Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So I actually managed to get this out today, which I'm happy about. All week I've been waking up at 2am for work in this fucking minus weather. My car battery died, so I had to WALK to the station for about 20 minutes every morning at 2:50am to get my staff taxi (all because they can't pick us up outside our houses as it's a company thing). I was thinking that the Thursday update might flop again for the 2nd week in a row, but it didn't! Wait, or was it 2 weeks ago I failed to deliver on a Thursday?

OH WELL, I hope everyone's week was good! Mine was pretty but shit, but I won't bore you with details!

Do I really need to still do disclaimers and apologies in this day and age?

ENJOY!


Liars

Chapter thirteen

Juvia was going to kill her brother. It wasn't even the brother that most people would think she would want to kill. No, Gajeel wasn't going to be her victim, it was Rogue. The said brother was now trying to defend himself from his sister's vicious attacks.

"Oi, don't blame me! I originally thought you guys were friends! Then I heard around town that you guys are dating, so I told mum and dad that I met your boyfriend. I didn't realise that you had told them he was a friend! And besides, what kind of fucking game are you playing?!"

That was the hill he was going to die on and Juvia was going to be his executioner. It had been so long since anyone had seen Juvia rage like this. Being the middle child and the only girl, it had been hard to live with two brothers who did nothing but prank her and each other. How she never lost her voice with the amount of screaming she had done as a teenager was beyond her.

"Rogue shouldn't have said anything! Also, who the hell listens to townsfolk over their own sibling?!"

Rogue rolled his eyes at how dramatic she was being and Juvia smacked the back of his at his blatant disrespect. He pouted and cupped the back of his head and Juvia rolled her eyes as he tried to give her the puppy dog look. That look never even worked, so she didn't know why he was trying it right now.

"Stop looking at Juvia like that. All Rogue has to do is apologise-"

"That you guys like messing about with people and that I've blown your cover to mum and dad? And here I was, thinking you'd outgrown your pranking phase. Nice to know you've still got it in ya, onee-chan."

Juvia couldn't help it as she grinned, almost forgetting that she was mad at him.

"It is a good one, isn't it? We're fooling everyone at work and stuff...BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! Rogue-kun told our parents! You know what that means, right? They're going to be soooo embarrassing! They'll grill him at every chance they get, especially dad."

Rogue hissed and grimaced. Their dad was extremely overprotective of Juvia, and the only reason he liked Lyon was because he was dating Meredy. All Rogue could do now was pray that Natsu was a strong enough man. "O-oh, sorry about that. If there was a way that I could make it up to you, you know I would. You're my big sister, I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

Juvia gave him a sarcastic smile, almost as if she were grinning like a cheshire cat. "Juvia doesn't doubt that one bit. But there is a way that Rogue-kun can make this all better. In fact, Juvia already took that matter into her own hands."

They were sitting in a little tea shop having some bonding time. Juvia had promised her younger brother that she'll take him to a few spots around town after she finished work and they had ended up going to a pop up art gallery. Rogue fell in love with it and Juvia was extremely happy that she had made her younger brother happy. She knew that university was stressing him out. Only for him to ruin her mood by telling Metalicana and Aquarius that Natsu is her boyfriend. She shouldn't have bothered.

Rogue frowned before a look of fear passed over his face. Juvia chuckled darkly and Rogue was soon reminded that his sister really wasn't someone to be crossed. Gajeel at least looked scary, so people stayed clear of him. They knew what to expect from him, but Juvia didn't look like she could say boo to a goose. That's what made her even more frightening. As much as she acted like her brothers ganged up on her at home, she ran that household.

"What did you do?" He was worried now and Juvia was happy that she had gotten him into this state. That would teach him to go around and open his fat mouth about her fake relationship. He should have known that she would tell both him and Gajeel about any relationship of hers before she tells their parents. She hadn't told him anything about Natsu ergo, there was nothing going on between them. Even if she wished that there was.

"Oh nothing. Why would Roguie think that Juvia did anything?"

"You just called me Roguie. That is the number one sign of mocking. You've done something to me."

Juvia laughed at his paranoia, sipping on her earl grey tea. "Oh really? Juvia hadn't noticed that that was something she did. Relax."

Of course she knew it was something that she did. It was absolutely hilarious trying to see his mind running at 100 miles per hour, trying to guess what it was that she had done to try and ruin his life the same way he pretty much ruined hers. After a while, she gave him a clue.

"There was a beautiful girl that Juvia got talking to in the art museum. She said her name was Minerva. Came straight up to Juvia wondering who she was. Sounded like a jealous girlfriend. She was awfully surprised when Juvia said that she's Rogue's older sister and even had to show her ID. So imagine Juvia's surprise when she hugged Juvia and said that you and her are dating. Well, Juvia couldn't help but invite her to the peony viewing!"

Juvia looked ecstatic and Rogue looked sick. He had tried so hard to hide his relationship with Minerva because he was scared.

"Please tell me you didn't."

"Juvia did."

