Happy Friday! I am super, super-psyched with the response to this one. I'm glad you guys seem to be enjoying it as much as I enjoyed working on it. This is my favorite chapter in this story, so I hope you like it!

In other news, keep your eyes open for a new story series, called Tail as Old as Time, that I'm going to start posting on Mondays. These are going to be Fairy Tail fairy tales. (I know. It's done before, but I had a plot bunny and this is what happened.) The first story in this series is going to a mermaid AU based on...The Little Mermaid (couldn't have guessed that... XD). So that's going to come out on Mondays, 'cause we all need a little fanfic pick-me-up at the start of the week.

Mazeverse will still be posted on Fridays.

To the repeat guest-reviewer known as darling spider: Thanks a bunch! I appreciate you stopping by. I always love hearing from you.

- K. Chandler

Juvia met Lyon in front of the inn he was staying at. He seemed almost distracted, lines of exhaustion creasing around his eyes. But his weary look was gone in an instant. He grinned broadly when he saw her.

"Juvia!"

"Hello, Lyon. Has Lamia Scale been keeping you busy?" she asked politely.

"Not too much," he said. "I appreciate you meeting me out here. I would have met you over at your place if not for your need for discretion."

Juvia shook her head, smiling. "Oh, no. Juvia should be thanking you! It is too kind of you to help Juvia with this."

"Shall we go? Where would you like to start?"

Juvia pondered for a moment before answering. "The Central Shopping District would be a good place to start. You can find anything there."

"Lead the way, then."

Magnolia's Central Shopping District was bustling in the afternoon. Merchants hocked their wares and townspeople hurried about their business.

Juvia and Lyon had visited three shops with nothing to show for it except a set of guitar strings.

"For Gajee," Juvia had explained. "He needs new ones."

"This isn't going well, is it?" asked Lyon.

"Juvia never realized that Gray was this difficult to buy for," said Juvia. It was starting to feel like anybody would have been easier to shop for than Gray was. "What do you normally get him?"

"Gray tends to be practical. I always try to get him something he'll actually use. One year, I got him socks for his birthday," offered Lyon.

"Socks…" Juvia felt her features twist in horror. "Juvia can't do that!"

"Which is why I didn't suggest it." Lyon looked amused.

Juvia tugged on one of her curls. "Maybe I should get something he can wear. Something to keep him warm, maybe?" Juvia pointed at a clothing store.

"That's practical. There's just one problem."

"What's that?"

Lyon's mouth quirked. "You might have noticed, he seems to have trouble hanging on to his clothes. That, and I don't think Ice-Make Wizards get cold. At least I don't. I have a feeling that Gray doesn't either."

"But you dress in layers all the time." Juvia pointed the short cloak wrapped around Lyon's shoulders.

"I dress to make a statement. Gray on the other hand… I can't say I care much for his fashion sense, when he does choose to wear anything at all, that is."

"What about this?" Juvia held up a red hat. A gigantic pale-pink plume that trailed along the wide brim and down the back.

It looked almost ridiculous, but for some strange reason, it reminded Juvia of Gray. She could just see him, snatching the hat out of the air and waving it like a trophy. Then he'd put it on, the brim pulled low over his forehead, that confident smirk on his lips.

Juvia banished her daydream, turning to Lyon. She held the hat up in question.

Lyon's eyes danced with amusement. "Make it something he'd pick for himself. That's the only way he'll actually wear it."

Juvia's eyes fell on a display of wooly scarves. They were soft between her fingers. One of them was red and black, like a checkerboard.

She tried to picture it on Gray. He'd probably fold it in half before looping it around his neck, letting both ends hang down his chest. Juvia scrunched her nose. She didn't particularly like the effect. It wasn't quite Gray…at least not her Gray. In another time and another place, perhaps. But this wasn't the right present either.

It was such a shame. The scarf looked quite cozy.

Maybe in another color it wouldn't bother her so much? She picked up a royal blue one, looping it around Lyon's neck without thinking.

Juvia frowned. It looked good on him. Almost too good. "What do you think?" she asked.

Lyon tugged at the scarf, adjusting it around his neck. "I wouldn't mind wearing something like this," Lyon commented, surveying himself in the mirror. He turned, tossing one of the ends over his shoulder dramatically. "Keep in mind, Gray's got darker hair than me, so this might not be his color."

Juvia put the scarf back. The blue probably wasn't Gray's color, but it was definitely Lyon's.

"Hmm. Gray wears a lot of orange… " She pulled on the sleeve of a Hawaiian shirt with orange blossoms on it. "What do you think of this?" She held it up against Lyon's chest, trying to imagine it on Gray. She couldn't picture that at all. "Would you… maybe try it on for Juvia?" asked Juvia in a small voice.

"If you think it'll help." Lyon shrugged, disappearing into a changing booth with the shirt.

After a few minutes, Lyon's voice emerged, sounding muffled from behind the curtain. "Um, Juvia?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Erm. No. I'm not sure this is a good idea…"

"Juvia wants to see."

"You really don't."

"Surely, it can't be that bad."

Juvia heard what sounded like a sigh mixed with a snort. "The things I do for you, Miss Juvie…" Lyon pulled the curtain back. "So. What do you think?"

The shirt was shapeless, formless, and floral. Lyon had left the top buttons undone in an attempt at casualness, but that didn't help matters. The sleeves were both short and boxy, making Lyon's arms look awkwardly long and thin.

The worst part was the color. Juvia had never realized just how pale Lyon was. Or maybe it was the shirt that was incredibly bright. At any rate, it gave the effect that Lyon was a giant, melting orange creamsicle.

And Juvia couldn't keep from laughing.

"I told you," Lyon said, his head ducked. The tips of his ears were pink. It looked as if he wished he could disappear.

"J-Juvia's sorry! She doesn't mean to laugh!" gasped Juvia, one hand in front of her mouth. The other wrapped around her stomach as she doubled over in giggles.

"I'm glad you find this whole affair amusing," Lyon grumbled good-naturedly.

"Lyon just looks so silly!"

"And whose fault is that? If you're quite finished humiliating me…?"

Juvia just nodded, dabbing at her eyes. She was laughing so hard she had started tearing up.

Lyon snorted, going to change back into his normal attire.

Juvia looked back at the display of scarves again, surprising herself when she snatched the royal blue one. Juvia marched over to the register to pay for it before she could change her mind.

Juvia tucked the scarf at the bottom of her bag, next to the guitar strings she'd bought for Gajee.

Can anyone identify all the Gray outfit references from the anime? There are two obvious ones and two that are in there for bonus-points! And if you can spot any additional ones, then that's bonus bonus-points! :) Leave a comment if you think you know the answer!

Next time, in [Mazeverse] Anniversary: Special, Just Because, Juvia's timing is not so awesome: Lyon had asked Juvia to wait a few days before giving it to Gray. But Juvia was too excited to wait. Why put it off? If you know how this episode goes, then you know the drama you're in for... Sort of.

Stop back next Friday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.