Okay so it's 2:30am and I am dying. Sorry if there are spelling/grammatical errors in here. I am dead. Pretty much. Anyway, this story is heavy Gruvia with a steady Gajevy, and other semi-cannon ships. All characters will probably be in the story along the way, you'll definitely get to see more characters. This chapter is kind of rushed, but its basically like a prologue I guess. Future chapters won't have any time-skips or anything. I just wanted to display Juvia x Gajeel | Juvia x Natsu brotp and get a little, insy bit of back story in there. Hardly any, but eh. Its just to get the story going.
As the story goes on you'll get to understand why certain characters are the way they are. And I really wanted to write Juvia's speech in third person but I found myself accidentally adding first person, so I decided to turn it into a habit she does whilst drunk. Anyway... enjoy, I guess. Hope you like it!
"Where are you?"
"I'm at a stupid bar that won't let me in," Gajeel snarled through the phone. "They obviously have something against decent looking men."
Juvia sighed, reluctantly getting out of bed while doing so. "Yeah, that doesn't help, Gajeel." She shivered when the sheets slid down her torso. She fought the urge to climb back under her duvets, ignore Gajeel, and embrace the warmth.
"It's Tom's." He muttered, "The one down the road from the Pet shop."
It took a moment for Juvia to remember the location. "Alright, I know where you're talking about, I'll be there soon." She was about to hang up, but curiosity prevented her from doing so. "It's called Tom's?"
"Yeah. Why?"
She laughed lightly and used her free hang to rub her eyes, "It doesn't matter." She murmured, "The name sounds stupid. I'll be there soon."
"Alright. Thanks."
She hung up and stretched her limbs. She got up from the bed and elicited a loud yawn while searching for her shoes—she was certain they were lying on the ground somewhere. As she trudged through her apartment she tried to ignore how much her entire body ached; she felt terrible due to her previous mission, and the last thing she wanted to do was collect a pissed off Gajeel from a bar, especially one that continued kicking him out for weeks, but if she didn't do it he'd probably start a riot.
Finding her shoes, she dressed herself in whatever she found in her wardrobe and left her apartment, grabbing her car keys at the last second.
Juvia was lucky the trip was so short because when she arrived, her best friend looked as though he was about to start a fight with the security guard. She let out a sigh. The worker was unusually thin and young; she was surprised he held his own against the 'terrifying' Gajeel. When she pulled up Juvia jumped out and immediately ran to her friends' side, slightly out of breath and shivering due to the cold seeping into her bones.
The guard took one look at her and moved aside, gesturing toward the entrance with rosy cheeks. "You look wonderful tonight, ma'am," he told her, however he avoided her eyes. She lifted a brow and studied her own attire; Juvia only threw on jeans and a pink sweatshirt—she had barely touched her hair, she hadn't taken a shower, and she still felt the drowsiness of sleep clutching onto her.
Before she could do anything Gajeel ushered her inside while muttering a quick "she's with me", and wove them through the crowd before the security guard could do anything about it.
"Gajeel, no!" she protested, squirming in his hold, "I want to go back home!"
He steered them further into the horde before shouting, "You kiddin' me? I've been waitin' weeks to get in here! Who knew you'd be my golden ticket!" He slung his arm around her neck as he continued to manoeuvre them through the sea of bodies. "You know what this means?"
She was reluctant to answer. "I don't want to know…"
He leaned closer to her ear, "You're comin' here with me every weekend. We'll make it a tradition or whatever."
"A-A tradition?" she stuttered, glancing around at the people surrounding her. "I… this isn't really my scene."
He spun her around, greeting her with a wide grin and hopeful eyes. "You'll love it. People from all different guilds come here and no one gives a fuck who you work for." he lowered himself so they were at eyelevel, "No one will know we're from the Phantom Lord. You can meet other people."
She frowned, "I have you. I don't need anybody else."
