The day after the party, Juvia couldn't stop thinking about what happened in the bathroom, how much she wanted Gray to kiss her and how he seemed to want to do that as well, but by some reason didn't act on it.

But it was fine, she couldn't have anything with him. Not after Bora, it would be a mistake.

Then why couldn't she stop think about him? The way he smiled, how passionate he was when he was talking about hockey or architecture, how sweet he was when she had hit that man at the diner. He had sent all the signals that he was interested in her, but when it was time to make a move, he ran away.

Knowing she needed to understand why he acted that way (out of pure curiosity, of course), Juvia met up with Cana and Lucy after they spent a couple of hours at the mall, they were going towards the bus stop, the blunette couldn't help but to bring up the subject.

"So..." Juvia cleared her throat when the subject about tests was finished. "Juvia was wondering something."

"Oh?" Cana was sending a text on her phone and Lucy looked at her, waiting for the question.

The blunette hesitated for a second before speaking. "Yesterday night, at the party, something almost happened and Juvia just wants to know why it didn't."

Cana's attention immediately changed from her phone to Juvia and Lucy gasped, knowing it was something juicy. "What happened?"

"At the party, when Juvia was talking with Gray-sama" Juvia ignored Lucy's excited squeal "someone bumped into him and he spilled his beer on me." Cana snorted. "He dragged Juvia to the bathroom to help her clean up." She bit her lower lip for a moment. "When we were there... Juvia doesn't think he realized what he was doing, but he cleaned up this... area." She moved her hands over her chest.

Cana laughed. "I didn't think he had it in him. Very forward of him."

Juvia could feel her cheeks get hotter. "Once he did realize what he was doing, we... looked at each other and for a moment there, Juvia could swear he would kiss her, all the signs were there, but someone opened the door and he didn't. He just ran away and didn't even look back when Juvia called his name." The blunette finished, frustrated.

Lucy and Cana looked at each other for a moment and the blonde was the first to speak. "Well, Juvia. Gray has always been closed up and it takes a while for him to open up, always did."

"The thing is, now he's even worse because his ex-girlfriend, Daphne... she broke his trust and he really liked her. They were together for eight, nine months?" Cana asked and Lucy nodded in agreement. "But then, she cheated on him with a former member of his team." Juvia's eyebrows rose up. "Yeah. The guy had graduated a semester before and apparently they had been meeting behind Gray's back for four months before Gray caught them at her apartment."

Lucy sighed. "She gave him a key but Gray doesn't like to drop by unannounced anywhere, he always calls or texts to make sure it is okay. That day, though, he forgot his backpack at her place and she was supposed to be working, so he thought it would be okay to just stop by quick to get it."

"And he found her in bed with the guy." Cana looked pissed off. "She said she was meaning to break up with him for a while but didn't have the courage to do it, so, of course her answer was to lie and cheat on him for months. That bitch."

"It's been six months and I haven't seen him dating anyone since." Lucy shrugged. "To be honest, I don't think he even looked at another woman in that time. But he looks at you."

"What?" Juvia felt her heart beat faster.

"I don't know what you did, but ever since you two met, he's been less cranky." Cana told her. "I don't know what can come up from this, but you make him look alive when you are around. I saw you two talking, he likes you." The brunette stared at Juvia. "And you like him, am I right?"

Juvia thought about lying to them, to deny she had any type of feelings towards Gray that wasn't friendship, to say she never saw him that way.

It would be of no help, though, so she chose to stop lying to herself. "Yes." She muttered.

Lucy got really excited and twined her arms with Juvia's. "Good. We think you two would be a great couple."

"We do," Cana agreed "but first you have to convince Gray about it. If he's freaking out about almost kissing you, imagine dealing with the fact that he likes you?" She asked and Juvia gulped. "You need to know that if you really want this, you'll probably have to drag him kicking, screaming and fight all the way because he is a stubborn son of a bitch and you'll need to be a very strong person."

Juvia nodded in understanding. She'd need to think about it real carefully before she made any sort of decision about what to do.

#

"You need to go to the supermarket." Juvia stated after opening the banged up fridge and only found half an orange, bread and half of a carton of milk that she suspected it was already going bad. "What do you eat?" She asked her friend, who didn't mind her at all and just walked around naked with only a towel around his hips.

