I'm so sorry for the late updates, but here you gooo! TwT" By the way, I'm working on how many more chapters this will require until being completed, so take a peek at my tumblr once in a while to see when I figure it out. Or I may put it in the next update. I dunno.
Please, please Review, Favorite, Follow or whatever! Hearing from you all makes my day better and I really want people enjoying my stories and their own day. Stay happy and I'll see you guys again.
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Sleeping Beauty
Juvia frowned in annoyance at the sight of herself in the mirror in the main room of the hotel suite she was currently staying in with her non-biological siblings. A black bikini top exposing a lot of her pale skin and breasts was the most eye-catching of the water Mage, and yet her legs were concealed by a silky tie skirt that went a bit past her knees, covering her Guild tattoo on her left thigh and black sandals. On her head was a sunhat, being able to conceal her face from above cameras outside the safety of the hotel room…
It was just showing too much skin for Juvia's taste.
"Ahh, my widdle Juvia-chan looks to sexyyy!" Cana squealed in delight as she came up behind her, wrapping her arms around the younger Mage and snuggle her cheek on Juvia's pale skin. Cana was wearing a striped bikini set with a short sleeve button-up to under her breasts, which would hide her black-inked tattoo from view. Her brown hair was mopped up into a messy bun and she had sunglasses sported on the crown of her head. "I can't remember the last time I've seen you in a swimsuit. Ohhh hoho! So precious!"
"C-Cana-nee, Juvia feels exposed," Juvia confessed with red cheeks as she looked away from her reflection with embarrassment. "Juvia is almost naked!"
"Cana, let go of Juvia so she doesn't cry. It took me a good ten minutes to get her to put the top on," Erza spoke as she came out of the bedroom. She was wearing shorts and a yellow bikini top with a swim cover to hide her tattoo on her upper arm. "I practically had to hold her down on the floor to get her shirt off!"
"Did you get pictures?"
"Cana-nee!" Lucy scolded as she came out of the room from where Erza had approached from. Wearing a similar outfit to Juvia, however in the colors of pink and white, the blonde came over and peeled Cana's greedy hands off of Juvia's boobs. Once she got the card Mage off of the blue haired woman, Lucy hugged Juvia with a motherly comfort.
"It's okay, Juvia-chan," Lucy cooed before fixing Juvia's sunhat on her head. "You look great, so don't feel shy to strut your stuff when we get out there, okay? I'll walk with you, too, if you want!"
"Babe, if you're gonna attract some losers to you, I'm gonna kill 'em!" Natsu groaned from the kitchen, no doubt helping himself to a second...no wait, it's his third breakfast of the morning. "Make sure that everyone can see your wedding ring, m'kay? It's on your left hand, Luce!"
"I know, Natsu! Same to you," Lucy rolled her eyes with amusement and shaking her head. It was hard for Juvia to forget how territorial Natsu can get with his own wife and their adopted child; while sometimes he would go out of his way to shield and protect the love of his life and little angel he loves to call his daughter, he could sometimes cause a big mess. "I don't want any women catching your scarf and start dragging you around like a dog."
"Gross!" Natsu gasped and stuck his head from the corner of the counter. Happy walked past Natsu with shrimp in his mouth, snickering teasingly. "I don't want some weird lady treating me like a pet! I mean, you know...if you wanna try that sometime. I-I could probably -!"
"That's not something for everyone to hear, Natsu," Jellal shut the pink haired man up from his spot on the couch. He had his trunk on with a sweatshirt unzipped, the hood up and the sunglasses large enough to cover most of his face. Lucy's face was beat red as she refused to acknowledge her husband's open thoughts as she faced Juvia.
Juvia's eyes wondered adoringly to the blushing blonde woman, her eyes noticing the leather pouch attached to her hip, right on the knot of the pink skirt she was wearing. Juvia's lips twitched to a small smile of the vivid memories of when Juvia discovered Lucy's magic, and how much fun they had as children and growing up.
Lucy noticed Juvia's stare and perked at the attention. "Been awhile since you've seen them, huh, Juvia-chan?" the blonde Mage smiled and opened the leather flap, revealing gold and silver keys. "You should've been around after Christmas Day. God, Plue and Gemini played with Wendy out in the snow and Taurus started making snowmen with Natsu… Scorpio challenged Gajeel to a wrestling match and Aquarius got livid about it."
"Juvia has missed out on a lot of things, it seems," Juvia nodded, picking out which key was who as Lucy named them off. Fiddling with her thumbs, Juvia looked down in slight disappointment. "Juvia thinks, the last time she saw all of them was at Lucy-chan and Natsu-san's wedding...or Wendy's birthday, last year."
"Aquarius will still ask how you're doing all the time," Lucy winked affectionately. "Loke stills asks if you're available and I have to make Aries control him a bit better, but you know how she is. She's so delicate, unlike Virgo."
"If we figure things out, Juvia would like to spend more time with her family," Juvia timidly peeped, making Lucy giggle.
"We would all love that, Juvia-chan," Lucy smiled brightly.
