AN:This chapter turned out to be longer than expected. Over 3k words! Whoa! Thanks to all who have read the previous chapters and have left wonderful comments or followed or favorited this story. You are too kind. :)
This chapter does contain some Lemons. It also contains some kick-assery.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail is created and owned by Hiro Mashima.
The Promise
Chapter 4 – Little Death
He remembers the contours of her body, how her hips swell just below her hip bone and how soft her legs are when they are wrapped around his body. He remembers the way her shortness of breaths and panting would alert him that she is close to orgasm or how her breasts bounce around in perfect circular motions, moving in opposite directions. He remembers staring into her blue eyes as they reached each other in the most intimate ways possible, how her deep stare into his eyes were focused and yet hazy due to the levels of euphoria she was reaching. He remembers her inner walls and how they squeezed his member as if trying to take the last drop of his seed from him. He recalls the sound of their slick, sweaty skin slapping against each other as they would meld and connect. He remembers last night.
She remembers the hardness of his body as it rocked against her soft frame, how his strong arms would wrap around her body and hold her tight as he pushed himself deeper into her. She remembers his grunts and moans and the string of curse words that would escape his lips when he felt her tightness overwhelm him. She remembers the sexual positions he would initiate and how his rock hard member would glide inside earning a loud, shameless moan that ripped from her throat. She remembers the way his hands would massage her breasts or how his mouth and tongue would ravage her nipples making her beg for more. She remembers his deep kisses and the way he sucked on her tongue. She remembers how sensitive her clit was and how his fingers would rapidly rub against it to make her cum. She remembers last night.
Since that night when they first consummated their bond, Juvia and Gray have been making love to each other whenever the opportunity presented itself. It didn't matter that during the day they would train hard and try to take each other down with their most powerful magic. It didn't matter that Juvia would get so carried away in her battles and Gray would need to stop her before either of them got hurt. It didn't matter that Gray would sometimes lose control of his Devil Slayer powers and almost hurt himself and Juvia. After the training when the sun went down they would head back to the cottage, clean up, get into fresh clothes, eat dinner and then go to bed together. Its those times when they slept next to each other that they could not keep their hands off one another. During their fourth month together, they continued to solidify their bond by melting their souls together while in a deep embrace. One morning, Juvia started to giggle making Gray wake up and wonder why she was laughing.
"What's so funny?" Gray asks groggily.
"Oh, Juvia was thinking that our lovemaking is just our most intimate Unison Raid. Think about it. Ever since we started sleeping together our magic seemed to have gotten stronger."
"You do have a point. I noticed it ever since the first time we did it that my magic got stronger. When you were attacking me the other day, I felt your magic and how much more intense it was."
"Juvia thought about the strongest magic one could have and the only thing Juvia could think of is love. Love has to be the strongest form of magic."
Gray turned over to look at Juvia, propping his arm so his head could lean on his hand. "It explains a lot. Your love defeated Keith and saved my dad. I owe you so much for that."
"Juvia thinks Gray has already paid up. Now you're just intoxicated with Juvia." She smiles at him with her sly remark as he smiles back and leans in to kiss her.
"Should we do some training today or should we head into town and get some things," asks Gray. He starts to play with Juvia's loose locks of hair absent-mindedly as she clasps her hands together and exclaims, "Ohh! Juvia wants to go into town today and get things!"
"Alright. Make a list and we'll head out. I'll even cook us breakfast this morning."
"Gray cooking breakfast? You are intoxicated," jokes Juvia as she gets up from bed and wraps her naked body with her robe. "Juvia will use the bathroom first unless Gray would like to join," she asks seductively as she walks out of the bedroom. Gray watches her and considers her invitation. "Ah, screw it! Wait up Juv. I'll join you."
It was midday when Juvia and Gray arrived at the quaint little town that was 10 miles away from the cottage. Even though it is Spring season the air is chilly and crisp. Juvia holds onto Gray's arm as they walk around and window shop. Suddenly something catches Juvia's attention. At the front of the bookstore stand were issues of Sorcerer Magazine and the cover showing a picture of Lucy in a bikini posing for the latest poolside fashion. Juvia quickly walks to the bookstore with Gray in tow. "What's up? You see something?" Gray asks.
"Juvia sees the latest issue of Sorcerer Magazine and there's a picture of Lucy-san on the cover," she replies as she picks up the issue and flips through the page that features Lucy's photo shoot.
