Standard disclaimer applies.

ii. Living Situation

"What the hell is this?"

Holding up a strange-looking plastic object, I inspected it carefully. It's in the shape of a small figurine — a topless man with purple hair and only wearing black trousers. It's not really strange if it's merely a toy; one you get from kids' meals and whatnot. But the fact that it was stored alongside other kitchen utensils, it made me utterly confused.

Juvia walked to me, peering over my shoulder. It took a big part of my self-control not to turn around and just envelop her in a hug. She had just moved in and we're in the process of organizing some kitchen stuff she brought along.

She giggled behind me and reached for this weird object. "It's a peeler, Natsu. If you 'undress' this little guy by pulling down his pants, you'd see the actual peeler," she explained while demonstrating. "Juvia bought it as a joke, since it reminded me of…"

Her trailing words didn't need to be continued. I knew exactly who this peeler was supposed to resemble. My former (and I put a stress on that) best friend had this habit of taking off his clothes. Juvia devoted so much of her time and affection for that man — that it was no surprise she'd even purchased items that had something to do with him.

Does he know how lucky he was?

"Juvia doesn't need it anymore," she declared, opening the cabinet door under the sink to dispose the peeler inside the garbage can.

I stared at her wide-eyed. "Juv, you didn't have to do that."

She chuckled and patted my back. "New beginning, Natsu. What's the use of keeping unneeded things? Plus, you have a peeler, right?"

I nodded dumbly, unsure what to say to that. It made me sort of happy to hear her imply that he-who-shan't-be-named was already unneeded. Hopefully, unwanted as well. Clapping my hands, I changed the course of this short conversation. "Okay, enough unpacking for today. Let's go relax for now," I held her by the shoulders and lightly pushed her out of the kitchen. Juvia was about to protest, but I didn't give her the time to express it when I scooped her up in my arms. She was quite lightweight; one wouldn't think she's carrying a life inside her stomach.

Placing her on the couch gently, and then gave her a wink. I actually made her blush?! My heart swelled at that, so I had to turn my back to grab the remote.

"Choose whatever you wanna watch, and I'll go call for delivery."

"But Juvia can cook instead!"

I shook my head firmly. "You can cook some other time. But for the next two days or so, I'll take care of dinner, 'kay?" With a loud sigh, she relented. I handed her the remote, and then made my way back to the kitchen to grab restaurant brochures stuck on the fridge.

The kitchen was littered with opened and unopened boxes. I was never the most organized person; in fact, I was borderline crazy messy. If not for the sweet housekeeper who comes on Tuesdays and Fridays, this house would be nothing but a pig sty. However, the one place that always appeared sparkling clean was the kitchen. It's rarely used, since I can't cook a decent meal even if I tried my hardest.

Like my father, I was an eater; not a cooker!

"Hey Juv! Are you craving for anything? Greek, Italian, Chinese?"

Without even taking a moment to contemplate the options, she shouted, "Can we get Korean? I want some kimchi pancake."

I looked through the brochures I've got. Nope, no Korean delivery. I walked back to the living room, scratching my head. "Are you, like, really craving it? As in I-need-to-eat-it-for-the-baby-or-else?"

She gave me a thoughtful look. "Are there no Korean restaurants nearby that deliver?" Shaking my head, I handed her the brochures I've got. "Ooh, let's have some Mediterranean food instead. How about Lebanese?"

I smiled at her. "I can go out and drive to get you kimchi pancake, you know," I told her. For the longest time I've known Juvia, she was always very considerate. In fact, she'd rather give than receive. She's the sort who would concede without a fight or a whine.

Giggling, she held up one menu to show me. "But their manakeesh looks so good. I want the beef and cheese. Ooh, and the baba ghanouj with oven-baked pita would be amazing."

I put up my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Lebanese it is." I grabbed a piece of paper and asked her to enumerate the items she wanted to eat. We decided to order a lot more for the next day as well. When all was done, I made the phone order, which would be expected within an hour. When I returned to Juvia's side, my fluffy, lazy cat was lounging on her lap. "You think it'll be fine for the baby if we have a cat?"

She gave me an incredulous look, as if I spoke of something taboo. "How can you even ask that? If Juvia says no, would you give Happy away?"