He laughed and tapped her forehead. "Let's just sit back, have a couple of drinks, and enjoy ourselves. If you hate it that much, I'll find somewhere else to drink. But just wait and see… you'll love it."
Juvia rolled her eyes at her troublesome friend. "You're only saying that because you can't get in without me."
He rubbed the back of his neck and offered her a mischievous smile.
Well, there are certainly worse ways I could spend my weekends, she thought to herself.
Two weeks later they were both snickering loudly at their table. Juvia's face was red with embarrassment and Gajeel's hands were clutching at his stomach as his laughter roared through the pub. Juvia had come around to the idea of coming here every weekend. She prized Gajeel's company after a long week of hard work and had finally accepted the fact she loved getting drunk.
However, she quickly learnt drunken people had habits. The more she drank, the more she spoke in third person, continuously referring to herself by her name or 'she' or 'her'. She also began using honorifics. When it started to bother Gajeel they made a deal; she told him each time he felt the urge to complain about her habit, they'd take a shot.
And that's when she discovered a drunken Gajeel found everything around him hilarious. Not much about him changed when she thought about it, something that didn't go unnoticed was how he gained more confidence and assertiveness with everything he did, so when he discovered the stage empty with a chair, a stool, and a guitar, he felt an overwhelming urge to perform.
Juvia, knowing how talented he was, encouraged him.
"I'll do it on one condition."
"What does Gajeel-kun want from Juvia?" she questioned.
"When I'm on stage, I want you to act like my number one fan and—"
"But Juvia is Gajeel-kun's number one fan!" She exclaimed, smiling brightly at him while holding her hands over her chest.
He snickered before adding, "Good, that means you'll have no problem throwing your panties on stage for me."
"Of course!" She exclaimed. A moment later she froze, her cheeks turned pink, and she suddenly wanted to throw the remains of her drink in his face. "What?! Juvia can't do that!"
"Not even for a friend?" he pouted. "It'll boost my confidence!"
"No way!" She shouted. She threw a handful of peanuts in his direction. "Juvia won't do it! No matter how many drinks she's had!"
He looked at her with a sad expression, as if she had done the unthinkable and stabbed him in the back, "I thought you said you'd support me through anything…"
She crossed her arms with a huff. "Juvia will not let herself be manipulated by Gajeel-kun."
Gajeel smirked. He ordered four more shots and hit her with a strong dose of nostalgia. He reminisced about their time together; reminding her of how they first met and how far they had come since then, throwing in a couple of hardships they had to overcome together and how she was the first person he ever let into his iron heart. By the end she was close to tears and clinging onto his bicep for dear life.
With reluctance Juvia agreed. "Okay, Juvia will do it only because she loves Gajeel-kun too much. But she will only throw her bra onstage. Deal?"
He snickered. "Deal."
Something that surprised Juvia was how well she could seal a deal while drunk. It only took her ten minutes to convince the bartender to let a drunken Gajeel perform on stage; she told them his name was Metalicana, just so people wouldn't trace them back to their guild.
She could tell he was nervous. His first song was tense and he forgot the lyrics a few times, and although the audience weren't paying attention she knew he would be embarrassed. Gajeel was ready to leave but she urged him to continue with one of his original songs she'd heard him sing in the shower. He scolded her for a moment before going back to the spotlight. He was nervous and it showed during the first verse, but he rocked the chorus.
She didn't notice the crowd forming behind her until the song finished; her heart filled with pride as he beamed down at her. She threw her bra onstage and he caught it with ease, causing the crowd to roar as he winked at her.
Gajeel was halfway through his third song when she was approached by the owner of the bar.
"You're Metalicana's manager, correct?"
On a whim she answered, "You are correct." Her face flushed when she realized she replied with a British accent. She wanted to die right there and then, but it was too late for her to take it back. She had already gone too far.
"Well, we want him to hire him to perform weekend's eight till ten. Would he be interested in that?"
"With pay?"
He nodded. "Of course."
