Hey Jealousy - A Fairy Tail Fanfic - Chapter 11
Gray goes after Lyon and Juvia. But will he be too late?
All characters property Hiro Mashima
Chapter 11 – The Pursuit
Gray didn't have time to wonder why everyone stared at him as he raced through the streets of Magnolia, but it wasn't every day the residents saw a half-naked man running through their town.
Grim determination fueled Gray as his legs pounded the pavement in pursuit of Lyon and Juvia. He refused to accept that the blue-haired girl had willingly gone on a date with his former fellow student and rival. The strange, tight, painful feeling in his chest was a confirmation to him that something about this situation just wasn't right, no matter what the other girls in the guild said.
Though the couple had a head start, Gray managed to catch sight of Lyon's flashy carriage not long after they had left. He chased the duo through several winding paths, but lost them in the crush of shoppers as they entered the downtown district. Figuring the carriage couldn't get much farther through the thick crowd, Gray criss-crossed around some corners until he spotted the carriage parked in front of La Mer, one of the fancier seafood restaurants in Fiore, at least according to Magnolia Weekly.
"Lyon, you show-off," thought Gray as he ran towards the chic bistro. "You WOULD drag Juvia to a pretentious place like this!"
The ice-make mage burst through the doors and was just about to rush into the swanky dining room when he was stopped by a short, chubby waiter wearing a far too-tight elegant suit at the front desk.
"May I help you, sir?" sniffed the waiter over his thin, curly moustache.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a white-haired pompous ass with a far too good for him blue-haired girl," said Gray, looking around and over the rotund waiter for the couple he was pursuing.
The portly waiter cleared his throat. "I am sorry sir, but you cannot enter this establishment."
Gray cocked an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"I am afraid you do not meet the dress code, sir." The waiter pointed at a sign in the window that read "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service."
Gray sweat-dropped, knowing that by the waiter's reaction he was probably not wearing any clothes – again. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that while he had lost his jacket and shirt, his pants and boots were still on at least. The dark-haired mage then remembered that this embarrassing stripping habit of his was the main reason he didn't go to restaurants much.
The ice wizard sighed as he exited the bistro. He didn't like the fact that Juvia was inside alone with Lyon, but making a scene would prove he was jealous - which he WASN'T. Trying to figure out his next move, he turned around only to bump straight into a passerby.
"Ouch!" said the young stranger, rubbing his nose that had crashed into Gray's chest.
"Sorry!" said Gray. "Didn't see you there!"
The stranger looked up at Gray, surprise spreading over his rather mousy features. "Gray Fullbuster! What are YOU doing here? You NEVER come to the downtown district!"
"Yeah, I hate crowds," said Gray, squinting his eyes at the brown-haired fellow in suspicion. "Wait a minute, how do you know I don't come here? Do I know you?"
The stranger smiled. "No, but I sure know you! What brings you to this side of town?"
Gray scowled. "I'll answer that when you tell me who you are and how you know me."
"Uh, never mind." A guilty look spread across the young man's freckled face. "Have a good day."
The mysterious young man tried to walk past but Gray caught him by the collar and raised him off the ground.
"Not so fast. You're not going anywhere until I get some answers," said Gray, shaking his victim for effect.
The stranger paled. "Okay, I'll tell you everything, as long as you promise not to hurt me!"
"Deal!" agreed Gray, putting the younger man down.
The stranger wiggled his nose and pointed over his shoulder. "Can we go over to that fountain? It's a little more private."
Looking at the three-tiered stone fountain, Gray wasn't quite sure how it was more 'private,' seeing how it was in the middle of the public square, but he didn't feel like arguing the point. "Fine," he agreed. "But start talking along the way."
"Okay," the brown-haired stranger began as they walked towards the fountain. "My name is Preston Pathfinder. I'm a mage with Lamia Scale. But everyone calls me Gopher. "
"Lamia Scale!" Gray bristled. "So you're guildmates with Lyon."
