hope his dad got them for him.

"Maybe we can play each other when were at our own houses." Gajeel suggested hoping the blonde would agree.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Laxus nodded as he thought about playing against a new player.

"I'll invite my friends I'm sure they'll like you." Gajeel was sure Freed and Bickslow would like Laxus. Next time they would come over, he was sure to invite Laxus.

"Awesome." Laxus grinned.

The two boys continued their conversation becoming oblivious of Juvia's presence. They found out they were the same age and had a love for video games. They also had their differences, Gajeel loved coffee, Laxus detested it. Both had their own views on broccoli. Too distracted from their conversation they never noticed Juvia's presence. She was nowhere in her room and her pirate captain fairy costume was now on the floor.

"Hey, it's pretty quiet," Laxus arched an eyebrow looking around for Gajeel's sister. He thought if she would of fallen asleep she would of chosen her room.

"Oh, Juvia probably went to go get a cup of water, she usually does before she goes to bed." Gajeel assured standing up as he walked out his sister's room followed by Laxus. Finally, time to go play some video games, Gajeel thought as he headed towards his bedroom.

Right by it was his father's office and it was usually closed but for some reason it was open at the moment, but Gajeel was too busy thinking about his games not caring on why his dad's off-limits office was open. Laxus happened to hear a whimper coming from Mr. Redfox's office. Being curious he pushed the slight open door wider to see Juvia barely standing on a high shelf on the tips of her toes.

"Juvia!" Laxus exclaimed catching Gajeel's attention.

"Oniisan, help!" Juvia cried, tears running down her cheeks as she barely held onto the top shelf. The very tips of her toes were keeping her up, but her small fingers were slipping from the hold she had on the high shelf. She was about pretty high from the ground and she wanted nothing than to be held by her brother.

Gajeel ran towards her not stopping in time since he accidentally bumped into the shelf. He groaned as he rubbed his head in pain too distracted to react to Juvia's scream. The motion from Gajeel bumping onto the shelf, Juvia had lost her balance and began to fall.

Laxus quickly went to catch Juvia since he was right behind Gajeel when the two had walked in, her tiny body slammed onto his, almost making him fall onto the floor. Her hands were gripping onto his shirt, feeling it becoming wet from her tears. She sobbed repeating the word 'oniisan.'

"Hey shhh, it's alright Juvia. I got you, you're okay now, no need to cry." Laxus rubbed the little girl's back whispering calming words into her ear. "Calm down, you're okay." His grip on her tightened smiling as she felt her small arms wrap around his neck. She rested her head on his shoulder as her sobs began to calm down.

Mrs. Dreyar rushed in seeing the scene in front of her. Gajeel was rubbing his head hoping there wasn't a bump caused by it, and a crying Juvia being soothed by Laxus. She gulped as she worried of what their parents would say since she was supposed to keep them from being hurt.

"What happened!?" Mrs. Dreyar exclaimed as she stood in front of the two boys.

From there on, after the boy's explanation to Mrs. Dreyar, Juvia began to slowly grow an attraction towards Laxus. It wasn't an attraction like she had with Gajeel, it was a different one. One that her four-year-old self couldn't explain. She kept her grip on him as he continued to hold her slowly falling asleep. The next morning when she woke up, she was disappointed on not seeing Laxus at all.

So that's that, I hope you Lavia shippers liked it! I've been wanting to post a Lavia story for a while now and look, I finally did. Haha...

Anyways thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review if you would like, positive or negative, I'll take it.

~Esketit