His red eyes bore into Juvia's and she just blinked and tilted her head to the side with an innocent gaze. "What's wrong? Why does Rogue-kun look scared? At least you guys are dating. Right? Or is Rogue-kun a hypocrite?"

Rogue sighed and Juvia blinked. Okay, this was definitely serious now. "Come on, tell Juvia," she soothed. Rogue nodded and stared outside of the shop window that they were sitting right next to.

"You know what you feel like you're gonna mess something up? I feel like my relationship with Minerva, it's too good to be true. She's the first girl I've ever liked and she actually likes me back? That's crazy, Juvia-nee! I don't deserve her half of the time, so I never told you guys about her, just in case I'm right and we break up."

Juvia frowned. They may not share looks, but they definitely share insecurities. She had felt the same way when she had actually made friends of her own, instead of hanging out with the guys that hung out with Gajeel. She was always scared that they would see her as a weirdo and the gloom would eventually get to them, causing them to leave. Now she was flourishing and was even living with one of the said friends.

She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile.

"And what if you're wrong and don't break up? Rogue-kun, you are perfect just the way you are and Juvia isn't just saying that because she's your older sister. Juvia is saying that because Minerva-chan clearly thinks the same thing about you. When we were talking, Minerva-chan was talking about all these wonderful things that Rogue-kun has done for her and how you're always there for her. She says you're a man of little words, but your actions speak the loudest and that's what she loves the most about you."

Juvia reached out to hold her brother's hand and she watched as he sat up a lot straighter, his shoulders back instead of hunched forwards. His expression was light as his eyes widened with childish wonder.

"A-are you joking? Did she really say all that to you?!"

Juvia nodded her head with a grin. "The look that she was giving Juvia while talking about you, it can not be faked. That was true love there. Juvia wouldn't lie or joke about that. It's cute. Don't think I wouldn't beat up a girl for you or Gajeel-kun. Juvia is protective of you guys too."

Rogue blushed as he looked down at his coffee. "I haven't admitted that I love her yet...I felt like I don't really know how I feel to be able to say that. But I would die for her, if that's enough. Is that love?"

Juvia pulled back her hand to cover her mouth and giggle. Rogue gave her a distressed look, wondering if he had expressed too much of his feelings, but Juvia just shook her head.

"Juvia guesses she wasn't joking when she said that Rogue-kun is a man of actions rather than words. Juvia thinks that that is more than enough to prove your feelings to her. How long have you guys been dating for?"

He hummed as his eyes went up to the ceiling, trying to think about how long it had actually been.

"Somewhere around 4 months I guess. I was dying to tell both you and Gajeel-nii, but I didn't want to jinx anything. I didn't know how to come out and say it. I guess I'm glad that we've spoken about it now. Thanks, Juvia-nee."

"Oh, no problems! Juvia is always here for her baby brother."

Rogue groaned and threw his head back. "I'm not a baby! Stop calling me that?"

"Rogue-kun will always be a baby! Now come on, it's getting dark now. Rogue-kun needs to go home."

"Oh, I told mum I'll be spending the night at Gajeel's place. They're not expecting me back until some time tomorrow."

Juvia's eyes brightened as her scheming mind was back at work. Gajeel's house was literally a road away from the tea shop that they were at now.

"Is that so? Well then, Juvia will go with you and take you back to his place. We can have a siblings dinner together! Juvia knows how much you guys have missed her cooking, so Juvia will do it tonight for old time's sake."

Rogue nodded enthusiastically, loving the idea. Juvia took up cooking at 11 when she realised she was good at food tech in school. Their dad did the cooking as he enjoyed it a lot more than their mum and that became their father and daughter bonding time. Metalicana helped improve his daughter's dishes bit by bit until she took over the kitchen completely.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Also sounds like a scheme. You want Gajeel to drop you off home, don't you?"

They stood up, waving to the people behind the till and Juvia smirked at her younger brother. "Juvia scratches his back, Gajeel-kun scratches Juvia's back. Everybody wins."

Rogue chuckled. "I missed you a lot, Juvia-nee."


One more week. That's all she had left with Natsu on their project. If you had told her about a month ago that her and Natsu would become not only great friends, but that she would catch feelings for him, she would have blinked at you and walked away, insinuating that you're crazy.

But it was true. She had fallen for the pink haired - no - salmon haired man that is Natsu and had come to enjoy everything that he had to offer. She hoped that they wouldn't stop being friends after the project ended, but she had no doubts in her mind that Natsu would stop hanging out with her. First of all, he had gotten used to her lunches, secondly, he loved the sales lounge.

"Juvia wonders if he also still hangs around because of Juvia and that's just his excuse because he doesn't want to admit that he likes Juvia? Ah, Juvia should stop jumping to conclusions, it didn't get her anywhere the first time around."

"Juvia honey? Are you okay? You seem to be lost in thought."

Juvia looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway with one hand on her hip. Her mother was the epitome of beauty. Her hair was a neon light blue colour that many people thought was fake, but it was indeed real. All her baby pictures had proved that, as well as her whole side of the family having that hair colour.