Gopher nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."
Gray shot the boy a quizzical look. "Are you two on the same team?"
"No, I work for him," said Gopher as the two young men sat down at a secluded bench shaded by a tall sakura tree. "He hired me."
Gray furrowed his brow. "To do what?"
Gopher looked down, ears twitching. "To follow Juvia Lockser."
"WHAT?!" Gray grabbed Gopher by his shirt yet again. "WHY?!"
Gopher's brown eyes pleaded with Gray's navy ones. "He wanted to learn more about her! That's all, honest!"
Gray grunted but let the younger boy go. Gopher sighed in relief.
"I'm a tracker mage," Gopher continued after readjusting his shirt. "I have a magical ability to find anyone, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. Lyon hired me to follow Juvia, knowing that I would be the best mage for the job."
"Go on," said Gray, trying not to get angry with the boy who seemed to be telling the truth.
Gopher wiggled his nose. "Well, that's how I know you. I followed Juvia around and found out that other than going on missions every once in a while, she spends most of her time following YOU."
Gray flinched back as though stung. "What the hell?! Why would she follow ME?"
"You mean you STILL haven't figured it out?" The tracker mage looked at Gray in disbelief. At the ice wizard's blank expression, Gopher shook his head. "Dude. She's in love with you."
A starburst of heat exploded in Gray's chest at Gopher's words. He was about to protest that the boy was lying, but a part of him deep down realized he knew it was the truth. He had always known. He just never wanted to admit it.
But why?
Gray ran his fingers through his spiky hair, perplexed at the alien feelings rushing through him. "But if she's in love with me, then why in the heck is she on a date right now with Lyon?" he challenged, still not fully trusting the young man next to him.
Gopher's eyebrows shot up. "They're on a date?"
"Yeah, they're at that fancy-schmancy La Mer." Gray crossed his arms in disgust.
"Wait," said Gopher, stifling a laugh. "Did you follow them?"
Gray glowered but said nothing.
"BWA-HA-HA-HA!" Gopher hugged his sides as he doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down his face. "You DID follow them!"
"What the HELL's so funny?" snarled Gray.
"I'm sorry," Gopher wiped the tears from his eyes. "It's just that I got paid by a guy to follow a girl who follows you who is now following THEM. That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"
"It isn't THAT funny!" scowled Gray, looking off to the side.
Gopher cleared his throat. "Sorry, I shouldn't have laughed."
Gray shrugged. "Whatever, don't worry about it."
The two young men sat in silence for a moment, watching various townspeople walk by. Gray leaned
forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped at his chin, brooding on the newfound information Gopher had shared with him, while the younger boy studied the ice-make mage and tried to decipher his unreadable expression.
"So you're gonna stop Lyon, right?" asked Gopher.
The dark-haired young man shot a surprised look at the tracker mage. "Wait, you're on MY side? I though you and Lyon were guildmates?"
"We may be guildmates but it doesn't mean I like him," Gopher's ears twitched in defiance. "Despite how he acts around her, Lyon doesn't really care for Juvia. In fact, he told me the main reason he likes her is because he wants what you have. It's a competition."
"HE WHAT?" Rage threatened to bubble over in Gray at the thought of Juvia being used for the purposes of Lyon's ego.
Gopher nodded. "That's why I'm telling you all this. Juvia is a nice girl and I think she deserves better. I've watched you for a while now and you're a decent guy. Plus she's crazy about you. I'm just surprised you haven't noticed it before."
"You and me both," Gray admitted.
"So what are you going to do about it?" asked Gopher.
"Surprise attack," decided Gray, standing up with new-found purpose. "Lyon and I are pretty well-matched, so I'll have to get the upper hand right away."
"Leave it to me!" Gopher pointed at himself and winked. "As a tracker I know all the ins and outs of this place! I can sneak you in there no prob, Lyon won't even know what hit him!"
Gray punched a fist into his hand. "Lead the way, kid!"
