Whisky was never kind to Gray. He drank it anyway, sometimes because it was the favorite of whoever he was drinking with—before the guild broke up that meant Loke—and sometimes because that seemed to be the only thing on the menu. Probably because everything else worth drinking had already been drunk.

The Thorn and Thistle only ever had a few kinds of alcohol anyway. Cheap beer, tequila potent enough that no amount of limes could block out the taste, and swill whisky. He had a bottle of the latter, swindled out of the bartender by a winning smile. She didn't even stare at him, afraid of the black stain on his skin. Imagine that. Mostly because, for at least a little while, killing that demon had satiated something in his heart and his father's mark retreated to a more manageable size.

He cherished the relief while he had it, because it wouldn't be long before it started to spread again. That being said, he almost missed the arctic feeling while it was gone. Just because it was familiar. Don't rush it. He could sit at the bar without enticing any questions. Not that he could figure out why he wanted to do that in the first place.

Maybe just to fuck with himself. He could hear Juvia's sloppy laughter and kept replaying the last time she'd dared to get drunk with him. Raucous didn't even begin to explain how she'd been that night. She'd never been sluttier and he'd never loved her more for it. Was she like that because it was with you? Or just because? It was easy to imagine her acting that way with Smile-Too-Fucking-Much-Riley because he kept bringing her drinks, she kept knocking them back, and his hands kept sliding every fucking place they shouldn't be.

Gray realized his magic was trying to slip out of his hold. He breathed deeply and took a huge swallow straight from the whisky bottle, forgoing the shot glass before him.

How long are you going to sit here for? Long enough to watch that guy take Juvia upstairs? It looked like that wasn't far off. Just get up and go back to Briar's. And then what? Wander through the halls? Find Lucy again and really throw some nails in the coffin just to be spiteful? It didn't need it; he was already suffocating inside that pine box.

Those thoughts were more than enough to make him think that his night should be over. He took another gulp of whisky. It curdled in his empty stomach. He was too drunk. Not drunk enough. He looked at Juvia's table one more time and really wished he hadn't. He wouldn't have seen the other man lean in and kiss her. Gray stood so abruptly that his stool fell over. Someone cussed behind him. He barely heard, torn between doing the mature thing and walking out of there or finding out how much abuse his knuckles could take before they cracked open. It was a deadlock. Juvia stood, as did Riley, and Gray only seemed more paralyzed. He watched them, helpless to do much else. Together they walked, feet bringing them toward the upper apartments. The ice mage held his breath, unsure of what he'd do if she walked up those stairs. Nothing? Stop her?

Gray didn't have to find out. Riley went toward the washroom and Juvia came toward the bar. The relief he felt was almost totally washed away by the nervousness and the anger. He knew why he felt one, but not the other. Juvia never made him nervous. Yet, as she approached the bar, overhead lights bouncing off those tall black boots, her skin, her sapphire hair, his heart sped. Her dress was askew, pawed at, and her lips were red with someone else's kiss. She was a beautiful fucking mess.

Like always, her eyes were drawn to him. Like she just couldn't help it. Several emotions flitted across her face: surprise, eagerness, fear.

Gray held on to the last two, the first because it gave him hope, the second because he just couldn't seem to help it. He waited for her to come to him, and come she did. He was the north her compass needle would always tug her toward. The guilt that left him with was both liberating and poisoning. Sometimes he wished he and Juvia weren't destined to play this game. I want you. It's too toxic. They'd separate then they'd go around again. This revolution was rougher than all of the others had ever been. Mostly because he'd allowed himself to grab the reins.

Looking like a wraith, silvery and white and blue, Juvia slipped into a narrow space beside him and engaged the bartender. "Two tequilas, please." The man nodded and started working on her order.

"You don't drink tequila." Gray was close enough to smell her. The shampoo she'd been using here at the Thistle was different than her usual. This one smelled like coconut. It drove him insane. It didn't smell like Juvia.

"I never used to. Things change." She barely looked at him. It was a tactic to get under his skin, he knew, and it was fucking working.

The tequila came. Before Juvia could grab them and slip away, Gray took the one that was meant for someone else and shot it. Juvia pursed her lips in annoyance, finally looking at him. She was all disapproval. "That was for Riley."