"Lemme see…Owe!" Gray attempts to grab the issue from Juvia's hands but she smacks them away while chastising, "No! Juvia will not hand over love rival's salacious pictures to Gray! Absolutely not!"
"Juvia…," Gray replies with a stern tone, "You shouldn't feel threatened you know. She's still our nakama."
"Juvia knows. Old habits just die hard it seems," was Juvia's dejected reply.
"How 'bout this. I'll buy the issue so you and I can read it together. Sound good?" Gray really wanted to know what was going on with other members of Fairy Tail now that they have all scattered throughout the region.
"A-alright Gray. Promise that you won't take the issue to the bathroom when Juvia's not looking!"
Gray's eyebrow twitches as he looks at Juvia to convince her that he wouldn't want to do that anyway. "I promise. Geez. Like these four months together didn't make us a couple already."
Juvia smiles and leans against Gray, letting him know that she just wanted to mess with him. "Gray admits we're a couple. Oh Juvia's in heaven!" Juvia cups her face with her hands and winks at Gray. He smirks and takes the magazine from her hands and goes to the merchant to purchase it.
Several hours later, Juvia and Gray have their hands full with bags of food and every day items. At some point during the day, Gray manages to rent a carriage and they use it to haul everything they bought. They decide to head back to the cottage when someone calls out to them. It's one of the townspeople running towards them.
"Wait! Please! We need your help! There are bandits that have ambushed our caravan carrying the town's weekly supplies and one of the merchants mentioned that you two are mages. Can you help us out? We'll pay you for the trouble," pleads the man who looks worn out and beaten.
Juvia and Gray look to each other and nod in agreement. Gray then turns to speak to the man, "Where are these bandits now?"
"They are in the town square holding some of my family hostage. Please! They threatened to kill everyone in this town if they don't get what they want."
"We'll help," answers Juvia as she walks closer to the man to inspect his countenance and read his face – to see if he's lying and leading them into a trap.
"Lead the way," answers Gray as he stands next to Juvia.
"Oh thank you! This way!" The man starts running to the town square with Juvia and Gray following closely.
"Is he leading us into a trap?" Gray whispers to Juvia as they run side by side.
"Juvia didn't detect any deceit from him. He may be speaking the truth."
"Well let's keep our guard up and stick together. Ok?"
"Yes Gray!"
The moment they reach the town square they are surprised to see a large group of bandits surrounding some townsfolk within a circle. They can't escape as explosive lacrima is nearby to detonate if any of the townsfolk decides they want to be a hero. Juvia and Gray assess the situation while the man stands nearby and yells at the bandits.
"Hey! Let our families go or else these mages will take you down!" screams the man as he sees his family calling out to him.
"Oh yeah? Those two mages? They don't look so threatening. We dare ya to get through us!" taunts Croop, leader of the bandits. Just then, one of the man's sons tries to escape and instead gets punched in the stomach. The man screams for his son to stay put and not get himself into harms way. At that moment, Gray is reminded of the time when his father stood up against some bandits when he was a kid and how he looked up to him when he took them out one by one. He felt like a piece of his memory was jarred by seeing the man's son taking the hit. Gray steps forward and challenges Croop.
"Hey! You think we're pushovers huh? Why don't you come here and give us a good fight." Gray smirks at him as Juvia stands behind Gray, ready to fight.
"Gray, their magic levels aren't as high; but Juvia senses another level higher than all of them combined," Juvia whispers.
"You feel it too huh? Let's take these guys out first and look for the one who's stronger than all of them."
"Ice-Make Floor!" Gray yells out. Several bandits slip and fall, allowing their hostages to slip and slide away from them. The man was able to save his family and they leave the area. The man looks to Gray & Juvia and mouths a "thank you" to them. They nod and smile and return their attention to the bandits.
"Water lock!" Commands Juvia as she encases several bandits in her water magic. "Water Nebula!" A large water column emerges and captures more of the bandits into one gigantic water blob.
"Ice-Make Cage!" A large ice cage forms and falls onto several more bandits. Now there are only 5 bandits left and seeing that they are outmatched, they run away and leave the supplies they plundered behind. As Croop runs into a clearing, he is squashed into nothing causing Juvia to gasp in horror while Gray looks on. He knows this is the one giving off incredible magic levels. This person emerges from the tree line and makes its presence known.
"I didn't think I would ever get the chance to fight Fairies but low and behold today's my lucky day! I get to kill two of Fairy Tail's strongest mages. If my memory serves me correctly, you are Gray Fullbuster the ice-make mage and you are Juvia Lockser, the water mage."
