"I've dated one guy...briefly." Juvia took another sip of her tea.

"Hm."

It had been two hours since they came back from the dance. Now they were in the middle of an intimate conversation. One of their many.

The interesting topic? Dating.

He had guessed she'd have been with other guys, but he didn't think that she would actually mention any names. Except for Gray, of course.

"His name was Bora." Her eyes signaled that she was in the midst of a flashback. "He was, technically-speaking, my first love."

His eyebrow cocked in amusement. "The loser that pretended to be Natsu?" Juvia blushed in response. He truly was an embarrassing part of her past.

"Uh, yes that's him." Her eyes focused on her lap, "But it only lasted a week."

"And why'd you guys break up?"

"He thought I was gloomy, that all I did was bring rain." She didn't bother to look up.

"And it was true. All I did was bring rain. But that was then. I'm different now." Her eyes met his.

"Obviously," Laxus snorted. A smirk teased from the corners of his mouth.

Her smile widened. Leave it to Laxus to lighten the mood. "What about you?"

"Heh, it's none of your business."

Juvia pouted, "What do you mean it's not my business? I just told you my story. It's only fair you tell me yours."

"But you didn't have to."

"But I did. Now, you tell me yours."

"No." He said without any hesitation.

"Please." Her eyes pleaded with his.

"No."

"Pleeaase." She moved closer to him.

"No."

"Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaassssssseeee!" This time she all but climbed on him. Her small arms wrapped around his large frame.

He looked down at her, "Get off of me."

"No, not as long as you're not going to tell me!"

There was a pregnant pause before he released a sigh, "Alright, fine. Just get off of me, will ya?"

"Yay!" Juvia clapped in glee and jumped off of him.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" He braced himself for invasive questioning.

"Hmm…' She rested her index finger on her chin, "have you ever been in love?"

Laxus raised his eyebrow, "What kinda question is that?"

Juvia smiled, "Just answer it, please."

He let out a deep sigh, "Fine. And no, I have never been in love."

Juvia cocked her head to the side, "Why not?"

"Because."

"Because…?"

Laxus refused to say anything further. Just glares and stares. Juvia shrugged, changing her question, "Since you won't answer then, who do you like in the guild?"

He squinted at the answer, "What do you mean?"

"I mean...who do you think is attractive in the guild?"

"I don't date people in the guild."

Juvia giggled, "Just answer the question."

His response was cut-and-dry, "No one."

"No one?" She repeated playfully.

"No one."

Juvia moved closer to him, "Not even Cana?"

"Too much of a boozer."

"Lucy?"

"Too whiny."

"Erza?"

His eyes widened, "Not that beast."

"Mirajane?"

"Evil." Was all he could muster to say. While Mirajane was the most popular female mage in the guild (and he could admit her beauty), he knew all too well of her devilish ways. And despite the change-of-heart today, he could never forget her as the She-Devil. It still made him shudder.

"Evergreen?"

"No one but Elfman could handle that."

A slick grin appeared on her face, "Maybe it's not a girl, but a guy." His response was swift, "No chance."

"Then who?"

Then Juvia began to blush. He could see the wheels turning in that hyperbolic head of hers. A shudder crept up on him. Batting her eyelashes, she asked, "Is it me?"

"No way."

"But why not?!" She began to pout.

"Too crazy." A smirk threatened to reveal himself.

She looked at him and then chuckled, "I guess I am. But you're no walk in the park either!"

His eyebrow raised, "Oh am I?"

"Oh yeah! If I'm crazy, then what does that make you?"

"Sane." He snorted.

"Hmph. I'm not the one that started a guild civil war."

"No, but you are the one that helped destroy it."

Their eyes locked. Both mages sat unflinching and unfazed for a minute until Juvia burst into laughter.

"Fine, you win. But I have just one question: what would you have done if you did win the Battle of Fairy Tail?"

Laxus paused for a moment before shrugging, "Beats me."

"Are you serious?!" Juvia exclaimed. For someone so strategic in combat, she doubted that he wouldn't have a plan.

"I guess...I would be the new headmaster and then maybe recruit other strong mages. I don't know."

"Seriously? And here I thought you wanted a new world order." His eyebrow raised in interest. She was being sarcastic, something she definitely picked up from him.

"I could ask you the same thing. What would you have done if Phantom Lord won?"

Juvia looked away for a moment, "Hmm...you know, I don't really know either. I think I would still be in the Element Four and continue to fight other guilds."

Laxus shook his head. "I guess being evil really isn't your forte, huh?"

"Hm, I guess not. Though, I will say this. If Phantom Lord won, then I don't think I would ever know Gray." Laxus internally sighed. There she goes mentioning him again.