"It doesn't have to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He hadn't planned on saying it, but now that it was done, he figured he might as well finish digging that grave. "Stay here and drink with me, Juvia."

Another string of emotions took her. Some he relished, others let him know in no uncertain terms that trouble was coming. "Is that the line you used—"

He shut her down. "No. And it's not a line." It totally was, they both knew it. They both knew that she was warring viciously with herself, too. Good.

"You're drunk already. You don't need me to help you."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Like you're not?"

"Sure, but every time I see you now, you're drunk," she told him.

Gray was going to deny it, but it'd been a while since he'd been really sober. "Forget about drinking." He didn't need any more anyway, not unless he wanted to spend the night with his head in the toilet. He'd had enough of that after yesterday. "I wanted to talk to you about some stuff."

"I told you before, I don't want to hear it," Juvia said. Her voice belied her resolve. Her resistance was eroding faster than she could form it. No, they couldn't help but be pulled together.

"And if I said it was about other stuff?"

She looked at him warily. "What other stuff?"

Gray stepped a little closer to her, pressing her boundaries; he just couldn't help it. This close, he could see how bottomless her eyes were, how completely blue. "Can we find somewhere private?"

Juvia faltered. "Gray..."

"Come on, Juvia. When Erza showed up she told me some news, that's all. We could talk here, but..." He looked around the bar. Riley was still somewhere else; probably not for much longer. Gray got as serious as he could when he was spinning so badly. "It's pretty important, and I think it should be something we talk about privately."

Just like that, she buckled. "This way." She started walking. Gray caught up, blood pumping when he realized she was leading him up the stairs to her room. All noise but the band playing on the bar's stage fell into dullness, becoming more obscure as they mounted the stairs, which meant more room for the blood singing in his ears to be heard. Juvia didn't look at him. She didn't need to; Gray knew he was the only thing truly on her mind.

The upper level smelled as rank as ever, like stale cigarettes and old booze. It was a smell that Gray hated as much as he liked. It reminded him of Fairy Tail. It reminded him of raucous nights. And now it reminded him of Juvia.

At her door, Juvia missed getting the key into the lock twice. The third time was the charm. She hesitated before she opened the door, though. "I'm only bringing you up here to talk."

Gray leaned against the wall to search her eyes. He didn't need a translator to tell him she was mostly fortifying herself. "Yeah."

Juvia looked at him fleetingly. "I mean it, Gray-sama."

Though it was serious, he couldn't help but say, "If you did, you'd stop calling me that."

Juvia faltered; her cheeks went red. "It's just…"

Gray watched her wet her lips. Lips with someone else's kiss on them. He wanted to fix that. Restraint was a thing he used to have in droves. Things changed. It was different when he didn't know what he was giving up. He could play along, though. Until he couldn't anymore. "I'm kidding. Open the door. We're just going to talk."

Movement helped stave off Juvia's embarrassment. She slithered into her room and closed the door behind Gray, blocking out the dull hallway light so all they had was the ashy moonlight. The girl went for the lamp. It felt wrong to have it on. Gray grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"I like this." Just barely illuminated by the moon was how he liked to see Juvia best. Lying naked in bed, leaning over her body and brushing his fingers over her skin to watch it raise in goose bumps, pale and perfect... those memories were engrained in his mind; he'd do almost anything to dredge them up to the surface. It helped him believe that he and Juvia weren't so far away from being in that place again.

Juvia's arms fell back to her side and they remained in the dark. Gray took that as a step gained in the right direction and got a little closer to her. She put on her best unyielding face and said, "You wanted to talk. Talk. What's going on with Erza?"

Reality was a mood killer. Gray straightened from whateverthehell he was trying to do and scrubbed his numb face. "Yeah. She was attacked on her way to Magnolia."

Juvia's weight went on to one hip and her fingers tugged at the hem of her dress. "That's not so unusual. Erza attracts trouble everywhere—"

"They were attacked by a demon and Wendy was nearly killed. She's been in a coma since." Juvia took a breath in the appropriate place. Gray kept talking so she couldn't ask any questions yet. "The same demon attacked Gajeel and Levy just moments before, according to them, and nearly took them out, too."

"That's terrible."

"And then there are those girls that were killed." Bringing up Lucy seemed foolhardy when he had Juvia alone, and they had some sort of dialog, but it could hardly be avoided. "I know it seemed they were targeting girls that looked like Lucy, but... I'm worried about you."

