Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!
Big thank you to everyone who's read this story so far and left a review! I can't tell you guys how happy I am that you enjoy the first chapter. It's always good to hear back from you guys and I really appreciate you all for that. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy the 2nd chapter too.
Disclaimers and apologies, yada, yada, yada.
ENJOY!
The wrong girl
Chapter two
Natsu was pacing up and down as he waited for Juvia to show up. He knew she came in early to sit and wait for Gray, so he was kind of hoping that she would already be in the guild by the time he arrived. He was dead wrong and that made him anxious. Natsu doesn't do anxious. Happy just snickered into his fish, making Natsu turn his head to glare at him. The cat blinked at him innocently.
"What?"
"You know what you did. Stop laughing at me!"
Happy shrugged and laughed again. It was funny. Natsu had come home last night and spilled the beans on what he had done. At first, Happy had stared at him in shock for a bit before he had just burst out laughing. He had honestly never heard anything funnier than Natsu mate biting a girl who not only didn't like him, but she was head over heels for his rival! Oh that was rich!
"If there's one person who might actually be able to fight the bite of a dragon slayer, it might be Juvia because she's definitely not in love with you."
Those had been Happy's words and Natsu had actually grown angry at the thought of Juvia rejecting him despite him wanting her to reject him. Just the thought of anyone liking Gray made him sick, because just what was so great about him? How did he have someone as loyal as Juvia constantly like him when he did nothing to reward her efforts or tell her to stop? She would be very good as a dragon's mate. Her loyalty would be treasured.
"Pacing up and down won't make her show up any faster, Natsu. Sit down and eat some fish."
Natsu shook his head with a scowl. "I'm fucking nervous as shit and you think I can eat? Actually yeah, gimme some."
Happy snatched his fish away in horror. "Wait, you didn't bring your own?! You can't have any of mine."
Natsu's jaw dropped. "But you just-you know what? Forget it. But seriously, where the hell is she, she's usually in by now, waiting hours for Gray to show up."
Happy shrugged. "Maybe because you bit her, you messed with her head somehow. Like, what if she's not thinking about Gray so much, so she hasn't come in early?"
Natsu's hopes were raised and his eyes lit up at the possibility before he deflated. "Nah. Like you said, she's the last person that I could get to care about me over Gray. Look at how she treats the other ice fuck. He used to hold her hand and shit and say he was in love with her and she didn't want any of it. She's definitely still thinking about that cunt."
Happy seemed surprised that Natsu called Gray a 'cunt', because he had never been so angry to call him that word. He didn't really know how important the mating thing was to dragon slayers, especially as Natsu had never really shown any interest in the process, but he could now see that it was turning Natsu into a different person. He seemed to be a little territorial over Juvia even though he was also trying his best not to.
Happy was so relieved when Juvia finally decided to show up. Natsu had his back towards her at the time and his head snapped around to face her when he smelt her. His eyes widened when he saw his bite on show. He was surprised that she hadn't bothered covering it up, because he was so sure that she would have done that. Her eyes swept the guild and he thought that she was looking for Gray, but her eyes finally landed on his. Immediately, she started walking over to him and he started panicking.
"Shit, she's coming over here!" He whispered under his breath to Happy.
Happy rolled his eyes. "Of course she is, she wants to talk to you clearly. You're acting so lovestruck." Happy paused before he smirked. "You liiiiike her!"
"Happy, fuck off and go eat your fish somewhere else, I need to have this talk with Juvia alone."
The exceed didn't need to be told anything else as he flew up from his seat and found another table to sit at. He didn't move his eyes anywhere else as he watched the water mage stop by Natsu. He was close enough to listen to what they had to say, but even if he didn't hear anything, Natsu would still tell him afterwards.
Natsu couldn't help himself as he felt as if he was sweating buckets. Juvia was in front of him, his mark for all to see and she looked good. Why had he never noticed her before? She had legs that he wanted wrapped around him and she looked so soft-
"J-Juvia! Morning!"
