Six

"Juvia!"

Juvia flinches, darting to the next room and trying desperately to pretend as if she hasn't heard Gray. Ever since she saw him half-naked, she's been trying her absolute hardest to avoid him. She flaked out on their plans to go to Mutsu by pretending she suddenly had a bad fever and after preparing Gray and Erza breakfast and leaving the trays on the table, she spent the whole morning of Monday holed up in her room.

She knows she's being incredibly childish but every time she sees Gray, she automatically reverts to the behavior of a fourteen-year-old. Next thing she knows, she'll be doodling Juvia loves Gray with a heart dotting the "i." Which absolutely cannot happen. No matter what those stupid paperbacks may say, she knows just as well as anyone that a relationship with someone as important as Gray would never work out. She can only think of the scandal she would have caused if she had hooked up with a plumber back when she was a lawyer. Sure, he knows she's not a real housekeeper but still. She can't shake off the feeling that even admitting being attracted to him is highly inappropriate and unprofessional.

And she's never been unprofessional a day in her life. Not even during that time when she had to deal with a rude client who kept making snide comments about her teeth.

Obviously, she doesn't plan on avoiding him forever. They live in the same house and she works for him so she's bound to interact with him eventually. She just…needs time to calm herself. Yes, that's it. She just needs some time away from him so she can a grip on herself and become the mature, levelheaded professional she had been before seeing him shirtless.

"Where were you? I've been looking for you everywhere," Gray asks her before she can safely make it out of the backdoor.

"Oh…er…Juvia was just…" She flounders helplessly, for once unable to think of an explanation. Gray just seems to have this strange ability to render her mute. As she struggles to think of a response, she tries to discreetly check her body language. She's read in article before that if a woman is attracted to a man, her pupils will dilate. Also, she will unconsciously lean forward, laugh at his jokes and expose her wrists and palms.

The good news is, that hasn't happened to her yet.

"Being one with nature?" he asks, the corners of his mouth twitching ever so slightly.

"No!" she hotly responds, finally getting her voice back. Then, in a calmer tone, she continues, "Juvia was planning to go visit Belno since Erza-san is going to be gone for the whole day. You know…to learn how to cook and clean."

"Oh. Okay. Just give me a few more seconds to put my shoes on," he says, making a move to turn around.

"Um…what?"

"We're going to Belno's right?"

We?

"Actually," Juvia says, forcing herself to speak before he can leave. "Juvia was…planning to go to Belno's alone."

Gray pauses. "Oh."

"She wouldn't want to bother you," she hastily adds when she notices an expression on his face that seems to resemble…hurt?

"You're not bothering me," he says just as quickly.

"Oh no, you don't have to be polite—''

"No, seriously. You're not bothering me. I don't mind going with you to Belno's," he says, making a move once again to leave. "So, if you can just wait for a moment—''

"No!" Juvia blurts out, much louder than she was supposed to. "You can't go."

He gives her an incredulous look. "Why not?"

"Because…Juvia plans on discussing…girl things with Belno," she haltingly says.

"Girl things," he repeats.

She nods her head and tries to ignore how incredibly handsome he looks with his hair all rumpled like that. She wonders how many minutes he spends in front of the mirror to make sure his hair artfully disheveled. Vaguely, she can feel the beginnings of a blush work its way from the base of her neck to her cheeks.

"Yes," she squeaks out, trying to avoid his eyes. "Girl things."

"Okay," he says, giving her one of his weirded out, confused looks. He seems to give a lot of those whenever he's around her. "I'll leave you to it then."

She sags in relief, happy that she at least has the whole day off away from him. That should be plenty of time for her to get over this silly attraction. And then, things between them can get back to normal.

"Thank you," she says, bobbing a curtsy. Gray gives a small, amused look but doesn't comment on it. She doesn't really need to curtsy to him since he knows she's not a real housekeeper but it's become so automatic to her that she does it without meaning to.