"Oi, Luce!" Natsu called as he left the kitchen. He had his swimwear one with his a shirt to cover his tattoo. His white scarf, however, was wrapped around his head like a ninja band. In his hand was holding Lucy's cellphone. "Guess who's on the phone?"
Lucy's head snapped around and she practically ran to her husband's arms. Once she got a hold of her cell, she pressed it to her ear with wide eyes of hope. "Hello?" she spoke into the phone before breaking into the happiest grin ever. Natsu held her still from bouncing in his arms.
"Hi sweetie pie! Yes, Mama misses you very much," Lucy grinned into the phone and peeked up to her husband, who had that toothy grin on his face. "No, we haven't found Makarov yet, sweetie. Why are you up so early, Wendy? Where's your aunt -? Oh, your papa called you?"
Juvia smiled at the sight of Natsu and Lucy on the phone with Wendy before picking up her beach bag that contained her ID, wallet and some normal tourist content. Looking to the table, Juvia met with Happy looking up to her expectantly, having finished his snack.
"Will you be okay until we get into the resort? They don't allow pets in the hotel," Juvia explained to the Exceed, who grinned in response. "And, instead of closing the bag, I got you this!" Juvia held up a blue and white striped towel, making the speaking cat gasp.
"It's in my color!" Happy cheered as he hopped to his feet, his paws reaching out and the blue haired woman handed the towel to him. Burying his whiskered face into a soft material, Happy sighed in pure bliss. "This is nice...and breathable, too! Thank you, Juvia!"
"Quit spoiling that cat, or he's gonna end up fat and lazy," Gajeel grumbled while eating screws and bolts that were purchased by Juvia earlier that morning. She found a small auto-parts store near the hotel and by a gas station and bought a bag full of what she knew Gajeel likes to munch on. That said, the blue haired woman raised a brow and looked pointedly to the bag he was now holding, making him flinch.
"Juvia could say the same thing about Gajeel-kun," Juvia smiled, making Jellal chuckle behind the bulky man on the couch.
"Enough of fooling around, everyone," Erza's strong voice caught everyone's attention, including Lucy and Natsu who were still on the phone. "Lucy, Natsu, you can walk and talk. We need to get to Ryuuzetsu before it gets busy with customers and tourists. We don't want to cause any problems, you know, incase someone starts to pick a fight…"
The redhead was looking between Natsu and Gajeel, who paled and turned their attention away. Juvia smiled at the old, familiar scene of Erza playing the mother role while everyone else was her little ducklings. Holding the rims of her large bag out to Happy, Juvia let the Exceed plop himself inside the bag and situate the towel for his comfort and hiding himself with it before holding still. Juvia watched as Cana got her tiny, little black shoulderbag that would contain all of her cards that she owned for her powers, like Lucy with her keys. Jellal got up from the couch and approached the fuming redhead with a steal of pressing his lips to the woman's neck.
Despite Erza being the hardcore leader, she was easily gushy and shy when it came to her husband or her marriage overall; Juvia remembered when Jellal purposed to Erza, and the woman started crying her eyes out before smacking the blue haired man while screaming yes over and over. Too bad Jellal was half-conscious to hear her response.
While everyone was leaving the hotel room, Juvia stayed back with Lucy and Natsu to listen in on their conversation. Cana and Gajeel were bickering about how he snored but she went to the bathroom every half hour; Jellal hid his face with his hood and shades, but holding onto Erza's hand and carrying her bag for the pool in his other, and his own wife would complain to the two fighting about how they both were annoying, even if there was a wall separating their room (Jellal and Erza bunked in the same room as Lucy and Natsu).
"Good girl for getting to bed on time, Wendy," Lucy praised softly, sharing the phone with her husband, who had to bend his head to be able to hear his kid's voice. "And Carla didn't have to remind you at all?"
"No!" Wendy chirped proudly, and Juvia inwardly cried at how cute her niece was. She could just imagine her with her long, dark hair in pigtails and holding her doll on Levy's couch. "Aunt Levy and I were gonna go shopping for groceries and she's gonna let me push the cart for her, because the baby makes it hard for Aunt Levy to push."
"That's my girl," Natsu fondly chuckled and Lucy smiled with flushed cheeks. "Make sure that your aunt doesn't carry too much or heavy bags, okay, Wendy?"
"I know, Papa!" Wendy snickered. "Hey, Mama, Papa! Is Aunt Juvia there with you? May I please say I to her?"
"We're on a job right now, sweetie," Lucy reminded her child softly. "How about your aunt calls you around dinner time? Then you can tell her about your side of the job on helping Levy-chan out at the grocery store. Wouldn't that be cool?"
"Oh, yes, yes!" Wendy awed, and Juvia had to hold her cheeks from the sound of Wendy's cute voice. Doing her best not to thrash the beach bag around in her cooing antics, Juvia bit her lip and let a little high-pitched 'Juvin!' slip from her throat. "I love you Mama! And I love you, Papa! I'll let you two go on your job now, and please kick some butt for me!"
Once Lucy hung up after getting kisses through the phone from Wendy, Natsu snorted a chuckle. "See, babe? Wendy's kisses always give us good luck, no? We'll be able to find Gramps soon, thanks to our little girl's lucky kisses."
