Juvia thinks that sometimes her guild mates think she's ignorant. To an extent, she could understand their perception of her. In fact, in her darkest moments she even begins to believe them. Who in their right mind would purposely pursue a relationship with such a difficult and complex man such as Gray? Even the vainest woman would be quickly turned off by his standoffish demeanor and constant attempts to withdraw despite his handsome face and physique. Every time Juvia would declare her affection towards the man, she could almost hear her guild mates' thoughts.

There she goes again, that silly girl. She never learns.

They would shake their heads and laugh at her expense, expecting for Gray to push her away. He never failed to do so anyways. It already seemed pretty routine for the guild to witness her struggle. At first it was adorable and endearing for sweet Juvia to follow their resident ice maker around like a lost puppy, hoping for Gray to throw her a bone and give her a few minutes of his time. Eventually, some members would simply snicker and pass it off as one of Juvia's crazy antics. One would think that the years and years of rejection would finally get to her.

They just don't know Juvia well. Surely, Juvia's close friends understand. She sighed as she reasoned with herself. She was starting to feel unsettled. Just yesterday Cana had taken her aside for some girl talk (with a barrel of beer of course). She basically gave Juvia a litany about how she didn't need a man to make her happy and she should just quit chasing after the Fullbuster idiot. In the end, Juvia could just nod along, knowing that Cana only had the best of intentions.

Is Juvia too dependent on Gray-sama? Juvia's pensive thoughts were interrupted by a sudden touch on her shoulder.

"What's with the long face?" Gajeel asked with his usual scowl and piercing red eyes. "You've been sitting there looking off into space like an idiot" He rounded her form and settled on the seat in front of her, slamming two bars of iron on the table, one already half finished inside his mouth. Trust her best friend to sense her inner dilemma.

Juvia laughed awkwardly. "Juvia apologizes Gajeel-kun. Juvia's just been thinking about –"

"That popsicle bastard, yea, yea, I know. What the fuck do you even see in that cold hearted bastard? Like he gives a shit about you" Gajeel cut her off nonchalantly, chewing on his bar of iron and crossing his long legs. Juvia stiffened at his words. Even Gajeel-kun thinks I'm preoccupied with Gray sama?

Juvia frowned at him. "Juvia was not thinking about Gray-sama, Gajeel-kun. Juvia was just reflecting on her image. And for the record, Juvia thinks Gray – sama at least considers her as a friend." She finished in a self-conscious manner. She knew she sounded petty and unconvincing. Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes. Was that all she was now? The hopeless romantic?

As if he could sense her frustration, Gajeel straightened a little and reached out a hand to squeeze her own. "Hey, don't go all mopey on me now, raindrop. I was just teasin' ya a'right? I don't care if you like the bastard. Just trying to look out for you" He leaned in to flick at her forehead. "Now tell me what's really got you bothered"

Juvia's lips automatically stretched, trying to appease her friend with a smile. "Nothing's bothering Juvia Gajeel-kun, her mind's just floating away is all"

Gajeel simply looked at her unimpressed, taking a bite out of his meal. "Uhuh. Cut the shit, raindrop. Try again"

Juvia's smile fell. She'd gotten used to assuring everyone that she was fine. Every time Gray would shake her off and someone else would try to comfort her, she had already developed the habit of hiding her hurt with a quick smile. Juvia became silent and thought of the right way to convey her heartache to her friend.

"Gajeel-kun…in the beginning with Levi-chan…did you ever consider just giving up?" She asked without looking up at him. "You told Juvia before that she was scared of you. At least in the beginning. How did you uhm..how did you win her over?"

When Gajeel remained silent, Juvia carried on, feeling as if her heart was close to bursting. "Juvia's just..Juvia notices that everyone is telling her to give up on Gray-sama. She's beginning to think that she's being a fool for loving him. Is she doing something wrong? Juvia doesn't mind it when Gray pushes her away. She understands that it's hard for him to open up because of all the terrible things he's gone through". Her tears began to flow. "But why hasn't he said anything yet Gajeel-kun? All Juvia gets is mixed signals. Sometimes Gray-sama acts like he doesn't care but sometimes he looks at Juvia like she's important to him. Juvia's not hopeless is she? She's not being silly for expressing her love?"

Juvia's voice wavered as she dissolved into quiet sobs. She was secretly thankful for having chosen a more secluded part of the guild where very few frequented. She didn't like crying in front of others because she knew that it would make them worry. With Gajeel however, Juvia never needed to hide anything from him. He had seen her at her worst as Juvia of the Deep, emotionless and somber.

A heavy hand settled on her head, messing with her bangs. "Oy!" Gajeel reprimanded softly. Juvia looked up at him, her vision of her friend blurry through her glassy eyes.

"Yer questions were making my head hurt, raindrop" He looked at her seriously, his iron bars forgotten on the table between them. She couldn't help but laugh at his statement. She was about to change the topic and ask him to forget about everything she said when Gajeel pressed on, suddenly serious. "People like us, we have a lot to make up for. You know that right?" He didn't wait for her answer. "We fucked up big time when we were with that piece-of-shit Jose. Yea it wasn't completely our fault but in the end we did what we did. And that comes with consequences"

He shifted in his seat, removing his hand from her head. Juvia swallowed deeply, understanding what he was trying to say. He cleared his throat, as if uncomfortable with continuing. "People like shrimp and that ice-bastard, they're not like us. They're idiots. But they're good idiots who shine so bright sometimes it hurts to look at them" Juvia nodded at his words. The first time she had met her beloved, he had taken away her rain and allowed her to see the sun.

