Someone was knocking at my front door. It was very delicate and gentle, however my ears picked it up and I moaned softly, rising from my bed and pulled on a shirt over my underwear to drift out to the front room where I stifled a yawn, ignoring the fact that my hair was rather messy and I was still practically half asleep.
Reaching out I opened the door and rubbed my eyes more awake to see Juvia standing there. "My apologies for awakening you so early, but my situation is dire and I am in desperate need of your assistance." Juvia rushed, face red in panic as she quickly gripped my hands.
"Juvia! What has happened? Are you alright?" I asked, my mind immediately thinking that someone had got hurt or there was a serious problem back at the guild. I hope everyone is alright.
"Juvia needs to go shopping for a new dress!" She suddenly yelled before clamping her hands down over her mouth, startling herself as I just stared at her. "Um…my darling Gray has finally asked me to join him on a date and I wish to look my best, but I simply cannot decide on my outfit so I thought receiving advice from someone who always looks so very beautiful like you would be a good idea…" She mumbled, wriggling nervously as I continued to stare before finally relaxing, clutching my beating heart.
"Oh Juvia, I thought someone had been hurt! You gave me a fright." I exhaled with relief, smiling as I took her hand and pulled her inside. "Please come in! I'll bring you something to drink and eat, we must have plenty of energy if we are to shop through this entire city for the perfect outfit for you." Turning around I directed Juvia towards the sofa, however when she gave a sharp squeak and hid her blushing face in her hands, I frowned slightly in confusion. "Juvia? Whatever is the matter?"
"L-L-L-L-L…" She stumbled, slowly pointing a trembling hand towards my couch where I looked. Immediately I gave a cry of alarm, seeing the massive form of Laxus still sleeping there, completely passed out. "My apologies! I interrupted you, please forgive me!" She made to bow but I quickly caught her shoulders, stopping her.
"No, no, no, no Juvia! You misunderstand, we didn't…I wouldn't…we were just talking and he fell asleep." I explained to her, blushing beetroot red as I touched a hand to my mouth, wholly embarrassed at the situation. Quickly I looked around, wandering what to do but then Laxus started to wake up, groaning and opening his eyes to sit up, rubbing his forehead as I froze in place, staring in horror as he stopped then looked towards us.
Instantly his eyes widened as I became painfully aware that I was only wearing a shirt and my panties, meaning he could see the entirety of my legs. "Don't look at me!" I practically shrieked, diving behind Juvia and Laxus quickly slapped a hand over his eyes.
"I didn't look!" He protested before frowning. "Where am I? How come I'm on your couch?"
"You…you fell asleep whilst we were talking last night." I answered, my throat thick and dry as I cowered behind Juvia before I thought to use some magic to dress myself. I snapped my fingers and changed my clothes into soft black leggings and a white cotton babydoll shirt with short sleeves. "I, uh, moved you to the sofa so that you would be more comfortable. Please forgive me." Now dressed I stepped out from behind Juvia and bowed my head low, cheeks still warm from embarrassment.
"It's alright." He said, standing up and cracking his neck. "I'll leave now. Thank you for your hospitality." Walking with a strong pride towards the door I watched him leave, a little overwhelmed by the rush of humiliation, however once he was gone I was able to relax. I hope to never relive a situation like that again. Juvia was still blushing, looking between me and the door where Laxus had just gone so I took her hand and smiled.
"So, do you prefer tea or juice?" I questioned, trying to move the situation on. I decided to stick with my clothes, pulling on some shoes also and grabbed a bag so that I could hold my keys and money. Juvia ate some jam scones with me for breakfast before we set off into town together. "So where are you going? Tell me everything Juvia." I said as I looped her arm through mine and walked her to the nearest boutique.
"Well, my darling Gray said that I could choose anywhere I liked, so I simply must make reservations at the best restaurant in the entire city and then I must plan a list of things we will do throughout the day…I can hardly contain myself with all this excitement!" She breezed, wriggling and jumping up and down on the spot and I smiled at her anticipation.
