XII: Juvia

Juvia hadn't been asleep for very long when Tante Erza's door opened and another lady draped in scarlet entered. Tante Erza sat up in bed, hair thick and messy ropes on her bare skin, and faced down her mother with sleepy indignation.

"What are you doing?"

Tante Eileen grabbed the blankets and twitched them back and took Juvia's hand. Juvia expected pain to follow but Tante Eileen was right, she'd never hit Juvia before, it wasn't really her thing. "I need Juvia."

"For what?"

"Entertainment."

"Mother, it's—" Tante Erza squinted at the bedside clock. "Too early."

Much, much too early. Juvia's head was a webby mess; she was so tired. Tante Eileen didn't care, though. "I recognize that but not everyone's business is nighttime pleasure and this can't wait."

"Who is here?"

Tante Eileen said, "Acnologia," and Erza's indignation smoothed for wariness. "Why?"

Tante Eileen's face pulled into a not real smile. "Business."

Erza started to get up. Tante Eileen held out her hand. "No need, I have it covered."

"But—"

"We'll talk about it afterwards."

Juvia's hand was pulled. She rose from Tante Erza's bed and was handed the pale blue robe she'd entered with early that morning. Juvia pulled it on but left the tie undone around her waist. She stole one last look back at Erza before Tante Eileen guided her out of the room and was given a reassuring look. Juvia relaxed some, trusting Erza to take care of her.

Tante Eileen brought Juvia to her own room and shut the door. "Take off the robe."

Juvia did as she was told. "Will I be singing?"

"No."

"Then—"

"I'm sending you home with Acnologia," Tante Eileen said.

"For the day?"

"For as long as he wants you there."

"What if he doesn't? Want me there, that is?"

"That's the job, Juvia. You're to make sure he does." Tante Eileen started prowling around, assessing Juvia with a skilled eye, taking in any scars she'd accumulated, jutting bones, and bruises, of which there was only one, on her backside where Erza had pressed her thumb in a little too hard that morning.

Tante Eileen nodded once, seemingly satisfied.

Someone rapped on the door. "Come."

Juvia remained facing forward with her chin held high when Gildarts entered with an article of clothing in a long, black zip-up bag. Tante Eileen pulled from its depths a thin white dress. It was soft-looking and immodest, deeply cut and flowy. She undid the back and held it out for Juvia and Juvia stepped into it. Gildarts supplied a pair of tall, grey boots, dropping them to the ground in front of her. Juvia stepped into those, too, while the back of her dress got zipped up.

Tante Eileen came to her front and looked at her, adjusting her hair around her shoulders and tugging the dress into the right spot. "There. What do you think, Gildarts?"

"Looks good," he said simply and leaned back against the wall where he took a cigarette from a pack in his pocket and sparked it up. Juvia watched him exhale. He offered her the pack; she shook her head. One vice was the most she could handle.

Tante Eileen waved her to the vanity and Juvia sat as primly as she was able. Every muscle felt a bit spongy and uncoordinated. Tante Eileen grabbed the makeup from the drawers and started applying it. Each stroke of her fingers was skilled; she'd done this more times than Juvia could count.

Her face was wiped with something to take away the bruises beneath her eyes and then multiple layers of foundation and concealer were added, and blush, and a swipe of mascara that made her eyelashes seem impossibly dark and long, and lastly, a coat of clear lip gloss. It was a lot of work to wear your makeup 'natural'. Especially when you'd had one too many sleepless nights.

"Don't look so stressed, kid. You'll be alright," Gildarts said.

His words didn't pacify Juvia. Acnologia had armadas of beautiful women waiting to dirty his sheets, it seemed unlikely that he'd want her.

Tante Eileen said, "I know you'll charm him with your tongue."

"Can I ask what this is about?"

"He will be coming here to make a business deal. It's only polite that we make an exchange," Gildarts said.

"Do you want me to spy?" Juvia asked.

Tante Eileen said, "Did I say that?"

"No."