More complicated emotions flitted across Juvia's face. "You are?"

"Yes. You know there was a demon right here in the Thistle tonight, hanging out at your table?"

"My table?" She seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. Chick with pink hair. Did you know her? Or was she one of the guard's friends?"

Juvia looked at him blankly. "I don't know."

Not that it mattered much anyway. Not now. "I took care of it so you don't have to worry, but the point is, you need to be careful. Who knows what would have happened if I wasn't there?" He liked to think he was the only one that could protect Juvia. He liked her to think that, too. If she would.

Juvia blinked and blinked. "You killed it?"

"I had to. It was going to try to do the same to me." There was no guilt, only the want to do it again and again. "I think I've been feeling that thing lurking around here for days, Juvia. The headaches, the irritation." The sickness. Never mind that it hadn't gone away, just dulled significantly with that demon's last breath. "The point is..." What was the point? As soon as he realized it, he knew he was setting himself up for a one percent success rate. He just couldn't seem to stop. "You shouldn't be here by yourself."

She fidgeted. "I'm not."

Of course not. She had Riley and her new friend. What the fuck was her name? Irena? Ireen? Eileen. That was it. He hated that name almost as much as Riley. Irrational didn't even begin to cover it. He spat out his words before he could get sidetracked. "Come back with me. To our room. And stay again."

"Gray..."

He waited for sama but she'd finally seemed to find some reserve. Just in time for him to completely misplace his. Her hand was in his, his fingers twisting around the ring on her finger. "Please, Juvia. I'll keep you safe."

She shivered and Gray realized that his father's mark was getting cold, on the move again, as was his headache. "There are more demons in Magnolia. I'm sure of it, and they're going to be looking for anyone affiliating themselves with the Fairy Tail guild."

She gathered up the inside of her cheek and chewed it. "I don't want to stay with you."

That hurt like a punch to the throat. "Why?"

"Because, you'll just tell me how sorry you are and you'll make up excuses and I'll want to listen because that—that's what I do." Being drunk made her brave.

"How can they be excuses if they're true?" Gray asked exasperatedly.

"See?" She threw her hands into the air. "This is what I'm talking about! And then I just want to listen to your lies. I can't, Gray."

"Maybe you want to listen because I'm not lying."

She poked him in the chest. "You lie all the time!"

"All the time?" He checked his voice, realizing that they were getting back into the swing of a yelling match. He moved in close and cupped her cheeks between his palms. With her eyes locked on his he said quietly, "I only ever lied about one thing and I did that because I fucked up, Juvia. What we had was good. I liked it. I didn't want it to be ruined. Haven't you ever just... lied to keep something, even though you knew it was wrong?"

"No." Of course not. She was better than that. Better than you. Knowing it was true didn't stop him from trying. It was that fucking merry-go-round all over again. Everything always seemed to be in a state of irritated movement. There was no stopping it.

"Well..."

She grabbed his wrists and squeezed. "If you had just told me about Lucy I could have forgiven you."

He searched her eyes. "I couldn't see you ever doing that."

"That's because you're stupid. I would because I love you, Gray-sama." There it was. "You couldn't see that before and I think you still can't now. And if that's the case... you didn't trust me. And if you didn't trust me then it's as I said. You really didn't ever love me." She started to straighten. Gray pulled her in closer, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to prevent her slipping away so easily.

"You know that's not true."

"Please let me go."

That killed him. "No. Not until you see I'm telling the truth."

She poked him again, more irritated. "You need to start seeing the truth if you actually believe that."

"What can I do to prove it to you, huh?" Gray asked, feeling suddenly manic.

Juvia faltered. "Nothing."

"No. There has to be something." He dug through his head thinking of all the stupid things that people did to prove they loved each other. Got rings and a useless piece of paper signed by some generic priest. Maybe it'd make Juvia happy, but it seemed hollow. Had a screaming child show them just how little adding another life to their problems fixed everything? Not fucking happening. Bang his head against a wall chanting 'I'm sorry, I messed up,' until he was brainless? He felt like he was already there, actually. "I'm going to think of a way, Juvia."

She searched his eyes and believed him. Her heart swelled. She loved him, she couldn't help it.