"Or anyone at Fairy Tail, actually. In a way, I'm glad that they lost."

"You're glad you lost to Gray?"

"You know, I could've beaten him...if I wanted to."

"And why didn't you?"

"Because...I fell in love."

"I see…" Laxus was not amused, "So then, if we're on a mission, I can guess that you would lose on purpose because you saw a cute boy. That's what you're saying."

Juvia smiled, "I wouldn't."

"But how would you know?"

"Because...no one is as good looking as Gray." She said.

Laxus shook his head, "And what about me?"

"What about you?" Juvia answered with more attitude than he expected.

"Am I not cute...or whatever?"

"You're cute. Just in another way."

"Heh,' Laxus smiled, 'Is that so?"

"Yeah, Gray is like mysterious- sensitive-guy-cute. You're more like a mysterious-jerk-cute. Two different cutes. No offense."

"Yeah, I'm offended." He deadpanned.

"But everyone is different. I'm cute-in-a-crazy-way, right?" She said with a bigger smile.

"I guess so. I think that's what they called you in Sorcerer Weekly."

Juvia stared at him with wide eyes. Laxus felt himself getting creeped out, "What?"

"You read Sorcerer Weekly?"

Shit. He didn't expect that to come out. "Uh-Uh...that's cause Evergreen always leaves them at my house."

"Hm." She didn't believe him. The fearsome Laxus of Fairy Tail read trashy tabloid magazines. She flashed him a grin. Another thing that she didn't know about him.

"What? I only read for the Human Interest stories anyways."

Juvia placed her arm around her couch and relaxed a bit more. "I'm sure you do."

Laxus didn't like the face she was making. She looked creepy. "You know what…"

Gray hadn't gone home yet. He had been outside Fairy Hills for two hours. Pacing, back-and-forth. He didn't know what he was going to say. Or what his excuse might be. But he wanted to speak to her.

Juvia looked radiant tonight. They hadn't had much to do with each other the past few weeks due to the whole Valentine's Day festival. He wanted to catch up. So he thought. That's what would make sense, right? She's one of his closest friends, after all.

The question is, how would he approach his friend. She is, you know, attached to the hip of a certain lightning mage. Who he's sure hates his guts...or doesn't appreciate his presence. So, how would he approach this?

This wasn't a mission. He couldn't strategize with combative techniques (although he's sure that her partner would murder him on the spot if tried).

He thought he could do something simple. You know, get her some flowers or candy. But the stores in Magnolia had closed early in preparation for tomorrow's festivities. Also, that would be too romantic and that wasn't the vibe he was going for. No, not at all.

If she were a guy, he guessed that they could fight. But then again, he didn't have a death wish like Natsu.

He almost thought of asking Lucy for advice. But...she has a big mouth. Then there was Erza. But...too scary. Wendy was too young. Levy was-and then there's Gajeel with her as well...so then Levy became a non-factor. He could only rely on himself for now.

The only thing he could do for now is brace himself and go for it. I mean, it's Juvia for fuck's sakes. She was always receptive.

A knock rapped at the door.

Knock, knock!

Juvia looked over at the door, "I wonder who that could be." She said aloud, getting on her feet.

Laxus knew who it was; he could smell him. The familiar notes of mint wafted from underneath the door. It could only be one person.

Juvia's eyes widened when she saw who it was: Gray. He was still in his clothes from the dance, only his tie was undone. It didn't look like he went home afterward.

"G-G-Gray!" Her cheeks reddened, 'W-What are you doing here?" She wasn't expecting anyone, especially him. In that instance, her teddy bear sweatshirt and matching pajamas seemed embarrassing.

"Hey," He said with a cool smile. "I was just in the neighborhood, so I decided to stop by." He was lying of course.

Laxus rolled his eyes at the awkward exchange in front of him. He cleared his throat loud enough to catch their attention. "Well look what we have here." He said with a fake smile. His eyes focused solely on Gray.

Gray took a step inside, "I was in the-"

"Neighborhood, I heard you. Were you visiting Cana?" Laxus asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Oh, that's right. Cana does live here!" Juvia remarked. She didn't even realize the intent of him bringing her name up in the first place.

"Why don't I invite her over? We all can have tea! And I made some of those little cakes that could go perfectly with it! Wait right here, I'll be right back!" Juvia ran before anyone could object.

The room went silent. The men left alone with each other. In a position they dreaded.

There was a long, awkward silence until Gray finally spoke up. "I didn't know you were going to be here. How's it going, Laxus?"

"Hm..."

Typical. He never says much anyways. Ignoring Laxus' slight, he continues, "What are you doing here anyway?"

Laxus narrows his eyes, "Why do you wanna know?"

Gray doesn't cower from Laxus' blatant attempt to intimidate. He pushes on, "I wouldn't have guessed you would be hanging out outside of what was required."

