For a week past the incident regarding the island, FT was closed so everyone could heal properly and Juvia spent most of her time tending to Gray's injury (she was very mad at him once she found out he had deep cuts on his hip – that Wendy had taken a look – and carried her out of the island anyway). The rest of the time, she tried to spend with her dog because puppies made her happy.

At night, Gray and Juvia would go to Frank's to have dinner and more times than not, they'd go up to either hers or his apartment and in those moments Juvia would forget, but once she was alone for the rest of the night, she'd remember about a man with dark hair and eyes that screamed crazy.

Juvia didn't know why Zeref affected her so much. She'd been on the brink of death before, she'd seen the people who wanted her dead, but none of them scared her as much as that man did.

Resuming their previous lives was a bit difficult, but the moment they stepped inside FT once more, things became easier.

The big surprise was finding out that Gildarts turned out to be Cana's father and the main reason she joined the army was to find him. It annoyed the crap out of Cana that he didn't seem to leave her alone once she told him about it, but Juvia could see that her friend secretly loved all the attention.

A week after returning to work, Juvia was surprised to enter her office and saw Laxus seated across her table, seeming to be waiting for her. Juvia looked over her shoulder and saw that Cana was not on her station and frowned.

"Erm... Laxus-san?" Juvia said with caution, she didn't know him very well and had no idea why he would be in her office.

Hearing her voice, the handsome blonde man looked over his shoulder and got up from the chair he was seating on. He was a big man, there was no denying it: large shoulders, very muscular. His eyes were dark blue and there was a scar in a shape of lightening from his forehead to under his right eye and down his cheek, which only enhanced his rough beauty.

"Juvia." He said as a greeting.

"This is very unusual; for you to come here, I mean." Juvia stepped further into her office, going to stand behind her desk. "Can Juvia help you with anything?"

"Yes, actually." Laxus said and sat down when Juvia motioned for him to do so and she did the same. "As you know, all of us need to have these...sessions with Mirajane." He said in disgust and it showed how much he hated it and Juvia nodded in understanding. "Three days ago, she gave me-"

"Homework." Both said together and Juvia giggled.

"Yes, she likes to do that." Juvia smiled to him. "She made me get a pet."

"What she is making me do is a little more than that." Laxus explained to her. "She says that I should make amends with the people I hurt and for the past three days I've doing exactly that."

Juvia frowned. "Okay?"

"Well, it is your turn." The blonde man said and Juvia seemed more confused. "A couple of months ago, when I... did what I did in here, you got hurt because of it." He stopped talking for a few moments. "I'd like to say that I am sorry for that."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I do." Laxus cut her off. "I was not in my right mind and being alone during the past three months taught me that. It's not easy for me to say these words, so, accept them."

"Of course." Juvia smiled softly. "Juvia would never refuse to accept an apology from someone who has turned their lives around. She wasn't exactly a girl scout and when she needed a place to stay, your grandfather took me in, gave me a second chance. Trust me, no hard feelings. Rest assured."

"Thank you." Laxus nodded. "I heard of what you did that day and I was impressed." When Juvia questioned why, he kept talking. "You madeyourself unable to fight so you couldn't hurt a friend. No one else thought of that even when they've been fighting side by side for years, while you, who had been working here for about a month, did." He inclined his head in a sign of respect. "Well, I must leave now. I've had this conversation with nearly everyone that I have to, but I'm leaving the worst ones to the end: Natsu, Gajeel and Cana." Juvia's eyebrows rose in question. "Natsu will want to fight again and so will Gajeel from what I gathered. Cana is just a bitch to apologize to."

"Great way to start, asshole." They heard from the door and when Juvia looked up, Cana was there, arms crossed under her breasts and an unpleasant expression on her face.

"Well, bitching about me saying you are a bitch to apologize to, makes my point." Laxus got up from his chair.

"Don't try to pretend to be smart now." She pointed at him, narrowed her eyes and when she turned around, her wavy hair flew as she walked away and with a final look at Juvia's direction, Laxus left her office.

Juvia blinked a few times, trying to understand what happened, but shrugged it off, knowing that she was the new girl there and wouldn't understand, so, she went to her computer and started to do some research.

Minutes later, when she needed Cana to get a number of a client, Juvia noticed that her secretary was not in her station. The blunette looked across the hall and saw that Lucy was not there either and sighed. Noticing Gray's office door open, she walked over and knocked on the threshold. He was typing a message on his phone and, once he looked up and saw her, his shoulders, which were tense, relaxed a bit and he lost his frown.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Looking for Cana-san." Juvia leaned on the threshold and crossed her arms. "Laxus-san came over and apologized for what happened a few months ago and was about to go apologize to her, but she heard him say that she was a bitch to apologize to. Cana refused to hear it and he followed her. But that was" she looked at her wrist, to her watch "twenty minutes ago. She is probably yelling at him somewhere."

Gray chuckled. "Nah. Laxus has only a bit of patience for that. They are probably screwing in the bathroom."

"What?" Juvia gasped, taking a few steps inside the room.

"You didn't know? They have a crazy thing going on: they fight and then fuck." Gray snorted. "It's twisted, but works for them, I guess."

"That's why she said she liked her men blonder." The blunette said, still in shock. "So, that's whom she was talking about: Laxus-san. At least now Juvia has someone to tease her with, it was getting rather boring Cana doing all the teasing." She chuckled and put her hands on his desk. "I guess I'll have to find the client's number on her desk, then. God knows she needs her own fun so she'll get distracted from what we are doing." Gray nodded and his scowl returned, making Juvia frown. "What's wrong?"

Gray sighed. "My brother is telling me he will be coming to visit me for a few days next week."

"That's good. Isn't it?" Juvia asked.

"Maybe. I don't know." He shrugged. "He is a troublemaker."

She frowned. "You told me he turned his life around, that he is in the CIA."

"Yeah, but this time I have this weird feeling."

"Everything will be fine, you'll see." Juvia looked over her shoulder and seeing no one out the door, she leaned over the table and kissed Gray's lips. "See you later."

#

Juvia stretched her arms and got up from her chair, her body was unpleasantly sore; she had been typing reports from her past missions the whole afternoon and she was in dire need of a hot bath and her wonderful big comfy bed. Since she had a night planned on going to Gray's apartment, she needed to tell him she was going home a little early and if he wanted to, he could come by.