"In the meantime, come back to Briar's Lock with me. You'll be safer there," Gray added, though he hardly felt sober enough to save her from much of anything at this very moment. Just push a little more. She'd say yes. Juvia always said yes to him.

"I..."

He tangled his fingers in her hair. "Just come with me." He wanted to kiss her so badly.

"If I come back with you, you'll think this is okay," Juvia said eventually. "I'm fine here."

"No, you're not. You're downstairs getting wasted and felt up by some loser—"

She pulled back and said in a quiet voice, "I hope that's not what all this is about."

The scowl Gray didn't know he was wearing deepened. "I'm..." unused to telling her how he felt; Juvia was generally vocal enough for the both of them. "Worried about you. Yeah, about this crap you're getting yourself into, but also because of what I told you. Magnolia's playing host to demons; I'm sure of it." Why was she being so stubborn?

Juvia was still stuck on his first reason. "This crap?"

Gray thought speaking was inviting disaster; he continued anyway. "Staying up late, drinking with strangers, getting them to come up to your room?" With every word he felt a little angrier but did what he could to keep it under wraps.

Juvia's cheeks were red even in the pale light. "It's none of your business if I want to have a good time."

"It's not you, Juvia. You're upset about what happened and this is how you're dealing with it." Like he was one to talk, wasted like he was, but hell. No one wanted to get him hammered and take advantage of him. That was his game.

She got mad. "Gray—"

He squeezed her shoulders. "It's not you."

It wasn't. She knew it. She was quiet for a long time.

"Just come back with me. I'll let you sleep on the bed, I'll crash on the floor. I'll keep my hands to myself and my mouth closed if you don't want to talk. Just come with me." It seemed imperative that she listen. "Didn't you hear me when I said Wendy was almost killed? She's been unconscious for days. Someone is targeting us. This is the best move. The smartest."

"Do you really believe that we're being targeted?"

"Yes. It's not safe to be by yourself."

Juvia's stubbornness fell away. "Let me go back downstairs and talk to Riley so he doesn't think I've disappeared—and then…"

Off the cuff, Gray said, "Who gives a fuck about him? Just grab your stuff and let's go."

She pursed her lips. "I do, because we were talking about going to the pier."

There were several mean things fighting to get out of his mouth. Smothering them would only work for so long. "Forget about that guy, Juvia."

"Excuse me." Like a worm she slipped from his grasp and was out of the door faster than Gray could protest. He followed hot on her heels, unsure if he closed her door or not, and not really caring. She was quicker than he was, perhaps because she wasn't nearly as drunk. With little effort, there was a lot of distance put between them. By the time he got to the final step, he'd caught sight of her sapphire hair swirling around her shoulders as she ducked into the ladies' room. He was going to follow her in when a brunette shuffled out in a hurry, giving him a peculiar look on the way. Gray realized at the last second what he was trying to do and backed off. Juvia had to come out this way anyway. And he'd as good as got her agreeance. She was going to come back. And if she wanted to be moody and disagreeable. Well... that was okay. As long as she was there to be such.


With a numb head and a confused heart, Juvia shoved her way into the crowded bathroom and ducked into one of the graffitied stalls. The door was troublesome, the lock unwilling to slide over without a lot of jostling and some muttered curses. Finally, it worked. She peed, hiking up her skirt in a less than dignified way, and bending at the waist. Beneath her feet were bits of toilet paper, a corner of a condom wrapper, a tube of lipstick some drunk girl dropped and left there, a sacrifice to all the gross things in the Thistle's bathroom. Juvia sat there for a moment, studying the ground, thinking. It was a less than conventional place for deep contemplation, but at least no one bothered her in there.

She didn't question if she was going to go with Gray. That was obvious. She knew herself too well to pretend otherwise. The question was, would she let him tell more stories and whittle her down or would she be able to keep up this barrier she'd been able to erect? It was full of holes and crumbling, its state getting worse every time Gray came at her with the 'I love you's' and the 'please's'.

Just remember you're only going because things are getting dangerous. Not because you want him to tell you everything you wanted to hear again and again. Not because you want him to kiss you. Not because you want things to go back to the way they were before.

She cleaned herself up and stood, fixing her dress, taking extra care with her appearance, not that she'd entertain why. The sound of the toilet flushing was the only one in the washroom, yet when she came out, she wasn't alone. Sprawled on the bathroom counter, back against the wall, legs up on the countertop, was a woman with sharp black eyes and pink hair. Her black painted mouth tugged into a smile. "Hi."