Natsu could have set himself alight. Why did he sound so nervous? Still, it was probably worth it because Juvia giggled and smiled at him with a blush on her face. He lit up at the look of her smile. She looked so cute and innocent and he wondered why Gray wouldn't be happy to see such an expression on her face.
"No need to think about him, only need to tell Juvia what's happened so she knows."
"Good morning, Natsu-san. Ano, Juvia hates to be rude, but Juvia feels like Natsu has something to tell Juvia?"
He sighed and nodded before offering her a seat. He watched as Juvia paused a little before she sat down. He could only put her reaction down to shock, because why the hell would he be offering anyone a seat? Even he knew that that wasn't normal behaviour for himself. Still, he shook that out of his thoughts as he sat opposite her. They both sat there in silence, trying their best not to look at each other before Natsu realised that he was the one who needed to initiate the conversation. Great.
"So, ah, about that bite...I guess I should apologise for it. I mean, do you know what it is?"
He had to ask. Gajeel's her best friend, so maybe he told her something about it already. She shook her head.
"Juvia kind of does and kind of doesn't. She has a rough idea...Is it a mating bite?"
Natsu nodded stiffly. "Yeah, I'm so sorry Juves, I didn't mean to bite ya like that! Listen, Gajeel told me how to get rid of it!"
That left a bitter taste in his mouth that he tried to ignore and while he was sure that Juvia would be happy at that, he watched her eyebrows pinch together briefly before she nodded her head to hear him out. His mind wandered a little, wondering if maybe she was feeling the effects of the bite and maybe she didn't want him to break the bond.
"So, we pretty much have to avoid having sex with each other for 5 days-"
Juvia spluttered and Natsu gave a worried look. "Are you good?"
Juvia stared at him incredulously. "Juvia is fine, but you can't just say it like that! Natsu can't just blurt that out for others to hear," she hissed at him, making sure to keep her voice low and that no one else was listening. They were lucky it was still early, so not a lot of people were around. Still, Mira was nearby and that was the last thing she wanted the matchmaking demon to hear. They were lucky that Mira was still setting up in the back, otherwise she would be curious as to why the two of them are even speaking together like they have some sort of conspiracy going on.
Natsu blushed a little before nodding and trying his best to keep his voice down. At least Juvia wasn't one for violence. Erza or Lucy would have hit him in order to keep his mouth shut. He was grateful that Juvia was kind.
"Okay, sorry. But yeah, we have a 5 day window. If we have sex in the 5 day period and you bite me, we seal the deal and then we're mated for life. If we have sex and you don't bite me back, we have to wait an extra 10 days before the link disappears."
Juvia was silent for a while before she nodded in understanding. "Okay, Juvia's got it. Juvia is really grateful to Natsu-san, despite the fact that we're in this mess because of you."
Natsu half laughed and half baulked because he was surprised that Juvia was actually nice enough to thank him for Mavis knows what and for the fact that seemed to make a joke out of it.
"Grateful for what?"
He watched as Juvia leaned her arm on the table in front of her and leaned her chin in her hand as she smiled gently at him. Natsu couldn't help it as he gulped, staring at how pretty she looked.
"Juvia is grateful that you told her. Natsu-san didn't have to, but you did and that was really nice of you. So thank you."
Natsu felt some sort of happiness bubble in his chest as she thanked him and he wondered if this was what it was like to have a mate. But still, he didn't like it. He didn't want to like someone just because of a bite. He wanted it to be natural and actually get to know the girl before they became mates. Hell, he was sure that he liked Lucy, but he didn't really know.
He then pointed at the mark. "So why didn't you cover it up?"
She ran her hand over it gently and Natsu felt a tingle run down his spine and down into his trousers as he felt the need to take her there. He clutched at the table, trying to stop himself from jumping her bones with his teeth gritted. "Ju-Juvia, stop touching it! Do you know what that does to me?"
