Standard disclaimer applies.
THE PROVOKER
If there was one thing Juvia can confidently claim, it's that her parents never fought. Argued, sure; but an all-out fighting, never! At least not to her recollection.
Her father, Jule Lockser, had always been a soft-spoken and patient gentleman. If there was something that displeased him, he would find ways to let the person know in the very sweetest way. For example, when Val accidentally hit him on the nose while running around, their father didn't even scold the young youkai. Rather, Jule patted Val's head and told him to be extremely careful, all the while blood trickling down his nose. Juvia panicked seeing her father's state, but the older Lockser assured his daughter that it would heal in minutes since he's a youkai.
Yes, Jule Lockser was that kind, tolerant, and even-tempered.
Vivian Lockser, on the other hand, can be quite strict. Yet, she never raised her voice to reprimand her children. When she argued with her husband, she also did it in a composed manner.
So for Juvia to arrive at home hearing her mother almost yelling, it was quite a surprise. Vivian's voice rose a decibel higher, hence Juvia's 'I'm home' wasn't heard. They were too engrossed with their argument, it seemed. Juvia's father was still talking in his usual volume, but Juvia sensed a bit of frustration and anger in his tone. Shockingly, they didn't even notice her presence or scent.
"Why did you even entertain such an idea?" Vivian sounded quite upset. "I cannot allow it! You cannot allow it! You must not allow such travesty!"
Juvia stood frozen outside the kitchen, not knowing where to go. It felt like she was intruding in a very private or personal matter between her parents. Yet, the only way to get to her room upstairs was to pass by the kitchen.
"You know we cannot defy our superiors," replied Jule, and Juvia could tell her father was trying hard to control his patience.
"Superior? You chose to work for him. Technically, your clan isn't affiliated with the Blue Emblem, but you chose to."
"The Locksers have always been loyal to Blue Emblem, particularly the Fullbusters."
"Yes, as faithful and excellent stewards. But as in-laws? I will not permit it, even if it means I go against your wishes," Vivian asserted. "I do not care if you're my husband. My child is more important."
Juvia gasped hearing her mother say such a hurtful statement. She couldn't even imagine how her father reacted to this. The moment of silence between her parents gave Juvia the chance to absorb fully what her mother said. It had something to do with her or Val and the Blue Emblem leaders. Juvia knew she should leave to give them privacy, yet curiosity got the better of her.
"Vivian, calm down. It is only a proposition. Nothing has been set in stone yet."
"Yet? Don't tell me you're actually considering it, Jule?"
The Lockser patriarch responded in a low voice, as if reserved only for his wife. Juvia strained her hearing, but she couldn't clearly make out her father's response.
"There's no need for discussion," she heard her mother declare stubbornly. "Our child will not marry into that family."
Juvia gasped and dropped the bag she was holding; its clatter surely made her presence known to them. Instantly, her parents were outside the kitchen, catching the young demonness picking up her bag from the floor.
Jule sighed, as if in defeat. "You heard our discussion," was more of a statement than a question. Juvia nodded her head nonetheless. "Did you fully understand it, my dear?" he asked gently. This time Juvia shook her head.
"What did Kaachan mean by marrying into the family? Who is? Val?"
Both parents glanced at each other. The anger on her mother's face was obvious. "It is something that will not happen," Vivian stated firmly. "I will not allow it, even if it means leaving Magnolia."
The heavy tension in the Lockser household lingered. Even Val, who's usually oblivious to such happenings, could tell there was something going on between his parents. He questioned his older sister, but she remained tight-lipped.
As for Juvia, the ambiguity of the things her parents said troubled her. She tried to get a clarification from her mother, but the older demonness would only gruff in annoyance. Eventually, Juvia didn't bother her mother about the issue anymore. She decided to interrogate her father, but the patriarch of the family would only smile.
Who is marrying whom? Could it be… that they were discussing about her marrying Gray Fullbuster?
The thought alarmed her but also made her heart a-flutter. Truth be told, Juvia harboured a deep infatuation towards the young Fullbuster. His physical attributes played a contribution to her affections towards him. Yet, what really made Gray her "dashing prince" was that memory from long ago — of a young rowdy boy who showed hints of sweetness and gentleness. But of course, no one would know this secret crush. No, Juvia wouldn't even dare let her best friend, Gajeel, know about it.
Gray Fullbuster was just someone to admire from afar. To marry Gray Fullbuster was out of the question. It was something that should never be considered at all.
Juvia shook her head to dispel such thoughts. Sooner, rather than later, she would get to the bottom of this. Whether their parents were talking about her or Val, Juvia knew that they would eventually discuss it with them.