She grabbed her purse and told Cana she was going home a little early; the secretary grinned and told her she would go home as well and Juvia chuckled with how excited Cana was with the possibility of going out of work early.

Noticing Lucy's desk was empty and Gray's office's door was open, Juvia felt her phone vibrate and walked in his office without looking up, searching for it in her purse. "Gray-sama, Juvia is going home early, but it's fine if you want to come by later."

"Oh, my little brother got himself a girlfriend?" Listening to the unknown voice, Juvia looked up and saw that Gray wasn't alone in his office. The stranger had white hair; he was sitting on the chair in front of Gray's desk.

"She's not my girlfriend." Gray said and got up from his place behind his desk and Juvia wondered if she kept the hurt away from her expression, after all, even if they had something going on, they were not girlfriend and boyfriend.

The unknown man looked Juvia up and down and grinned while getting up. "Well, hello there, then. Lyon Vastia." The man said and offered his hand; – Juvia couldn't help but to think that he was rather charming with his beautiful smile, deep green eyes. He was a very handsome man, actually. "I didn't catch your name." He lingered.

The blunette blinked a couple of times, realizing she had not introduced herself. "I'm sorry." She took his hand. "Juvia Lockser, nice to meet you."

"Absolutely charmed." He smiled, brought her hand to his lips, kissed the back and Juvia was certain she was blushing – who the hell acted that way? That traitor's heart of hers should keep itself in check and had no business beating faster.

After Lyon let go of her hand, Juvia glanced at Gray's direction and saw that he was walking around the table and he had a frown on – Juvia wondered why. He put himself between them and told Juvia: "I just texted you. I mixed the dates, it turned out that my brother arrived a day before I thought he would."

"Oh, you are Gray-sama's brother!" Juvia looked over Gray's shoulders and grinned. "Juvia heard about you."

"Don't believe anything he says. I was a great kid." Lyon grinned back. "On the other hand, I have wonderful stories to tell about how much of a brathe was."

When Juvia giggled, Gray groaned and turned to his brother. "Shut up. Go wait in the hall and I'll be out in a moment."

"Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a bunch." Lyon rolled his eyes and grabbed his coat from its place on Gray's couch. "See you, Juvia-chan." He winked and Juvia smiled his way over her shoulder.

"He is nice." Juvia returned her gaze to Gray and was surprised to see him looking at her with his eyes narrowed and she frowned. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Gray said but she didn't believe him. "I have to cancel tonight, as you can see my pain-in-the-ass brother is here and he likes to drag me to bars."

"Go be with him." Juvia told him, putting her hands on his chest. "Juvia came here to tell you that she was going home to rest for a bit before you come over."

"What happened?" He frowned.

"Juvia had to do paperwork all day long." Gray made a disgusted face and Juvia smiled. "Exactly. So, go enjoy your bother."

"'Enjoy' is a bit of a stretch here." Gray groaned. "I'll stand him at best. He always fights with me to see who's best."

"Well, don't fall for it, then." Juvia shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll try." Gray looked over her shoulder, towards the door and when he saw no one, he kissed her lips. "See you tomorrow."

#

The next day Juvia was in her office when Cana announced she had a walk-in. The blunette frowned in confusion when she saw the smirk on the other woman's lips but asked for whoever it was to get in.

To say she was surprised to see Gray's brother was an understatement.

"Ly-Lyon-sama?"

"I'm glad you remembered my name, Juvia-chan." He smiled to her and then to Cana as she left the room and closed the door behind her. "How are you today?"

"Fine, thank you." She motioned towards the chair and he waited her to sit first before he did the same. "What can I help you with?"

"I'd like to hire you." Lyon smiled.

"Oh?"

"You see, there's this computer I need to break into – totally sanctioned by the CIA, don't worry – and tonight we should have the perfect opportunity." Lyon told her and Juvia narrowed her eyes.

"From what Juvia heard, you are more than capable to get it."

"Oh, I am." He agreed. "But this opportunity I talk about is an invitation my people at the Agency got and I need a plus one."

"Your brother surely would..."

"...whine about it all the time and tell me I could do it on my own. No, thank you. Plus, I'd like to blend in, not be the weird guy who brings his brother to events that are clear to be enjoyed by couples."

Juvia thought about it for a moment. "Why me? You just met me briefly yesterday. How do you know it is Juvia you want?"

Lyon leaned and rested his elbows on his thighs. "My brother gets chatty when he gets drunk and last night he told me about some of the things you did. I must say I am impressed."

"He talked about Juvia?" She asked, finding it very strange that Gray brought her up.

"To be honest, I asked." Lyon grinned and Juvia rolled her eyes in fake annoyance. He took a flash drive from his pocket and offered her. "Want in? It will have great food, great music and my wonderful company, all paid by the government."

"What do you get out of it?"

"A good partner to get what I need and a beautiful woman in my arm that will make everyone feel jealous." The white haired man told her, charmingly and even if Juvia did feel flattered, she hesitated, thinking about Gray and if it would be wise for her to take that case. She had...something going on with him and didn't want to mess it up. And, as if reading her thoughts, Lyon kept talking. "I... I asked Gray if you were his girlfriend and he said again that you weren't."

She took a breath. "He is right." As much it hurt to admit, it was the truth.

"Then, my offer stands." Lyon offered her the flash drive. "If you don't want to come with me, it's fine. Just take a look at the layout of where the party will be held and help me figure out how to get in."

Juvia bit her lower lip and nodded. But she would not go with him.

No way.

#

Juvia put the flash drive in her purse without anyone noticing and smiled to the women around the ballroom while she walked towards where Lyon was, holding two glasses of champagne, and with three other couples.

"Darling, there you are!" He said with a huge smile and handing her a glass. "I thought you got lost."

"You thought right." Juvia accepted the glass. "This place is so big I lost my way back from the bathroom."

"Poor thing." Lyon put an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side and kissing her cheek. "Did you get it?" He said in a low voice, his hot breath tingling her cheek.

"Of course." Juvia whispered and then back to the couples around them. "I am just so bad at memorizing where I'm going." She used her best airheaded tone and the men gave her nods and then resumed looking at her chest. Her light blue dress was especially tight, short and showing as much cleavage she could: it was better for them to look at her body and forget all about everything else.