"Oh—wait. Did you want something?" she says.

"What?"

"You said you were looking everywhere for me. Did you want something?"

"I just wanted to check up on you. See if you're fever is gone," he says, giving her a worried look. He holds out a small packet of tablets. "I was going to remind you to take two more this morning but…you seem okay now."

"Ah yes. It was a…slight thing. Probably just a small heatstroke," she says. Still, she can't help feeling touched that he went to that effort.

He gives her a wry look. "I wished you told me that before I scolded Erza for making you work today."

"Oh, you shouldn't have," Juvia says, feeling guilty. Erza dropped by her room and told her to take it easy today but she insisted on doing something. There's only so much of not-doing-anything that she can take.

"It's okay. Just wanted to make sure you got enough rest." He shoves the tablets back into his pockets before looking up and jerking his head towards the backdoor. "Shall I walk you out to the road?"

Oh, god. He's being chivalrous.

Her heart immediately starts pounding against her rib cage as the heat in her cheeks intensifies. She feels as though any minute now, she's going to melt into a puddle of water.

No, stop.

It's what any self-respecting gentleman would offer to do.

It's no big deal.

Unable to think of any other excuse, Juvia says in what was supposed to be a perfectly calm and controlled voice, "Yes. Sure."

What the hell was that?

Why did she just sound like a chipmunk?

She was so absorbed in silently berating herself that she doesn't realize that she's already out into the main road until Gray bids her goodbye. As she watches his retreating figure, she suddenly has the intense urge to call out to him and ask him to come back. But no. That would be defeating the entire purpose of her going to Belno's alone. If he's with her she's just going to never stop noticing how handsome he looks.

Briskly, she trudges over to Belno's house, trying to get rid of her newfound fixation on Gray. This is insane. It's making her feel all jumpy and weird. Like…she's not in entirely in control of herself. And that's really the last thing she needs right now.

What she'll do is…micromanage. And compartmentalize. Yes! She already knows she's physically attracted to him so all she has to do is shove that attraction somewhere deep and dark in her mind and get on with maintaining her professional attitude.

Feeling considerably better, she rounds the corner to Belno's house and smooths her skirt before knocking on the door.

"Juvia!" Belno cheerily says. She's wearing a flower-patterned maxi dress dusted with flour and half-moon spectacles.

"Juvia hopes she's not bothering you. She didn't really tell you ahead of time."

"No, of course not! Come in! Come in," Belno says, leading her into a bright, sunny kitchen filled with flowers in earthenware jugs and old-fashioned wooden tables.

"This place hasn't changed a bit!" Juvia says in amazement.

"Haven't had the time to redecorate," Belno chuckles in response. She starts rooting through the cabinets before pulling out a strange looking metal contraption and a childish drawing of a house and a woman in glasses. "Look what I've got…"

"Oh my god! You even kept some of the stuff Gajeel and I made for you," Juvia says as she takes the drawing from Belno's hands.

"How could I not? You two came here nearly every day," Belno nostalgically says. She picks up a round lump of dough on the table, opens the heavy oven door and pops it in. Then, she washes her floury hands in the sink and turns to face Juvia.

"So. You want to learn how to cook," Belno says. Her tone is friendly but businesslike. Belno has never been the kind of woman who wastes her words.

"Yes," Juvia says, grateful that she hasn't started asking prying questions about how Juvia ended up being a maid.

"That shouldn't be too hard, now should it? Before the accident, you've been cooking for most of your life," Belno kindly says.

"Well…er…the thing is…Juvia may need to re-learn…some things," she mumbles. "Juvia hasn't cooked in…oh…about…maybe seventeen or so years?"

Belno blinks at her disbelief. "Oh come on. You must be able to do the basics, at the very least. Go on. Tell me what you can make."

"Toast," Juvia automatically responds. "Maybe some…sandwiches? And crumpets. Anything that Juvia can heat up in the microwave or oven toaster really."

