Chapter 2

It was rare to see Juvia smile. Ever since she was abandoned by her mother and left as an illegitimate child to Jose, her unrelated father, the curl on Juvia's lips seemed to disappear. It was unsafe to allow people to see her smile- her father might be suspicious and punish her for no reason, or rumors around the court would stir, possibly saying the water mage was up to no good, bringing a bad omen with her unfamiliar grin. But as she stood in front of the degenerated building in front of her, Juvia let all those worries fly away. She was now in the poorer side of Crocus, and no one avoided her because they knew not of her past. Civilians even stopped to say hello and gave small talk to her.

The blunette barely pushed the creaking, broken gate open when she heard a familiar voice come from the interior of the building.

"Juvia-nee!" cried a child, with short pink hair. She looked no more than 7 years old, as she ran up to Juvia and hugged her leg tightly.

"Meredy, Juvia has missed you!" The water mage knelt down to be at height with the little girl. Juvia wrapped her arms around Meredy and embraced her in a warm hug.

"What did you bring us today?" Meredy asked curiously. She gave a toothy grin as she tried to uncover the woven basket that hung from Juvia's arm.

"Juvia has brought everyone breakfast. We can enjoy it with everyone else at home," Juvia replied, smiling at Meredy as she grabbed her hand.

Juvia always used the word "home" instead of "orphanage" when she was around the kids. She never liked how cold, isolating, and cruel orphanage sounded. The few kids who still remained here needed to feel comfortable, and saying orphanage would just make them sound unwanted and abandoned. Just like Juvia. No kids should go through what I've been through, she would think to herself. If they must be abandoned, Juvia will make sure they go to a good family when adopted, and not one that will use them for slavery or labor. Although Juvia could not control how she ended up with Jose, she definitely knew she could help the kids by reviewing parents who wanted to adopt. The perk about being the "daughter" of a Duke, or with any relationship to the castle, was the ability to review files of the commoners in the kingdom. Juvia could know straight away which family was honest, and which one had a criminal past.

A tug on her hand interrupted her thoughts. Meredy was still grinning widely as she pulled Juvia into the shelter.

"Guys! Juvia-nee is here! And she brought us food!" Meredy shouted with delight.

"Juvia-nee is here?" a voice asked with excitement. The girl appeared before Juvia. She had long blue hair tied up in a pony tail and was fitted in a one piece tribal-looking green dress. The little girl, no older than Meredy, held a white plushy cat against her chest.

"Hurrah! Juvia-nee is here!" shouted another voice, this time coming from a short, black haired boy. He was wearing a plain t-shirt and shorts.

"Good morning, Wendy and Romeo!" Juvia greeted them with much enthusiasm. "Juvia has brought some breakfast that we can all share today."

"Good, because I'm starving!" Romeo replied, licking his lips as he imagined a feast awaiting him.

Juvia and the three orphans walked to an old, deteriorated wooden table surrounded by matching wooden stools. Bringing the basket to the table revealed a bounty of golden cheeses and soft bread, surrounded by fresh apples. At once the children grabbed their share and started to munch on them furiously. Normally, Juvia would tell them to eat slowly and more politely, but she remembered that they didn't eat last night. Usually, Juvia would meet the kids in the morning and leave enough food for them until the next day, leaving only due to her father's commands that she was to be back to make lunch and supper for him. But yesterday, Juvia was unable to bring food to the orphanage. Jose woke up early in the morning to meet with Bora, a tradesman, to discuss business in Crocus. The maiden had to clean the house spotless before Bora arrived, and then make them both a hearty breakfast.

"This is yummy," Wendy said as she licked the cheese off her fingers.

"Yeah, give me some more of your cheese!" Romeo yelled, attempting to grab what was left on Wendy's plate.

"Nooo! Juvia-nee, stop Romeo from taking my food!" Wendy cried, teary eyed as she hugged her cat plushy even tighter.

"Romeo, remember that everyone is just as hungry as you. Please know that we are a family, and that sharing is what is most important to making everyone happy," Juvia said kindly, brushing Romeo's hair with her hand.

"Okay…Sorry Wendy, I was just hungry," Romeo said, with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"It's okay, Romeo. Here, you can have some of mine." Wendy pushed her plate toward Romeo.

Juvia's eyes softened. She knew how hard it was for orphans to grow up, constantly hungry. If she could, she would buy them all the food in the world. But the strict allowance that Juvia was given was usually to buy food for Jose's lunch and dinner. The few extra coins Juvia saved up to buy the food for the shelter was from her savings as a little girl.

"No, Wendy. Please keep your share. How about we divide Juvia's share, and everyone can have more?" Juvia chimed. She began cutting her portion into thirds.

"But won't Juvia-nee get hungry?" Meredy noted. Her face was filled with crumbs.

Juvia giggled as she brushed the scattered bread off of Meredy's cheek.