"No," she confirmed, "And if you were smart, you wouldn't repeat that, either, Juvia. I've known Acnologia a long time and he's never been a patient or lenient man. Unlike some of us, he'd never tolerate a spy."

"Yes, Tante," Juvia intoned.

"Good." Tante Eileen made a large curl in the front of Juvia's hair.

Juvia met her eyes in the mirror. "Am I to do everything he asks?"

"He's a special customer," Tante Eileen said, "Everything within reason."

"Tante Erza was going to take me out later this afternoon—"

"She'll find another misfit to fill her bed with while you're gone, I'm sure," Tante Eileen said in such a way that made Juvia think she didn't approve of Erza's recent choice in partners.

Tante Eileen made one last large curl in Juvia's hair and then leaned back to admire her handiwork. "Perfect. Come." She took Juvia's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"What kind of man is he? Acnologia?"

"Not a very good one." Tante Eileen walked through the door Gildarts held for her. "Though I imagine he's a sight better than the trash you've been rolling with in the Stacks."

Juvia looked sideways at Gildarts, wondering if he did what Tante Eileen said he was going to and took care of the man with the van. Her mind travelled further. What did it take to kill and how was it that what he did was more acceptable than what Magnolia's resident poisoner was doing?

Juvia promptly left the ethics of it all behind; her moral compass's needle never pointed true north anyway.

Tante Eileen clopped down the stairs at a brisk pace and swung through the bar empty of everyone minus the daytime cleaner, and into her office. "Stand by the bookshelf there," she pointed behind a small settee she used for special company. "And you, Gildarts, will be behind me."

Juvia watched as she positioned him, not too far away from her plush chair in case anything happened but not close enough that Acnologia might guess that Gildarts warmed her bed. It used to be an infrequent thing, she thought, but Juvia had seen Gildarts slip into Tante Eileen's room more and more often lately. She told no one of her discovery; information was power and so was secrets.

Tante Eileen flopped back in her chair and plucked up a lock of red, red hair, twisting it thoughtfully in her fingers. "I don't think I should have to say, but anything you hear in this room today is strictly confidential."

"Yes, Tante," Juvia said.

"And Kyouka... you shouldn't talk about her. At all. She is my problem and I will retrieve her without Acnologia's aid." She looked very severe then, daring Juvia to argue. She would never.

"Of course, Tante."

Tante Eileen's lips pursed. "In fact, you probably shouldn't speak at all unless he asks something of you directly."

"Okay." Juvia looked at Tante Eileen's cough drop coloured necklace resting between her elevated breasts instead of meeting her eyes.

"He will likely offer you drugs when you return home with him," Tante Eileen said bluntly. "You won't have to take them, obviously, and I don't think he'll make you, but you should be prepared."

She knew, of course. Whatever Acnologia didn't make off legitimate businesses, he made from protection levies and drug sales. It was still nice to be warned. "Thank you."

"Good. Now stand up straight but try not to look stiff. Smile when he comes in. Acnologia appreciates eye contact, so don't be shy."

"Yes."

Tante Eileen sat back in her chair, seemingly satisfied, and pulled a ledger from her desk drawer. Juvia saw Somnium on the top but not much else from her position.

She listened to the Tante's pen scratch over the paper and to the clock tick, tick on the wall. Minutes passed. Gildarts opened a window and smoked a cigarette without asking, and Tante Eileen didn't scold him for it; another peculiarity. Juvia listened to the tobacco sizzle and pop, and Gildarts' exhale. Cold air was pushed in through the window and curled around her legs. Juvia shivered but it felt nice. It helped her wake up and get in the right mindset for this kind of work. She wasn't sure why Tante Eileen chose her, but she had and she was determined not to mess it up.

Tires crunched over the driveway and Gildarts folded his cigarette into an ashtray and closed the window, then undid the button in his jacket, giving himself easy access to the gun on his hip. Tante Eileen put her pen and paper away and folded her hands in front of her on the desk. Juvia adjusted her stance and fluffed her hair.

