Man it's good to be back, did you guys miss me?

I'd just like to thank all the voices that reached out to me in my difficult time. It feels so good be back doing the one thing I love the most.

Writing.

You can sure expect a bunch of updates. I plan on finishing ALL my stories before I start college in August. So wish me luck!

And as always thank you and enjoy!

Sorry for any mistakes.

Juvia paused, pressed her hand to the corner of the wall, peeked around the corner, and nodded back at Laxus behind her. She scurried pasted a few doors, visibly going faster past Erza's room. She tugged on Laxus with her, making sure that he was hurrying along with her. Laxus sighed and peeked around her shoulder. "This is ridiculous. I could have just waited outside."

Juvia turns back at him and pouts a bit. "But Juvia needed help with her belongings." Laxus cringed but didn't argue with her. When they made it to her door, Juvia grabbed her key out of her pocket and pushed it in the hole, rushing to get it open before someone suddenly appeared and saw her sneaking in Laxus.

"What all did you pack to need help with belongs? We'll only be gone a day, possibly two at the most." Laxus whispered. Juvia frowns back at him and pushed a finger to her lips to mute his fussing. He frowned back at her before she grabbed his arm and pulled him into her room.

Juvia had never had someone other than the other ladies in her room. Laxus seemed to dominate the rather small area when he stood up straight and looked down at her, waiting on directions. Juvia really payed attention in that moment, noticing just how larger he was than her. She blinked away the slight redness she was getting in her cheeks from the embarrassment. How could she allow another man in her room other than Gray!?

Laxus sighed, staring away, looking at all the Grays staring at him. He felt self-conscious for a moment feeling like he was being watched or more like he was being shunned for being in Juvia's room. He cringed slightly, his knees bucking on him; he needed to take a seat. As he went for her bed, Juvia turned and waved for him to not sit there. "Oh! Wait…" Nervously, Juvia grabbed his shirt and tugged him back up on his feet. Laxus stumbled a bit at the sudden pull, backing Juvia back into the wall opposite of her bed, knocking a few of the plushie Grays down. Laxus quickly held an arm up to block himself from hitting face first into the wall and slipped another arm around Juvia's small frame to keep from herself hitting the wall.

Laxus looked down at her, caged between his body and the wall. They both blinked awkwardly at each other, hearts beating a mile a minute. He slowly pulled away and turned grabbing her first bag and shoving it over his shoulder. "You okay?" He mumbled. Juvia red in the face, pressed her hands to her cheeks to hide them and nodded. Noticing that Laxus couldn't see this she gulped down the lump in her throat and took in a breath.

"Juvia's fine. Sorry."

"It fine. It was rude of me."

"N-No! Juvia just wanted to put her suitcase on the bed to finish packing." They stood there for a moment not looking at each other, back to back. Laxus cleared his throat. Juvia took in another breath before they both turned back to each other at the same time.

Juvia mumbled "Can I finish packing?" just as Laxus told her she should go ahead and finish packing. They both froze for a moment. Juvia smiled up at him before giggling. Laxus smirked back thankful for the awkwardness gone.

After pushing her suitcase out and smacked it out onto her bed, Juvia took a few things out before exchanging them for a fresh clothing. Laxus watched, his head going over the Job request sheet. The job was S-class so he was a bit worried about Juvia. Would the mission be too dangerous? Would it be too difficult for her to handle? What if they got separated, and Juvia couldn't fend for herself? Laxus wanted her to depend on him for the duration of the mission, if only for the duration of the mission.

The job asked for them to catch the leader of a powerful dark guild in the south, take down the guild members as well as bring the job requester's daughter back home safely. It wasn't too much for Laxus, but he wasn't sure if Juvia was okay with taking a whole dark guild down just the two of them; alone. As he thought about it, he never told her about the job once. Juvia just hopped along with him without even asking about the job. He chuckled to himself. She was like a small cat. He tipped his head the side taking her in. She really resembled a little kitten. She was quiet, stayed to herself, and seemed cold like a cat would. She only dealt with who she wanted to deal with. Juvia was even mischievous at times. However, as you get to know her and was around her more often, she was friendly and needy to whoever she was comfortable with. She was bright and open. Laxus smirked to himself. Juvia was his little kitten. She was comfortable with him? She tagged along with him as if she was. He pressed his head against the wall and took in a deep breath.

