Title: Fly Away

Author: Risa

Pairing: Natsu/Gray

Rated: K+

Disclaimer: Though Fairy Tail may amuse me greatly it does not belong to me.

Word Count: ~3,000

Summary: Juvia finds out that her true "Rival in Love" is Natsu, and formulates a rather unique plan to get rid of him. Oddly enough, Gray helps.

Juvia feared the day she'd find some superficial dame wrapped in her precious Gray's arms. She long-assumed that it would be Lucy, because who else could it be? She was a very slender and fine-looking girl with large breasts and useful powers. Granted the same could be said for many girls of the Fairy Tail guild, but Gray would often walk into Lucy's house without his clothes, and they were both members of "The Strongest Team." Most girls would call it lights out for their love at that point, but since Gray was not fond of clothing no matter where he went Juvia refused to give up.

That is, until something she could not have possibly anticipated happened. To be fair, she was not the only one that thought nothing of the bickering and the fist fights between Natsu and Gray. After all, that's what guys did. They shouted and fought until they collapsed in a heap of sweat and bruises. It was what one might call "fun." At least, that was what Cana and Mirajane called it.

It wasn't fun for Juvia at all. At least not when she caught them doing... that! That being their usual tumble, only this time Natsu also wasn't wearing clothes, and he was grabbing at Gray not to punch him, but to kiss him.

It started to rain, from both the sky and from Juvia's eyes.

A week passed. Since then she hadn't tried to follow them out on any mutual missions. Lucy noticed that Juvia had nothing rude to say to her, which only made Juvia cry. After all, she thought she could compete with another woman. How in the world could she compete with a man? Did it make any difference?

After another week passed, Juvia decided that it did not.

It was just business as usual when a full-blown Fairy Tail brawl broke out. Usually Natsu and Gray were the ones to start it, and Juvia must have been the only one to notice how physical their relationship was. They pummeled one another, rolled into bar stools, were constantly fighting to get on top of the other, and perhaps most notably (in Juvia's opinion) their crotches were colliding a lot more than necessary. Alone Gray was an exhibitionist, but now he was a voyeur with Natsu? Why couldn't he be a voyeur with Juvia? She wasn't ashamed of her body.

The conclusion she drew from all of this, however, was that Natsu and Gray had a strictly physical relationship. It wasn't a terribly conventional one to say the least, but they certainly didn't seem to be in love. It looked like a grand old case of men having their needs and nothing more.

Therefore, if Natsu were to just disappear for awhile then Gray would simply have to satisfy his needs elsewhere. Juvia would be first in line. All she needed was a plan.

It simply wouldn't be good enough to arrange for Natsu to go on a long mission with someone. They would become suspicious, and then Juvia would end up having to tell them all that she knew. And what if Natsu and Gray kept this relationship a secret? If she revealed Gray's precious secret then he would hate her forever. It was an unspeakable fate.

Therefore Juvia would just have to get creative. Natsu's weakness was transportation, so there was no way she could trick him into going on a train, or a ship without garnering suspicion. Plus, that would just be mean. Whatever it was that she did it ought not to involve water, or else everyone would suspect her.

She walked through Magnolia Town seeking any and all ideas. There was a product called enchanted goat's milk, which was much like regular milk. It was used to put sick or rowdy children to sleep, though enough of it could knock out a full-grown man no problem. If she had Natsu drink that she could perhaps lock him in a closet somewhere and have Gray all to herself. The idea had merit, at least until Natsu woke up. He'd use his fire to break out of the closet, which may even result in him burning down an entire house. Then he'd blame Juvia for giving him enchanted goat's milk, and all the money she made would go into rebuilding said house and Gray would go right back to Natsu.

"Nee-san, why do you look so sad?" said a little girl, sitting upon a crate with a pink balloon in hand. Juvia stopped for a moment, looked down at the girl, then kept on walking.

Juvia grunted a non-committal "so long and have a nice day" on her way off. She heard the girl utter "so gloomy" which made Juvia's heart pinch. She was tired of being the "gloomy" girl. All she wanted was some love. It wasn't so much to ask.

Seems the balloon vendor had come to town. Juvia despised balloons. Violetta tied a bunch of balloons to Juvia's favorite teddy bear once and it flew away, only making the rain heavier. Juvia didn't mean to get Violetta's favorite book wet. It just happened. What a sad memory that was. Today was full of sadness.

