Both Laxus and Gray stood there watching as the twin dragons accompanied Juvia elsewhere. Each dragon smiling from ear-to-ear, laughing with her as if they were old friends. Suddenly their little talk wasn't worth much significance.

A soft voice from behind caught their attention, "They certainly look good together, don't you think? A giggling Mirajane cooed with mischievous energy. "I see she's always had a thing for the strong and silent types." She continued before walking past them, a smile never leaving her lips.

In the kitchen, Juvia was grateful for Sting and Rogue. She didn't know where Laxus disappeared off to with Gray. Gray...he had been acting funny since last night.

"Good night, Laxus."

Once he closed the door behind him, Juvia turned her attentions towards Gray who was also watching the other man make his exit. "What really brings you here?" His neck snapped towards her in response. His eyebrow rose in confusion, "I, uh, just told you. I was just in the neighborhood-"

"Gray, you've never been the one to just stop-by just because you were in the neighborhood." She pressed. Her eyes were full of amusement. Not even he was buying his own excuse. He sighed, "Actually, I was just hoping that we could speak...privately. I didn't know that...he would be here." Juvia smirked. Well that was obvious.

"Is it an emergency? Do you need anything?"

"Well, no. It's not that it's something else."

"I figured it would be." There was a brief silence before she broke it, "The dance was fun tonight. Cana looked really good." His eyes looked away for a brief moment. "Me and Laxus had a lot of fun."

Gray bit the inside of his cheek, attempting to hide his irritation. "Did you have a good time as well?" Her tone was innocent, too innocent.

"Yeah, sure." He mumbles. She smiled. Same old Gray.

There was a longer silence than before. This time he decided to be the one to break it. "You're quite close to him." He remarks. His tone was bittersweet.

"He's a really interesting guy. There's a lot to him that I didn't know about." She could tell that the ever-ambivalent Gray was attempting to keeping cool. It reminded her of Laxus in that aspect.

Hearing her talk about him that way surprised him. It looked as if she was genuinely into him. When he looked over at her, the difference between the Juvia he knew and the current Juvia was different. He knew she changed but now it truly sunk in. There was an aura around her, a natural ease emanating from her. He gave a tiny closed smile. She still looked at him in admiration but not as intense as before.

Could it be Laxus' doing?

Laxus finally decided to make an appearance into the guild kitchen. Actually, he had been following them for a while.

A large shadow loomed over Juvia, prompting her to look up, "Need some help?" He asked.

Instead of the smile he was hoping for, Juvia politely shakes her head, "No, I have all the help I need." She said with a slight pout. His ego deflated a bit.

Trying to recover from the sudden blow, he opened his mouth to make conversation but was interrupted by a foreign pest.

"Hi Laxus! Dude, you're like a legend!" Sting begins to fanboy. While he is Natsu's biggest fan, how can he not acknowledge the legend that is Laxus Dreyar.

"Mm." Laxus mumbles.

The more Sting tried to speak to him, the very few he said. Noticing the growing annoyance in his face, Juvia makes eye contact with Laxus, flashing him a "be nice" look. He sighs.

"Why don't you go wait for me at the stand? We're almost done here." She pleads sweetly. Sighing, he turns on his heels, ignoring a still-talking Sting and makes his way back.

At the stand, he sees Gajeel who was waiting for the group to come back. Both men acknowledged each other with a nod and an exchange of mumbled greetings.

There was a bit of silence before Gajeel finally says what he's been thinking about. "She's different. Rain woman, that is." His eyes never left the crowd in front of them. Laxus looks over at him. He knew it was true

Gajeel continues, "I thought she was going to obsess over ice pop forever." He truly glad it was over. He was feeling bad for her. He was the one that she cried to when the embarrassment wasn't enough. And no matter what, she would never take his advice to leave him alone.

"It's only been a few weeks." Laxus said dryly.

Gajeel looks over at him, "It doesn't seem as if that's what you want." Laxus' face never breaks, not wanting the other man to show that he was indeed caught off guard. He didn't want to admit it, but Gajeel was right. After tonight, they would go their separate ways. After he was just getting used to her. When tonight is over she'll go back to him. Surely enough. It was only time since Gray has been a lot more attentive than before. In the end it'll work out for her.

Gray was left alone in the corner. He was still thinking about Laxus' words.

"And what if I did? It's none of your business, right?" It just ringing around his mind.

