It was almost 3 in the morning when Juvia heard Erza shout and hit something followed by the distinct voice of Gray complaining and then running for his life…
Apparently, when Erza was finally done with her work and was ready to go in her room for a decent amount of sleep, she had tripped on Gray's body, that was spread on the floor right outside Juvia's room. It was not difficult to imagine why Erza was beating him up to a pulp, thanks to his routine of sleeping totally naked..not that Juvia was bothered by this when they lived together! Now, however, it was totally another story…she didn't felt the same about him…no! Not at all. Yet the memory of his perfect body is not something that can easily leave your mind…is like a fucking hot branding. Once you saw him in all his glory is just too difficult to forget how perfect, well shaped… Ook enough!
She could not think about this, especially not now! After having spent two fucking hours crying her eyes out. Not because she was sad, obviously. Juvia Lockser was a bad ass bitch, the strongest female in Phantom Lord, she was Juvia of the Great sea… and girls like this don't cry. Right? She was angry! That's all!
She was so angry with herself for God's sake! What the hell of a plan it was to push herself or him to that point? What did she want to prove? She was just falling, all over again, in his gravity and she felt so stupid!
And confused, because no matter how many times she had repeated herself that, what had happened with Gray meant nothing to her, she just kept feeling his scent all over her room…and she kept nudging her nose in the pillow where his smell was stronger.. and every fucking time she closed her eyes she could see his damn smirk on his fucking perfect lips and the soft look in his eyes and.. for all the Seven seas she could swear she could still feel his touch all over her skin! Was this possible?
Juvia complained in the pillow kicking her legs in the air. Shit shit shit. This was all stupid Gray's fault!
Moreover, why the hell at 3 am he was sleeping outside her room? She thought that after half an hour of him knocking at her door and her simply ignoring him, he gave up and went away but apparently Gray was not a quitter. She should not find this kind of cute.
"What an idiot! Sleeping there! Idiot!" she kept muttering to herself finally closing her eyes
In the morning she woke up soon, today was the day they had finally to touch land. She dressed comfortable in her blue top and miniskirt, rolling her stockings to her tights and getting into her heels.
She spent a few minutes more than usual, to be sure that her wavy hair fell down nicely and when they looked exactly as she wanted it to, perfectly framing her small face, she grunted at herself and she put it in a messy ponytail.
With a frown and the walk of a soldier, she went in the kitchen giving a general Good morning.
He was already there and he nearly fell his chair in his rush to stand up and walk toward Juvia
She did not give him a second look.
Natsu instead started to swear as a real sailor when Gray's chair hit his foot.
"Hey ice prick you can't even move your ass without be annoying"
"It's not my fault if during this year you grow the feet of a Yeti and from the smell I bet you didn't wash them not even once!" Gray answered looking piss. Screw was his plan to talk to Juvia.
"Eat your words ice bastard! I bet you are the one that can't take care of himself and Juvia had to babysit you the whole time while now I am a man!" said Natsu closing his fists in front of Gray's face
At each sentence, they went closer and closer to each other, fuming from their heads while Juvia decided to ignore them and sat at the table where Lucy kept eating her cereals, just rolling her eyes from time to time.
"As if… I can even perfectly manage a house now, I can wash the dishes, I can take the trash out all the evenings, I learned how to set the table, tell him Juvia!" Gray said way seriously and she nearly choked on her saliva
"Well, I can cook" Natsu answered, "Lucy tell him, tell him about the dinner I made for you last week!"
Now it was Lucy time to choke on her milk and spilling cereals from the mouth with her cheeks as red apples.
"So? Me too I can cook and Juvia even taught me how to sew! I could make a fucking Natsu plushie now if I would, but I would never do something this horrible!"
"I bet you don't know anything about preparing a hot bath, you chill bastard! Lucy loves how warm I make the water and she even let me join her in the tub sometimes"
"It's not like that!" Lucy shouted standing "we use swimsuit!"
"Well, I bet you can't do a proper massage without crushing Lucy's bones while Juvia always enjoyed mines after the training!" Gray yelled punching Natsu in the face
"ENOUGH!" Erza screamed entering the room and for the second time that day, Juvia felt relieved by Titania's intervention.
"I was trying to sleep a bit, what the hell you brats have to shout at this hour? Now make me a decent breakfast! I want cake!" she ordered massaging her temples
"aye!" they nodded and somehow the simple task of making breakfast became a cooking competition and they ended doing pancakes with frost chocolate and burnt sugar. Seeing the food in front of her Erza nearly cried at how much they had grown and how Juvia and Lucy were a really good influence on them both.
Juvia just rolled her eyes trying to get out of that mess, even if she had to admit it was funny to spend time with this people.
She shocked her head. She had already made up her mind to find a different place to stay after this mission. Save Makarov because she owned him this at least, and then she had to find her place.
"Ehi Juvia, don't you want some milk? I can easily do a cappuccino!" Natsu smiled
"No idiot, she never drinks milk in the morning, it makes her stomach make weird sounds!"
"Whoa, I bet not as weird as Lucy's when she eats pepperoni!" Natsu laughed and Lucy hit him in the forehead, pouting.
"Juvia there's tea if you want some" Gray said in a strange low voice and with big eyes, he reminds her of a puppy so she just sounded a curse trying to storm away but he was faster and took her arm, bringing her in a really small room, two doors ahead, checking around and closing the door.
"is this a closet?" she asked but he was lost in though
"Juvia hey…uhm." he said in a low voice passing both his hands in his hair "can we talk?"