"I eat takeout food, Juvia. You know that." He shrugged and the blunette just rolled her eyes when he grinned at her.

Gajeel Redfox was two years older than her and took care of her in their foster home until the day he turned eighteen. After that, he stayed around until it was time for her to leave as well. They promised each other a long time ago to stick together and he wasn't about to break that promise. And neither was Juvia, not when he was the only family she had.

"Juvia will make some food for you." She told him. "I'll make extras too and leave it in your freezer, that way you only need to heat it up, okay?"

He snorted. "You know I can take care of myself, right?"

Juvia grabbed one of his arms and pointed to some of the scars there. "Yeah, I don't think so."

Gajeel rolled his red eyes. "You can't throw them in my face anymore, Juvia. It's been fifteen years."

The blunette just shook her head lightly and took in his body; he had so many scars, it always pained her to look at. Juvia had been a good girl when she was in foster care, whenever she did something worthy of punishment, her various foster parents usually gave her time-outs and one spanked her a few times, but nothing to traumatize her.

He, on the other hand, had it pretty hard until he was thirteen. His back had so many scars from when he lived with a couple of fanatics who believed the best punishment was whipping. And Gajeel had been a very troubled boy. Juvia knew usually boys were active and wanted to get into all sorts of adventures and Gajeel was no different.

Instead of having someone to point out the things he could do without getting trouble, he received whippings on his back, which made him angrier and angrier until Social Services took action and took him out.

It took Juvia months after he arrived at the foster home to make him talk to her instead of grunting. For a long time she was the only one he spoke to.

Juvia watched as he went to his bedroom to put on some clothes and she went to sit on the couch, a second later Gajeel's black cat jumped next to her and she picked him up, putting him on her lap. Lily followed Gajeel home three months before after said man gave him a piece of the sandwich he was eating and just made himself at home.

"You are such a lucky cat." Juvia whispered to the black cat; Lily wasn't by any standards the most beautiful cat, especially with the scars on his face and torso, plus a piece of his tail was cut off; but he was sure as hell very caring and always liked to be petted. "Just like Gajeel-kun." Juvia whispered and giggled when Lily licked her nose. "You two are very alike, all roughed up outside but big softies on the inside. Maybe that's why you match so well."

"Have you lost your mind completely and started to talk alone?" Gajeel said from behind her and she looked over the couch to see him take a turn and throwing his massive body next to her. "I knew it was a matter of time."

"Shut up." Juvia told him and he snorted. "How is work?"

"Same old, same old." He shrugged. "How is college?"

"Same thing as always." She told him. "Classes, tests, papers. The whole shebang." Gajeel hummed in agreement. Juvia hesitated before continue to speak. "Gajeel-kun, have you thought about what we talked about? The night classes? Juvia will help you to-"

"Juvia." Gajeel glared at her and his tone was hard. "I told you no. I am doing fine with no school."

The blunette sighed in defeat. Gajeel had dropped off school and his reading skills were very poor, he got frustrated whenever he tried to read for too long and just gave up. Cellphone texts were fine, even though it took him a little while to read and write them. Juvia was almost certain he was dyslexic but no one other than her ever troubled themselves to understand why a smart child such as Gajeel did so badly at school.

Because Gajeel was smart, alright. He was witty, sarcastic and could remember things he just saw a few times to the t. If he had turned his anger into studying, Juvia had no doubt he would be the one with the scholarship. And, of course, he was quite skilled with metalworking and, surprisingly, he liked to grow plants. Flowers, vegetables, herbs. All of it.

Up in the terrace of his building, he had all types of plants growing. No one bothered to go up there other than him, so he used the space to grow them. All he had learned about taking care of plants, he learned from a time he had broken his leg and couldn't walk around, so Juvia made him company a few months after he arrived at the foster home. Juvia didn't want the scary boy to be all alone in his room, in silence, so she borrowed a gardening book and started to read to him.

He would've been one hell of a botanic if he had had the proper education. Or if he just let her help him with his condition. His pride always got in his way, though.

"Fine." She sighed. "You know that whenever you want to-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He cut her off. "Just shut up about it." They stayed in silence for a few minutes, the only sound coming from Lily and his content purrs as Juvia petted him thoroughly. "Did you ever find out why that guy you said you like didn't make a move on you?"

