Again, thanks for the reviews. I was busy with a local trunk or treat (I dressed as Juvia of course) and somehow still managed to get a bit of writing done. I have set moments I am trying to hit on in each chapter since I already have a story line in my head. So this may be short-ish but I got my moment in that I need for the next chapter.
The next morning Juvia woke with an overwhelmingly optimistic feeling, the sun was peeking through her curtains and she was ready to start the day. After her usual morning routine she practically skipped to the guild and burst through the doors with a cheerful "Good morning, everyone!" She sat at the bar and smiled brightly at Mira, "Good Morning, Mira, can I get a tea please?"
"Your smile is just lovely today Juvia, coming right up." Mira lingered for a moment when she placed the cup down and gave a knowing look as she asked, "how was your night, I hear you went out."
A blush filtered across Juvia's face as she noticed Cana leaning closer, waiting for details no doubt. "I had a wonderful evening, thank you for asking." She said while her face turned scarlet. She fidgeted in her seat briefly and paused when she heard the sound of boots on stairs, Mira and Cana's eyes flicked up to see Laxus coming down from his perch upstairs. Juvia suddenly felt butterflies and fought the urge to just get up and walk away, she had no idea what to expect when he got down here. Would he ignore her? Come over to talk? Her palms grew clammy, she suddenly realized that she was not a fan of the unknown, and everyone was waiting to see what was going to happen with eyes on her, she could feel the weight of their stares. A dark shadow engulfed Juvia, she started to turn but instead she felt Laxus lower himself down and plant a quick kiss on her cheek.
"I'm goin in to talk to Gramps. See you later." He said as he walked back to the master's office. Both Mira and Cana were practically shaking in glee while Juvia just stuggled to keep her composure. The butterflies were definitely active now. She spun in her seat to go out and get some air when she was practically nose to nose with a shocked looking Gray, He mouthed something but no sound really came out, so he glanced at the floor and walked off.
"JUVIA!" her name was so loud the glasses rattled behind the bar. "PLEASE COME TO MY OFFICE." The master's voice called. Juvia felt every ounce of color drain from her face before being replaced with a blush once more. This was turning out to be a very embarrassing day. She made her way to see Master Makarov, she knocked lightly on the door and it flung open and Makarov gestured for her to have a seat in the chair next to Laxus. "Good Morning Juvia, I am sorry to call you in here like this but I am in need of a favor from you."
"A favor from me…" she asked warily. What did the master possibly need from her? "okay, what can I do for you?" she cautiously inquired.
"You see we are in a shortage here lately of S Class wizards. I am wondering if you would accompany Laxus on a very important S Class job assignment, I thought we were going to be unable to fulfil it until Erza returned but Laxus pointed out that you are a former S Class mage, albeit from another guild." Makarov explained. "Due to our current predicament sending a former S Class is better than not having enough to take on this job."
"Pardon my curiosity but what about Mira?" Juvia asked. There had to be more options than sending her.
"Mira is currently not taking jobs, especially dangerous ones." Master explained. Juvia began to wonder if the rumors of Mira being pregnant were true, but that was an issue for another time. " Guildarts is out as usual, Erza is out on a lengthy mission for the Magic Council, and of course our Mystogan is not exactly Mystogan." The master said with a wink. "There is a concerning sighting of Ivan," he stated, "Rumors are circulating about his plot to gain power once more and the council is reaching out to guilds with S Class mages to aid in the investigation and capture of Ivan before anything comes to fruition."
Juvia felt sick, she knew that this was not only a serious matter, but a very personal one for both Laxus and the master. Could she really help Laxus capture his own father, but then again how could she not step in and help the guild who always helped her? "Okay. I will help, when do we leave?"
"Tonight." Laxus spoke up. "Pack some things, I don't know how long this will take so lets try to be prepared for anything." We can meet back here later to collect all the details before we hit the train station."
With a quick nod Juvia exited the room and headed through the guild hall, a few puzzled looks were traded before she swiftly headed out toward her dorm. She packed and prepared as best she could with the small amount of information they had received thus far, and after a few hours of pacing and trying to relax she headed back toward the guild.
"WHAT THE HELL GRAMPS?!" Natsu shouted above the chaos in the guild. "WHAT ABOUT ME?"
Juvia looked around to see just about every member present in the guild hall and quite a bit of commotion. "What is going on?" She asked Mira.
"Oh, Juvia, hello." She smiled meekly. "There seems to be a bit of backlash about the master's decision to send you out on an S Class mission." Juvia's stomach turned. This was all because of her?
"LISTEN UP YOU BRATS!" Makarov's voice echoed through the chaos and the commotion died into silence. "This was a decision I made with my back against the wall, maybe one of you could have helped if you could manage to pass the S Class exams. Juvia is the only one here that has actually been an S Class mage, and with Mira refusing the job for personal reasons Juvia is our only option to accompany Laxus." He took a breath and glared around the room "Now as I stated before this whole fit broke out, this has nothing to do with any relationships that may be between Laxus and Juvia, and frankly I am angry that any of you would think I would pull favoritism like that." He retreated into his office with the loud slam of his door.
Laxus seemed to pop out of nowhere, Juvia assumed he must have been upstairs to keep his temper out of the fray downstairs. He had a stern look on his face as he approached Juvia and muttered, "Let's get out of here before this starts back up and I put the pyro through a wall." He pulled Juvia out the door by her hand and they began the trip to the train station.
Once tickets had been purchased and they had boarded the train, Laxus seemed very pensive. "This is some shitty timing, huh?" he shook his head. "Figures that this would be dissected and torn to hell the second the guild got wind of it. Sorry, I really wasn't thinking about uswhen I suggested you help." A few deep sighs later Laxus reached over and pulled Juvia close under his arm. "I better get my hug in before this train moves and I end up miserable and sick, dragon slayers get to be strong in battle but weak to motion? Sick joke." He chuckled softly as the train began to move. Juvia pulled his head into her lap and rubbed his hair for a while before he dozed off looking slightly green, he sure held it together better than Natsu. Juvia pulled out the small file of papers she was given about the job and began to research as she absentmindedly ran her fingers up and down the sleeping dragon slayer's back.