She thought for a moment before responding. "We want three hundred a week and free drinks all round."
"One hundred and free drinks during work hours."
"One fifty and free drinks work nights," she haggled. He seemed reluctant, but in the end he agreed.
A year passed quicker than they anticipated, and they spent every weekend performing and drinking to their hearts content. The duo hardly converse with many people other than themselves, so one night when Juvia was seated alone at her usual table, she was startled when a slightly familiar, overly confident, pink haired male popped up unannounced. Juvia's eyes went to the white scarf wrapped tightly around his neck before meeting his dark, glowing eyes.
"C-Can Juvia help—"
He gave her a toothy grin and stretched out his hand, "Names Natsu!"
She froze and her mouth hung open in shock. So bold… she wasn't used to such a… friendly nature… given the only person who gave her the time of day was Gajeel. "Juvia…" her voice came out soft. She shook his hand.
"Mind if I sit?" he asked. He sat before she could answer. "We see you sitting here all the time! I thought it was time I'd introduce myself."
"W-We?"
He pointed in the direction to a table. There sat three beautiful women and one scowling, dark haired male. All were looking her way aside from the petite, blue haired girl whose eyes were glued to the stage. Juvia felt extremely uncomfortable with the newfound attention she was receiving.
It was strange for people to approach her since she was constantly in the company of Gajeel—a tall, burly, scary looking male. People tend to avoid him due to his aggressive nature.
"That guy ran away because I scared him."
She sighed, "You're not as scary as you think."
Gajeel scoffed and stretched his legs out on his couch. "I have piercings, hair that goes down my back, ridiculously large muscles—" she rolled her eyes, "—I saw that."
Juvia laughed. "My friends just need to get to know you and then they'll see just what a great person you are!"
He took a deep breath and found himself avoiding her gaze. "They judge me because of my appearance, but you never did, Juvia." What he said had stopped Juvia from flicking through the channels. Did he… is he getting sentimental? After a beat she tried to meet his eye, but he focus was solely on the television. "You deserve to be with better people than that, people that don't judge others based on appearance. Until you come across someone who can look me in the eye while we have a conversation, I'll continue scaring them away."
"G-Gajeel…" She was at loss for words.
He spared a glance in Juvia's direction. She couldn't think of a word to say to him, Gajeel had never been so serious with her before. "And if they don't hold their own against me, they'll never get my approval."
Gajeel was as protective as ever, but it was his messed up version of how much he cared.
"Oh, looks like we might be leaving," Natsu frowned. He gave her an apologetic smile before jumping out of his seat, "Sucks. Thought we'd have more time to chat. I'll see you tomorrow night?"
She found herself fumbling over her words so she nodded instead. He grinned before walking over to his friends. Watching Natsu and his friends disappear out the door, Juvia found herself hoping that Natsu wouldn't be like the others.
"Do you believe in karma?"
Juvia nodded, "Juvia firmly believes that her actions will have consequences."
He laughed and sipped his beer. "I can't say I disagree with you on that, although there are some lucky bastards out there who get away with everything. Fucking ridiculous."
"They're the worst," she agreed and began thinking of another question. She and Natsu were engaged in a game of twenty questions to get to know each other a little better; Juvia suggested it. Gajeel was performing onstage and she noticed him casting her a few curious glances, so she sent him a friendly smile and waved him off. "What's on your bucket list?"
He lifted his brows and looked off into the distance in deep thought. "My bucket list? I don't necessarily have a bucket list, but a list of people I want to beat in a fight."
She laughed.
"Three of my friends over there are on it," he gestured toward the same group of people from yesterday, and there was an addition of two rather large, intimidating males. "The chick with the red hair, her name's Ezra. She kicks my ass all the time but I know I'll give it to her just as good one day. Then there's Laxus, the guy with the scar. He's fucking crazy. And then there's the guy with dark hair and droopy-looking eyes. His name's Gray. He has a stupid name."