I shrugged at her. "If it will be bad for the baby, yeah, I'd ask Lucy to take him." The next thing Juvia did took me by surprise. She reached out to pinch my arm, and of course, I yelped in pain. "Whatchu do that for?" I asked, rubbing the poor targeted skin. Without even seeing it, I could tell it was reddening by now. The sting was proof enough. "I'm just sayin'. You know, Happy's a furball and the fur might not be good for the baby," I reasoned out.

Juvia continued caressing Happy's fur and giving me an angry stare. "Happy is Natsu's son. You can't just give away your son, just cause of your friend, who's crashing in your house. If it's not good for the baby, Juvia will be the one to leave."

Natsu expelled a breath. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

The blue cat, whose fur is a few shades lighter than Juvia's hair, stretched out from its lazy position. He gazed up at Juvia as if understanding the conversation. He meowed out loud, which always sounded like a perky "Aye!" With that, Happy jumped off the couch and went back to his cushion castle Natsu built for him.

"Juvia thinks that the name really suits him. Happy is always a cheerful cat. Is that why you named him that?"

The question made me sit up straight. "It's..." I trailed off my sentence, making sure my voice wouldn't sound strained. "It's a name my ex-gir- a former girl-," I stopped short. How should I describe her? "It's a name Mirajane's sister, Lisanna, wanted if ever she had a cat."

I thought back to that one particular moment, from so long ago, when I had to drag her away from pressing herself onto a pet store's glass windows. She loved cats. She wanted to have one ever since she was a kid. Unfortunately, she was allergic to fur. So, Lisanna just stared at the sleeping blue cat on display. "I want one, Natsu," she said in a low voice. My heart ached for her.

"Happy is sort of my tribute to her," I said with a sad smile. I moved on, for sure, but one could never erase the pain of loss. Juvia, more or less, knew about my past, perhaps a small history of my life. For sure, he-who-can't-be-named had told her even a snippet. Mirajane was also a good friend of Juvia. So definitely, Juvia was aware of who Lisanna was.

"Sorry to ask, Natsu," she whispered, gazing down at the fingers on her lap.

I turned to Juvia, who refused to look at me. Stretching out an arm, I touched her chin to turn her face my way. I gave her my usual toothy grin. "Pregnant princesses aren't allowed to be gloomy," I winked at her. There it was again — the pink, soft blush dusting her cheeks. If I keep winking at her, would she melt into a puddle then? Nah, I bet it's only that bastard who could affect her that much!

We sat in silence as we refocused our attention to the TV in front. She was watching some Disney movie, but I couldn't exactly concentrate. Images of a silver-haired beauty with a bob cut flooded my mind. Every time her name popped up, there was that familiar prick at one side of my heart. I did move on, it seems. Before, the heartache swallowed my whole heart.

##

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##

As I drove to work this morning, an old country song blasted through my car's speakers. It was from the playlist that Lucy prepared and gave me. The song's opening lines went like this:

Sunny days seem to hurt the most; I wear my pain like a heavy coat. I feel you everywhere I go. I see your smile; I see your face. I hear you laughing in the rain. Still can't believe you're gone. It ain't fair you died too young, like a story that had just begun, but death tore the pages all away...

I had to park at the side street, because silly tears began streaking down my cheeks. The mere mention of Lisanna's name two days ago triggered a vivid dream I had that night. The vision showed a laughing Lisanna, while holding Happy in her arms. She kept kissing and petting the cat; her giggles filled the area around her.

It's been years since her passing, and I truly missed her. The thoughts of what life would be with her were nothing but a what-if scenario. I will never know.

Now, sitting at my office, I whirled my chair to face the massive windows. The sky was the perfect shade of blue that reminded me of Happy. I grabbed my phone and dialled home. It took two rings before a cheery voice greeted me. It sounded like home... Does that make sense?

"Hey," I greeted back. For some reason, that elicited some giggles from her. "Ooh...kay? Is my voice that funny?"

"No, no," Juvia clarified, but I could still hear the laughter in her tone. "It just feels like..."

"Like?"

"Like a husband calling his wife," she mumbled through her words but I understood her clearly. I liked the sound of that but won't divulge it to her. When I made no response, she took it the wrong way. "Oh no! Forgive Juvia, Natsu. It was just a playful thought. Sorry, sorry, sorry," she apologized quickly, probably hoping I didn't take offence.