"In that case, after we've looked through every rail in this shop I suggest we go make those reservations. Is there anything else you'd like to do so we can plan ahead?" I asked and almost instantly Juvia launched into a monologue of how exactly everything was going to go. She was going to cook Gray a five course breakfast before they'd go out into town for sightseeing, then they'd have lunch at the most romantic café, then do some shopping to buy gifts for one another then they'd eat in the evening at the restaurant before Juvia then said they'd go on a moonlight boat trip where they'd speak of their futures together and plan their wedding, design their own house and decide how many children they were going to have.
"Oh it will be perfect, everything must go according to plan!" She gushed, hand resting over her heart as she also gripped onto me rather tightly. "Do you think it too much? Would my darling Gray approve? What if he does not like anything on the menu at any of the restaurants, oh I could not bear to think of my beloved Gray going hungry!" Juvia fussed as we reached the boutique so I stopped outside and took her hands, making her look at me as I smiled with kind eyes.
"Juvia, so long as you are doing things that make both of you happy, then there will not be any problems." I informed her and she blinked, listening to my words carefully. "Perhaps maybe not start so early in the morning and ask what he would like to do with you. If he says that he does not mind, then stick to the plan that you just told me, only don't worry about the morning. Use that to make yourself look as beautiful as can be. It's important to leave plenty of time before a date so that you can prepare yourself properly." I said, reaching out and pushing back a lock of her beautiful wavy hair. Juvia had become so beautiful over the years, she really was lovely. Like a water flower.
"You give such excellent advice, Fae. Tell me, have you gone on many dates? What other advice can you give me? Please, teach me everything!" She pleaded, gripping onto me tightly and I chuckled, removing her hands and held onto them so that she was calm.
"I've only been on one date in my entire life, however it was more than perfect." I informed her, smiling as I recalled my one date with Loke. "But I have had experience from hearing about Levy's dates with Gajeel and how Bisca started dating Alzack. I'll give you any advice I can, Juvia, but the most important thing is to enjoy yourself." Turning I opened the door and stepped inside. "Now, shall we find you a dress?" Juvia nodded her head and hurried after me. We went through the entirety of the shop but found nothing, so I encouraged Juvia not to despair and that we had plenty of time so we went to the harbour and reserved a table for her and Gray before continuing on.
"What if something goes wrong? Perhaps our reservation gets lost? Or someone attacks us? Say I lose my purse and Gray did not remember his, what should we do then? What if the city collapses or the boats are all gone? What if the sky falls apart?!" Juvia worried so I pulled her arm through mine and patted her hand as we walked down the street.
"You'd be together with the man you love most in the entire world, Juvia. If something bad were to happen, would that be so terrible so long as you're together?" I reasoned and she stared at me for a moment before relaxing, a soft smile touching her lips.
"No, it wouldn't." She agreed. We stopped at midday to go to a café where I had an ice cream sundae and Juvia sipped a cup of tea with a teacake, the two of us happily conversing together. "I have always admired you so greatly, Fae." She admitted to me and I looked up with surprise.
"How so Juvia?" I asked her and she smiled at me friendlily.
"Well, you are always so sure of yourself and you are so graceful in all your acts and deeds. You love everyone, no matter who they are and are always so kind. You remind me greatly of Mirajane." She explained to me. "Yet you are much more passionate, in my opinion. Therein lies my admiration for you. When you choose to use your power, you always use it as a means to protect us. During the battle against Alvarez, I do not believe I have ever seen anything more terrifying than you as when you fought." She blushed slightly. "Forgive me if I was forward, I do not mean to offend…" I waved my hand, smiling at her.
"You are so polite, Juvia, I've always liked that about you." I said and she jumped slightly, eyes widening at my unexpected statement.
"Really?"
"Of course, right from the very start I've always seen you as sweet and compassionate. You are loyal to your friends, a quality I admire in any person." Taking another bite of my sundae I thought carefully, cleaning my spoon before I leaned against my hand, inky black hair spilling over my shoulder. "However what I've always respected most about you was your unwavering love to Gray. Your affections never shifted for any reason and your absolute faith in him never wavered. It is difficult for such feelings to be found these days, however when I see you I cannot help but wish my emotions could be even just a fraction as powerful as yours. Your power stems from your love of people, friends and loved ones." Juvia continued to stare at me, eyes watering with emotion. "Juvia, you are a wonderful person. I understand that in the past people would leave you alone because your presence brought a permanent rain, however if it meant I could stand next to you, then I'd gladly withstand any and all weathers."