Moments passed where distantly, Juvia could hear Somnium's front door open and Angel's voice. Another followed hers, deep and resonating. Then footsteps. The office door was knocked on. Tante Eileen waited a moment, then breathed in deeply. "Enter."

Angel pushed open the door and Acnologia came through. He carried a cane with him today. The way he walked suggested that it was an accessory and not a necessity. He came to Tante Eileen, who stood, and took her hand. "Buongiorno, Tante."

"Good morning to you, too," Eileen said. Gildarts mimicked her.

Acnologia looked over his shoulder to Juvia. "Buongiorno," she mumbled because it seemed like the right thing to do, despite Tante Eileen's warning to remain silent.

Acnologia raised his eyebrow but said nothing else, returning his attention to Eileen. She took a teapot off the desk and offered it to him. Acnologia shook his head and sat on the settee in front of Juvia. "No, thank you."

Eileen lowered into her seat as well. "Thank you, Angel." Angel backed out without a word and closed the door. Tante Eileen said to Acnologia, "I was surprised to hear from Natsu that you wanted to meet."

"Were you?" Acnologia answered. "We've been friendly in the past."

"We've also been hostile."

"Yes. That's business, though, isn't it?"

"Yes."

They spoke more. Most of it petered off into the background, niceties and the like. Juvia's mind wandered. She tried to see herself beneath Acnologia's frame on his king-sized bed in his mansion surrounded by paraphernalia and luxury and just couldn't. He didn't seem like the kind of man that took his whores to bed. Or the kind of man to keep whores, really. He was an enigma. She didn't understand much about him other than he was somehow both cruel and fair and fast-acting. He tolerated no disloyalty amongst his people.

The door burst open, startling Juvia from her thoughts, and Erza came through. She'd taken the time to put on a grey long-sleeved shirt and tucked it into a pair of black slacks. "Sorry, I'm late." She threw herself down on the settee beside Acnologia. When all eyes turned to her, she smiled. "Continue."

Tante Eileen's mouth pressed flat. She did not want Erza in there, that much was obvious, but she was too proud to kick her out. "Right. As I was saying, you, and it seems everyone else now, are aware of my situation. I've had two of my warehouses burned to the ground, and now all of these murders on Somnium's front. I'm losing customers."

"We hate asking for help," Erza tagged on unnecessarily; whether the statement was made for her mother or Acnologia was unclear, though it was Acnologia that answered.

"When I first came to this city, I was proud and did not like to ask for help, either."

"I've been told by those I trust that that sometimes, it's a necessity," Tante Eileen looked back over her shoulder to Gildarts. He remained stone-faced, hands clasped in front of his shining Michael Jackson Dangerous World Tour belt buckle.

"Your advisers are wise, though unusual, I must say," Acnologia commented.

"Natsu, you mean?" Tante Eileen said. "I don't think it's unusual at all. He hates his brother."

"Because of the business with his fiancé," Acnologia said.

"I suppose. Now he's trying to find a place for himself. He's reached out to several people, as I understand."

"Love," Acnologia muttered. "Only it has the force to turn family on family."

"So what is your grand solution to our grand problem?" Erza butted in, no-nonsense and unfanciful, earning herself a glare from her mother that Acnologia either did not see or ignored.

Acnologia straightened and locked her gaze. "I offer what I offer all of my underlings. Protection."

"Underlings?"

"Should I have said business associates? Apologies," Acnologia said glibly. "Regardless what we call you, my offer remains the same."

"Protection at a premium price?" Erza said.

"Discount, for the lovely Tante Eileen."

"Free you mean," Tante Eileen said.

"Nothing is free," Acnologia denied.

"I've already paid." Tante Eileen lifted her finger, holding off whatever Acnologia was about to say. "You owe me and my daughter a debt after the Cardinal business."

"I gave her a way out, that debt is paid."

"You gave her a knife in a room full of gun-holding murderers."

"That was more than what she had before."