"I miss her, Natsu," Lucy whined softly, looking at her phone. The team has made it to the lobby and were now exiting the hotel building. "Do you think she'll be mad at us because we're gone? Oh, my God! What if she completely changes while we're gone and we missed it - like she lost a tooth, or she gets a boyfriend -!"
"My daughter isn't getting a boyfriend with me around," Natsu deadpanned before getting a light smack from his wife. "Nah-ah, my kid ain't gonna date until she's forty, or somethin'!"
Lucy rolled her eyes before taking a glance to the silent blue haired woman, whose cheeks are pink and a little smile on her lips. Grinning, Lucy nudged shoulders with Juvia. "You think you wanna talk to Wendy later? I'm sure she wants to keep you up to date with her side of the job of Fairy Tail."
Juvia's cheeks went into a deeper shade of red. "Juvia would like that."
=xxx=
Ryuzetsu Island is the biggest water park and vacation area in Akane, taking up most of the town in fact. The waterpark was one of the most popular destinations for tourists and guests to hang around; included with a large arcade and restaurant and bar at the sides, children, mothers, fathers, relatives, newlyweds or strangers can be seen and heard at every inch of the place. Both Humans and Mages are allowed to converse and share space publicly, but with regulations for the Mages to follow:
The biggest rule for Mages is to never use their powers in front or around Ryuuzetsu customers or on the property, especially around Humans. If any is seen, the Mage will be arrested immediately for disturbing the peace.
Mages are allowed to have their tattoos displayed, if employed by a Guild (unlike hotels in Akane, who are not too welcoming to Mages staying in their establishments). However, you are not allowed to share information of the Guild you are from or your purpose of being at Ryuzetsu Island. Mages are to show ID, when asked by law enforcements or by staff, if they are not in a Guild of some sort. Any restaurant, bar or entertainment areas welcome Mages as long as it is owned by Ryuzetsu. If you are a Guild Mage and disobey this rule, Ryuuzetsu is allowed to contact the government and have the Guild fined a great deal of money.
Juvia has heard of Ryuuzetsu businesses and fun spots in Akane from work, and from Makarov, too, who would write Juvia plenty of handwritten letters (since it was safer than emails being exploited) about his little adventures. Most of them were Makarov telling stories of how he would be the life of the late-night parties and wake up in random places, or how he would win a big game of bingo and have to hide in the restroom stalls or the children's play equipment from angry people. Juvia's co-workers have spent time there as well for vacations with their families, and Lyon has been there once or twice; he even brought Juvia back small gifts, like magnets of little ocean-themed items or a cute, itty bitty statue of a beachball wearing sunglasses on a lawn chair…
But those are now ruined from the break-in of her office, now destroyed with ice.
Cana let out a low whistle at the interior of the indoor water park, taking in the water slides and fun decorations hanging from the ceiling and on the wall. There was even a small roller coaster and a fake pirate boat for children to play on, while the bars stood on the other side. On the tourist map that Gajeel found before picking this place to start at, there were more themed parks and water places for miles and miles.
"If we ever get lost, you guys can find me on the lazy river with a martini," Cana snapped her fingers with amusement, peeking above her sunglasses to look to Juvia. "Wouldn't be too hard to find, right? I'll probably be singing some made up pirate song about booze and boobs."
Juvia giggled behind her hand while Lucy shook her head at her elder sister-figure's behavior. "What are we going to do with you, Cana-nee," the blonde sighed and rubbed her temple with one hand.
"Well, I might as well bunk with Juvia and we can have a bunch of cats!" Cana smirked before reaching to Juvia's bag, lifting the blue and white towel to reveal a part of Happy's head. "What'ya say, Happy? Think you and Carla can get us started with some of your kittens?"
"K-k… Kittens with Carla?" Happy flushed before dropping further into the bag, causing Cana to laugh and leave the Exceed alone. Juvia gently swat Cana's had away from her bag.
"What did I say about fooling around?" Erza politely reminded the three women, approaching them with her hands on her hips, but a small grin on her face. "Come on now, we need to be serious here and figure out where to look for Makarov first."
"Can't Gajeel and Natsu pick up his scent? They got those sensitive nostrils, don't they?" Cana pouted to the redhead, but then frowned deeply when Erza jerked her chin behind her to see Jellal switching gazes between Natsu and Gajeel, who were bickering with each other.
"I say this way!" Gajeel snapped with a chomp of his jaw. Even though he practically towered over Natsu, Juvia knew that height didn't mean a thing to her pink haired friend.
"No, it's the other way!" Natsu pointed the opposite direction. He was on his toes to try and square up to him. "The stink of sunscreen and the chlorine is gettin' to your head!"
"You farted exactly fifteen seconds ago," Gajeel grunted before pointing to a passerby old man, who had a sunburn outline of his shirt and swimtrunks. "That guy had fried peppers with onions with beer last night," he exposed, not really caring how the old man blinked in confusion before continuing on. Pointing to a woman in a red bikini in the distance, reclined with her shades on, Gajeel stomped his foot like a child. "That broad over there started her period three days ago, and she hasn't bothered to keep up on her vitamin medications regularly, like she's suppose to!"
