This was inspired by a group pic of the FT gang in which Loke was coming onto Juvia and she looked pretty embarrassed (and slightly horrified). Aside from the hint in the story "Fairy Academy" by | Hypocrisy |, I think I'm the first one to write a Loke/Juvia story (correct me if I'm wrong). That would make this the second pairing I'd be the first to post on this site (the first was Cilan/Iris from Pokemon). So yay for me! xD

The main ship here is Loke/Juvia, but there are hints of Gray/Juvia, Loke/Lucy, Natsu/Lucy and Gray/Erza.

So enjoy the crack-shipping!
-RD :)

EDIT: Another author, MANGA1, did a re-write of this story from Loke's side! It's called Warm Smile. So after you read this, you should go read hers. :D

Cold Shoulder

He, she decides, is the most interesting thing at this party.

.x.x.x.

Juvia gripped the empty glass. She didn't remember what had been in it, or how it tasted. But she was tired and didn't really care much right then.

The guild was in an uproar. Ever since the Fairy Tail members of Team Natsu had returned from the battle against Oracion Seis, Fairy Tail was in rather high spirits. One of the members of the Balam Alliance had been defeated, and soon, they all hoped, the triangle would collapse and a great deal of evil in the world would cease.

But all that failed to console young Juvia, because she was concerned with more important matters: love. Gray hadn't spoken to her all day after she nearly drowned him in her tears upon his return, as if he had been strategically avoiding her. He had been spending more time with his teammates, particularly a redhead with a lot of armor. Juvia resented the idea of yet another love rival - Lucy was more than enough - but she knew that trying anything with Erza was digging her own grave in a very literal sense.

Alone at that section of the bar, Juvia was glad that Mirajane had stopped by to chat a little bit, mainly about the mayhem they were all a part of that night. Fairy Tail hardly ever needed a reason to celebrate, but since they had one, they were going all out with a humongous and very loud party.

It was amazing how Mira remembered what people were drinking and she soon filled Juvia's glass with whatever she had before. Juvia wasn't sure what is was - all she knew was that it was clear - but she took a large swig of it and set it back on the bar. At least it tasted good. Kind of fizzy and sweet. She placed her elbows on the counter and her chin in her hands and began to wonder where Gray was and what he was doing. There were a lot of voices in the guild, and she couldn't place his. But she could place a deep voice that sounded very close to her and sent shivers down her spine.

"Hello, Juvia."

She snapped around to face the barstool next to her before breathing a sigh of relief. "Loke… What are you doing here?"

"Just getting something to drink."

"Ah," she said quietly, almost like a whisper, turning her gaze back to whatever was in her cup.

"I could ask you the same thing." Juvia lifted her head back up, looking into his eyes. They were a deep brown, but she was barely able to tell due to his blue-tinted glasses.

"Juvia doesn't know."

"Why aren't you with Lucy and the others?" he asked. She held back a chuckle, wondering why he was taking such an interest in her.

"Juvia could ask you the same thing."

He laughed - a rather pleasant sound - and gave her a smirk. "Turning my lines on me?"

"Yes." Loke was hard to read. Juvia didn't know that much about him, either, and had no idea what to expect. "Why are you in Earthland?"

"I came to talk to Lucy." Ah, yes, Lucy. That girl seemed to have all the men wrapped around her finger, didn't she? "But I don't think she's in the mood for talking to me right now."

"What makes you say that?"

"She's kind of busy talking with… Natsu." Lucy did indeed have all the men wrapped around her finger. Before Juvia could say anything, Loke blurted out, "That guy has something I don't have. I'm not sure what it is, but he has it."

Juvia placed a thoughtful finger to her chin. "A human body, perhaps?"

"Even when I had that," he replied, laughing again.

A silence fell over the pair, and Juvia gulped down the last of the mystery liquid in her glass.

"Juvia knows how you feel," she said after a minute or so.

"Huh?"

"Rejection…" She sighed sadly, drawing a picture with her finger on the bar. "Juvia thinks Gray-sama may have something for Erza-san. At the Tower of Heaven, she was all he talked about."

"He's probably worried for her as a friend," Loke offered, trying to give some comfort. Juvia only shook her head.

"When the tower came crashing down, Lucy and Juvia had to fight to get him out of there. Gray-sama kept saying something about 'saving her tears'. He barely noticed Juvia." She wasn't exactly sure why she was confiding all this in him, but for some reason, she felt… comfortable with the idea that someone may know what she was going through.

Loke's eyes darted around the room, looking for something to say. "Erza may be pretty," he began, recounting his previous dating experience with the armored woman. "But I find it hard to believe that Gray would completely ignore a girl as beautiful as you. He knows a thing or two about girls."

Juvia could feel the heat rushing to her face. "Y-you think Juvia is beautiful?" she stammered, still in shock.

"Yes, you are." His eyes sparkled a little, and she knew her cheeks were getting redder by the second.

"Well, Juvia… thinks you are quite handsome. Lucy is missing out, too."

"Gray has no idea how lucky he is. Of course, I think I'm pretty lucky, too, right now." He gave her one of those smiles that supposedly made girls go weak in the knees, and, for the first time that night, she smiled back.

Maybe it was because he too knew the pain of rejection. Maybe it was because he had also received the cold shoulder. Or maybe it was because she decided that she quite liked Loke that she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before standing up from the barstool.

"Thank you, Loke. Juvia is glad she had this conversation with you."

And maybe it was because he actually did find her beautiful that he stared at her blushing as she walked away.