Chapter 11- Sleepover

Gray heaves a sigh, running a hand peevishly through his hair as he stands alone in the alley. Well, he hadn't been rejected per se, but he hadn't exactly been accepted either. While he is grateful to still be in the running, the uncertainty is killing him.

Is this how Juvia felt? Remorse burdens his conscience as he recalls the way he used to carefully avoid acknowledging her obvious affections. I guess this is what I deserve for being such an asshole.

Juvia had said she needed time to think and went for a walk to clear her head. Though it goes against common practice to allow a woman to venture in the streets alone at night, he knows Juvia is more than capable of taking care of herself. She is as strong as he is, both of them having been S-class candidates.

He turns to go back to the Honey Bone Lodge, but staggers to a halt when he reaches the street corner, nearly tripping over himself with surprise.

There, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, is one Lyon Bastia. He is settled comfortably with his arms crossed around his bare torso, giving the impression that he has been there for quite some time.

For a moment, Gray can do nothing but gape at his senior, trying to gauge just how long he has been there.

"I know I look good, but you really shouldn't stare like that if you want people to think you're straight." Lyon remarks with a flip of his hair.

That breaks Gray out of his stupor. "Has anyone ever told you how arrogant you are?"

"Has anyone ever told you how awkward you are?" Lyon counters. "Because you are very, very awkward."

Gray takes that as confirmation that Lyon has been there to overhear at least part of his nearly disastrous conversation with Juvia. "How long?" he asks, wanting to know just how much he heard.

Lyon's countenance darkens as he clenches his jaw. "Long enough," he replies, looking pointedly at Gray's slightly swollen lips.

A small twinge of guilt hits Gray at Lyon's covetous expression, but it is masked by the overwhelming shock pervading his mind. Lyon had been there since the kiss?! But if that was the case, then why…

"Why didn't you stop me?" he can't help but blurt.

Lyon's lips twist into a wry grin and he closes his eyes as if composing his thoughts. "Juvia deserves the best man possible," he says slowly. "I'd like to think that man is me, but I can't be sure if I run around sabotaging my competition now can I?"

Lyon sure is full of surprises today. Gray wouldn't have been able to stop himself if he was in Lyon's position. Heck, he couldn't even tolerate him kissing Juvia on the freaking forehead! He reluctantly admits his almost-brother is more mature than he gave him credit for. It isn't until now that he realizes Lyon truly isn't playing around.

"You're serious about her." Gray doesn't bother framing his sentence as a question.

"Of course."

"I am too."

"I know."

There is a tense silence filled with unsaid words as the two ice mages watch each other carefully, waiting for some kind of reaction.

Finally Gray huffs and slumps against the wall next to his silver counterpart. "So, now what?"

A small smile tugs at the corner of Lyon's lips as the tension dissolves. Though they are both pining for the same woman, he is glad that Gray has chosen not to let their situation make them enemies. "Now we let Juvia choose, and we respect whatever decision she makes."

Gray nods in agreement. If it were any other man, he would fight for her to the bitter end. But as much of a pain Lyon can be… he grudgingly concedes that his fellow ice mage would be a good match for her. He no longer has any doubt that Lyon would always treat Juvia the way she deserves. "If she chooses you," his heart clenches painfully at the thought. "I'll back off." Though I'll put up one hell of a fight to make sure she chooses me in the first place.

"I'll let her be with you as long as it makes her happy." Lyon allows.

A pause.

"Though what she sees in you is a mystery to me."

Gee, thanks Lyon. Same to you.

The older mage pushes himself off the wall with a soft grunt. "Let's go."

"What are we doing?" Gray asks, though his curiosity gets the best of him and he follows Lyon down the street anyway.

"The Grand Magic Tournament starts again tomorrow. I suspect Fairy Tail team A and B will have to merge since we now have an odd number of teams with Raven Tail disqualified. You better have Juvia's back if you end up together."

"I don't need you to tell me that," Gray smirks.

"Good," Lyon smirks back. "I'll teach you some tricks I've learned over the last seven years. Try to keep up!" He wordlessly creates an enormous crystalline owl and leaps on its back, pausing only to point at a distant hill before taking off into the night sky.

I guess that's how he found me so quickly. Show off. Gray forces ice from his feet and rockets toward Lyon's designated training area.

He'd never say it out loud, but his blood thrums with excitement to train with Lyon again after all these years.

Juvia cracks open the door to Honey Bone Lodge and tip toes around the sleeping figures of her comrades. It's hard not to step on any of them when they're sprawled out on the wooden floor, passed out from a combination of alcohol and strenuous partying.