As Gopher scrambled ahead, the ice-make wizard prepared himself for what he knew was not going to be an easy fight.
"Sorry, Ur, but if Lyon hurts Juvia, he's dead."
"Ouch!" Gray bumped his head against a metal pipe that was hanging above him in the narrow underground passageway. "Are we there yet?"
"Almost," said Gopher, sniffing the air. "It should be right around the next turn."
When Gopher had said he knew the ins and outs of a place, he hadn't been kidding. After their conversation by the fountain, the tracker mage had taken Gray to an isolated area where a grate was hidden by several bushes. Moving the grate aside, Gopher led Gray down a slippery metal ladder to a series of tunnels that ran under the downtown district, and headed in the direction of the restaurant where Lyon and Juvia were having their date.
"I don't know how you can smell anything, it's all pretty rank down here," Gray wrinkled his nose.
"That's why I'm a tracker mage and you're not," replied Gopher, a hint of pride in his voice. He stopped and pointed to the right. "Here. This passage will lead us to straight to La Mer."
Sure enough, at the end of the tunnel was another metal ladder that led up to a grate similar to the one the young men had entered through earlier. Climbing out of the tunnel, Gray found himself surrounded by a thick, dark hedge that concealed him from view. He peered through the foliage and saw that as Gopher promised, they were right alongside the restaurant. However, he couldn't see Lyon and Juvia through any of the windows.
"Dammit," growled Gray. "I don't see them anywhere."
Gopher pulled Gray to the ground. "Shhh!" The freckled boy then closed his eyes and made several motions with his hands before murmuring, "Resonance Sonar Seek!"
Gray felt a small wave of magic run through him that he definitely would have missed had he not been sitting right next to the tracker mage. A moment later Gopher's eyes popped open. "I found them!" he whispered, pointing over Gray's shoulder. "They should be two windows down."
Gray nodded and crawled in the direction Gopher pointed. "You're good at this."
"So is Juvia," said Gopher with a smile. "You'd be surprised how many times I've caught her doing something like this looking for you."
Gray shook his head, still in awe that Juvia had been following him all this time and that he'd had no idea.
As the two young men neared the second window, Gray could make out Lyon's voice above the rest of the patrons. The tracker mage's keen brown eyes met Gray's deep navy blue ones as he cocked his head in the direction of the wall. As quietly as possible, the two mages positioned themselves under the window where Juvia and Lyon sat and settled themselves in to listen to the conversation.
"So that's pretty much my story," said Lyon, pausing to take a sip of his blueberry tea. "But here I am rambling on and on about myself. Let's talk about you, Juvia. I'd love to learn more about you."
Gray's ears pricked up as he caught the lighter, sweeter sound of Juvia's voice.
"What would Lyon-sama like to know?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the cup of Earl Grey tea that she slowly stirred in front of her.
"Everything! From your childhood to how you ended up at Fairy Tail. I'd like to hear it all!"
Juvia hesitated. "Juvia doesn't think Lyon-sama wants to hear everything, but she will try."
Lyon spread out his arms. "That's all I could wish for!"
"Well," the blue-haired girl began, "Juvia's childhood wasn't very happy. Juvia is a water mage, so when Juvia was born, the rains came with her. Juvia tried everything to keep the rains away, but nothing worked. Juvia never had friends because they didn't like the rains. They made fun of Juvia and didn't want her around."
"Bastards!" Lyon gritted through his teeth.
"For once you and I agree, Lyon," thought Gray, clenching his fists at the image of Juvia being isolated from any type of friendship.
Gray's train of thought was interrupted as his rival asked another question. "Forgive me for asking this, but a beautiful girl like you must have at least had a boyfriend?"
Juvia's lower lip trembled. "Juvia did have a boyfriend once but he broke up with her. He said Juvia was too gloomy and depressing."
Lyon slammed his fist down on the table. "I'll kill him!"