Juvia prepared herself for blood to spill, Tante Eileen was gripping her fingers together so damn tightly. Then she breathed in deeply, and, though the tension never fled from her shoulders, she seemed more in control. "Then how about this. I open up to you the docks on the west side of Fairy Lake and give to you my connections in Stella. You'll supply them with your product in exchange for the pull you have on the advertising side of things."

Acnologia drummed his fingers on his leg. "I would have thought you'd want more men protecting your business, that way you can preserve the customers you already have."

Tante Eileen glanced up at the ceiling while she considered his words. "Yes. Yes, you're right. I do need more people. I don't need them at Somnium, though. People think they need to see armed men loitering around to make them feel safe when they enter my establishment, but the truth is, their very presence will make people uneasy. Their thinking starts to change from I need more guns around me to feel safe to why am I at a place where I need guns to feel this way. They'll head to Daisy's or Black Glove or the Barrel."

"There are ways to fix that," Acnologia said. "Have the best of both worlds."

"Oh?"

"Take a page out of your arsonist's book," he said candidly.

Juvia suppressed her surprise. Erza, though, was not so good at it, asking heatedly, "And burn those places to the ground?"

"You'd have no competition, would you?"

"The media would go wild. Another war on prostitution, they'd say. The Cardinal striking from the grave. Another fucking cleansing."

"Of course, the goal wouldn't be to kill the whores," Acnologia rebutted.

"Then how do you suppose we carry this out, huh?" Erza asked.

"A bomb threat. Those places would be evacuated, and once they've been cleared," he brought his hands together in front of his eyes and pushed them apart dramatically like an explosion was held between his palms. "Boom."

"What about the police that go into that building?" Erza asked. "You know they're going to send in a bomb squad."

"Why do you worry about the police? They are a bacterium, a hundred more are waiting to take their place."

Juvia felt Erza bristle. She also felt Erza's anxiety. Whatever it was she had happening with her homicide detective, she was uncomfortable with it. Juvia understood. She didn't like being in love with Gray; Erza must have felt similarly.

"Did I insult you?" Acnologia asked; there was a facetious note to his voice. He was exactly aware of what he'd done.

Erza put herself together. "I just think something like this is careless. We're on good terms with the police now and—"

"If you call good terms them coming into your establishment whenever they see fit, tossing the place and leaving it in disarray," Acnologia said.

Eileen sat up straighter. "Other men wouldn't cut off a Tante."

"Other men don't own half of Magnolia," Acnologia said with that same glib tone. Eileen's fingers clenched tighter again. Juvia tensed. Acnologia said, "Will you be angry at me for speaking the truth?" He stood and came around the settee to Juvia's side and shifted his gaze between her and the map behind her. "Bellezza, do you know which part of the city your Tante controls?"

"Yes," Juvia said. Vaguely, anyway.

"Show us."

Juvia met Tante Eileen's eye before continuing. She didn't blink or move, perhaps afraid of ruining her poker face, though her fingers drummed in irritation. Juvia took her silence as a go ahead and touched the map's western waterfront, swooping her hand from the docks on the northwest side down, passing by the fringe of the upper-middle-class, to the hospitals and low-income housing and the fringe of the Stacks.

"Good. And which part does Zeref control?"

Juvia moved from the northeast quadrant, passing by rich cottage country, the highways out of the city, and one of the main ports to get to Alvarez.

"Excellent. Now, which do I own?"

"This." Juvia let her hand brush by the bottom of the map.

"And what's there?"

"Most of Magnolia's population," she stated.

"Yes. Most of Magnolia's population. Most of her businesses pay levies to me and those that don't aren't worth collecting from. Any hotel you pass, any bar, any bordello, any strip joint, any restaurant, any—"

"I get the picture," Tante Eileen said. "You're powerful. Good. You say you can keep us safe. Forgive me if I'm skeptical, though, because I am. Relying on others to keep us safe has been a mission in failure."

"You've never had anyone worthy of the task," Acnologia said smoothly.

