"No...No…NO!' Evergreen tossed yet another dress as she rummaged through the racks.
Juvia bobbed her head side-to-side as she struggled to see above the mountain high pile. Evergreen—dissatisfaction aside—continued to throw clothes at her. With one hand, Evergreen held up a purple dress and brought it to the light. With the other, she pushed up her glasses with her index finger as she examined the dress.
She raised her nose in disgust, "How am I supposed to beat Erza with this?" It had only been an hour into shopping and she was already disappointed.
Trying to put her pile back onto the racks, Juvia sighed inwards. Shopping with Evergreen was far more taxing than she ever expected. In that hour, she watched as Evergreen blitzed through every section available. The only person that could rival her shopping habits was Erza who was already a force to be reckoned with. At this point, she'd rather be training with Laxus.
Laxus sipped his beer as Mirajane went on with their rather one-sided conversation. He casually listened as she excitedly went on about the festival preparations. Rumor had spread that the guild was inviting every guild in Fiore to celebrate with them. Mirajane had her eyes set on pairing some people from the guilds with other Fairy Tail members.
"And there's going to be fireworks—I need to talk about Natsu about that." She looked up from her wiping to Laxus who nodded absently.
"Laxus? Laxus?" She peered closer to his face which snapped himself back to attention. "Are you listening to me?"
"Not really." He was being honest, he wasn't.
But before she could reply, the door opened and a smile replaced her frustration. She looked over at the nonchalant dragon slayer and asked, "What are you thinking about? Juvia?"
Laxus smirked. He knew exactly what she and Erza and the old man were up to. If there is anything those three love more, it's a challenge. Mirajane liked setting people up, Erza has a weird obsession with romance, and the elderly Master loved reforming people. In theory, the whole situation is perfect for the trio. But, they forgot to factor in the most important thing in the equation: him.
"Hey, Mira! We're back from our mission." A cool Gray took a seat beside Laxus.
Mirajane stood up straight and turned to the ice mage. With a wide smile, she greeted to the two other mages in front of her.
"How was it?" She asked.
"Awesome,' Cana slapped Gray's open palm, 'We kicked those bastards' asses!"
"Well, that's great. I knew you two would make a great team," she cheered.
"Yeah, who knew the ice boy over here had it in him?" Cana teased.
"I could say the same about the guild drunk." Gray laughed.
Mirajane raised her eyebrow in intrigue. Her eyes turned to a stoic Laxus whose stoic demeanor was finally noticed by Cana.
"Oh, Laxus! I didn't even notice you!" Her tone was bright.
He noted her jovial mood. Not that she was always in a bad mood, but she wasn't this happy…unless she was drunk. He turned to look at her and spotted the beer bottle in her hand. Well, she wasn't drunk but she had been drinking something stronger.
"New booze?" He remarked.
"Y-Yeah!" She hiccupped and giggled. "The client owned a bar by Hargeon and gave me as much free alcohol as I—no, we wanted."
"She finally got introduced to Vodka," Gray commented.
"Mm." Laxus nodded.
As he was turning back to his drink, Cana grabbed onto his shoulder. He took a deep sigh. All he wanted was some peace and now she's bothering him. "What do you want?"
Cana looked at Mirajane, the two exchanging knowing glances, and then back to him. "What? Is that how you talk to Juvia?"
Both Mirajane and Cana chuckled, causing Laxus to glare at Cana. Gray, who was looking elsewhere, focused his attention back to them. Juvia? Gray smiled in remembrance of who her partner was, asking, "How're the lunches made out of your face?"
Laxus turned to Gray, taking a sip from his drink, "Not bad." Gray's eyes widened; the man couldn't be serious.
"You're joking, right?" He asked, thinking about all those times Juvia made things with his face on them.
"Yeah, she's not too bad."
"Sounds like someone l—i—kes her." Cana teased in a sing-song voice.