"Mum! Juvia is fine."

Aquarius smirked. "Oh, I get it. You're worried about us meeting your boyfriend. Don't worry, as long as he treats you right and isn't an idiot, you know I have no problems."

Juvia smiled gratefully. It's true though. Her mum hates idiots. She could even remember when she was younger and she used to meet up with Layla Heartfilia, she used to hold down her annoyance for Lucy. She found her stupid.

"But mum isn't the issue. It's dad."

Aquarius nodded and soon her dad was behind her. He had his hands on his wife's hips and Aquarius leaned back into him. Gajeel and Rogue may not like it when they were love dovey like this, but Juvia liked seeing it. It set the bar for what she wanted in a relationship, and she could happily see herself doing this with Natsu.

"Hello Princess!"

Juvia grinned as she came forward and hugged her dad. He was an older version of Gajeel. Long jet black unruly hair with red eyes with stretched earlobes as well. His body was littered with tattoos, his newer ones being done by Gajeel himself. It was hard for many to see that they were a happy family and they weren't actually delinquents. Still, Juvia wouldn't have it any other way. This was her dad.

"Hey dad! How are you?"

"Y'know, living. I hear yer little boyfriend is coming out to meet us today. Do I have to put on that scary dad act? I mean, I'll probably do it anyway. I ain't having some fucking chump take away my lil Princess without a fight."

He barked out a laugh and Aquarius rolled her eyes at her husband while giving Juvia a grin. "You have no idea how much your dad has been waiting for this day. He's wanted to scare the living crap out of any guy who wants to date you for a long time. Hopefully this guy isn't faint hearted."

Juvia shook her head. Natsu was anything but. That seemed to make Metalicana happy. "He better not be! No weakling will be dating my daughter!"

Aquarius smirked. "And what if that's what she's attracted to?"

Metalicana stared down at his wife. "Juvia's a Redfox and a Lockser. There's no way in hell she could be attracted to someone weak!"

Juvia giggled and nodded her head. She hadn't actually realised it, but the guys that she found attractive had been strong. She liked a man with muscles and Natsu was full of them. Maybe she did have a type after all.

Rogue jumped down the stairs and the three of them turned to look at him and their dad gave him a sly look. "Well, well, well. If it isn't loverboy over here. I hear we're meeting your girlfriend too."

Rogue blushed and Juvia was grateful that all the attention was off of her. They were all getting ready to leave for the festival. Gajeel and Levy were going to meet them all there. They packed all the blankets that they will be using to sit around during the viewing. Juvia was excited and not just because it would be the first time in a while that her family would be doing something altogether, but also that Natsu was coming.

"Okay, let's get going then. Rogue, are you driving yourself there?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why would I wanna do that?"

Aquarius smacked his head and he flinched. "So that you can take Minerva home when you're done! Gosh, did I raise you at all or not?! You will NOT be leaving that poor girl alone to defend herself!"

Rogue rolled his eyes. "She has drivers! They always end up doing it even when I want to."

Both their parents gave him an excited look. "Oooh, you found a rich girl to date? That's cute. What's she like? Stuck up? Is she nice for a rich girl?"

They kept on yapping his ear off as he answered all of their questions and Juvia couldn't help but smile before looking at her phone that had just pinged. Her eyes widened and she rushed her family into the car.

"Okay, everyone needs to go now, Natsu said he's there already. Move, move, move!"

Metalicana gave his wife a feral grin. "Oh I can't WAIT to meet this kid that Juvia on tenterhooks!" He rushed to the car alongside his daughter as they all hopped in. Rogue and Aquarius sighed but Juvia could tell her mum was excited as well.

"I'm surprised that we're even driving. Juvia thought that we couldn't drive to any of the flower viewings anymore. It always gets really packed."

"That would be the case normally, but your uncle Skiadrum extended his drive, so he can fit a lot more cars on the drive. We're gonna park at his hour as it's down the road from Oaktown plains. "Maybe you should give your lil boyfriend your uncle's address so that he can park there too. Oh, but he's already there. Musta got there early. Probably couldn't wait to see ya."

Juvia blushed, suddenly feeling jittery. If she was feeling this way, then she wondered how Natsu must be feeling. Maybe he wasn't even nervous at all and he was just excited to meet them. That's one thing she really liked about him. While she was prone to overthinking, Natsu was pretty chill and was more of a 'go with the flow' kind of guy, and that was despite him being a hot head who charged into every situation.

They finally got to the festival and Juvia had texted Natsu for his location. He was already there, waiting to meet them and Juvia could immediately see his pink hair standing out from the rest of the crowd. A huge grin immediately made its way onto her face as she ran ahead, calling out his name. He turned around, grinning right back and moved forward to hug her.

"Juvia's parents are right behind her," she whispered softly into his ear. He stiffened for half a second before he then pulled back and looked at them. Juvia had told him already that Rogue blew their cover and told her parents that they were dating. He had laughed and told her that they were now in the long haul because both their parents now thought the same thing.