"Wanna dance?" Lyon asked her.

"Of course." She said good-bye to the people they met just that evening and put their glasses on one of the waiter's trays and went to the dance floor. Lyon pulled her close with a hand on her lower back while his other one grabbed hers as they started to sway to the music. Juvia put a hand on his shoulder. "It was easy to get it."

"I am not surprised you thought it was easy." Lyon told her and she looked into his eyes. "I looked for you in the database we have and... I need to say that you have an incredible record."

"I do, don't I?" She grinned.

"And you are proud of it."

"Juvia didn't work this hard to not acknowledge it." She shrugged.

"A girl after my heart." Lyon chuckled and Juvia liked the sound, it made her feel good. They danced for a minute longer and he spoke again. "Now that we have it, we could go back." Juvia nodded.

#

Lyon opened the door of the cab and Juvia got out after he offered his hand so she could exit it, commenting on the fact that she lived across his brother's building, earning a shrug and a smile from her. He told the cabbie to wait and walked her to the front door of her building. He took her hand close to his mouth and kissed it – apparently he liked to do that and he got no complaints from Juvia: it was rather charming.

"Thank you for the great night. And for the help."

"You could've done it yourself." Juvia smiled. "Or with help from the Agency."

"I could have," He granted her that. "But then I would've been deprived of your lovely self this whole night."

She smiled, but it faded after a moment and she looked at him. "Why?" He looked confused. "You met me one time and you just... I don't understand; you could've asked your brother for help. And don't talk about him whining about it because I know he wouldn't. He'd help."

"Have you ever felt the moment you met someone and you knew that person would be a big part of your life?" Lyon asked, looking into her eyes. "Because I swear it was what I felt when I saw you. I don't know why, I don't understand it, but I felt that."

Of course Juvia knew. She felt the same way when she met Gray. They were shooting at each other, in opposite sides, but even then, she just knewthere was something pulling her to him.

And now, Lyon did as well.

"Juvia knows how it feels." She told him and Lyon brought her closer, their bodies touching just like they did when they were dancing an hour before. He was even more handsome up close, his eyes so intense and focused on hers; his gaze went to her lips for a moment before he looked back into her eyes. Juvia knew he wanted to kiss her and if her heart were empty, she would've liked that. If she hadn't Gray, she would kiss Lyon. But she did have Gray – better yet: he had her. "I'm sorry." She whispered and Lyon frowned. "I- Gray-sama and I, we..." She couldn't finish the sentence because the next second, Lyon was being pulled away from her.

She recognized Gray's back as he punched his brother right on the jaw. Lyon took a few steps back, a hand on his face. "What the fuck, Gray!? That fucking hurts!"

"You can't keep your paws to yourself, can you?" Gray snarled as he reached for his brother, grabbed him by the shirt and punched him again. "Don't take what is mine!"

Finally the shock worn off a bit and Juvia ran to where the men were. She tried to make Gray let go of Lyon, but he gave his brother another swing before Juvia grabbed his fist.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia said. "Let him go!" When he didn't, Juvia tried once again. "Gray-sama, please!" Gray gritted his teeth and let his brother go by shoving him away. Juvia went to where Lyon was spitting blood on the ground and touched his face; he would have some ugly bruises in the morning.

"Hey!" The cabbie came out of the car, cellphone in hand. "Should I call the cops?"

"No, it's fine." Lyon said to him. "This idiot is my brother and he still has to learn how to share." He yelled the last part.

Gray made move to try to grab his brother once again, but Juvia saw that and put herself between them.

"No, no, no, no." Juvia said, putting a hand on his chest, pushing him away. "Stop it, right now!"

Gray's anger found another target quickly when he looked at her. "What the fuck were you doing with him and making out like that?" He asked her.

"What? We were not-" Juvia tried, but Lyon cut him off.

"Don't you have eyes, Gray?" The white haired man said loud enough. "I was getting to that when you interrupted us. Awful timing, bro." Juvia almost turned around to look at Lyon in exasperation – that was not the time.

Men and their pissing contest.

Gray almost went by Juvia, but she shoved him back – making him take back a few steps. "Stop it. If you continue to try to beat him, people will call the police and I'd like to see you explaining this to them." Gray's eyes were still on Lyon's figure. "Let's go up your apartment so Juvia can explain it all to you. Please."

"Fine." Gray snarled and turned around, walking towards his building.

"Okay." Lyon took two steps when Juvia blocked his way. "Juvia-chan?"

"If you go up there now, he's going to punch you again."

"And I'll punch him right back." He tried again, she didn't let him and Lyon huffed in frustration. "He is angry. I don't want to leave you alone with him while he's..."

"Juvia can handle him." She reassured him.

"Juvia!" Gray called from the door of his building.

"Go." The blunette told Lyon and he didn't look like he would leave anytime soon. "You two can talk later, when neither is throwing punches."

"Juvia, now!"

"Juvia..." Lyon sounded hesitant.

"Don't worry. He won't hurt me."

How wrong she was.

#

Gray practically kicked his door open as he entered his apartment and Juvia closed it behind her when she got in. He was restless and the whole ride up in the elevator, she could feel waves of anger coming out of him.

The moment she closed the door, he stopped in the middle of his living room, turned around and all but yelled: "What the fuck were you doing with him?"

"We were out doing a job." Juvia answered, calm.

"A job?" Gray sounded incredulous.

"Yes. He hired me to help getting some information from inside a building."

"And you fell for that?" He asked. "He could've gotten the information by himself, I bet. Or asked someone else to."

"He could have. But he asked for Juvia's help."

Gray took a few steps towards her. "And you said yes? Why?"

"Because he is a client, he is your brother, I wanted an evening out. You pick." Juvia was getting a headache. "I'm sorry you got upset I stole your brother for today, next time Juvia will try harder to make him go to you and no one else. He is your client, or whatever." She sighed.

"What?" Gray blinked a couple of times, still clearly irritated but confused. "You... you have no idea what's going on. Do you?" Juvia frowned and then he saw his whole demeanor change and his eyes darken. "You don't. You don't know why I am angry."