She jumped as she looked at him, clearly not expecting his reaction. "What does it do?"
"It makes me...want you. So during the five days, don't touch it, got it?"
She nodded a little bit, putting her hand down quickly so that she wouldn't touch it. Natsu sighed in relief as he released the table. Juvia decided to answer his question.
"Juvia remembered Gajeel-kun saying that it's disrespectful to cover up a dragon slayer's mate bite, so Juvia didn't really want to disrespect you..."
Natsu opened his mouth to speak before he closed it. He really wasn't expecting her to say that. He wanted to swear, because just the hell was she being so cute? They weren't going to stay together, so why would she be so nice? Gray really didn't know what kind of girl he had wrapped around his little finger.
"But Juvia, it's okay. It's not like we're actually going to stay mated, right? You can cover it up, okay? Besides, the bite doesn't look all that good because we haven't finished the mating process, so it's gonna look like a mosquito bite gone wrong until the 5 days is over. By then, it should've faded away."
Juvia pouted. "But Natsu is still going to be territorial over Juvia, isn't he? Because the thing is, Juvia hates thinking about Gray-sama right about now. Even calling him '-sama' makes Juvia feel a little bit sick. Natsu is the only one that Juvia wants to think about, even if she really doesn't to. Because of that, Juvia thought it wouldn't hurt to follow some of the mate rules. Just minus the...ano...you know..."
The dragon slayer ran his hand through his hair. While that sounded great, he knew that it really isn't. "Oh, we're fucked. We're fucked! Okay, how about this! We just go on different jobs! That will keep our minds occupied and off each other, right? I can grab a job with my team and you can go with Gajeel and Levy or something! Right?"
Juvia shook her head. "No, Gajeel-kun and Levy like to give it about 2-3 days before they go on another job. They're not crazy like you."
Natsu rolled his eyes. Everyone always seemed to judge him when he went from job to job. He didn't realise that Juvia would do it as well. "It's called boredom. Besides, wouldn't they agree if it's to help you out?"
"Also known as taking a break. Maybe they'll go on a job with Juvia, but they've gotten themselves into a nice routine and Juvia isn't so sure. Still, you jump from job to job so much and you don't even need the money. Just hearing the adventures that you go on sometimes is crazy. Juvia is actually worried about you sometimes."
She looked stunned that she had said that and Natsu had a look to match hers. He averted his eyes from her at the same time she did. There was silence between them for a while before Natsu decided to speak up.
"It's weird. I never really thought much about having a mate. I know everyone else would say the same thing as well. I mean, I'm not the most romantic guy in the world, am I?"
Juvia shrugged as they looked at one another. "Neither is Gray-sama, but Juvia still likes him. One day, Natsu will meet his right mate. Better yet, Lucy-chan will accept Natsu-san's mate bite!"
By this point, Happy had come to insert himself into the conversation and laughed as Juvia spoke. "See, I'm not the only one who thinks that way! Even Juvia thinks the same as me."
Natsu gave him the bird. "No way! I don't have feelings for Luce, she's my best friend, nothing more!"
Happy just snickered as he flew over to Juvia's side as she held him in her lap. They both gave him a look as if they didn't believe what he was saying and he just rolled his eyes at the pair.
"Believe what you want, I'm telling you I don't like Luce. I mean, I thought about it a coupla times, but I never really saw it happening. I don't think I'm the guy for her. I genuinely think us being friends is all we're good for."
Juvia didn't like that Natsu was putting himself down as she reached out for his hand over the table. The spark they felt was instantaneous, but Juvia found herself unable to remove her hand from his. Natsu's fingers clasped around her hand softly as he decided that he liked the feel of her hands within his. He didn't even notice when he rubbed his thumb on her hand in slow circles. He felt calm. He didn't even know he was getting so worked up from them saying he likes Lucy.
Juvia almost faltered, but she managed to say what she wanted to say. "Don't put yourself down, Natsu-san. You have a big heart and while you're reckless, you're always there for every guildmate. Juvia is happy she knows someone like you."