Belno looks absolutely taken aback. "How about your mother's old recipes? Surely, you could at least cook those—''

"No, not even those," Juvia shortly says. "It's just been…a very weird couple of years."

"I see." Belno exhales sharply, as though taking in the situation for the first time. "And what exactly did you promise to cook Erza and Gray?"

Sheepishly, Juvia gets the crumpled papers full of recipes she jotted down from the cookbooks and hands them to Belno.

"Braised lamb and baby onion assemble with a fondant potato and goat's cheese crust, accompanied by cardamom spinach puree," Belno says in tones of disbelief.

Okay.

Maybe she should have copied the easier ones.

Like the one about baby back ribs.

But then again, her motto has always been go big or go home.

"Well, lucky for you assemble just mean flannel." Belno is still perusing the papers. "That's just souped-up shepherd's pie. We can teach you that. And the braised trout with almonds is straight forward enough…"

She runs her finger further down the page, then at last looks up frowning. "But perhaps we should start with Japanese dishes. Something simpler."

She reaches out to put a gentle hand over Juvia's. "I was thinking we start with some of your mother's old recipes? Maybe that would be easier because you've done them before."

"Of course," Juvia firmly says. "Whatever will get the job done faster."

"Good."

Belno starts bustling about the kitchen, reaching into the cupboard for a set of weighing scales and Juvia takes the opportunity to grab a pen and paper.

"What's that for?" Belno suddenly demands.

"So Juvia can take notes," she replies, writing down the date and then, "Cooking Lesson No. 1" right after it.

Belno purses her lips in indignation.

"Honestly! I thought your mother trained you better than this. Cooking isn't about writing things down. It's about feeling. Touching. Smelling."

"Right." Juvia nods her head as she scribbles down "Cooking is about feeling, touching, smelling" and underlining the words twice.

"Juvia!" Belno says, annoyed. She grabs Juvia's pen and paper and flings them away. Juvia gapes at her in shock.

"Tasting," Belno repeats, once again. "You need to use your senses, not write things down."

"Er…right," Juvia says, suddenly uncomfortable at the prospect of learning something without notes. Who even does that?

"Here. Taste this," Belno orders. She lifts the lid of a pot and dips a spoon into it before holding it out to Juvia.

Gingerly, Juvia places the spoon to her mouth. "It's miso soup."

"Don't tell me what you think it is. Tell me what you can taste."

Oh god. Is this a trick question?

"Juvia can taste…miso."

Belno's frown deepens and she gives Juvia an expectant stare. Obviously, she's waiting for something else.

"Er…white miso? Dark miso?" she hazards.

Immediately, she knows it's the wrong answer.

Of course there would be white and dark miso in the soup! It's miso soup, for god's sake.

"Try again," Belno commands.

Her mind flounders as she tries to remember what were the regular ingredients cooks put inside miso.

"Dashi? Mirin? Tofu?" Her eyes widen in sudden inspiration. "Ooh…Juvia knows! Nori!"

Surreptitiously, she hazards a glance at Belno and gulps. If looks could kill, Juvia would have been dead a hundred times by now.

Juvia swallows, her face growing hot as she struggles for words. She feels like that dumb kid in class who can't do the two-times table.

"Try again. Don't think about identifying the ingredients. Just tell me what the sensation is." She dips the spoon into the pot and holds it out to Juvia again. "Taste it again and this time, close your eyes."

"Okay," Juvia reluctantly says, closing her eyes and trying her very best to concentrate only on the flavors.

"So Juvia. What do you taste?"

Eyes shut tight, she tries to block out everything and focus all her attention on her mouth. All she's aware of is the warm, salty taste of the soup. Salt. There's this one flavor though that's a little out of place…not in a bad way…just in the sense that miso soups weren't supposed to have this flavor in them.

