Juvia hated Crocus. It was a wonderful town, she grew more fond of it with every minute spent there, and now, she was afraid she'd never want to leave again. She had only been there for a day, and yet, she had discovered more about this town in a few hours than she had during a full week with the Grand Magic Games. When the bluenette had first traveled there, she had thought that, yes, the flowers here were quite beautiful and the town was really animated, but it wasn't really surprising since they were hosting the biggest tournament in the land. She didn't know back then that this festive atmosphere lasted the whole year.

Now, if she hadn't already fallen in love with the gardens, the market or the polite and wholesome people living there, Juvia was definitely falling for the way her heart fluttered as Sting led her through the streets of Crocus, his fingers tightly wrapped around her wrist. They were quickly manoeuvring through the crowds, stalls and houses, and the world around the water mage was a blur of colorful buildings and silhouettes as she blindly followed the blond, trying her best to keep up with how fast he was going.

After a few sharp turns, he finally slowed down before stopping dead in his tracks, and Juvia bumped directly into him, before taking a step back to scowl at the back of his head. He stiffled a laugh, and, before she could even start to curse him out, took a step aside, finally allowing her to see where he had taken her. A confused frown instantly darkened her features as Juvia recognized the place. It was a busy street they had strode through earlier while visiting. It was nothing special, the street was just a little larger than the others, and the crowd was better distributed so people could actually walk without bumping into someone every two minutes. It looked like a main street, and Juvia had no idea why Sting had led her here.

She turned her head towards Sting, shooting him a confused look. The blond rolled his eyes, and put his hand between her back as he started walking again, leading her to a part of the main street near a foutain where a few people were gathered around something she couldn't quite see yet. "See, we have some great traditions in Crocus," the dragon slayer explained, as Juvia started to hear some music playing while they got closer.

The music kept getting louder and louder until they reached the front of the crowd. Sting pulled her a little so she would stand beside him, when she finally saw the band playing in front of the foutain. There was a guitare, a violin and a drum, and together they were playing a quiet music that radiated a peaceful atmosphere through the whole street. The crowd had formed a circle around them, and Juvia could see a few people tapping their foot or slightly moving along, as if they were fighting off the need to swing along. Juvia exchanged a glance with Sting, still feeling like there was something else. This one grinned at her. "I'm about to show you the best tradition in this town," he winked, before taking a step forward to drop a few jewels in the hat sitting right in front of the band on the pavement. The violonist looked up from his instrument to exchanged a wicked grin with him, before starting to speed up the tempo, tapping his foot on the ground under Juvia's curious eyes. She heard a few people cheer from behind her, as if they had been waiting for someone to bribe the band. Sting turned back to her, a toothy grin playing on his lips, and Juvia quickly realized that the band had sped up their music, going from a quiet and slow melody to a festive and energic music.

"In Crocus," he started as he extended a hand to her, "we never let someone dance on their own."

The water mage looked around her and saw that the people tapping their foot on the ground and slightly swaying along had started dancing, and what felt like the broadest smile of her life spread across her lips, almost hurting her cheeks. But then, she turned back to look at Sting, and realization dawned on her when she saw him holding his hand out to her.

"Sting-san wants to dance with Juvia?" He nodded, keeping a smile on his face as if he already knew how this would end, which he probably did. "No!"

"Juve, Juve, Juve..." Sting sighed, as he took a step towards her to gently take her hand in his. "I said I would make you fall in love with this town, and I'm a man of my word."

Juvia hesitated for a few seconds, warily looking at his hand as if he was trying to kill her, before sighing in defeat and recluctantly accepting his hand. He unexpectedly pulled her towards him and she let out a tiny squeal when he did so, feeling her chest pressed against his. "Ju-Juvia doesn't know how to dance on this..." she admitted, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. The blond shrugged and simply told her to take example on another couple, jerking his chin towards two people. Juvia glanced at them, before swatting his arm with a scowl on her face.

"These people are kissing!"

"I was actually pointing at these two," Sting snorted, showing another couple right beside the kissing one, "but if that's what you wanna do, I'm not against it at all."

The water mage rolled her eyes at him, and was about to detach herself from him, while a faint feeling of disappointment settled in the pit of her stomach. She barely had time to take a step back when Sting gently snaked an arm around her waist to bring her back to him. "Just try to follow the rhythm," he smiled at her, before he started dancing along to the music while the bluenette clumsily followed his movements.