Why did it bother him? He knew that he didn't like her like she liked him, right? So why was this so hard? Why did it bother him when Laxus said it? He was telling the truth. It was none of his business. No matter if he tried to make it so. And why was he so shocked at seeing Rogue talk to Juvia? I mean they've talked before. At least when they had to.

"I see you haven't been making due on our promise, Gray." Gray looked up to see a smug face meet his.

Still as over confident as ever, Lyon folded his arm across his chest as his head shook ever-so-slightly.

Gray squinted his eyes in confusion. "What promise?" Lyon shook his head again, "I see now why she's not with you."

He looked at him again, "Come again?"

"Our promise, Gray. I said that I wouldn't stand in your way to Juvia." Gray still looked at him. Nothing was ringing a bell.

"You see? This is exactly why she ran into another man's arms." He tone was rueful. "Had you made a move on her already, our Juvia would not be cavorting around with him." He looked in the direction of a smiling Juvia and a stern Laxus.

Gray sighed in defeat. His friend never was going to give up. Closing his eyes to muster a restrained statement, "You're not getting it-" His eyes opened and glared at the man in front of him. "First of all, how did you-"

"Know? Gray, I have eyes and ears here." He said with a smirk. Actually, he's been paying Wendy 100 jewels (should be 20 honestly, but Carla was a tough one) to tell him guild gossip.

Apparently Juvia was getting really close to Laxus.

"You're paying off little girls, Lyon? Seriously?"

"That's beside the point."

"And the point is?"

"You've had your chance. Now I must rightfully take what is mine."

"And what is that exactly?" He said flatly.

"Juvia's heart." He said matter-of-factly.

"Now excuse me while I go to my beloved." He said as he bypassed his rival.

This all was giving Gray a massive headache.

To Lyon, Juvia was the epitome of woman. Strong, smart, sweet...beautiful. He was transfixed by her from the moment he saw her. The moon-colored complexion, eyes as wide and fierce as a tsunami, and demeanor only as cool as his magic. She wasn't even smiling or laughing or trying to bring any attention towards herself. She was just...natural.

It was different. Very different from Shelly throwing herself at him. Fawning over him. Fighting over him. She didn't have to do anything, she just was.

So it hurt when he found out her eyes were only for the man that was like his brother. His lifelong rival. It hurt a lot. He would rather the fire-breathing fool Natsu than Gray. Anyone but Gray. He couldn't understand the appeal. What could she possibly have in common with him? Besides guild affiliation, he and her were more alike. Dark pasts and all.

But he accepted it. After all, Juvia deserved to be happy. Gray deserved to be happy. So he conceded to him. It was much to his chagrin when he found out about the whole matchmaking situation.

He expected her and Gray to be matched but that didn't happen. She wasn't with him. They weren't compatible, something that he would've been happy with until he found out who her partner was: Laxus.

He didn't know much about Laxus other than him inciting a civil war within the guild and single handedly defeating an entire guild without breaking a sweat. Or knocking out Jura, an actual Wizard Saint. His reputation was legendary. Especially with women.

Apparently, the lightning dragon slayer got around a lot. Despite fiercely guarding his personal life, he was well known for never committing to one relationships. At least, that's what it said in last month's edition of Sorcerer Weekly.

And he could never have been so upset for poor Juvia. Fake matchmaking or not, she didn't deserve this. He could only imagine what the man was putting her through. He clenched his chest, looking at her and muttered, "Juvia."

Laxus had been standing a good 15 minutes before Juvia decided to make her entrance, snacks and slayers in tow. There they were, walking away together towards the guild. The blond one and his cat in front and Juvia and the dark one behind, walking in-step as they talked. There they were, looking as if they knew each other all their lives.

This was a different feeling. Gray annoyed him but this was different. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch. It was gnawing away at him. Juvia looked too friendly. Where did she even know them from anyways? The Grand Magic Games? No, it couldn't be then. Even though they barely talked, he knew there wasn't a possibility. Fairy Tail hated Sabertooth.

But then afterwards…but then again, she mostly hung around Gray and the guild. But didn't the dark-haired one claim to know Gajeel back in his Phantom Lord days? He must've met her back then. He knew Gajeel and Juvia were close. A little too close, if you ask him. He doesn't understand how Levy couldn't be the least concerned.

