Chapter 2: Think Twice

"Juvia!"

Her steps automatically halted. She loved hearing that voice calling her name. A bright smile quickly showed on her face despite the stress she's currently experiencing.

"Hi Gray. Welcome back." She greeted him with such energy no one would guess she's in the middle of a crisis.

He looked at her thoughtfully. It was his first day back to work after a month-long absence. "Didn't get to see you early this morning."

Juvia closed the distance between them. Her smile never faded. "I had to go straight to the client's office. There were some problems with the web content we uploaded yesterday."

Gray eyed her. He heard about the major error their company committed, and the accountability obviously fell on Juvia's hands. She was the direct supervisor for such tasks in their company. However, with the way she was talking and smiling, Gray felt like everything was resolved. "So… all's fine?" He still asked.

Juvia shook her head. "Nope. I'll be doing an overhaul of the content writing myself, at no extra charge."

Gray gave a curt nod, unsure whether to question his friend and colleague why she's acting rather energetic about this. "Well, it happens. We took a chance hiring freelancers, and sometimes issues stem from that." Juvia happily agreed. "Anyway, I'm sure Levy had told you about the party this Saturday?"

"Yes of course."

"And you'll be there, right?" His voice was hopeful.

It took her some time to give him her answer. "…Of course."

Gray smiled that rare smile he gives people. It made Juvia's heart beat ten times faster. "Alright, good. Lucy will be happy to hear that. I'll see you later at the meeting." He patted her shoulder and walked away.

As soon as she could no longer see a trace of Gray, the smile on Juvia's face instantly vanished. The bright office atmosphere suddenly felt dim and her mood got gloomier. Not only did her day started terribly, she knew that her day would end in bitterness.

It was already a month since Gray, her beloved and unrequited love, got married. He was one of the senior officers in their agency. Hence, he was able to take a longer time off from work. That whole month that she didn't see Gray was both a blessing and a curse. To set eyes on him gave Juvia the motivation and inspiration. But, seeing him now was a constant reminder that he would never be hers. That he already belonged to someone. It angered and saddened her.

Juvia and Gray met during their second to last year in university. It was a rainy afternoon, and for some reason there was no one at the bus stop. Well, except for Juvia. She got to the stop just as the bus had left. And then the next one on schedule didn't show up. She waited patiently at the shed, quite drenched. She thought that she could outrun the rain but to no avail.

Checking her phone for the twenty-third time, Juvia had a bad feeling the next bus would be late again. It was always like this when it's raining or snowing. Just as she was about to feel totally frustrated, a handsome boy ran to the waiting shed for shelter. Juvia couldn't help stare as he shook the excess water from his umbrella and ran his fingers through messy hair the colour of obsidian. He glanced to the side and eyed Juvia.

"Bus is late, eh."

Juvia just nodded, throat too dry to respond. She knew him. He played for their university's hockey team. She cheered for him during the championship a few months ago. She admired him.

"Hey… I know you. From Humanities 4050, right?"

That beating organ inside her chest pounded strongly. He knew of her? He remembered her?"

Juvia stood from the three-seater bench inside the waiting shed. "Yes, with Prof. Mack."

"I knew it. Juvia, right?"

She gasped, completely taken aback. "You even remembered Juvia's name?!"

"Sure do. You were pretty quiet. But when we were discussing that one movie, you gave a pretty good interpretation. Everyone was so impressed. You're really smart."

At that very moment, the clouds parted and sun rays filled the area. It was still raining, but the atmosphere became lively and pleasant. She used to hate rainy days. But from that moment on, after meeting Gray Fullbuster, Juvia always loved the rain. And that was the day that a wonderful friendship was formed between them.

The memory of their first meeting faded, and Juvia found herself back at the office. Back to the reality of her work and the awful truth that Gray was already someone else's.

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Right… she thought that she had it in herself to face her love rival. Juvia remembered when she first met Lucy Heartfilia, now Fullbuster. The blonde bombshell was a Xerox copy of Gray's ex-girlfriends. Gray had a type, and it was obvious Juvia was so far from it. Gray rarely introduced any of his flings or girlfriends to his friends. He only felt comfortable telling Juvia about them. So, Juvia wasn't really worried when she heard of Lucy.