Natsu wanted to tug her over the table so that she fell into his lap, but the door to the guild opened and a few more people started making their way into the guild. The two of them ripped their hands apart as Gajeel and Levy came in, heading towards the two of them. Levy ran ahead of Gajeel as she threw her arms around Juvia.
"Oh my Kami, I didn't even notice that bite mark on your neck! Natsu, how could you, you sick man!"
Out of nowhere, she brandished her bag out of thin air and started whacking him with it. Gajeel just laughed as Juvia jumped up to save him.
"Levy-chan, it's okay! Natsu already apologised and told Juvia what she needs to do! We just wait for 5 days, right? It will be fine, Natsu suggested that we go on separate jobs to help stop us from jumping on each other's bones!"
Levy hit Natsu 5 more times before scoffing and going to sit on Gajeel's lap in a state of anger. Natsu sat up straight before Juvia started checking him for bruising.
"Is Natsu okay?"
The said man could barely get out the words as all he could do was enjoy the feel of Juvia's soft hands checking to make sure that he was okay. He wanted to bask in her presence, but he had to cut it off as soon as possible. They couldn't be getting too close like this.
He managed to grab both of her hands in one of his hands and when Juvia was about to complain, it died on her lips when she saw the look in his eyes. He didn't mean to look aggressive and he really hoped that he didn't, but he watched as Juvia bit her lip. He grew worried, wondering if he had scared her, but he could smell the arousal that was aimed at him. His eyes widened in surprise.
"I-I'm fine, Juvia. Thanks though. I should probably go and pick out a job and maybe you can pick one out after."
He let her go before he bolted up for the board. Happy was close by as Natsu looked relieved to get away from Juvia. He was barely staring at the job board as he tried to get his breath back. Happy stared at him, amusement written all over his face.
"So, what was that all about?"
Natsu sighed, leaning against the board. "Nothing really. We just can't be around each other before we...I don't need to tell you anything!"
Natsu wasn't going to be the reason Happy stopped being innocent. He might go and tell Erza what Natsu told him and then he would get flattened. Still, he couldn't help but think about Juvia's arousal that was aimed at him. Because she wore his mate bite, that meant he would be the only one to smell her arousal, none of the other dragon slayers would be able to and the thought of that made him smirk. Juvia was all his.
He paused before mentally groaning at his thoughts. "I need to go on a job."
"Morning Natsu, Happy! We didn't expect you to be here this early!"
The duo turned around to Lucy waving a job description. "I picked this out yesterday, but you were already gone. Erza and Gray are excited to go on it and I'm pretty sure you guys would be cool with it too. Gray got in just after you left yesterday and he's willing to go on a job with the team."
Natsu let Juvia fall out of his mind for the first time since he bit her yesterday and reached out for the job with his eyes glittering. Happy was reading the job over his shoulder and they both gasped at how cool it sounded. It was a straight up fight fest! They just had to apprehend as many members of a dark guild and he could see a bet being made already. Of course he was gonna win.
"Yeah, this is great, right buddy?"
"Aye! But uh, why does it say Juvia's name on this?"
Natsu's grin dropped before his eyes went straight down to the paper to re-read the flyer. True to Happy's word, Juvia's name was right there and Lucy was reading it too.
"Wow, I completely missed that! I didn't even notice her name and I know the others didn't either. Well, I know she's going to enjoy this job. She's going to be on it with Gray! Let me go and ask her to join us!"
Natsu's eyes widened in horror as he went to say no, but Lucy was gone in a blonde whirl. She was already at Juvia's table and had managed to grab Erza on the way too. That wasn't fair. Juvia wouldn't be able to say no to Erza! If it had been just Lucy, the water mage would have had no trouble saying no to her.
Natsu groaned and Gray approached him. "What's wrong with you?"