"You are angry at your brother for seeking help with someone else." She told him, her voice quieter than before and she watched as he took a few steps towards her, slowly and suddenly she wasn't feeling so secure about her reasoning. "Right?"

"No." He practically growled in frustration. "Perhaps you haven't noticed yet, but I don't like when people take what is mine. Tonight I'll make sure you understand that." Gray grabbed her by the waist, a hand on the back of her neck and just like that, he kissed her and Juvia just surrender to him.

#

Gray didn't stop kissing her until they reached his bedroom – Juvia's head was spinning with how rough he was being that night, kissing her like she could vanish at any second and not letting her get a straight thought.

He reached behind her, lowered the zipper of her dress and pulled it down, stopping kiss her just long enough to pull it after her hips and let it pool on her feet. Gray also pulled down her panties and once it was next to the forgotten dress, he kissed her stomach and up between her breasts and again her lips. She was never so thankful to don't need a bra to wear that dress before.

Putting her down on his bed, Gray lied on top of her – still fully clothed – kissing her lips, then trailed down to her jaw, neck and finally his lips were on her breasts and Juvia moaned when he sucked on a nipple at the same time he pushed her legs open and settled there. He touched her between the legs and she gasped when he slipped a finger inside and then a second, she put her arms around his shoulders and tried to bite down a moan when he started to move them inside her; they had done that enough times so he knew exactly where to touch her.

Gray looked up to her and the heated look in his eyes made her bit her lower lip as heat pooled in her lower stomach and he kissed his way down and Juvia could barely breathe when he kissed her inner thigh and the moment his mouth touched her clit, Juvia let out a tiny scream before she put her hands on his hair and just felt.

It seemed Gray was more enthusiastic than ever – the way his fingers worked inside her, his tongue circling and sucking her clit, his hands keeping her open to him – and in a matter of minutes, Juvia was almost there, she could feel the beginnings of her orgasm, she was so close she could taste it, but just then Gray stopped and he was gone from her.

Juvia whined in frustration, he just left her there and when she opened her eyes, she saw Gray was taking off his shirt and unbuckle his pants. Her annoyance dampened a bit seeing him undress himself, knowing what was coming.

Naked, then, Gray returned to be on top of her, kissing her lips and Juvia could taste herself in his tongue and when he settled between her legs, she thought he would finally get on to it – she could feel his erection on her thigh. Juvia slid a hand between them, but before she could reach his shaft, Gray grabbed her hand and pinned it over her head.

She looked at him in confusion but Gray's expression was still as angry as before they started getting intimate.

"Gray-sama?" She whispered, confused and deeply aroused.

"Do you understand it yet?" Gray hissed and Juvia frowned. "You don't." He groaned and kissed her once again, more forcefully than before. He put a hand between her legs once more and the spark of arousal returned in a full blow, making her moan into his mouth. One of her arms was still pinned over her head while she tried to put the other around his shoulders while he made her feel like her whole body was burning. "I need you tounderstand."

Juvia whined when he curled a finger inside her just the right way. "Understand what?" He growled once again moved faster until her mind was spinning and she was in a verge of an orgasm once again and just when she thought she was going to get release, he stopped. "No." She whined. "No, no, no."

"You can't go out with Lyon." Gray told her, grabbing her arm together with her other one above her head. "You just can't." He kissed her deeply and then buried his face between her breasts, he kissed each breast and pinched one of her nipples with the hand that had been between Juvia's legs a few moments ago and the blunette saw that his fingers were coated with her arousal. When Gray put his mouth over it and sucked, it made her quiver with want and it went right into her center at the same time he put his hand back there. All she wanted was him.

"Gray-sama, please." Juvia begged him, moving her hips, trying to find the release he had been denying her.

"Do you understand it yet?" Gray asked and Juvia was finding hard to comprehend he was saying.

"I don't..." She whined and almost yelled in frustration when he stopped once again. "Oh my god, Gray-sama. Don't do this to me." Juvia's eyes watered – it hurt to be left on the verge and then stopping. She was so needy it hurt her – Juvia couldn't even get her arms free to touch herself and take the edge of. "I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry. Please."

Gray looked absolutely possessed in anger as he let go of her wrists, his hand tangling itself on her hair and he pulled it back. Juvia looked into his dark eyes and saw want for her and something else she couldn't put her finger on.

"What you did was piss me off." Gray pushed her legs wider and his erection pressed against her entrance and she felt relief he was getting in her. "Going out with my brother, Juvia? Really?" He asked, pushing in just a little inside her and then pulling back out, and Juvia put her arms around him, whimpering when he repeated the movement a moment later. "Never do that again, do you understand me?"

"Yes." Juvia nodded, sliding her arms down to his lower back, trying to make him finally slide all the way in. "Just please..."

Gray still didn't let go of her hair and held it tighter, the pain going straight to Juvia's lower stomach as pleasure. "Look at me." Juvia's eyelids were heavy, but she managed to look at him as he said: "You are mine." The moment the words came out from his mouth, Gray slid inside her with one strong thrust that made Juvia's eyes roll to the back of her head.

"Gray-sama." She moaned in relief and want at the same time when he started to move and it was overwhelming her how crazy he was making her feel. Juvia hung on him, Gray was panting on top of her, moving fast and hitting all the right places and when Juvia could feel her orgasm approaching again, he pulled it out from her and that time, Juvia begged him, tears in her eyes. "Gray-sama, please, please. Oh, god, please."

His answer was to spin her around on the bed, Juvia let him do it, but all she could think was that she really needed to come or she wouldn't survive. Juvia felt Gray put his hands on her hips and made her get on her knees, her upper body still on the mattress as he separated her legs to his liking.

Once she was positioned the way he wanted, he slipped inside her once more and in that position, he seemed to get so much deeper, he seemed so much bigger and it overwhelmed her for a second. When he started moving, her breathing stopped for a second, sensations in override.

Gray covered her body, grabbed her arms and pinned them over her head, his hips snapping on hers, his chest on her back and he whispered in her ear: "You are mine." Juvia grabbed the bedding with the little, trying to ground herself, eyes closed, hoping that this time he wouldn't stop because she wasn't sure she would survive.

"Please don't stop." Juvia could feel it again, the building up of an orgasm. She could feel tears fall in frustration, in desire, she didn't know. "Don't stop."