Tumblers fell into place and Juvia pulled Akio's name and face from the deepest dregs of her cobwebby and hole-riddled memory. "...Hi." Gray's words niggled in the back of her mind. Pink haired demon. That he said he killed. The woman before her was very much alive. It was easy to believe Akio was less than human, though. No person ever looked so... sharp.

She lifted her hand and beckoned Juvia forward with a fine pointed nail that was more of a claw. "Come here, slayer's slut."

Fear stirred in Juvia's chest. Muted, but there. "No..."

Akio shimmied from the countertop, the black tights she wore stretching and hugging her body with every movement. "Then I will come to you."

Juvia's feet were two pieces of immovable concrete. Her heart sped. "Excuse me. Gray-sama is waiting for me—"

"He's busy, I believe."

Juvia blinked; suddenly Akio was close enough that she could close her fingers around Juvia's neck. The water mage expected the contact to spurn her into some action; it only seemed to further paralyze her. The woman brought her face in close enough that she could whisper in Juvia's ear. "You lied to me, Juvia."

Juvia's muscles quivered. "What?"

"Yes. You told me you gave Gray-sama that little stone like Lady Eileen asked. Remember?"

Of course. "I—I did. He took it and it helped his magic."

She sneered. "If that's the case, then why doesn't he carry it?"

"I don't know."

Akio pressed between Juvia's breasts and pushed her backward until Juvia's back was against the stall. "Lady Eileen is going to be furious with me, Juvia. She gave me a task and I've been unable to complete it because of you. She'll be returning shortly and Gray Fullbuster is still very much a devil slayer. Which means punishment for me. Which means punishment for you." Her face changed as she spoke, pale human skin getting perforated by scales. Her eyes lost all of their luster. "I'm going to ruin everything good about you."

Juvia's adrenaline spiked. "Get away from me."

"No."

Then you get away from her. Juvia's legs obeyed when she asked them to move, however, Akio fisted her clawed hands in Juvia's dress, tearing it, and forced her back against the stall so hard that the steel frame bent. Juvia's head cracked back, dazing her.

"I said no." Akio tore her dress more, splitting it down the middle so much so that Juvia's breasts spilled out, covered now only by her white lace bra. That too was grabbed and pulled so tight the elastic band threatened to snap. Some of the daze faded as Juvia came to terms with her situation. She blinked off what was sure to be a wicked concussion as best she could and summoned her magic. The water just barely came out of her fingers when Akio grabbed Juvia by the hair and cracked her head again against the metal stall. Hot blood leaked freely down into Juvia's collar, staining her white dress red. Spots appeared in front of her eyes. Her muscles loosened despite her insistence that they obeyed. Her magic fell to the wayside, forgotten.

Akio grabbed her roughly, squeezing her breasts so hard that it hurt and Juvia cried out. The woman smiled, taking obvious pleasure in the coming events. "Good girl. Good slut." Akio brought her mouth to Juvia's neck. "Gray-sama isn't going to want to touch you when I'm through. I'll wreck everything he loves before I kill him. Just looking at you will make him sick. If you make it that far, of course. Sometimes I just can't stop." The first time her lips met Juvia's skin was to deliver a kiss, gentler than any Juvia had received before. The next was a little rougher, mouth pressing in, breath a bit more frantic as though she were losing control with every second contact was maintained. Her hands wandered, releasing Juvia's breasts so she could slip up her skirt. The water mage summoned her will to fight and pushed at Akio's hands.

"Stop it—"

Akio sank her teeth into Juvia's shoulder, changing her words into a scream as the skin easily broke and something passed from Akio's teeth into Juvia's body, making the area burn and burn, then numb. Juvia was so focused on the new pain, she almost didn't notice when Akio's hands tore through her dress, slitting it so her white panties were exposed now.

Don't just stand there letting this happen.

"No!" Juvia writhed only to receive claws in her hips. Pain made her stop. Her head. Her skin. Her shoulder. Akio took advantage of her immobility, grabbing all the places Juvia didn't want to be touched.

It took too long for Juvia to realize that she was in serious trouble. "Help!"

Akio stopped mauling her to force her forearm against her throat, shortening Juvia's words. "That's not how this game is played."