It's almost like colors appearing. First, the obvious, bright ones, and then, the subtler ones, the ones you don't at first…

"It's salty…and a little sweet…" Her eyes flutter open. "Is it honey?"

Belno nods in approval. Juvia sighs, her shoulders sagging with relief.

Thank god, she's finally gotten it right. Belno smiles at her and they move on to their first dish.

They spend the rest of the morning cooking.

Belno teaches her how to slice an onion finely, turn it the other way and produce tiny dices. She struggles at first (nearly cutting her thumb off) but she manages to crack it after her second try. Then, she learns how to chop herbs with a rounded blade and how to rub flour and ground ginger into meat. She learns how to knead dough and blanch French beans before boiling them in water and sautéing them in oil.

By the time she gets to her fourth lesson, it's almost like a reflex. Almost. She still screws up a few times but they're mostly minor mistakes. She manages to bake some brownies without burning her hands and stuff a chicken without too much calamity. As she goes through dish after dish, the strangest feeling starts overcoming her. It feels a little like how it used to back when she and her mother cooked in their kitchen. It starts as a tingle in her fingers and toes, much like the feeling she gets when she's anxious, but instead of worrisome, it's warm. She feels it pass through her like a calm, ocean wave, washing her with this strange sense of peace. She can't know for sure today will be better than yesterday but she feels as though the old monochrome convention of herself is slowly fading away into a brightly-colored paper doll.

After going through three dishes, Juvia and Belno decide that Juvia will bring home the roast chicken with onion and sage stuffing, steamed broccoli, cumin-scented carrots and roast potatoes for Gray and Erza's dinner. Not that her sushis and kushikatsus weren't delicious but Erza did seem to have a penchant for Western dishes. As she heaves the roasting tin out of the oven, she pauses for a moment and lets the warm, chicken-scented air rise over her. She has never smelled a more homey scent in her life. The chicken is golden, with its crisp, crackly skin, speckled with pepper, the juices still sizzling on the tin.

As Belno wraps it up into some tin foil, Juvia clears her throat and says, "Belno-san…thank you so much. Not just for teaching Juvia but for…"

She trails off, unsure of what to say next. For reminding her how happy cooking used to make her? For making her realize that she was wrong to have shut herself away from it for so long?

"Oh no, don't worry about it. I enjoyed it thoroughly," Belno says. "You know how I love bossing people about…"

"But really. Juvia is so grateful. She doesn't what she would have done without your help. Is there any way she can repay you?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Belno carefully pours some gravy into a plastic container and grins at her. "Next time you manage to escape from Gray and Erza, we will tackle laundering and vacuuming."

A small, amused smile tugs on her lips. "I didn't believe Gray when he told me about the carpet incident but after seeing you nearly slice your thumb off, I'm starting to think he's telling the truth."

Juvia gives her an embarrassed look. "Thanks."

The two of them wrap the rest of the vegetables up and after they finish, Belno walks Juvia to the door. Before she leaves, Belno gently takes Juvia's hands into her own and says, "Juvia, I have no idea what's happened but you were always an exceptional child. Right now you might be in a situation that you think you won't survive but I'm willing to bet that months ago you were in a situation you didn't think would survive. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is…you'll always surprise yourself and you'll always pull through."

"Thank you so much, Belno," Juvia says, giving one of the few genuine smiles she's made since she's gotten to Oma.

When Juvia unwraps the tinfoil and carefully unloads the chicken on to another try, Gray raises a brow and gives her a vaguely impressed look. Her efforts to avoid him had been rendered useless when she entered the kitchen and found him calmly drinking coffee and reading a book about ancient architectural marvels.

"You're not telling me you made that?" Gray asks.

Har-dee-har-har.

"Just something Juvia rustled up earlier," she nonchalantly says.

"Cordon Bleu style?" he says, getting up to help her set the chicken while she dishes out the vegetables.