"Tell me you are mine." Gray panted in her ear while he slid a hand under her body and touched her clit and Juvia whined with the light touch – she needed more. "Say it."

"I-" She tried, but let out a moan then Gray snapped his hips on hers a little harder. "Oh, god. I'm yours. Yes, I'm yours. Please, Gray-sama. Please let me-" She couldn't finish the words because Gray pinched her clit and that was what sent her blessedly over the edge with a scream.

She was still on a high from her orgasm when she realized Gray kept moving and her body was responded to it even if she was sensitive, because she felt the boiling on her lower stomach once again, especially with Gray playing with her while moving inside her.

"You are mine." He growled in her ear and all she could do was whimper and feel. "Not his, mine. All mine."

"Yes." She managed to say between taking deep breaths – her whole body was buzzing, needy and in desperate search for another release. "Yes."

Gray's touch on her clit got rougher and she couldn't take it anymore and came one more time, this time more quietly, but just as intense as the first. In the back of her mind, she felt Gray move two more times before he stilled and Juvia felt him empty himself inside her.

His weight was on top of her, she was trapped between him and the bed, but she didn't mind too much because her whole body was limp, all her nerves were swimming in pleasure and her brain wasn't registering much beyond that.

Even after feeling him loose his hold on her wrists, Juvia just didn't move, but felt him get off her and fall on the bed next to her. Her whole body was sated, but the moment her mind started to work, her heart got heavy.

#

Juvia got up from the bed and she could feel his eyes on her while she grabbed her dress and underwear from the floor. She went to the bathroom and heard him call her name in confusion before she locked herself inside.

Taking a deep breath, Juvia tried to control her emotions. She understood why Gray had acted that way: he was trying to make a point to Lyon that Juvia was off-limits, that she was his but it hurt her the way he did that. She cleaned herself the best she could between her legs and put her clothes back on before she stepped outside and found Gray on his underwear in the middle of the bedroom, looking in her direction.

Their eyes met for a second before she looked away and walked out the bedroom.

"Juvia?" She heard him call her but she didn't stop. The blunette saw her purse on the floor next to the couch and grabbed it. He stepped in front of her and when she tried to walk around him, he blocked her way. "Juvia? What are you doing?"

"Leaving." She didn't look up to him when she hissed her answer and tried to leave but he didn't let her.

"Something's wrong." Gray said and Juvia could feel her eyes water up. "What the...? Are you crying?" He sounded confused and terrified with seeing her cry. "Juvia, tell me what's wrong."

Juvia finally looked up, feeling angry. "'What's wrong?' What's wrong is you fucking me to get back at your brother."

He looked taken aback. "What? What are you talking about?"

"We always had fun when we are together. Always. We've been having sex for a while now and we had our fun." Juvia pointed to his bedroom. "But what happened in that bedroom tonight was not fun. It was intense, explosive? It was. We were in there together, but that was between you and your feud with your brother and had very little to do with me." She took a deep breath.

It took a moment for Gray to answer, but he also seemed to get angry. "How is that any different from what happened between you and that woman at the club?" When Juvia frowned in question, he cleared up. "At Lucy's birthday party."

Once she understood his words, she looked at him in disbelief. "First of all, she wasn't my sister and second, I didn't punch her in the face." The urge certainly had been there, but she didn't act on it. "If you think that what happened inside your bedroom tonight was the same thing we did back then, then either you or I have been reading the mood very wrongly and this time Juvia doesn't believe she is the one to fault here."

"How is that my fault?" Gray accused her. "You are the one who went out with him tonight and you two looked very cozy before I arrived."

"And if you had waited three more seconds, you would've seen Juvia push him away; I was about to explain to him that nothing could happen." Juvia said. "And you kept saying Juvia is not your girlfriend, so when your brother asked for my help, he didn't know he was doing something he shouldn't have."

"That's because-" Gray started, but she didn't let him finish.

"Juvia is not your girlfriend. Yes, I know, you don't let anyone forget it." She said, bitter, and her eyes watered even more. "I have feelings, you know that? I can live with my own crazy expectations because I know that they are crazy, but you cannot say I am not your girlfriend and act like a jealous boyfriend a day later. I am fine being your friend, I am fine having sex with you, I am fine living in this crazy limbo you have us in, but don't you dare put my hopes up and then take them back down. It's mean, it's cruel, and I don't deserve it."

Gray finally seemed to understand what she was talking about and she could see his anger go away and his eyes soften. "Juvia..." He tried to reach to her, but Juvia shook her head and he stopped a few steps away from her.

"You did all that so you made sure you won when you could've just asked and Juvia would've told you that she only wants you, that you never had to worry." Her lower lip tremble as she tried to hold back her tears, but it was in vain. "Instead..." She tried to dry a tear that fell and hide it from him. "Well, congratulations, you won. Must feel good." Juvia took a few steps towards the door, but remembered she had another thing to add. "Do you even realize we didn't use a condom tonight with the whole ordeal that happened?"

Gray turned around in her direction; his eyes went huge and he paled. "Fuck. I always wear condoms."

"Well, you forgot tonight and so did Juvia." She told him. "Don't worry, Juvia's has a birth control implant and is clean."

"I- Yeah, me too." Gray told her, still in shock for forgetting about the condom.

"Do you know what was the saddest part of everything that happened tonight?" When Gray didn't move, she kept speaking either way. "You said that I'm yours, but you didn't realize one thing." He finally looked at her. "Possession comes both ways and if I am yours, then you are mine and that is not true. Never has been." Without looking back, Juvia got out from his apartment, and the moment she was alone in the elevator, she cried.

#

As expected, Juvia barely slept that night. She ignored Lyon's texts asking her if she was okay, choosing instead, when morning came, to get dressed and get to work earlier to occupy her mind.

Two hours later, when Cana arrived and told her the usual 'good-morning', Juvia had been half-way through everything that needed to be done that day. What do you know? Getting her heart broken actually made her work better.

She was so absorbed into her work that she didn't even noticed when Cana announced Lyon was there to see her, she didn't hear. The blunette almost jumped when she felt a hand on top of hers while she was typing a report.

"Lyon-sama?" Juvia put a hand over her chest and looking at the white haired man's figure. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry." He offered her a tight smile. "You weren't answering my texts. Or my calls."