Gray's eyes darkened as he imagined all the different ways he'd like to torture the guy who had hurt Juvia like that. "Not if I get to him first!" he thought.
"Please don't worry Lyon-sama, from what Lucy told me, Natsu took care of him a long time ago!" said the water mage, a little flustered at the intense look in her date's eyes.
"Alright," conceded the white-haired ice wizard, "but I can't make any promises that I won't hurt him should he ever have the misfortune to cross my path."
Gray was damn sure he wasn't gonna make that promise either.
A slight blush tinted Juvia's cheeks. "Juvia doesn't know what to say to that."
"My apologies, my dear, please continue your story." Lyon passed her a small plate of cookies as a peace offering.
Juvia nodded and accepted a shortbread. "One day Juvia was walking home when she saw three men chasing after a little girl. Juvia had seen the men before and knew they were not good people, so she trapped them with her Water Lock until they were arrested. Gaj happened to be walking by and saw Juvia's magic. He was impressed with Juvia and said she might be good enough to be part of the Phantom Lord guild. Juvia had never been invited to be part of a group before, so she went with Gaj to meet the master. After seeing Juvia's magic, Master Jose said he thought Juvia would be useful and asked her to join the guild. It was the first time Juvia had been accepted anywhere."
"I see," said Lyon, a serious look on his handsome features. "Did you like it there?"
Juvia considered for a moment. "Juvia thought she did, but now that she's part of Fairy Tail she realizes that Phantom Lord never cared about her. Phantom Lord liked Juvia's skill, but they didn't like her for herself like Fairy Tail does. Juvia also didn't agree with Master Jose waging war with Fairy Tail, but since she didn't want to leave the only friends she'd ever had, Juvia went along with the plan."
The sadness in Juvia's voice cut Gray to the quick. All the time he'd known the water mage, he'd had no idea what she had been through in her life. He mentally chastised himself for never taking the time to find out before.
Lyon leaned forward in his seat, fascinated by the blue-eyed girl's story. "I heard that was some battle," said Lyon. "So how on earth did you end up joining Fairy Tail afterwards?"
Gray strained to hear Juvia's response to this question.
"During the battle, Juvia met Gray-sama for the first time. She was supposed to fight him, but after seeing him she found she couldn't. Juvia doesn't know why, but from the moment she met Gray-sama, she…she…cared for him." The girl blushed a violent shade of red at this confession. "I'm so sorry to say that to you on our date Lyon-sama."
Both ice-make wizards were stunned by this revelation, but Lyon's recovery came far sooner than Gray's. "I understand the feeling completely," said Lyon quietly.
Juvia's eyebrows shot up. "You cared for Gray-sama too when you first met him?"
Before Lyon could protest that very Juvia-like misunderstanding of the situation, a scuffling noise outside the window interrupted the two mages in their conversation.
"Hold on a moment, my dear." Lyon rose up from their table to see where the noise was coming from.
The white-haired young man looked out the window, unaware that right underneath him Gray was holding Gopher in a death-grip, his hands clamped over the mouth of the tracker mage who had almost burst out laughing from Juvia's totally wrong take on Lyon's comment.
Lyon shrugged and sat back down at the table. "I guess it was nothing. Anyway, Juvia, darling, what I meant to say was that what you felt when you first saw Gray is what I felt when I first saw you."
"Oh!" Juvia reddened. "Juvia is sorry for the confusion."
Lyon patted her hand. "No need to apologize. Please go on."
Gray relaxed his grip on Gopher, but only slightly, as he heard Juvia continue her story.
"Juvia did not want to fight Gray-sama, but he insisted," the girl said after a short pause. "He fought bravely and defeated Juvia, sending her to what she thought would be her death. But instead, at the last minute he saved her. Juvia was so happy that the rains finally left her. For the first time, she saw the sun. It was beautiful."
Here the girl clasped her hands together, a dreamy look overtaking her pretty features.
