Aye people~ Thank you for your nice reviews, I'm glad you all like it! I'm sorry for the late uptade though, so busy x.x but without further do, here's January!
Periwinkle Year
{January}
My age is as a lusty winter, frosty but kindly. – William Shakespear
"Hm… I think we should pick this one. What do you think Lucy?"
Natsu Dragneel took the brown piece of paper from the wall, shoving it in front of a certain blonde haired mage's face.
The girl groaned in a high voice to show her annoyance and took the paper into her own hands, bringing it to a reasonable and readable distance.
Her eyes suddenly widened and she opened her mouth to let out a little –or not so little- happy scream.
"500 000 jewels?!" she suddenly exclaimed, her pigtails bouncing up and down as she jumped on place. "I am there!"
"Ahh, Lucy, Lucy… So very focused on the superficial thing that is money…" Happy sighed dramatically, shaking his head slowly.
"I HEARD THAT YOU KNOW!" she yelled back at the blue cat, her expression now distorted angrily.
"Ah but this is a five person mission," commented a surprisingly calm Natsu. "Hey Gray, Erza! C'mere, we got a mission!"
Gray grunted as he made his way to Natsu, shouting something about getting his ass kicked if he would ever give him orders again. As a usual fight was about to explode, Erza separated the two, almost knocking them down. Perfect timing, you had to admit.
And obviously, Natsu was back to normal in a second. "Then let's get going, I'm all fired up!"
"We still need another member, flame-brain."
"Hm, scowling-face has a point…" thought Natsu, a finger to his chin. He then took a quick look around the guild and before Gray could throw another insult, the dragon slayer exclaimed: "There's Juvia! We can ask her!"
Gray's mouth dropped open the second he heard the name. Before he could reflect on the situation, words were spilling out of his mouth. "Why should we ask Juvia? What about Wendy?"
"She's on a mission with Freed and Carla, again," added Erza, which Lucy nodded along to. Gray blinked. "Well, then-"
"HEY JUVIA!" The young Dragneel was already running to the water mage, a large smile on his face as usual.
The team didn't have time to catch up with Natsu that Juvia Lockser was already up from her table and jumping around excitingly, her hands joined above her heart.
"Yes! Juvia would love to go on a mission with Gray-sama!"
Gray sighed roughly, his hands in his pockets. Yes, he was surprisingly fully dressed. "We're still gonna be five, you know."
"Great," cut in Natsu. "Now nothing's stopping us, let's go!"
"Ahhh~ Juvia is so happy!"
Gray looked at her from the corner of his eye as Natsu left the guild with Happy and Lucy, while Erza left to go pack some stuff. 'Still her usual self after all,' thought the ice-make mage with a second sigh.
. . . . . . . . . .
The team had spent the whole day fighting, on a road about an hour away from Magnolia. Thankfully, their opponents weren't strong enough to represent any real danger.
But now, after 15 hours of using their powers, the mages were completely beaten down and had, to the misfortune of Lucy, to stay sleep here, in the middle of nowhere, for the night.
And on top of that, the water mage had gotten, somehow during the trip or the fight, a huge knot in her hair. Yep, literally. A first for her, that made her feel incredibly frustrated. She had tried for a good thirty minutes to fix it, but nothing worked.
The blue-haired lady turned around on her tiny mattress for the hundredth time already. Given the fact that they had been in 'bed' for over two hours now, she concluded that sleep wouldn't welcome her tonight. Plus, with that big damn knot in her hair, she couldn't even rest on her left side.
Juvia slowly got up, making sure to keep it down for the two girls sleeping soundly beside her. She put her boots on, took a hairbrush in her small suitcase, unzipped the tent carefully and finally stepped out of the so called bedroom.
The cold air hit her as she looked up at the dark sky. Sadly, there wasn't any moon to be seen tonight. The cold didn't bother her that much but still, she readjusted her vest on her slim but full upper body.
She lightly made her way to the edge of the pit before sitting on a big and rather flat rock. As uncomfortable as it was though, she stood there for a couple of minutes, sighing heavily as her usual thoughts and night worries approached her like a sly creature crawling to his prey.
"Can't sleep either huh," that oh so familiar voice stabbed the monster in her mind.
Juvia turned around in a heartbeat, her eyes widening slightly. "Gay-sama…" was all she could say as Gray sat down on the rock next to her.