"Sorry." Juvia passed a hand through her hair. "Juvia's phone is on silent mode."

Lyon nodded and looked at her carefully. "I just wanted to make sure you are okay."

Juvia finally focused on his face and saw the purple bruises his encounter with Gray the night before had left him with and she felt guilty. "If Juvia'sokay? You are the one with bruises on your face. I'm so sorry you got mixed up in this." She leaned over her desk and touched his jaw, trying to inspection his injuries.

"These?" Lyon shrugged it off. "You should've seen us a few years ago when we went all out. Broken bones, bloody noses. These wounds are nothing compared to that."

"I'm sorry." Juvia stopped touching his face and looked down in shame.

"Hey, don't worry about this, Juvia-chan. It's fine, I swear. Brothers fight all the time and Gray and I were at it at the smallest opportunity." Lyon assured her. "We'll be fine. What I am more interested in, is what happened between you two after I left." When Juvia looked away from his eyes, it seemed as if he knew exactly what had gone down. "You two fought."

"Yes." She said after a moment's hesitation and decided it was better to leave the sex out of the conversation. "But it was about something that it needed to be talked about even if you weren't here,"

"Damn it." Lyon said. "I'm sorry, when I came here I thought you two had nothing going on and I never thought he would so jealous."

"Me neither." She sighed. "Juvia didn't even knew he cared that much." When she saw Lyon's frown, she clarified. "A couple of months ago, a friend of ours hit on Juvia and when she told Gray-sama, he just shrugged it off, saying he did that to every girl. I... I just never thought he'd care. And to be honest, up until we went up to his apartment, Juvia thought he was angry because Juvia stole you as a client."

Lyon was clearly surprised. "What the hell kind of relationship you two have?"

Juvia laughed with no humor. "You don't want to know." They stayed in silence for a couple of moments. "Don't worry. We will figure things out one way or the other. It's fine." Juvia dried a tear that threated to fall. "We are still friends." She guessed.

"Look, Juvia-chan." Lyon said and the blunette looked up to him. "What I was telling you last night about feeling you would be a part of my life, it didn't go away. I liked spending time with you last night, you are an amazing woman, but perhaps I felt that way because I sensed there was something going on between you and my brother."

"I don't even know if there's something still going on between us." Juvia tried to blink away her tears. "But it's fine."

"It's not fine." Lyon started, but a knock on Juvia's doorway made him stop and turn around.

Juvia looked up and saw her friend and partner in there. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a mission, Juvia." Gajeel said and nodded towards the white haired man. "Hey."

"Gajeel-kun, this is Lyon-sama, Gray-sama's brother." Juvia got up from her chair. "Lyon-sama, this is Juvia's partner, Gajeel-kun." The men shook hands and exchanged niceties (if Gajeel's grunting could be considered that). "I'm sorry, Lyon-sama, but..."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry." He nodded and stepped closer to her. "I'll be in town for a couple of days. Take your phone of the silent mode and call me back, please? I would like to take you to lunch." She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "Completely innocent, I swear."

"Alright." Juvia offered him a small smile and when he stepped closer to her and gave her a quick hug, she accepted it and waved him good-bye when he left her office. When she turned around to look at her partner, Gajeel had his arms crossed over his chest and was frowning her way. "What?"

"Your eyes are red. You were about to cry. What is going on?" He narrowed his eyes.

"It's nothing."

"Your boyfriend's being a pain in the ass to everyone the whole morning, then his brother is here with bruises all over his face and you look..."

"He's not Juvia's boyfriend." Juvia said, going to grab her purse and log off her computer.

"The fact that you are saying those words in a serious tone give me one hundred per cent certainty something is wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." Gajeel didn't seem convinced at all. "Come on. You said something about a mission?"

#

Juvia grabbed her phone and searched for the number and called it while Gajeel sat next to her in the cab and she prayed the call would go through and when it did, she almost sighed in relief.

"Mira-san?" Juvia asked, looking at her catatonic friend next to her.

"Juvia?"

"Yes." The blunette said, almost in tears. "I'm sorry, but Gajeel-kun is in some state of shock and I don't know what to do."

"What happened? Tell me exactly what happened."

"We are in this mission and we had two targets, but there was a third we didn't know about and he got a few punches on me before I took him down. Gajeel-kun arrived, saw it and just... froze." Juvia told the therapist while watching her friend, who just looked ahead, almost without blinking.

"Does it look like at all how you looked the day of the incident?" Mirajane asked and Juvia looked down to herself, her shirt had a bit of blood that came from her nose and she hadn't cleaned up.

"Uh... maybe? There's a bruise on Juvia's cheek – the wrong one, though. Oh, I think my nose is broken as well, it's bleeding."

"Is this the first time he's seen you hurt this way? With blood?"

"Since what happened? Yes."

"Damn it." Juvia was surprised to hear Mira cuss. "I think seeing you hurt triggered his memory of that night and he's reliving in his head what happened."

That was not good. At all. "What does Juvia need do?" The blunette asked, nervous.

"Where are you?" Juvia looked outside the cab's window and gave Mira the address. "You are closer to his apartment, but I'm afraid it would just give him more bad memories. Go to FT and bring him to his office. I think you'll arrive there faster than I will."

"Okay." Juvia told the driver FT's address. "What do I do when we get there?"

"Whatever blood you might have on you, clean it off. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you, Mira-san."

#

Juvia paid the cabbie and refused his help, Gajeel walked as if in a stupor while Juvia had her arms around his waist. It was a little after hours and most of the workers were already gone. They rode the elevator in silence and Juvia's heart ached for her friend. If she hadn't been so stupid, if she had seen the man...

The door of their floor opened and she lead him towards his office – Cana and Lucy seemed to be already gone home, thankfully – and once she put him on the couch of his office, she sat by his side for a moment.

"Gajeel-kun, Juvia will be back in a moment, okay? Just a couple of minutes and I'll be back." She got no answered other than a blink while he stared at the wall in front of him.

Hesitating for a moment, she left and went to her office, which was next to his (she left both doors open so she could hear if something happened), and started to look for something to wear, her shirt was a bit bloodied and she needed to cover that cut on her cheek as well.

"Juvia?" The blunette jumped when she heard Gray's voice inside her office and when she turned around, his eyes widened. "What happened to you?" She should be a mess if he got that reaction.