"Gray-sama made the rains go away. That is why Juvia joined Fairy Tail. Juvia wants the sun, and Gray-sama, around her always. She never wants to be sad again."
The pounding in Gray's chest was so intense he could hardly breathe.
"More Earl Grey tea, miss?" A waiter held a teapot over Juvia's cup, awaiting her reply before pouring.
"Yes, thank you," said Juvia, grateful for the distraction. She felt like she had talked more about herself
in the last few minutes than she ever had in her entire life. Taking the warm teacup into her hands, the water mage looked up and was unnerved to see her date looking at her with a hard expression she'd never seen before.
"Interesting story," said Lyon, a slight edge to his voice. "So let me get this straight. You immediately fell in love with Gray at first sight. You joined Fairy Tail because of Gray, you follow Gray around everywhere, and you're even drinking a tea called 'Earl GREY.' Yet, here you are on a date with me. Do you mind telling me what exactly is going on?"
Juvia shrank back. "How do you know I follow Gray-sama?!"
Lyon smirked. "My dear, the only person who DOESN'T know that you follow Gray is the idiot himself. Juvia," the Lamia Scale wizard gave the girl a cold stare. "Are you using me to make Gray jealous?"
"Um, well, I, er, uh," Juvia stammered, blushing to the roots of her blue hair at being caught in the act.
A deep chuckle escaped Lyon. "Your reaction says it all." The ice-make mage appraised his date with new eyes. "Don't worry, though, I don't mind. I always did like a competition, especially when it comes to Gray."
"You're not mad Lyon-sama?" Juvia asked, feeling a little ashamed.
Lyon shook his head. "Not at all. If anything, I'm glad to hear it. Looks like we're not so different, you and I. We'll both do whatever it takes to get what we want. Quite frankly, I'm glad to see Fairy Tail hasn't taken the Phantom Lord out of you yet."
Juvia hung her head at Lyon's pointed words. She still felt terribly guilty at her past with Phantom Lord, and how she'd helped them in their war against Fairy Tail. While she tried her hardest to make it up to her new guildmates and show them her sincere wish to be part of their group, deep down she always wondered if Fairy Tail truly accepted her. No one else had, after all.
"People's pasts shouldn't haunt them the rest of their lives once they have decided to follow the right path." Erza's words to Juvia echoed in her mind. Juvia had decided to follow the right path. But maybe, just maybe, some sins were unforgiveable.
Maybe a tiger can't change its stripes.
"My dearest girl," soothed Lyon, his seductive voice sending chills down Juvia's spine. "I can make you far happier than Gray ever could. I have always been the stronger of the two of us, ever since I've known him. Give me a chance to prove to you that I am the better choice! Already I have beat him in one thing – I know I love you. If his words earlier today haven't already convinced you that he doesn't care for you, the fact that he's never made a move on such a beautiful, powerful mage such as yourself says volumes! Come with me, and join me in Lamia Scale."
Juvia shook her head wildly. "But Juvia loves Fairy Tail! It's the best guild Juvia knows! All the mages are strong and brave, with good hearts! Everyone she has met has been so kind and accepting of her. Even if Gray-sama doesn't care for Juvia, she still loves her guildmates and they love her!"
"Do they?" asked the white-haired wizard with a sneer. "Are you sure they didn't accept you just because of Gray? And do you think they will be able to trust your loyalty to them now that you know Gray doesn't care for you? After all, why should you be part of a guild when your main reason for being there is gone?"
Tears stung Juvia's eyes. Maybe Lyon was right. If she wasn't good enough for Gray, then maybe she wasn't good enough for Fairy Tail either.
Her whole life she had been an outsider. She was a fool to think she could ever change that.
But before Juvia could say a word in reply, a dark blur flew in through the window and crashed onto the table that separated her from Lyon. Dishes and cutlery clattered to the ground and smashed into pieces adding to the cacophony of startled voices that filled the girl's ears at the sudden commotion.