Game. It was so perverse, Juvia almost laughed. Then she almost cried. She channeled fear and confusion into something useful and pushed Akio with all her might. She gained an inch of space between them. Enough to call again. "Help me!" There had to be someone. Gray was just behind her. He couldn't have gone far. And all the girls that had been in the washroom. Where was everyone?

"What did I say?" Akio slammed her back against the stall again. Juvia's muscles went limp as if they were atrophying. Her shoulder burned; in fact, it was a sensation that was traveling to her whole body. Fingers slipped between her legs, sliding up her thigh. Akio bit her again over her right breast. Not enough to puncture the skin, but almost.

No. She didn't feel like she could do anything, and the less she felt capable, the less capable she became. Hopelessness was looming when the air swirled over Akio's shoulder. The room got dark as a portal opened and Eileen stepped out.

Juvia broke out in tears upon seeing the other woman. "Eileen! Help! Help me, please!" She reached and reached.

Hearing the name, feeling her presence, Akio stilled, Juvia's panties pinched between her fingers, pulled taut enough that the material frayed. "Lady Eileen… I wasn't expecting you."

Eileen raised a red brow. "I find that hard to believe. Even a parasite like you knows when their laziness, ineptitude and general deplorableness has crossed into the realms of useless."

Akio kept looking at Juvia. "Useless? I've served Master well."

"I disagree. You haven't completed one task that I've set up for you. You'd rather sit in filthy bathrooms deflecting your punishment." Using her staff, Eileen pushed Akio away from Juvia. Without the demon's force keeping her upright, Juvia slumped to the ground, legs going out beneath her. She looked up at the redheaded newcomer. She wanted to say things—ask questions; her tongue was going numb.

Akio finally turned. "That's not true! You said to give him the stone and I did. It's not my fault his filthy slut was incapable of making him promise to hold it! You see, I was punishing her for her failure."

Eileen's expression got very tight and very, very wrathful. Her staff came up mercilessly and cracked Akio's temple. There was a flash of red blood, a muted scream, and then Akio disappeared, totally gone from the Thistle's bathroom. Silence ruled. Mostly. Beyond Eileen, it sounded like the bar was turning itself inside out. Glass broke somewhere far away. A fight. A vicious one, too, by the sounds of it.

Juvia pressed her palm into the dirty bathroom floor. "What—"

"You shouldn't move, Juvia," Eileen said. "Akio's venom is very potent. Sometimes it passes, sometimes her victims succumb to it. Staying still will give your body time to process it so it's not such a hard shock to your system. "

Juvia licked her paper dry lips. "I'm going to die?" She thought she should feel more panic. She was all detachment. Cold.

"Oh... I don't know. That is a terrible way to go, isn't it? I'm sorry that happened. Akio was right, though. Maybe if you did what I asked of you, we wouldn't be here now."

Juvia took in a breath that wheezed all the way into her lungs. "What?"

Eileen crouched and touched Juvia's blood soaked shoulder. It hurt more potently than anything else Juvia ever experienced. "Explain to me what happened when you gave that stone to Gray? Was he not thankful for a solution?"

Juvia rooted through her dusty thoughts. Her panic was receding and she wasn't sure if it was because Akio was gone and she was starting to relax again, or if that venom was having its way with her, or if there was some other cause. Like the too-beautiful woman before her. Whatever the reason, it didn't make thinking any easier. "He was… wary. But his father's magic scares him, I think. He—he took the stone. And—told me he'd keep it."

Eileen pursed her lips. "Lucky for you I believe you. The fact still remains that he hasn't, and it's very, very important that he does."

Very. "Why?"

"So he never hurts the people he loves." Her words were less than genuine; Juvia still believed her.

"For now, I think it's best if you just sleep that venom off," Eileen said. "Close your eyes, Juvia. When you wake, I want you to do everything you can to convince your Gray-sama to keep that stone. I'll give you all the help I can manage, alright?"

Alright?

"And don't be frightened anymore. I will deal with Akio properly and make sure she keeps her hands to herself." Eileen smiled; it was colder than a January day.

"Please. I don't want to hurt Gray-sama." And I don't want to be hurt.

Eileen petted Juvia's tangled hair. Magic passed from her fingers into Juvia's body, alleviating some of her discomfort. "You won't."

