It was a lonely place, a blue abyss known as the sea.

Juvia had never been the biggest fan of water, and yet she was forced to live in it ever since her birth.

This place, this sea; it was a cage. A cage that kept her love tied down, forcing it into a shell so that it could never be freed.

She often kept to the edges of the seaside, avoiding her duties as princess of the sea; her favourite things involved collecting objects of the world up above. But the water tended to bring gloom, and she often didn't reach the surface.

Especially considering her tail… it was a pain most of the time, she often wished to be normal; like those she sometimes saw walk along the beach.

Legs were something spectacular after all.

She sighed gently, bubbles erupting from her mouth; another thing that annoyed her about the water, breathing had no pleasure.

Her perfect blue locks swayed around her face as she studied a silver object from up above, her eyes glittering as she could see her own reflection.

Perhaps… perhaps today, this face would meet a smile.

It wasn't often, she had lived many years with the feeling that nothing would ever change, she would never find what she wanted to truly make her happy.

But then again, things always happened for a reason and there was no denying that it was this day, whether the blue haired mermaid knew it or not.

Though, as she calmly floated in the water, her heart suddenly trembled at the sound of a large explosion.

Her head tilted up to the dazzling light that poured from the sky above the ocean, and she didn't even bother to hesitate, her tail moving at an extraordinary pace as she propelled herself forward; the water growing hot and cold as she began to make her way up to the surface.

Finally her hair was the first thing that reached the cold air, her chin flicking up and out as her blue locks slapped the water; gasping as she felt the air skim her cheeks.

There was something so fresh about the outside air, it dry across her face, something that was impossible under the water. Though she practically rammed her head back into the water as she noticed something new on the water, an object she knew the name of since mermaids were told to avoid such things.

A boat…

She was only metres away from a boat that floated easily across the moonlight, noises of laughter muffled by the fizzles of something she did not recognise, the smell of alcohol fresh to her senses.

Juvia settled herself in the water like a frog, her eyes up and out, but the rest of her body muffled by the water she lived in; ever so slowly moving forward towards the wooden beast.

Curiosity was much heavier than fear, and thus she felt no concern about the boat, her tail moving her closer until she could finally see through the gaps and onto the deck.

Juvia couldn't see much at first, just a mixture of legs hidden behind boxes.

She had to pull herself forward, yanking up on the wood so that she could view the area better, her eyes drifting from bags of fish, to the rags, the ship wheel, though there was only a particular pair of legs that she dragged her eyes up.

The blue mermaid held her breath in the cold air, her hand absentmindedly pushing aside her fringe as if that would help her to see the magnificence in front of her.

It was a tall male- not to tall mind, but taller than the pale pink haired male who stood ill mannered beside him.

Though, considering the pale state of that male, this dark boy who caught her attention ignored it as if it were something he put up with every day.

His arms were well built, and he wore a thin white shirt that she wished he would rip off.

Who knows, perhaps he was the kind of human that liked stripping, so she didn't cross that off her list right away.

Moving along, his collar laced his neck; his adams apple prominent as he wore a silver chain she had never laid eyes on before.

She giggled a little as she watched the two boys talk to one another, the darker haired male pushing the pink one down to sit.

"We won't be much longer, stop moaning…" The dark male said, his voice like melted chocolate to the mermaids ears, his eyes flicking around in a majestic manner as he leaned against the side of the boat, looking out to the sky.

She couldn't help but wonder what that bang had been earlier, but by the looks of it, it had been nothing important.

The pink male glanced up groggily, his voice a little more worn down as he looked as though he was struggling under the sways of the water.

"Ugh… why did I have to come with you…"

"Well, why'd you agree? You knew it was on a boat."

The dark male laughed- his laugh like music. It was a hundred times better than his voice and she wanted to hear it again, over and over.

His shoes were brown, tattered long boots and he wore pants like pirates Juvia had read about in soggy picture books.

But this male… he was attractive, and Juvia wished she could yank herself up and grasp him in her arms. Of course with a tail like hers, it was physically impossible, she only had to look at the sea shells on her chest and the hair that reached the tip of her tail to understand that a human would not react normally to such a sight.

Though the sakura boy; despite his posture and pale face, managed to spot her from the corner of her eye.

"Hoi! Gray, there's someone in the water." He barked, nodding his head in the mermaid's direction.