"Lyon, you fucking bastard!"
Looking up, Juvia was stunned to see Gray standing on the table in front of her at full height, a murderous look in his eyes as he glowered at Lyon.
"Gray-sama!"
"Gray, what impeccable timing," Lyon grinned. "Juvia was just about to accept my invitation to join Lamia Scale. Now that you're here, you can save her the trip back to Fairy Tail to give notice of her leave."
"Juvia's not going anywhere," spat Gray.
Lyon shook his head. "You really haven't changed since seven years ago have you? You're as dense as ever, I see."
"I may not have aged, but seven years hasn't changed you either. You're just as wrong as you ever were." Gray moved into a fighting stance that Lyon recognized instantly. The white-haired ice-make mage narrowed his eyes.
"Wrong?" Lyon's chair scraped against the floor as he stood up to meet Gray's challenge. "Impossible! I know everything there is to know about the girl in front of me. I had her followed to make sure of that. I can make her happier than you ever could. How is that wrong?"
The dark-haired young man glared at his rival. "First of all, if you had paid any attention to what you learned when you had her followed, you'd know that Juvia is a full-fledged member of Fairy Tail all on her own. It has nothing to do with me! She has proven herself time and time again that she's our nakama. She's fought for us and bled for us and laughed with us and cried with us. Every single person in our guild cares for her because of her alone – me included."
Juvia gasped and clutched the arms of her chair for support, feeling dizzy at the emotions Gray's words were creating in her.
"And second," said Gray, a blue light surrounding his hands as they came together in ice-make position, "there's no way you can make her happier than I can. If she's been this happy just being around me when I've ignored her, imagine how happy she's gonna be as my girlfriend!"
"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia jumped out of her chair in ecstatic joy.
Lyon ripped off his jacket for full battle mode. "Over my dead body!"
"That can be arranged!" growled Gray, "ICE MAKE HAMMER!"
"ICE MAKE HEDGEHOG!" The ice hammer created by Gray shattered as it met the spiky icicles that sprouted from Lyon's body. "Always too fast for you!" gloated Lyon as he jumped back for an attack. "ICE MAKE EAGLE!"
Screams echoed through the restaurant as customers dropped to the floor to escape the ice eagles that dive-bombed around the dining room at Lyon's command.
"WATER SLICER!" Blades of water shot from Juvia's hands and cut through the frozen birds, shattering them like glass. Sighs of relief could be heard from the restaurant patrons who witnessed the counterattack.
The two ice-make mages stopped in their tracks, realizing the cause of their fight had just joined the fray.
"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO HURT GRAY-SAMA!" Dark waves of energy emanated from the blue-haired mage as she stepped menacingly towards her former date. The girl's pretty face was shadowed in an aura of malevolence that had some of the nearer customers ducking under their tables in sheer terror of the female wizard in front of them.
Lyon gulped at the transformation of Juvia from self-consciously sweet girl to lethal water wizard.
"Juvia?"
"That's my girl!" Gray smiled and jumped down from the table, landing next to Juvia. "You ready?"
The dark cloud surrounding Juvia dissipated instantly. "Juvia is always ready for Gray-sama!" she beamed back.
Grabbing Juvia by the waist, the raven-haired mage took his girl's left hand into his right before facing towards Lyon. The voices of the two young lovers rang loud and clear as they pointed their energy towards the white-haired young man who was in disbelief at the scene in front of him.
"UNISON RAID!"
It was several months before La Mer was able to patch the hole in the roof that Lyon created when he was sent flying from the combined water and ice that hit him in that moment.
"Come on, let's get out of here before they call the cops!" Gray seized Juvia by the hand and led her towards the window where they jumped out to an awaiting Gopher.
The freckled boy hitched a thumb over his shoulder. "Follow me!"
Shouts and sirens followed the three mages as they ran through a maze of backalleys, side streets, and shortcuts that Gopher maneuvered between effortlessly. Gray cursed however when the trio found themselves face to face with the side of a building after turning a corner.