Juvia's gaze was locked on the last male. Gray was there yesterday, she remembered. He had a nice build, raven hair, and dark, smouldering eyes that she couldn't look away from. He was busy talking to the blonde haired girl beside him and Juvia's cheeks flushed when a wave of envy washed over her. Wait, envy? Was Juvia truly feeling envious over the blond haired girl? That can't be right. She's not that petty, she wouldn't feel that way because the girl was laughing and flirting with a decent looking guy Juvia didn't even know? She had no claim to him.
The idea was preposterous to her, however the longer she stared, the heavier her heart felt.
Natsu cleared his throat, causing Juvia to jump in her seat, snapping out of her trance. Her face had turned scarlet when she saw Natsu grinning knowingly at her. She covered her face with her hands.
"Were you listening to a word I said?" he chuckled.
"U-Uh… sorry," she mumbled. Juvia peeked at him through her fingers. "W-What was Natsu-san saying?"
He waved her off, "Doesn't matter."
She offered him a small smile. She just wanted to forget what happened so she struggled to focus solely on Gajeel's performance, but Natsu snapped his fingers at Juvia, catching her attention. "Yes?"
He leaned forward on his elbow and grinned, "You have a poor taste in men, Juvia, but since I'm your friend I'll be more than happy to introduce the two of you."
Her face paled. The devilish look in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by the bluenette.
"U-Um, please forget what just happened, Natsu-san. The drink must be getting to Juvia. She's been drinking non-stop since Natsu-san arrived at her table. And Natsu-san has been keeping Juvia company for a very long time." Yes, the drink. That's what's making her feel this way. It explains why her heart was beating rapidly against her chest at the mere thought of Gray.
Natsu remained silent but his eyes spoke a thousand words. He rose from his seat and Juvia noticed the boy withholding his laughter. She frowned when a snicker escaped his lips. Immediately his hand covered his mouth and out came muffled giggles.
She crossed her arms. "That's not very polite, Natsu-san."
He was openly laughing at her at this point. "Sorry, Juvia, but you're just too great."
"Juvia is aware of how awesome she is," she told him, "it's not something worth laughing about, though."
With a wide, goofy smile, he saluted her. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll still see you next week, right?"
"Sure."
An hour later Gajeel finished his set and Natsu and his friends left the bar. She made sure to avoid Natsu's eyes as the group strolled past her table.
The second Gajeel reached the table he bombarded her with questions regarding her relationship with Natsu, but she assured him that they were just friends and he seemed like a nice guy so far. Whether or not he reached 'Gajeel's standards'… well, she wasn't sure yet, but she wasn't too desperate to find out. She liked Natsu's company and didn't feel like scaring him off just yet.
A few drinks later Gajeel tells her he'd rather see her die alone than by the side of someone who treats her poorly. A slightly dark statement, but she sees the sentiment behind it, especially since his motto for life is "assume the worst and hope for the best".
Flattering as his statement was she proceeded to tell him not everyone is perfect and even the best relationships have fault. He rolled his eyes.
Juvia is shocked, however, when Gajeel tells her there's a girl in the audience who sings along to some of his songs, and not just any songs, but he ones he'd written himself. Juvia is ecstatic and encourages him to talk to her, but he shrugs her off and quickly changes the subject. Juvia is disappointed, but it's what she expected.
Juvia couldn't believe what she's seeing. She rubbed her eyes, blinked repeatedly, pinched her arm and silently squealed in delight when she realized she wasn't hallucinating. Gajeel was talking to a girl. Gajeel Redfox, the grumpiest, scariest, and most closed off person she knew had worked up the courage to talk to a girl. However, it was someone she was not expecting.
The girl was someone at Natsu's table. Sadly, he was nowhere to be seen that night. It bummed her out; after the time they'd spent together she had gotten so used to his company and found herself missing it. He made her laugh and feel good about herself, and with each encounter they had, she was sure he was on the right track to meet Gajeel.