Juvia knew he wasn't really that interested in talking about her love life, but he hated awkward silences and would even want her to babble non-stop to avoid it.

"Yes." She sighed. "Apparently he has always been closed up and a few months ago his girlfriend cheated on him and now he has even more trust issues."

Gajeel snorted. "Yeah, that would do for any guy to avoid women for a while. Specially if he had problems before."

"What do you think Juvia should do?"

He thought about it for a moment. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." She confessed. "After what Bora did, Juvia never thought she'd ever see a man that way before. I just threw myself in studying, skating and working; I just knew that it would take all my time and I wouldn't think about it." Juvia stopped for a moment. "But since Juvia met Gray-sama... I don't know, I can't stop thinking about him. We really hit it off from day one."

"Do you think you had a chance?" Gajeel asked.

Juvia thought for a few seconds and remembered the times he caught him staring at her and then looking away when she caught him, how his eyes flicked to her lips when they were alone in that bathroom.

She did have a chance.

"Maybe." She admitted.

Gajeel looked at her, thoughtfully. "Make the move, then."

"What?" Juvia was confused.

"You want him, he probably wants you but is a wuss to admit it. So, go after him." He shrugged. "You are the most obstinate woman I know. If you want something, you go after it. By what you told me, he doesn't seem like a prick and not all men are like Bora. If you get a no, fine, you'll get over it because you'll know you tried. If he says yes, you'll see where it goes. It's that simple."

Juvia kept staring at her best friend, blinking and trying to think about what she was going to say next. What if she tried and got humiliated when he turned her down? What if everything went bad if something did happen?

"What if-?" She tried to ask, but Gajeel cut her off.

"Asking yourself a gazillion questions starting with 'what if' is not going to help you." Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest. "The question is about what you want and you want him. You can't possibly know what is going to happen until you try."

"That is... pretty good advice." Juvia was surprised.

"I wish you heard me before you dated that scumbag Bora, but I'm glad to be heard now." Gajeel said, sarcastically and Juvia rolled her eyes. "Just stop bitching about if you should get him and go do something about it, for god's sake."

Juvia blinked a few times before answering. "You know, for years Juvia wished she had female friends to talk about boys with. But you are the best girlfriend a woman needs."

Gajeel groaned. "Shut up, jeez." He said, grumpily. "You know what, I don't want to know anything about this anymore. I try to help out and you insult me to my face." Juvia got a fit of giggles. "Stop laughing!" His face got redder and redder by the second. "Juvia, I'm serious! I'll throw you out on the street." Juvia raised her hands in surrender, but kept laughing.

He was the best friend she needed.

#

Juvia was hiding behind a tree, gathering courage to finally go confront Gray. She had decided that she if she got a chance with having something with him, she was going to take it and if he wasn't going to make a move, she would.

Since what happened in the party he had been avoiding her. He hadn't appeared at the diner and he made a point to arrive just in time for his practice and went straight to the rink, saying he was already late and couldn't talk.

What he didn't count on was the fact that Juvia Lockser did not give up easily.

She saw him come out from a building with Natsu and a guy she recognize as Loki, talking to them. Knowing she'd have little opportunity to get him alone, she took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the tree, going in a straight line in the trio's direction.

Natsu was the first one to see her. The pink haired man smiled her way. "Hey, Juvia. What are yo-"

"Can't talk now." She didn't even stopped walking, just grabbed Gray's hand and pulled him to go with her. She saw confusion spread across his face when he recognized her, but let her lead him away from his friends. Once they were far enough to not be overheard, Juvia let go of his hand, turned around to stare at him and put her hands on her hips. "You've been avoiding me because of what almost happened in the party."

Gray's surprised melted away when he sighed. "Juv-"

"Juvia doesn't want apologies or excuses." She cut him off. "She knows why you are acting this way." He raised an eyebrow. "Juvia talked with Cana-san and Lucy-san about what happened and they explained to me what happened." Gray's expression turned dark. "Don't get mad at them, I asked." She said, not wanting to put her friends in trouble. "Juvia understands what you went through, trust me." She told him softly and she could see him frowning, trying to make sense of her words. "Juvia's ex... he did the same thing with her and worse."