After lingering in her bed for five minutes, Juvia pushed herself to get up. School was back again, thus a new term. It was still quite early but the young youkai decided to prepare right away. After half an hour, she joined her brother for breakfast. Her mother was silent the whole time, and none of the Lockser offspring dared to make a sound. After finishing the meal, making a quick stop to the bathroom to brush her teeth, Juvia bid her mother goodbye to head straight to the academy.
Usually, she would meet Gajeel on the way. This time, Juvia decided to take a different route. She wanted an alone time for herself to reflect back on the two weeks of vacation. It was short, but it seemed she accomplished quite a few things.
The training as a handmaiden began without a hitch — well except for that one incident with the young heir. This, Juvia decided to purge from her mind. A wave of excitement rushed through her, as she's reminded that her training would be continued at the Fernandes household, where she will instantly learn to serve Jellal Fernandes's mate, Erza Scarlet.
As she arrived at the school gates, she caught a glimpse of the young inugami heir. The thumping in her heart grew louder. It was either he got a whiff of her scent or he just looked her way, but Gray instantly locked eyes with Juvia. Their last meeting was less-than-desirable. Juvia let her emotions get the better of her. Though she knew Gray deserved to be chided for his haughty attitude, Juvia was quite disrespectful to the heir of the clan. A part of Juvia encouraged her to apologize; another part was insistent to stand her ground. She should just walk away, ignore him, and hoped that she would rarely get the chance to meet him.
Hence, she walked straight ahead without batting an eyelash or even a glance at the young heir's way. Usually, Juvia played the part of a respectful subordinate; not this morning. Instead, she went straight to the classroom and hoped the day would go by without trouble.
Sadly, Lady Luck was rarely on Juvia's side. The young inugami heir entered the classroom and walked straight towards Juvia's seat. No words were spoken between them, until Gray pulled her left wrist and dragged her outside the classroom. Juvia started to protest but immediately clamped her mouth shut when she received Gray's glare. They caught few stares from the students, because many couldn't fathom why the popular Fullbuster was with the unnoticed Lockser.
Gray brought her to an isolated area outside behind the school gym. He didn't let go of her wrist, then backed her into the wall, almost caging her when he placed his free hand just beside her head. "What the fuck is your problem?"
Huh? Juvia blinked in confusion. She cleared her throat, hoping she wouldn't stutter or anything. She was beginning to feel intimidated. Sure, she knew that one shriek can reach multiple youkai hearing. After all, this was a school full of youkai. In fact, if she just yell Gajeel's name, Juvia knew he'd be there within minutes. Still, Juvia didn't want further trouble.
"Juvia is unsure of what you mean, Fullbuster-sama."
Gray snorted in annoyance. "Feigning ignorance, huh? How thick-skinned of you to think I will let you get away for what you did a few days ago. Who the fuck do you think you are, thinking you can lecture me about being a clan leader? You're nothing but a piece of lowly youkai who's born to serve me!"
Anger was slowly seeping in her, but a part of her felt like laughing. That was it? He was angry for something she said. The sassy Juvia resurfaced. "Really, Fullbuster-sama? You dragged me here because of such a petty reason? Juvia feels astounded. If Juvia was such an inferior youkai to you, then you shouldn't be bothered by what Juvia said or thought. Juvia's opinion shouldn't matter at all."
Gray grabbed her by the collar, but he still held her wrist. "Watch your mouth. You know I'm stronger than you and I could literally squash you," he threatened. He could feel his demon marks pulsating. This weak blue blob had the ability to cast furor inside him. "Learn to respect me, demoness," he snarled. The fury in him increased when she stared back with a calm expression. For a millisecond, thanks to his quick senses, Gray caught a slight change in her eye colour. From brown, it glowed to a glistening blue like the colour of the vast ocean. He furrowed his eyebrows, unsure whether it was his imagination. He continued to stare straight into her eyes, hoping to see of the colour changing once more.
Juvia's soft whisper pulled him back to reality. "Is that all you want from Juvia, Fullbuster-sama? To be completely respectful? Juvia has always done that, but…" she trailed off and peeled her eyes away from his. She shifted her gaze to somewhere distant. "Why do you hate Juvia so much?"
There was a melancholic trace to her voice that made Gray uneasy. He wasn't quite the articulate kind, so he was unable to describe it. His demon marks continued to pulse, and he was aware it was due to her near presence. Submitting to instincts, he pulled her collar up, closing the distance between their faces. Juvia was taken aback and automatically faced him. This gave him the opportunity to crash his lips against hers. His hand gripping her wrist released it, only to clutch onto her waist. He let go of her collar, so he could grasp the back of her head. It made it impossible for Juvia to back away.
