"Now!" Laxus aimed at the targets.
Juvia nodded at him. Pushing her palms towards the enemy's direction, she shouted, "Water lock!"
As the lightning hit their bodies, so did the water, intensifying their electrocution. They watched in satisfaction as the enemy fried before Juvia dropped the spell.
"Not bad," Laxus observed with a small smirk on his face. Not bad at all.
At his usual table, Natsu sat with his best friend Happy, devouring their second plate.
"Uh, Natsu?"
"Yeah, Happy?"
"Do you see what I see?" Happy asked.
"What?" Natsu turned to his friend in confusion.
"Them." The cat pointed to his target, not once looking away for a second. Laxus and Juvia were entering the guild. Natsu's eyes followed Happy's, eager to see what was so surprising. And then, he noticed.
"Is that—?"
"Yep." Happy quickly replied, attempting to match his tone.
"But, how…?"
"I don't know."
They weren't the only ones gawking at the pair. Several others were watching them too.
"Oi, what is going on here?" Gajeel was looking perplexed as he tried to take in the sight. He had recently returned from a mission with Levy and wanted to get a quick drink before he went home.
When Juvia told him that her partner was going to be Laxus, he laughed. He knew those two were polar opposites. He half expected her to run crying to him about how mean Laxus was and continue to complain about not getting Gray, but she didn't-at least not anymore.
He watched as his best friend laugh and tease with the same guy that started an entire guild civil war over the both of them joining. He could not believe it. What happened in two weeks?
"Oh, them? Aren't they just cute?" Mirajane cooed. Her plan was coming closer and closer to fruition.
"When did they…?" He couldn't even finish his sentence because Laxus turned around and shot a murderous glare. The thought of Juvia and that brute together was truly puzzling. What could she possibly have in common with this guy?
"Oh, you didn't know? Well, rumor has it is that they have been getting a lot closer lately. He has become a regular visitor at Fairy Hills. And, according to some, they've been training together too."
"You're kidding me, right?" He couldn't believe it. What the hell was going on between those two? And why didn't she tell me?
She shook her head and smiled wider, leaning closer to him, 'You know, I never thought that these two would get along so well." She remarked, enjoying her torture of the man.
Master owes me 3,000 jewels. She giggled to herself.
"Who would have thought?" Levy said, taking her eyes away from her book.
Wendy nodded, "Do you think they're actually dating?"
"I don't know, but those too do look awfully close."
"I wonder what they talk about." Lucy mused.
They kept sneaking peeks at the table where the people in question were sitting. Their curiosities piqued once they saw them walk in.
A shadow fell over the group before a booming voice startled them, "What are you two looking at?" Erza stood over them with an eyebrow raised, arms folded.
They shook in unison, "N-Nothing, just talking!"
"What are you guys hiding?" Erza's eyes veered towards their center of attention. Facing Laxus' intense glare, she smiled at him before turning away.
"Hmph, how adorable." She was almost gushing at how cute they looked. Even Laxus' glare was adorable.
Hanging out with Juvia, Laxus realized, was not as bad as he thought. She was quite the strong mage when she wanted to be. In fact, during one of their last missions, they summoned an entire thunderstorm with ease and brought down an entire guild at a faster time than his self-proclaimed 'bodyguards.' Plus, she was good at cooking and always brought him a plate, which was great, considering all he ate was takeout. All in all, he grew a little fond of her. She was like his little puppy, or Exceed.
Instead of sitting at their assigned corner table (broken from a previous brawl), the duo sat with the other members of the Thunder Legion.
"Your face was all…hmph." Juvia teased as she tried to mimic his famous scowl.
He narrowed his eyes at her, "Shut up, I do not look like that." Her face looked like she had been sucking lemons and quite frankly, it was offensive. He did not look like that.
She giggled, "Yes, you do! Especially, when you're angry."
Bickslow and his babies teasingly agreed, "Yeah, you totally do!" Freed stifled a giggle.
"Tch! Who asked you?" He looked away, noticing that he was still the room's focus of attention.
They've been doing this since we came in.
"Why don't you all take a picture?" He sent them all a hard glare, causing their eyes to disperse elsewhere.
Juvia, unaware of everything, looked around but people already went back to what they were doing. "What's wrong?" She asked innocently.
"Just some losers staring," he muttered before turning back to the table.
"Oh." She paused for a bit in thought before flashing him a smile and continuing the conversation with the others.
He would never—he could never—admit it out loud, but he found her to be pretty cute. That is, when she looked innocent.