Natsu went red in the face and puffed out his chest. "Oh yeah? Well, that kid other there peed in the kiddie pool area at the pirate boat," he retorted smartly, jerking his thumb to a chunky boy eating ice cream. "Cana had her last alcoholic drink approximately six hours ago, and it was a peach-flavored beer with low calories."
Cana clapped approvingly beside the ladies, while Jellal dropped his head into his hands. Erza's lip twitched with annoyance before noticing Juvia slipping by and poking both Gajeel and Natsu on the shoulders, and both men responded with a questionable blink.
"Gajeel-kun, Natsu-san," Juvia said politely, "despite both of you having wonderful sense of smell, you do realise that you can not pick up Makarov's scent after all these years with his new lifestyle. Master Makarov would have been using sunscreen regularly, his eating habits have changed and he may have been using new soap and shampoo. Did any of you ever thought about that?"
Gajeel and Natsu thought it over for a minute before looking absolutely saddened by Juvia's observations. Over the years of being in the same home, Juvia has taken note on the benefit and flaws of powers a Mage could have, such as scent, elemental powers or even counter factors when with a specific obstacle.
Smiling, Juvia opened her bag and gently pushed the towel and the Exceed a little bit before pulling out the postcard that was hanging on Lucy's fridge. Holding it between her fingers, Juvia stuck it out between the two men, having it directly near their noses.
"Use Lucy-chan's postcard to pick up a scent," Juvia instructed simply. Jellal had the expression of amazement and Erza smiling proudly and crossed her arms. "Master Makarov's fingers have touched this, so the paper material would have soaked in his fingerprint, sweat or whatever Makarov has currently embedded on his skin."
"That's my Juvia," Erza smiled brightly before smacking the her back, causing the blue haired woman to stumble forward a bit and bit back a painful whimper. "Way to take it for the team!"
Juvia let the two men sniff at the card, no one really caring at anyone raising brows or whispering confusion to one another. For those Mages, and this team especially, it was very common to do unusual things in public. That was just how they are, and there is nothing wrong with it.
It took a good minute for Natsu and Gajeel to start picking up the scent of their headmaster before looking at each other with a serious stare. At the same time, with perfect symmetry, the two pointed to the same direction beside Jellal's head, who remained silent and held perfectly still when both passed him.
Juvia pocketed the postcard back into the bag, smiling to Jellal. "The bloodhounds will guide us to the treasure chest!"
Jellal blinked, trying to hold back a mocking laugh. "Did you...just try to do a pirate pun, Juvia?"
"Juvia can't be funny?" the blue haired woman pouted in response, sensing the women coming up behind her and began to follow after them. "So mean, Jellal-san. Juvia doesn't understand how Erza-nee can handle such a humorless man sometimes."
Following the two Mages sniffing the air and occasionally bickering with each other before agreeing to a direction, the team slowly let themselves relax in the open public between Humans and Mages. After seeing plenty of tattooed Mages walking around with ease and actually conversing with Humans, Jellal let his hood fall and give his sunglasses to Erza, who had a proud, happy smile on her lips as she pocketed the shades and held her husband's hand tightly. Cana practically made an inappropriate noise with her mouth as she yanked off her top, catching a few guys' attention that made Juvia stiffen and shove a hand to Cana's face, making the woman laugh.
Overall the waterpark was somewhat welcoming to Mages, as if there was nothing different between a woman with her Guild tattoo on her exposed stomach conversing freely and happily with a group of other women who were Human; the parents watching their children play with each other in the shallow pools and throwing a ball back and forth with happy faces.
"Here!" both Gajeel and Natsu said simultaneously, both pointing to a bar surrounded by palm trees and a overhead of poles for a roof and a tiki-like theme for patios and private booths. The counter was completely decorated with coconuts and weird tiki masks and colorful umbrellas; the menu was written on black with neon markers and lazy doodles of martini glasses and ice cream by the names and prices.
Erza tilt her head to the side, seeing no one but breasted women and the lone bartender visible to them. "Are you guys sure..?" she narrowed her brown eyes to them, making them flinch. "You're not dragging us here because it looks nice to you, huh? Gajeel, I'm going to report this to Levy -!"
"No, this is familiar to Juvia," Juvia stopped the redhead from smacking the two, even though Lucy gave her husband a curious brow of the possibility. "Don't you remember one of Master Makarov's letters? He spoke about a specific bar that had many women around."
"Ah! I recognize it now!" Cana perked joyfully with her hands up. With a few large steps to the counter, Cana slapped her palm to catch the bartender's attention with Lucy, Jellal and Juvia following while Erza gave the two remaining warning stares. "The old fart sent me a bobble head of their tiki guy!"
The bartender made his way over and Cana instantly put on her sexy face. "Hey there, handsome," she purred cheekily, and Juvia instantly went red in the face at how open her sister-figure was being at such a public place. "Say, we're looking for someone. Have ya seen an old man 'bout this tall -" Cana sized up on the counter with her free hand, smiling "- with these funky eyebrows and mustache? He sometimes wears this funny hat, and can I get your number, too? You seem like you know your drinks really well and I could use some fruity drinks now and then."