That is, until something had occurred to Juvia. If she tied enough balloons to something then it would float away. Well, what if she tied a bunch of balloons to Natsu? With enough of them he would eventually take off. Perhaps he would wind up on the other side of the world and never come back. She would have Gray all to herself then. She could also use the enchanted goat's milk to knock Natsu out so that he couldn't fight her. Oh, what a brilliant idea. Gray would be hers at long last.

"Ahhh, that was good!" said Natsu, patting his full stomach with a satisfied grin on his face. It was a strange sort of situation, though. The first strange thing about it was that Juvia had just bought him a great, big lunch. Usually he had lunch with Lucy, or Erza, but Juvia insisted that today was the day that the two of them sat down and had lunch together, all in the name of becoming better immersed into Fairy Tail. It wasn't something Natsu could, or even would argue with. His nakama was his nakama and that's all there was to it.

"Thirsty?" said Juvia, handing him the bottle of enchanted goat's milk with the label torn off. After the wide array of spicy and salty foods Natsu had inhaled he was bound to want something to drink. He should have noted this as strange thing number two. After all, who carries milk around in their coat and offers it at a restaurant of all places? Then again, Juvia was just a strange individual. That's all there was to it. Natsu did not question her. He just took down the goat's milk in three audible gulps, and the two of them were on their way.

Juvia couldn't believe how many jewels it took to feed Natsu, not to mention how many jewels it took to acquire containers of helium and hundreds of balloons. Even enchanted goat's milk, at least the highly potent kind, was pricy. This was a matter of great importance, though. Gray's heart and who won it was hanging in the balance.

Natsu seemed to be brimming with energy on the way out, though. How long did this milk take to kick in? Juvia had to be as inconspicuous as possible, so he needed to be knocked flat before they reached Fairy Tail's doors, or it would jeopardize her plans. She had to think on her feet. Think, think, think.

And then it came into view, Lucy's apartment complex. The second most frequented place by Fairy Tail members in Magnolia Town. Natsu and Lucy were the best of friends. Surely he would not pass up an opportunity to visit Lucy. Juvia knew for a fact that Lucy was busy today, because Mirajane had said that this morning. Things couldn't be more perfect, especially since that was the very place Juvia had hidden her supplies. It was a very spacious apartment.

"Juvia thinks that we should visit Lucy," she said, and Natsu came to a direct stop. He turned around, looking serious enough to make her feel small, though that instantly vanished in a wide grin. She didn't see such a grin very much, because the only time she bothered to notice Natsu was when he was with Gray. His smile made her heart mushy like a yummy dessert.

"You know what? You're a really nice person," said Natsu, taking Juvia by the wrist. She blushed and was dragged on toward Lucy's house. They climbed and entered through the window, which was odd because normally one would knock and go through the door. The nature of Natsu's relationship with Lucy was odd now that Juvia thought about it. She didn't exercise too many thoughts that didn't involve Gray, though she could already feel herself getting cold feet about this. Natsu had called her a nice person. No one ever called her that.

"Lu-" said Natsu, cut off bit a rather wide yawn. That was the milk right there. Before he could so much as complete her name he had plopped down on her bed face first and was sound asleep. Well, the first part of Juvia's objective was now complete. All there was left to do was to inflate and tie the balloons to him. Then he would be out of her way.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt with each balloon she tied to him. To him she was a nice person, at least until now. Now she was being a not-so nice person. Would he understand that it was all for the sake of love? Did Natsu understand what love was? Considering his relationships with Lisanna and Lucy, she figured he would be better off with them, though there was no hope because they were both after Gray. Perhaps it was a cry for attention! How sad. Truly all of Natsu's problems would be solved once Gray was Juvia's.

"Oye, what the hell are you doing?" said Gray, walking out of Lucy's bathroom in his underpants. Juvia jumped, startled by his sudden, random appearance. She couldn't scrape two feasible words together and she began to sweat a river. This wasn't meant to happen. Natsu wasn't even up off the ground yet. Oh, why were her efforts in the world of love so fruitless? She was doomed to an eternity of loneliness, to drown in her own rain while everyone laughed at her.

"G-Gray-sama! Juvia is... Juvia is... " she started, bonking both sides of her head with balled fists trying to think of something, anything, to even say about all this. Gray just stared down at her hopelessly and sighed, then turned his attention toward Natsu. Given that he was knocked out and had at least a couple dozen balloons attached to him, it wasn't difficult to figure out exactly what Juvia was attempting to do. She could hear the gears turning in his head as he figured it out.

Then he threw his head back and howled with laughter, startling Juvia even more. Though now she was confused. Her objective was to make Natsu disappear, and that... pleased Gray?

