A/N: Some people are very concerned that this is not Gruvia as I previously stated. I am getting a whole lot of this, T_T, Lol. But listen, I promise this is not Lyvia. Although I do love Lyon as a character, I don't ship him with Juvia.

So, to those reviewers who are afraid that I am planning otherwise, just trust me okay? I am reading all of your reviews and definitely care what you think. You are my readers after all! But you should have confidence that I will stay true to what I said right from the beginning. I would not mislead you.

But what about the manga huh? Lyon was on the cover. How timely =)

Superduperizee- There is italic in this chap- so don't read this on your phone! Haha. ; )

At the Fairy Tail guild people were talking left and right about the apparent advances in Gray and Juvia's relationship over the past week. Neither one had said anything to the members themselves, but with all the time Gray had been spending going to see Juvia, it was obvious as far as they were concerned. Although the water mage began coming to the guild after a few days of staying at her dorm, she never took any jobs. She socialized occasionally, mostly with the ice mage, but was never seen at the request board.

Though it started as only change with Juvia, the change seemed to have a domino effect. Not only was the water mage avoiding work, it seemed that Gray had begun going on less missions as well.

He barely picked fights with Natsu lately, or Natsu didn't pick fights, no one was quite sure which it was. Oddly enough Gajeel also began to work less. Though, they figured the cause might've been because his usual partner wasn't motivated. Erza was working the usual amount, but when she was at the guild at the same time as Gray and Juvia she seemed preoccupied with watching them, unsure of whether she should say anything or not.

Lucy, being the remaining member of the Strongest team, was confused with all of them. And since all of the mages who were usually guilty of starting brawls were out of commission, the guild was strangely calm. Four mages, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and Natsu all sat at a table, while Erza stood nearby and Gajeel watched from afar, as usual to avoid any social interactions.

Natsu who had his head laid on the table, looked bored out of his mind, but was really just tired. Lucy sat next to him across from Juvia and Gray and looked around the table from person to person, anxiously.

Trying to lighten the mood, Cana, with her usual barrel offered what she could. "Hey! You guys seem preeetttty down, haha. You want some of my magic medicine to make you feel better?"

Silence.

"How 'bout you, Juvia? You look like you could deeeffinitely use a drink!" She slurred.

The water mage, at first little taken aback at the offer, shook her head. She had forgotten that of course, Cana wouldn't know she couldn't have alcohol. Nobody responded, except Lucy who looked at Cana and shrugged her shoulders.

Turning back to her fellow team mates she broke the silence. "Hey guys? I kind of need money to pay rent. When are we going to go on a mission?" The celestial spirit mage asked.

Gray, who was sitting next to Juvia across from the others, answered. "You guys go without me. I'm gonna hang here for a little bit."

"You keep saying that, you ice freak!" Natsu said lifting his head, glaring. His eyes then shifted to Juvia quickly and the look disappeared. He put his head back down, surrendering for the girl's sake. She needed company.

"It's not the strongest team without you, Gray." Erza added, standing adjacent to the head of the table.

Her reasoning didn't phase the ice mage. "Oh yeah? Well then don't think of it as that. Just think of it as you, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy." He said crossing his arms, uncompromising.

The real motives behind the requip mage's intentions was to get another opportunity to talk to Gray, in private. Of course, he didn't know that. She wanted to warn him that he should explain his feelings clearly to Juvia, before it was too late.

It wasn't her choice that Gray refused to leave her side, but she certainly didn't fight it, either. He was ironically, one of her few sources of comfort.

She wanted to savor these this brief moment of relative peace with him, because she knew, once she revealed the truth, that there would be chaos. But her mood was somber, because she knew it had to be today. She was ashamed to have waited this long. He had to know, or else things would only get harder to explain. The pregnant girl was only waiting for a moment when they were alone.

"Uhhhhhhhhh! I need rent money!" Lucy straightened her posture, sitting up, and turned to her dragon slayer friend. "NATSU!"