To her horror, she responds with a playful wink. She pauses, heart pounding and after a few moments of indecision, carefully steals a look at him. He continues on with his task of carving up the chicken, seemingly unaware that she just winked at him.

Okay.

That's good.

She wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea.

What she'll do is…she'll come up with a witty retort. Something that will result in easy banter between the two of them.

"…Yes."

Oh, great.

Real clever.

"Anyway, there's a bit of time left before dinner. I was wondering if you'd like to go help me water the plants. I could use some extra help," Gray tells her.

Watering plants.

That seems innocuous enough. And the garden is big enough for her to wander into some portion where she can't see him. It at least seems simpler than vacuuming and any of the other house chores she attempted to do.

"Er…sure," Juvia says.

Before the two of them can leave, Erza suddenly comes tripping into the room wearing sweats and a loose-fitting black shirt.

"Juvia! There you are!" She sounds extremely pleased with herself. Automatically, Juvia stiffens. She does not have a good feeling about this.

"Erza-san—''

"I cannot have you walking around like that anymore!" Erza declares, shaking her head vigorously.

"Come again?" Juvia says, peering at her.

"Your hair," she replies, making a face.

"Oh, right." Juvia touches the bleached streak with a grimace."Juvia meant to have it done by the weekend."

"You're getting it done now," Erza cuts across her.

"What?"

"Gray told me you had a bad fever and I feel absolutely terrible for making you work," Erza guiltily says.

"No, Erza-san it's fine, it was Juvia who insisted—''

"So, to make it up to you, I decided to give us a girl's night out!"

"A what?" Gray frowns.

"I already booked an appointment with Cancer, my hairdresser and a whole spa treatment at Maenohara. Then, we'll have a lovely dinner in a nice restaurant somewhere," Erza excitedly says, grabbing Juvia by the arm and swiftly bustling her out into the backdoor.

"Now? But…me and Juvia were already set to water the plants," Gray protests.

"Gray!" Erza says, shooting him a scandalized look. "You know Juvia is sick! You shouldn't be making her work. She deserves a break."

Then, in an imperious tone, she adds, "And besides, I'm sure you're more than capable of watering those plants by yourself."

"But what about dinner?" Gray splutters, looking ruffled for once. "Juvia made roast chicken and—''

"We can wrap that up and eat it tomorrow," Erza impatiently interrupts, waving her hand dismissively. "And besides, I'm sure she wouldn't object to eating somewhere fancy for the night."

Erza rounds on Juvia and raises her brows in expectation. Juvia swallows. Actually, she'd much rather stay at home and sleep early but there's just something about Erza's penetrating stare that's making it difficult for Juvia to say no.

She has no choice. She has to follow Erza. And to think this was her first time coming up with something edible.

"Um…yes. That would be nice, Erza-san," she squeaks out.

Juvia sends Gray a distressed look but Erza is already pulling her out of the room.

After going to the salon to fix the streak in her hair and having a relaxing afternoon in the sauna, the two of them make their way to the other end of the spa for their massage.

"Your skin is very dehydrated," the masseuse says. She runs an expert hand across Juvia's cheek and rests her fingers against her jaw, looking concerned. "Your heart rates are very high. That's not healthy. Are you feeling particularly tense?"

"She got sick the day before," Erza answers before Juvia can. She shoots Juvia a guilty look. "And I made her work."

"Erza-san, it's totally fine. Juvia was the one who insisted," Juvia soothingly says. In all honesty, she probably came up with those results because she's a naturally tense person. Not a day goes by without her feeling as though someone is piling heavy weights on her. Of course, it was worse when she was a lawyer but that's not to say her new job doesn't have its own stresses.

"Well." The masseuse gets up, presses a button on the wall and gentle pan-pipe music starts fills the air. "You've come to the right place. Our aim here is to de-stress, detoxify and revitalize. Now if you two can please get under the towels so we can start."

The masseuse leaves for a moment to get her oils while Juvia and Erza arrange themselves on the massage table.