"I've never pegged you for a prankster, Juvia. This is the best thing I've seen all day," he said, as pleased as though he had thought of the plan himself. He even clapped her shoulder, causing her to swoon and squeal. Even morn surprisingly, he offered to aid in her efforts to get Natsu airborne as quickly as possible. The two of them inflated many, many balloons, until Natsu's body was well above Lucy's bed.

"That ought to do it," said Gray, grabbing a fist full of balloon ribbons. He thrust the mass of balloons outside and watched Natsu fly. The best part was that the flame mage had started to come to, and Juvia simply could not watch. She at last felt supreme guilt that, if need be, she would use her water lock to get him down from there. That is, once she garnered enough courage to look at the person she had deceived so badly.

"What... horrible transportation is this?" shouted Natsu, having gotten sick from the surprise balloon ride.

"It's not transportation, you idiot," said Gray, cringing when the flame mage lost his lunch regardless. So much of Juvia's money wasted on a hopeless cause, and she was aching with guilt on top of it. Natsu said that she was nice. He even made an effort to clean every plate of food Juvia paid for, as though every morsel were precious. Juvia did not know that flying away on balloons was transportation. If it hurt him that much then not even love was worth causing such pain to anyone.

She was about to turn around and use her water lock spell to recover him, but then none other than Lucy herself showed up.

"What are you all doing in my apartment!" she said, as though this occurrence were somehow strange and new.

"Ulp-Gray, I'm burning-ugh-EVERY PAIR OF UNDERWEAR YOU OWN-gack-when I get... down," Natsu half shouted and half squeaked. Happy had also appeared beside him now, having presumably arrived with Lucy. The flying cat tried to chew each string individually. Juvia could bear this no more. Since Happy was there to catch him, she let out a shot of water slicer just above Happy's head to get every string at once. A brilliant splay of balloons took off into the sky all at once, and random onlookers from the ground oooo'd at the sight.

By the time Natsu and Happy reached the ground Juvia rushed toward him, her eyes welling with tears. She got on her hands and knees and bowed before him, adding extreme discomfort to his lingering tingles of nausea.

"Juvia is very sorry for what she's done, Natsu-san!"

"Huh?" he said, scratching his pink locks and exchanging one or two looks with Happy. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. That stupid shithead Gray put you up to it, right?"

"What did you say, you flaming asshole!"

Natsu stood so that he could be at eye-level with Gray, stumbling a bit in his efforts. Nevertheless he got up in Gray's face shouting more obscenities, only to get a cheek full of fist for having breath that reeked of flame broiled rotting milk. Lucy was shouting, too, demanding to know why there was a mess of balloons, ribbons, wrappers, and helium tanks all over her bedroom floor. Plue was hopping up and down for some reason, and Happy was just observing it all as though this were a completely normal day in the life of Fairy Tail.

It was normal for all, except for Juvia, who knew that she couldn't win. That she would send her own friend flying away, well. She had just rendered herself completely and utterly unworthy of Gray's love. Even if love did drive one to do crazy things, there was just no excuse.

Juvia walked into the middle of Natsu and Gray's fist fight, soaking one of each of their flung fists in her water body. Both of them pulled back, and suddenly her hands found Natsu's. She looked deep into his eyes, causing him to squirm and stumble over unformed words.

"Juvia is unworthy of Gray-sama's love after her foolish actions and concedes defeat, Natsu-san."

And with that she ran off crying.

For the longest time everyone just stared out into the vast distance that she had charged off into.

"Anyone gonna help me clean my apartment? Guys?" said Lucy, in an effort to break the tension and, hey, to get her unjustly mussed apartment fixed up. Imagine that.

"What was that all about?" asked Natsu, with a completely horrified expression on his face. He didn't even know what it was that lead him to feel such chills. Women were the most confusing thing on the planet if you asked him. It was gonna be one of those things he'd just have to ask Lisanna about, or something.

"Beats me," said Gray. "I can never tell what Juvia's thinking. I gave up trying to figure it out."

"Guys? My apartment?"

Natsu and Gray, unable to bring themselves to bicker any longer, started to walk off together along the riverside. Lucy fell to her knees with Plue in her arms, feeling utterly ignored, though a surge of rage prompted her to pick herself up and chase after those two idiots just before they disappeared into the distance. She would NOT be left with that mess in her apartment all to herself. The only thing she didn't quite understand was Juvia's role in all of this, but she'd just have to figure that out some other time.

END