Her hand slowly rose to her lips, tears beginning to slide down her cheek so I leaned across and dabbed them away with a napkin, smiling affectionately at her. "I hope we can be closer friends from now on, I should very much like that Juvia."
"Friends…yes, yes of course." She nodded, sniffing and quickly drying her eyes. "I should very much like that too." We beamed at one another before finishing our treats, glowing in one another's company before we moved on to our next shop. We trawled through every street throughout the city but still found nothing that Juvia deemed perfect enough. The closest we got was a purple dress with a low neckline and a mermaid tail skirt, however Juvia did not like the colour and thought it was a little too flashy for her date. "Oh it is hopeless…I will find nothing at this rate…"
"Do not worry Juvia, there's still more shops we can look at and if not, then I am sure we can make your perfect dress. I will not rest until you are absolutely satisfied so chin up!" I cheered, giving her a quick embrace before taking her hand and starting to run towards the next dress shop we had on a list that Juvia had very cleverly constructed so that no shop may be left untouched. Still we found no luck and we were now facing the very last shop on the list.
"This is it. The last one." Juvia said, taking a deep breath. She looked a little nervous so I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, reaching out and holding the door open for her to enter. We split up and I searched through the rails, scanning each dress but saw nothing that caught my eye or fit the description that Juvia had given me, so I sighed and glanced around the shop.
A flash of blue caught my eyes so I quickly looked back, searching for it again and once I had it within eyesight, I moved towards it. It was a beautiful shade of blue, like clear water or glass and as I lifted it off the rack the silk rustled prettily. I glanced it over and instantly my heart gave a hopeful lift so I turned around and showed it to Juvia. "Juvia, how about this?" Her head lifted and when her eyes saw it, she dropped every dress she held and rushed over.
"Oh! This is beautiful!" She breathed, lifting the silk fabric in her hands. "I simply must try this on, it is exactly what I imagined!" Juvia hurriedly took it from me and dashed into the changing room, making me chuckle as I went and collected up all the dresses she had dropped and returned them onto the hangers. Once this was done, I went and waited for Juvia to emerge, daydreaming contentedly until the curtain was pulled back.
Juvia stepped out, wearing the beautiful gown of blue, the fabric rustling with each movement. It had a plunging neckline, revealing her womanly shape and it shaped her flawlessly. There was a long slit up the side but the fabric gathered towards her hip, creating a fashionable wrap around effect as the rest of the fabric dropped towards her ankles. She smiled and struck a pose, turning a circle to reveal the equally plunging back. "What do you think?" She questioned and I frowned, scrutinising it closely.
"I don't know…I feel like something is…missing." I said slowly and Juvia blinked.
"Like what?" Thinking for a moment I smiled before lifting my hands, wriggling my fingers before my forearms glowed. The light intensified and wrapped around me, until I was standing as a winged angel of ice, though I kept my wings at bay as not to knock anything over.
"Just hold still." I said, eyes focusing as I smirked slightly to myself. Sucking in a deep breath I pushed my hands forwards, using my thumbs and forefingers as a guide before exhaling a breath of ice, showering it over Juvia and she squeaked at the touch of cold but then quickly adjusted, watching in fascination as I altered the dress ever so slightly. Once I was finished my clothes returned to normal and I folded my head, giving a nod of approval. "There, much better." I said, smiling as Juvia gasped in wonder.
Her dress sparkled softly with the frost, shimmering prettily as larger stones of ice decorated waist in a belt of diamond like ice, perfectly formed with the decoration angling down towards the slit of her leg, a slim hem of the crystals following downwards with the shape before gradually becoming smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the hem. The shopkeeper, who had until now been uninterested and paid us no attention, was suddenly staring wide eyed as Juvia gave a twirl, dress glittering. "It's so beautiful and absolutely perfect!" She breathed in awe. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"
"You're welcome. Don't worry about the ice melting, it won't." I assured her and her smile widened. "After all, that's the beauty of magic. It's a nice touch, I think. I'm sure Gray will approve." Juvia squealed, overjoyed as she twirled one last time before returning to change into her own clothes. The shop keeper stared at us as we paid, unable to believe their eyes and for a while I almost wondered if they'd never seen magic before, but then I realised I had revealed a rather ethereal angel form to them and I was certain they'd not seen anything like that before.