"What-?" Gray tried to ask, but she shook her head.

"Not a story for now." Juvia said. "All I want for you to know is that I understand how you feel. You opened up to someone and that someone throw it away like garbage instead of treating it like a gift. It sucks, it hurts but we move on." She cleared her throat. "Juvia haven't gone out with anyone ever since she broke up with her boyfriend because no one seemed interesting enough to get my attention. And I was hurt. I still am and it won't change today or tomorrow, but it will change someday." She looked into his eyes. "You were the first person to make my heart beat faster in almost a year and even though I buried so deep inside me I forgot how it felt, the moment I felt it again, I realized how much missed this feeling.

"Looking at you Juvia can tell that there's something between me and you. I am not sure what is, if it's going to go somewhere, if all we'll ever be is friends or whatever, but we owe to ourselves to try. If we let bad memories run our lives, we won't live and we'll regret it." She took a deep breath. "Maybe we'll just help each other heal a bit, but for that we need to take the first step."

Gray kept looking at her with wide eyes and she was afraid she stepped over some line, but she was in a roll; she was not going to wake up ten years in the future regretting not doing a thing.

"And if you won't take it, Juvia will." She raised her chin in fake confidence, she was so afraid it hurt her but she wasn't going to tell him that. "If you don't feel anything for me, at all, well, Juvia gave her first step and tried. But if you do, we are going out tomorrow night and see where this goes, one way or another."

The next thirty seconds were the longest of Juvia's life. Gray studied her carefully, thinking about what he was going to say and she already knew he was going to reject her. She just knew. Maybe Gajeel wouldn't mind if she stayed with him for a few days, alternating between crying and baking non-stop until she realizes she can stay friends with Gray even so.

"Okay." It was his answer.

Juvia frowned in confusion. "What?"

"Okay." He repeated, slowly. "We'll see where tomorrow gets us."

The blunette tilted her head to the side, trying to understand his words. "We will?"

"Yeah." Gray shrugged. "It's tiresome to fight it, so I'll just go with the flow."

"Oh." Juvia blinked three times. "That's... uh. That's good."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound so sure."

"I didn't think you would actually say yes." She whispered the confession and could feel her cheeks get hot.

"I see." He smirked and Juvia's heart beat even faster, and her cheeks became even hotter. "So, did you plan something or not, since you didn't expect me to accept." She just knew he wasn't going to let her live that one down.

"I did." She squeaked the answer and he nodded.

"What time do I pick you up?"

"Uh..." She couldn't believe that was actually happening, but answered nonetheless just a bit louder than a whisper. "Is... uh... seven okay?"

"Sure." He agreed. "See you tomorrow at seven, then."

"Yes." Juvia muttered and her heart skipped a beat when she saw a small smirk on Gray's lips that lasted just a few seconds before he turned around and went back to where his friends were waiting for him, curious.

She watched as he said a few words to them and they started to walk away. They gave a few steps, then Natsu turned around, looked her way and raised both hands with his thumbs up and she smiled weakly his way.

Juvia was shaking, her whole body. All she could think was how unbelievable that moment was. She was ready to be shot down, to hold her tears until she was alone.

Instead, she had a date.

"What am I going to wear?" She whispered to herself.

#

It was 7:01 p.m. and Juvia had convinced herself Gray was going to stood her. She had been walking around her apartment for twenty minutes already, thinking what she would do if he didn't appear and her fears became real. She got stood up by Gray.

It was fine, it was cool. She wasn't the first girl to be stood up and wouldn't be the last.

Her cellphone buzzed from inside her purse and she frowned, grabbing the device from inside. Her heart almost stopped when she read the text she got.

From: Gray-sama

19:02: I'm here.

She stared at the text for a few seconds before running towards the bedroom to have another look at herself in the mirror. She looked at herself and wondered if he would like what she chose: a tight white tank top that purposely draw attention to her chest, a dark-blue coat, jeans pants and brown boots. Her hair was loose and she chose light make-up and a light pink lipstick.

Not wanting to let him wait too long, she grabbed her purse and left, her heart beating so fast she wondered if he would listen to it when she got inside the car.