"I-I'm sorry?" the poor seemed flustered by the brunette's cleavage, making Juvia roll her eyes with amusement and Lucy giggle behind her hand.
"Cana-nee," she scolded lightly before pulling her back to stand up straight. Pulling Cana's top up to under her breasts, Juvia revealed the Fairy Tail tattoo in black ink on the left side of Cana's belly. The brunette blinked before blushing bright red, mumbling about how she was aroused by Juvia's forwardness. Ignoring her, Juvia had the bartender see the tattoo. "We are looking for an elderly man with this tattoo, sir. He would have it on his chest, however."
The young man looked to the tattoo before his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, yes," he nodded, looking to Juvia with a smile. "Yes, that's Mister Dreyar's mark. You must be his partners, I'm assuming?"
"More like family," Lucy corrected him with a wave of her hand. "You see, my husband tracked down his scent to this particular bar…"
"Oi, I found him too, princess!" Gajeel sneered with hunched shoulders beside Natsu, both too nervous to approach the crowd. Erza and Juvia twisted their heads over their shoulders and gave Gajeel a sharp stare that made him pale and instantly shut up.
Lucy waved Gajeel off nervously, seeing how the bartender seemed to be more cautious. "Anyway, do you know where we can find him? We know it's early, but if you know where he's staying or -"
"He's actually in the private booths," the bartender said politely, beckoning them to follow as he went away from his spot in the corner. "He comes here for breakfast every morning and for dinner. He's one of our usual customers, so we made him a special booth so he's more comfortable."
Excusing themselves past the other tourists and guests of the tiki bar, the team followed the bartender further inside the small installation of the hut to a door. Turning back to the small crowd, the bartender simply asked them to wait until he was given the okay, saying it was one of their policies for the privacy of their beloved customers. Apparently Makarov was a favorite…
Knocking on the door, the bartender cracked it open to let his head through, shielding the rest from seeing the inside of the private room. "Mister Dreyar, it's me."
"Ah! What's happening, my boy?" Makarov's familiar voice caught everyone's attention. "Don't tell me I ran my tab again!"
"No, sir," he responded quickly. "You have visitors...they have the same tattoo as you do, sir. They said they're family?"
Nothing was said then, but it seemed the bartender received a hand gesture of some sort because he pulled back and gave a nod to them. "Go on ahead," he said politely, making room for Erza to take a step forward. "If you would like drinks or food, please let me know."
"Thank you," Erza said before pushing the door open, revealing the all-too familiar face of an old man who practically raised every one of the members of the home.
Makarov was still short, sporting his famous and favorite vacationing shirt and silly hat as he sat on top of the table with a large beer jug in his hand. A whiskered smile on his face, the elderly man chuckled at the sight of the young adults entering the private booth one-by-one. "Hey kids," he chuckled happily. "I was wondering if you were gonna show up. You could have at least called."
"We did, but ya didn't answer," Gajeel snorted before crossing his arms. Juvia was in the back of the crowd, hiding behind the bodies of her family to see the old headmaster inside the room.
"Ah, must've had my cell in my other shirt," Makarov chuckled. Juvia smiled softly at his humor, knowing that the little pieces of him hasn't changed since she last saw him in person. The bartender closed the door behind them, leaving them alone.
"So, I take it you have seen the news?" Natsu cocked his head to side, and Juvia could see the tip of his hat. She didn't want to push her way through her friends to see him, so she waited patiently. "About what happened at E.N.D. -?"
"Of course I have," the old man grunted. "We both saw it together at the night of the party, you dork. We don't miss that for nothing."
Blinking, Juvia was confused by his words of 'we'. From what she remembered from the letters sent from the old headmaster, he stated how he enjoyed being alone and free to go wild. Trying to think of who else could be close to the Ryuuzetsu Island resort, Juvia jumped a little at the sound of Makarov setting his drink on the table with force.
"Well? Do you guys know where Juvia is?" he grumbled in a whine. "The news won't talk shit about what's going on after that little shit made his debut."
Gajeel's large hand plopped on top of Juvia's head, whistling for Erza, Lucy, Cana and Natsu to make way and directing the shorter woman to take a few steps ahead. Blinking, Juvia obeyed the iron Mage's order and let herself bump to the table. She felt embarrassed being put on the spotlight like that, so suddenly, that she couldn't help her blush as she kept her eyes downcast.
She heard Makarov make a low noise, making her shut her eyes. "I recognized your water marks on the Mage that was killed by being boiled alive, Juvia," he said quietly, in a firm voice. "I was beginning to think you were eventually caught."
"Juvia is sorry, Master," she peeped. "Juvia exposed herself infront of her Human co-workers and endangered them, but she did her best to save as many people as possible."
After a long minute, Juvia heard two, deep-voiced chuckles. One was familiar to Makarov, for sure, but the other one belonged to someone else. "Don't be sorry. I'm proud of you, Juvia," Makarov said softly, making Juvia open her eyes to stare to the table. "You did the right thing possible to save as many as you could."
"Don't tease her too much, Makarov," the other voice scolded the old man, and Juvia felt her heart stop for a good few seconds. "My poor dear can't handle being yelled at so much, you know. After everything she's been through?"
