Chapter 4 Formalities, Rivals & Bathtubs.
A/N: Thankyou to everyone who followed and favourited the story. Here is chapter 4! The only problem with setting a timeline for the purpose of a relationship means you can get stuck with getting a bit carried away and risk the characters going OOC. Hope it's okay! Enjoy!
The heels belonged to a very elegant blonde woman who walked with such finesse and elegance. Juvia felt slightly pale in comparison to this womans beauty. The lady in question wore black heels, a black pencil skirt that clung to her legs and a tight fitted blouse with a couple of the top buttons undone revealing her cleavage.
"When Fairy tail said they were sending two highly skilled mages for the job I never imagined one of them to be Gray Fullbuster." The blonde gave Gray her biggest smile, her teeth strikingly white against her red lipstick as she looked him up and down. "Your performance in the Grand Magic Games was truly amazing." She continued to stare at Gray who was beginning to feel uncomfortable, he glanced at Juvia who looked like she wanted to murder the blonde right there and then.
"Ah it was nothing that some good teamwork couldn't handle." He emphasised the teamwork part to try and snap Juvia out of her dark thoughts. They always worked well together the Grand Magic Games had been no exception.
The blonde woman nodded "My name is Priscilla. It is a pleasure to meet you." Gray grumbled some kind of response, really not interested in the blondes flirtatiousness. Juvias fists clenched at her side although she was relieved that her visions of Gray falling for the over bearing blonde had been thwarted by Grays seeming disinterest in her.
The blonde turned her attention to other mage beside Gray "And who are you?" The question was directed at Juvia as the blonde narrowed her eyes at her speaking with a flat tone.
"Juvia. Juvia Lockser." Juvia met Priscillas eyes directly determined to not be intimidated by her. "Gray-samas partner in one of the fights in the Grand Magic Games. You must of seen our Unison Raid." Juvia said with a proud smirk. Pricilla seemed to be recalling something in her head.
"No. Can't say I remember you I'm afraid. You seem to hold Gray in the highest of respects to call him sama." The blondes smile twisted into a devious one.
Gray piped up feeling the tension between the two girls rising to a worrying level. If this little spat kept up then he was sure Juvia would snap and end up putting the blonde into a suffocating water lock or worse. "I couldn't have won against Lyon without Juvia. She's a very powerful mage." He said casually as he smiled to the blunette beside him, who now seemed to have calmed down smiling back to him.
"Right well Mr Musketty is waiting for you in the west wing. I'll take you there now." Priscilla said suddenly changing into a very professional demeanour as she led the way, Gray and Juvia followed from a distance behind her.
"Juvia does not like her." She whispered to the icemage whilst pouting and glaring daggers at the blondes back as she walked in front of them purposefully swaying her hips. Gray just rolled his eyes. Juvia got jealous of any and every girl that looked, spoke or touched (well tried to) him. Although he had to give her credit she had got better. But he had to agree with her on this one. He didn't like the blonde much either.
"Here we are." Priscilla said as she knocked on a large oak door. Gray had no idea how they got there, they had travelled down so many corridors. After a few more moments the door was opened by yet another butler allowing the three of them to walk into the room. It was a simple room, the only furniture being two cream couches and a small coffee table in the middle. A scrawny looking man with blonde hair stood looking out a window as he smoked a pipe. He looked far to young to have this much money. Maybe he's the son of Mr Musketty. Gray thought.
"Sir." Priscilla bowed. "The two Fairy Tail mages are here to see you." She turned and walked out the room as the butler closed the door behind her. The air felt awkward and neither Gray nor Juvia knew whether to take a seat on the sofa or stay standing.
"Ah. Welcome. I am so glad you could come on such short notice." He said as he turned around his eyes falling to Juvia. "My, my." He said as he looked her up and down. "What were your names again?" He asked as he took another puff of his pipe.
"Gray Fullbuster." Gray said folding his arms in front of his chest.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Fullbuster."
"Please. Gray will be fine." Gray hated being addressed so formally.
"As you wish." He nodded at Gray. "And your name?" He asked the watermage his gaze softening.
"Juvia Lockser." Juvia said trying not to blush under his gaze, that kept roaming her body.