Making eye contact from across the room, both Mirajane and Erza nodded towards each other. Now, it's time to put in place Plan B.
Walking away from the bar, a rather enthusiastic-looking Mirajane made her way to the stage. Erza, who could not conceal her excitement, followed her. As if on cue, the lights dimmed and the spotlight shone on her once she stepped onstage. Clasping her hands together, she commanded the guild's attention.
"Hello, everyone!" She greeted in a sing-song voice.
Immediately, the room erupted in cheer for her. Most of the men—of course—cheered louder than necessary.
"Thank you for participating in this year's matchmaking service."
"We were forced." Macao and Wakaba both replied in slight annoyance. They became targets of Erza's menacing scowl, hiding underneath their tables.
Ignoring the two, Mirajane continued, "Now that week one is over, it's time to announce the plans for the festival."
Hearing a few groans, Erza decided that Mirajane is too nice for the job. She stepped towards the front, "Next week, we will host the Valentine's Day dance and the whole guild is required to attend." She continued, "And the day after, is the Valentine's Day festival."
Mirajane added, "Since we are partnering with the town of Magnolia, not only is every member to attend but we will also help with the festival construction."
The groans grew louder but then halted to muted noises due to Erza drawing her sword, "Is there a problem?"
"No!" Everyone agreed in unison.
"Good. Anyways, it's the least we could do since we're always destroying the town. Isn't that right, Natsu?" She looked over at the mage in question, mindlessly stuffing his mouth with chicken.
"Huh?" His words muffled, his mouth filled with food.
"Ew," Lucy moved away from him, "you're gonna get it on my shirt!"
"There will be no destroying the town, right Natsu?" Erza's tone made it clear that it is an order, not a question.
He swallowed hard and nodded, "Y-Yes, Erza!"
"Good, tomorrow you all will get your work assignments."
"How lame," Laxus stated. He already disliked the whole matchmaking thing, but now there's a dance.
Turning to him, Juvia asked, "What's lame?"
"This whole thing: first a festival, now a dance? It's so corny."
"I don't know, I think this might be fun. We'll get to dress up, eat different foods, and play games." Juvia already submitted herself in a fantasy where she's linked arm-in-arm with Gray, forgetting that she already had a date.
Freed nodded, "Yes, why not have some fun, Laxus?" He, himself, is a romantic and appreciated events like this.
"Yeah, what harm could it do?" Bickslow shrugged.
"I think this will be fun. Just another way I can show up Erza and force her to acknowledge that I'm the true Queen of the Fairies." Evergreen, with her eyes closed, practically lit up with glee.
"Who will show me up?" Erza stood right in front of Evergreen.
Evergreen adjusted her glasses before giggling, "Afraid of some competition, Erza?"
"I'm afraid of nothing."
"Good, then how about we wager a little bet?"
Erza smiled. Another bet, eh?"I'm listening…"
"The best-dressed woman at the festival shall be crowned the true Queen of the Fairies. If I win, you will bow to me."
"And if I win?"
"I shall bow to you and acknowledge you by your nickname, Titania."
Erza looked every bit of mischievous, "How about we make things more interesting?" Her tone grew darker as she said, "I make you my slave for a week?"
"Fine, if I win, you will have to be my slave for a week." Evergreen flipped her hair and grinned.
Everyone else at the table—except Laxus—felt a chill down their spine. Erza, considered the strongest female mage in the guild, had quite the sadistic side. Thinking about how she turned the tables on poor Mirajane when she became her slave for a day as enough evidence. Not to mention her punches were quite lethal.
After Erza walked away, Juvia turned to Evergreen with concern. "I don't think I would have done that if I were you." While she may have been friends with her, she knew that Erza had a slave-driving side.
"Yeah, Ever. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Bickslow responded.
Shaking her head, Evergreen chuckled. "Please, Erza is no match for me! She may be stronger, but I'm the one with fashion sense."
"Whatever," Laxus replied. He knew she is going to get carried away.
Evergreen looked over at him. Is that so? Grabbing one of Juvia's hands, she pulled her up. "C'mon, Juvia!" She dragged the girl towards her.
"W-Where are we going?" A scared Juvia asked.
Evergreen announced almost maniacally. "We're going to the shopping district! We need to pick out our outfits! Goodbye, boys!" She waved with less care.
"Huh? But-" Juvia could not even finish her protests because she was being dragged across the floor by an overzealous Evergreen.
Laxus watched them both leave the guild before uttering, "Women."