Gray and Juvia stare down their opponent, not giving him any sign of fear or doubt. They look menacing.
"Whoa! What's with that look? The two of you shouldn't do that to your faces. You get wrinkles quicker that way," jokes their adversary.
"Who are you? And why have you attacked this town?" asks Juvia while offering him her death glare.
"Well, since you're new around here hot stuff, let me introduce myself. I am the demon Sartorius and I send my minions here to collect their bounty as an offering to me. I guess you could say, we reap what we sow."
"Demon huh? I can't wait to take you down," Gray replies in earnest.
"Hahaha. Let's see you try." Sartorius attacks with a curse and rips the ground in half with the flick of his wrist. Gray and Juvia leap back and away from the shaking ground. They stand next to each other and continue to stay on defense. Gray takes Juvia's hand and they run to another part of town where there is a bridge and ravine. Sartorius goes after them and continues to rip the ground underneath them.
"Juvia! I have to use my Ice Devil Slayer powers. I'm gonna need you to give me support. Let's try a Unison Raid while I'm in Slayer form."
"Gray, we've tried it once and we both couldn't handle the power coming out from the combined magic. It's too dangerous!"
"We can do it Juvia. We can control and level the magic. We just need to focus and trust each other." Gray looks to Juvia as she looks on with worry but suddenly softens her eyes and gives Gray a smile. That's all he needed to do this.
"Ok. On the count of three we stop, turn and perform Unison Raid. Got it?"
"Yes!"
"One…Two…Three!"
Gray and Juvia stop in their tracks and turn to face Sartorius. The demon stops and looks at them quizzically. They stand facing each other, hold each other's hand and stretch their arm out. Gray places his hand on Juvia's hip while Juvia places her hand on his left shoulder. They are about to perform Unison Raid.
"What's this? Are you two about to Tango?" jokes Sartorius.
Gray's right arm begins to show the Ice Demon Slayer tattoo and his skin begins to transform. Sartorius notices this and the smile that was on his face begins to disappear. He recognizes that tattoo and the power emanating from Gray.
"Shit! You're an Ice Demon Slayer? I gotta go! See ya!" Sartorius attempts to flee but Gray and Juvia begin their Unison Raid attack.
"Water Cyclone!" yells Juvia.
"Instantaneous Freeze!" yells Gray.
Their magic intertwine and meld as Juvia's water attack is instantaneously freezing but extending to hit directly at Sartorius. The demon freezes and is unable to move. Sartorius is trapped in an unbreakable ice block.
Juvia and Gray look to each other with a smile and hug each other tightly. "You see. It worked," Gray says against her neck. Juvia smiles and hugs him tighter. "Juvia believed in us."
The townspeople have started to help each other as they begin rounding up the bandits that Juvia and Gray captured during their fight. They are being taken to a holding cell until they are processed for transfer. The man who first sought for help from the two mages was with his family and immediately remembered to offer them a reward for their help. He heard the crowd suddenly whoop & holler when they see a large block of ice containing Sartorius being pulled by Gray. He created an ice-make flatbed and placed the imprisoned Sartorius onto it. Juvia is walking beside Gray.
The man approaches Juvia and Gray and shakes both their hands in excitement. "Thank you so much for defeating these bandits! They have been terrorizing our village for two seasons. And that one you have in an ice block is their leader. The townspeople and I owe you two so much gratitude. And as promised, I have this as a token of our appreciation."
He hands Juvia a large bag and as soon as she takes a peek inside, her eyes widen at the amount of jewels inside the bag. She closes it up as her face flusters. "We are very grateful for your gift. But we cannot accept this. Your town needs this more than we do." As Juvia was about to hand the bag over to the man, he holds up his hand and pushes her hand with the bag back to her.
"My dear, you and your husband must take this. The town will be fine. It won't feel right if the two of you leave here without something. You saved my family and this bag is just something we as a family must give to you. Please take it."
Juvia looks to Gray as he nods his head. "Then we accept," Juvia answers to the man. "One thing though, Gray-sama and I are not married," Juvia smiles, "we're two mages helping each other out during our training." The man smiles knowingly but replies, "Ah! You are very modest. But I can see that the two of you have deep feelings for each other. So I don't think I am talking out of turn in thinking that you and he will marry each other eventually." Gray blushes and smiles at Juvia and then back to the man.