"Such a fitting name for one so beautiful." Gray felt his temper spike but one glance at Juvias disinterest calmed him. "Please just call me Stan." He said. "Oh and do please take a seat. We have business to discuss." Stan gestured to the cream three seater nearest to the pair. Juvia was the first to take a seat, sitting right at the edge placing her hand on the armrest. Much to Juvias surprise Gray sat down right next to her, his arms still folded over his chest. Gray-sama never sits this close to Juvia. She followed his gaze which was locked onto Stan whose eyes were still on her. The billionaire took a seat opposite the pair on the other couch. This must have been how Juvia felt when that blonde kept ogling me.
"So the job request is to take out some gang of unruly wizards?" Gray asked dragging the guys attention off of Juvia. Mavis only knows what would've happened if I hadn't of come. The icemage thought to himself, Juvia really does attract a lot of attention even in such unrevealing clothing, not that that should be a surprise. He took a sideways glance at his guild mate taking in the way the light from the windows filtered onto her face lighting up her creamy skin before turning his attention back to Stan.
"Yes. There have been robberies and attacks happening." He turned to look at Gray "Namely on young ladies." He looked to Juvia. "As stated on the request. I have hired you to eradicate the gang and their leader." Stan got up to walk over to the tall window pipe in hand. He took a long puff before continuing. "They are quite skilled wizards which is why I was worried about them maybe being more than just your average 'gang'." He paused. "They only seem to operate at night."
"I see." Gray replied. It's a good thing I didn't let Juvia take this job on her own.
"Mr Musketty." Juvia began.
"Stan please." He scolded the watermage.
"Stan…. Juvia was wondering. Are there many wizards in the village?" Stan turned around to the face the two mages again.
"No. None. We have no idea where they are coming from." He looked back out to the gardens deep in thought.
"So our job will be in the night then?" Gray asked realising this job would be done on minimal sleep internally groaning.
"Yes I am afraid so. Please, I will have one of my butlers show you to your rooms. Feel free to sleep before dinner or see the mansion, whichever you wish. Dinner will be in a few hours at 6pm. You will both be dining with me tonight." He said not turning back to the mages until Juvia spoke up.
"Thank you." She said before bowing.
"No need to bow Juvia." Stan said. Is that a blush on his face? Gray thought he had seen a small pink colour tinting the billionaires cheeks.
"Juvia is sorry. It is just a habit." She smiled as she turned to leave, Gray beside her.
The two of them made their way in heavy silence down the hall and up a spiral staircase before Gray spoke a hint of anger in his voice.
"I'm not sure what I think about him." Gray said as they walked down another corridor stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Oh?" Juvia asked looking up at the icemage who had a scowl on his face.
"Yeah, he seems… fishy. He looks at you like you're…" He ran a hand through his black hair. "I don't know. I just don't like it." He finished dropping the subject.
"Juvia thinks he is a nice person. But he does stare a bit too much at Juvia. Its unnerving." She giggled and Gray grumbled something as they all came to a stop, their rooms were also located in the west wing of the mansion some way up from where they had just been. They reached Juvias room first.
"Miss Lockser." Juvias eyes snapped away from Gray and focused on the man in front of them. "This will be your room. The master picked it out especially earlier." Juvia flushed.
"Uh that was very nice of him." She suddenly felt very intrigued and nervous about 'her' room why had he picked it out for her? She went to open the door her hand shaking slightly, but the butler reached it first, opening it for her. "Th- thank you." She stammered as she entered closing her door behind her. The watermage took a deep breath as she placed her back against the door eyeing the room with scrutiny. It looked like a normal room. The whole room was made up of different shades of blue, and as Juvia made her way over to the big window and looked out she smiled to herself. A big water fountain bubbled outside, the sound of the water washing waves of comfort through her body. She closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath. The air in here was cold. She let out a small shiver as she checked out the massive en-suite bathroom she had. The whole room was tiled eggshell blue and a soft gray colour covered the floor, a massive deep bath tub sat in the middle of the room, it even had jets. Just off to the side was a door leading into a wet room with multiple shower heads hanging from the walls. Juvia couldn't wait to try them both out. Leaving the room she decided that she would do just that. As the watermage went to pick up a towel from the end of the bed there was a knock at her door. Cautiously the blunette moved to door and opened it slightly so she could peek out.
"Juvia it's me." The voice spoke.
"Gray-sama!" Juvia squealed as she flung open the door to her room. "Can Juvia help you with something." She asked beaming from ear to ear.
"Well, I uh." He scratched the back of his head. "Have you checked out your room?" He asked feeling uncomfortable.