Juvia wanted to go over and introduce herself to the table, but Gray was there and he looked even hotter than usual. She fought the fluttering in her stomach to no avail. Juvia failed to comprehend how someone she had never talked to made her feel this type of way. She hadn't felt anything remotely like it since her disastrous relationship with Bora.
Juvia felt cheated in life. This wasn't fair, but since she couldn't find the courage to join Gajeel, she settled with watching from a distance.
But in a nanosecond, something in the air shifted and she saw Gajeel barring his teeth at Gray. She had no choice to run over and stop them, but she failed to move, her nerves and anxiety keeping her from interfering. The girl between them seemed nervous and Juvia watched as she tried to pry them apart, but the males ignored her futile attempts at peace.
Juvia's heart hammered against her chest; she knew what this was, Gajeel was getting angry and violent and in a few moments, he'd burst into a fit of rage. They were shouting at each other and Juvia noticed the bartender calling out for security. The girl between them became desperate and her movements frantic, but the males continued advancing towards each other, neither backing down.
Juvia knew what Gajeel was capable of. Together they worked as a team for the infamous leader Jose of the Phantom Lord, and although she was one of the Element Four, she worked best with Gajeel. They went on many jobs together, mainly to collect debts and settle disputes with enemy guilds or business owners. Juvia would scare them with threats and Gajeel with his fists.
Gajeel could take down a whole gang—she's seen him do it, therefore whenever she notices Gajeel's violent behaviour escalating outside work hours, she feels accountable for his outburst and attempts to calm him down. She doesn't want to see Gray get hurt because Gajeel can't handle his anger.
So when Juvia saw something snap inside Gajeel, she knew she had to push away the anxiety bubbling inside her and prevent him from hurting someone and getting banned from the pub in punishment. She stumbled out of the booth and raced to his side, hissing in pain when she ran into the corner of a table along the way. Gajeel lifted his arm but she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and utilized all her strength by throwing her body in the opposite direction. He stumbled backwards and instead of looking at who pulled him down, he regained his footing and hauled Juvia onto her feet in the process.
Annoyed that her attempt hadn't worked began shaking his arm violently, continuously tugging him in her direction. "Gajeel-kun!" she chided. His teeth were still barred at Gray, refusing to back down. "Gajeel-kun, Juvia needs you to take her home."
"You know how to call your own cab," he snarls. She glances in Gray's direction. She's surprised to see him leaning back in his chair, smugness written all over his face. Gajeel lunges at him again but she leans back in the opposite direction, using her body weight as an anchor.
"Please—please stop, Gajeel-kun!" she begs. She digs her nails into his skin and decides to go for plan B. "Juvia doesn't want to go outside alone. There are some suspicious men out there that make Juvia feel uneasy."
She feels triumphant when his muscles are less tense than before, but she doesn't lessen her hold. Juvia peeks around the large male and give the girl an apologetic smile, one she returns. Juvia looks up at Gajeel, "C'mon, let's go back to my place." She tugs him in her direction and he takes two steps before stopping. Juvia glances up at him worryingly and tugs on his arm again, but his attention is solely on Gray.
"She's dragging me away because she knows what I'm capable of, and that you have no chance against me." Gajeel's laugh is anything but friendly. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."
"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia smacks his arm. She doesn't wait for a reply before she pushes him away from the table, and he doesn't fight her. Instead he reverses their roles and it's him walking towards the exit with her in tow. She doesn't dare glance behind her. "Must Gajeel-kun always have the last word?" she scolds him.
He snickers. Did he seriously just snicker? What happened to the menacing, callous, remorseless Gajeel from three seconds ago? "I always get the last word," he boasted.
When they arrived at the exit the bouncer nodded and opened the door for them. He pulls her outside and she resents him immediately. If he didn't get into a fight, I'd be inside basking in the warmth right now.
"It's fucking freezing." He hisses.
