Christmas Prompt: December 20th
Prompt: Family
Pairing/s: BroTP GajeelJuvia and if you squint Gajevy and Gruvia
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Christmas time, a Christmas tree
With a happy family
Pity him, he's got no pop
He's a lonely pup in a Christmas shop

(Lonely pup (in a Christmas shop~ Adam Faith)

Juvia looked around. Every one was glowing with Christmas preparations, but she felt nostalgic. Sitting on a bar stool in a navy blue dress, she felt out of place. Every one had their duty for the day. Had that special duty since their child hoods. Even Lucy, who only had joined Fairy Tail only a couple of months before Juvia, helped to hang the colourful decorations.

And Juvia wanted to help. She just did not know how. She never had had a real Christmas with pretty decorations, mistletoes, mulled wine and carols. She looked over to Gajeel, who looked just as out-of-place as she felt. Juvia looked down to her hands.

"Hey Ju-chan, what's wrong?", Levy asked her and Juvia looked up. Levy and Lucy must have seen her. Juvia did not know what to say. She was sure they were judging her because she was not helping. Juvia felt her face heating up, she was blushing out of embarrassment.

"It's nothing.", Juvia responded, not meeting either Levy's nor Lucy's eyes. "Oh come on, Juvia you can talk to us about it.", the blonde smiled kindly and Juvia looked at her love-rival and chewed her lip. "It's ridiculous.", she answered and Lucy and Levy exchanged a gaze. "If you don't wanna say it's okay, Ju-chan. But if you need someone to talk to you know where to find us." Juvia nodded shortly and the two went back to hanging decorations.

"Why didn ya tell 'em?", a deep voice Juvia knew all too well murmured into her right ear and she did not need to turn her head to see the iron dragon slayer had moved to the bar. "Juvia wasn't- Juvia didn't-... Oh Gajeel-kun, Juvia just doesn't know what's wrong with her." The dark haired male sighed next to her.

"You're not used to it, are ya? You dunno what to do. But you're too proud to ask.", he analysed and Juvia nodded. "Juvia's never had a -", she broke off searching for the right word. "Proper Christmas?", Gajeel offered and Juvia shook her head. It was true she never had a real, proper Christmas, but that was not why she felt so down.

In the orphanage she grew up in, the adults had always tried their best to cheer those up who had not been adopted shortly before Christmas. When Juvia grew up she often thought children, like herself, were pets kept by adults who could afford it. To her it explained why so many couples came around Christmas to adopt a child, just like she had read it happened to puppies and kittens and bunnies.

But she was never chosen. No one wanted her. With ten she was four years older than all the other kids. She packed her things and ran away. She had discovered her magic abilities early, understanding them with six. She would survive somehow. Maybe she could find a guild. They would surely want her. It could only get better. At least that was what she had thought back then.

Whatever guild she went to, the guilds did not want her. Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, Quatro Cerberus... She was just on her way to travel to Magnolia for a guild named Fairy Tail when she met Gajeel. He was in the train, looking oddly pale and mumbled Oshibana. Juvia, choosing to be brave to talk to the grumpy looking child, asked him if he had wanted to get out at Oshibana station. The male nodded and she pulled him up and out at the Onibus station.

She had explained to him that he had missed his station. "You dumbass, now your train ticket's not valid any more." He had yelled at her when she explained she was travelling to Magnolia. He had then grumbled that he would walk with her to Magnolia, since it was partly his fault. The problem was: neither had a particularly good sense of direction. So they got lost.

Three and a half years later, they finally had found a guild. Gajeel had said to her that it would not matter much if it was Fairy Tail or another guild. If they did not want them they could still ask for the way to Fairy Tail.

The guild wanted them. Someone wanted her. She decided she wanted to stay in Phantom Lord forever.

Christmases in Phantom Lord were celebrated differently. It was just a day to get drunk for the Phantom Lord mages, who were almost only men. Jose had once explained to her that he had not much liking for female mages because they tended to be led by their emotions, had to take a break from missions or stop from guild work completely because they had a child. Adding to this, Gajeel had told her later that evening, Jose seemed to be attracted to males.

