Review Responses:
Dark Gothic Lolita: Haha, yes! I am alive, contrary to popular belief! University is treating me rather cruelly, LOL, but I'm still alive, so that's all that matters! Thank you for asking! And oh, thank you so much! Your words are so lovely! And no! I absolutely needed to be humble - whenever I update a work, I act as if I'm writing something profound, LOL, so thank you for getting my head out of the clouds! And you don't need any shout-outs - you are the Queen of NaVia. No introductions needed. （︶^︶）
Liatria: Aw, thank you so much! You're too kind! And I'm sure that your works will be even better than my one NaVia fic! And yep! NaVia is *finally* sailing! Slowly, yes, but surely! We'll see in future chapters Natsu's true feelings towards Juvia, so no spoilers just yet! (‾◡◝)
Summer Nickels: Thank you for your sweet words! And it's okay if it took you some time to read this chapter - I'm just thankful that you left a review! ^0^
Chapter 8
Trigger Warning: mentions of off-screen animal abuse
Juvia is running late. Which never happens; she always makes sure that she is early to an event at least five minutes in advance. But here she is, rushing to get to her apartment for her weekly Sunday letter.
She had spent her Saturday at Levy and Gajeel's apartment, eating takeout and watching movies whilst chatting. Or at least Juvia and Levy were doing the last part. Gajeel made some rather gruff comments here and there, much to the girls' chagrin. They were so immersed with each other's company that they didn't even notice when daylight bled into night until Juvia looked down at her phone and looked at the time to find that it was midnight.
Juvia meant to leave, but at her friends' insistence, spent the night...and possibly a good chunk of the next day. Which explains why it is past noon and past 3 o'clock and she is still not home, in her comfiest pajamas, waiting for a certain letter to arrive.
She notices a figure stepping into the elevator next to hers just as she bolts out of her elevator to reach her apartment. Maybe it was one of her neighbors, who all love to say 'hello' to everyone for some weird reason - she will never get why there are people out there who just love to talk to complete strangers. Another possibility dawns on her as she reaches into her mailbox for the letter - it could have been the Faithful Idiot.
She inhales sharply, angry at herself for being so impatient. Had she waited just a bit longer, she would have found out the mysterious author of those letters. She tears open the envelope, which reveals a hint of hesitation. Actually, perhaps a lot of hesitation.
There are crossed out words and smudges and ink blots in certain places where the pen had been lingering for far too long. She knows that the author of the letters doesn't exactly have the neatest handwriting in the world, but none of his letters have ever looked like this before.
...
My Other Half,
So...there's a girl. And...I don't know what to do about her. Is it too soon for me to fall for her? We just broke up a few months ago, and I don't want her to be a rebound. It wouldn't be fair to her or me. If I ever get into another relationship, I want it to be like what we had. I don't want to just be a star in her galaxy. I want to be her entire universe.
...
Out of all of the letters that the author has written, this is by far the rawest letter Juvia has ever read from him. She is aware that she had already invaded his privacy by reading all of the other letters, but this one is different. This one is just so...passionate and heartbreaking all at the same time that she vows to never read another letter again. She hadn't noticed that she had slumped onto the floor in the middle of the hallway with the letter cradled in her hands until she had landed on her bottom.
xoxo
After what must be a few months of friendship, Juvia knows by now that Natsu is always full of surprises. She never imagined that one of those surprises would be in the form of a white cat with visible ribs and patchy fur.
The bluenette knows little to nothing when it comes to pets, but she does know that this cat is malnourished.
"Oh no, what happened to her?" Juvia asks, softly as she brings a hand in front of the cat's nose. The cat's brown eyes narrow, glaring at Juvia. It makes sense, after all - after all that the cat must have been through, it would take some time before she would begin to build her trust in humans again.
"I don't know. My cousin found her behind a dumpster at her school. She thinks that her previous owner wasn't treating her right." Natsu explains the same time the cat sniffs Juvia's hand before leaning into her touch. "Wendy is still in high school, so she called me to pick her up - she's planning on keeping her." He hands the cat over to the bluenette. "Here, she likes you more than me, anyways. Her name's Carla. Or, at least that's what Wendy's calling her."
"Poor dear." Juvia murmurs, gently stroking Carla's head with a thumb while holding the cat close to her chest. Carla purrs in response. "You just wanted to be somebody's universe."
"Wh - What?" Is all the warning Juvia gets before Natsu grabs her wrist, yanking her so hard that she almost drops Carla in the process. "What did you say?"
"Ju - Juvia..." She stutters, feeling incredibly startled. She's never seen Natsu like this before, this frantic, this manic. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts and to hide her surprise. "Juvia heard the phrase somewhere before." The bluenette winces when the white cat in her arms yowls rather loudly.
"Sor - Sorry." Natsu apologizes after some hesitation. He runs a hand through his pink locks, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to do that. I was overreacting." He repeats his apology, sounding more resolute and sincere.
Juvia isn't over the initial shock of the whole ordeal and thus, is unable to offer any words of comfort. Instead, she cuddles Carla closer to her, murmuring comforting words to soothe the cat whilst trying not to look at the salmon-haired male in front of her.
To her surprise, he speaks again. "I had a pretty nasty breakup."
The statement is so random, so out of place, that it catches Juvia by surprise. Natsu doesn't seem to want a reply so she lets the silence hanging between them continue, but she can't help but wonder.
xoxo
It has been a week since the whole...thing and Natsu hasn't come by the coffee shop. Nor has he texted her. Which reduces to Juvia to nothing more than a worrying, anxious mess. She had been contemplating on texting him first just to check up on him, but decided against it. Perhaps he needed his space, and when the time came, he would come back to her as the same loud, happy-go-lucky Natsu that she's always known. If he decides to come back, that is.
