Juvia spent her time in the house rather peacefully. She make breakfast in the morning for the three of them, stitch, clean the house, watch some movies and eat. Silver said the news died down already as he threatened to sue the magazine companies resposible for the news. It seemed he had some connection with the business council so he was even capable of closing the aforementioned companies.

It was the last day of her rest and she was cooking lunch when she noticed Gray on the kitchen's doorway.

"Good morning. I'm almost done, Gray-sama. Have a seat," she smiled. He had informed them last night that he would be staying in the house today so she wasn't surprised.

Gray sat on his seat. "Morning. Are you busy today?"

"No, I'm free. Why?"

"You remember about the reunion, right? Well, it was moved to today since Lisanna decided to surprise us by coming home earlier than planned. And since everyone's free and she wanted to see us right away, we agreed."

"Oh. It's good that I have nothing to do, then."

He smirked. "We can go after lunch."

"Sure."

They ate and talked. Gray volunteered to help in washing the dishes but Juvia wouldn't let him do it alone in fear of some broken plates which he did before, albeit accidentally. He washed the dishes while Juvia dried them. It was a very harmonious moment.

"Your hand is small," Gray said out of nowhere.

Juvia looked at her hand. "I haven't thought about it before. Is there something wrong with it?" she asked curiously.

"Nah, it's just," he struggled to think of the right word. "fascinating? Look at my hand compared to yours." Gray raised his right hand and put it on her left one.

Juvia's heart beat erratically as their hands touched. It was the very first time their skin ever made contact. She didn't know why but her face felt so hot.

His hand, despite its wetness was warm. Intrigued, her fingers moved to intertwine with his. She wanted to see if her heart would be just as wild if she did that. And it did, but stronger.

Gray's eyes moved to hers, staring for Mavis knows when. They were interrupted by a sound of a breaking glass. Gray cursed, his hand leaving hers as he picked up the broken pieces. His other hand might have unconcsiously let go of it during their staring...contest.

Juvia poceeded drying the plates, embarassed. She just flirted with him! What the hell was she thinking?

No one talked even after finishing the chore. She wanted to say something but was stopped by his brooding face.

Juvia went upstairs to change her clothes, choosing a casual long sleeve blouse and white pants paired with her favorite sneakers. When she went out of the house, he was already waiting inside the car.

"Sorry, did I take too long?" she asked, trying to erased the awkwardness.

He looked distracted for a second, "No. It's fine."

Both of them were silent during the ride. Juvia didn't try to make a conversation since he seemed to be thinking about somehing deeply. She didn't want to disturb him.

After almost half an hour of drive, they arrived at a high-class bar and restaurant. He mentioned during lunch that it was owned by one of his friends named Mirajane. He parked his car and they went to the third floor where the VIP rooms were located.

"Don't be nervous around them, they're nothing but bunch of idiots," Gray said when he saw her clenched and unclenched her fist.

She giggled, feeling a bit better. "I'll trust you."

There were already five people inside; two white haired girls, a brunette, an orange haired guy and a pink haired one. Gray introduced them as Mirajane, the bar owner, Lisanna the one from abroad, Cana who he told her was an alcohol addict, Loke, a handsome playboy and Natsu, his rival aka. bestfriend.

"And guys, this is Juvia, my..." he trailed off and his friends waited for him to continue. Juvia glanced at him and saw him frowning. It must be difficult for him to tell his friends about her. "...friend." he added in a low voice.

Juvia bowed at them, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Gray walked towards the boy's direction so she was left with the girls.

"Aren't you Silver's wife?" the brunette, Cana, as she chugged on her alcohol. "My father, Gildarts, told me about it. Looks like Gray welcomes you or you wouldn't be here."

"Cana!" yelled Mirajane. But the brunette ignored her and went to Juvia's side, putting her elbow on her shoulder.

"No offense meant, Juvia-chan. It's good to have a hot momma in the group. We all welcome you here," she said grinning before Lisanna pulled her away.

"Sorry about this drunkard, Juvia. Come sit here."

Juvia eyed Gray but he was already talking to Loke and Natsu already so she had no choice but to sit beside the girls. At first, she felt uncomfortable with all their questions but she realized they weren't the same people in the office. They asked her not to gossip but because they were just curious and wanted to talk to her.