She hums and rubs her hands together. "Winter is just around the corner." Juvia shivers when the cold seeps into her bones. "Juvia wishes she brought her jacket."
He shoves his hands in his pockets and takes in their surroundings. After a moment he grunts and sends daggers her way. "There's not a single person out here!"
"If Gajeel-kun starts a fight we'll be kicked out for sure." She informed him. "Juvia likes it here; it's the one place she and Gajeel-kun are not surrounded by the men at Phantom Lord."
He scoffs and kicks one of the cans. "Yeah, but now we're surrounded by these regular morons. I swear I've seen that fucker before, too; probably on some mission. I reckon he works for a guild."
"Juvia doubts that. Gray-sama is there every weekend."
He spins around with a disgusted look on his face. "Gray-sama? You know his fucking name?!"
Her face turns red. She laughs awkwardly and scratches the back of her neck, avoiding his gaze in the process. "Gray-sama is a good friend of Natsu-san's. Juvia has never spoken to him though, she swears."
"Natsu-san?" he was astonished and overwhelmed with this new information regarding his newfound enemies. He couldn't begin to comprehend her being friends with these people he'd never heard of. "Who the fuck is that?"
She huffed and crossed her arms. "Juvia told Gajeel-kun about Natsu-san last week!"
"You mean that pink haired kid?!"
"Yes! Gajeel-kun never listens to Juvia!" She accused.
"It's not my fault!" he defended, "You ramble on about random shit all the time!"
She looked at him in bewilderment. "You were the one who fucking asked! Do you ever listen to me, or do you just ask me shit and never listen just to keep me around?"
He winced at the tone of her voice. Even Juvia was taken-aback, but Gajeel deserved it. Sure, they've had their share of arguments, but she was sobering up now and she hardly swore at him.
He scoffs and shakes his head disapprovingly, avoiding her. "Whatever."
A heavy silence falls upon them. She felt guilty but he did deserve it. She had told him about Natsu last week, she wasn't in the wrong. Juvia cannot count how many times he's forgotten something crucial she's told him.
"Sorry…" he apologized.
Juvia smiled. On the rare occasion he apologized she would remain silent, but her forgiveness was always granted. She was going to keep it that way until a thought came to mind. She spun around and he winced at her cheerful expression, "The girl you were talking to… is she the one you were talking about last week? The one that knows your lyrics?"
He grunts.
Juvia does nothing to hide her cheesy grin. "She's cute."
Gajeel glances down at her and looks away with a frown on his lips and a blush on his cheeks. "Really? The Shrimp? Sure, she's cute for someone who looks seven."
She scowls and slaps his arm. "It wouldn't hurt for you to talk to more girls, you know. You'd be less lonely."
"I'm doin' just fine. I got you and Pantherlily. That's all I need."
At first she smiled, but she couldn't help but feel discouraged. "Is that enough?" she wondered aloud. "Sure, I like how things are now. Gajeel and Juvia verse the world… but… I feel like we're capable of so much more."
Concerned, he peeked at her over his shoulder. "Don't go talkin' about leavin' the guild again."
"No, no, of course not. Juvia would never do something to betray you or the guild…" she glanced to the ground and a heavy, guilt-filled sigh left her lips before she continued. "If it weren't for Master Jose… Juvia would have never meet you… she owes him everything, but, sometimes…" her blue eyes met his red ones, and she was trying to decode his unreadable expression, "it's just… I see how people act inside that bar. Natsu and his friends… I see friendship and happiness and family; the bar doesn't even belong to a guild and yet it values family higher than the Phantom Lord does."
Gajeel sighs and runs a hand down his face. He slings an arm over her shoulder and pulls her into his side. "I don't understand what you're gettin' at," he confesses.
Something inside wants her to explain what she's saying, but instead she leans into him, feeling soothed by his warmth. She looks to the ground before whispering, "Neither do I."
But this is enough for now.
Several moments passed before Gajeel spoke up. "Please tell me you called a cab when you were inside."
"…Opps."