The pink haired boy who had started to fall asleep on the table jolted awake. "Whaaaaaat!" He said in a whiny voice.

"Come on!" The blonde pulled yanked Natsu by the scarf, but he resisted.

"I'm tiiiiiired!"

"Lucy, if you need a partner for your mission I'd be happy to help out." the armor clad mage offered. The celestial spirit mage accepted the offer and the two of them chose a mission and left.

Once they were gone Juvia turned to Gray, and spoke softly, and reluctantly. "Juvia needs to talk to you." There was almost an audible ache to her voice. Time had suddenly slowed down as she awaited his reply.

At first he was looking down, but then he lifted his head and sighed. "I've been waiting for you to say that."

His knowing eyes drove a dagger through her. The more he seemed ready for what she had to say, the more the pregnant mage felt unprepared.

But just as they were speaking, the guild's diminutive master came running through the guild doors. "Where's the strongest team? I need the four of you for an urgent mission."

"Sorry Gramps, it's just me and Natsu." Natsu, who was presumably sleeping perked his ear up, but kept his head on the table.

"That won't be enough people." The old man sighed as looked at who else was around. Gajeel, Juvia, Gray, and Natsu- a recipe for disaster. Gajeel and Natsu were rivals, Gray and Natsu were rivals, Juvia….well she wasn't a problem really, unless her feelings for a certain ice mage got in the way, that is.

"Hoo boy….." He muttered. "I suppose I have no choice; I'm going to have to send you four, Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, and Juvia" He shook his head. "But Please try and get along and be friendly toward each other." He turned towards Gray and Juvia. "But not too friendly, okay?"

"B-but Juvia can't!" She replied, alarmed at the thought of putting her baby in danger again.

"Oh? And why not?" The confused old man asked.

Gajeel was quick to come to her defense, much to the surprise of all watching. "Like HELL she can go!" Everyone's eyes were on the iron dragon slayer. Natsu awoke from his slumber and perked up, fully attentive. He would love to see how he would explain this one.

"Errrrr….I mean….she's…kind of got….. the flu?"

While the bystanders were astonished by his behavior, Juvia picked up what he laid down. "Yes…. you see *cough* as you can see, Juvia is very ill. The doctor told her to *cough* rest and not do any hard work." Seeing Gray's apparent surprise, it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that it was a lie.

Everyone's eyes moved over to the master, curious to see his reaction to her bullshit.

The old man didn't buy it, but he also didn't have time to spare."Yes, well, I suppose I shouldn't fight with doctor's orders. Do us all a favor and go home and get some rest alright?" He was sincere about that last part; she did look like she could use some rest.

All around the whispers of guild members could be heard, speculating and starting rumors.

The relieved water mage gave Gray an apologetic look and muttered a sentence just loud enough for him to hear. "Juvia will finish what she wanted to say when Gray -sama returns, okay?" She brushed against him slightly by accident as she walked by, making the ice mage feel the effect of her absence all the more.

Every little touch; every little thing she did, made him want to make her stay. He wanted to shrink her, put her in a little jar, and carry her around with him.

And she was finally going to talk to him. He knew as well as anyone else that the flu excuse had to be an outright lie. The girl was healthy just moments ago, as far as he knew.

That faker

He couldn't help but wonder what it was about this mission that she wanted to avoid. Was it him? There was a good chance. Since the Magic Games nothing had ever returned normal between the two of them. Things between them, had gotten better…and worse at the same time. However, only one thought had circulated through his mind since he became aware of this transformation in their relationship. Creeping up on him was this feeling he couldn't shake, something was off.

Is it me?…. Or her?

Just before completely exiting the water mage peeked over her shoulder and caught him looking at her. Consequently, he looked away, trying his best not to convey the unease he felt about leaving her when there was so much he needed to say and so much he needed to hear. She was escaping the conflict again, showing obvious fear at what would become of the relationship, what would become of them.

But deep down he knew that this beyond his control.