Gray's group of friends consisted of Juvia, Levy, Gajeel, Laxus, Mira, and Lisanna. All of them were aware of Juvia's feelings for Gray. Out of respect for Juvia, they never mentioned anything to Gray, though they all wondered whether the latter had sensed Juvia's affections. Juvia was blatant with her love declarations, but she always delivered them in a joking manner. Gray would roll his eyes and dismissed them with nonchalance. And Juvia would end her declarations by saying, "You know it's just a joke, Gray!"

So, Juvia's confessions were never taken seriously.

So when Gray introduced Lucy to his group of friends, everyone was surprised. And then five months into the relationship, Gray announced he proposed to Lucy and she accepted. His friends all looked at each other, thinking it would be a shotgun marriage. Juvia felt she lost all hope in life when Gray assured them Lucy wasn't pregnant.

So why was he marrying a girl he only knew for five months? He claimed he felt she was the one.

Mira told Juvia to finally reveal her feelings for Gray. Lisanna insisted she should just move on. Levy told her to do what she felt right. Laxus supported Mira's advice, kind of. Gajeel didn't say anything at all.

Until an hour ago, Juvia had been constantly receiving messages from her friends. All asking whether she's going to Gray's party.

If you still feel like going, Gajeel and I will pick you up.
-Levy

I'm tellin ya girl! Let's just go to a club and partayyy. Who cares about Gray and her bimbo!
-Lisanna

Yo Juv. You need a ride? Mira's asking.
-Laxus

You better go, Juvia.
-Mira

If we're picking ya up, you better have some of those cookies left.
-Gajeel

It took her some time to decide; and by the time she willed herself to go, she was running a bit late. Gray's informal invitation was scheduled at six in the evening. It was already 6:30 pm. She took a cab instead of asking her friends for a ride. Stepping out of the taxi, Juvia smoothed her blue crochet maxi dress and unbuttoned her black cardigan. She wondered if she's dressed quite casually after seeing the big house ahead.

It was a lavish, two-storey detached house, fit for those of the upper class in Magnolia. Gray made enough dough as a Senior Account Executive, but Lucy was the daughter of a rich businessman. Lucy really was a modern day princess.

As she was about to take a step towards the front door, her phone buzzed. Quickly checking the message, Juvia was rendered frozen on the spot. It was a message from Gray.

Hey Juvia. You're coming right? Everyone's here and they said you might not come. Lucy would really love to see you.
-Gray

Juvia was offended. She was aware of her pettiness; still, she felt insulted by that last statement. Really? Lucy would love to see her? She watched as the hand clutching the phone tightly shook. And as if Mother Nature shared her brewing anger and sorrow, a jolt of lightning lit the evening sky and thunder rolled echoing throughout. As swiftly as the warning of a gloomy weather, drizzles of rain hit Juvia's face. But the woman, though starting to get wet, remained standing where she was.

"What do you think you'd accomplish by getting soaking wet?"

Juvia snapped her head to the side to look at the speaker. She blinked away the droplets of water to get a better view of his face. Pink, tousled hair. Mischievous, toothy grin. A few inches shorter than Gray, with a slender frame but fit built. His familiar face also brought back a hazy memory of alcohol, sweat, and pleasure indulgence.

Yes, it was her one-night stand. An internal groan developed within her. Truly, she made the wrong decision to attend Gray's stupid house party!

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If there was one thing he truly hated, it was being forced. Natsu was always known as a pretty happy-go-lucky dude. Even when he suffered heartbreaks, you can expect him to stay jovial and buffoonish. If he chose to wallow in misery, you'd find him talking to his blue cat named Happy. But when someone forced him through threat tactics, expect Natsu to be in the foulest mood.

So when he drove past Lucy's new house, he cursed out loud in his car. Then, he quickly turned around and passed by it. He parked his car a few blocks away from the house and racked his brain whether to show up or not. What were his options? Hmm, Lucy feeling hurt, but nothing's new with that. Natsu had such a talent of hurting her (and one of the reasons why she permanently broke up with him!). There's also that eerie presence of another friend named Erza Scarlet. She threatened him not to disappoint Lucy—that Natsu needed to show up at this party for Lucy's sake. Ever since he was a kid, Natsu had been scared of Erza. He had done so many activities out of fear, succumbing to Erza-pressure.