Other women would have paused or smiled. Tante Eileen got annoyed. "The mayor was killed behind my bordello and I'm a little fucking peaky about it. I'm interested in results, not promises."

"Mayor Neekis' death was bad business," Acnologia agreed.

"The press has been coming around."

"It would be a good thing to suddenly have a friend in that line of business then, wouldn't it? You're reluctant to give over much, I understand. So maybe we could start out slow. I'll take care of that."

Tante Eileen stilled her fidgeting. "You can call them off?"

"I can do better than that. I can make the headlines read whatever I wish," Acnologia said. "If you let me help you."

"For a minimal fee."

"We can waive that today. Let me show you what kind of influence I have and if you are impressed, we will move forward and discuss terms."

Juvia knew that look in his eye. Acnologia was a greedy man and he would do whatever was necessary to impress her to gain her business. And it seemed Tante Eileen was allowing for it.

"That sounds acceptable. Will you allow me to show you our hospitality then, as well?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Bring my girl home with you and allow her to assist you?"

Erza's fingers cinched in her slacks. The displeased tell was subtle but it didn't escape Acnologia's notice. He'd been difficult to get an exact read on until then but he looked around and met Juvia's eyes and she knew. He didn't want whores, he didn't really care, but he wanted what was going to make the biggest impact on those he dealt with, and currently, that was a whore that spoke his native tongue.

"What is your name?"

"Juvia," she answered.

"Juvia, vuoi venire a casa con me?" he asked

"Si, signore," she replied similarily. His hard expression softened just a touch.

"Very well. I will take your girl and contact the media and we'll speak again shortly." He stood from the settee and offered Juvia his arm. She took it tentatively. Through the sleeve of his suit, she could feel his keloid scars, the ones he'd packed with ash again and again, then tattooed pale blue. It made him an exotic beauty.

She felt a little bit giddy walking out of Somnium with him, stopping only to grab her coat, and getting into the back of his sleek-looking car. Warm air blasted through the heating vents and fended off Winter's chill.

"Are you from the north?" Acnologia asked once the doors were closed and his driver started forward.

"My mother was, yes," Juvia said.

"Then how did you end up here?"

"She had me out of wedlock. Her family was ashamed. She left for Magnolia and married a foreigner. He never wanted a daughter, though, and when she died, I was on my own." When she put it like that, it was disturbing how similarly she'd followed in her mother's footsteps. The only difference was Gray had wanted to marry her; she hadn't wanted to marry him. Aria had someone stable, though. Gray was a good father, at least.

"Hm. You know, I lied to your Tante," Acnologia said.

Juvia met his eyes. They were beautiful, bottomless and grey and cold in the same way Gray's were, sometimes. She felt a tug low in her belly and wasn't sure if it was for the man before her or the one that hated her, living across town. "About?"

"There were times when I could have used the help of my colleagues. Hard times, you understand?"

"Yes."

"But I never accepted their help. I knew it would make me seem weak."

Juvia heard herself say, "Thinking Tante Eileen is weak would be a mistake."

"Which is what I thought, too. She does enjoy her games, doesn't she?"

She felt like she was being cornered but could find no way to deny him. "Yes."

"Is she playing a game now, Juvia?"

"Tante Eileen doesn't tell me much."

"No?"

"No. She doesn't like me very much," Juvia admitted.

"Yet you remain at Somnium?"

"Most places won't take a girl with dependencies."

"Cocaine?"

"Fentanyl." There was no sense lying; she felt like, despite the makeup, it was something that could clearly be seen.

"It's a fine line to tread." Acnologia almost sounded kind then.

"Yes."

"Tante Eileen generally doesn't tolerate girls with dependencies, either, you know," Acnologia mused. "So what is it that's so special about you?"

Juvia had no illusions, she was kept first because Tante Eileen didn't know what to do with her, and then later because she was a weapon against Kyouka.