Dying of boredom, the water mage made a list of all names she would consider for her child. Two lists, actually. One of girl's names, and one of boy's names. Even though she tried to be equal, her bias showed with the girl's list being three times as long. She couldn't help it, there were so many amazing girl names. Yes, that was her excuse. It's not that she wouldn't love her baby if it was a boy, but she was tired of males at the moment.

When she couldn't think anymore, she leaned back on her couch, various junk food wrappers surrounding her, and yawned. She had broken her vow to eat healthier for the baby. At first, she told herself "What's the harm in eating a twinky once in a while?" But one twinkly turned into one twinkly plus a brownie, plus pizza, chips, and yes, even a little ice cream.

"So sorry baby! Juvia lost control. No more!" She told herself, probably for the tenth time that week.

After digesting for a little bit, the girl strolled over to the kitchen and made herself something healthier, Earl Grey tea, her favorite. Conveniently it was also known to be an anti-depressant, which worked in her favor. Through these past few weeks, Juvia had learned that in difficult times, it helped to value every small gift she was given. That was why even sniffing the drink's aroma, was a slight comfort to her. When it was ready she lifted the cup to her mouth, with her prenatal vitamin in the other hand which she was instructed to take, and swallowed.

Depression had been on and off for the water mage. It came and went. Some days, she felt so in love with her baby, and others she couldn't stop worrying about her future. When that happened, she had to try and refocus her thoughts. But despite her upward thinking, it was hard to stay positive in every moment, especially with her hormones, which were a bitch.

It was the same when it came to feelings for Gray, and Lyon for that matter. After the last meeting with the latter, she couldn't feel angry with him anymore. He was more than willing to take his share of the burden, while trying to ignore his feelings for her. If she were in his shoes, she didn't know if she could be so strong.

With Gray it was a little bit different. She felt sick with herself for having avoided telling him for so long, but because he was not in the pregnancy equation, Man+Woman= Baby, she didn't have to. Still, it didn't feel right to leave him in the dark. His feelings for her seemed to get stronger for her everyday, and it hurt. yet, she missed him so much.

The guilt-ridden yet in love mage, feeling bloated, and made her way over to where her bed was, falling over clumsily on top of it.

Lying on top of her bed, eyes glued to the patterned ceiling, the future mother held her ground against the paralyzing thoughts that hit her like a gust of wind. At that moment, when she thought she would have to tell Gray, she had felt her heart shatter into a million pieces before the words even made their way out. Now that she was aware of the hurdle she had to leap, it would be that much harder to muster up the courage to take him aside when the time came.

Her time at Fairy Tail had started out great. What had happened? She laid her face against her pillow the softness rubbing against her, and shut her eyes .

Who was she kidding? She knew what happened.

Gray happened. Lyon happened. Life happened.

Underneath the covers she smelled the familiar smell of clean sheets

The sheets under the two were no match for them, the softness of them touching her legs couldn't even compare to how they felt wrapped around his warm body. Moved partly by an answering wantonness, and partly by a desire to squeeze the breath out of him like an accordion, she separated her legs and flung them around his back. He gave an ecstatic groan and redoubled his efforts.

Wantonness was winning; she had nearly forgotten where they were.

Hanging on for dear life and thrilled by the ride, she arched her back and jerked, shuddering against the heat of him, the chill of the air conditioning against her, cool and electric, on her exposed backside. The only warm spot on her back was the place where his hands were, where they held her. Moaning, she melted in his arms, her legs still locked around his hips.

She felt tears spilling slowly down her cheeks feeling what was, the purest emotion she had ever felt. He was claiming her, marking her for his own, and she accepted it fully. She truly believed that he wanted her, and would still want her after all was said and done.

"Juvia is yours," she whispered against his lips. He rewarded her with a forceful kiss and began to move within her, sending spirals of pleasure rushing through her body. The aroused woman let her eyes close again, giving herself over completely to the feel of his lips moving down her neck, his body locked tightly to hers. She felt whole, as some part of her she hadn't even known was missing had been restored. She matched his movements as she gave herself over to passion, crying out.