When she turned around, she smiled at him. "Juvia's all finished Laxus-san." He looked over to her and nodded, opening his hand out to her. Juvia's eyes widen and she blushed, quickly turning away. "W-what does Laxus's want?" Laxus raised an eyebrow at her and took the suitcase out of her hand. Juvia let it go slowly and followed after him as he walked out into the hallway. Why did she think he was holding out his hand out to her? No. No. No. Gray. Gray. Gray.

They quickly scurried out the dorm building and off to the train station. Erza watched from her window and smirked. Oh the scoop she just saw!

Gray wondered into the guild pretty early. Deep down he was hoping Juvia would stop by the guild before going on her mission and he wanted to be there with her when she made it in. If she did he was going to pounce on the opportunity and make sure he apologized for what he said yesterday. It was in the heat of the moment, he was angry with image of her all over Laxus in his mind, and he said something he really shouldn't have. He was angry that she was getting closer to Laxus and just wanted her all to himself. Was he in love with her?

Pssh! No!

Then again….

Upon making it into the guild. He stumbled over to the bar and face palmed into the cold wood. Mira smiled down at him and slid down a glass of water. He rolled over to look at it, the ice still slowly moving in the water.

"Gray!" He shuffled up and snapped his head to the door way to see Erza and Lucy walking over to him. Erza sauntered over and slipped into the seat next to him and smirked. "Oh how sorry I feel for you." She mumbled. Lucy blinked over to her and frowned, a puzzled expression passing over her face. Gray frowned.

"What do you mean?" Erza turns, tucking her bottom lip out. She gave him a clueless expression.

"I mean…" She mumbled. "You did yell at Juvia yesterday, didn't you." Gray physically paled. "Thought so. It's a shame." She grabbed his water out of his hand and held it to her lips. "Such a waste."

"What do you know, Erza? Stop teasing."

"I'm not teasing."

"You are."

Lucy bit her lip to hold back from saying anything. Erza raised an eyebrow at him. "What would make you think that Gray? I just pity how you can't be honest with yourself."

"Honest?" He growled and settled into his seat. Erza was just here to ridicule him. She didn't have any news. What part of him wanted her to say something about Juvia? "I swear if I hear that word again."

"You'd do what?" Erza rolled her eyes and crossed her left leg over her right. "Not a thing. You can't even keep up with what is going on right now. Don't add more to your own plate than your stomach can hold." It was Gray's turn to roll his eyes.

"And I'm hearing this from you? What is it that you really want Erza?" Lucy tapped her leg into the ground and turned away. Oh she wanted to say something so bad!

"I want you to admit your true feelings."

"Okay fine. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say what I said to Juvia yesterday. I was just angry at-" He cut his tongue before he said something he shouldn't. Again.

Erza smirked, and leaned into her ice mage teammate. "Angry at Laxus? Possibly?" Lucy buffed out her cheeks and groaned.

"Why would I be angry at him?"

"Because he's spending a lot of time with Juvia and you don't like it in the least bit." Gray looked away.

"No-"

"I already know Gray. If you admit how you feel for Juvia I might just tell you something nice."

"What!? There's nothing to say about her. I don't have any true feelings. What happened to Juvia?" Erza looked away and went to get up. Gray grabbed her hand. "Erza!"

"Laxus came out of Juvia's room at Fairy Hills!" Lucy yelled out loud. Gray's eyes widen. Laxus did what!? Freed looked up from his book and watched the scene unraveling in front of him.

"You're lying." Gray mumbled lowly. Erza crossed her arms over her chest.

"She isn't. They have a mission together today. I wonder why Laxus had to sneak into her room." Gray grinded his teeth together.

"Shut up."

"The train, Gray. They should still be here." She didn't have to say it twice before Gray tisked and ran out the door. Freed stood and followed out behind Gray.

Juvia grabbed the back of Laxus's jacket and tugged him back a little. They had only walked a little ways out from Fairy Hills, yet the whole while Laxus had been silent. Laxus turned and looked down at her, pausing. "What's wrong? You left something behind?" Juvia shook her head. She had a weird feeling in her chest. She wanted to see Gray.

"Can we go to the guild? Juvia wants to see Gray-sama." Laxus slowly nodded.

"Yeah, sure. We'll go back." They start towards the guild, silence engulfing them. Laxus watched her from the corner of his eyes. His chest tightened. Why did she want to see Gray? He thought she wanted to talk to him after the mission. Did she change her mind? Somehow that didn't sit well with him. He didn't like the fact she was going back his way. Laxus didn't like how he didn't like that. Juvia and Gray didn't register well with him at all.