So Natsu once again put his car on drive, but he couldn't even press on the brake to park in front of Lucy's driveway. But on the fifth, or maybe sixth, time he was about to drive past the house, a figure with long and wavy blue hair stepped out of a taxi. Natsu immediately knew who it was.

He instantly recalled, albeit quite blurry in memory, a curvaceous body with soft, squishy boobs. Long, smooth legs and a round ass that he probably kept groping with every thrust of his hip.

It was his one-night stand named Juvia.

She was about to go to the door when she stopped frozen on the spot. It soon started to rain, but the seemingly "rain woman" decided to just stay stationery. He watched her momentarily before deciding to step out of his car. He stood a couple of feet away, but she didn't even acknowledge his presence. Natsu nonchalantly posted a question, turning his whole body to the left to face her with arms crossed.

She immediately glanced to her side, perhaps trying to access the deepest part of her brain about him. He was about to remind her of their one-night tryst when she spoke rather softly.

"One-night."

Natsu couldn't help but snicker. "Is that my nickname now?"

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged his shoulders then took off his faux leather varsity jacket. Erza would frown at his choice of outfit—black straight-leg jeans, white shirt, and black sneakers. Definitely not for a "cocktail" party, as Lucy had texted to him! Natsu really didn't give a damn. He'd wear whatever he felt like wearing for a mid-autumn weather. As for the jacket he just peeled off his body, he placed it on top of Juvia's head.

"Same as you, apparently. Feeling so disgusted of being in front of this house."

She blinked again, her eyes growing bigger as she continued to stare at him. "How do you know what Juvia's feeling?"

Natsu chuckled once more. It was so easy to read her. "Because you and I became of one mind after having sex!"

Though she was late to react, Juvia slammed her right palm to cover his mouth. "Don't say that out loud! What if people heard you?"

Rolling his eyes, Natsu gripped her wrist and pulled it away from his face. "Relax, babe." The rain grew heavier right away. Both Natsu and Juvia, even with Natsu's jacket over her head, became completely drenched. "I'm not going in there. You can keep the jacket and throw it away later." He turned around, deciding that he'd deal with Erza later.

Juvia automatically reached for his shirt. "Wait. Juvia doesn't want to go in either."

Natsu slightly turned his head to eye her. "O…kay. Whatcha want me to do bout it?"

She tightened her hold on his shirt. "C-can you… give Juvia a ride just until the bus stop?"

He faced her, even when his shirt was being pulled. Juvia immediately let it go. "Tell ya what," he leaned forward and bent a little so they were at eye level, "give me a kiss and I'll drive you home." He winked at her, his signature toothy grin etching on his face.

Perhaps the rain was affecting her, but Juvia nodded and moved forward. Her lips immediately met his. It was quick. Didn't even create any spark. Natsu encircled his right arm around her waist. His palm settled on the curve of her back, allowing him to push her forward. She stood on her tiptoes when she realized what he was planning. The jacket sitting on top of her head fell when Natsu tipped her back. He didn't bother, because he's a man on a mission. He wanted access to the inside of her lips.

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"That was my first, ya know."

Juvia scowled. "That couldn't be your first kiss!"

The two were seated inside Natsu's car. Juvia waited patiently as he took time to input her address on his GPS. "I meant kissing in the rain. It's a good experience, I tell ya!" He studied the directions carefully. "Hmm, you live at the opposite direction from me," he stated.

"Then you can just drive Juvia to the nearest subway station."

"With this heavy rain, you think the trains would still be running?"

"It shouldn't be a problem…" she trailed off, quite unsure, checking something on her phone. Magnolia's subway system wasn't the best, but it was reliable. Though when compared to the transit structure in Crocus, Magnolia's was levels down. "Unless there's flooding, but Juvia checked the transit app and it's still running."

"It's fine. I'll take you home. I don't trust trains anyway."

"Well then, thank you. Juvia appreciates it."

"Yeah well," Natsu paused, glancing at her before shifting his gears to drive. "You're a good kisser. It's a give and take." He winked at her before driving away.

They drove without saying anything, with only the radio filling in the silence. The traffic was heavy, and the roads were filled with cars. It was always like this when it's raining.