Raising her head, Juvia looked to the corner of the booth, where a man sat in a chair beside Makarov, a beer in his hand. He had dark hair that was slicked back, revealing a large scar on his forehead and eyes that were piercingly dark as well. He had a light fuzz on his chin and jawline, making him a tad bit more rugged than he usually was, she knew, but still maintained a muscular body that no doubt rivaled with Gajeel. He wore a black tank and swimtrunks, and that snarky grin that would usually make women fall head over heels.
But, for Juvia Lockser, it made her eyes swell with tears and her lower lip quiver.
"F-Father-sama..?" she whispered in a quiet voice, raising her head a bit more to see him chuckle.
Silver Fullbuster gave her a wink, a familiar greeting she was used to seeing during the winter back at the Fairy Tail home. "Hey there, sweetheart. It's good seeing you still breathing."
=xxx=
"Juvia!"
The blue haired teenager blinked at the call of her name, but ignored to respond as she stood in the familiar yard of the Fairy Tail home, where she usually practiced with her friends for good hours. Her attention focusing solely on the little white flakes falling from the sky so prettily. She couldn't look away from the interesting sight of the first snowfall of the year; how the sky was the most interesting shades of semi-dark clouds and making the most beautiful designs from frozen water.
"Juvia, goddammit!" Gray's voice came up from behind her, his feet crunching the snow on the ground. She could feel his body heat behind her exposed body, only wearing her pajamas and slippers in the cold weather. "What did I say about coming out here without a jacket? You're going to get sick."
"It's snowing, Gray-sama," Juvia peeped childishly, still looking to the sky with wonder in her eyes. Her lips were forming a small smile at the noise of her boyfriend groaning in slight annoyance. "It's snowing, see? It's pretty!"
"I know it's snowing, Juvia. The news said that it was going to snow sometime this week," Gray rolled his eyes. Opening his unzipped jacket as wide as he could, Gray took one more step towards her and pressed his toned chest to her back, wrapping her inside his coat and holding her in his arms. "You need to stop taking off so early in the morning. I thought you fell in the toilet or something."
"Juvia wanted to see the snow," she simply told him, finally peeking up to see him shake his head with a smirk on his lips. She smiled to him and looked back up to the sky. "Juvia wants to see the snow, because -."
"You rarely ever got to see snow as a kid, I know," he said before pressing a soft kiss to her temple. Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he heaved a sigh and held her closer. "Still doesn't excuse you from having me wake up to an empty bed like that."
"Juvia didn't want to wake Gray-sama," she shrugged with a playful smile. "Gray-sama looked so cute sleeping, Juvia couldn't bring it to herself to ruin the sight. You looked like a little baby!"
He groaned again and hid his face into her hair. "You're a handful sometimes, you know that? Comin' out here without a coat just to see it snow, and I have to find you without waking the whole house up. You should have woken me."
"Juvia thinks it's funny to see Gray-sama fuss around."
He lightly bit her neck, tickling her to jump and squeak her usual catchphrase whenever she was startled or surprised. He chuckled and pressed a small kiss to the bitemark before kissing her cheek lovingly. "Come on, Juvia. Get back inside before you get sick, or Erza will kill me."
The teenager pouted and looked up to him. "Juvia can't feel her toes…"
Sighing as he let her go to face her front, Gray stripped himself of his jacket and wrapped her small body with it, zipping it closed before lifting her up in his arms. Juvia wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face into his neck instantly, smiling at how he didn't complain on carrying her back into the house through the sliding door.
Having come from the kitchen's patio, Gray followed Juvia's trail and sat her on the counter so he could close the door. Seeing how her boyfriend was shirtless as his usual sleepwear, Juvia pouted again when his toned body closed the glass door and locking it. When he turned back, Gray saw her small scowl and raised a brow.
"What's the face for?" he asked, making his way back to her, resting his palm on either side of her on the counter, leaning to be nose-to-nose with her.
"Gray-sama can handle the cold just fine, yet Juvia can't," she said, crossing her arms in his coat. "Juvia doesn't like it. She wants to watch the snow fall."
"You can see it just fine from the window, Juvia. It's an ice Mage thing, okay?" he explained to her before gently grabbing her ankle and tugging her slipper off. Trying to stimulate the blood flow to her slightly-blue feet, Gray began rubbing under the arch and pinching her little toes. "Training for that was a pain in the ass, though. I had to sit out in the mountains in my underwear for a good week. No fire, no hot food or a tent to sleep in. You wouldn't like that."
Juvia watched him with a smile, seeing him pamper her and trying to warm her up. Even though it wasn't necessary for her body to be treated for hypothermia, she thought it was sweet of him to do so. "Did Gray-sama do it with Father-sama?" she asked, making him flinch at the affectionate name for his dad.
"What did I say about calling him that, Juvia? It's one thing to call him dad, but adding the suffix makes it really weird," he twitched, his thumbs rubbing her feet hard and she giggled at the ticklish feeling on her skin.
"He asked Juvia to call him 'Dad', but Juvia thinks that 'Father' is more suitable for him. It's classy, but still respectful," she flexed her foot when Gray switched to the next one. "The suffix is because Father-sama is Gray-sama's father, and he reminds Juvia of her Gray-sama very much."