"As much as I want some sleep, Natsu keeps snoring like a freaking mammoth," growled the ice mage, kicking a tiny rock on the ground.
Juvia blinked once before her mouth broke into a small smile, the hint of a giggle escaping her throat.
A rather uneasy silence fell over the two, even though something was beating fast into the woman's ears: her heart.
Unconsciously, her hand went directly to the knot in her blue hair, trying to set her poor head free from this ball of horror.
She noticed Gray giving her a glance when she pulled a little too hard and let out a sharp sound of annoyance.
"Something wrong?"
Juvia immediately stopped her movements, fighting a blush like she could. "Oh! No, it's fine, Gray-sama," she said kind of nervously, hoping he wouldn't go any further.
The Fullbuster frowned slightly. "I heard the sound you just made. What's wrong? Are you injured?"
Juvia widened her eyes and quickly shook her head. "No! Juvia isn't hurt anywhere Gray-sama! Juvia swears!"
Gray seemed to relax a bit. "Okay, then what is with you?"
The young woman felt the heat raise up to her cheeks once more, and her eyes quickly found the ground. "Hu-hm… Juvia just…"
By instinct her hand went to the end of her hair, passing her fingers through it nervously.
"Juvia just…?" Gray was already on the edge of losing his patience.
"Ju-juvia just…she…has a knot in her hair!"
Silence overtook the scene one more time, Juvia hiding her face with her hands and Gray, staring at her with a surprised yet clueless expression.
…When the boy suddenly let out a scoff that dangerously came close to a true heart-warming laugh.
"You…have a knot…in your hair," the girl nodded her head in slight shame. "That's it?"
At that, Juvia abruptly turned her head to look at him. "W-well Gray-sama, it's embarrassing to Juvia!"
Gray raised an eyebrow. "What for?" he asked, thinking this was rather weird.
"Because Juvia always takes good care of her body! Never has such a thing happened to Juvia! And now, well," a light blush was making its way back on her cheeks. "Juvia can't fix her hair…"
There was a pretty long silence, and even though the water mage could feel her partner's gaze on her, she kept her head down and her mouth shut.
'Gray-sama probably thinks Juvia is making a fuss over nothing…again,' she couldn't stop the thought that went through her mind.
"Well do you want help?"
Juvia widened her blue eyes, and for a pretty long minute, she didn't know what to answer. Her brain struggled with words, yet, she didn't seem to find any good enough response.
"Wha-what do you mean?" she finally asked in an uneven voice.
Gray let out some sort of unexplainable grunt. "Well you look like you can't get through with it, I can try if you want 'cause Lucy had a few of those, and me and Natsu had to help her to get her to stop whining."
Juvia bit her bottom lip slightly at the mention of the blonde's name, and also…well, just the idea of Gray playing in her hair was enough to get her all fuzzy inside.
"Oh," she answered in a quiet voice. "If Gray-sama doesn't mind…he could…try," she swallowed nervously. "Juvia supposes…" She dropped her head a little. "But only if Gray-sama wants to!"
There was no answer from the ice mage so Juvia was about to give up and go back to her tent when she heard Gray stand up.
"Move, I'll sit behind you."
Juvia's brain was on the edge of crashing down at this point, so when she moved slightly to make some room for Gray on the rock, her face turned a deep shade of pink.
"Well, where is the knot?"
Juvia blinked rapidly and quickly pointed the mess on the side of her head.
When she didn't move, Gray let out one of his usual sounds of annoyance. "Then you need to turn around, silly."
The girl blushed even harder. "Oh, sorry!"
When she was finally well positioned, Gray facing her back, he spotted the knot, which he had to admit, was well developed.
"Do you have a hairbrush?"
"Hm, yes! Right here!"
When Gray picked the violet brush from the floor, he stared at the little clouds on it and almost let out a chuckle. Almost.
Juvia tensed as she felt Gray's fingers grab her hair, nicely enough not to hurt her but hard enough to accomplish his task. His fingers analyzed the small ball that looked so out of place in this neat, silky cyan waterfall.
The young man started passing the brush, going for the bottom of the knot first.
"Damn, you were right, this is something," mumbled Gray, frowning a little.
Juvia didn't respond but found herself smiling lightly at her friend's words.
