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The sight of Natsu flying over the guildhall was the first thing Juvia came across as soon as she entered Fairy tail that morning. Following that scene, her eyes focused on a very angry Lucy, tears popping out in the corner of her eyes. Her cheeks were red and her hair all messed up. From those few elements, Juvia concluded two things:
- Natsu had just been Lucy-kicked.
- This would be like any other day at the guild.
She walked to the bar, jumping over her friend’s body on the way, and said hello to MIra. While she waited for her breakfast, the missing pieces of the puzzle started falling into place.
“Yo, Luce, I was just playing along!”
“You cheated!”
“No, I didn’t!
As the pair bickered, Juvia grabbed her plate and approached the table where her Gray-sama was seated. He noticed her and scooted over, making space so she could sit.
“Good morning, Gray-sama!”
“Hey, Juvia.” He smiled. Before she could ask him if he had slept well that night and if he would like to take a job later, Natsu ran to them.
“Juvia, Ice prick, help me out!”
“Lucy’s right, you know. Tickling is against the rules.” Gray answered without hesitating.
That comment didn’t settle the debate as the fire mage alleged Gray was biased. He turned to Juvia and demanded her input as well. The problem was, Juvia didn’t know what game they were playing.
As if on cue, Cana appeared behind her.
“We were seeing who could keep a straight face the longest while the others try making them laugh. Lucy was doing good, considering Natsu’s face is kinda funny to stare at, but he broke the rules and tickled her. That Lucy kick was totally earned.”
“Oh.” Juvia understood what was going on now. “Well, Lucy-san is right.”
With everyone against him, the poor fire mage had no choice but to accept his defeat. He sat cross-legged and held the most dramatic pout until the group decided that it was Gray’s turn with the challenge.
“Ready?” Cana asked with a wicked grin.
“Write my words, I’m gonna make the highest score. You guys aren’t funny enough to beat my poker face.”
3...2...1...
Natsu and Lucy stood close to him, their faces contorted in the most creative and weird ways asGray stared blankly into the wall. He’d be a fool if he didn’t use his best tactic for when he needed to forget there were people around him: dissociating.
“Yo, can he do that? I’m pretty sure that is against the rules.”
“It’s not my fault that you don’t use your brain, Natsu.”
“You know what? I’m done. I’m gonna fart on your face and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
With that, Natsu got up and got into position, turning his butt right to Gray’s nose. Juvia - who had been just observing the mess until that point - got up with determination. She couldn’t let that happen to her darling! With determination and a feral look, she got on her feet and shoved Natsu to the side.
“Juvia will never allow anyone to fart on Gray-sama’s precious face!”
They all looked at her for a moment, in a deafening silence. Juvia kept her defensive pose in front of her beloved, like a knight in shining armor ready to save his damsel in distress. Lucy was still incredulous, Cana had tears in her eyes from holding her laugh and Natsu… well Natsu had been pushed with so much force that he had been knocked down for the second time on that day. However, the first audible reaction was a strangled wheeze from behind Juvia. She turned around to see her beloved with teary eyes almost popping out from the face, cheeks red and mouth in a thin line.
“Gray-sama, are you alright?” She hurried to his feet to check what was wrong with him.
That set him off.
Gray scrunched over himself, holding his stomach while he laughed loudly. With that, Lucy and Cana followed suit. Juvia looked around, not understanding what was so funny.
“Sometimes I can’t believe you’re real, Juv!” Cana wrapped one arm around her and kissed her cheek. “Fireboy and watergirl totally finished you, Gray! And the funniest part is, your score was the lowest. Lucy, me and you have a tie for first place! That calls for a victors kiss, don’t you think?”
As Cana playfully tried to get a peck from a still cackling Lucy, Juvia started to wonder if she said something wrong. Inadequacy, missing social cues… this was no news for the water mage. Of course, her friends never judged her, they knew there was always a good intention behind it. However, sometimes it felt like everyone was playing a game so complicated no matter how hard she studied the rules, her pawn was always ten spaces behind.
“Perhaps Natsu-san was being sarcastic?” Juvia muttered to herself.
“Definitely not.” She jumped in her place, feeling a warm hand on her back. “And let me tell you, if that bastard farted right on my nose, I’d have freezed his butt and ended the game right there.”
“Juvia feels sorry for making her beloved lose…”
“Not worried at all. Sure, I’ll have to live for a while with that shameful last place haunting me, but this?” He pointed at Natsu, who was starting to regain consciousness. “Priceless.”
“Ah…” This still didn’t settle her discomfort and he noticed it.
“Look at me, Juvia.” Gray took her hand, waiting until she glanced at him to keep talking. “Don’t worry about it, okay? We weren’t laughing at your expense, especially not me. I like your unusual way of speaking. Actually, that’s one of the most lovable things about you.”
Juvia felt so overwhelmed from the touch of his hand and the reassurance his words brought that it took her a long moment to absorb his last sentence.
One of the most lovable things about you.
Most lovable. You.
Did he really mean that? There were many things he found lovable about her? Also, using the words love and you in the same sentence... She suddenly felt like fainting and that was when Gray noticed the implications of what he said.
Oh.
They weren’t dating. Heck, they didn’t even kiss! Well, he was pretty sure she noticed the change in his demeanor towards her and her display of affection, but he didn’t exactly do anything significant of changing their status from friends to… whatever came after that.
“Uh, I mean…” Gray felt heat in his cheeks as he tried to think of something to say.
A freshly recovered Natsu came to rescue.
“Juvia! Your turn!” He called and made her sit, completely oblivious to the situation he interrupted. Juvia was still a bit airy and her magic almost made Natsu’s hand go right through her at one specific moment, but this distraction seemed to be good for their recovery.
“You have one minute to prepare.” Lucy warned, already setting her counter.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to numb her thoughts. She was a competitive girl, actually, and she had an idea of what she could do to help her.
3…2…1…
“Start!”
With a total of five minutes and twenty four seconds, Juvia achieved first place. Everyone was surprised, after all, Juvia felt everything with such intensity they thought it would be easy to get a giggle out of her. However, they weren’t counting that she had a more powerful tool: her mind.
No, she didn’t need to dissociate or think of sad things. The only thing she needed to do was, for five minutes and twenty four seconds, think and act like she was a stone-faced person who thought everything was sad and dull. Her subject of study? Not Gajeel, not Laxus.
Her old self.
-x-
Later that day, Juvia cornered Gray to reclaim her prize. According to her, it was fair that the last place would be the one to give it to her. He didn’t give much thought into it, asking what she wanted from him. A wide grin creeped through her face as she proclaimed:
“Tell Juvia everything Gray-sama finds lovable about her.”