Chapter 14

Sorry about the long wait.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

"Tell me something about yourself." Juvia softly asked as she stared at the blue sky, watching the white clouds move in fascination.

Gray did not look up from the newspaper he was reading, too engrossed in what he was reading to even pay attention to her. She knew that it's not right to bother someone if they're in the middle of something but she was feeling adventurous so she decided to push her luck.

"Gray-sama..." a hesitant finger poked him in the arm, snapping him back to reality.

"Oh, sorry. What was that?" He turned to her, giving her his full attention.

Juvia giggled, "You're wearing glasses."

He put down the paper he was reading and winked at her, turning her giggles into a full blown laughter.

It was probably the nicest sound he's ever heard from her. And even though he hates the one being laughed at, he decided to let it slide.

"You look cute in them." she said, forgetting her earlier question in favor of savoring the moment.

"Men... don't do 'cute'," he pushed her down the grass and gave her jaw a kiss, "...we do 'handsome'"

"And sexy, but only with your shirt off." Gray was enticed with her and decided that he liked this side of her the best. Sure, he liked her overall personality, the shy and maybe somewhat socially-awkward girl, the one that most people see but the seductive vixen she's hiding is something she shows only when she wants to and he is, for all reasons, swelling with pride that she decided to allow him the pleasure of showing this ravishing side of her.

He ignored the scandalous looks that an old lady threw at them and kissed her hard on the lips, and she happily reciprocated the action.

"It's getting kinda hot in here," he trailed off and licked her lower lip "...wanna move somewhere else?"

The kiss he got from her was all the answer he needed.

It was a few hours after their playful conversation when she finally remembered that her earlier question was never answered.

"Soo... Tell me something about yourself." She said, looking around the room Gray rented for the rest of his stay in the town.

He looked down at her tracing random patterns in his chest, "Is... this some kind of a job interview?"

She quietly laughed, "No."

"Are you sure? Because I can remember the man from the grocery store asking me this when I told him that I was looking for a job when I was younger."

By then, Juvia was already getting frustrated by his answers, as if he was avoiding it. She was never really this nosy about other people's lives and their past. She's curious, yes, but there's just something about knowing other people's past that, if they opened up to her, will make her feel obligated to tell them hers. But she really wanted to know him better. Their time together is fleeting, and she wanted to feel as close to him as she can get.

Gray, upon noticing the exasperated look on Juvia's face, said, "Hey, it's not that I'm trying to dodge the question. I was just making a joke."

"What do you want to know?" Juvia fought the urge to squeal and instead, gave him an enthusiastic kiss on his neck, "Just little things."

"Well...I have a sister and I am the youngest..."

Juvia hummed every time he'd pause, as if he's checking if she's still listening to him. And she's content, feeling as if she's getting closer to Gray with every single snippet of his life he told her.

He mentioned things about his mother, and she could tell that he adores his mother very much. He told her about his friends from his hometown and the silly pranks they did to their neighbors, even using hand motions when recalling how he and his friends used his shoe to get a ripe mango from the tree and how each of them lost their shoes when they got home. He told her about his experiences when he first joined the military, about meeting new friends. Juvia found out that he's 5 years older than her and she found out that he never lose his playful side even when he was finally of age.

He told her a lot of things. She felt as if they grew closer to each other with each story he told her.

Gray never found the courage to tell Juvia what he wanted to tell her. The moment that he had with her earlier that afternoon was so fun that he felt himself cower. And so he found himself sitting at the edge of the dock. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice his commander taking a seat beside him.

"Why are you brooding here, young man?" If Gray was surprised, he did not show it.

"I'm not 'brooding'." He mumbled. Makarov stared at the young man's face before letting a snort.

"Then why do you look like you're carrying the world on your shoulders?"

Gray knew at the back of his mind that Makarov would be able to help him with the problem he's having and before he knew it, he's telling him his dilemmas.

Makarov never interrupted, he just listened and when Gray was done, he asked, "And... this girl, what do you feel about her?"

What does he really feel about Juvia? It's only been a few days but... she.. makes him happy. Maybe...

"I think... I... lo- ah, may have feelings for her." No, it's way too early for him to feel that. It's impossible to have that feeling. It's only been days.

Makarov, catching the hesitance in his voice, understood, "Ah, I see. This is something I really should never say but if that's what you feel... then pursue it."

Gray turned his head so fast that he feared he might've given himself a whiplash, "W-what?"