"Yes!" her eyes were shining, she has the most beautiful blue eyes. "Juvia has the most amazing bath!" Gray chuckled, of all the things she was amazed at a bath.
"That's not what I meant Juvia." The icemage looked both ways before whispering to her. "Can I come in?" Juvias face flushed scarlet.
"Gray-Gray-sama wants to come into Juvias room…." She cupped her hands over her mouth her mind whirring filling her with all new fantasies some of them including the bath tub and the wet room.
"Yes. That guy picked out your room didn't he? I just want to make sure there's nothing funny going on here. You know cameras and stuff." He now wore a blush on his face. When Gray had thought about this in his head it had seemed like a perfectly normal thing for him to want to do. But now Gray realised he was being over-protective. "Uh actually never mind, I'm sure it's fine, he's our client right." He turned to walk away but Juvia grabbed his wrist and yanked him into her room shutting the door behind them.
"Gray-sama is so sweet! Gray-sama can check out Juvias room if he wants!" Juvia exclaimed. Gray didn't really hear what Juvia had said as he was staring in awe at the watermages room. It was nothing like his. He had a double bed a dresser and small en suite. The walls in Juvias room were painted a pale blue colour, except the wall behind the bed which was a deep dark blue, like the ocean.
"What… your room is so much nicer than mine!" He exclaimed without thinking; the watermage just blinked at him.
"What does Gray-sama mean?" She asked.
"All I have is a double bed, a dresser and a small en suite." He walked over to her bed, Juvias mind going into over drive again as he ran his hands over the pale blue covers and inspected the canopy above and the bedside tables. "I mean. You have a four poster bed! A wardrobe, dresser, dressing table, a sofa and a tv!" He definitely wanted this room.
"That's not all Gray-sama!" The excited watermage grabbed his arm dragging him to the window. "Juvia has a view of the most beautiful gardens! And water fountain." This guy sure knows Juvia for someone who didn't recognise her earlier. It looks as though this room was done up especially for her. "And come see the bathroom!" she dragged him into another big room which held the biggest bath Gray had ever seen and off to the side was a door.
"What's in there?" He asked eyeing the door suspiciously.
"A wet room!" Juvia bounded to the door opening it for Gray to see. He eyed the area suspiciously looking for any signs of cameras or peep holes.
"Well it all seems okay." He met her eyes getting lost in the sheer happiness that radiated from them.
"So no hidden cameras Gray-sama?" The blunette chuckled poking his side a few times causing Gray to tense up.
"Oi! Hey!" Gray exclaimed. He was very ticklish. He spun around to poke her back but the watermage had squealed and already turned to run off. Gray chuckled as he ran after her, he caught up in no time at all as he grabbed Juvia around her waist holding her against him tickling her. Causing them both to start laughing especially as she squirmed in his arms.
"Gra-Gray-sama! Stop!" She laughed tears of joy forming in her eyes, this was the first time in her life she had wanted to not be in his arms. The icemage stopped his assault after a few more seconds and Juvia turned to face him, both their faces pink and smiling.
"I will always win when it comes to tickle fights." He smirked at her taken by surprise as Juvia launched herself at him both of them hitting the floor as she straddled him tickling him anywhere she could. It took Gray a while to register what was happening and he was now squirming, wriggling and laughing beneath her.
"Juvia!" He cried out as he managed to grab a hold of her pulling her down onto him to stop her assault. Their eyes locked and it felt like the whole world had stopped. Like time had frozen and there was nothing but them. Juvia had never seen Gray more alive, more happy than this moment and it made her heart skip a beat. He looked more handsome than ever.
"Gray-sama…" Juvia whispered as she leaned in towards him.
Grays mind was spinning and he felt dizzy. She looks beautiful. Juvias eyes were bright and playful just like the ocean waves, they were so deep he felt like he could dive right into them. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears as blood coursed throughout his body, she was leaning in to kiss him and he didn't want to stop her. He raised a hand to her the back of her head feeling her soft waves in his hands, her breath was grazing along his lips now and he was still lost in her eyes as the door opened.
"Erm excuse me." It was the butler.
A/N: I actually had this finished this yesterday but I didn't want to post it without checking for mistakes :3 I hope you all like it. I know the tickle scene seems a bit OOC on Grays part but I'd like to think that at this point in their relationship he would loosen up around Juvia, that he'd let his defences down occasionally. That's how I picture it anyway! What do you all think of my chapter titles? I try to be creative with them :-D
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CrookedMoonlight