People were mumbling, children were shouting, couples were either arguing or telling the most ridiculous monologue about how they were going to yearn the other until next time. and Laxus was tired. Sitting on one of the many chairs the hall could provide, he was contemplating his choice not to take his headphones for this mission, and all that noise combined together made him deeply regret his decision now that he was here. He missed the quiet of his home. If he wanted havoc and noise he would have stayed at the guild. He had high hopes, considering that it was pretty late at night, that the train station would be filled with silence, hoping people would be at their home and yet there he was, surrounded by people coming or going far away, even if he did admit that there were less people than in the middle of the day. He closed his eyes and blocked the noise, a survival trick that he learnt early on in his life and waited until he heard familiar steps and he opened an eye. Freed arrived. He did not need to check the time, Freed always arrived right on time. He opened both of his eyes and nodded to acknowledge the green haired mage which did the same and patiently waited next to him, in silence. Perhaps to other people they seemed weird, standing still next to each other, in complete silence but to them, it was a tale as old as time. Freed knew that Laxus liked the quiet and Laxus could count on Freed to give him that peace and he was grateful for that despite knowing how much Freed liked to talk to him.

Soon enough, they were joined by Bickslow, and with him came ruckus.

"Hey there guys ! Could recognise y'all from afar with the stern faces ya had ! Y'all need to loosen up !"

Bickslow immediately laughed as his babies repeated his last words. Freed only sighed and shook his head while Laxus completely ignored him. They were used to this. In fact they were so used to him saying that, that Freed had asked him to say something else.

"You sound-"

"Like a broken record ! I know, I know ! But I can't help it ! I just love seeing your reactions, it never gets old."

Freed's brow was starting to almost join in one straight line when Evergreen finally arrived and with her, a surprise. Juvia was standing next to her, shyly waving her hand to them and Freed asked himself for a second if she truly was waving at them.

"Why is she here ?"

"I don't know but I surely don't mind the company of a pretty lady !"

Freed was still not really understanding why she was there, not that he minded of course, he did not have anything against her, he did however feel a little uncomfortable. But because Laxus was not saying anything, he must have been aware of her joining them for the mission. He was about to ask him what she was doing here when Evergreen arrived and presented Juvia with her free hand who was looking at everything but them.

"I heard Juvia was coming with us so I took the liberty of making her keep me company while I was packing."

"Hi… Thank you for having Juvia." She did a little curtsy which made Bickslow's smile immediately widen even more and he took her hand in his, while doing a bow, which immediately set her face on fire.

"Why, it's always a pleasure to be in such good company Juvia."

Freed was rolling his eyes while Evergreen looked beyond disgusted by the sight of Bickslow's stupidity. Juvia only nodded, unable to say anything, she did not know nor could she have guessed that Bickslow was such a flirt ! She has heard of his reputation of a womaniser but she always assumed it was overestimated considering his usual behaviour at the guild. Now she understood better and she could only sympathise with those girls who had the misfortune of striking his interest, she only hoped he would not mistake her reaction for interest. Soon enough, Evergreen came to her rescue and hit him with her fan. The two of them started to bicker which made Juvia think that it was her fault and while all of this was happening Laxus stayed quiet. He was watching her, observing her, assessing how good of a fit she could be on the job and with whom she should be paired up if it ever got asked. But seeing her, he understood that she would probably be better off with Evergreen or him.

He finally stood up from his chair which made everyone look at him and started to walk away to the ticket counter. Freed immediately stood next to him, ready to follow him, til the very end of the world if he asked. He was still unsure of why Juvia was here and was toying with the idea of asking him but the water mage beat him to it as she joined Laxus and walked to his left while carrying her bag as if she put nothing in it and smiled brightly at him.

"Juvia wants to thank Laxus once again for accepting her to join him and the Thunder Legion."

"I already told you, it is nothing, stop thanking me as if I saved your life."

"It is big ! Juvia will not disappoint you !"

Laxus said nothing but Freed was yet again at loss of words. Of course he knew that the two of them were friends, he must have not received the information of how or why it started apart from the very thin fact that they fought together during the Magic Games but was it really all it took for them to be that close to each other ? He must have missed something and when Juvia sent him a smile, he was so stunned it took him some time to process that she smiled at him and finally he ignored it, an uneasy feeling still lingering at the pit of his stomach, this whole thing made him continue his walk all the way to the train, waiting at the side of the door for the whole team to be there with the tickets.