But each passing day is making it harder for her to keep up her resolve, and each passing day breaks her heart even more. The heartbreak subsides to numbness to the point where Juvia can't feel anything. All of her favorite things to do no longer make her happy and she wants it all to stop. Her letters, which she's used to get exclusively on Sunday's don't make her happy. The letters have been frequent, the author sending a letter last Monday and Wednesday. Once upon a time, her heart would have sang. Now, all it does is just tear her heart out even more. Because all she wants is Natsu back to stop the nothingness she's feeling.
"Trouble in paradise?" Gajeel's voice brings her back from her reverie. The pierced male takes a seat in front of her, letting his books fall with a loud thud on the table.
"Oh, Gajeel-kun, when did you get here?" Juvia asks, clearing away some of the papers and stationery to make room for his things.
He stares at her, expression blank. "Woman, I've been here for the past five minutes. What's going on with you, anyway? You've been...distracted, and not in a good way. Is some fucker bothering you?" His red eyes narrow into slits, his voice turning into something more menacing, dark.
"N - No." She shakes her head. "Nobody is bothering Juvia. It's just...something happened between Juvia and the guy at the shop. He hasn't been coming by or texted Juvia ever since then." She admits, casting her eyes downward. "Juvia is worried that...that he won't ever come back."
"Did you say something that made him upset?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Yes, but Juvia didn't say anything bad about him." The bluenette sighs. "It's rather confusing, Gajeel-kun."
"Have you tried contacting him?"
She shakes her head. "Juvia's giving him some space. He seemed...shaken from what Juvia said."
"Give him a few more days. If he doesn't come around by then, get in touch. If he still doesn't come around, forget about him."
Forget about him? How can she possibly forget about him? How can she possibly forget the laughter and stories they shared? How can she possibly forget feeling so incredibly proud of herself whenever his adorable toothy grin appears when he laughs at something she's said? How can she possibly forget the way his inky eyes are trained on her and only her whenever she is talking? But more importantly...how can she possibly forget about their friendship that took months to build?
"Juvia can't just forget about him, Gajeel-kun. He's nothing like Bora - he isn't forgettable." Juvia insists. "Juvia...Juvia doesn't want to lose him."
A ghost of a smile tugs at her best friend's lips. "You're in love with him."
"Why does it matter?" She is rather surprised that the first words out of her mouth isn't a 'no', but she can hardly care now. "If this keeps up, Juvia won't have a friend."
Gajeel shrugs his shoulders. "Time will tell."
xoxo
As it turns out, Juvia doesn't have to wait that much longer. Because by the time she reaches the shop for her shift after school that Monday, a certain pink-haired male was already waiting by the locked coffee shop.
"N - Natsu-san." She nearly drops her backpack and the keys to the shop when she spots him.
"Hey, Juvia." He offers her a small smile. "Sorry for - " He doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence because this time, Juvia does drop her backpack and keys and flings herself at him, her arms around his neck. Natsu stumbles a bit before regaining his balance, his arms wrapping around her waist.
"Juvia...Juvia thought you left." She whispers, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Normally, she'd be embarrassed for doing such a thing, but she can hardly care right now. Because what's important is that Natsu is back and everything is all right with her world again. "Juvia missed you, Natsu-san."
"I'd never leave you." He responds earnestly, rubbing smoothing circles on her back with one hand whilst an arm was wrapped strongly around her waist. She marvels at the warmth of his body, the way their pressed bodies are like two pieces of a perfectly-fit puzzle. As if they were tailor made for each other. "And I missed you, too. A lot. I...I didn't mean to be gone for that long. I didn't want to come back until I was really fine. I'm sorry I made you worried."
She shakes her head. "No...Juvia is the one who should apologize, Natsu-san. Juvia should have texted you earlier, but Juvia wanted to give you your space - "
"That's exactly what I needed." He interrupts, his tone firm. "Let's just stop apologizing, okay? I'm sorry, you're sorry...we won't get anywhere with that. And..." Natsu sets her back down on her feet with his hand on her back and his arm around her, "I need to catch up on a week's worth of frappuccinos."
End of Chapter 8.
(4/2/22): Hello my friends! How are you all doing? I'm honestly tired - what else is new, LOL? - but I'm doing fine nevertheless! Considering that it hasn't taken me nearly half a year to come back, I'll take that as a win! ~(￣▽￣)~*
Anyways, wow, that was some chapter, huh? I think this is the 'darkest' that I've ever written for this work or any of my other works, really, and I hope that I portrayed the hurt and angst well! I'm usually not a very angsty person, but this is all for a good reason that you'll see in the future chapters! So rest assured, I am not trying to hurt Natsu, Juvia, or you guys - if my writing is decent and portrays hurt well enough! ＞﹏＜
As always, please leave your thoughts down below - be it a simple 'Nice chapter' or something more - and I will see you in the next chapter! Ciao ciao~! o(*￣▽￣*)o
P.S: As of today, this work is officially 2 years old! 2 years ago today, when the pandemic first started, I wrote this fic as a way to dip my toes into the NaVia community - president of the Navia community, if you are reading this, am I considered a part of the NaVia fandom yet? - and as a way to escape from the turmoil of COVID-19. I never thought that this fic of mine would get this much support and I am so grateful for each and everyone of you for sticking with me and this story for the past 2 years. Rest assured, I will not spend 2 more years to finish this work, haha, but thank you for being a part of the journey. Whether you've been here since day 1 or you just recently found this work, thank you so much for your support! ＜（＾－＾）＞