He noticed a man that really did look like Gajeel and Rogue, while there was a woman standing next to him who looked like Juvia. Only was it now that Juvia looked like she fit into the family.

Natsu put his hand up and grinned at the approaching family. "Yo! It's nice to meet you Mr and Mrs Redfox! My name is Natsu Dragneel."

He held out his hand and for Metalicana to shake, which he did and it was a very tight grip. Natsu didn't flinch as he looked into the man's eyes. Juvia tried her best not to laugh and her dad smirked. He clearly liked him already.

"Nice ta meet ya, kid. Honestly, I can't say I've heard much about ya, Juvia was keeping you as her nice dirty little secret."

"Dad! It's not like that."

The man roared out with laughter and Aquarius elbowed him to the side before giving Natsu a hug. He couldn't help but notice that she smelt the same as Juvia, but he liked the smell on Juvia a lot more.

"Please ignore my husband, he's a nuisance at best. My name's Aquarius. You seem like such a handsome young man! My, my Juvia, you've done well haven't you?"

Juvia blushed and practically buried her head into Natsu's arm as everyone snickered at her action. Natsu wrapped his arm around her waist and held her in tightly. Juvia almost combusted. It was still taking her some time to get used to the fact that Natsu was now wrapping an arm around her waist instead of her shoulders. That transition wasn't a smooth one and she was always finding herself blushing from how intimate they were.

His fingers rubbed her hip subtly and Juvia found herself sucking in a breath very quietly. Usually she would squirm at how ticklish something like that was making her, but she enjoyed the way it felt. He made her feel warm inside.

"Well, now I get to see where Juvia gets her beautiful looks from. I would have thought you were her older sister and not her mum. Nice to meet ya, Mrs Redfox."

Aquarius grinned at him. "Oh and he's charming too, huh? I definitely like you! You can stay."

The patriarch of the Redfox family put his arm around his wife with a face like thunder and Natsu gulped, while Juvia chuckled under her breath at his reaction. She had to say that he was impressed that at least he didn't outright flinch. He had even withstood a handshake from her dad, even though she knew that it did hurt him a little bit.

"You hittin' on my wife, son?"

"No, of course not sir. Not when I have Juvia here."

They were really laying it on thick, it was going to get to the point where the both of them were probably going to forget that this was actually all fake. Having to plan a break up for both sets of parents in the future was going to be a headache.

The man just shook his head with a grin. "I like ya so far, son! And I just realised, did you just say yer last name is Dragneel? You related to Igneel by any chance?"

Natsu nodded his head in excitement. "Yeah, he's my uncle! Dad's older brother! You know my uncle?"

"I sure do, kid! He's the best fire chief in town and I'm his trusted mechanic! He's also my best friend from school. So you're his well renowned hyperactive nephew, huh? To think we used to set up playdates between Juvia and Ignia. Wouldn't have bothered if we knew she would grow up to meet ya."

Okay, Juvia was going to have to put a stop to this now. "Daaaaad! Stop embarrassing Juvia!" They weren't even play dates. It always ended with Juvia's hair getting pulled and Gajeel and Ignia fighting. Oh Kami, that was Natsu's cousin?! He's 100% not invited to the wedding.

"Jumping the gun there, aren't we? There's no wedding."

Her dad's grin widened. "C'mon Princess! Where's the fun if I can't embarrass any of ma kids? So Natsu, tell us about yourself? Rogue, get over here and message your girlie so that your mum has someone to terrorise as well!"

Juvia looked over at Natsu and he raised his thumb up at her. She smiled and nodded, knowing that he'll be just fine. Soon, her dad threw an arm around his shoulder and pulled him towards a makeshift bar. Juvia could have screamed. Was he trying to get him drunk?!

"Erm, Juvia-san?"

Juvia turned around to see Minerva standing there and she grinned. "Minerva-chan! It's so good to see you! Ano, Juvia's dad just dragged Rogue-kun and Natsu into a bar. You'll get to meet him later, but this here is our mum."

Aquarius stepped forward and pulled the girl into a tight hug. Juvia felt sorry for the way she was squeezing the life out of the poor girl.

"Mum, Juvia thinks you should let her go now!"

"At least she's stronger than Levy-chan. Juvia is pretty sure Levy-chan turned blue when mum hugged her the way she's hugging Minerva-chan."

"OH! I'm so sorry! I'm just extremely excited to meet the girl that has stolen my baby's heart! I'll get to grill Natsu later, but let's have a little girl's session, shall we?"

Minerva nodded and Juvia grinned at her. "Juvia hopes that Minerva-chan is ready. Mum is a bit crazy."

~x~

They found out that she was the only child of a business tycoon. Jiemma Orland was her father and both women's jaws dropped. They were surprised that a person from such a high class family was dating someone from their own little tight knit family.

She smiled a little before looking down shyly.

