Hey fam! Here with another update :) Sorry this chapter is shorter, I'm leaving on a weekend-long trip tomorrow and I won't update for a bit :( I'll be back in a few days though, and if you guys continue with your sweet reviews I'll be motivated to write! Feel free to review or PM me with any comments! I hope you enjoy this chapter, not much fluff but I swear the next chapter will rot your teeth! This chapter is needed for Juvia's backstory to make sense, sorry if it's a bit bland! Love you guys ;)

-The Demon ;)

Friend, Please

Three: Shinning Sun, White Snow

Gajeel Redfox regretted a lot of things. For one, the geology major regretted spending his spare day partying with his best friends, the notorious "Dragon Slayers". He deeply, deeply regretted the fact he had passed out at Rouge and Sting's dorm, only able to wake himself from his comatose-like state the next morning. He equally regretted opening the door to his dorm room without knocking.

Even though he shared with a girl, he had learnt over the many years he had known Juvia that there were very few things she did that would cause one to raise an eyebrow. The bluenette was very reserved and generally... well, boring. So, Gajeel had stopped bothering with even knocking.

He honestly was not expecting the sight he witnessed when he walked in.

Juvia, the quietest and most humble girl Gajeel had ever met, was sleeping under a blanket with a strange man. He blinked several times when he first entered, as if it was nothing more than an alcohol-induced mirage that would disappear if he shut his eyes enough times. It might have been because of his hangover, but for a split second, the long-haired roommate found the man Juvia had her arms wrapped around...attractive. As he approached the strange scene, he realized with a start that he recognized the boy.

Gray Fullbuster.

With a growl, he pulled the pink-haired perv's roommate off his best friend. No way in hell he'd let the stripper near someone as fragile as Juvia.

With a start, Gray woke up. He felt the strong man's grip on the back of his shirt (he was wearing one for once) and paused a moment to recall the events from the previous night. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, slowly remembering the request he took, the girl he met and the snuggle-fest that took part afterwards. He felt blood rush to his cheeks as he looked back and saw Juvia, smiling blissfully in her sleep, unaware of her roommates sudden entrance.

"What the hell, dude?" Gray growled, pushing the other man's hand away from his back. "What do you even think you're doing?"

"What are you doing in my dorm with my best friend?" Gajeel pushed back, leaning dangerously close to the other raven-haired man, accenting every pronoun to make his stance clear to the other. The best friend felt annoyed and wanted nothing more to find out why the hell Gray Fullbuster of all people was sitting in his dorm, trying to take advantage of his friend.

He would never let something like that happen to her again.

It was his job to protect her, and he had failed.

He refused to fail again.

Lashing out, Gajeel grabbed Gray roughly by the collar and tried to take a swing at him. Luckily for Gray, the long-haired man was still very hungover from the night before and was unable to make contact. The chemistry major's eyes widen. He understood Gajeel's anger but he hadn't expected things to get physical, especially not with the dormant girl less than a foot away.

Not wanting to scare the girl or hurt her roommate, Gray easily sidestepped the attack, putting his hands up in submission.

"Listen," he started cautiously, subconsciously preparing for the other man's next attack. "I'm sorry you weren't expecting me. But nothing was going on here." At this, Gajeel growled aggressively. He may not have been a genius, but he knew that whatever was going on was not "nothing". Juvia never touched anyone, unless she trusted them with all her heart. It had taken her months to warm up to Gajeel. There was no way this little Fullbuster punk had managed it in a day.

"Ok, I know it's not looking great here, but let me explain," Gray slowed, noticing the man brace for another hit. "She put a request on the board to have someone to talk to and I answered it. It lead me to your dorm and when the power went out, we decided to watch a movie. We must've fallen asleep. That's all this is."

"That's impossible," Gajeel countered. "She never would've posted that. She could have just talked to me if something was bothering her."

A sharp, snippy comeback came to Gray's mind, but he had enough self-control to hold it back. He knew there was no easy way out of this situation but he wasn't eager to get into a fistfight with Gajeel Redfox, one of the college's best boxers. He didn't have a death wish, all things considered.

Remembering he still had Juvia's little blue request in his jean pocket, he reached it and showed it to the other man, whose stance was still aggressive. Gajeel looked doubtfully at Gray and snatched it out of his hands. He read it over and over, incredulous. He looked over to where the beautiful bluenette laid, a soft smile on her serene, sleeping face.

Part of him didn't believe his reserved, shy Juvia would ever even think of making such a strange request. Although, a larger, more sensitive part of him wished it wasn't true. He didn't want to accept the fact that his best friend in the whole world, his closest confidant and the only person he wholeheartedly trusted, would need to find someone else to talk to. They were supposed to have an open, happy relationship.

But apparently not.

Pushing his emotions aside, he realized he still had another problem to deal with, one in the form of a stripping playboy.

"Get out." Gajeel growled, his voice so low it could barely be heard in the silent apartment. "Now."

Gray put his ego aside and grabbed his things to leave. He didn't want to start anything, especially not with someone so close to Juvia. He wanted to see her again, to bring her to Fairy Tail. In the short span of an evening, she had wiggled her way into his heart and he didn't want to jeopardize the beginning of a budding friendship over Gajeel.

As he stepped out of the dorm, Laxus' coat in his arms, he looked back ruefully, not wanting to leave the sleeping girl. But, as he left the building and walked out to the beautiful, shining sun beating down on the bright white snow, he made a decision. One he might come to regret, but one he would never give up on.

Not even Gajeel Redfox could get in between him and Juvia.