At her first Christmas, she had just turned fourteen, she was allowed to taste her first drop of alcohol and hated it. She hated the sharpness of the booze that went down her throat, hated the bitter taste of it on her tongue. She was sent to her room at 10 pm though. Which she did not think was fair because Totomaru and Gajeel were only two years older than her. However, knowing how much it would hurt to refuse the order, she went up to her room.

Half an hour later she had opened the door for Gajeel and Totomaru. The iron dragon slayer looked darker than usual and the other had a bright red face. They had told her that the party downstairs had split up. One part was enjoying some female strippers and the other part enjoyed male strippers. Juvia was suddenly glad she had been sent upstairs. A shudder had gone down her spine.

The next couple of years Juvia had always wondered what the big deal was about Christmas. It was just another occasion to get drunk. Not that she was one to judge about the drinking. As long as she was allowed to stay downstairs with Gajeel, who never wanted to stay downstairs after 10pm, the two would drink as much as she could. She had become a bit of a drinker, something that only Gajeel knew about her.

Her last Christmas in Phantom Lord had taken place a week after Bora had broken up with her. It was her first black out. And Gajeel's first black out as well. She would forever remember the shame of waking up, with nothing of fractures of the last night. She had lost her virginity in a drunken night with her best friend. At least she could not remember the pain.

Juvia did not even know if he remembered, or knew what had happened that Christmas because she had stolen out of his bed and had returned to her room. They had never talked about it. Pretended nothing happened.

And then there was the war with Fairy Tail. So much that happened. In such a short amount of time, she again did not belong anywhere, again she and Gajeel were alone travelling around. Again Juvia had the same goal. Join Fairy Tail.

Gajeel and Juvia had a huge fight after which, for the first time since she had seen the sun, she had made it rain. They had fought about Juvia being foolish for wanting to join Fairy Tail. They would not want them, they were responsible for the destruction of their guild, they were responsible for Lucy's and team Shadow Gear's wounds, they were responsible for almost killing their master.

Juvia had always had faith in Fairy Tail. As a kid, searching for the guild and as a 17 year old. They would forgive them. They would accept them. They would want them. She needed them to want her. Otherwise she would break. She wanted nothing more than a family.

A family

That was it. Gajeel almost spilled his drink when Juvia jumped in her seat. "What the fuck rain woman?! " "Gajeel-kun! Juvia knows! Juvia knows what's wrong. This is the first good Christmas Juvia is going to have -" she was about to go on when Gajeel blushed and Juvia looked at him horrified. "Juvia thought Gajeel-kun didn't remember what happened last year." Her face turned as red as Erza's hair. "Don't bring it up, please. I tried my hardest to forget what happened last year."

"What happened last year?" Now it was time for both of them to jump. Levy had decided to take a break and Gray was also looking at them obviously interested. "Something really embarrassing when we were drunk. Thank god we went to our rooms right after wards." Juvia lied quickly and Gajeel looked at her in wonder. The woman would not tell them anything. He hoped. He had thought it was an unspoken promise between them to forget the night.

"Juvia and Gajeel had lost a bet about Jose's sexuality and had to walk around the guild in underwear. That was so embarrassing." "But whatever, when we kicked the fire ass' ass the next day it was worth it." "Yeah Juvia had never seen Totomaru-kun beg for mercy.", the bluenette giggled. They had done that for a bet. Apparently Jose was not gay but bi. And they really had kicked Totomaru's ass the next day. Juvia was glad she was able to tell that white lie to her friends, even though it did not feel particularly good to lie to her friends. But Levy and Gray were not supposed to know.

"Juvia you look much brighter.", Levy noted and Juvia nodded. "Earlier when Lucy and you came over to talk to Juvia she was in thoughts. Something was bothering her. But she knows what was wrong. And she feels better because, as Juvia was just about to tell Gajeel-kun, before he brought up last Christmas, this is Juvia's first, real Christmas in a real family.", she beamed.

It had taken her 17 years to find her family. And now that she had it she wanted to help. Pulling Gray aside she told him she needed his help with decorating. And together they made it snow outside. So Juvia's first Christmas really could be a perfect white Christmas.

I am writing an awful lot about Juvia in the past chapters haven't I? Oh whatever she's my princess anyway. I can write as much about her as I want. And let's face it Juvia's awesome. *Hides from the questions about the Gajeel Juvia thing*

~Liliana-chan