She's so pretty when she's asleep. Juvia's long, blue hair covered half her face, but her round little cheek peeked out from behind it. I don't know what it was, but she looked so peaceful. Was she like this when she slept in her oasis, too? Maybe I could talk to Aquarius and see if she could set me up with the ability to breathe underwater. I'd love to be able to answer that question myself. Suddenly, Juvia moved underneath me, those big, blue eyes of hers opening up to blink at me a few times.

"Hi," I smiled softly, making sure to keep my voice down. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her right after she woke up.

"Hi," Juvia's gentle, lyrical voice reverbed in my soul. She lifted up our quilt and looked underneath, "Look, Gray…They're still there. My legs are still there."

"That's good to hear," I pulled her against my chest, running my hand down her back, "Did you sleep ok?"

Juvia nodded, "You?"

"Yeah," I didn't want to get out of bed. This moment was too…perfect. Everything was good. The guild hall wasn't in the process of being destroyed or rebuilt. No one was after us. And, to top it all off, I had my girl half asleep in my arms. What more could I want? But then, the harsh reality set in, "Hey, Juvia?"

"Yes, Gray?" she looked up at me, those tired eyes so full of light.

"Not that I want to kick you out or anything," I prefaced, "But I'm going to have to sneak you out of the guild hall and I don't have a fire escape out my window. I'm open to suggestions."

"I'm not sure," Juvia thought, "You're a wizard, Gray. Don't you know some spell that can get us out of here?"

"I'm a maker wizard, not a teleporter," I put her down gently on the bed, "Stay here, ok? I'm going to go see how busy things are downstairs. I might be able to just walk you out the front door."

"Ok," she wrapped herself up in the blankets and nestled down in the bed. Meanwhile, I'd have to see if anyone was downstairs yet.

Because things can ever be easy, the guild hall's main room must've had every member of the guild here. Were we hosting another guild, too? I don't remember Fairy Tail being this big or getting the hosting memo. No. These were all ours. How was I going to sneak Juvia out like this? It's not often we have a new face show up out of nowhere.

As much as I'm going to hate to say this, I may need to call in reinforcements. It's bad enough Natsu and Lucy know about Juvia. And Mira, too. The whole guild wasn't ready for that, nor was she even close to being ready for something like that. Juvia would freak if I threw her to the rest of Fairy Tail. Given how prepared she was to fight Natsu last night, there's no way that would end pretty. Now, if I needed to find a spell that could get us out of here, who would I see about that?

That smelled like holder magic. I knew a few holder wizards in this guild alone, but I don't think Lucy's celestial spirits would take us through the celestial realm just to get us out of the guild hall. Which left me no choice. The one person I knew for a fact that would have something to help us out. I didn't hate him, but he was just barely on the same level as Natsu. Just a little below Natsu. This is going to be a root canal.

"Excuse me, ladies," he shooed his groupies away, "Good morning, Gray."

"I need a favor, Loke," I mumbled begrudgingly.

"Fun," Loke beamed, "What kind of favor?"

"I need a spell bead," I kept my voice down, making sure he was the only one to hear me.

"Well," he offered, "Step into my office. I got quite the assortment. What do you need a spell bead for? The ice-make magic not doing it for you anymore, so you have to venture into holder types?"

"No," I brushed him off, "It's not that. But you can't tell anyone."

"Oh…" Loke took it down a notch, "This really is serious. Alright, Gray. You have my word. I'll keep it between us. What do you need?"

"Invisibility, if you have it."

"Easy there, tiger," he slowed him down, "Invisibility's kind hardcore. What do you need with that?"

"I was under the impression that there'd be no questions," I snapped a bit. Time was of the essence.

"I'm merely asking as a concerned friend."

"We're not really friends, Loke."

"Then, as a concerned guild mate."

I thought it over for a minute, debating on whether I should throw someone else into this madness, "And you promise NOT to tell anyone?"

"I swear on my life," Loke promised.

"Well…" Here goes nothing, "I have to get a girl out of the guild hall. She's in my room right now and I don't want to draw too much attention to it."

"Gray Fullbuster, you dog," he awed.

"Could you not?" I rolled my eyes. This was what I was trying to avoid.

"What?" Loke shrugged, "Young love is adorable. First loves are even better. Tell me about her."

"No."

"Fair enough," he let it go, digging in his inner jacket pocket, "Usually, these are just for my own private use. Luckily for you, I've snuck more than one lovely young lady out of this guild hall."

"Loke…"

"Sometimes more than one in a day…"

"LOKE!" I wasn't here to listen to tales of his love life, "Look, do you have the spell bead or not?"

"I can spare you one," he pulled it out of his pocket, putting it into my hand.