"A dead end!" groaned the ice make wizard as he punched the wall with his fist.
Gopher grabbed Gray by the arm. "Don't worry, I got it covered!" The tracker mage took a few steps back then shouted, "Subterranean Corridor Conceal!" In a flash the young boy jumped up and somersaulted mid-air before burrowing into the ground headfirst.
Gray and Juvia stood for a moment looking at the yawning tunnel with unease.
"I guess we follow him?" Gray said, scratching his head.
Juvia bit her lip as she heard the sound of sirens get closer. "Juvia sees no other choice!"
Grasping each other's hands, Gray and Juvia dove into the dim passageway that magically closed behind them. Moving slowly through the now pitch-black darkness, Gray blindly waved his right hand in front of him while his left hand kept a firm grip on Juvia. "Gopher, where are you?" he hissed.
"Right here!" the sound of the boy's voice echoed ahead of the ice wizard but not too far away. "Just keep going straight, you'll see some light soon."
As if on cue, a soft light began to diffuse the tunnel as Gray and Juvia kept moving. Before long, the two
Fairy Tail mages could see bright daylight shining that signaled they had reached the opening at the end of the tunnel.
"Here we are!" cried Gopher, extending a hand to help Gray out of the underground channel. Once free, the ice-make wizard turned around to pull Juvia out of the darkness, then watched as the tunnel closed back in on itself, leaving no trace it had ever existed.
The brown-haired boy wiggled his ears and smiled. "Not my best work but it's all I could do on short notice!"
"Thanks, dude, I owe you one!" said Gray, slapping the tracker mage on the back and almost toppling him over.
Juvia, still clutching Gray's hand, nodded shyly at Gopher. "Juvia thanks you too!"
The younger wizard smiled. "You're welcome! And may I say how nice it is to finally meet you face to face, Juvia!"
Juvia looked quizzically at the freckled boy, but before she could reply Gray interrupted them. "I'll explain later. Where to next, Gopher?"
A gloomy expression spread over Gopher's face. "Actually, here is where I have to leave you. Lyon has already been trying to contact me through our lacrima communication crystals for help in finding you. I'll go back and lead him on a wild goose chase that should buy you some time. Meanwhile, Juvia, you should stay at Gray's place for the next couple days if possible since Lyon knows you live at Fairy Hills. We're far enough away from the authorities that they won't be able to catch you today, but I suggest you lay low for a while."
Juvia tried not to squeal at the thought of staying with her new boyfriend for a few days, while Gray nodded at the tracker mage. "Got it," said the raven-haired wizard. "Thanks again, Gopher, I couldn't have done this without you."
"No problem. But, before I go, I have a question for Juvia," said Gopher.
The blue-haired girl's eyes widened. "For Juvia? What is it?"
Gopher's brown eyes looked down before looking up into Juvia's blue ones. "Those things you said about Fairy Tail being the best guild you know. Were you telling the truth?"
A smile spread across the girl's face, as she reached out and grabbed the younger boy's hands. "Every word of it! Fairy Tail is wonderful! Of course, any guild with Gray-sama in it would be the best, but Fairy Tail would still be great even without Gray-sama! Juvia never wants to be a part of any other guild!"
Gray smiled. "She's right. Fairy Tail is awesome. And even though you're not part of our nakama, you're still a friend of ours. If there's anything you ever need, just let us know. We won't forget this!"
Gopher nodded. "Thanks! I may take you up on that one day. Anyway, we all better be going. Goodbye!" And with that, the tracker mage ran off.
Juvia felt a strong arm curl around her waist.
"You heard him. Let's go home, Juvia!"
"Yes, Gray-sama!"
A/N - I know this one was long, probably could have been its own story now that I think about it.
I absolutely hated making Lyon into a jerk cuz I love him! I also still hate writing fight scenes.
So, what do you think of Gopher?