Juvia ducked down quickly, her breath fast as she felt irritated that she was forced to take her eyes off 'Gray'.

Gray…

What a wonderful name.

She smiled to herself, her heart suddenly light at the memory of his face.

But she could still hear the boy's voice and that was good enough.

"Natsu, we're in the middle of the ocean."

"Ugh.. don't remind me…"

"There isn't gonna be anyone this far out swimming."

"Are you callin' me a liar?!"

"Shaddup, go puke or something."

Juvia giggled at Gray's tone, it was light and irritated, but she couldn't help but guess that these two cared for each other despite their nasty tones.

She could already tell the voices apart, Gray's was lower than Natsu's, and the male she had her sights on sounded much more mature.

But suddenly something on the boat rumbled, and there was a yelp on deck.

"The hell was that?!"

Juvia knew that was Natsu's voice.

"I dunno, probably from when you tried to break the boat before!"

"HOII-"

Though as Juvia peeked over, the boat looked lopsided, and Gray suddenly had his shirt off on deck; she had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop from squealing out in delight.

But the boat was beginning to rumble more now, and Juvia dropped back into the water, her eyes flicking around to check if the boat had any damage.
And there it was, she spotted it in seconds, a huge dent; ash ridden in the side of the boat like it had been tackled with a fire ball.

Perhaps that had been the loud noise that had dragged her here like destiny in the first place. But it was filling up with water quickly and the leak was what tilted the boat so heavily.

Juvia was tempted to yell out, save Gray and let him know to get off the boat; but it was sinking quickly and she couldn't expose herself, not when it was such a bad thing to do; to reveal yourself to a human.

"Natsu- Get up, the boat is toppling-" Gray grumbled loudly, his long shoes moving across the wooden deck in a slippery fashion.

"Gh-"

Though another part of the boat seemed to shatter, making the hole bigger, and finally it began to topple.

It rolled quickly, and Juvia didn't even get the chance to grip onto the wood; instead she was forced back; the waves rolling under the weight of the boat; clashing as things began to fall apart.

The mermaid had to duck under the water, her eyes clearer under the blue ocean as she watched planks of wood shatter into pieces, bags float around and the black hair of her newest admiration.

She didn't even hesitate to dash forward; having to dodge past kegs and random objects before her hand settled on a human's arm and she felt fear cross through her when she received no reaction.

Yanking it towards her, she saw the dark haired boy's head bob in the water, his eyes closed and looking to be sleeping. But of course, she knew just as well as any human, that they couldn't last long under water.

People needed air and without it, they would drown. And this was exactly what had happened to Gray.

Juvia would need to get him to the surface, tug him to the shore; anything before this boat began to sink to the bottom of the sea and take this boy with it.

She yanked him up, pulling him close to herself; holding on to his strong arms. She loved that about water, even the heaviest things became light as a feather, and right now that's exactly what Gray was like in her arms; an angel.
And she was his rain, sweeping him up to wash him to safer places.

She practically bombed to the shore, holding the boy tight to her chest as she continued to hold him in the same position, his head bobbing against her as she thrashed ahead. It wasn't long until she finally dragged him onto the sat, struggling as she too had to let herself out of the water.

He lay across the beach, his eyes closed, and his dark wet hair now covered in the white sand.

She watched him, worried for his health. Though Gray was very handsome.
For some reason, just looking at his face filled her with optimism, she could imagine herself with legs, dancing with him, suddenly at their wedding; her heart filling with joy due to her imagination.

"Aha… Gray-Sama~" She smiled, propping her hand up against him as she pressed down on his chest.

After all, she needed to get him to start breathing.

Water pumped out from him mouth, as she watched him with concerned eyes. The kiss of life- she had watched sailors do it before when rescuing drowned men; and it was obviously worth the shot. She wasn't shy of doing so after all. And thus, she pressed down on his chest once more, taking a deep breath of the cold air around her.

With that, Juvia pressed her mouth on his, the smell of ash and musk evident in his face as their lips met; her pumping air into him as he choked.

She didn't mind pulling back, as he coughed and spluttered water, enough to know that she had done the job right.

Though then, she finally remembered… she couldn't dare let him see her and her tail.

His eyes were flickering open, and she was sure he had spotted her; though she couldn't dare!

With a sloppy movement, she practically dragged herself back into the water, yanking herself around a rock.

What was this feeling… she wondered.

This…

This was love at first sight.