Freed's reaction did leave Juvia quite worried. Did he not like her ? Was he bothered by her presence ? Did she do something wrong to him in the past that for some reason she could not remember ?

Laxus also noticed the odd behaviour from his teammate and when Freed lifted up his head to look at them, Laxus shot him a glare that the green haired man understood as the " get yourself together" look and it made him shiver in guilt. But for now, Laxus bought the tickets and hoped that once they will be settled, he will have some peace and quiet, however between Bickslow and his flirty behaviour and Freed's odd reaction, he just knew that unless he went directly to sleep he would not be able to have that. The dragon slayer gave each member of the team one ticket and once he gave Juvia's, she looked up at him with a frown.

"Juvia could have paid for that, she has money."

Laxus stopped on his track and turned to face her. He was not irritated or angry or anything at all really. If anything, he was tired and he tried to wash away the fatigue on his face with his hand and then he sighed.

"This is something I always do, I pay for the tickets because that's what a leader does. I take care of the financial status of the group. I thought I mentioned it earlier, I apologise if that made you uncomfortable."

Now Juvia did not know how to react. She actually felt very embarrassed to have forgotten that he said that. Now that he mentioned it he actually did say that he would buy the tickets and Juvia only wanted to bury herself in a pit and never come out again. She felt stupid to have made something that big out of something as trivial as train tickets. She noticed Freed looking at her with an eyebrow raised and she definitely felt out of place, she realised she might have been rude to him just now by not only by

"Juvia is deeply sorry ! She did not mean anything by that, Juvia thought you were only going to buy the tickets for your team. She does not want to be a burden to her friends." Silence in the group, even Bickslow stopped his yapping with his babies to look at her in disbelief. Laxus was about to say something but Evergreen beat him to it.

"Oh sweetie, you are not a burden and if anyone told you so then they lack manners."

"Oh no ! It's just… Juvia assumed that…"

She did not have time to finish her sentence that Bickslow threw his right arm around her which had the immediate effect to make her blush because of the proximity which made her decide that he must really like physical touches.

"Juvia yer thinking too much about it ! Ya need to learn how to appreciate when someone takes care of ya. If ya need it, I could try and-"

"Enough." Laxus' voice resonated like thunder in the train hall to the point of some people around them stopping what they were doing too. Bickslow raised an eyebrow and Laxus took his arm and put it away from the water mage.

"You are making her uncomfortable, stop grabbing her that way and get going. Everyone on the train. Now."

Bickslow quickly apologised to Juvia and quickly almost ran into the wagon, closely followed by Freed who was clearly annoyed by his friend and kept on telling him that he had absolutely no manners when it came to women.

Juvia did not really know what to say, she felt like she was still out of place in this team which made it hard for her to speak her mind when she was not talking with Laxus and even so, it seemed that when he was acting as the leader of his team, it felt weird to say anything. It's not that she could not take care of the situation but she liked how calmed he stayed when he explained for the tickets, to the point of him questioning if he truly said it - which he did and she is still very embarrassed to not have remembered it- and above all how he reminded Bickslow on his manners. Again she would have told him, eventually, but she did see with that how much he changed and the Laxus she befriended during the Magic Games was truly someone she could be proud of calling her friend.

She could not help but observe him sigh, apologise to her again before she got the chance to do it herself and go into the train too and she would have stayed there, in absolute awe if it was not for the only girl of the group who grabbed her hand and shot her a kind smile.

"Let's go shall we ?"

Juvia could not help but return her smile and they both got into the wagon and as she took a look at her ticket to get her seat she noticed Laxus going into what looked like a sleeper and she suddenly got excited when she noticed the bold letters in her tickets precising that she too got one ! She was so used to sleeping on her seat or not sleeping at all that she never felt the need to buy that kind of ticket but now that the occasion presented itself, she was really excited for this experience ! Perhaps her back would be grateful to her for this unexpected treat.

"I think we're going to be roommates tonight."

Juvia almost missed Evergreen's voice and the brunette was waving her ticket in front of her with a little smile. Then she turned around and walked until she stopped in front of what looked like to be their room for the train ride. Juvia followed her, eager to see how it looked and she loved it ! Two beds, one on each side of the little space they will spend the night in, with comfy mattresses, a place for their baggage and most importantly a bathroom ! A tiny one, but nonetheless it was impressive ! Just how much did it cost Laxus for all of them to have a sleeper like this one ? She absolutely needed to give him something for this incredible experience as a token of gratitude, perhaps a reservation to a nice restaurant ? Though she could cook something herself. Perhaps a spa reservation in a far away town so that he could relax ! Was it too intimate for her to offer him that ? She might not have an idea now but she has to find something. She was playing with the softness of the mattress when Evergreen sat down on what she decided would be her bed, across the little room.