"I'm terribly sorry for making you work," Erza says once again.

"Erza-san, it's fine. In fact, Juvia is very grateful that you brought her to this spa. You are very kind," Juvia says. And as she says the words, she realizes how true they are. Erza may be absolutely incapable of reading social cues (Turkish style incidents, anyone?) but her kindness is real.

"You can take another day-off if you like," Erza offers as the masseuse comes back with another one in tow.

"Oh, no it's okay! Juvia had plenty of rest last weekend," Juvia says. Too much rest if you ask her. After lying to Gray, she had nothing to do in her room but take naps and watch cat videos on her phone.

"Did you go to town? Or just stay at home?"

"She went with Gray-sama to the lighthouse. Then, we went to Hakodate," Juvia says without thinking.

Immediately, she realizes her mistake. It's not every day housekeepers go out to lighthouses and out of town trips with their bosses.

"Gray?" Erza sounds astonished. "Why?"

Juvia squirms a little under her towel as she struggles to fabricate a convincing reason.

"Just to…look around really," Juvia says at last, aware that she's tongue-tied and that her cheeks are turning pink.

Erza's face suddenly snaps in comprehension and her eyes open very wide. She lifts her head up, only to be scolded by the masseuse who barks at her to relax.

"Oh, I see!" she says.

"No!" Juvia quickly says. "It's not! Honestly!"

"That's why he seemed so cheerful yesterday," Erza rambles, completely ignoring Juvia. "How adorable!"

"Erza-san, it's really nothing—''

"Juvia, Juvia, Juvia," Erza says, sounding slightly defensive. "There's no need to worry, you know. I'm a perfectly liberal and open-minded person."

"Juvia is sure you are but she's telling you—''

"And if you're worried about Gray being involved with someone else, I'll have you know that he's perfectly single."

Well.

That's certainly news.

Not that, that's relevant to her at all.

Who cares if he's single or not?

It's not as if she's planning on her pursuing him or anything.

"But—''

"Don't worry," Erza cuts her off emphatically. She puts a fingers to her lips. "I won't say a word. I am discretion itself."

Before she can say anything else, the masseuse asks Erza about which area she would like worked on, forcing Erza to look away from her.

Oh god.

That was awkward.

But she supposes it doesn't matter. As long as Erza doesn't say anything inappropriate to Gray.

Oh, who is she kidding.

Of course Erza will say something inappropriate to Gray. She'll make some oh-so-subtle innuendo and then who knows what Gray will think. This could be really embarrassing. This could ruin everything. The moment she gets home, she's going to have to make the situation clear to him. Make him understand that Erza misunderstood her and that she most definitely does not have a crush on him.

But that won't help if Erza has already got it in her head that Juvia's attracted to Gray. Of course, between the two of them, he'll believe his friend. And it's not as if she can just go up to him and tell him "Juvia most certainly does not have a crush on you." That would be weird.

What she needs to do is to make it clear to Erza that she doesn't like Gray in that way. Or…or make her forget about the whole incident by…coming up with another, more distracting topic.

"So...for how long did you know Gray-sama?"

Aargh.

What the hell is wrong with her?

She was supposed to be distracting Erza from the whole Gray thing with a topic that is not about Gray!

Erza gives her a triumphant look, almost as if she's discovered something particularly damming about the Juvia.

"Since we were in college," Erza says. "Tokyo University. We were partners for a literature report. We didn't always get along, mind you. But then again, he didn't get along right away with the rest of our friends at first. The fights he got into Natsu."

She clucks her tongue in disapproval. "He can be quite abrasive."

Juvia tries to hide her surprise from Erza and makes a vague gesture with her hands. She and Gajeel went to Tokyo University for college and for law. How had she never seen Gray and Erza before? But then again, the campus is rather large and it's possible for people from different courses and years to have never met each other.