Laxus noticed the other man's bewildered face and shook his head. He could understand why Juvia annoyed him. But, he could not understand why she'd still pursue him. No matter how many times she explained it, it all sounded stupid to him. He took away my rain did not make any type of sense when she kept getting rejected. But then again, he could never understand women. He didn't mind Juvia; she shared the same overzealous traits as Freed. In fact, those two got along well. Was there any surprise?
"Whatever," Laxus replied. Since Mirajane wanted to have some fun at his expense, why couldn't he?
"Oh, so you do like her?" Cana persisted with her teasing.
Laxus neither confirmed nor denied. He did not have to look at Gray to know that he became more uncomfortable at the topic. It wasn't his fault that the man kept pushing her away.
An eager Cana's eyes traveled in several directions in a rapid manner, "Ooh, where's Juvia?!" And Mirajane's smile grew Cheshire-like.
"She went shopping with Evergreen," Lucy walked over to the bar with Levy not too far behind. Natsu and Happy tried to eat Erza's cake and she knocked both out with a single punch.
"Really? Then we should go too!" Cana declared aloud.
Erza's voice boomed, "Did someone say shopping?" She frightened most of the bar except Laxus who was becoming even more irritated at the noise.
The bar turned to the menacing aura that draped over him, feeling a slight chill down their backs. "Uh…" Levy tried to speak but stopped as she walked closer to them.
"I cannot wait! There are some bakeries in town that I want to try!" Erza all but squealed.
"They were just going now." Mirajane readily responded as she wiped another cup down.
"Really?! Then, let's go girls!" Erza pointed towards the door.
Feeling uneasy, the girls stood up straight as if they were in military formation. Before they could even blink, they found themselves dragged across the guild's floors. Due to Erza's lightning fast speed, the sound of their screams became suppressed. Mirajane giggled. Gray let out a breath, "Remind me never to go shopping with Erza."
This is supposed to be the premier boutique in Magnolia. I have a good feeling about this." Evergreen hauled Juvia down the cobblestoned streets of the village despite constant protests.
"W-Wait!" Juvia cried, almost feeling her shoulder dislocate from Evergreen's forceful dragging.
"What is it now, Juvia?"
"We have been to several stores already, we bought all of this stuff, and you still haven't found anything you like. What makes you so sure this one is the place?" Juvia could feel the bags weighing down on her.
Evergreen put her hands on her hips, "My, my, don't we have a lot to learn?"
"Learn? Learn what? I thought we were just shopping for a dance? Is that not what we're doing?"
Evergreen let out a light chuckle, "Oh Juvia, how…naïve of you! You see, this isn't just a dance; this is the dance."
"I don't get it."
"You see, this event will further establish me as the Queen of Fairies. And this,' she flashed a grin, 'this will be the first time that you and Laxus truly go out in public."
"What does that have to do with any—" Juvia gasped as she got a mental picture of the whole thing.
"But-But I like Gray, not Laxus! What if Gray thinks I'm actually with Laxus?! What if—What if he doesn't want me anymore?!"
Juvia's pale skin turned a scorching red, a sign of her famous over-thinking. Evergreen couldn't lie and say that the woman didn't amuse her, because she did. It still baffled her that she and Laxus matched.
Juvia: this sweet, friendly, devoted—albeit a bit too devoted—woman. Laxus: this cold, indifferent man. What could they have in common, or what did they could even talk about. Freed had to tell her that this was not a joke. The whole relationship seemed more like a social experiment than actual matchmaking- something she could get behind. It fascinated her more as days went by.
Evergreen felt a shift in the atmosphere. Oh God, not…
"Hello, Evergreen!" Erza greeted from behind. Her rival suffered a headache.
Only Laxus and Gray remained at the bar. Mirajane left to discuss some important matters with the Master. Both men drank in comfortable silence as they observed their surroundings.
Gray broke the silence, "So Juvia, huh?" It was something that bugged him. How could they even get along? It felt strange even thinking about it.
Not bothering to look at him, Laxus replied, "Yeah, what about it?"
"Nothing," Gray muttered. He could feel his irritation.
Laxus felt entertained; he wanted the man to press him further so he would not lose the moment. But Gray didn't say anything further.