"Say Juvia, you don't mind sleeping in the same room as me, right ? You can tell me if it makes you uncomfortable." To that, Juvia immediately stopped her little game and looked at Evergreen with a frown on her face. Where on earth did that come from ?

"Juvia would love to spend the night here with you ! Juvia is deeply sorry if she made it look like she did not like Evergreen, she did not mean to appear unfriendly."

Evergreen stared at her while Juvia, unable to keep her gaze on her, played with her fingers. Then she heard a soft laugh from the brunette in front of her and all the tension eased quickly. Evergreen got up and took both of Juvia's hands in hers.

"I know that we are not close, to be frank, we do not know each other at all. But I would love to get to know you."

Juvia never had such a hard time stopping her tears from falling. She knows that she never tried to get to know the other girls but in her mind, they still shared a bond as they all were part of the same guild. But those words from Evergreen were as sweet as honey to her ears and she was happy to have an opportunity to make a new friend. Juvia grabbed the brunette's hands tight before releasing them from her grip, washing away a single tear that got away despite her best efforts to hold it in.

"Juvia would love that."

Evergreen wiped away the tear that followed the one Juvia's wiped with a soft smile on her face and honestly, the water mage could not recall a time when she saw the fairy look at someone with such tenderness, or perhaps she did it whenever she was with Elfman ? Silence settled in and Evergreen got back to her bed where she searched for her nightwear and so did Juvia. The silence was not uncomfortable, it was rather calming. Juvia had so much to think about, so much had happened that she needed time to process everything. As she picked up her own nightgown, Evergreen came out of the bathroom, with such a lovely nightgown, Juvia loved it.

"Where did Evergreen find that nightgown ? It is lovely !" This sudden outburst from Juvia surprised the brunette but it quickly vanished to be replaced by a smile.

"Why, thank you ! It was at a shop while doing a mission in the North ! But I can say the same of yours ! Where did you find it ?" Evergreen came closer to the water mage to look a bit more closely at the details of Juvia's nightwear on her hands and to facilitate her, Juvia unfolded the whole garment so that she could see it more easily.

"It is nothing fancy, Juvia sewed it herself so it is not as great as yours !" To that Evergreen looked up at her and then at her nightgown and then to her again with her eyebrows raised. And Juvia's mind already imagined a thousand reasons as to why she just offended the brunette until said brunette clapped on her hand with a big smile on her face.

"I've heard of your prowess as a seamstress but I did not think you were that skilled ! You truly are talented ! And I should know as the Fairy Queen, I have the eye for those things."

Now Juvia felt embarrassed. She didn't even know why, because she was always praised for her sewing skill, which is why she did so many things for her guildmates but for some reason, coming from Evergreen was a whole new level of compliment. Everyone knows how difficult she is when it comes to, well, almost everything that concerns her : her food, her clothes, her makeup, her home decorations… It was a real pleasure to have her complimenting her skills. She gave in and gave her a shy smile.

"Thank you."

"Now off you go ! You'll be much more comfortable. I'll wait for you, I have a favour to ask."

She did not have the time to ask what favour she was talking about when the brunette shooed her into the bathroom to make her change. Alone in the bathroom, she wanted to explode in joy because of the efforts Evergreen was putting in to become friends with her. And she was curious about that favour. Was she going to ask her to sew her something ? It would be a real pleasure and a great opportunity to sharpen her skills in embroidery, perhaps she could even use the little pearls she bought a while ago and never had the chance to use ! Juvia quickly changed and got out of the bathroom when she noticed Evergreen setting up a brush, some hairbands and some skincare products on her bed. She walked up to her to analyse better what she put on display and she recognised some products from some magazines she had seen at Fairy Hills. Evergreen turned to her and once again analysed what Juvia was wearing.

"It truly is pretty, You are a natural Juvia." To be quite honest, Juvia did not know how to handle all those compliments. When it came to Mirajane she could easily throw a thousand more to her, when it was Levy, she could joke about it and be humble. But there was something about the way Evergreen said those compliments that made her feel like she was truly the best at whatever she was complimenting her for. She could cry for that.

"Thank you, Juvia doesn't know what to say but she truly is grateful for those words Evergreen." The woman waved her hand at her, as if to say that it was absolutely nothing. But before she turned her back, the water mage could have sworn she saw Evergreen's expression shift to something she could not quite pinpoint. Was it a puzzled expression ? Or.. Sadness ?