Juvia wanted to believe her so badly. And so she did.

Eileen stood and unclipped her cloak from around her throat and tucked it around Juvia's body. "His Majesty is going to think that I've gone kind. I like to think that I just have higher standards than his creations. You know, each is a little more perverse than the last? You're lucky I stepped in. Akio is probably his worst."

Slayer's slut. Slut. Slut. Slut.

Juvia's body convulsed.

"I gain no pleasure in humiliating them in the particular way she does. I like to live by the philosophy that you should reward a dog for her loyalty." She tapped Juvia's cheek too hard.

Juvia had no words; blackness closed around her vision, blocking Eileen from view.


Getting caught in a vicious bar fight, trapped beneath a fat man whose ass rank like mildew and sweat was not how Gray foresaw his night ending. Not at all. In fact, despite his assurances to Juvia, he planned on being in his bed with Juvia's wrath satiated and her warm body curled into his. That's all. Instead, as he waited for the water mage to step out of the washroom, a booming voice rocketed through the bar, calling his attention just in time for him to duck a flying chair.

It wasn't aimed at him. Nor was the one after. He just happened to be in the way. The second one caught him unawares. Stumbling back into the stage, he inadvertently tore down the speaker and launched it into a group of men trading white pills he'd bet weren't aspirin. The drugs went everywhere. People scrabbled. The music cut out. And then the fists started to fly. First it was just the men who had lost money in their deal. Then fight-fever spread to the surrounding areas. Soon the whole bar was rioting. It never took much in the Thistle.

Dodging fists and doling out the punches was easy at first. Drunk was on his side. If he missed catching a blow, well… he barely felt it anyway. People lost their individuality; Gray only saw them as faceless attackers. Generally, the men aimed for the ribs or the kidneys. There was at least some code to the fights. Most people had to go to work the next morning. It was a bad play to show up with a broken nose or a black eye. There were the few, though, that cared not at all. They were the ones that were genuinely angry and not just looking to throw down. Gray knew them because they targeted him solely, surging forward in groups of two or three. It didn't seem to matter how many he pushed back; there were always more. His knuckles busted open. So did his cheek. That one hurt. Someone got him in the ribs. And the lowest blow, in the balls while he was dodging another swing at his face. The fall to the sloppy ground wasn't as far as he would have thought. It smelled down there. A scent that only got worse with the entry of the fat man.

Where he came from, Gray didn't know, he just appeared as if he could have hidden amongst all these people. As graceless as a walrus, he tripped over Gray's body and then he was falling, falling. Horror didn't even begin to cover how Gray felt. There was nothing he could do. The air burst from his lungs; his alcohol was almost forced back up. The mildew and sweat scent was in his nose, though how he didn't know. It felt like his lungs would never inflate again.

And then the man was gone, the momentum he'd gathered during the trip taking him away. Gray gasped for breath and wished he didn't. His attention would better be directed at blocking the kick aimed at his ribs, or rolling away from the stomping feet.

He had better luck getting to his knees. For a bit, anyway. As soon as he was up sort of in eye level again, the men came after him. Two of them grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him up while a third approached, fists raised. Gray snarled and let his magic come, freezing the men that dared touch him. The third faltered.

The fourth standing behind Gray did not. A stolen billy club collided hard with his head and brought with it a hazy field of black. His magic went away; his legs gave out and he was back on the floor again.

There was no way to tell how long he lay there, mostly unconscious. There didn't seem to be any change in the bar. People were still yelling. Things were still breaking. Blearily, Gray saw a man steps away be picked up by the collar of his shirt and hauled through the bar. Moments later, he received the same treatment. People jostled him. Gray tried to get his feet beneath his body. No luck. Nothing was cooperating.

The squeal of the exit door was unmistakable, the metal handle needing to be greased more than just a little.

A voice he didn't know said, "Stay out. No one needs trash like you starting shit and wrecking their business, got that?"

Gray didn't have any hope of responding. He fell to the ground, the wind getting knocked out of him once more. He lay there amongst all of the detritus and spilled beer and waste, totally immobile as time ticked on until a woman crouched over him. He knew it was a woman because of her perfume—it was sweet like honey. And then he knew it was a woman because of her hair, long and pink as it was.

And then he knew by her voice. "I'll take care of you, Gray."