"Did I not give you a pair of sweatpants?"
"They did not fit Juvia," she said with rosy cheeks.
He tried his best to not look at the curves that were visible over the hoodie.
"Oh."
Asking her to stay had been a good idea at the time, but now that he looked at her with her legs folded in front of her as she surfed the On-Demand movies available, he realized the night would be harder than anticipated.
He was thankful for the ridiculously large bed the room had. Settling as far away from her body, he quietly watched her eyes light up with laughter and horror at the movie. He usually liked watching Cabin In The Woods, but she was a more rare and entertaining sight.
"Are you usually this quiet?"
"Yes."
She rolled over onto her stomach, her body perpendicular to his. She looked up at him from where her hands propped her head up.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"I don't mind, you know."
He arched an eyebrow at her, now turning his face in her direction.
"What don't you mind exactly, Juvia?"
Her eyes held his for a moment. Her voice was now a bit less playful than before.
"The way you look at me."
"I imagine a girl like you would be used to it by now."
She gave him a half smile.
"You imagine wrong."
He took a deep breath to keep from becoming angry at Gray again. Juvia was gorgeous. Men would have definitely noticed, perhaps just not the one she payed attention to.
"This is nice."
Her voice was far away. Her eyes roamed the entire room and eventually roamed over him. He was afraid she would try to seduce him again when she began inching closer, but held his ground regardless.
"What is?"
He only watched as she took hold of his hand.
"How you don't pull away."
Her fingers locked with his and her eyes closed.
He watched her fall asleep on his bed feet away from him. His last thoughts before drifting off were of her voice. This is nice.
Rogue woke up with a dead arm. He opened his eyes and saw the water mage had taken his arm hostage as a cuddle buddy. Great, now what?
He decided to wait it out. Patience was not an issue.
He studied her as she slept, not really sure how the day would unfold.
He meant what he'd said the night before. It was easy to picture waking up everyday to the beautiful girl that was now next to him. However, he understood that she carried baggage. Not only had she been pinning for that other guy for years, she also wasn't in his guild. And while she clearly showed interest in him, he wasn't sure if her current behavior towards him would continue once they got to Fairy Tail, once Gray was back in the picture.
Of all the girls out there, it had to be the difficult one, didn't it?
He reached over and tucked some loose hairs behind her ear. She stirred slightly but didn't wake.
The clock on the night stand said it was midday. Not a morning person, huh?
Rogue didn't mind. Night was his thing anyways.
He closed his eyes for a second to survey the suite. Sting and Yukino were gone. No surprise there.
The black in his eyes hadn't faded when he opened them up and met Juvia's blue ones.
"That's interesting."
He blinked away the darkness, willing the white of his eyes to reappear.
"I'm sorry. Didn't realize you were awake."
"Can you close the curtains, please? It is way too bright in here."
She closed her eyes again and clutched his arm tighter.
Rogue quietly commanded a shadow to do what she asked, a bit surprised at her reaction.
"You aren't scared."
Most people freaked out when his eyes became black orbs.
"No reason to be..." she mumbled sleepily.
Just like that she went back to sleep.
Rogue felt a warmth spread through his core. He closed his eyes, a smile hanging on his lips, and went back to sleep.
Neither realized it then, but that was the moment in which Rogue Cheney fell in love with Juvia Lockster.
Sorry for taking so long to update this story. I know where I'm taking this and how it will end, but found myself rewriting these particular scenes over and over. Some versions were way longer but didn't feel right. The next chapter will be much longer and definitely sooner. Thanks for all your support!
-Sincerely, Scurtle.