"Finally back, eh, Juvia?" A rough voice resounds unexpectedly. Juvia startles and narrowly avoids treading on Max, who for some inexplicable reason is in a very compromising position with a broom.

"Gajeel-kun!" She faces her friend, who sits on the staircase looking incongruous with his surroundings due to his apparent sobriety.

Sensing her bewilderment, he explains. "The old man made an announcement while you were off with you ice cubes. Tournament starts again tomorrow, so participants aren't supposed to get too wasted." He points at Cana, who is draped over a barrel of beer and snoring loudly. "She's the only exception since she's always piss drunk."

Juvia suppresses a giggle. "Not always. Just most of the time."

"Same thing." Gajeel rolls his eyes. "Did you settle things with the strippers?"

"Not exactly…" Juvia blushes, words spilling out in a flustered mess. "Both of them like Juvia and Juvia likes them too, and she doesn't know what the right thing to do is, and she took a walk to try to figure it out but she only got herself more confused, and—" She halts when Gajeel raises a hand signaling her to stop.

"I don't do girl talk, you crazy rain woman." Though his words are harsh, his tone is not. "If you need to talk about sappy shit, go talk to a fucking girl."

"If you don't want to know, then don't ask!" Juvia recomposes herself and mocks offense, picking up a fork from the nearby table and throwing it at the iron dragon slayer.

He catches it, bends it in half, then shoves the whole thing in his mouth. "Id was a yesh or no queshion," he defends through a mouthful of metal.

"Fine," Juvia allows. Finally maneuvering her way to the staircase, she plops herself down next to her best friend and leans her head on his shoulder. "The answer is no."

He grunts noncommittally. "Oh well. But damn, you sure have a dirty mind."

"Eh?" The water mage raises her head from his shoulder.

"Both people you like just happen to be strippers. You got some sort of stripping fetish, or just want to see naked men all the time?"

Juvia elbows him in the ribs, though she knows it won't hurt him unless she puts some magic power behind it. Physical strength isn't her forte, especially against a man with iron skin.

"Ow. That fucking hurts. I think I'm going to die. Some friend you are," he deadpans.

She rises to her feet and messes his already scruffy hair. "Juvia thinks you'll live. She is going to get ready for bed now. We will need to be prepared for tomorrow's battle."

"Yeah." Gajeel gets up and walks up the stairs with her. They reach his room first and stop at the doorway. "I don't care about the sappy stuff but know this, Juvia." His crimson eyes bore seriously into her blue ones. "If either of them hurt you, I will beat the living shit out of them and make them eat it. Just say the word and I'm there."

"That won't be necessary, Gajeel-kun." Juvia smiles kindly, sensing the hidden affection behind his violent threat. "But thank you nonetheless."

Her friend shrugs his bulky shoulders, enters his room, and slams the door shut hard enough for the entire second floor to vibrate.

"Is it that difficult to close the door normally?" Panther Lily's muffled complaint seeps through the wall.

Juvia giggles and heads toward her room, but pauses when she hears a quiet, melodious humming. It is not completely in tune, but still manages to sound sweet and pleasant.

Lucy.

Guilt churns in Juvia's stomach and she finds herself standing in front of Lucy's door, hand raised to knock but unable to complete the action.

Lucy got hurt because of her incompetence. Although master Makarov assured her nobody blames her, she is still unable to forgive herself. A lump forms in her throat when she recalls the horrible thoughts from Bloom of Corruption. And now that she knows her fits of jealousy and accusations of Lucy trying to steal Gray were completely unwarranted, she feels even more shamefaced.

Juvia has been a horrible nakama to Lucy.

She closes her eyes, gulps nervously, and clenches her raised fist tighter. She needs to do this.

Knock.

The wooden sound resounds softly. A timid part of Juvia hopes Lucy won't answer.

"Coming!" A muted sing-song voice trickles through the cracks of the doorframe. Conflicting feelings of relief and trepidation rush through her.

Lucy opens the door before Juvia has a chance to compose herself, chocolate brown eyes widening with mild surprise.

"Juvia! I wasn't expecting you; I don't usually see you unless Gray's around."

The water mage hangs her head, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Ah, that's not to say you aren't welcome here!" Lucy quickly amends, smiling warmly in an attempt to comfort her friend. "Come on in. I'm happy to finally have a guest who knows how to knock before entering!"

This coaxes a ghost of a grin from Juvia, who pads through the doorway and follows Lucy to the living room couch, sitting stiffly beside her.

"Um, so do you want anything to drink?" Lucy tries to ease Juvia's awkward tension. "I can make some tea, or maybe some-"

"I'm sorry."

"Wh… what?" Lucy isn't sure if she heard correctly. What does Juvia have to apologize for?