But then again...looking over at Juvia, it's understandable that she would be attracted to him. For so long, her eyes were fixated on one man and one man alone. He always told her that she put herself out there more. But still, he didn't expect an outside guild. I mean, what did Sabretooth have over Fairy Tail anyways? They lost to Fairy Tail...badly.

They're all knock-offs of them anyways. The blond one is a bargain bin Natsu and the one with the feathered hat is Freed's understudy and the big one with lightning is so obviously a failed attempt at him...and... the dark one...he's like Gray...and Gajeel.

He blinked for a couple of seconds. Maybe that's why she seemed to get along with him. The best of both worlds. The men closest to her. Dark, brooding, reserved. It made a lot more sense now that he thought about it. He supposed that Rogue could make a good rebound for her. But still...insides toiled in uncertainty. He couldn't figure it out. And he was too cautious to even try.

The twin dragons helped set up the table as their 30-minute break was nearly over. Though they didn't stay. Apparently, Sting got a whiff of Natsu's scent and dashed towards him, dragging Rogue along. Smart.

Just as he was letting himself go at ease, another foreign pest appeared. This time it was Lyon, Gray's bumbling rival from Lamia Scale that embarrassed himself throughout the Grand Magic Games for his declarations to Juvia. If there ever was a male version of her, it'd be that guy. He groaned inwards and out as the man made his way.

"Well hello, Juvia. It's always a pleasure to see you." He said with a grin. He turned to Laxus and nodded, "You too, Laxus." He could tell he was trying not to be as offensive as he could be.

"Hi Lyon. How are you?" Juvia said with a smile. Not a forced smile like she's been giving guys all morning, but a friendly smile-the same one she flashed the twin dragons. It puzzled Laxus because he was sure she was disgusted by him-at least that's what her previous actions were. Had she changed so much since the competition?

"Obviously not as good as you. I heard your character breads are a success." Not as obvious as him trying to put on his charms, Laxus thought.

"Oh-would you like to try one? They're fresh off the oven!" Lyon put his hand over his chest. She was so cute. "Y-Yes."

"What character would you like?" She asked.

"Uh...uh…"

She smiled, "Oh, I know what you want: Gray bread!" Lyon blushed at the insinuation that he would even want to eat Gray.

"N-No, I-I" He started to explain himself but failed in coherence.

That idiot, Laxus thought. It was obvious she knew the effect she had on him and was egging him on. He looked over at her, a small smirk threatening to burst on both of their faces. He never thought she had it in her. But then again...she surprised him every day.

"Then Juvia bread then!" Her eyes and mouth matched in playfulness.

"I-I-I'll take Happy bread!" Lyon tried to save himself but it was too late. His blush was spread to his neck.

"Good choice, he's another popular character today!" She said with glee.

Before Laxus could comment on the scene he just witnessed, his ears caught a familiar giggle from before. He turned to his left where Wendy, free from both Romeo and Carla, was standing. Her tiny hands covered her mouth as she tried to hold in her laughter. Without saying anything, he made his way towards the giggling child.

"You've been looking at me all day. What gives?" He said blandly.

"Nothing." She shook her and smiled.

"Nothing? Is that so?" She nodded furiously. For a brief moment, there was a staring match before Wendy finally broke. "You aren't as scary as I thought."

He blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Well...I always thought you were kinda big and mean-because everyone said you were-but you're actually sweet."

"And when did you realize that? Today?"

"No, it was during the Grand Magic Games. But when Juvia called you sweet today, it made me think...you are sweet...in your own way."

Laxus smirked, "Hm, you talk too much." He mussed his hand on her head, causing her to complain.

Lyon looked over at what looked to be Laxus playing with Wendy before turning his attentions back to Juvia. He knew it was his chance before the man came back.

"Juvia." He said, looking into her eyes.

"Yes." She looked up at him.

"Listen, I know you only have eyes for Gray and I know that I'm not him but...would you like to have dinner with me, sometime?" The last part was faster and lower. He cringed internally.

"Yes."

"I know this was stupid since you like Gray but-wait, what?" His eyes were incredulous. He couldn't believe it. That she actually said yes.

She smiled, "I said yes."

"Yes?"

She giggled, "Yes." Juvia knew that while she may have had feelings for Gray, Sting and Laxus and Gajeel and everyone else was right. She needed to put herself out there more and give more guys a chance. And Lyon really liked her. It was only the first step.

Laxus paused his teasing, immediately turning towards the duo he left behind. Not another foreign pest.