"Don't say that…" he huffed. "Don't say I'm like my dad."
"Now, why is that such a bad thing, my boy?" Silver's booming voice made his son pale and Juvia to perk with a bright smile.
"Father-sama!" Juvia cheered with her hands up in the air, flapping Gray's coat sleeves with excitement. "It's snowing outside, Father-sama!"
Silver, dressed in a white shirt and baggy sweatpants, strolled into the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand, while the other was in his pocket. "I see, sweetheart," he chuckled fondly. "You went outside again, didn't you? I heard Gray scurrying around the halls looking for ya."
Gray's cheeks went pink, jerking his head away from him. "Shut up, old man. You'd do the same thing if you woke up to see her missing," he grumbled, tickling Juvia's foot on purpose to make her giggle. Standing up, the teenage boy leaned against the counter by Juvia, letting her wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head against his. "Aren't you suppose to be on the train already? I thought you left last night."
"I had a couple drinks with Makarov," Silver said all-too-happily, making Gray frown at his father's passive behavior. "I managed to get a renewed ticket for this afternoon, so I'll have a chance to say a proper goodbye to my son and future daughter-in-law!"
Juvia smiled cheekily when Gray groaned in embarrassment. "Father-sama is all packed and has his bags ready, like Juvia told you to?"
"I did, angelface," Silver grinned. "I'll be sure to get you a special present on my next job. You've been doing good at keeping Gray out of trouble, so I'll get you an early Christmas present."
"Don't butter her up, Dad," Gray snapped at the older man, pulling his girlfriend closer to his side. "You're making it weird!"
"She's my future daughter-in-law, right? It's only normal for me to treat her like a princess, right, child?" he smirked to Juvia, who grinned and simply shrugged. This made Silver make a face that was so much like Gray's when he gets in trouble. "Aww, c'mon, sweetie pie. Don't you like being spoiled?"
"Juvia is satisfied seeing Father-sama happy and healthy," she said, raising her head off of Gray's shoulder and taking a peek to Gray, who had that look of disinterest on his face. "Juvia knows that Gray-sama gets crabby when Father-sama clings too much. Juvia thinks that Gray-sama prefers her cuddles and doesn't like it when Father-sama hugs Juvia…"
Gray covered Juvia's blabbing mouth, trying his best to not blush any shade darker in front of his father. "Th-that's enough. Juvia, I'm taking you back to bed and putting you under an extra blanket. You were in the cold for too long."
"Oh!" Juvia blinked. "Can Gray-sama still cuddle Juvia?"
"Use protection!" Silver blurted out suddenly. "Gray, I put a bag in your room with some...you know, things that may happen while I'm gone."
"Pro...protection?" Juvia blinked. "You mean for..?"
"D-Dad!" Gray practically shouted.
"I don't want to be a grandfather yet, okay? You can't blame me for being worried for you two," Silver shrugged, clearing his throat. "You know, your mother and I were together around your age, and we did some -!"
"Father-sama…" Juvia's face glowed bright red. "W-we're not -!"
"The thing is, because we did some crazy stuff back then, I just want you two to be prepared for whatever happens! Kids these days!"
"Damn it, Dad, get out of here already! Juvia and I aren't doing anything, you old fart! We're sixteen, for God's sake!"
"Gray-sama, please don't yell…"
"Just remember that condoms have experation dates, alright? I also put a coupon in there incase you ran out quicker than I expected. Juvia! Make sure Gray uses the bottle of -! Sweetheart, why do you look like you're going to faint? Are you okay?"
"You're freaking her out, Dad! Shut up!"
"Don't tell me to shut up, Gray. I'm trying to look out for the both of you! You're my only kid and I don't want you screwing this up for Juvia!"
"Screwing up for..? THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN!"
"MY DAUGHTER-CHAN IS A PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL AND I WILL NOT HAVE YOU MAKE HER SORE, SO USE THE GOD DAMN LUBE!"
"THE HELL IS ALL THAT NOISE DOWN THERE?"
"Shit, we woke up Erza."
=xxx=
"I barely see you for three years, and here you are even more beautiful and radiant than I remember! My darling Juvia-chan, I was so worried about you!"
Silver lost his cool composure once when Juvia started crying, becoming that usual, dorky father-figure she remembered as he got up from his seat and hugged Juvia tightly. His stubble cheek scratching Juvia's face as he rubbed his face against her in a snuggling fashion, Silver had lifted the water Mage a good foot off the ground for a welcoming hug in front of the team and Makarov, who went back to sipping his beer.
Juvia whined happily, her tiny hands gripping Silver's tank as tight as she could. This was quite normal between them, whenever Silver had come to visit the home for Cedar Town for the holidays, the man would make a graceful entrance until he sets his sights on Juvia; with that, he would then lose all of his composure and practically turn into Cana's father, Gildarts, whenever he got to see his daughter.
Or, like whenever Erza saw cheesecake. Whichever is better.
"Silver, put her down before she falls apart, you dork," Makarov said calmly, making the man freeze and realize that the rest of the younger folks were staring wide-eyed at him.