Her body tightened as his thrusts came faster, more insistent. The tension wound stronger, exploding out from her core with a shocking intensity as she felt him come inside her. Then she was floating, all of the tension draining away as she collapsed in his arms. He hugged her against his chest, and kissed her neck, running his fingers through the long hair that he loved so much. His other hand gripped her tightly.

"Don't let go… don't"

This time the blue haired girl found herself staring at the wall without really seeing it. She blinked her eyes back to reality. It happened again.

A dream?

The journey took a few days of traveling, much to the team's dismay of course. And as Makarov predicted, they were less than unified, probably the worst team ever formed. Gray and Natsu were functional in their usual team, but without Erza to keep them in check, they could get out of control.

Add Gajeel to the mix, and it turned into pure anarchy. But they were each individually strong, so he had faith in them. Sure enough, they had gotten the job done, but not without nearly killing each other first.

On their way back to Fairy Tail, they had stopped to rest on the side of the road near a ravine and a forest behind it. It was a fairly lifeless location in the middle of nowhere. Gajeel had gone off to take a piss somewhere amidst the trees. Happy was flying around the area to assess their location.

The two remaining sat on rocks which were a few feet apart, facing away from each other. The relationship between the two of them was complicated. They were best friends, and worst enemies, so most of the time they wanted to kill each other, but very occasionally they could get along okay. Gray shot Natsu several brief glances, each time swiftly retreating by moving his eyes away when he got his attention. Finally after several awkward minutes, the ice mage spoke. "Hey, errr….. Natsu?"

He scooted around on the rock to face the ice mage. "Yeah?"

Gray supposed he could've chosen to have this talk with Gajeel, since he knew Juvia best. But, thinking back to the situation back at guild when Juvia played hooky, it seemed like Gajeel was in cahoots with her. There was no way he was even going to try to violate the bond they had. Uncomfortable, the mage scratched at the back of his head. He didn't want to resort to this, but he was downright desperate. "I think something's up with Juvia. Did you notice how she faked sick?"

The pink haired boy began to sweat. He knew it was coming. The ice mage was going to interrogate him. Thanks to his loyal and trustworthy nature, he was stuck having to lie about the blue haired girl's pregnancy. "Huh. Nope, guess I didn't." He said nonchalantly. "That's funny."

Slightly irritated at his indifference, Gray pushed further. "You mean you haven't noticed?"

"Geez Gray, it's not like I'm a shrink or anything."

"Look I know you're not incredibly close to her, but believe me something is definitely off."

"Oh yeah? Nope, haven't noticed." The pink haired dragon slayer then began whistling and walking along the edge of the ravine aimlessly. He pointed up to the sky suddenly. "Hey! I think I just saw a Wyvern! Uh oh...you think we should call Gajeel and get out of here?"

"Where? I don't see anything." He responded doubtfully, eyes scanning the sky. He looked back at the dragon slayer and narrowed his eyes. "You trying to change the subject?"

"Yep." He said straight forwardly. He hated to seem so uncaring, but it couldn't be helped. A promise was a promise. Though, he did feel for the guy, not knowing that the girl he was obviously obsessed with was pregnant with another man's child. Hell, not just another man either, the guy he grew up with as a brother.

"Why?"

"Oi! Why are you talking to me about this anyway?" The fire mage asked.

His eyes moved upward as if wondering the exact same thing. "I don't know."

Not knowing how else to handle it, the fire mage turned the gun on Gray. "You know what I think? I think there's something off with you." He nodded his head confidently. Looking like he was caught redhanded, Gray became defensive "What? No! it's her problem, not mine! I mean, I guess it's sort of my problem..."

What the fuck?! I was right?! Natsu patted himself on the back mentally, though surprised at his own win.

"So what'd you do this time ice perv?"