"Juvia said she… I… I'm sorry." The rain woman bows her head in shame. "Lucy is always so kind to Juvia. And yet Juvia has been a bad nakama. She accuses you of stealing Gray, she gets jealous of you, and today… she almost let you die." Her voice trails off painfully.

Lucy's expression hardens. "Juvia."

The blue-haired woman flinches at her firm tone.

"Juvia, look at me." The celestial mage commands.

Juvia slowly raises her head but instead of the anger she expects, Lucy's countenance is a careful balance between stern and gentle.

"What happened with me and Minerva today is not your fault. I knew she was out of my league, but I still chose not to forfeit. That was my own decision, so don't you dare blame yourself. Understand?" She doesn't soften her gaze until Juvia nods her head hesitantly, like she wants to believe her but isn't quite sure if she should.

"Don't worry." The blond continues. "My injuries are almost completely healed now, see?" She gestures to the cast tucked under the coffee table. "Porlyusica took that off my leg a few hours ago. It had restorative runes written inside to speed up the healing process. Pretty neat, huh?"

Juvia deftly scrutinizes Lucy from head to toe, remembering all the wounds she had cleaned from her friend's body and seeing nothing but smooth skin in their place. She doesn't realize how heavy the burden on her conscience had been until it melts from her heart, pooling in her eyes before running down her face in rivulets.

"Aw, don't cry Juvia! I'm okay. Really." Lucy quickly pats her back to reassure her.

"B-but, Juvia is so relieved." The emotional woman sniffles through her tears, her voice taking on a high pitched whimper in her distress. "Juvia is so glad you don't hate her for everything she's done."

Lucy's gaze softens and she gently places a hand on the side of Juvia's head, drawing her close and pulling her friend's face against the crook between her neck and shoulder. She runs her hand soothingly through Juvia's waterfall of hair, feeling the heat of tears against her collarbone as they soak through her pink nightgown.

"You're too hard on yourself, Juvia. I don't like seeing you cry, but I'm really grateful to have a friend who cares so much about me. There's no way I could ever hate you."

The water mage hiccups a few times and nestles closer to Lucy much like a small child. Lucy fights down the urge to coddle her. Why am I getting all motherly? We're the same age, for goodness sake!

Juvia's tears ease to a stop, though she does not move away. "Lucy really is an amazing person."

Lucy smiles embarrassedly. "I'm flattered, but I'm really not as great as you think I am."

Sapphire eyes blink up disbelievingly at her.

"It's true! I… Even though I try not to show it, I can be kind of vain." The blond looks away bashfully. "I take a lot of time trying to look my best, even when it's not practical. I even run low on rent money sometimes because I just had to splurge on something pretty. And you should see my stash of beauty products at home. You'd be appalled!"

Juvia pulls away and sits upright, tilting her head thoughtfully. "That doesn't make you any less of a good person. Lyon says that even if you have flaws, you are still beautiful if you do your best to make the right decisions."

A sincere smile brightens Lucy's features. "That's a nice way of putting it. Thanks."

Blink. Wait a minute…

The sincere smile slowly transforms into a mischievous one. The glint in Lucy's brown eyes makes Juvia fidget nervously in her seat.

"So… Lyon, huh? Sounds like you two have gotten pretty close. Want to tell me about what happened while I was knocked out? Oh, and while you're at it tell me about what happened with Gray too. I've never seen him so jealous before!"

The blond cackles deviously and for the second time that night, Juvia wonders just what she has gotten herself into.

"Umm… it's a long story and we should probably be resting since the tournament is tomorrow." She offers evasively.

Lucy makes a tutting sound. "Tsk tsk, Juvia. That's what sleepovers are for!"

"Sleepover?" The water mage looks mildly perplexed.

"Yeah, haven't you ever been on one?"

"No." Juvia's gaze drops to the beige carpet. Her next sentence is so quiet Lucy nearly misses it. "Nobody used to like Juvia."

Nobody? Lucy's surprise melds into sorrow as she remembers the dark, lonely phantom woman Juvia had once been. That's right… There must be some kind of painful reason someone so innately caring had been forced to become that way. But that's in the past now, and Lucy is determined to make the best of the present.

Taking both of Juvia's pale hands in her own, she smiles happily. "I, Lucy Heartfillia, invite my wonderful nakama, Juvia Lockster, to the first of many sleepovers to come!"

The effect is instantaneous. Blue eyes dull with sadness light back up and sparkle with candid excitement. Juvia leaps from the couch and hops in place, shifting her weight between each foot. "Juvia heard that at sleepovers you're supposed to bring junk food! Juvia will go buy some right away. What does Lucy like to eat? Oh, and she will have to go get her pajamas and—what else are you supposed to bring to a sleepover?"

