disclaimer: i don't own fairy tail!
title: love in the air and i don't care
summary: and it all begins with a small shoe shop, because that's really where stories begin really
dedication: to people who think manga are real books because they are. yep
notes: i am attempting a multi-chapter fic. no i am not kidding. yes i am crazy. and no i have never finished a multi-chapter fic that i have started and dont even ask my why cuz i know there are only oneshots on my profile page right now. and this is big, this is hard, i haven't even finished/started the second chapter yet but what the fuck i just want to see how people will receive this chapter since its all a big test. are you interested? if you are, please leave a review or a note or a pm, or even just a favorite or a follow. thanks! this is starting to sound like a cinderella fic, but HOPEFULLY it will not be

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warning: this is not a gajeel x juvia, natsu x juvia, lyon x juvia, or a juvia-harem fic.

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"He's rich, he's powerful…he's perfect," he said to himself, in the midst of night. "And Juvia knows him. Won't she be happy? We will all be happy," he mused. "Well then!" Then he went off to bed.

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"Oi, brat, we're going to see Lord Lockser tomorrow. Get your clothes ready," Lord Redfox barked at his son.

Gajeel rose from the couch heavily, pulling on his pants in the process. He grunted as he tightened his belt until his pants hung loosely on his sturdy, rock-solid frame.

"Formal wear," Lord Redfox added on a second thought. "We're going to see yer fiancé after all."

Gajeel, halfway done with pulling an undershirt on, suddenly fell backwards onto the couch. "F-Fiancé?!" he sputtered. "I didn't hear a single thing about this, old man!"

He nodded with a shark-toothed grin, "Yeah, we decided it yesterday!"

"Who is this lady anyways?" His eyes widened in understanding. "The water woman? Ya want me to shack up with her?"

"Enough about this, brat, ya know her well 'nuff," Lord Redfox ordered. While they had an easy father-son rapport, his authority was still strong in the household (or more like palace-hold).

He buckled his last buckle and stood up off the couch. "I already have a girlfriend!" but his dad was already out the door.

He sighed and headed up to his room to look at his meager closet and to decide how to break the ugly news to his little girlfriend.

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"Ah-ah-ah!" Erza practiced, stretching her vocal cords. Juvia winced and didn't have the heart (or the nerve) to tell her she was horribly off-tune.

"Erza is good at singing," she complimented, using the nice tone she usually reserved to nobles and officials. On second thought though, maybe singing was the only thing Erza was bad at. At nineteen, Erza Scarlet was already a senior general in the army – the only female general in the whole land. Despite her young age, she was a good leader, although harsh, and a great fighter.

Besides, Juvia envied Erza less for her battle experience (there had recently been some strife with the neighboring nomads), and more for her romantic experiences.

At nineteen, Erza already had a forbidden boyfriend.

Okay, maybe he wasn't so "forbidden", but no one knew his name or who he was. Rumors had floated around for a couple of months now that she was engaged to Mystogan, military advisor to the king Makarov, but it seemed unlikely as they interacted only through work and maintained only a professional attitude about them.

And Erza said his name started with "J" like the "J" in "Juvia", and if anything, Erza never lied.

Juvia had never felt this kind of feeling before. Although she had admired boys from afar, she'd never had someone she'd wholeheartedly wished were hers. Sometimes she wished her father wasn't Lord Lockser, the one who held the monopoly on ship-building and the fish market. She was getting of marriageable age, and if she didn't find a noble she wanted to marry by…by…by soon, then her father would marry her off to some random guy.

There weren't that many people to choose from in the first place, though. There was Gajeel Redfox, her closest family friend, but that would be just awkward. Then there was Prince Laxus of the Dreyar line, and although her father probably secretly wished she would marry the prince to bring him power and gold, he was mighty scary with that lightning scar. There was also Lord Dragneel's son, Natsu Dragneel, but he was engaged already to Lucy, another friend of Juvia's.

He had pink hair anyways.

She wouldn't like him anyways.

He was engaged to Lucy.

And no, he was not hot! At all!

Juvia would never consider Natsu…well, maybe a little.

She wasn't allowed to, but a harmless crush couldn't hurt.

Somewhere a piece of glass shattered as Erza's singing reached an all-time high.

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He winced as he stabbed his little finger with the needle. Quickly, his brother shoved a bucket of ice under his nose and he plunged his finger in.