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome," Loke smiled kindly, "Now, do you know how to use this?"

"Not at all," I probably should've thought that through before I started walking away, "How do I use it?"

"It's just a spell bead," he explained, "So it's not exactly rocket science. Give this to your girlfriend and have her break it. She'll only be invisible for about five minutes, so make it count. When the time is up, make sure you're hidden somewhere. A girl popping out of nowhere is going to cause too much panic and we don't want to do that."

"Got it," I twiddled the bead between my fingers, "Really, Loke…Thank you. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Loke gave me a pat on the back, "Send your girl my love. And possibly my phone number."

"Not a chance…" This was my only option. I hate that this was my only option, but it was either this or put Juvia through something she didn't deserve. I ran back upstairs and into my room where Juvia was still bundled up under the blankets. Was she sleeping again? I didn't want to wake her, "Juvia…?"

"Yes?" Good. She's awake.

"We have our way out," I handed her the spell bead, "Just break this and it'll make you invisible for five minutes."

"Really?" Juvia sat up, "It's that easy?"

"It's that easy."

"Alright," she squeezed it tight, disappearing before my eyes, "Did it work?"

"Can you see me?" I asked.

"I can see you," Juvia confirmed, "Can you see me?"

"No," I smiled, feeling her hand in mine, "You ready?"

"I'm ready."

Juvia and I left my bedroom and started heading through the mob in the guild hall. Mostly everyone was sitting down, so we had that going for us. Cana was still over a barrel, sitting at the bar with Mira. Lucy was checking the request board for a job. Levy and the rest of Shadow Gear off in the corner. Still no Erza, huh? I still hope she's ok.

"Hey, Gray!" Great. Just what I wanted to deal with.

"What do you want, Natsu?" I pulled Juvia closer, making sure he didn't bump into her.

"You missed out on the meeting this morning," Natsu filled me in, "Gramps said there's been sightings of a siren."

"A siren?" I gave him a look, "What do you mean? Like…An airhorn siren?"

"No," he clarified, "A water siren. Like Aquarius, but scarier."

"I didn't think there was anything scarier than Aquarius," Happy flew over, making himself comfortable on Natsu's back, "I thought we drew the line at big, scary, fish ladies."

"Sirens are worse," Natsu shuddered, "Rumor has it, they'll take your soul…and eat it!"

"AH!" Happy jumped, digging his claws into Natsu's back.

"Just be careful, Gray," Natsu warned me, "Where are you going?"

"Juvia's," I left him behind, making sure Juvia was still with me. Sirens…? Why would there be sirens in the area? And where would they be?

Nevertheless, I pulled Juvia into the alley outside the guild hall and let her come back to me. There she was. Everything in its place. Her legs still there. Her face was just as sparkling as ever. Although, she was stumbling over herself. To be honest, though, I was kind of forceful, so I'm not surprised she lost her balance.

"Sorry," I helped her back up, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she got on her feet. But something wasn't right. I wasn't going to push her, mostly because I know better. And I know how much that sucks. But there was something not right.

It was a long, quiet walk back to Juvia's oasis. I always thought it was a quick journey through the woods, but she was weirdly quiet. I mean, I know Juvia didn't talk much when we were among other people, but when it's just the two of us? Maybe it's just because she's still tired? For now, I'll stick with that and hope for the best. Even when we got to the oasis, she didn't hesitate. Juvia dove right into her water, her tail coming back.

I took a seat on one of the rocks around the oasis, dangling my feet over the edge, "Are you sure everything's ok, Juvia? You seem off."

"I'm sure," she swam up to me, splashing her tail in the water, "I'm sorry, Gray. I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Well," I cradled her face in the palm of my hand, "I'm just happy you're ok. I promise I'll be back later tonight."

"Swear?"

"Swear." I needed to score another job. After last night, the amulet job's money was almost completely depleted, "You want me to bring back dinner, too?"

"That sounds nice," Juvia dropped under the water, "So, I'll see you later?"

"You can count on it…" I wanted to. God, did I want to…Not yet. Soon enough, though. Soon enough.

A/N: What are you looking to do, Gray? TELL ME! Wait…I write you. I already know. I know what you wanted to do. And it's going to be the next chapter's title. But you'll see that soon.

Now, I have a question. Because I'm curious (and WAYYY behind), what are your experiences with Ao3? Because I'm thinking about switching or posting on both sites. I don't know. Like I said. Just a thought. Because rumor has it, that side of the internet is MUCH more active than things over here. Not that I don't adore my cozy corner of the internet. It'd just be nice to expand the mini empire here. Something to think about. Now, I will see you lovelies next chapter! xx