And now after Kyouka is gone? She thought the Tante would have killed her that day if it wasn't for Erza's arrival and then the appearance of the two detectives. Tante Eileen had returned upstairs with Gildarts after the detectives left and she seemed calmer. Aloof and cold. This morning was the first time she'd spoken to Juvia since then.

"Is it Tante Erza?" Acnologia inquired.

"Pardon?"

"Is that why you remain? She seemed concerned for you this morning."

Juvia cleared her throat. "Yes. Likely. Tante Erza is…"

"Kinder than her mother."

"No." Just mean in different ways.

The car slowed and the inquisition ceased. Juvia looked out the window and monitored their ascent up a long, curling driveway. What waited at the top wasn't really what she'd expected, a small brick cabin, quaint and trimmed with forest green-coloured shutters, an A-frame roof, large windows through which Juvia could see a fire roaring in the hearth.

"This is where you live?"

"Sometimes."

Of course, he'd have more than one house.

The car rolled to a stop at the front walk. Juvia waited for Acnologia to get out and slid out his side. Wind grabbed the bottom of her coat and pushed it against her legs. Her toes were cold in no time. Her boots were tall but they were thin.

The door was silent on its hinges, opening into a home that smelled like leather and cigar smoke. The air was fire-dry and warm and Juvia breathed in deeply, relishing it. The cottage was decorated nicely, though it didn't really look lived in. There were no family photos or any mess of any kind.

To the right was the living room. A leather couch sat in front of a burnished wooden coffee table and in front of that was the hearth, and to the right was a rustic kitchen. Directly in front of them were stairs that led up to what Juvia assumed was bedrooms.

Acnologia's charm shifted once the doors were closed and they were alone. He moved in quick steps, taking off his jacket and holding his hand out for Juvia's as well, throwing them both over the back of a leather armchair.

"You have a lovely home."

"Yes."

Juvia chewed her cheek, wondering what she should say next. Her mind was blank. She started to take off her boots. Acnologia said, "Leave them."

"Okay."

"Drink?" It was early but he took a decanter of something golden brown off the wooden stand by the fireplace and two tumblers.

"Thank you." Juvia crossed the room and took the one he offered. When she swallowed it back, it burned unpleasantly all the way down her throat and into her empty stomach. Her mouth watered. She swallowed three times before the feeling passed.

Acnologia brought his drink to the couch and sat down on the centre cushion. "Does she expect you to spy on me?"

Juvia took another swallow before she answered. "I asked her that as well."

"And?"

"And, Tante Eileen said that you would kill me if I did. My only purpose here is to entertain you."

"And to speak to me in my native tongue. To soften my heart?"

"I'm not sure Tante Eileen is convinced that you have one to soften."

He quarter-smiled and sat forward to rummage through the coffee table's drawer. Juvia recognized the colour of gunmetal and tensed, thinking that this was it, this was how Tante Eileen deigned to get rid of her, but instead of coming out with the pistol, Acnologia brought out a light blue vial filled with white powder and a mirror. He worked efficiently, tapping out a modest line and crushing it up with a razor. It got snorted back without the aid of any glass straws. He offered some to Juvia, as well. She hesitated.

"It's awkward for both of us. Have some."

Juvia withheld her sigh and set her glass down.

It was different than fentanyl and not. It didn't make her head whirl as much. It made her body feel weightless but like it was still there. She loved it immediately. And knew if she let herself, she'd hate it, as well. Acnologia only gave her a small amount, though, and things almost seemed manageable.

Juvia sniffled; her throat was burning again. "Now what?"

Acnologia took her hand and pulled her in front of him. "Stand here. Take your dress off."

"Okay."

"And speak to me, but not in this tongue."

"And say what?"

"Anything."

He wasn't the first to request talk; sometimes, it eased the tension, sometimes, it ended up being ridiculous. Acnologia seemed to like to hear his mother tongue, though.

It had been a long time since Juvia had spoken the first language her mother had taught her but she fell into it with growing ease. When she got a word wrong, Acnologia repeated it correctly and she fixed her pronunciation. He stopped doing that so much once she'd gotten the sleeves of her dress off and her breasts were out. He quieted almost completely when the fabric was around Juvia's feet and she was free to turn for him, letting him look at her completely nude, save for her boots.