~Colourful, colourful.
Shooby doo bop!
Tremble with love, steel grey meta—

It was cut off. "Ugh, I hate this song!" Natsu was quick to change the radio station.

"Why?" Juvia was quick to protest.

"The lyrics are shit, and his voice ain't that great," answered Natsu. He caught Juvia's expression. She appeared hurt and offended. "Oi… Don't tell me you're his fangirl."

"He worked hard writing those lyrics and spent nights creating the melody. He spent his part-time money on vocal training and guitar lessons!"

Natsu nearly choked. What an obsessive fan. "I can't believe there actually exists a person so in love with Redfox."

"Juvia isn't in love with Redfox," she nearly yelled. She huffed and puffed in anger. "Redfox, also known as Gajeel Redfox, is Juvia's brother."

If Natsu wasn't a seasoned driver, he would've stepped on the brake to gawk at her. "What? No fuckin' way! Really? You're legit Redfox's sister? Wait, I think you gave me the wrong last name."

Juvia shook her head. "Keep your eye on the road, please. And no, Juvia didn't give you the wrong last name. He really is Gajeel Lockser, my older brother. He didn't think Lockser is "hardcore" or cool enough, so he used our mom's maiden name," she explained.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm almost connected to a celebrity," hooted Natsu as he put the car to a slow stop on red light. "That's like second-degree of Kevin Bacon!" Being in his prankster and clown-like element, Natsu pinched Juvia's left cheek much to the latter's annoyance. She swatted his hand away. "I'd be putting on my LinkedIn as soon as I get home that I banged Redfox's little sister as an accomplishment."

Juvia gasped. "You wouldn't! Not only would Juvia attempt to drown you, but Gajeel would stick a piece of metal through you!"

Natsu laughed. "Then you'd have to pay me to keep my mouth shut." His expression turned serious however. "Lucy actually loves Redfox. She made me go to one of his concerts all the way to Hargeon just 'cause the Magnolia one was sold out. Then she had the gall to break up with me the following week."

Juvia didn't say anything, and Natsu chose to keep quiet after that. According to the GPS, they would reach their destination, Juvia's address, in fifteen minutes. They were already in the car for forty-five minutes and the rain wasn't letting up. It took them almost an hour until they were in front of Juvia's apartment.

"Is that it?" Natsu asked as he tried to take a look at the building in front.

Juvia nodded. "Umm… thank you, Natsu."

"Wow, you finally called my name. I'm surprised you remembered it."

She didn't say anything for a minute or two, and Natsu figured she was contemplating on something. When he was about to bid her goodbye, even though she didn't look ready to leave yet, Juvia gave him an invitation he couldn't refuse.

"Can Juvia offer you coffee or tea? The rain is still very heavy, and maybe you can wait until it's a bit better to travel. Juvia feels guilty that she made you drive all the way here. It's going to be worrisome knowing you're driving under this weather. Also, your shirt is still wet. Perhaps Juvia can help you dry it a bit, so you wouldn't catch any colds…" she continued to blab.

Natsu just watched her lips move. "Sure," he replied. Truthfully, he didn't feel like driving anymore. And yes, he was feeling a bit horny if he's being honest to himself. But if she won't permit him some kind of intimacy, he'd be fine with it. Right now, he just wanted some kind of warmth. Warmth from a hot drink or from a tight embrace—didn't matter. He just wanted to accept her invitation.

to be continued...

a/n: didn't get to edit/proofread this one, but I wanted to share it right away.

Major THANK YOU to the following: glittering-couch-potato, MaouojiKenjiro13, rosaji (as always!), nakneknik, QueenXCaramel, BlackDragonShinigami, wilathewitch, and 3 lovely Guests (hopefully next time you'll share your names!), and to all those who followed/favourited.

Again, please let me know what you think of the progress. it provides me motivation, and it helps me with the direction of the story. To those who know me, I'm a hardcore NaVia writer, but I love Gruvia and find Nalu endearing, though I'm not exactly fond of Gralu... So, do I have an endgame ship here? Not yet, to be honest... Hopefully, many of you enjoy the ride of this love-square. And maybe hold a vote here.

Keep it at M or move it down to T rating?

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