She did not have the time to ask anything as Evergreen, with a graceful and one of the most delicate swift of hands Juvia has ever seen someone do, took her brush that laid on the bed she chose when they entered, which in itself was a delight to the eyes, a sage green brush with complicated golden flower patterns. Just how much money did Evergreen have to be able to buy such things.

"Do you think you could brush my hair ? They've gotten so long, my arms hurt whenever I do it by myself." It took some time for Juvia to register her request. Was that the favour ? Really ? She thought it would be something bigger !

"Of course ! Juvia would be happy to !"

Both girls sat down on Evergreen's bed and as she closed her eyes, Juvia focused on her task, considering it as an important mission she absolutely needed to succeed in. And while she was softly brushing her hair, she was smiling at how it was well taken care of, they were silky and soft. It truly is no wonder Evergreen took pride in that aspect of her look. Soon enough, Evergreen was humming a tune which had Juvia join in, in a very subtle way so as to not ruin Evergreen's. It was relaxing. Both for Evergreen who was enjoying that moment and whose thoughts were all going to Elfman who was probably already sleeping, and to Juvia who thanks to that little moment, could help her mind ease a little bit from all the anxiousness from before. She even went as far as thinking that maybe, just maybe, she was overthinking this. She and Laxus are friends. Evergreen stated that she wanted to become one of her friends despite still not understanding why she had this sad expression earlier but she was probably overthinking this. Bickslow… was a whole different thing but she could adapt and befriend him, maybe. The only problem at hand was Freed, and she did not understand why he out of all the people would have a problem with her. Right when her mind started to spiral again into this anxiousness of the multiple reasons as to why Freed would avoid her, Evergreen slightly turned her head to Juvia with a smile.

"Thank you Juvia, you brushed them perfectly. I might come and see you at Fairy Hills from time to time." Thankfully, her intervention snapped Juvia out of her bad thoughts and she nodded enthusiastically.

"It would be Juvia's pleasure, please come whenever you feel like it !"

"Now it's your turn ! If you don't mind, of course."

Juvia's eyes could easily be compared to stars shining in the sky. How long has it been since someone took care of her hair ? She herself sometimes did not bother to brush her hair, liking how the mess made her hair more voluminous than it really was. Evergreen chuckled at how excited the water mage was, looking through her bag to find her own brush and giving it to her with pure joy. The brunette's expression softened looking at Juvia. She was not there when she broke up with Gray, but she was present when reality caught up with her and she felt helpless to her sadness, but they were strangers back then, they would eventually talk to one another whenever both of them were invited by the Strauss family for dinner but she thought the best thing to do was to leave her in the care of the Strauss sisters. But by chance, or rather thanks to her friendship with Laxus, she now had the occasion to get closer to her without the embarrassment of trying to find something to first engage in conversation, and she was about to make the most of it. She took Juvia's brush and started her own mission and she hoped to give juvia as much relaxation as she gave her. She was only a few minutes into brushing her hair when Juvia decided she needed to make sure of something.

"Can Juvia ask you something ?"

"Of course, what is it ?"

"Do you think Freed hates Juvia ?"

Juvia could not see Evergreen's face however she did feel her brush pause for a second, she could have missed it but the fact that she felt it made her anxious of the answer. Evergreen on the other hand, even though knew why Juvia was asking this question, did not have any answers to give her and perhaps it was the worst thing in this scenario. Juvia might feel like she is lying to her but she truly did not know. However, she knew that she was rather an optimist person so she could go with a hopeful answer.

"I must admit" started slowly the brunette, uncertainty tainting the sound of her voice "that his behaviour towards you is truly odd, but I don't think so, no. Don't take his glares at heart. If it makes you feel any better, he does not look at people with something other than his judgemental eyes. Except for Laxus."

Her answer did make her giggle a bit but she let the sound of her brush fill up the room before sighing.

"Juvia can't help but feel like she might have done something to him without her realising it."

Evergreen could not take it anymore. Juvia was a sensible person, full of nothing but love. In fact, Evergreen could see that this could either make her stronger or it could also drown her. Was it not what happened when Gray and her put an end to their relationship ? Of course she was fine now and she was for a time but the flood that followed ? Nobody could ever forget it even if they wanted to. It was heartbreaking how much Juvia cared about others. There were so many things she wanted to say to her, but she could only grasp the handle of the brush harder and sigh.