Making it to the guild, Juvia pushed the door open and peered over the familiar faces. Laxus stood away from her and kept a solid stance behind her. He didn't want to see them make up. It made him angry and upset to the stomach. More than anything he wanted to prolong their reunion as long as he could. He had to get her away from the guild before she saw Gray.

For his distant hiding place, Freed smiled and walked slowly over. "Good morning. Mr. and Mrs. Dreyer. You two are leaving today aren't you? I expect to see a baby in your arms after you come back from your honeymoon." Laxus growled at him as Juvia crooked her head to the side a bit in confusion.

"Freed-kun have you seen Gray-sama?" Freed narrowed his eyes.

"Sorry, Juvia-san. He just left. He had something urgent elsewhere." He gave her a small smile. Juvia looked down to her feet in clear disappointment. "He might come back…you can wait here for him. Do you have the time?" Freed snaps his head and gives Laxus a look. His eyes narrowed for a split second and darkened. Laxus got the hint and turned away.

"No," He mumbled. Juvia turned around to him.

"We don't have any?" The slight disappointment in her voice pained Laxus. He shakes his head and starts walking back towards the station.

"Well there you have it." Freed places a hand on Juvia's shoulder and pushes her off towards Laxus. "Have fun, don't get into any trouble! Oh and Laxus." Laxus pauses for a moment and turns back to his teammate. "You should avoid town so there isn't any traffic holding you up." Laxus tisks and walks off, tugging Juvia with him.

Why did he feel like Freed's meddling, helped him? Why was he fine with Juvia not seeing Gray? Why was he doing what he could to keep her from seeing Gray? One thing he knew for sure, he didn't want her hurt.

The job site was blocked off. Yellow tape surround the perimeter of the whole house they were to meet their client at. Laxus walked around the whole block, no trace of any residences present. "Was this a joke?" He grumbled lowly as he made it back to where Juvia was standing. Juvia slowly nodded. She was frowning at the house. Laxus placed a hand on her shoulder. "We should head back to the Guild and report this to master. He can find who sent us a fake request."

"No…" Juvia turned to him and looked him head on. "Juvia has a bad feeling about this. We can at least confirm if the dark guild is real." Laxus dug into his pocket and pulled out the job request sheet, handing it to Juvia. She looked over it and looked back up at him. "Copious Slaughter. May Juvia see the bag Laxus-san had before?" Laxus pulled the bag off his shoulder and handed it to her. Juvia opened it up and pulled out a lacrima. "It's connected to the guild. We can ask Levy-chan and Freed-kun to look up information on the guild."

"In the meantime?" Juvia handed the bag back to Laxus. He took it and threw it back over his shoulder.

"We stay on standby."

After a while, the lacrima lit up and an address was given to them by Levy. "We aren't sure if the guild is still together or if it has disbanded, but this feels pretty fishy." Levy told Juvia and Laxus. "We think that possibly, this is a set up so be careful you two. Go into the guild with an open mind and strategize." Juvia nodded and shut the lacrima off before placing it back into the bag.

"Standby" was the nearest restaurant. Laxus sat across from her with his hand tucked under his chin. When she was finished, Juvia put the bag next to her and looked up to him.

"We need to think of a plan before running into the guild." Laxus agreed with a nod of his head.

"So I'm guessing just crashing in Natsu style is out of the question." Juvia gave him a thin look and shook her head.

"I don't think it's safe for us to separate. We don't know how large the guild is and it's said for them to be pretty decent in terms of power." Laxus crossed his arms over each other and leaned into her.

"We aren't too shy when it comes to power ourselves." He smiles at her and pushes his hand out to her. Juvia slowly takes her own hand and presses her fingers into Laxus's much bigger palm. She didn't know why she did it, but somehow it felt right and made her chest tighten. She blinked a few times laying her other hand beside Laxus's elbow. He wraps his hand into her, folding hers into his palm. "The two of us could take down the guild, I'm positive. I'm comfortable with your abilities. You've got the potential and mindset to be S-class." He smirks. "You could even be more powerful than me and my team." Juvia immediately shakes her head.

"Juvia could never be that powerful!"

"Juvia doesn't know that." Laxus lets go of her hand and stands up. "I think Natsu style might fit us in this situation. When all else fails, just trap everyone in water."