Silver gently set Juvia to her feet, but didn't let her go completely. She had eventually stopped her tears and grinned to him, making the man sigh in bliss and examine her face. "I knew you'd make it out there safely, sweetheart," he told her proudly. "I was worried though, seeing the hospital and then the E.N.D. building getting attacked got me a bit antsy."
"He was tempted to go out and look for you himself," Makarov explained thoroughly. "When I figured you kids were gonna come looking for me, I told him to wait to see if they had Juvia. Although, I wasn't too sure since she was all the way in Fiore City and made it out in time…"
"Juvia-chan swam all the way to Cedar from the ocean. She had a small wound to her ribs, and used a lot of her powers during her fight," Lucy said, startling the older ice Mage to a stilled state as he gave the blue haired woman a wide-eyed stare. "B-but...she's recovered! We're still making her drink water and rest up as much as -!"
"What did that little shit do to you?" Silver Fullbuster howled, making Juvia and everyone else flinch at the volume of his voice and the major harshness of his tone.
Makarov blinked before clapping his hands. "Oi, Cana, my dear," the elderly man grinned dorkly. "Why don't I treat you to one of my favorite drinks, hm? In fact, why don't I treat everyone to a drink! It's happy hour somewhere in this world, yes? Follow me, kids!"
"We ain't kids no more, Gramps!" Natsu whined when Makarov hopped off the table and proceeded towards the door.
"Hush, Natsu," Lucy whispered before grabbing her husband's hand and dragged him after their old headmaster. Slowly, Jellal gently escorted Erza and Cana after them while Gajeel closed the door to leave the last two inside.
Juvia swallowed at the hard stare Silver was giving her. Granted, it wasn't the first time she has seen that look on his face, but it was never directed towards her. Breaking the eye contact, Juvia looked down to his shirt, unable to meet his eyes without her own filling with tears; she hated crying in front of people, Silver being one of those few who she would refuse to shed a tear in his presence. Juvia wanted to be strong, but it was still -!
Feeling the familiar, warm hand on the back of her skull, Juvia's head was pulled a bit forward to press against Silver's hard chest. His other arm wrapping around her shoulders in a more gentle, tender hug that wasn't like the desperate, needy one he greeted her with.
"He hurt you, didn't he?" he asked in a low voice, and Juvia felt her stomach drop at the suggestion he was thinking. "I saw him on the TV, Juvia, just tell me what he did."
"He didn't lay a hand on Juvia, Father-sama…" her voice came out too quiet and she wasn't too sure if he heard, but she kept on talking in that tone. "He tried to hold Juvia in a hug, she thinks, but Juvia jumped and that's how she got hurt."
The hand on her head gently rubbed her scalp, and a few tears slipped from her big eyes when she realized that yes, Silver could hear her in her croaking voice. "He told his men to not hurt her, but he wasn't Juvia's Gray-sama…"
"I'm just happy you're safe, sweetie," Silver told her with that comforting tone that she missed so much. "I'm so happy you're okay, Juvia. I would have gone nuts if the kids came in without you."
She really couldn't hold in her sobs and small wail in the back of her throat. Shutting her eyes tightly, Juvia let out a pathetic whine as she snuggled her face on Silver's shirt, soaking it with tears as her hands grasped the material for dear life. "Gray is alive, Father-sama," she cried to him. "Gray's alive."
"I know, angelface," he gently hushed her and held her close. His expression was hard, but his eyes were also sorrowful for the news that has been plaguing his mind for the last few days. What bothered him more was the fact that the water Mage was crying and afraid. She was afraid, and he could feel and see why she was so afraid right now.
"You're okay now, Juvia. I'm here," he told her softly, embracing her a bit tighter to bring her the comfort she probably needed the most right now. "I'm right here, honey. Your family is here for you and you're safe now, okay? No one is going to hurt you while I'm here."
Juvia nodded against him, sobbing hard against him and clinging to the only father-figure she had in her life. The man who practically adopted her with welcoming arms and considered her a part of his family, even before her engagement with his son…
Outside of the door, Makarov looked up to the Mages waiting silently and patiently for his next orders. It has been a stressful last couple of days, he felt, dealing with the attack on one of his children by one they thought has died years ago; a ice Mage who was a father and very protective figure to the poor young woman inside the room, having stayed up for nights and fighting with Makarov to go out and search for the two.
He could really use a drink in both celebration for Juvia's safety, and to hear what was going to come next.
Offering a small grin to the young adults, Makarov waved a hand for his kids to venture back to the tiki bar and take seats on the spinning stools. "So, what does everyone want to drink? Gajeel, I hear that Levy is going rather well so far on her pregnancy! It's going to be a little girl, right?"
Makarov enjoyed the sight of Gajeel paling and the others laughing at the situation of being put on the spotlight. He missed that sight for a very long time.
.
.
.
=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE - Because Silver makes everything more emotional and I'm still pissed that he'S NOT AN IMPORTANT CHARACTER IN THE MANGA, LIKE WHAT THE FUCK. HE WOULD MAKE TONS OF DAD JOKES AND YEAH.