"So, how's Silver in the bed?" Cana asked, her mouth really had no filter.

"Cana!" both Lisanna and Mirajane yelled.

Juvia blushed and wanted to explain that their relationship weren't like that. But Gray beat her to it.

"Cana..." he called, his eyes threatening and cold that made the four girls shivered on their seat. He must've heard her question. "...shut up." Gray added, clearly pissed.

Cana raised her hands as a surrender. "What's he so angry about?" she mumbled and drank.

The room was silent for a bit before the door opened and revealed Erza and suddenly it was noisy all over again. Mirajane introduced Juvia to the beautiful red-haired girl. Cana whispered that the woman was Gray's ideal girl and that he had a crush on her since they were kids.

"But Erza liked someone else and now she's married to him," Cana added, smirking eerily on the side.

Juvia didn't know why but her heart constricted when she heard about it. She looked at Erza, feeling insecure. The woman was not only gorgeous but she was also talented in fencing and an established businesswoman. She was on an entire different level than Juvia.

"I've heard about you from Gildarts. You have an amazing taste in men," Erza stated. Why did that witness tell everyone about it?

Juvia waved her hand. "No, no, it's not what-"

Erza put a hand on her arm. "It's okay, we understand. Age doesn't matter in love or war."

"That's Erza for you," Mirajane giggled.

When the room opened again and revealed a blonde haired pretty girl, everyone tensed. Juvia blinked in confusion as she looked at everyone who wasn't reacting. Not until Lisanna stood up and hugged the blonde haired girl did the girls sighed in relief.

"You know that Natsu is Lisanna's boyfriend, right?" Cana asked in a low voice.

Juvia shook her head and gawked at Cana.

"You don't?! Oh well now you know. When Lisanna went abroad," Cana shifted closer. "Natsu and Lucy had an affair which wasn't okay with us of course, but it's their life. Lisanna doesn't know it yet. Imagine the drama when the truth unfolded?" She laughed. "It's a good time to be alive."

That was complicated. Juvia thought. If the truth was revealed, she couldn't imagine what would happen to this group of friends.

"Eh? You're Gray's step mother?!" Lucy screamed when Cana introduced Juvia to her. Cana had her own way of introducing people, she say the most unnecessary yet interesting things.

Lucy flinched when she felt Gray's glare at her direction. She sat beside Cana as her gaze landed on Juvia. "He brought you here, so he should be cool with it, so why is he angry at me?" which Juvia had the hard time answering.

Cana chuckled. "Forget him. He's been like that since he arrived. Let's talk about you, Lucy. Have you and Natsu talked?"

Lucy looked sullen. "We haven't been talking since the news of Lisanna's arrival. Anyway, let's not talk about that stuff. I'm interested with Juvia. How's your relationship with Gray?"

Juvia bit her lip. "At first, he ignores me but we talked about it and he said he's willing to give me a chance. We're okay now, we even watch movies together, at night when he comes home. And oh, he bought me a slice of cake yesterday when I requested," she said, joyful.

The two of them rose an eyebrow then they stared at each other before looking back at a confused Juvia.

Cana smirked. "Oh I see. I get in now."

"W-what?" Juvia asked but Cana stood up and raised her alcohol.

"It's party time!" Cana shouted which earned a cheer from the people inside.

Lucy grinned. "Forget her, she's mull-headed. Have you tasted the chicken wings? They're delightful..."

Juvia conversed with Lucy and occassionally with the others. She felt so sincerely welcomed that it made her a little emotional. She didn't want to ruin the mood so she kept them to herself. When it was time to go home, she was so tired but didn't complain because she had so much fun. She exchanged numbers with the girls and they promised to invite her in the next get together.

"Did you enjoy?" Gray asked on their way home.

"Yes, Gray-sama. Thank you for bringing me with you. Your friends are so nice."

He smiled. "Well, they are your friends now."

Her eyes moistened and he panicked. "W-what?"

"Sorry, Gray-sama. I'm just so happy today. I've never been so welcomed before."

He sighed. "I'm glad. Did you feel uncomfortable with all the attention and...questions?"

She shook her head. "No. I feel relieved I get to talk to others. My body feels so much lighter."