"Juvia is not hungry. She ate a large breakfast this morning. This is all for you." Lying was never a good thing, but in this case, Juvia made the exception. In truth, she hadn't eaten at all this morning, but there was no way she would let the kids go hungry again like yesterday.

Meredy flashed another grin as she helped herself to seconds. Meredy, like the other two, had a tragic past. Her local town was destroyed in a fire, only her father and her made it to the capital in hopes to beg the king for aid to the blazed village. He died of lung complications before he had the chance to even set foot into the royal palace. Aid was eventually sent, but Meredy was picked up by some townspeople of Crocus and placed here, in the orphanage. Juvia would sing her to sleep most nights in her early days of visiting, as tears fell down the little girl's face. But now Meredy was able to live fully again, happy to have companions such as Romeo and Wendy by her side.

Wendy was a mystery still to Juvia. The newest edition to the family, Wendy was reluctant to speak much about her biological family, besides her brother, who also had blue hair. She never went into details about him, and Juvia only knew that he one day left Wendy here in the middle of the night, with no one around, telling her that he'd return to her. It had been two years since that incident. Besides that, Wendy kept to herself a lot, playing with her white cat plushy, which she adorably named "Charle."

Romeo was boisterous, as usual. He didn't seem phased by the fact that he had no parents, and Juvia didn't know much about his past because he was there before she found out about the orphanage. No one pushed Romeo to explain his past, and Juvia didn't care either, as long as everyone was genuinely happy now, in the present. She patted his head as he raced to eat the rest of the food on his plate.

"Remember to save some for dinner tonight," Juvia calmly said. She looked at them endearingly, as if they were her own children. Even though the young maiden was only 18 and too young to be a parent, she learned to treat them as her own and has become very protective of them.

The kids soon finished their meal and pulled Juvia from the chair. Eagerly, they got off their seats and started running out the door.

"Let's go play outside," Meredy insisted, pulling on the blunette's sleeve. Juvia smiled and happily complied. Wendy and Romeo walked out with them and soon the younglings began to kick a flat, rubber ball against the rough pavement.

As they kept busy, Juvia began really looking at the building. She sighed in an upsetting manner. The walls were dirty and the front yard still seemed impossible to work with. With a deep breath, Juvia began to materialize cool water from her hands. She started weaving her hands in a familiar motion, allowing a steady stream of liquid to wash the muddy dirt off the walls of the orphanage.

Magic at this time of age was not as abundant before. People began to lose the sight of magic and forgotten the art of it all. Even Juvia herself, who learned water magic from her late mother, knew only how to do simple tasks with her power. Her mother always reminded Juvia of the potential she had, but once her mother had abandoned her, it felt like her magic had been taken away from her as well.

Once the wall was cleaned, Juvia removed something from her pocket- apple seeds that remained after lunch.

"Juvia-nee, what are you doing?" Wendy piped.

"Juvia thought it would be nice to try to plant something out here. That way whenever you are hungry, you can always come to this apple tree. It would also make this place look a little more lively," Juvia responded, smiling at Wendy's curiosity.

"The seeds will become FOOD?" Romeo asked, slightly drooling.

"Yes. These seeds are just like you all, small and tiny at first, but growing stronger despite the adversity," Juvia said, with pride in her eyes.

"Really? We are like apple trees?" Meredy questioned. The little girl paused and thought to herself. "Then that must mean Juvia-nee is like a flower blossoming in the rain! Even though it rains a lot you are still always happy like a flower!"

Juvia giggled. Even though Juvia had no idea why it always rained so much around her, she was thankful it only sprinkled from time to time when she visited the orphanage. She was always in a better mood there, and the rain always seemed to coincidentally pair up with her feelings.

Soon the kids fell tired of the outside activities. Everyone headed back inside, with the children collapsing into a deep sleep. Juvia took off her cloak and blanketed the kids as they snored softly. Romeo had his limbs sprawled all over the single, ragged mattress that the kids shared, with Wendy and Meredy to either side of him. In the midst of the silence, Juvia's stomach growled.

"Juvia hasn't eaten all day," she whispered aloud.

Food…then she thought about the next meal time-dinner. DINNER! Juvia suddenly remembered that her father had an incoming visitor today and that he told her to prepare dinner! Panicking, Juvia left the orphanage, but not before taking one more loving look at the kids before she scurried off to town.

"Juvia will not make it in time!" she yelped. The only thing she could think of was to go to the ramen shop down south. Jose adored that ramen shop, and she knew that he would not drop any complaints if she brought that home as dinner. As she reached the store, a familiar figure stood before her.

"What do you mean, I have to pay you, you old man?" a distinguishable, low voice growled. "I asked you for directions, and instead you gave me a bowl of ramen! I don't have money to pay for this!"

"Whaaaaaat? I thought you said you wanted spicy pork ramen," the old man behind the counter said. He had white hair sprouting from the sides of his head, but balding evidently in the middle. He was short, sporting a traditional happi and wore a kind, wrinkled smile, seemingly clueless to the man's annoyance.