"Looking at your faces, I can tell that you guys are shocked. Everyone expects me to be this shallow rich girl who would go for some guy who also has a big business. People expect the typical story of me marrying some guy that would secure a business merger. As much as my dad is a scary guy and tries, no, forces me to follow in his footsteps as a CEO, he wants what's best for me when it comes to love. And I think...I know that I love Rogue. He doesn't treat me like a CEO Princess, he treats me like a princess that he loves. I've never fallen for anyone this hard before. I've never actually fallen for anyone."

Aquarius moved forward and stroked her hair in a motherly way. Minerva looked down at the floor, a blush on her cheeks. It was no secret that Jiemma's wife had died at childbirth, so Minerva probably never felt someone mother her. Unless maybe by a nanny of something. Juvia's heart went out to her, as did Aquarius'.

"And that's all I care about. Rogue would never be the sort to go for a girl for her money. If he ever treats you badly, let me know. I'll knock his jaw into next week. But the things that you've said, those are your true feelings. I also know that your mother passed while giving birth to you and your father never remarried, right? Well now you've got a mother and a sister. If you need any girly advice, Juvia and I have got your back."

The dark haired girl brightened up as she looked at the both of them to see if they were telling her any lies. She smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you so much!"

"She's definitely cute. I can see why Rogue-kun likes her. Good on them."

"Hey, Aqua?"

The three of them turned around to see the three men standing there. Metalicana grinned at his wife and beckoned her over, which she happily obliged with. "Why don't we leave the kids to do what they wanna do, huh? Let's all meet up at the usual place, Juvia, Rogue. Gajeel will join us then."

They didn't need to say anything else. Natsu grabbed Juvia's wrist and shouted a quick see ya later and it looked like Rogue had done the same with Minerva. Juvia couldn't help but giggle at Natsu's antics as he then held her close.

"Let's go on a few rides then, shall we?! I saw that everything here is peony based. I also saw loads of game stalls that we should definitely play! How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect," she breathed out. Just as long as she got to spend as much time as she could with Natsu, then everything was okay. More than okay. It was perfect just like she had said.

They decided to go on a few rides first, like the huge swings, roller coasters and then the merry go round. Even the tea cup ride that were shaped like peonies instead of tea cups. They were both laughing and smiling and falling around the place because of how dizzy they were. Juvia had suggested that they try it drunk, but Natsu was quick to remind her that he was driving home. She shook her head when he suggested that she could still drink. It was her rule. No drinking without him. That's even if he is allowed to drink.

"When I was younger, I used to have motion sickness. I would never have been able to ride any of this shit if it had been back then. Even getting in the car was crazy."

Juvia giggled, imagining a young Natsu throwing his guts up whenever he got out of a car. "Juvia is glad that you've outgrown that all now."

"Yeah, same." The way he was looking at her was so intense. She found herself drowning in his eyes and she was so captivated by how dark they were. She was falling into the abyss that was known as Natsu. She wanted to look away, but she also felt like he was sending her some sort of message.

His eyes quickly lit up as if he realised something. "Let's go and play a few of the games! I'm gonna win you a stuffed toy!"

Juvia giggled and followed him. As much as it was cliched, she would love one. She hadn't realised that she was holding her breath when he was looking at her and she finally sucked in enough oxygen to fill her lungs. Natsu really was going to be the death of her.

"Ano Natsu? Are you really going to do this? Everyone knows that these side stalls are rigged so that people never actually win anything. They're just here to steal your money!"

He turned to look at her. "I wanna do this though! I'm gonna win you something! Or we could have a little friendly competition. Shoot all the bottles down sounds like a fun game."

She matched his smirk as she grabbed the gun next to him. "Natsu knows that Juvia can never back down from a challenge. Okay, let's do this!"

Juvia knew that she had awful aim, but she was willing to do it anyway. Anything that involved her and Natsu doing something together was worthwhile. She was actually surprised that she managed to knock down at least half of the bottles before she ran out of bullets. She grunted and turned to look at Natsu who was leaning on the side, staring at her with a wicked smirk. Her jaw dropped as she looked at his pile of bottles.

"WHAT?! Natsu shot all of them down?!"

"Yes ma'am! Not the fastest though, but he was still good enough. Still, no one can beat that green haired woman and her fella. They're amazing and quick."

"Oh you mean Bisca and Alzack? Yeah, they love this sort of stuff. But what prize do I get to pick up?"

The man pointed at his wall to the prizes that Natsu could pick from. "You can pick anything from here. Because you shot everything down, you can choose the expensive stuff on the wall and everything down here is a bit cheaper."

Natsu hummed and he looked at Juvia, as if trying to gauge what she would like. He then grinned and pointed at one of the stuffed dragons in purple. "I want that purple dragon. It's not too big, which is good."

Juvia's eyes widened when she noticed that he had requested for the dragon to be in purple. Everyone who knew Juvia knew that her favourite colour was blue. She did like purple as well and that was simply because of the meaning that it held. Even though it's the last colour in the rainbow, one's love doesn't stop there. What was going on here? How would he know that? No, he didn't know that, right?