She didn't answer and his face became even more worried "Look. I.. I'm sorry if yesterday I did something that made you uncomfortable.I would never.. I mean.. I spent the whole night thinking about what I could have done to upset you, but whatever it is, I'm sorry ok? I would never offend you so, please, tell me what I did wrong so I.."
Juvia was looking at his wide eyes.. he was shifting uncomfortably from one leg to another but seemed genuinely worried about her "modesty"
She laughed. "Don't 's not the physical part of our meeting that upset me! You did nothing wrong" she smirked
For a second he seemed relieved but then his expression grew even more confused "so why? What?.." he said touching her shoulder.
Juvia looked at his hand and to his finger that absent minded were stroking her skin and she just couldn't stand the annoying warmth in her stomach so she pulled back hitting an empty cupboard
He seemed hurt but then he looked at her as he had just realized something very important.
"if it's not the physical part then I.. look Juvia. I know I am a jerk and that I have been a jerk to you from day one but it is just that I am so bad with words.. but I will try..I…"
She was not following him anymore
"it's not that I don't feel what I feel.. I whoa.." he took a deep breath at this point "It's even way more huge than I could manage to say with words but.."
She was lost.. what the hell was he trying to say? And why he was so damn red? He was even rubbing his hands on his tights because apparently he was sweating. Well, it was hot inside that damn closet. Really hot.
"if you think that what I did yesterday was just a physical thing to me. well, it's not! I see that you think this and It's my fault because I have always been a jerk to you, trying to push you far from me, acting cold.. but I never did nor I would ever do something without.. you know… until now I was scared and yesterday I finally realized that all my fears are. I mean..you.. I.. fuck… I would never do something meaningless with you because you mean a lot to me, ok?"
She felt her cheek get warmer at each word and she could almost hear the sound of bells in the background but it was not the dreamy church bells, she have heard the first time she had laid her eyes on Gray's face, dreaming about their future of endless love. It was more like an alarm bell that told her that she had to interrupt him right now or else she would be in a very dangerous zone.
"Wait wait, Gray! Stop!" she said
"No!" he said stubborn, taking her hands in his and pulling her to him "I have done with lying and hiding, look Juvia I never wanted you in danger, I have always cared about you. I just wanted you to be happy and in my mind no one can be safe and happy with me around but now I..maybe I am only being selfish but I.."
He was close, so damn close, dangerously closed, closed enough for her to smell his scent and fuck! It was the kind of smell that can make all your body aware in a moment and, at the same time, lull you to close your eyes and sleep happily. She hated his heavenly scent! It made her lost her focus and maybe she made something, a weird noise probably that made him think that he could kiss her because next thing she knew his lips were on hers and she was clutching at his shirt for dear life. He started to feel up her hourglass silhouette reaching for her back. She hummed in his mouth and he lifted her making her sit on the cupboard counter. Her mind was trying to tell her that maybe it was wiser to push him or tell him to stop but her body did not cooperate at all. The only sounds that escaped her lips were appreciative sounds and instead of pushing him, her legs were tight around his hips. Traitors of a body!
He stopped and cupped her face, brushing with his finger the strand of hair that were in her eyes and she really couldn't stand the sight of his smiley face, big eyes, and pink cheeks so, just to leave him from her sight line, she closed her eyes and reached again for his lips, hugging his shoulder and gripping his hair.
"Juvia I know it took time but I really want to tell you that I…"
She had a sort of a déjà vu of the moment he was trying to tell her something on the battlefield of Crocus, right before a dragon shot and he never finished his sentence.
Again she heard a loud bang and Gray was fast in hug her, hiding her head under his and taking her firmly against his chest.
Then everything was upside down, she heard the loud crash of dishes on the floor, the crack of wood and she heard Natsu calling for Lucy and Erza shout "Action Station everyone!"
"Juvia," Gray said, pulling her from her hand and shutting open the door "We are under attack!"
"How did they know about us?" she asked while a second shot hit the ship "they were waiting for our arrival!"
"Don't know," he said running on the deck with Juvia "Erza we're here! Is everybody fine?"
Juvia spotted Natsu with Lucy and Happy. Mest was running the wheel trying to avoid the cannon balls
"Where are Wendy and Charle? She asked looking around
"I'll go find them!" Erza said but a hysterical laugh filled the air and with it a thick layer of dust surrounded the ship "Welcome to our country Fairies! I am part of the welcoming committee!" a voice said
"Who are you bastard?" Natsu shout with a broken voice, the dust in the air was making difficult to breathe for everyone and the dragon slayer was suffering the heavy swing of the ship.
"Relax I just come to say hello!" the voice said while the air started to vortex forming a male figure. He then started to play with something between his fingers "you know what I like about sand? Sand in hourglasses is used to sign time, and no one ever pays real attention to time, humans are easily distracted by events and times flows differently for everyone, but not for the sand. It keeps falling regularly and at some point, boom your hour has come. For example, I am here talking with you and distracting you and no one is paying attention to the sand flow..so my question is: do you think the time we spent together was enough for a little friend of yours to choke?" he laugh evilly and at his back emerged a fist made of sand. When he clapped his fingers, it collapsed revealing inside a white fur
"CHARLE?" Happy cried out loud while Lucy run toward the exceed taking her in her arms.
Charle started to cough desperate to breathe and everyone took a sigh of pleasure. She was alive but the relief came to an early end when she started to cry "That girl, she took Wendy!"