"Juvia is fine." The blunette turned back around and fumbled on the small suitcase she left there in case she needed, but she hadn't put new clothes since the last time she needed them. "Dammit!" She threw a pair of pants down.

"Juvia." Gray turned her around. "What do you need?"

"You don't have to..."

"Just tell me what you need." He let go of her and waited for an answer.

She hesitated for a moment. "Something clean to wear. Gajeel-kun can't see this." She pointed at her shirt and Gray nodded.

He took off his coat and offered it to her. "I think it will be enough."

Juvia nodded and didn't hesitate to reach for her shirt and take it off, standing only in her dark blue bra – no point in being modest, he had more than just seen her whole body. With her shirt, she tried to clean the dried blood of her face, but gave up and just took Gray's coat and put it on.

"Thank you." She said and went to her desk, opened a drawer and took a bottle of water. She opened, poured a bit on her hand and tried to clean her face – she hissed when it made contact with the cut on her cheekbone, but pushed through it. She looked at Gray. "How does it look?"

"No more blood, but you need to have that" she pointed to her cheek "looked at. And the bruises on your torso."

"Not now." She meant to leave, but Gray grabbed her wrist. "What?"

"What is going on?"

"Not now. Gajeel-kun needs me." Juvia pulled her arm away from his grasp. "He's in his office." She left her office just in time to see Mirajane getting out of the elevator. "Oh, Mira-san! Thank you for coming."

"Of course." Mira said and looked at Gray, who was behind Juvia. "Gray? What are you doing here?"

"I was working late when I heard them, decided to see if I could help." He told the therapist. "What can I do?"

"Just... stay in the room with us. Gajeel never been triggered before," Mira looked at Juvia's direction "and we don't know what he might do."

"What are you talking about?" Gray frowned, but Juvia just grabbed the white haired woman's hand and lead her to where her friend was.

The three of them entered the office and Gajeel hadn't moved ever since she left him there. The blunette sat by his side, while Mirajane, on the coffee table in front of them. Gray stayed a few feet away from them, staring at what was going on.

"Gajeel." Mira said, her tone of voice very calm. "Gajeel, do you know where you are?" No answer, not even a movement. "Gajeel? Can you hear me?"

Nothing.

"Maybe would be better if we took him to a hospital?" Juvia asked Mirajane and saw that Gajeel tilted his head slightly her way.

"Oh, he is listening to you." Mirajane looked at Juvia. "Talk to him. Maybe he will listen to you." Juvia's eyes widened. "Just ground him, make sure he knows where he is and who we are." She hesitated for a moment, but nodded.

Remembering Mira's first question, Juvia put one of Gajeel's hands between hers. "Gajeel-kun. It's Juvia. Do you know where you are?"

A long moment passed before he whispered an answer, still looking far away. "You were hurt. There was blood on your face."

"Yes." Juvia nodded.

"So... we are at... my apartment?" He asked, confused, and frowned.

"No. Not this time." Juvia shook her head and touched his face, trying to bring his gaze to her. "Look again, Gajeel-kun. Where are you?"

He blinked two times and looked around. After a moment, he said: "My office?"

"Yes." Juvia smiled. "Your office." Mira nodded, urging Juvia to keep talking. "Do you remember what happened today? Why Juvia was hurt today?"

Gajeel frowned again. "I hurt you. Your face... it had blood."

"You didn't hurt me today, Gajeel-kun." Juvia shook her head. "We were in a mission, remember?"

"No." He shook his head. "You flushed it, I got mad."

"No. That was months ago." Juvia cupped his face. "Today we were in a mission, there was a man we didn't know about. We got jumped. This wasn't your fault. It never were, not now and not then." Her eyes watered.

"It... wasn't my fault?" Gajeel asked.

"No." Juvia assured him. "Do you know them?" The blunette pointed to the other people in the office.

He seemed to think a bit. "Mirajane and... Gray?" Both nodded and Gajeel relaxed a bit. "I... I think I remember now."

"Oh, thank god." Juvia sighed and hugged her friend. "You scared me, stupid man." Gajeel hesitated, but put his own arms around her.

"I don't remember everything that happened." Gajeel said, looking at Mirajane.

"It's fine, we will talk about it tomorrow. You should rest, I am sure you are deadly tired."

"Yeah." Gajeel nodded.

"Juvia will go with you." He looked as if he would protest, but she was faster than him. "You don't have a say in the matter." Gajeel shut up and got up from the couch, Juvia following next.

"Sorry that you had to come here." He told Mira, who waved him off. When he looked at Gray, he frowned.

"I was already here." Gray shrugged.

Juvia let go of Gajeel and while he talked with Mirajane, she stepped closer to Gray, who just watched her, his arms crossed over his chest. "Juvia will return your coat tomorrow."

"There's no need to rush." He told her.

"There is because we need to talk." Juvia said and Gray's body tensed and he looked guilty.

"We do." He nodded and then he tilted his head in Gajeel' direction. "And about that."

"Not my story to tell." She offered him a small smile, remembering about the answer she gave him when she joined FT and by the way his eyes lit up, he remembered that. "Juvia will go to your apartment before you leave for work. Is it okay?" He nodded and Juvia said her good-byes, leaving with her friend.

#

The moment she woke up, Juvia didn't recognize where she was until she saw a black cat with a nasty scar on its face sleeping on a chair on the corner of the room. It was Gajeel's cat.

The events of the previous day returned to her and she remembered she spent the night at her friend's apartment.

"I screwed up yesterday, didn't I?" Gajeel's voice came from behind her and Juvia turned around on the bed, they had shared his king-sized bed for the night. Juvia sighed when she saw Gajeel, shirtless, looking at the ceiling, his face in a frown. "I froze."

"You didn't screw up." Juvia said to her friend. "What happened to you was traumatizing and no one expects you to just let it go."

"You could've died because I froze."

"But Juvia didn't die." She told him and sat on the bed, looking over her shoulder at him. "Juvia froze when Zeref tried to kill her and if she sees her again, she'll probably freeze one more time. It's what it makes us humans: emotions, feelings."

"I don't ever want to be the way I was again. I also don't want to freeze again."