Lucy laughs heartily; Juvia's excitement is contagious. "It's late, let's save the junk food for next time. And I have a spare set of pajamas you can wear." She gets up and opens one of the hotel drawers, pulling out a short, lacy white night dress with spaghetti straps.

The water mage blanches, uncomfortable with the outfit's immodesty. "Um… Juvia can get her own pajamas. Her room is right down the hall."

"But I want to see you in something different! That's part of the fun in sleepovers, you know?"

"Really…?"

"Yes!" Lucy does her best puppy pout. "Please? It's just us two anyways!" She waves the ivory cloth encouragingly.

Juvia slumps her shoulders in defeat, takes the night gown, and retreats to the bathroom.

Victory! Lucy hops in bed as Juvia finishes changing and pats the spot next to her, pulling back the cozy red covers in invitation.

"That looks great on you! It's fine to be modest, but showing some skin once in a while isn't so bad, is it?"

The blue haired woman takes on a rosy hue, tugging the bottom of the gown in an effort to cover more leg. The motion reveals more cleavage as the cloth is pulled downward. Giving up, she dashes to the bed and huddles under the covers.

Well, I tried. Lucy sighs quietly to herself, considering Juvia's somewhat prudish fashion sense. But there is a much more interesting matter at hand, and she turns to lie on her side facing her friend.

"So… tell me about Gray and Lyon!" She demands, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Lucy is awfully interested." Juvia observes curiously, rolling over to meet her gaze.

"Of course! Girl talk is an essential part of any sleepover!"

Girl talk. Didn't Gajeel suggest, in his own crass way, that she should talk to a girl about her current predicament? Lucy has had many admirers. Surely she would have good advice on matters of love.

Hesitantly at first, then with growing confidence, Juvia tells her account of the day's happenings— Bloom of Corruption, Lyon's resuscitating kindness, letting go of Gray, Lyon's visit to Fairy Tail, Gray and Lyon's intimate moment (Lucy nearly falls off the bed in a fit of laughter), Gray's kiss and second confession, and her conflicting feelings for two ice mages.

"Well that's a complicated situation isn't it?" Lucy wipes away her remaining tears of mirth. Gray, I will never let you live this down. "Lyon sounds like a great guy, but you haven't known him very long. On the other hand, you've been chasing after Gray since the day you met him. But tonight's the first time he's returned your feelings."

"Juvia doesn't know what the right thing to do is…"

"With this kind of thing, I don't think there is a definite right or wrong. My mom always told me just to follow my heart, because it will always lead you to what's best for you." Lucy smiles nostalgically. "That's how I came to Fairy Tail."

Juvia wonders what it's like to have a loving mother. "What if your heart is divided?"

"Take your time. Get to know Lyon as a person, and get to know Gray's affectionate side. You shouldn't rush matters of love. Don't decide until your heart's ready."

"What if Gray or Lyon don't want to wait?"

"Someone who truly cares about you will wait for you. If one of them doesn't wait, then he isn't worth it."

The troubled woman closes her eyes for so long Lucy thinks she might have fallen asleep. Then her lips part in a whisper. "Thank you, Lucy. Juvia feels better now. She will be patient and follow her heart when it's ready."

The celestial mage smiles gently and flicks the light switches off. "You're welcome. No matter who you choose, I'll always support you."

A slender hand reaches for hers in the darkness. Their hands link and the two mages drift into a peaceful slumber.

As the night deepens, the shadow of a soundless silhouette obscures the faint moonlight filtering through the window. The bed is half hidden in shadow and half lit by the moon. Dark eyes focus on a lock of golden hair that peeks out from under the covers and catches the meager light. The silhouette cracks open the window and slips silently into the room.

A/N:

Hello everyone, it's been a long time! Thank you for your patience and sticking with this story even with my slow updates.

I am currently going through some very hard times. Writing this chapter was extremely difficult for me since my heart wasn't fully in it. But then I read all your reviews and I felt like I just had to do my best for you guys. I hope I was able to live up to your expectations.

Someone informed me that this story was nominated for "Best Fairy Tail Fanfictions of 2012" or something along those lines. I'm not quite sure what the details are, but I am honored that some of you find this story that great.

I rarely have time to sit at a computer nowadays, so I currently don't have time to reply to each individual review as I have done in the past (especially with your growing numbers! Not that I'm complaining, your reviews make me quite happy). However, I want you to know that I read every word of your feedback and truly appreciate your kindness. You all are wonderful, and you are what keep me writing. :D

January is almost over, but I hope you all had a fantastic new year's! May this year be full of joy for you!