He pointed over at the girls. He could hear the entire conversation and while Juvia had tried to say that she wasn't going to go with them, but Erza practically forced her into it, saying she hadn't seen Juvia on a job in a while and that this would be good for her. He watched as Juvia subtly looked at him, an unspoken apology in her eyes as he just gave her a lopsided smile. He didn't blame her at all, Erza was extremely pushy when she wanted to be.
Next to him, Gray then groaned. "Oh fuck, Juvia's coming? I hope she can at least focus on the job and not get herself in any trouble. She seems to do that a lot whenever we go on a job. I know she likes me saving her, but it's a waste of time, especially when she's more than strong enough to look after herself."
Natsu frowned, but then smirked after feeling quite smug. Juvia's attention wouldn't be on Gray, not even for one second. While it wouldn't be healthy for the two of them to be on the same job together, Natsu was also excited. He was going to be near her and that was all that mattered to him at that moment.
"You guys should come over!"
Lucy was beckoning them over towards them and they made their way over, but now without Gray complaining under his breath. Natsu rolled his eyes. "Shut the fuck up. Who knows, maybe on this job she won't even be all over you."
Gray snorted. "Yeah right. That's the day that pigs will fly."
"Looks like we gotta watch out for flying pigs then," Happy muttered under his breath which made Natsu chuckle under his breath as Gray raised an eyebrow at their odd behaviour. He decided to leave it alone, finding that it would be a bad idea to try and find out what was amusing the two idiots.
"Juvia will be joining us on the job. But can you tell us just why you've been requested on the job? Do you know a Samagui?"
Juvia's eyes widened in recognition and she nodded her head adamantly. "Oh yes, Juvia and Gajeel-kun work with him quite a bit!"
Natsu perked up, wondering what man was trying to get his mate to do a job for him. Did he like Juvia in that way? Because it was just as well that they were going on this job together so he could let this guy know that Juvia was taken.
"Calm the hell down. After 5 days, she's free to do whatever she wants. This is gonna kill."
Erza gave her a sly look as she nudged her arm and Lucy smirked as she leaned forward, almost as if they were fishing for more information. "Oh ho, so there's another man who likes you? Watch out Gray, someone might take your girl!"
It wasn't even Gray who spoke, but the guy next to him. He barked out a laugh. "His girl?"
Gajeel, Levy, Happy, Lily and Juvia's eyes widened in surprise at the outburst as they hoped that he didn't give anything away. Well, Gajeel and Happy were all for the drama as they tried their best not to laugh. Levy looked like she was torn between laughing and getting out her handbag while Juvia just hid her face in embarrassment. Natsu realised his mistake as he began to backtrack.
"Uh, cos, y'know...They're not together and shit..."
Gray rolled his eyes. "Way to state the obvious, genius. What next, we all breathe? Kami, you're so fucking stupid it hurts."
This time, it was Juvia who spoke out of turn, displeased with Gray's attitude. "There's no need to be so rude, Gray."
Everyone's head turned to where Juvia was sitting as they all looked at her, gormless. The rest of Team Natsu wasn't really sure as to what was happening right now, and they wanted to know. Juvia ignored their looks, especially the one that Gray was giving her. When she heard Lucy and Erza whispering amongst themselves, she risked a glance at Natsu, giving him a small smile before turning back to the two girls. His heart had thumped hard in his chest when she had defended him.
"As to answer your question, yes, he does have a crush on Juvia, but that's what gets Juvia and Gajeel-kun good jobs from him. As long as he knows that Juvia will never date him and that he can't say or do anything inappropriate to Juvia, she'll continue to take jobs from him. He pays really well and if he knows how much Juvia likes a job, he'll request Juvia and or Gajeel to do it."
Gajeel hummed. "She ain't lyin' when she says he's got good jobs lined up. I wonder how he does it, but I ain't one ta complain. I get ma money and get outta there. It's awkward watchin' him make moon eyes at her."
Juvia rolled her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic, it's not that bad!"
Gajeel scowled. "That's because you actively ignore him and it's so painful to watch just how much he likes that shit! Kinda reminds me of someone else I know."