"What was Gray-sama like in college?" Juvia curiously says, deciding to abandon her quest of proving to Erza that she doesn't like him. She knows any attempt to do so will be futile so she might as well satisfy her curiosity while she's at it.

"Highflier," Erza says. "You know the type. Had good grades. Played for the baseball team. Was part of the student council. He was very serious and determined. That's why we got on so well. After we graduated, it was really no surprise that he ended up being successful. Even without Ur giving him the position, we knew that he would have done well regardless."

The two fall into comfortable silence as Juvia tries to digest this newfound information. For some reason, it feels strange to know more about Gray's life. He has friends. He has a life. He has a relationship with his family. He has a whole load of stuff Juvia doesn't know about. As she feels the masseuse's hands on her shoulder, a strange wistfulness washes over her. Eventually, she's going to sort herself out and leave and then, she'll never see him again. She'll never know all of the other chapters of Gray's life. He'll never tell her and she'll never ask. They'll part ways and she'll just have the impression she's already got. The Mr. Frowny version of himself that does gardening as hobby and catches unsuspecting fake housekeepers in embarrassing moments.

She wonders what impression he'll have of her.

Oh god.

Better not go there.

"You're incredibly nervy," her masseuse conversationally suddenly says. "Your shoulders are so rigid, your heart is racing…it seems to me you're on the edge."

Erza suddenly turns to Juvia again. "Me and Gray haven't been overworking you now, have we?"

"No, not all!" Juvia says for the millionth time. "Juvia's…just naturally this way?"

Her masseuse clucks her tongue in disapproval. "Workaholics. Just don't how to relax."

Juvia frowns and is about to retort something in her defense but Erza speaks before she can.

"This is all my fault. I've been too distracted to realize that I've worked you to the ground," Erza moans.

"Oh no...you didn't—''

"And I'm never there in the house. I'm truly sorry if I haven't been paying so much attention to you, Juvia. I know I should've been there to help you acclimate and answer some questions you might have," Erza continues.

"It's no problem, Erza-san," Juvia says. In reality, she's actually very happy that Erza's been too busy to deal with her for the past few days. She doesn't even want to think about what would have happened if Erza wasn't. She'd probably be already fired.

"I have to admit, I've been very distracted these past few days. I've just been so frazzled," Erza loudly exhales. "It's been a very stressful year, you know? The company's undergoing through so much changes and it's been doubly difficult without Gray there."

"Why is Gray-sama not currently holding his position?"

A suspicious look crosses Erza's features. She narrows her eyes against Juvia, her gaze scrutinizing. "Didn't you read about this in the brief?'

Juvia turns to look at the wall, thoroughly panicked. Shit. How could she have forgotten about the brief? Carefully, she sneaks a glance at Erza who is still looking at her in slight suspicion.

"Er…Juvia…may have just skimmed over it," she mumbles.

The look doesn't leave Erza's face but she relaxes a little. "Oh. Well. After Ur died, he went a bit off the rails. Which was perfectly understandable. It was just too many things happening at once. You know about his mother, right?"

Juvia nods her head.

"Meningitis, I think it was. She has not been well for several years but nobody expected her to peg it so soon. I think what made the whole thing more difficult was the fact that Ur fell into a coma and it came to the point where she was brain dead so he and his siblings were forced to decide if they were going to pull her off life support or not. It took a while but eventually Lyon and Ultear decided to do it. Poor Gray. He never really wanted to do it but he was outnumbered. I suspect he still resents them a little."

By the time Erza finishes, Juvia realizes that her eyes are a little hot. She can't imagine what Gray must have felt. The wait must have been horrible. She could just picture him in a tiny hospital room, sitting by his mother's bedside, waiting day after day for any sign of brain activity. For a slight movement of the hand, a small flutter of the eyes, an irregularity in the breathing, something. And to actually come to the decision to pull the plug…

"And on top of that, the three of them have to deal with somebody attempting to ruin the company," Erza continues, sounding indignant.