"Juvia knows." She got up from the bed. "Now come on up. Juvia will fix us some breakfast and then she'll take you to see Mirajane-san."

"Yeah, yeah." Gajeel groaned, but got up either way. "Hey, Juvia?" Juvia hummed to let him know she was listening. "Levy... Levy kissed me." Juvia gasped and smiled. "Don't. Remember that I can't." Her expression fell. "What should I do?"

"Do you like her?" Juvia asked and the blush on his cheeks made the answer pretty clear. "Well... you should tell her why you can't right now. Tell her the truth and Juvia is certain she will understand."

"I don't want her to have an even worse impression of me." Gajeel mumbled.

"She won't." Juvia walked over to where Gajeel sat on the edge of the bed. "She knows the true you now, she won't judge." Gajeel shrugged and she knew the subject was dropped, so, she changed it when his black cat jumped on the bed and meowed at her. She picked it up and petted him. "You know, name a male cat Lily is weird."

"Well, I named him Panther at first." Gajeel said, getting up from the bed and stretching his arms. "But the name was too badass for him and when I got him, he was a bit of an asshole. I didn't want him to feel even more superior than cats already feel, so I started to call him Lily to even out."

"So... Panther Lily?"

"Panther Lily." Gajeel nodded. "Was that breakfast thing real or you were using that just to ruse me?"

#

The moment Gray opened his front door that morning, Juvia felt her heart beat faster. That was it, the point of no return. That conversation would make them either stop seeing each other or... Juvia didn't dare to hope.

"Good morning." Juvia said, shyly.

"Morning." Gray said, looking at her and then stepped out of the way. "Come in."

"Thank you." Juvia entered the apartment and waited for him to close the door before stepping forward – god, it was so awkward to stand in the same place she had felt so welcome a couple of days before. The blunette offered him his coat (Gajeel let her borrow a shirt from him). "If you want to, Juvia can clean it if you-"

"It's fine." He took it from her hands and didn't even look at it when he threw it on his couch. "We need to talk about what happened two nights ago."

"Yes. That's why Juvia is here" She sighed. "I came here to apologize."

"Apologize?" Gray was clearly exasperated. "Why?"

"Juvia shouldn't have said those things to you." Juvia passed a hand through her hair. "She got emotional and said things she shouldn't have said. Juvia knew what she got herself into when we started this and I shouldn't have... asked for more. I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize." Gray shook his head. "You were right. I... I did use you that night to win some stupid thing I have going on with my brother and it wasn't right. Like you said, we always had fun, but not that night. I am the one who is sorry, you don't deserve to be treated that way and itdisgusts me that I was the one who did that." He looked at her. "I won't do that again."

Juvia stepped closer to him and put a hand on his cheek. "Can we agree that both of us act a bit harsh that day? Juvia really didn't think you would mind her taking a mission with Lyon-sama."

"You went out on a date with him." He 'corrected' her.

"It wasn't a date. It was work."

"It was a date, Juvia." Gray snapped and then took a deep breath. "Sorry. But if it weren't a date for you, it was for him, I am certain."

She waved him off. "The point is, if Juvia had known you'd be that upset, she would've said no. But you never gave Juvia any sign that going out with someone else would make you unhappy."

Gray looked at her for a long moment. "That is true. Our first agreement never mentioned anything about seeing other people and that was my fault." He sighed. "I'm sorry, but that agreement does not work for me anymore."

Juvia felt her eyes sting and her throat almost close with his words: that was it. She could feel her heart break and she tried her best to hide it – she could cry at home. For a day. Or a week. Maybe a month.

"Alright then." She managed to speak. "Well, it was fun while it lasted." Juvia offered him a sad smile and gave two steps towards the door when she felt him grab her wrists.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Juvia frowned at him. "Home. You said our agreement doesn't work for you anymore, Juvia just assumed it was time for her to leave."

He looked at her in exasperation. "What I meant was that out old agreement doesn't work anymore. We need a new one."

Hope filled her heart. "A new one?"

"Yes."

"Oh." She was surprised and extremely happy that they could be together in some way. "How would this new agreement work?"

Gray pulled her towards the couch and made her sit down before he sat next to her. "Well. First... we would be exclusive. It would avoid situations like the one that happened to Lyon."

"Agreed." Juvia nodded – exclusivity went both ways, it meant that he would be just hers and that was an offer she couldn't say no to. "With the condition we go out together once a week."

"What? No way." Gray snorted. "Once every two months."

"Once a month." Juvia counter offered, knowing that he would have never agreed with the first offer anyway – she was fine with once a month. "And it can't be to Frank's."

Gray narrowed his eyes and seemed to think about it. "Fine, but I choose when."

"Deal." Juvia nodded. "Any other terms?"

"Don't call me your boyfriend, it's childish." He told her. "We are... partners. Like we always were." Juvia wanted to smile at him, because their 'new agreement' sounded a lot like they were dating and he was too pig headed to admit it.

"Can people know?" Juvia asked.

"I think everyone already know something is going on." Gray groaned in annoyance. "I mean, Erza talked to me about it yesterday, for god's sake."

"She did?" Juvia was surprised.

"Yeah. I... I was in a bad mood yesterday and she pulled me aside for a talk." He made a face. "It was very uncomfortable." Juvia giggled and they stayed in silence for a moment before their eyes met. "Are we okay?"

Juvia leaned and kissed his lips lightly. "Yes. I guess we will learn as we go; what to do and what not do. This... partners thing is news to Juvia."

"And to me." Gray put an arm around her shoulders. "So, what's the deal between you and Gajeel?" Juvia looked at him and smiled. Gray sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, not your story to tell. You are so weird." She kissed him once again and rest her head on his shoulder.

"You know..." The blunette said, grabbing a bit of his shirt. "Having you boss Juvia around in the bedroom was very hot."

"Was it now?" Gray asked and looked down at her with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes. And Juvia bets that it would be even better if there were only you and me in there, without your brother between us."

"Any sex without Lyon is already a win." Gray snorted and Juvia giggled. He leaned in and kissed her. "But I can be bossy again, if you really liked that."

"Juvia did." She smiled. "But maybe in a couple of days, Juvia is really sore from yesterday and having you teasing her that much again wouldn't be very fun for me."

Gray grinned. "I think this new agreement might be even better than the last one."

+T]g