Chapter 7: Flint and Steel

Juvia turned on her heel, quickly, and slipped back into the hallway.

What kind of thing would have to happen to cause Levy and Gajeel to cling to each other like that? Like a raindrop on a leaf, Levy had clung onto him for dear life. Though Juvia could only see Gajeel's back, she could have sworn she saw him shaking.

Juvia hears the door shut from her room, and puts the book that she was reading down. She steps out into the hallway, only to see Gajeel slouched against the doorway, eyes shut, his hands shielding his face.

Juvia walks up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Gajeel-kun, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it right now, but you know I'm always here for you, right?"

He nods as he drops his hands to his lap, but he still refrains from looking into her eyes.

Then, Juvia sees the familiar glint of a tear roll down his cheek. How long has it been since she'd seen him cry?

Juvia remembers cutting Gajeel's hair with safety scissors on the floor of her closet. Gajeel and Juvia had been targeted throughout their childhood for multiple reasons, but there were two they shared. The first reason is that they came from a broken family. The second is that they were always together.

Gajeel lived alone with his father, his mother was in jail. His father spent his days out in the streets, doing what he could to get his fill of the substance of the week.

Juvia lived alone with her mother, her father was in who-knows-where. Juvia's mother worked as a bartender, staying out until the early morning, and sleeping in a drunken haze for the rest of the day until her next shift.

When Juvia and Gajeel met, they were 6.

Juvia saw him sitting alone, on the steps of Phantom Apartments.

"Do you live here?" She asked, clutching the straps of her backpack in her tiny fists.

Gajeel scowled bitterly, "Yeah, what's it to ya?"

"You should smile," Juvia sat next to him, spotting a black backpack, old and worn, on the step, next to the boy. "Wait, are you starting school today too?"

The little boy's face screws up like a fist.

She continues to stare at the boy, and he finally nods.

"We better get going!" She grabs his hand, running with him to the rest of their childhood years, a teru-teru bozu keychain jingling in the wind.

In second grade, Juvia helped him write his music.

In third grade, Gajeel protected Juvia from her bullies on the playground.

In sixth grade, when a boy cut Gajeel's hair, Juvia helped Gajeel by smoothing the rough ends and gave him a proper haircut.

That same year, Gajeel's father left without a trace.

That very day, Gajeel moved in with Juvia and her mother.

"Juvia," Gajeel said one day in sixth grade, plopped on her corduroy couch.

"Yes?" Juvia said, eyeing the clock. Her mother was supposed to be home an hour ago. It was late at night.

"Let's get out of this place," He said. "Let's leave this place and buy our own castle."

Gajeel said this like it wouldn't change the dreams she had for years to come. He said it like it wouldn't alter the direction of her life.

Juvia smiled, "A castle, huh?" Our own castle. She liked the sound of that.

Gajeel put up his pinky and Juvia stared at it.

"You've never sworn a pinky promise before?" Gajeel asked.

Juvia stared at him, bewildered. She slowly shook her head.

"Yeah well, I've never had, either. I just saw the other kids do it, but here it goes." Gajeel brought Juvia's hand up and his pinky wrapped around hers, "Now, what was it that I said earlier?"

"We'll leave this place and we'll buy our own castle," she muttered while staring at their entwined pinkies.

"Right," Gajeel smiled, "so here's to a thousand needles that I'll swallow to death if I lie."

Juvia and Gajeel got groceries, cooked for themselves and studied hard.

Juvia's mother didn't come home for days.

It would have been easy to flunk out of school.

It would have been easy to be content with the small world they were born into.

A coffee tin was set in her and Gajeel's closet, the red sticker peeling like paint off a park bench. The clink of pennies and dimes was the only sound that mattered to Juvia and Gajeel.

Not even her mother's drunken calls of her name could bring Juvia back to that place.

"So, what do you think?"

Juvia turned around and saw Gajeel leaning by the threshold of the empty flat.

"It's a dreary-looking castle," Juvia then beamed up at him, "but nothing that can't be fixed with elbow grease."

They shared days where they would chase each other around the flat with paint brushes and buckets in their hands.

There were evenings shared with having to sleep on the floor as they worked to refill their tin cans' contents to afford fixtures and furniture.

And on dark stormy mornings, the atmosphere wasn't gloomy. It was filled with music from Gajeel's guitar and Juvia's soft singing.

Juvia was sipping her tea as she watched the gold and red leaves dance in the afternoon wind. She then felt the couch beside her sink with weight and looked at Gajeel. He savored the comfort of the soft couch and a small, content smile was on his lips.

Juvia washed the dishes quickly, feeling the lemony soap sud up her fingers.

Gajeel walks in, long hair pulled back into a chunky ponytail, leaning against the fridge.

Juvia finishes drying the last white plate, setting it inside the cupboard and turning to face him. "Do you remember when that boy cut your hair in middle school?"

Gajeel nods, face void of any expression.

"And how upset you were, because even if you kicked and punched him, even if you hurt him as much as you could, your hair would still be short, and crooked, and jagged?" She heard her voice crack but continued on, regardless.

"And, we went home and we sat in your closet." Gajeel added, crossing his arms.

"Yes. And Juvia decided that she would cut your hair to one length, to make it better. Juvia cut your hair, and you were crying. Juvia cut and cut, trying to make up for what was already lost by cutting more." Fat tears were beginning to roll down Gajeel's cheeks. She continued, "And whatever Juvia did, she couldn't make up for what you lost. It was already gone."

"So, Gajeel-kun, I know that I can't make up for what you've already lost. I know I can't change what happened. But, I can try to help you as much as I can." Gajeel wipes his eyes, looking at her. Juvia walks to him and reaches for his pinky finger, wrapping it with her own, "Here's to a thousand needles that I'll swallow to death if I lie."

Gajeel pulls Juvia into a hug, and there they stayed for a moment.

"It's Levy," Gajeel finally said. Juvia nodded and decided to sit next to him on the floor.

"She wants to study abroad."

"Oh, Gajeel-kun, that's great-" Juvia felt her face fall as she saw Gajeel's face. It was one of grief.

"It's only a year, right?" She attempted to soothe him by rubbing his shoulder.

"She always said she wanted to go to college without a boyfriend," Gajeel looked to his socked feet. "That means, you know."

"Juvia doesn't think Levy is done with you." She says evenly, shaking her head. "If she was, she would have just left. You know Levy."

Gajeel nods. Eyes stormy and dark, glinting with resolve.

"I can't let things end like this, Juvia. I need to tell her. Everything."

Juvia smiles, "Juvia knew you could do it."

"For someone with such great advice, you should follow it sometime." Gajeel smirked, ruffling her cerulean hair.

Gajeel held out his pinky and she wrapped it with hers.

"A thousand needles if you lie."

"And I shall die," Gajeel replied and was up on his feet.

He left, slinging a bag over his arm.

Juvia watched him leave, hand clutched to her chest.

He could do it, she thought.

And if Gajeel was finally finding his happiness, couldn't she?

Shout out to my wonderful beta reader, Releina Artemis Rockefeller, for the amazing edits to this chapter. I hope you can appreciate her handiwork as much as I do!