When she arrived at the door of her building, she took a deep breath to calm herself, she couldn't let him see how much of a wreck she was with the date.

Once she gathered herself, she opened the door and spotted his car and there Gray was, leaning on it by the passenger's seat looking her way, wearing dark jeans and shirt and a white coat, his hands on its pockets, waiting for her, his hair moving with the wind and Juvia almost became a puddle right there. He looked so handsome it hurt her.

She walked his way and Gray offered her a small smile. "Hi." He said once she stood in front of him.

"Hi." Juvia had just walked a few meters but she was breathless, her stomach filled with butterflies.

They just stared at each other's eyes for a few moments before Gray cleared his throat. "So, where are we going?" Juvia blinked a few times, processing his words.

"Uh... Well, since Juvia knows you are a fan of Hockey, she thought you'd enjoy going to a pro game." It was Gray's turn to blink, speechless. "I hope you are okay with watching the Harpies vs the Wolverines." She bit her lower lip, waiting for his reaction.

"You got tickets for the Harpies." He stated, clearly not believing her. "They ran out weeks ago!"

"Well, one of the dancers from Jose's clubs got them as payment instead of money from a client and when she and her friends came to the diner to get something to eat, Juvia overheard she wanted to get rid of them so... Juvia got them. She knows Juvia, so she sold them for a real good price." She told him and shrugged.

"Are you saying we are going to watch the Harpies?" Gray was clearly excited, even if he was trying to hide it.

"Juvia takes you are a fan." She smiled, amused.

"My second favorite team." He all but beamed and she giggled at his excitement. "They will crush the Wolverines tonight and I can't believe it I'll get to see it in person."

"Glad Juvia could help." She told him. "Now, shall we...?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Gray nodded and opened the door of the car for her and she raised an eyebrow. "What? My mother raised a gentleman and sometimes I do remember how to act like one, especially on dates." He rolled his eyes and waited until she was inside to close the door.

While he walked to the driver's side, Juvia had to contain herself when he mentioned their date. Just when she thought she was going through the night without squealing like a little girl, he did something amazing to throw her off.

And she was loving it.

#

Just like Gray had predicted, the Harpies had won against the Wolverines and the match had been exhilarating in Juvia's opinion, mostly because Gray didn't mind her questions about the rules and was quick to teach her. Their seats had been very well located and the whole time she could've feel his excitement coming from him in waves.

Gray had bought them hot-dogs and soda, scowling to her when she tried to get her wallet to pay for hers; he had told her she had paid for the tickets, the least he could do was to pay their food.

By the time they left, Gray was babbling excitedly about some ideas he had to implement on his own team thanks to the game. He asked if she wanted to go get some ice-cream and she would've been a fool if she didn't accept.

In all honesty, Juvia didn't know the place they went, but it sure as hell was the best ice-cream she's ever had. Gray asked what she wanted and she wanted some Neapolitan ice-cream. Gray ordered a big portion and they shared while she listened to his stories about when he was little.

He told her that when he was five, he wanted to be an astronaut and he even had his dad helped him build a spaceship with boxes. He told everyone he would be the first boy to step on mars. Juvia giggled at how adorable that sounded and she imagined a little Gray playing around in his made-up spaceship.

When he told her if she always wanted to be a marine biologist, Juvia nodded, then told him that for a brief period of time she was convinced she could grow up to be a mermaid, but since it didn't happen, she searched for the next thing and he laughed, the sound making Juvia's heart to skip a beat.

The ride back to her apartment was filled with Gray's takes on the moves from the match, saying who played well and who didn't and Juvia listened to it, loving the way his eyes lit up with each word.

By the time they arrived in front of her apartment, Gray got out of the car and so did Juvia and Gray glared at her for not waiting.

"You know, my mother would be disappointed in me for not opening the door." Gray told her and Juvia chuckled.

"Blame it on Juvia." She told him and closed the car's door.

"Come on, I'll walk you to the door." Gray said, his hands on his pockets and he waited until Juvia started to walk to do the same by her side. They reached the door and turned to each other, Juvia could feel her hands start to sweat. He looked at her and said: "I had a great time tonight."

"Juvia did too." She admitted, nervous. "Now she knows so much about Hockey she is almost an expert." The blunette joked and Gray snorted.