"She insisted I come in. Even made me a snack." He shrugs, "So why not? I like her cooking anyways."

There was a brief silence again.

Struggling to think of another topic, Gray brings up the only thing he could think of. "I didn't know you danced."

"I could say the same about you," Laxus says dryly.

Gray observed the older man. He looked all too comfortable on Juvia's couch. As if he was a regular fixture there. "You must really like her. Juvia, I mean."

Laxus shrugged, "She grew on me."

This piqued Gray's interest. "In what way?"

Laxus chuckled, "She's like Freed."

Gray found himself chuckling as well. He could definitely see the similarities. Association made a lot of sense. Of course, Laxus could handle Juvia; he handles Freed regularly.

Laxus continued, "She's honestly not that bad. A bit overzealous, yeah. But like a stray puppy." Put aside her obsessions, she's tolerable to an extent.

His answer bit at Gray. Not a hard bite, but harder than a nibble. The real question he wanted to ask, the question that remained a constant in the back of his mind, started to make itself known. What if Laxus actually likes Juvia? Despite having eye contact with the man, he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Laxus noticed the hesitation. It was obvious the man had something he wanted to ask him. Smirking, he decided to play around with it. "You know, she is kinda cute too," he remarked.

Gray shot him a bewildered look.

"She'd actually be a good addition to my team. Don't you think?" Gray could not hide his surprise at the man's sudden response.

Laxus continued, "I think her power would be a great addition."

Before Gray could respond, he went on again. "Plus her cooking." Laxus wasn't exactly lying. He had thought about adding her to his team, at least from time to time.

When he didn't get a response, as expected, he started to tease. "You're quiet, Gray. Something wrong?"

"Nothing." Gray lost his train of thought. His forbidden question bit away at him.

"And you know what? She looked good today too." That also wasn't a lie because he did think she looked good tonight. Thing is, he wouldn't admit it to her. "Tell me you didn't notice." Once again, Gray's lack of response made Laxus want to take things a bit further. "Or were you too busy staring at me?"

Gray looked away.

Laxus dropped his teasing. "I know why you're here."

At this point, Laxus found it hard to hide his irritation now. Everything began to affect him. He didn't know how it happened, but seeing Juvia became something that he began to look forward to.

She put him at ease.

He didn't like being touched—hated it really—but he didn't mind when she would place a reassuring hand on his shoulder after a mission.

Or when she would tease him about his stoic demeanor.

Or when she would knit him sweaters that she knew he wouldn't be caught dead in.

Or packed little notes in his lunch boxes when he would go on solo missions.

Or inviting herself to his home and playfully scolding him for the lack of nutrition in his food (excluding his protein shakes).

He liked having her around, even if he wouldn't admit it.

So, it annoyed him whenever the topic of Gray came up. Juvia became something he didn't like. He hoped that with all the time spent with him that she wouldn't revert to her old ways. And she didn't, for the most part. She didn't mention him much or swoon at the sound of his name as she used to. But he could tell that she did it out of respect for him. And he was glad she did even though it did sting to see how much power the other man held over her.

So seeing him show up at her door while they were having a private moment annoyed him.

Seeing her temporarily forget he was in her presence annoyed him.

Feeling like he's intruding something annoyed him.

Being face-to-face, having to talk to him was something that annoyed him.

But before any of them could say anything, Juvia walked back into the room. She looked at both men before announcing, "Cana is asleep, so she can't come."

She turned to face Gray. "You can still join us for tea if you'd like. I have this amazing jasmine tea I got from Violet Village when Laxus and I—"

"No thanks. I should go." Gray interrupted.

"Wait, are you sure? I can just—"

"No, it's okay. I just remembered I have to wake up early to help prepare for the festival in the morning."

"Oh…that's right. We should go to bed." She turned to Laxus, "I think that we should end this for tonight."

Laxus rose from his seat, "You're right. It's getting late anyway." He walked up to Juvia, fussing with the top of her head, "Hm, I'll see you in the morning." He gave her a small smirk.

He walked past Gray saying nothing.

Gray was playing with Juvia. Even though he would complain about how annoying she was, or how much he didn't like her, time-after-time he would give her a sliver of hope. And she would hold onto that for dear life. It was like feeding a stray dog. And that's why he continued to play with Gray.

Because he pitied her.

He needed a taste of his own medicine. He needed to know that she was not the same Juvia anymore.

Hey guys,

Sorry, my writing has been erratic! I've been a bit busy with school and work, but I'm back. The content has been flowing freely lately.

I have a direction as to where the story is going to go. Just want to say...many interesting updates. That's all I'm going to say.

Please feel free to review. I love reading your comments!