He breathed in deeply and released the air back into the atmosphere. To say the words out loud would be no easy feat. It would be validating what was hidden inside his head. It wasn't until the words rolled off his tongue that he realized how much he was bothered by the fact. Up until now it could have passed as a piece of his sub conscious mind, but now it was being brought to the forefront. It was real and it had affected him. "I kinda…slept with with her."

Natsu started laughing and slapping his knee as if it was the most hilarious thing he'd ever heard. "That's a good one Gray!"

"Natsu! I'm serious!" He said, gritting his teeth.

The dragon slayer's expression then made an abrupt change. His brain short circuited "Wha..?"

Soon after the confession, Gajeel, who had dragon slayer ears torpedoed out of the bushes behind the ravine straight at Gray. He punched him in the gut, unexpectedly, knocking the wind out of him "ARRRRRRRRRGGHHHHHH!You ASSHOLE!"The force was enough to shove him backwards, and he barely managed to stay on his feet. He bent over and held his stomach in pain.

Recovering from the fist planted in his stomach he replied, pissed. "BAKA! What the hell was that for?! You're lucky I'm not in the mood to fight!"

"You are such a PUSSY! I swear I am gonna strangle you stripper. Do you REALIZE that she's…" He was about to let it slip.

"SHUT UP!" Natsu barked impulsively as a reminder.

Gray scrunched his eyebrows together and looked at his pink haired frienemy, with a quizzical look. Natsu scratched the back of his head. "I was talking to you." he explained to the ice mage.

"I didn't say anything" He pointed out, unable to keep up with dragon slayers' random outbursts.

"Well, you looked like you were about to, and I didn't wanna hear it!"

The dark haired ice mage crinkled his forehead. "…What?... Well, whatever." He turned to Gajeel. "And why were you listening? I was talking to Natsu!"

"He's right though, you are a pussy! Why do you gotta stick your dick up everything?! Err- I mean everybody!" Natsu interrupted.

"Shut up, Natsu... and why the fuck do you care anyways!?" He retaliated.

"I care because…. well, that's not important! You're a pussy, that's what's important!"

"Will you stop saying that?! It's not a crime to sleep with someone! And make up your mind, am I a pussy or a dick?" He said defensively, completely oblivious to the real source of their anger.

"Pussy. I said you were a pussy, but put your dick up everyone."

Gajeel decided to put his two cents in "Cut the crap! You know she has feelings for you- why...I oughtta...!" The iron dragon slayer still wanted so badly to dump the bad news on him, but he was a man who kept his word, like his other fellow dragon slayer. He also wanted to throttle the man, so he kept his distance, afraid he would soon have to face murder charges.

"Yeah! You haven't even told her how you feel! Why are messing around with her?" Natsu added, another attempt to appear sensible.

It didn't work for the dark haired man and he was thoroughly confused. "Since when are you guys so understanding of women?" He said pessimistically.

Neither one knew what to say, so they just shrugged their shoulders, leaving the ice mage completed bewildered at their behavior.

"I've tried and tried to get it out of her." The ice mage looked hurt.

"I even talked to her about it...or...atleast I think she knows what we were talking about" He shut his eyes and shook his head slowly in regret. "But she acts like she doesn't even remember!"

"Wait! Whooaaaaa! So you've been testing her? You're even lower than I thought!" The pink haired dragon slayer accused.

"I was not testing her! I just need to hear it from her mouth. I don't want to bring it up if….." He trailed off. Since the ice mage was looking down at his feet, the two dragon slayers were panicking, taking turns using a colorful range of gestures and facial expressions at each other behind his back, resembling a form of sign language. What the hell were they supposed to do?

"I know I was drunk….. but I can remember it… so clearly…. she-"

He clenched his fist, sure of what he firmly believed.

"She was there with me."

A/N: Okay, I know you all have something to say about this. I'll just leave it at that... although I do hope nobody assassinates me in my sleep because she hasn't told him yet though :O

Apologies if the language offends anybody. I grew up with A LOT of that, so I'm a little desensitized. Guys talk like that and it is rated M.

Will you please do this paranoid girl a favor and review?