He'd always liked the cold. It soothed him.

He pulled his finger out of the ice and continued working on the shiny new shoe, stitching the last piece together. He shined the shoe with some polish then put it with its right counterpart on the front shelf. A customer entered, and he hastily retreated into the back room to make more shoes. From the front, he could hear Ultear's voice ringing out. "How may I help you?" she chirped.

"A new pair of blue satin slippers for my daughter Juvia!" a booming voice ordered. "The best, if you please."

"Of course! What size are your daughter's feet?" Ultear asked, customer-pleasing grin plastered on her face. It was only a customary question, of course, since Lord Lockser had come to this dainty shop to clothe his daughter's feet since she was just barely a babe. It was lesser-known, but a friend had introduced this shop to the lord, and he found it suited his tastes.

"Why, the smallest size of course! Only for my daughter's dainty feet. Her new fiancé must take one look at these slippers and appreciate how small her feet are," Lord Lockser ordered, hand slamming down on the countertop.

Ultear shoved down her shock and managed to mumble, "F-Fiancé…we will be right with you!" She turned around and yelled, "Lyon, Miss Lockser's shoe size, blue satin slippers!"

"Got it," Lyon said, as he appeared with the right box of shoes. "Here you go, Lord Lockser."

As the large blue haired man exited the shop, Lyon rolled his eyes and wondered, "What does Miss Lockser look like anyways, besides having tiny feet?"

Ultear pointed at the back. "Go, Lyon, don't stink up the front with your presence."

Lyon shuffled off, but stuck his tongue out as Ultear turned around.

From the back, the relentless shuffling of leather didn't stop.

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"Natsu, I want new shoes," Lucy demanded, eyes sparkling with vigor. "You haven't bought me anything for days, at the least."

Natsu counted his savings, "B-But Dad only gives me a couple hundred gold pieces a month and I only have twenty left for this month! Geez, woman, I spend all my money on you."

"Because you love me," Lucy countered, as Natsu's cat purred from by his foot. "Or do you not?"

"Of course Lucy! What d'ya wanna buy?"

"New shoes, I just said, Natsu," Lucy reminded, mouth smiling. "Brown leather sandals to match my eyes."

"I've never bought shoes before," Natsu said, thinking. "Where do people usually buy things, anyway?"

Lucy shrugged. "Let's just look around. There are so many shops I love that it shouldn't be hard to find something!" As they strolled out of their mansion, they noticed Lord Lockser jauntily walking into his own, carrying a shoe box. Natsu squinted.

"Look, let's go to…"Ice Make: Shoes"? What kinda stupid name is that? Ice? Ice?" Natsu protested. "Never mind, let's not go there."

However, Lucy's eyes were already sparkling. "Now I know where Juvia gets those amazing shoes from now! C'mon, Natsu, let's go!" she dragged Natsu off in the direction of the shop, but soon got lost.

By the time they found the shop, a different scene had also arrived at the same destination.

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"Juvia, try on these shoes for Daddy," Lord Lockser cooed to his daughter.

"New shoes, again, Daddy? Juvia already has very many shoes."

"These aren't just any shoes. They're made for your meeting with your fiancé tomorrow!" Lord Lockser squealed like an excited little girl.

"Fiancé? Juvia has a fiancé?" she asked, astounded.

The lord laughed. "Oh yes, your old friend Gajeel. Isn't that nice? You guys are friends anyways, and he's a noble too."

"Ga-Gajeel! Oh no, Juvia cannot marry him!" Juvia sputtered indelicately.

"It's too late!" Lord Lockser all but sang. "I've already agreed to Metalicana's proposal."

"Oh, Daddy, Juvia is sad," she whimpered. She knew about Gajeel's secret girlfriend…

Meanwhile, the lord unwrapped the new shoes and fitted them onto her feet. No matter how he tugged, the back wouldn't slide on right. "That shop!" he raged. "They were the wrong size! I will go back and they better give me all that money back. This will not do to meet your fiancé tomorrow."

They headed off to the shop again – Ice Make: Shoes, Juvia going there for the first time in her life.

After all, their shoes had always been perfect. Now that there was a size discrepancy, Juvia had to tag along to make sure they knew exactly what her size was. In truth, she didn't want to. In truth, she knew she was being silly by not wanting to, because even if she didn't get her slippers, she would still have to marry Gajeel.

That was where it all began.

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