"G-gray-san?" Juvia asked, as she cautiously stood behind his heavy armor.

"Oi, it's you! Juvia! Listen, I'm, er, lost again. But first of all, help me get this old man off my back!" Gray vexed.

"Manager-san, it's Juvia," she started.

"Ohhhhh? Juvia-chan? You are such a sweet girl. Isn't she sweet?" the old man said, to no one in particular. It was becoming clear to Gray that the owner of this shop was getting a bit senile. "Well, this handsome man must be your boyfriend, am I right?"

"Eh?" Juvia's face began to flush red for the hundredth time today. Gray didn't seem to hear what he said, as he was searching the right road to lead him to his destination.

"N-no, I just met-"Juvia began, stammering.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll let him off this time. He won't have to pay for that order. Consider yourself lucky!" he said to Gray, while winking at Juvia.

"Lucky? I didn't even order that!" Gray argued, with a slight vein popping out of his temple.

Juvia's head started spinning. Gray's voice was still loud and the manager just kept smiling and nodding at Gray. But she had to be home soon, or her father would surely punish her if she were late.

"Listen, manager-san. Please give me two beef curry ramens to-go. I must be home soon…" Juvia explained. Her heart was doing flip flops as she placed her order while standing next to Gray.

The urgency in Juvia's voice must have made the old man snap out of his senile-like trance. He quickly went back into the kitchen as Juvia and Gray waited outside the booth.

"So," Gray started. "Like I was saying…"

Juvia dared not look into his eyes as he spoke. His dark, beautiful eyes. She was afraid that she would get sucked into his handsome features, from the scar on top of his right eyebrow, to the striking jaw line that framed his face.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Gray said, slightly irritated. He waved his hand in front of Juvia. She was staring down at the floor, nervously twiddling her fingers.

"O-oh! Juvia is sorry, what was it you said, Gray-san?" Juvia asked embarrassedly, as her hand clutched over her pounding heart. As soon as faced him to reply, she was enwrapped by his face, and her pale skin began to feel tingly, as if Gray were electric to her.

Just then, the old man came out with two hot, packaged ramens to-go.

"Thank you, manager-san," Juvia said, grateful that he came at the right time so she would not face further embarrassment in front of Gray. The water mage paid for her meal and began walking away from Gray. For some reason, her heart wavered when Gray was around, and she needed to flee from his presence in order to feel normal again.

"Oi! Where are you going? I still need your help," Gray grunted, reaching for Juvia as she tried to walk away. A strong, yet gentle ice-cold grip was placed on Juvia's shoulder.

Juvia almost dropped her meal.

"I-I, home," Juvia managed to choke out, too confused from his conflicting cold touch and her warmth radiating from her cheeks. She always yearned to talk to someone, but now that she had the chance to, especially with such a handsome solider, the words just couldn't seem to flow.

Gray looked at the blue-haired maiden curiously. She was acting flustered, and he had no idea why. He eyed the wrinkly manager, who gave him a thumbs-up. Could it be…forbidden love between them? Is she acting like this because of…him? Gray shook away the creepy thought with disgust and mentally slapped himself for even thinking of something so out of reach.

"Anyway," Gray began, still a bit suspicious of the possibility of a forbidden romance. "I need your help again finding my way. He's pretty well-known here, so I hope you know where his headquarters are. I'm due for a dinner with the duke. Duke Jose."

"WHAT?" Juvia cried. Her jaw dropped to the floor.

This time she really did drop the meal.

Gray luckily caught the take-out dinner in time before it hit the floor. The old man, still watching from afar, started giggling and dancing in his sandals behind the counter at the event unfolding before him. Gray shot him a dirty look.

"I said, I'm going to have dinner with Duke Jose," Gray repeated, raising his eyebrow.

A/N:

That's it for chapter 2! It's a bit longer than the last one, but still short nonetheless. I hope this story doesn't feel like it's dragged out. If it is, please let me know! Message me, review, or whatever works best. I hope that as I continue to write, longer chapters will come. And I do apologize if the characters are OOC, but I tried my best to stay as close to the traits as possible. I am super new to fanfiction, so again, let me in on some constructive criticism! Or even any ideas for the storyline in general!

Also- yay! The kiddos are here! When I thought about writing this, I always wanted to incorporate just a small bit about children into the storyline. I still don't know what I'll do with them- they may play a very insignificant role as of now. I thought to myself though- if I were to add kids to my storyline, might as well use some of those kawaii characters in fairy tail! So yeah, they are younger in this story than in the actual manga, but I thought it'd be nice to shine a small limelight on them

And last but not least- the store owner was wearing a happi. This is a traditional clothing usually worn only by store keepers in festivals. (In the story there is no festival, but I liked it nonetheless :D)

Thanks to all who read!

-GreenTeaCake