This went on for a good ten minutes. Gray was concentrated and determinate in getting through this bastard, and both mages stood silent. Sometimes, the brush would get stuck and pull Juvia's hair harshly, making the said girl's head move back abruptly while a little sound escaped her lips –to which Gray responded with a mumbled 'sorry'.
After a while, the brush was making its way on the waterfall more delicately, and the knot was almost completely gone.
Juvia felt herself sigh in contentment. The man she loved was right behind her, so close she could feel a slight heat emanating from his body. Normally, if a situation like that would've happened at the guild, she would've been in paradise, squealing at her Gray-sama's behavior.
But tonight was not like that.
Gray heard the small breath leaving her lips and knew she was more comfortable now. Then the movement of his hand started going slower. This had been wandering in his mind during the previous month. Juvia's way of acting. Why was she always so clingy and dramatic and desperate at the guild, and then, out of nowhere, she became this calm, serene person. A side of her he knew he was getting too comfortable with.
But the question remained, why did she change her behavior like that?
"Something the matter, Gray-sama?"
Gray snapped back to reality. Could she actually know him so well to know when he was deep-thinking, even when she wasn't facing him?
Somehow, that felt both right and wrong to him.
"Hm," he cleared his throat. "Nothing. Just…wondering about something."
He wasn't planning on telling her but oh well, the words were already out of his mouth.
"Can you tell Juvia? Maybe she can help," added the water mage in a kind voice.
Gray swallowed. Maybe he shouldn't ask, it wasn't really his place anyway. Not like he was close enough to her or anything, right?
"Hm it's…just- it's nothing actually. Forget it."
Juvia bit her upper lip lightly. "Are you sure Gray-sama? Juvia can tell something's on your mind."
Gray almost rolled his eyes. 'Jeez, this woman…'
"Well, if you really want to know… I was just thinking it was strange and…unusual."
"What was?"
Gray found himself taking a shaky breath. "Just…the way you change your personality so radically."
At that, the girl froze. Gray was about to stop brushing the almost-gone knot when he thought he had made a mistake, but then Juvia relaxed a little and spoke. "What do you mean, Gray-sama?"
"…Well like right now. Why do you go from being…you know, to being this calm and…"
"Normal?" she finished for him with a heavy voice.
He didn't agree, nor did he respond to that. So, as the brush continued doing its work, Juvia answered.
"Juvia…doesn't really know to be honest. Sometimes I feel like I can breathe normally, act normally and just…live the moment. Most of these times are when Juvia is alone or…with you, Gray-sama."
She stopped talking, but before Gray could get uncomfortable, she continued.
"But Juvia has always wanted to be a happy person, you know? Like someone who carries joy and laughter and isn't surrounded by rain… Juvia- Juvia thinks Gray-sama has awaken that part of her."
Gray was torn between widening his eyes at her revelation and closing them because surprisingly, in some way, he understood.
"Sorry, Juvia has been talking too much. She doesn't want to annoy you with her silly stories…"
"You're not," Gray cut in. "Plus, I asked, didn't I?"
Juvia smiled tenderly to herself. "Gray-sama did ask."
Silence came back for a few seconds, before Juvia turned slightly to face Gray. "But to answer your question, Gray-sama… Yes, Juvia do think she is a little unusual."
And with that, she gave him one of those smiles. The ones that sent sparks to an icy place of his he knew he didn't like to open.
Gray suddenly stopped brushing, and realized there was not more sight of that knot. Had he really been braiding her hair? For how long?
The dark-haired man frowned slightly before clearing his throat and giving the brush back to Juvia, shoving it into her hand.
"There, it's all gone."
Juvia stared at her possession for a couple of seconds and finally blinked. "Oh! Thank you so much, Gray-sama!"
"That's hm, nothing," Gray scratched the back of his head. "Well I should go back in the tent now so-."
Juvia watched as Gray started walking away from their rock. "Of course! Goodnight, Gray-sama."
He raised his hand as a goodbye. "G'night."
Back in his tent and under a thin cover, Gray's thoughts wouldn't shut down.
"But to answer your question, Gray-sama… Yes, Juvia do think she is a little unusual."
Gray sighed loudly. 'Damn it, this woman...'
She was indeed extremely, and dangerously, unique.
I'm starting to think my ideas are super extra random… oh well… so what do you think? I'm so sorry for Natsu's lines, I have the hardest time writing about him .
|Death and Berry|