She had never seen this kind of dance before, and yet, as soon as she started following it, she wondered why the entire world wasn't dancing it too. It wasn't too complicated and it felt like everyone was dancing together at the same rhythm, all sharing the same experience and wearing the brightest smile possible. Juvia had barely started dancing when she decided that she never wanted to stop. It especially involved the legs, which meant she stepped on Sting's feet quite a few times, but as soon as she picked up the rhythm she was able to do it with her eyes closed. The tempo seemed to get even faster with the minutes and everyone was skillfully following it, dancing at a crazy pace.

The water mage thought she had only closed her eyes for a few seconds, and yet, at the same time, it felt like she had been dancing for an eternity, and when she opened her eyes again, her glance immediately landed on Sting, locking eyes with him. She only noticed then how close they were, and for some reason she wouldn't be able to explain, she leaned her body toward him even more as she started slowing down in her dancing, not caring the slightest when she was out of rhythm. He seemed disconcerted for a second, but quickly regain his composure and mimicked her action, slightly leaning toward her as he snaked an arm back around her waist. She could see the hint of a smile on his lips and wondered if she was also smiling or if her cheeks were simply sore from how much she had done it during the dance. Juvia never wanted to let go of that feeling. Sting was right, why should she only stop caring for one night? Having her cheeks sore from smiling and her legs hurting from dancing on the same rhythm with dozens of people while feeling like they all shared the same heartbeat was how she wanted to feel everyday. Not just on a drunken night, and especially not just during a few minutes spent in Crocus. Sting was right. Juvia didn't want to leave anymore.

Deep in her thoughts, the water mage didn't even notice Sting and her weren't moving anymore. They were both facing each other, her chest pressed against his, with Sting's hands around her waist, and the world around them was like in a blur, with dozens of couples dancing and spinning at a crazy pace around them. She was staring deeply into his eyes, her mind drowning in a sea of thoughts. She was still high on adrenaline, and right now all she wanted for this moment to never end. If Juvia wasn't so happy at the moment, she would've felt terribly ashamed of her thoughts, but it didn't matter right now. Nothing mattered.

"So..." Sting smirked, still holding her tightly against him. "Did you fall in love yet?"

A small smile spread across Juvia's lips, and she was about to answer, when she suddenly heard the music slow down, followed by cheers from the crowd around them. The bluenette's eyes instantly widened, as if the spell had just broken. "The train..." she muttered, her eyes unfocused, before she suddenly snapped her head back up, locking eyes with Sting. "Our train!"

It took him a moment to realize what she was saying, still wrapped in an atmosphere of dance and happiness. When he finally understood what she meant, his face dropped and colors drained from his face. "Oh shit," he breathed out, before suddenly turning around, dashing through the crowd, "Come on we can still make it!"

Juvia quickly scurried after him, and they both made their way through the crowds the best way they could, trying to manoeuvre between the people while bolting down the streets. While the water mage kept apologizing to everyone and asking them to step aside politely as she rushed through the town, Sting kept repeating the word "shit" over and over again as he hurried to get to the train station as fast as he could.

By the time they finally reached the station, the train had barely started leaving, unlike Juvia's soul which was completely gone. She was panting, she couldn't feel her legs anymore and her lungs felt like she had adopted Natsu's diet and eaten fire. Sure she was a strong mage and she was really good at fighting with and without her powers, but running was just out of the question for her. She loathed it, this activity belonged in hell and she never wanted to do it again.

She slowed down a little when they were only a few feet away from it, thinking that it was over since it was already leaving the station, when Sting sped up, running past her, and jumped directly onto the rear platform of the train in one gigantic leap. He then turned around and extended a hand to Juvia, who rolled her eyes before speeding up again. She easily caught up with the train and grabbed Sting's hand, after what he easily hauled her onto the train. The only problem was that he put a little too much strenght into it, and, sadly, Juvia didn't land directly onto him like in her romantic books, but landed face-first directly onto the hard wood of the train while Sting fell backward. She let out a painful groan as she flipped onto her back, shooting Sting a sideway glare when she heard him burst in laughter next to her.

"You have to admit," he managed to say between two chuckles, laughing so hard his eyes were closed, "that was hilarious."

Despite her attempt to keep a straight face so she could glare at the dragon slayer, Juvia quickly felt a smile pulling at the corners of her lips, and soon couldn't stifle her laugh, chuckling along with him. They looked like real idiots, laying down on the platform of the train and laughing together about some stupid thin they had just done. They stayed down for a few minutes before Juvia finally got up and went to lean on the barrier, looking at the horizon as they got further and further away from Crocus. She felt a pinch in her heart, already knowing she'd miss the capital even though she had only been there for one day. It had felt like the craziest hours of her life, if not the best. She didn't know what if was about this town that made her feel so carefree and reckless, but she liked it.