"What?" Juvia says, forcing herself to focus.

"It was one of the directors. Hades. With all the flurry of Ur being under, the three of them weren't keeping as close of an eye on the firm as they should. Hades began poaching clients for the new firm he was planning to set up. Also tampered a bit with the finances. By the time they realized what was happening, the company was on the brink of collapse. It was a complete disaster."

"No wonder why Gray-sama got sent here. If Juvia went through what he did…" She shudders. "She'd want a retreat too."

Erza nods her head. "Oh yes. It was a very bad year. It was so stressful for everyone."

Juvia peers at Erza in curiosity. "But…what Juvia doesn't get is, why didn't Gray-sama's siblings go on a retreat too? It sounds as if they needed it."

Erza winces. "Gray's retreat…was more a forced thing, really. His siblings insisted on it after he punched a potential client. Lost us a multi-million dollar deal."

"Oh god!" Juvia gasps.

"It's not his fault! The client was insulting Ur's designs and being completely disrespectful," Erza defensively says.

"Oh. That's understandable," Juvia says. There's absolutely nothing worst in the corporate world than messing up relations with clients and losing money for the company. That's practically as bad as what she did with Feari Teiru.

Except of course, unlike Gray, she had absolutely no good reason for losing the money except for her own incompetence.

"But he seems to be better now," Juvia supplies.

"Yes, things are certainly looking up," Erza nods. She then shoots Juvia a teasing look. "I've even noticed that he seems happier than normal."

Juvia flushes and looks away, refusing to even dignify such a suggestion with an answer.

"It won't be long before Gray will be back on his feet," Erza continues. "Everything has been going smoothly. We're going to re-launch the brand. Katsuki Azuma—he's one of our directors—has been a godsend, taking initiative and securing new deals. He's the one charged with handling the re-launch you know."

Juvia pauses.

She's heard that name before.

She crews her eyes up tight and tries to concentrate as hard as she can. Katsuki Azuma. She can almost see it in her mind's eye, grasping at the image, trying her very best to come up with some sort of association…

Suddenly, it comes to her.

The swirly writing of a wedding invitation. It was circulated around the office about three years ago. She didn't go but that was only because she had to secure a deal with a company.

Mr. and Mrs. Porla request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of their daughter, Ayami Porla and Azuma Katsuki…

Juvia frowns. So Jose is the father-in-law of an important director in Gray's company. That's hardly groundbreaking information.

But still…it feels important. Monumental, even. If she could just figure out why it's so relevant…

She's so fixated in her thoughts the she doesn't realize that Erza has been speaking to her for the last five minutes.

"Juvia!" Erza impatiently says.

"Yes?"

"I was just asking you if you could cook some paella for tomorrow," Erza says, frowning a little.

"Paella?"

"Yes. I was just speaking to Reddofokkusu-san and he told me about that marvelous paella you cooked the Spanish ambassador—''

"Wait. Wait. Reddofokkusu-san?" Juvia says, dread creeping up her spine.

"Yes," Erza says, confused at the expression on Juvia's face. "He was the reference you gave me. I called him up yesterday."

"Oh," Juvia says. She forces herself to give Erza a weak smile. "Wow. That's...so great."

Author's Note: So, I just want to clarify something. I already mentioned this in the author's note of the first chapter but I just thought it would be worth emphasizing again. I did not come up with the premise for this story. I got it from Sophie Kinsella's book The Undomestic Goddess and for those who have read it, several situations are the same as the one in the book. If I have the time, I will make a comprehensive list of what these situations are. I just thought I'd bring this up again because it makes me feel uncomfortable whenever people give me compliments about how "original" this idea is.

Also, many thanks to 4kcu0 for the drawing. It's now the cover photo! You can follow her at 4kcu0 dot tumblr dot com.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry I haven't responded to them yet. I'll try to catch up soon.