"Sometimes I just wanna hide from the shrimp cause she shouldn't have anything to do with me" Gajeel said after a while, his eyes cast downwards.

Juvia felt sympathy for her friend, knowing how difficult it was for him to admit his shortcomings. She had been witness to his struggles with the petite bookworm. She reached out to try and console him but quickly retracted her hand when Gajeel slammed his fist loudly on the table "But you know what I say to that, raindrop? Fuck that shit! I ain't no pussy whose gonna hide just cause I did some shit in the past. I'm not gonna let a good thing slide when I see it. I look at her and see what she can make me and that's better. I bet that's how your precious stripper makes you feel too"

Juvia quickly nodded, still surprised by his outburst. Gajeel carried on "You and I, we're greedy bastards that have no business mingling with these fucking fairies. But fortunately for us, these people were stupid enough to forgive us and give us a home. Now you're on the verge of throwing that forgiveness in their faces and cowering away but I know that I won't, and I won't let you. I did all I could to make it up to the shrimp because she fucking brought me to my knees. Now she's mine because she chose me and I ain't ever gonna let anything or anyone get in between us"

"We can do all that we can for the people we give a shit about, but it's up to them to decide if they wanna reciprocate it alright? You don't gotta make excuses for the stripper. If he's man enough he'll see your worth soon enough. But until that day, you just keep on wearing him down. Because if he's your salvation just like the shrimp is mine, then you know that it'll all be worth it in the end"

Gajeel bore his eyes into her, willing for her to listen. "Don't listen to all the noise around you. Those shits don't understand nothing, okay? I know you're not silly and deep down you know it too, so don't go wasting your tears over losers like 'em. You do what you gotta do for the people you love" He finished with another flick to her forehead.

Juvia burst into a new wave of tears, holding onto Gajeel's finger that he used to poke her forehead with. She didn't know whether Gajeel's words gave her comfort or not but she did acknowledge the truth in them. She didn't have control over Gray's actions, but she did have control over her own and all that she could do was to give it her all and hope that maybe one day, Gray would return her love.

Gajeel grumbled at her reaction, muttering 'annoying women' under his breath. He let her squeeze his finger to death, thinking that it was her way of showing her appreciation. Juvia was weird like that. He took another bite out of his bar, waiting for his friend to calm down. Juvia was still preoccupied trying to quell her tears. That's when a certain someone caught sight of them.

Gray was about to leave the guild, taking a swig from his beer bottle when he caught sight of the dragonslayer with a crying Juvia in front of him. From Gray's perspective, it looked like the brute of a man that was Gajeel and made her cry. For all his denial over his developing feelings for the water mage, there was one thing that Gray could admit to himself, and that was the fact that he hated it when Juvia cried. He would be damned not to make the cause of her tears suffer. Gray didn't even notice his body move towards their direction, a scowl forming on his face and his fists curling into themselves.

"Oy!" He called out to the pair, his furious gaze settling on the man that nonchalantly turned around, looking at him with a 'you got a problem?' expression and a half-finished iron bar hanging from his mouth.

"The fuck did you do?" Gray angrily questioned, throwing a hand in Juvia's general direction. He could see that her eyes were puffy, a sign that she had been crying for a while now. Her hair was also mused and her nose was a little red. Even when crying, she looked beautiful to him.

Gray shook off the thought, focusing back on the dragonslayer. He stood before Gajeel, ready for a fight. A moment passed between the two men who were locked in a staring contest. Gajeel tensed and Gray took a step back, anticipating an attack. But out of nowhere Gajeel reeled back and roared with laughter, his iron bar falling out of his mouth and his shoulders shaking with the force of his mirth.

Gray's temper rose, not comprehending the reaction. 'The fuck you laughing at?'

"Ah shit! I can't believe this fucker.. this is just too hilarious, raindrop". Juvia simply stared at him owlishly, her own lips settling into a wry smile and a chuckle. Gajeel took his sweet time laughing at Gray's dumfounded face until he couldn't breathe. "I'm outta here" He abruptly stood up, still laughing at the ice mage. Shouldering past the irate man, Gajeel set out to find his bookworm. She'd be ecstatic to hear that Gray was concerned over Juvia and probably irritated that Gray thought that Gajeel would ever make his best friend cry. He threw a glance back at Juvia, noting the small smile settling on her tear-streaked face.

"Don't let 'im fool you raindrop, he's the silly one" He called out to her.

Gray turned back to face the woman with a confused expression, questions already at the tip of his tongue. Juvia quickly composed herself, making sure to give her beloved a welcoming smile.

"Juvia's fine Gray-sama, Gajeel-kun actually helped Juvia with some things. She thanks you for your concern though" She said, reaching out to take his hand. "Would Gray-sama like to sit with Juvia?"

Gray's face erupted into a blush, his hand going to the back of his neck "Uuuh..it's not what you think okay? Not like I care or anything, just don't like seeing you-err my nakama cry is all" He sputtered, clearly embarrassed by his behavior.

Juvia smiled brightly, seeing through his facade. It was obvious that he cared for her. How did she lose sight of that? All he needed from her was patience.

Gajeel-kun was right. Gray-sama's a silly man.