"Only it won't be like that for the next 5 days," Levy whispered gently. Both the dragon slayers heard it and while Gajeel howled out with laughter, Natsu was the complete opposite. He just gave her a dry look before turning back to Erza. He wasn't expecting Levy to make fun of the situation.
"Well, you guys have got it all figured out and I'm guessing you're all packed and shit. So what, Juvia and I need to go and do the same?"
"Yup! We can meet you guys at the train station in about an hour!"
Natsu nodded, hoping that it was just a one day job, but Juvia's huff caught his attention as she gave him a hard smile.
"Oh and what do you know, you guys managed to find a 5 day job. Wonderful. Just how many guild members are we looking for here?" She brought the paper a little closer to her face before her jaw locked. Natsu didn't like that look and it was Erza who spoke up as she noticed the shift in her face.
"What's wrong?"
Juvia shook her head. "Nothing's really wrong, it's just the guild name. Do you guys know who Death's Head Caucus is?"
They all shook their heads and Juvia sighed. "It's the guild that those three assassins that worked with Jellal back at the Tower of Heaven are from. Juvia doesn't have a good feeling about this, but we have to go. If there's a guild of assassins that need apprehending, we've got to do it, right? Juvia will meet you guys at the station."
She placed the flyer on the table and stood up before leaving. Natsu didn't like the look that she shared with Gajeel. He wanted to grab her attention, but she didn't even look back at them as they watched her leave. By now, the guild was teeming with people as she headed out of the guild. Natsu didn't like the way she just left and he shared a look with Happy who nodded and left without alerting the others, following her out at a distance.
Lucy then clapped, trying to liven the mood. "Okay then! We'll meet at the train station and wait for you there, okay? Don't be late, otherwise I'll get Erza to punch your lights out on the train."
Natsu rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling sour about having to use a train. "She was probably gonna do that anyway, no need to remind her."
Gray left them to get a drink from the bar and Lucy went with Erza to start heading to the station. As Natsu was about to leave to get himself packed, Gajeel grabbed his wrist. He looked back at the crimson red eyes that seemed to pierce his soul and he knew that whatever Gajeel had to say was serious. He wasn't playing this time.
"Take what Juvia said seriously. She's got this weird sixth sense for when shit's gonna go down. Never take it lightly when Juvia says she's got a bad feelin' about somethin', because more time, ameonna is right. I remember her sayin' that she was mind controlled by one of those assassins who took a shinin' to her. I know she ain't really yer mate and you two are tryin' to wait out the mate bite, but treat her like a mate until it fades, got it?"
Natsu didn't even need to think about it as he nodded in agreement. He was already going to do that anyway. He couldn't stop the natural urges that he felt when it came to Juvia. She was wearing his mate bite, he couldn't stop it until it finally faded away and broke their connection.
"And what about this guy who gives Juvia the jobs? Is he someone I have to watch out for?"
Gajeel thought about it before nodding slowly. "Maybe. Dude's harmless, but Juvia will never say she has a bad feelin' about anythin' that he's involved with. I think something's happened. Maybe it includes that brainwasher. He really liked Juvia by the sounds of it."
Levy looked worried from next to him. "Don't you think we should go on the job then? Or better yet, get Juvia to hold off?"
Gajeel laughed and shook his head. "No way, tell ameonna not to go on a job because you think her life is in danger? Levy, I'm gonna warn ya now, never do that. Juvia hates being thought of as weak and that will make her go just to prove a point. She was S class for a reason, yer just gotta let her deal with it herself. Just don't stray too far from her, got it, Salamander?"
Natsu nodded, leaving with a stoic expression. He was gonna fuck up anyone who even breathed the same air as his mate.
So how was that for a 2nd chapter? I hope you guys like it.
Please don't forget to rate, flames or floods! I love you guys so much for reading my stuff and still sticking with me after all this time!
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Lolita-chan