He did not touch her. Juvia had to initialize everything. There were times when she wondered if he wanted this at all. His eyes would cling to her breasts, though, or her hips, and he'd pulse in his pants and she'd be encouraged.

She took her time, leaning forward and undoing the tight weave in his hair. It smelled citrusy and was still damp. She undid his shirt. His chest was chiselled and full of more tattooed keloid scars. She touched one and whispered, "Bello." He gave no indication that he'd heard her. Juvia continued on her journey, undoing his pants and inching them down enough that he was still trapped in the fabric but it wouldn't take much to get him out.

She started with a kiss on his jaw and moved toward his mouth. He didn't turn from her so she thought it was okay to meet his lips. He kissed like he spoke, precisely and eloquently and slowly. He still didn't touch her. Juvia let his lips go to give him attention elsewhere.

His chest was much warmer than her lips. She could feel his heart through his skin, beating faster with cocaine in his veins. She counted the beats until she was beyond the point that she could feel it.

The hardwood floor under Juvia's knees was much cooler than the air. It helped her focus as she finally released Acnologia from his pants. He stood at attention and like his chest, this part of his body was much warmer than Juvia's lips. She put one closed-mouth kiss at the base, then took a condom out of the lining of her boot and put it on for him. He leaned back and his eyes closed.

"Keep speaking to me."

"Si," Juvia responded and began again between presses of her lips and flicks of her tongue. He took in a deep breath and finally began reacting, pushing up into her mouth in more and more exaggerated strokes the further it went on. His breathing changed and so did his demeanor. He moved suddenly. Juvia half-expected to hurt but he'd gone diving into the stand beside the couch and pulled out a wide variety of toys. He seemed most interested in the handcuffs and the dildo.

He snapped the cuffs on Juvia's wrists. She was nervous but hid it. No one liked to fuck a nervous whore.

Acnologia then lifted his hips off the couch and got all the way out of his pants. He spread his legs and handed her the dildo and she caught onto his meaning. She took it and made sure he was well-worked in before she began.


It was almost dark. Acnologia had gone upstairs to shower and hadn't come back down and Juvia didn't want to go looking for him just in case he wanted to be alone. She tried her phone. It was dead. A glance outside revealed an empty driveway and a landscape cast in an orange glow.

She wanted to go home. She was hungry and tired and starting to shake now that the drugs were out of her system. It wasn't fentanyl but it was still a bad idea.

Juvia dressed, pulling on her boots and coat lastly. She took one last look upstairs and thought she heard the rhythmic sounds of breathing and figured that he was asleep. The door opened just as quietly as it had earlier.

It was colder now. Juvia retreated into her hood and walked briskly. The cottage was out of the way of Magnolia's city core but it wasn't very far. She was looking at towering apartment buildings and gutter trash in ten minutes and getting frozen by cars whizzing by.

She avoided almost everyone's eye as she passed the Stacks. Some people catcalled to her from cars, others smoked cigarettes in silence, leaning up against degrading buildings. Some tried to sell her drugs. Their offers made a chasm of want open in her belly. She bit her cheek hard and went through all the reasons she shouldn't stop. The top of that list was a lack of money and if she handed out favours for a hit and Tante Eileen found out… she'd be out of a job faster than she could blink.

Still, though. The thought was tempting. She kept putting in little caveats. Like, Tante Eileen was likely so busy, she wouldn't know what Juvia was doing. She still thought Juvia was with Acnologia. She wouldn't have sex with anyone. She'd just show them some stuff, or get them off, or—

Juvia watched street names pass by. Jaquard, West Street, Middle Street, Moore, and lastly, Huntsman. She looked down that one, taking in the slumping houses and derelict buildings, and felt her heart palpitate double-fold. Huntsman was renowned for its dealers. And it was also the street named in the note left on Juvia's bed.