Juvia glowed happily as I escorted her back to her room in Fairy Hills. The other girls were waiting for her and immediately asked to see the dress. I watched, content to stand back and watch from a distance as Juvia showed off her new dress, everyone aweing over it as she beamed from ear to ear. "You did a good job." Erza complimented as she came to stand beside me. I smiled at her in greeting, noticing that she was wearing perfume, something she never used to do.
"It was my pleasure. Please, if you ever need help shopping for a dress for when you and Jellal start to date, be sure to knock on my door." I said teasingly and Erza instantly balked, blushing as she looked at me in alarm.
"D-Date? What do you mean? Jellal and I…are just friends…" She started but I merely placed my hand on her shoulder and leaned into her ear, lowering my voice to a whisper so that only she could hear me.
"You've waited this long, why wait any longer? Seize your chance for true happiness, Erza, you have my support all the way." She blushed heavily, making me chuckle again as I turned and left them to themselves, exhaling softly as I turned towards the ocean. I haven't walked along the beach in a long while, I think it would be a pleasant idea to take a stroll.
Taking off my shoes I paused, snapping my fingers to change into a bathing suit and beach skirt then headed down to the beach. I walked barefoot along the sand, the surf brushing at my toes as I enjoyed the sensation of walking on the sand before finally I abandoned my shoes, bag and skirt to head into the ocean. I walked until I had to swim, going a little out of my depth so that when I turned on my back and floated, I could bask in the sensation of weightlessness.
I adored flying and the sensation of freedom it brought, however floating on this vast ocean brought a whole new meaning to tranquillity as I lay there, running the water through my fingers. This was perfect, so peaceful and quiet with only the sound of the ocean waves to accompany me, it's almost too…
"Watch out below!" I gasped, startled as someone suddenly crashed into the ocean, sending a wave of water over me and I quickly started to beat the water, floating upright as Natsu suddenly appeared, grinning at me toothily. "Hey Fae, saw you swimming and thought we'd all join ya!" He said brightly and I blinked before turning towards the shore where all the girls from Fairy Hills as well as Lucy came running into the ocean, Gray, Happy, Lily, Gajeel and some of the other guys also in tow. "Water fight!" Natsu yelled with a roar, flames shooting out from his mouth as he started to splash me.
"N-Natsu!" I gasped, awakening from my shock before I started to laugh, splashing him back as everyone else came to join us. Erza took the water fight a little too seriously, equipping her armour and striking the water with one of her strongest weapons, sending a rushing wave over us all but we all came back up laughing.
It had been such a long time since I'd been like this with everyone, it was incredibly refreshing and I felt much younger, almost as if I were a teenager again. Lucy, Wendy and I held hands, swimming together as Carla floated on a rather pretty inflatable chair, relaxing with a drink, Happy serving her like a personal waiter. Gajeel gave a loud and rather wild laugh, lifting Levy high up into the air from the water as she squeaked in alarm, arms and legs flailing but Natsu then tackled him around the middle, sending the both of them down and Levy went flying however Juvia and I caught her, Juvia using the water to form a cushion like slide which allowed her to slide back down towards the ocean and I waited at the bottom, helping to support her as she caught her breath.
"Gajeel you big dummy!" Levy yelled at him though Lucy and I laughed, Juvia smiling also as she drifted in her watery body, joining us also. It felt so good to spend time with everyone just like we used to. With everything that had happened after the seven year gap, we never seemed to be able to have a moment to catch our breath, so moments like this instantly became precious treasures of mine, and I hadn't smiled so freely in such a long time.
As we played and frolicked in the sea and sand, I found my youth returning to me, giggling and allowing my maturity to slip away from me as I joined everyone in all kinds of competitions, from sandcastles to volleyball. I tell you, playing volleyball with people like Natsu, Erza and Gray was detrimental to the health. Still, it was all in good fun and I had the greatest time of my life.
The greatest fun I'd have in a long time to come.