She wasn't responding to him, no matter how forceful his lips kept nipping on hers. She made protesting sounds, but he wouldn't budge. But then, Juvia felt the hand on her waist travel to the arch of her back, slowly caressing it. Such ministrations gave Juvia a pleasurable sensation. With that, she surrendered. She opened her lips for him, and he took that invitation with vigour. He explored with his tongue; she tasted sweet to him, and he was intoxicating for her. Both didn't know how long their lips danced with each other. When they parted, Juvia's cheeks were painted with the rosiest tinge. Her eyes were glassy, and she wasn't sure what to say or do.
Gray lifted her chin with his right hand. "I hate you because you make me do such things," he finally answered her question. With that, he walked away from her.
Juvia didn't attend homeroom and ended up going to the library instead. She envied the humans, because they can make the excuse of going to the nurse's room due to feeling unwell. Such condition was unheard of for any youkai.
Her mind was a broken puzzle at the moment. Part of her wanted to dwell on what happened earlier, but another side refused to acknowledge such incident. No, she told herself, it was something she should forget about. It was a forced kiss that wasn't exactly unwanted but a forced one nonetheless. She should be angry at the inugami heir. She should despise him. Yet… she couldn't feel any hatred, any anger. Juvia just felt sad. Once she acknowledged that feeling, tears began streaming down her face.
Perhaps it was because Juvia really does like Gray. She never really allowed herself to fully imagine the two of them being a couple, although the thought did cross her mind. It's free to dream; so, she created a delusion at one time, of her and Gray talking and holding hands, and Gray displaying his ice-making ability. For Juvia, she just wanted a similar event to when they were younger. She just wanted to spend one day with Gray without the thought of status and power.
Wiping her tears away, Juvia stood up and proceeded to go to the washroom to wash her face. The bell rang signalling the end of homeroom. She would just put behind that episode with the inugami heir and try her best to stay away from him as much as possible. If they happen to meet, Juvia would simply give him what he wanted— respect. She would be the submissive, lowly youkai to the superior inugami.
Fortunately, her training would be at the Fernandes mansion, far away from the Fullbuster heir!
As soon as the last bell rang for the day, Juvia made a dash out of the room. A sense of paranoia consumed her, thinking Gray was staring intently at her. Sharing two classes with him was indeed torture. She didn't stop to take a breather or even turn around until she was about five minutes to her house. Juvia let out a laugh. As if Gray would actually run after her or follow her.
She couldn't concentrate in class, but at least she generated a plausible reason why Gray kissed her. He was basically exercising his authority towards her. She had been quite discourteous to him, although she still believed he deserved some chiding. Either way, Juvia was confident her encounters with Gray would soon stop, if not completely concluded. She just needed to be on her best behaviour in front of him and ensure to never be on his way.
When she opened the gate to her house, she was surprised to be face to face with Gajeel. She didn't get to see him for the whole day, so she was enthusiastic to set eyes on him. Without care, she pounced on him with an excited squeal and hug.
"Gajeel-kun!"
Gajeel stood rigid, an unusual reaction from him. Juvia immediately let go and looked up at him. "Is there anything wrong? And by the way, why are you at Juvia's house? That means you must've left school quite early? Were you waiting for Juvia? Wait, did you actually go to school at all?" The barrage of questions didn't give Gajeel the chance to answer. Either way, the expression on his face made Juvia concerned. "Hey, Gajeel-kun, why do you look so serious?"
Gajeel sighed out loud. "Your mother will tell you. I'll see you, Juvia, once you made your decision." He didn't wait for Juvia to respond as he headed straight out of the gate. Juvia tried calling him back, but he just kept walking away.
When Juvia turned around, her mother was already at the door waiting for her.
"Kaachan, tadaima."
Vivian didn't reply but gave Juvia a hardened expression. "Juvia, I just made my decision. Your father has no choice but to accept it since the other side had approved."
Juvia tilted her head in confusion. "Juvia doesn't understand."
"You are to be married to Gajeel," Vivian answered. "The ceremony, if all goes well, will be held next month."
And suddenly, Juvia felt like her entire world became hazy.
a/n: Anyone still interested in this story? Heh. I apologize for the really long wait. the past few months had been very busy, and add to that my waning Gruvia (and Fairy Tail) feels. however, I suddenly remembered this story and I just felt like I want to really finish it.
i think i've been ambitious with this story, but i'll just keep writing. expect some illogical turn of events. I think i'll sacrifice accuracy (and logic) just so I can come up with entertainment. i think that's why I had a writer's block. i was so focused on making many things make sense, I kind of lost the excitement of writing it. so, be warned that there might be plot holes/inconsistencies.
for all the reviewers from the previous chapter and the favouriters/followers, thank you. please do leave a review just to let me know if there are still interested readers...