"Sorry about that, but it was a risk you took by taking me to a match." He smiled.

"I was not complaining, it was nice to see you enjoying yourself. And it was fun for Juvia too, except for all the hitting and falling the players had." She wrinkled her nose and Gray chuckled.

"Yeah, well... it's one of the risks." He shrugged. "I try to not get hit too hard or to hit someone else, but hey... it's part of the game."

"I know. But be careful." She looked at him pointedly and he nodded.

Juvia stared at him, taking in his unguarded expression, the scar above his left eyebrow, thick eyelashes, the beautiful nose she was sure was broken a few times, and finally his lips, that looked so inviting. Should she do something or would it be too forward of her?

Noticing she was staring for too long, Gray frowned. "What is it?"

She blinked a few times, trying to decide what to tell him and just told him the truth. "Juvia was wondering if it would be alright if she kissed you, or too forward."

It was Gray's time to be surprised and she was pleased to see color rush to his cheeks, his gaze went to her lips and back to her eyes. "Well..." He cleared his throat. "I heard that in some situations if a date goes well, kissing the other person would make him know if he should or not ask her out again. Just saying."

"Is that so?" Juvia smiled.

Gray nodded. "I did hear that."

Juvia took a step close to him, and whispered. "Just for the record, it was Juvia who asked you out."

"By that logic should I be the one to kiss you or not?" He asked, his voice just as low as hers had been.

"Only if you wa-" Juvia couldn't finish the sentence because a second later his lips were on hers.

It took Juvia a nanosecond to register what was going on. She closed her eyes and put her arms around his shoulders for support and Gray's hands found its way to her hips as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer to his body.

He pulled away for a moment, breathing hard and Juvia saw him studying her face for a moment before kissing her again, that time deepening it by coaxing her mouth open. It felt as if a lightening bolt passed through Juvia's body; every cell in her body was awake, everywhere Gray touched her, it burned. It started out sweet and soon Juvia could feel her blood start to boil in anticipation.

It was everything she thought it would be and more.

She had no idea how long they stood in front of her building, kissing over and over again. In just a few minutes they had gone from never have kissed each other, to kissing so much she lost count how many times she pulled him for another and he did the same.

He rested his forehead on hers, both of their breathing labored and Juvia felt as if her whole body was buzzing in happiness. If she were dreaming, she didn't want to wake up at all.

"I guess this means I get to ask you out this time?" Gray asked, breathless and Juvia smiled.

"Yes."

"Alright." He nodded and kissed her lips lightly. "What are you doing Friday afternoon?"

"Juvia has a feeling you'll tell her." She giggled, happily.

"Go out with me again." Gray said and all Juvia could do was to nod happily and kiss him one more time – it appeared that each time she kissed him, she wanted more, and more and more.

"Of course." Juvia said the words just to make sure he had no doubts.

"Juvia, I have no idea where this is going." He told her, serious. "I don't know if I'm whole enough and I don't want to hurt you, but I want to see where this goes. You said something about a first step and-"

The blunette put a hand on his cheek and caressed skin with her thumb. "That's all Juvia can ask of you." She told him. "We'll figure things out as we go."

"Okay." He nodded and dove in to kiss her one last time and she was already longing for him. "I'll stop by the diner tomorrow and we can spend your break together?"

"Juvia wouldn't have it any other way." She grinned.

Gray stepped away from her and cleared his throat. "See you tomorrow, then."

"Good night." Juvia said and opened the door of her building and waved at Gray before she closed it. The moment she was alone, though, she couldn't help herself and just started to jump around, feeling like she was walking over clouds.

She ran the stairs back to her apartment, threw her boots away and got her phone, calling her best friend. It was almost midnight, Gajeel worked early the next day, but Juvia needed to tell him his advice paid up. She would call Cana and Lucy later.

"What the hell, Juvia?" His sleepy voice said from the other side of the line. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia all but squealed in happiness. "Juvia needs you to be a girl for ten minutes for what she's going to tell you!"

He groaned. "Juvia, it's too late for this shit."

"Please!" She whined, playfully. "Please, please, please."

"Dammit." He complained. "Fine, but you owe me. Just tell me."

Juvia grinned, he really was the best best friend in the world.