The water mage let out a quiet sigh, and heard Sting join her, leaning against the barrier beside her as he asked her what was wrong. "Juvia feels like she's gonna miss this a little," the bluenette admitted, keeping her eyes unfocused, deep in her thoughts. "She has never felt this free before."

"You're really great at keeping yourself from having fun, aren't you?"

Juvia turned her head towards him, giving him a puzzled look. "What does Sting-san mean?"

"The fun you had today, and probably last night too, it can happen again you know," Sting shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course not!" Juvia squealed back, suddenly looking offended. "It was... It was really wrong. Juvia shouldn't have done what she did last night."

"Aouch, hurtful," Sting retorted with a blank look, a hint of amusement still sparkling in his eyes.

The water mage was expecting him to end the conversation there, but the dragon slayer then asked her why she found this so wrong. She slightly furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, as if she didn't even know the answer herself, before answering that she simply couldn't sleep around like that, that it was bad and that she still felt kind of ashamed of it. Sting's eyebrows shot up at her answer, as an amused smile appeared on his face. "What century are you living in, woman?" he mocked her.

Juvia stared back at him with a perplex look on her face. "x791?"

"Alright, no, you're missing my point," Sting laughed, shaking his head. "Did you ever see me get shamed by Sorcerer Magazine when I slept with women?"

"No, why?" Juvia frowned, not getting where he was going with this.

"Did you ever even dared to look down at your alcoholic friend-" he started before being cut off by Juvia, who reminded him of the mage's name, making him roll his eyes.

"Look down at Cana," he corrected himself, "because she slept with someone?"

"Of course not!" Juvia snapped back, before suddenly realizing where this was heading. Sting gave her a deadpan look and she instantly felt her cheeks redden, knowing he had just tricked her into admitting herself that it wasn't something to be ashamed about. Already knowing the water mage was going to be stubborn about this, the blond insisted a little more, asking her why it would be different with her. Juvia looked down at her hands, fiddling with the elastic around her wrist. She already knew the answer to that. After a few seconds during which she stubbornly kept quiet, Juvia quietly admitted that she didn't want people to know she had slept with someone.

She didn't even need to look at Sting to know this one was looking at her with a bewildered expression, and when he insisted even more and asked her why she didn't want people to know, she had no other choice than to admit the truth. She sighed, opening her mouth to answer him, when the blond suddenly cut her off.

"Oh, wait, it's because of that ice mage, isn't it?" he asked her. "What was his name again?"

"Gray-sama," Juvia sighed, knowing there was other no way for her to escape this conversation than to jump from the platform.

"Alright, so you don't want Gray-sama to know?" Sting started off, almost making Juvia choke when she heard the honorific.

"Sting-san isn't supposed to call him Gray-sa-" she tried to correct him, before he cut her off.

"Did you ever hear about the wonderful concept of jealousy, Juvia?" the blond asked her with a solemn tone, as if he was teaching her about the secrets of the universe. "He learns you slept with me, he becomes jealous, tells you how much he loves you, and before you even know it, bam, married."

He looked really proud of his plan at the moment, but, sadly, Juvia wasn't really convinced and she had a hard time hiding it. She still felt really embarrassed about the night they had spent together, and, even though he didn't understand why, he had to respect it. He thought he was going to help her, or at least cheer her up, but the water mage was now looking back at the view on front of them with a hint of sadness hiding in her deep blue eyes. She was regretting it, he could see it. She regretted ever running into him at the bar, and he hated the fact that he was the one who had suddenly caused that.

"Hey," Sting quietly called her, putting a hand on her arm to bring her attention back to him, "we don't have to tell him, you know."

He saw her perk up at that, her eyes sparkling in relief, and instantly felt a smile creep onto his face at the sight. "Sting-san would lie for Juvia?"

"Of course," he assured her. "You were willing to lie for me, why wouldn't I be too?"

Juvia felt her smile widen at his words, her heart already a lot lighter than earlier. She shyly thanked him, quickly looking back at the view when she felt herself squirm under his penetrating stare. She heard him quietly chuckle at her, but didn't scowl at him as she usually would have. Instead, she affectionately pushed him, shaking her head at him.

Weirdly, she felt like the journey wasn't over yet, and, for some reasons, she was not even remotely bothered by it.