"Here ya go!"

Natsu thanked the man before handing it to Juvia. They moved out of the way for another couple that had been standing patiently behind them. Juvia clutched the dragon gently as she smiled and stroked it, as if it were a cat.

"Thank you, Natsu. Juvia will cherish this."

She looked down at her watch and started moving to the meeting point. "It's almost time! Let's head back to where Juvia's parents are and-"

He held onto her hand quickly. "Juvia, before we go, we need to talk."

Juvia blinked up at him as he looked nervous. Natsu had never looked nervous before, so she was wondering if he was okay. That phrase was always used when people were breaking up, and she wondered if that was what he was going to do. Maybe he wanted this fake dating thing to come to an end? Her heart was constricting in her chest.

"Is Natsu breaking up with Juvia?" She joked. "Are we trying to conjure the perfect break up story?"

Her tone was jovial, but she was anything but. Her heart ached and she felt like she was being ripped apart. This hurt more than every time that Gray reduced her confessions to nothing. Why was she unlucky when it came to love? Why did she go for people who never like her the same way she likes them?

Natsu nodded slowly, as if trying to work out that that was what he was going to do. Juvia almost burst into tears there and then. So all this time, she had read it wrong. Natsu didn't like her. Did he still like Lucy?

"Something like that. I'm sick and tired of living a lie now. At first it was fun to see how long we can go without others piecing shit together, or leading Fuckbuster and Luce on to believe that I was seeing some other girl, but I'm done with all that now."

Juvia's throat was clogging up. Despite the fact that they had been fake dating to everyone else, Juvia had felt like everything she portrayed was real. It was her real emotions, real words that she had said. Sometimes she even forgot that they weren't a couple. It had happened all so smoothly. There was nothing awkward between them that she had come to believe the lie that they had formed around themselves. She laughed at herself mentally.

She found herself nodding and trying not to blink so that her tears wouldn't roll down her face. Her eyes burned, but so did her heart. Why couldn't he wait till after the viewing to say this? Her hand squeezed at the dragon plushie, tempted to throw it at him and run away.

She gave him a small smile and sighed. "Natsu is right. We've gone on lying for too long. It's time to stop before someone gets hurt or we can't continue."

"Too late."

Natsu blew out some air before giving her a grateful smile. She found herself unable to fake one back. She almost flinched when Natsu took her hand gently into his and tugged her towards a stall selling flowers. Why was he torturing her this way? Was there already a girl that he liked and he invited her here? Was he going to give this girl the flowers? Did he really just see her as a best friend and he wanted her to know first?

He bought a bouquet of peonies before turning back to Juvia with a grin. "I'm so glad you see it that way. Because I'm ready for everything that we've faked, to become real."

Juvia's eyes widened hard as she stared at Natsu in complete and utter undiluted shock. The emotion that he had in his eyes was enough to tell Juvia that this wasn't a lie or he wasn't joking. His onyx orbs burned holes right into her azure eyes. His hand held onto hers tightly, not wanting to let her go and he watched her for a reaction. Juvia's other hand squeezed the plushie even tighter. Was he being serious?

"What?"

Her voice had been reduced to nothing but a mere whisper. There's no way she heard that correctly. Natsu hadn't just said that. This was definitely some sort of wet dream waiting to happen, right? Right after this, the whole festival will morph into Natsu's bedroom, right? And then she was gonna wake up, right?!

The sound of the people around them was enough to alert her that this really was reality and not a dream. Natsu was really here, holding her hand and telling her that he wants to have a real relationship with her.

"You heard me Juves." His voice was uncharacteristically low, sending a dark tingle of pleasure down Juvia's spine. He stepped closer to her, so that there was barely a gap between then. His other hand had the peonies in them as he lifted them up. Juvia's wide eyes took them in. He had clearly learnt the meaning of the flower. Her heart wasn't beating the way it was supposed to right now and she could probably faint in his arms right now.

They had a few meanings, like romance, prosperity, happy marriage...But they could also represent bashfulness. Juvia looked back up as she saw Natsu staring at her, a huge blush on his face. It was cute. He was cute. He also wasn't done talking.

"I'm done with us faking that we're together. I want it to be real. I want us to be a real couple. Do you know how fucking beautiful you are? Do you even understand how I always have to stop and remind myself that even though we tell people we're dating, we're actually not? The amount of times I've wanted to hold you and kiss you? You drive me insane Juves. You're all that's on my mind, day and night and I hate the fact that our project is coming to an end because then I won't get to see you all the time. I won you that purple dragon because I know what the colour purple means to you. I just wanna know...if you feel the same way?"

Juvia was speechless as she opened and closed her mouth like a fish, trying to find her voice again. It wasn't coming back. Natsu chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her in fully. Now there was no space between them at all and Juvia's face went bright red. If he wanted her to speak, he wasn't helping!

"Unfortunately, I don't speak fish. Throw me a bone here, Juves."