"Juvia is not doing that!" Laxus laughs, passing by the cashier and paid the tab. Juvia walked up behind him; she could still feel the warmth of his hand embracing her right hand. She pressed it to her chest and slowly bit her lip. Closing her eyes she relived the moment. Laxus turned to look at her and smiled. He leaned in slowly, her face inches away from his. He narrowed his eyes, his lips itching to be pressed into her forehead or her cheek. He took a deep breath. Instead of allowing his desires to take over, softly he blew her bangs out her face and flicked her forehead with his left hand. Juvia stumbled back in surprise and pressed a hand to her forehand to straighten her hair. Laxus smirked down at her, pressing his hands into his pockets.

"Ready?" Juvia frowned and pumped her fists at her sides.

"Ready!"

The guild was hidden away beneath a coliseum. Underground, and with a layout confusing to anyone. Juvia tried the hardest she could to memorize the structure and layout of the guild. Laxus kept an eye out for security, if the guild had any. The walls were too tall to climb and a barrier surrounded the exterior so Laxus couldn't just zap them inside. When he took a look around the coliseum for any obvious ways to get in, he caught the sound of footsteps approaching them from behind. He grabbed Juvia, taking her into his arms and hopped away from the walkway that lead to the old coliseum. Juvia snapped her head to him as he pressed a hand to his lips, silencing any words to come from her lips.

There was what looked like a well just deep enough to keep them hidden if they crouched down. Laxus slipped her inside, ordered for her to stay down and continue studying the Guild's map. Juvia trusted Laxus enough to let him slip from her arms and walk away as she whispered for him to be careful. Laxus took that to heart and slowly made it back on the pathway. The footsteps had paused before a panel that extended out from the wall of the coliseum. Behind that wall, Laxus found covering in dead flowers and bushes that surrounded the whole area. Laxus had noticed the panel before, but couldn't think of anything he could do to it that would allow them in.

A tall, hooded figure slowly pressed a dark gloved hand to the panel and tugged it slowly forward. The rest of the blocks shifted, slowly parting to reveal a long stairway. Laxus took that opportunity and convenience, to snap out and strike the figure with a bolt of lightning. Upon contact, the figure screams covering Laxus's footsteps. He cuts off the electricity and takes the figure by the neck, snapping once and letting the body fall to the ground. He turned back to the well, peering inside to see Juvia looking back up at him with her deep blue eyes. He smirked at her and held a hand out for her to take.

After getting her out, they return back to the stairway, pressing rocks and sticks up to the sides of the walls and keep them from closing back. Juvia led Laxus down the stair way, folding the map into her pocket to free her hands. "Juvia believes we are at the back entrance. If we continue on from here we will able to make it to the second floor of the guild hall."

"I don't know if it's better to take out the second floor first or the first floor. We shouldn't split either." Juvia nods once, to agree with him, not turning back to look him in the eye though. He focus was keeping an ear and eye out for any attackers.

Laxus takes one step and feels a short breeze pass behind him. He cuts his step off short and snaps around to catch another swing aimed at him. He ducks, taking his hand up, and caught the blade in his palm. The person behind the weapon, thrusts it forward, aiming for Laxus's neck grazing it softly. Laxus jumps back, hooking his legs up and around the blade. Juvia comes up from behind him and kicks the blade free from the attacker's hands. They stumble back, their hood slipping off briefly revealing long brown hair before the person takes the hood and swings it back over their head. Juvia takes her legs and swings it back knocking the enemy back into the opposite wall. Laxus comes up behind her and lets his lightening come down and strike the attacker. The body goes limb and falls to the ground.

Juvia turns to Laxus and presses a hand to the small amount of blood trickling down his neck. "Is Laxus –san alright?" Laxus smiles down at her and presses his hand on top of hers.

"I'm fine, let's go before another one comes out." Juvia nods and turns leading him down a long narrow corridor.

"I'm going to guess, majority of this guild aren't mages. They're going down too easily." Juvia looks back briefly at him.

"Juvia would say that. Possibly this isn't a dark guild. The request stated this was a dark guild that had kidnapped their daughter, but because we have no way of contacting the job client, we have no way of confirming that. We could be just dealing with regular kidnappers." Laxus contemplated this. Juvia was right. Levy had said that it wasn't confirmed if the guild was disbanded or still together. Laxus took an open mind with this. The possibilities were pretty open in this situation due to the limited information.

"Let's just keep going." Laxus mumbled, walking past the water mage. Juvia kept his rear, eyes following anything suspicious.

What's going to happen on the mission? What is this air Laxus and Juvia have surrounding them? Is Gray going to confess? What's going to happen to this lovely love triangle? Well….we'll find out next chapter!….