Though it hadn't been signed, Juvia was sure that it had been from Kyouka. Or almost sure. There had been no address on the note and the meeting day had come and gone but Juvia thought if she started down that road, Kyouka would be waiting for her. Would she want to punish her for not trying to set her free? Would she forgive her?

You should tell her to fuck off. Really. She should. She had Tante Erza now.

Her feet started moving. Houses passed. Juvia couldn't see into any of them, their windows were either covered in posters or flags or bedsheets. They all had things in common—driveways weren't shovelled, or the ones that were lacked stone or asphalt, only bare dirt beneath grey snow; rundown cars that hadn't moved for years hulked on lawns or by the sidewalk, porches sagged and siding was stained or, in some cases, missing.

She was nearly at the end of the street when she felt very strongly that she was being watched. The sensation made her skin crawl. She addressed the houses on the left and right side of the street and focused on a small white stucco house. A set of black drapes twitched aside. Someone had been watching her. Then the front door swung open in invitation. The space beyond was dark black, a maw waiting to swallow her whole.

Juvia squinted, trying to see if anyone waited in the shadows but couldn't tell from where she stood.

So go over.

Feeling possessed, Juvia started to cross the street and almost got run down by a black Sierra. The truck stopped completely. Juvia glanced back at the house. The curtains lay flat; the door was closed.

The moment was gone.

Juvia opened the truck's door and got in, promptly asking, "Are you stalking me?"

"I'm looking for dealers in the Stacks," Gray said.

"If you're trying to be clever in using your own vehicle, everyone here knows who you are and everything you drive."

He didn't have much to say on the matter. That was fine, Juvia knew the truth. He wasn't looking for dealers, he was looking for her. "I'm not coming home with you again." She would if he asked.

"I didn't want you to." And other lies he told her.

"Then what are you doing out here?"

"Wondering what you're doing out here," he said.

"I'm walking home."

"Huntsman's kind of out of the way, isn't it?"

"I'm not looking for drugs," Juvia lied.

"Then what?"

"Someone left me a note in my room," she blurted, "Telling me to meet them here."

Gray's attention sharpened. "When?"

"A couple days ago."

"Who?"

"They didn't sign their name," Juvia said.

"Did you report it?"

Suddenly, she felt foolish for having said anything. "No."

"There's someone murdering people and you didn't fucking think that was worth mentioning?"

"They're murdering men," Juvia stated. "Besides, I already know it's Kyouka leaving me notes. It has to be."

"Juvia—"

"You're going to tell me that she's dead and I'm going to tell you that you're wrong. She was locked up in Tante Eileen's basement until a couple days ago and now she's out and probably wants to kill me," Juvia said with a small, hysterical laugh. "You can't say anything. She'll kill me."

Gray looked at her sadly. "Were you using again today?"

"Fuck off."

"So yes."

Juvia threw open the passenger's door and got out. She slammed it as hard as she could and started on her journey again with renewed vigor. Gray didn't go zipping past her as she thought, he lingered, creeping down the street behind her in that frustrating way he had. She took back alleys to try to lose him but every time she re-emerged, he was there, waiting for her as if he expected her to get back in. If she had a rock, she'd throw it at his windshield.

Somnium came out of the dark. It was only when she was stepping in through its front door that Gray sped off again.

There were a few people having dinner and listening to music pour out of the speakers. It was still early but the place seemed emptier than usual. Juvia was reaching for the stairs when Angel stepped out in front of her.

"Tante Eileen's waiting for you in her room."

Juvia's stomach plummeted. "Okay."

She readjusted her heading and made for the room Tante Eileen called her own. Two knocks on the door and it was opened. Tante Eileen waited in a red robe and not much else.

She was abrupt and to the point. "Did you fuck him?"

"Yes," Juvia said.

Tante Eileen opened the door, showing Gildarts waiting shirtless on the bed. "Come. Show me what he liked."

"But—"

"All of it. Beginning to end," Tante Eileen said briskly.

Sleep would again have to wait.