She still didn't know how to speak, so she decided to show him instead. Gajeel and Rogue weren't the only ones who thought that actions speak louder than words. She tilted her head up, deciding not to give into her nerves. Natsu's other hand rested on her hip as he brought her closer, their hips bumping against one another's. Her breasts pushed up against his chest and Juvia could see the joy in his eyes. She almost rolled her eyes at how perverted he actually is.

Juvia smiled gently as she bit her lip, her own eyes on his. Did he think that he was the only one who wanted to kiss the other person? She wanted him as much as he wanted her too. "Natsu said he wants to kiss Juvia, right?"

She felt him shiver at the sound of her voice as he nodded almost desperately. Juvia would have laughed at how cute he was being, had she not felt the same desperation that he was exhibiting. Everything that they had done, the sexual tension that they had felt, it wasn't all a part of her imagination. It was real.

"So kiss Juvia," she said, putting on her best sultry voice.

Natsu didn't need to be told twice. He practically bent her over backwards, their lips colliding with one another. The tingle that Juvia felt regularly when around Natsu was back in full force. She was weak to him, completely at his mercy. The butterflies in her stomach were pounding and bursting to get out. Juvia moved her arms so that they were around Natsu's neck instead as she giggled into the kiss, still in disbelief. Here she was kissing Natsu for real. This wasn't fake anymore, this was real. Him sucking on her bottom lip is real. His tongue lulling her into submission is real.

"You're so beautiful, Juves," he mumbled across her lips.

Her heavy lidded eyes reopened, her face tinted pink. They pulled apart slightly, trying to catch their breath. "Natsu is just saying that."

He laughed deeply, sending a wave of dark desire down her spine. "You're right. I am just saying that, because you are. Man am I fucking glad that I didn't read into this wrong."

Juvia giggled, her heart still beating so fast. She felt like it was going to pop out of her chest at any given moment. She then tugged his hand as she couldn't help but keep blushing like a schoolgirl.

"Juvia was so scared that Natsu was calling this whole thing off because he liked another girl or something."

He threw her a look that told her to stop being stupid. "Like another girl?! Ain't no fucking way Juves, not when you're the only girl I ever need."

He offered her the bouquet and she blushed as she accepted them. She didn't know what else to say to that. She also felt bad for not having anything to give to him. She hadn't won anything at the stalls for him. He seemed to read her expression and grinned as the hand around her waist rubbed her hip gently.

"Don't sweat it. That kiss was more than enough for me.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she spluttered before changing the subject. "Come on, let's head over to where Juvia's parents are so that we can watch the peonies light up!"

"Sure. Before your dad beats me up or something."

Juvia was beaming, even more than when they had first arrived. She got back to her parents and Rogue was already sitting on a blanket, an arm around Minerva's back. Gajeel and Levy had finally shown up and they were eating some candy floss together, meanwhile her parents were in the middle, with Aquarius using her husband's legs as a pillow. They looked back up at the last couple to arrive and they shot their only daughter a smirk.

"You arrived with 30 seconds to spare, Princess. I hope you guys weren't kissing behind some shady bins like your mother and I used to do."

Juvia blushed and rolled her eyes at her dad and Natsu's grin widened. "Nah, we were kissing out in the open for everyone to see, sir."

Juvia's parents burst out laughing as Juvia hid her face from them. Gosh, this was so humiliating when they spoke about it so freely like that! "Call me Metalicana! All that sir shit makes me feel so old! Now sit down 'n' watch this bad boy light up."

The moment their butts touched the blanket that was on the ground waiting for them was the same moment that the peonies all lit up, all in different colours. There were fireworks that shot up into the sky and Natsu gasped with everyone else, watching it all in awe. Juvia couldn't help but find his awe so cute. People started clapping and they all followed suit.

"It's beautiful, right?"

"Yeah it is," he breathed out. He then turned his head to face her. "But not as beautiful as you."

It was so cheesy, but that was the sort of thing that Juvia enjoyed hearing. She giggled at him and leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling the fatigue of the day. It was almost like Natsu could sense it too, because then he was asking her if she was okay.

"Juvia is fine. It's the excitement of the whole day that has finished Juvia off. Juvia is both excited and happy. Happy that Natsu was able to come out here with Juvia as well as ask her to be his girlfriend. Juvia is tired in a satisfied way."

Natsu hummed. "How much longer do you guys usually stay here?"

"Maybe for about 10-20 minutes? Everyone usually hangs out with the people they came with and then they go off and greet other people that they've seen around. Many of the people that Juvia went to school with might be around here, so sometimes Juvia says hi to them. Only if we were okay with each other of course."

Her new boyfriend nodded and planted a soft kiss on her temple and Juvia's cheeks warmed up, despite it being a cold day in December. She was in the arms of a guy who actually liked her back and wasn't dating her just because he got dared to. He actually reciprocated her feelings and her heart was ready to burst just from thinking about it.

"Juvia wants to kiss Natsu-kun again," she said without even thinking. When she realised what had slipped out of her mouth, her eyes widened as she quickly looked up at him to see his reaction.