To rectify the situation, I played it off coolly, "Well, wifey, what have you been doing? I hope you're not unpacking 'cause I clearly told you not to."

Silence followed by the denial. "O-o-o-of course not, hubby! Your wifey had been a good girl."

"Juv, I'm telling you, don't touch those boxes until I get home."

"But Juvia will be back to work next week, and then these boxes we'll never get unpacked," she protested.

"Just... just humour me on this one, please," I pleaded. Being on the first trimester, according to the doctor, was the crucial stage for a pregnant woman. I wouldn't want her to be exhausted, when an able person like me could finish the job for her.

Sighing out loud, indicating she was conceding, Juvia finally agreed. "Fine. Juvia will be just a very lazy woman, if that's what Natsu wants."

"Yup, that's all I'm asking from you. Just sit tight there until I get home, 'kay?"

"Pfft." I could just imagine her cute face contorting into a scowl. "Juvia's just pregnant, not an invalid."

"I'll see ya soon, Juv."

After hanging up, I stared at my phone with a goofy face. A simple phone conversation with her — someone whom I never considered would live with me — washed away the gloominess I felt. I really could get used to this.

Yet, even before I resumed the report I was writing, my cellphone rang. The caller ID flashed a name I never expected.

Ice Princess

I let it ring five more times before I touched the green button to answer. "What?"

"Nice greeting," said the voice I didn't want to hear.

"Well, deserving for someone who didn't bother saying goodbye."

"Aww, don't tell me you're sulking because of that!" There was snickering at the other end of the line. I visualized myself chalking up my phone to smash the windows, but that's just destroying company property.

"Fuck you, Gray," was the best I came up with.

"Hey man, I know I screwed up. It's just..." he trailed off. Fuckin' bastard was probably concocting of a sympathetic excuse. I didn't give him the time to finish his sentence.

"You left Juvia without a word. Just a shitty ass note scribbled on a post-it." Surprisingly, my voice was still calm. But heck, I was gripping the phone harder than needed. My knuckles were turning white.

"That's... that's why I'm calling you," he replied in an uncertain manner. As if he was shy or something. Honestly, fuckin' idiot with a shithole brain! "I can't contact Juvia."

I took the deepest breath ever, just so I won't raise my voice, which would be heard by my co-workers and subordinates outside. "So, why are you calling me instead?" Does he know about Juvia's situation at all? Where she now lives?

"You know I can't contact Lucy or Erza, or the others. They'd all give me shit about what I did."

No effing shit, Sherlock!

"You're telling me, you're too damn scared of our friends than Juvia?"

"No, you're reading this the wrong way, man," he sounded desperate. "I know you're the only one who'll help me. I just need to talk to her, but she changed her number, even our home phone."

'Our home phone'? The fuck? Is this icy-jerk still considering the apartment he shared with Juvia his home?!

"Juvia moved out," I said with nonchalance. Was I being rude to my best friend? I knew him before Juvia, and yet why am I siding with her?

"Where is she living now?"

"With this guy she met."

"What?"

"I said, Juvia moved out of that house she shared with you. She moved on with this guy she met after you left. Clear enough for you now?"

"She's... with someone else now? I left just two months ago."

"Well, ya know. She met someone better who can love her as much as she can. Here's an advice to you, Gray," I was ready to end this conversation. "Forget about Juvia. Don't think about her from now on. Don't even think of contacting her or meeting her in the future. Erase her from your mind. Got that?" When there was no answer from the other line, I abruptly said my goodbye. "Gotta go, ice princess. I'm in the middle of writing a report." And then, I pushed the red button to end the call.

Guilt slowly rose from my feet to my head. That was a hard blow I dealt Gray, and I basically discarded our friendship. He was relying on me, and I denied him the chance to make things right. For my defence, I was only thinking of Juvia's sake. Yet, I knew a part of me wanted to be selfish and have her for myself — even if it meant just a platonic relationship.

This was screwed up. I wondered how Lucy would react...

a/n: Thank you to Snoopy A, apitatoor, Natsu is Awesome, Grimnack, rosaji, wilathewitch, Angelina1993 & Earth Dragon Arnighte. I wasn't that confident with the fic, but those 8 reviews made me continue it.

so, for those who enjoyed it, or even disliked this, please leave me a feedback. Also, let's have a survey/poll for Juvia's baby – Girl or Boy? Heh.