The older man chuckled, "I understand what you feel, boy. I've seen that look on your face way too many times. I know what you're worrying about, but if it feels that she's the right one for you, then don't let her go. And for sure, you will regret following my suggestion, but you'd still regret not doing it anyway."

Gray weighed his options and he realized that Makarov was indeed right.

"Do you... why do they forbid a relationship between us and... them?" he asked.

Makarov appeared thoughtful for a moment, as if he's thinking of ways as to how to explain it, "Dancers are frowned upon on."

"I know. But why?"

"We live in a society where women must dress properly. And dancers like them show way too much skin. They dress just like those... prostitutes. This town may not mind it, but a lot of people does. And seeing us, people whom others think of highly, mingling with those people whom others belittle, brings down our morals." He paused for a moment to look at the younger man, then continuing on, "Do you know why, despite a lot of people bending this particular rule, no one has ever been punished nor court martialed for it?"

Gray looked up and Makarov laughed, "They believed that the separation between the two people is painful enough and is passable as a punishment."

"Well, that's stupid." Gray snorted.

The older man let out a hearty chuckle, "Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

He realized that all laughs and chuckles his commander let out we're all bitter ones and it felt like he was punched in the stomach.

Cana drunkenly held a broom as if she's holding a guitar, "A'right ya bitches! I'mma sing a new song and ya better sing it gooooood!"

She strummed the invisible strings on the broom and started belting out a popular song and everyone started laughing, even Erza, who usually does not condone this kind of behavior from Cana, clapped her hands in tune with the beat.

Juvia sat beside Bisca, the reason for the celebration. Bisca was leaving their group for she was getting married to a guy named Alzack tomorrow and they will move to another country and start a family there. Instead of spending her last night in tears, she decided to use up all of her money and bought booze. Lots of them.

As they both swayed their upper bodies side to side, Bisca threw her hands up in the air and Juvia caught a glimpse of her engagement ring sparkling from the light.

It was beautiful.

Juvia knew that the ring was just a cheap one and she's willing to bet that the ring was only made of cheap metal and fake stones and she can see a hint of green on the skin where the ring is but it still was beautiful in her eyes because it was given to Bisca by the man that she loves and loves her back and it's the thought that counts because they are now going to spend forever with each other.

She can't help but feel envious.

She was not one to imagine her future, but she does sometimes daydream when she finds herself doing nothing. What if she was born in a different place? Different time? Different world? What if she's a woman with special powers that was saved by someone from the darkness and she changed for the best? Thinking about what if are a waste of time, and she knows it, but somehow, seeing the ring on her friend's finger made her hope, even for just a little bit.

Midnight came and most of them were drunk and passed out except for the bride-to-be, Juvia, and Lucy. After Bisca bid the two goodnight and walked away, refusing their offers of accompanying her, Juvia and Lucy found themselves cleaning up the mess their friend left in their wake.

"That was fun." Lucy said, coughing up a little.

Juvia hummed in response, "It was."

"It's been quite a while since we had something like this," the blonde continued, picking up the bottles and plates on the ground and covering Evergreen's and Virgo's shivering bodies with a blanket "...and I would like to have another one but it only means spending more money. Oww!"

Juvia turned around to see Lucy holding her forehead with her eyes tightly closed, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just stood up way too fast. I'd love you forever and ever if you can make the world stop spinning. Oh, it stopped." Juvia laughed at Lucy's antics but was cut short when the blonde coughed up again.

"You've been coughing up quite a lot. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just have a bad case of allergies. You should've seen me when I was younger." They finished cleaning in silence after that and soon after, Lucy bid her goodnight and passed out on the first empty spot she could find.

Sleep has eluded him that night, or maybe it was early in the morning and he found himself staring at the ceiling when a series of knocks interrupted his train of thoughts. He grabbed his gun and slowly walked to the door, asking who's on the other side. A voice he knew so well answered and he drew a sigh of breath. Then he realized how late it is and chided her about walking out so late at night without anyone with her and things about rapists and robbers but his words were cut short when Juvia grabbed the side of his face and kissed him hard. Then a series of strenuous activity followed after that.

"My friend is getting married tomorrow. And she's happy." Juvia said, her face buried on his neck. Gray hummed in response, stroking her back.

She tried to keep herself together and held her tears back.

"Maybe someday, I will be, too."

I think that this is, by far, my favorite chapter.

And once again, sorry for the long wait. I underestimated anatomy and physiology lol. I had half of this chapter written typed but was left unfinished. When I tried to finish this though, I had to rewrite this three times because for some reason, I never sat well with me hahahha.

So anyway, please review!