"You need to contact someone from Crocus to pick up this guy. And don't worry, he won't break out of that ice block. Its unbreakable," Gray explains to the man. "We'll be leaving now."
"Thank you again the two of you! When you do shop in town, just remember that your jewels are no good here. We are forever in your debt!"
Juvia and Gray are taken by surprise by the man's proclamation but they smile and wave back as they walk to their rented carriage and head back home to the cottage.
Later that evening Gray and Juvia are soaking in the tub. She is resting against his chest while his head is leaning back against the tub wall. The two of them are laying in the warm water just letting it wash their fatigue away. Gray's left hand is gently rubbing Juvia's arm and shoulder, slowly moving up and down in a lazy manner. He can hear Juvia's soft breathing echoing off the tub walls as she sinks deeper into the water to join it and surround Gray with her water magic. She looks up to him and offers a devious smirk. Gray raises his left eyebrow in curiosity while she disappears into the water. Suddenly, Gray can feel the water starting to shift and his body being massaged in such a way he has never felt before. Juvia is using her water magic to massage Gray's entire body by pulsing water against his skin. He lets out an approving groan while her water pulses are starting to mimic that of water jets in a hot tub. Juvia then emerges from the water half-way as she hovers over Gray.
"Is Gray feeling better?" she asks in a seductive tone.
"Yeah. Feels really good. I need to return the favor," Gray replies with a low tone. His eyes bore into hers with a fervent desire that excites Juvia.
"Juvia wants to go to bed. Does Gray want to return the favor tonight or shall we take a raincheck?" The last thing she wants to do is rob Gray of his recovery. Their fight with the bandits and demon took a lot out of them; they didn't get a chance to have a proper meal after getting everything they bought into the cottage. Night fell before they knew it and the only thing that made sense for their recovery was to soak in a tub of warm water. Gray reaches out to touch Juvia's cheek as she leans into his palm. He then closes the distance between them and kisses her softly, longingly. He coaxes her mouth to open wider to allow his tongue inside, wrestling against her tongue for dominance. She then solidifies her body as Gray lifts and carries her out of the tub. Still kissing, he heads towards their bedroom without even stopping to dry themselves. Droplets of water fall from their skin as a naked Gray and Juvia kiss each other passionately.
Gray gently lays a wet Juvia on the bed as he climbs on and continues kissing her, his member getting harder by the second. He then spreads her legs apart and raises them, positioning himself to enter her. She holds onto the bed as he begins rocking his hips back and forth into her. He stares at her face intently, studying every feature as it contorts to either bliss or pure eroticism. He then lifts the rest of her body off the bed and has her sitting on his lap while still thrusting inside her. Juvia's facial expression begins to show him that he is rubbing her in the right spot. Her eyes begin to roll up while her eyelids slowly start to close. Each "ohh" or "ahh" punctuated by her nails digging into his shoulders.
"Gr-Gra-Gray," Juvia struggles to say as she can feel herself slipping away and losing consciousness. The effect is transcendental as she can no longer hold back. Gray is taking her to a higher level of orgasm, the likes of which can make a person feel like they just died in their lover's arms. Gray thrusts harder and faster while Juvia's body starts to become lithe in his embrace. He's getting close to his release. He arches Juvia's body as her chest cradles Gray's face. He buries himself deeper into her as he spills his seeds inside. Juvia reached her orgasm shortly afterwards as they both moaned in pleasure, falling onto the bed. Both breathing hard, Gray & Juvia smile at each other. He kisses her forehead while she kisses his cheek. They embrace as they start to come down from their climax and slowly they drift off to sleep.
AN: I tried to create the two parallel definitions of the term "Little Death" or "Le petit morte". Most people associate the term to orgasmic, transcending sex. But the real meaning of the term is literally feeling a piece of you die inside usually triggered by a sad or horrific memory. In this chapter, the demon's name, Sartorius, is actually inspired by the Goldfrapp song of that same name. There was never a studio release of that song as it was literally used as filler for their concert during the Felt Mountain tour. The song is out there but only in bootlegged form. And actually the title of this chapter is also inspired by the Goldfrapp song of the same name. Again, filler during the Felt Mountain tour.
Chapter 3 title "I Won't Hold You Back" is from the band Toto. I'm actually addicted to Amazon Prime Music and their greatest hits are available so I went ahead and downloaded the Prime songs. Toto is an underrated band. I mean, their music scored the 1984 movie Dune directed by David Lynch.
Next chapter title - "Rabbit In Your Headlights"