"Oh my dear, I promise you, you did nothing wrong. I can talk to him tomorrow if you want ?"

Juvia slightly shook her head. There was no need for that, she would speak to him directly. If Evergreen talked to him instead of her it might worsen the situation and Juvia hated unresolved tensions and it was absolutely out of the question to complete the mission without discussing it with him. If he truly was stubborn and did not wish to speak of it, then she will not pressure him further. But she needed to address it before the end of the put her hands on her shoulders and moved forward to make eye contact with her with a soft smile on her face.

"Try not to focus on that for now." The brunette tucked a rebellious lock behind her ear "And tonight is about you and me taking care of ourselves. And perhaps you can also tell me a bit more about you ? Of course I will also reveal things about myself. For example I should let you know I did some research of the city we're going to and it has that incredible shop…"

And talking was almost all they did for hours. After brushing Juvia's hair, Evergreen showed her items that she always took with her, her lucky charms as she called it and Juvia noticed a necklace she could swear she had seen Elfman wear too. Juvia told her all about her favourite recipes, her favourite yarn to use ( she discovered that Evergreen did crochet as well ! ) and some tips for the best homebrew tea when the weather was a bit chilly.

She had a lot of fun, she never thought Evergreen would be such an amazing company, and yet here she was, having the time of her life ! She missed having sleepovers, she missed having someone over and having the opportunity to bake with her friends or do activities together. She missed having all of that. Evergreen was probably not aware of it but she made Juvia the happiest person in all of Fiore. But just before going to bed, otherwise they would be spent before the job even started and Laxus would be disappointed, Juvia stared at the ceiling, flashbacks of the brunette expression came back right when she was ready to be swept away by Sleep and she could not hold it in anymore.

"Evergreen…?" She turned her head towards her, despite not being able to see her in the dark. She whispered loud enough to be heard but not too loud to wake her up if she was already sleeping. She was about to let it go when she heard a rustling from the other bed.

"Do you have trouble sleeping darling?" In the few hours they talked and grew closer, Juvia learned that Evergreen loved to call people with endearments terms, which she did not mind, she even liked it. What she did mind was the sleepy voice she could perfectly hear coming from the fairy across the room.

"It's nothing really. It's just… Earlier, when Juvia showed Evergreen her nightgown and she thanked her… Why did Evergreen look so sad ?"

Silence, utter and complete silence. Juvia was even questioning if she truly heard an answer coming from her roommate. She was panicking, in her head because she would feel bad if she really did imagine it and Evergreen was sleeping but then she heard a new rustling from the other bed.

"I merely appeared sad because, you wear your heart in your sleeve and I felt that you, out of all people, should be able to experience what it feels like to also have someone who will offer you the world even if all you asked for is a mere embrace."

This time around, Juvia could not keep the tears from falling. She had to let them roll down her cheeks or else she would have burst. All this time, only Mirajane and Lisanna offered her such kindness in their words. But right now, hearing it from someone completely different, someone whom she never had any proper conversation before, made it really hard not to feel cared about. Could she even think that when they only truly got to know each other a few hours prior ?

"Juvia ? Are you alright ?" Evergreen quickly got up from her bed, lighting a lamp that was on her bedside table to sit right next to Juvia, only to see her beautiful eyes filled up with tears. With the help of her sleeve, she wiped out everything, and soothed Juvia down with comforting words and played with her hair, gently. After a bit, Juvia's breathing came back to normal.

"Thank you. But Juvia does not want to alarm Evergreen. She was not crying out of sadness, she was so happy, she had to cry." Juvia got up and took Evergreen in her arms, embracing her, softly, lovingly, showing her the gratitude she has towards her and the brunette reciprocated it after a bit. Evergreen was right, Juvia was too sweet for this world and she even decided that it was best that she only got to know her today, otherwise any person looking at her the wrong way would have felt her wrath.

They stayed like that, for several minutes until Evergreen heard Juvia's breathing becoming steady and how she suddenly felt heavier. She fell asleep on her and she tucked her back in properly before going to bed too. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and they needed to make sure to have proper sleep.

Hello !
I would like to apologise for the time it took me to post that chapter. I've written it for a few weeks now but wanted to get a head start on the next chapter.
I believe that Juvia is the type of person who can get along well with anyone and I really wanted to portray her making friends with someone as colorful as Evergreen. I just like the idea of Juvia being besties with the Thunder Legion!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully the next one won't take that much time to post here.
Love,
Dash.