Natsu smirked down at her, his eyes reflecting the same emotions as hers. There was love with a hint of lust in there. She should know because she felt the exact same way and she knew that she was definitely giving him bedroom eyes.

"Juvia's never even given anyone bedroom eyes before, does she look weird doing it?"

"Oh yeah? What, in front of your parents?" His voice had dropped a few octaves and Juvia was more than ready to drop her panties for him if he asked her to. Well, not in front of her parents of course, but she would be ready to do so. She squirmed a little bit as she looked past him to see if her parents would be watching. Their eyes were still on the fireworks as they spoke to one another. Perfect.

Juvia shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "They're just going to have to live with it."

"Fine by me," he muttered as he lowered his head and their lips met. His arm around her waist tightened as he pulled her onto his lap in one swift movement. He pried her lips open with his tongue and she welcomed him. He deepened the kiss to explore deeper into her mouth. Juvia found one of her hands tangled in his hair and the other around his neck. She almost felt like she was ready to be engulfed.

This kiss was different from their first one. Their passion overflowed and Juvia could feel herself unraveling. Every emotion that she had to hide for the last few weeks all burst through the floodgates of overwhelming love that she had for this man.

Soon, they had to both stop so that they could breathe. That and they didn't want to draw much attention to themselves in front of Juvia's family. They pulled apart slowly and they stared at each other. Juvia felt Natsu's hand rub gently on her hips as her breath hitched from his gentle touch. She was so weak for him.

"That's never gonna get old."

Juvia laughed and pecked his lips once more before looking at her family. They seemed to be doing the same thing, so Juvia winked at Natsu and slipped off of his lap. He yelped in surprise and disappointment, but Juvia put her finger to her lips and made him stand up so that she could fold their blanket. Natsu helped her, but he wore a confused expression on his face. Juvia placed the folded blankets next to her parents and shouted, "we're going to go now!"

None of them even stopped to look at her and Juvia shrugged before grabbing her dragon plushie and reaching out for Natsu's hand as he held it out for her. Their fingers intertwined with one another's and her cheeks glowed. In his other hand was her bouquet of flowers that he bought her.

"Juvia tried, but she'll call them tomorrow morning."

Natsu grinned. "I like the way you think. Now, d'you wanna come over to mine or d'you want me to get ya home?"

Juvia blushed as her mind went elsewhere. "Juvia thinks she should go home. Unless Natsu wants to come over and watch a film or something? The night is still young and Juvia won't really fall asleep straight away..."

As much as she wanted it to come to something, she knew she wasn't ready. Plus, she was tired and falling asleep to a movie was good enough for her. As much as she knew that there was something carnal between them, it was best to wait it out. There was no need to rush anything.

"Isn't Meredy gonna be there?"

"Juvia knows they're here too, but they usually go to Lyon-kun's place after. We'll have the whole place to ourselves, but DON'T try anything!" She had to make it clear for him now so that he wasn't expecting anything.

She squeaked when Natsu's strong arm wound themselves around her waist as he hugged her from behind. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his breath running over her ear gently.

"Don't worry, I know how to control myself. I've been around you all this time, haven't I? Why so jumpy?" Okay, so now he was messing with her as he lightly bit her ear.

"Because Juvia's parents warned her about guys like Natsu. Juvia just had to make sure that Natsu got the memo."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes," she hissed out as Natsu kissed her neck. Had Juvia not been a virgin, she probably would have jumped his bones, her exhaustion forgotten. Three weeks of them dancing around each other, she wasn't sure if she should hold out or give into the sexual tension that had clearly been building up around them. But waiting would make it that much sweeter.

"Yeah well, my mum warned me about girls like you too. Girls who are like sirens and pull guys in, deeper and deeper until they drown in them. I think you're a siren tryna drown me."

Juvia found it hard to try and clench her legs together and walk at the same time. His low tone was sinfully sexy. She smirked when she realised what he had just said.

"Is Natsu complaining?"

"Nope. Definitely not."


So, how was that chapter? I hope it was okay! They finally confessed, like you've all be crying for and they even kissed while doing it! Let's get one thing straight. I hated it. I think I fucked up to be honest, but we go again next week lmao.

I've also had a lot of you asking if the rating will change. Do you want it to? I've done a few M rated oneshots of this pairing lately, so I wasn't sure if I should cool it (it's not everyday you do M rated stuff right? Sometimes relax haha). BUT, if the vast majority of you want it, I've got a way to slip that in. Hehe.

I originally wanted the peony viewing to be Hanami (Sakura viewing) as that's the most popular as well as an actual episode in Fairy Tail. HOWEVER, Sakura do not bloom in fucking December, so there's that. And peonies mean all of the above that I mentioned, so it fit really well.

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Make sure to keep clean, safe and sane! I love you guys a million, happy Naviaday to you all! Also, I apologise for not getting back to any PMs and reviews. When I have a shitty week, I just don't respond to anyone until I'm bothered to. It's a disgusting habit, I know.

Lolita-chan