AN: Yay, update! I know you enjoy it but I must warn you, there are some sensitive matters being mentioned towards the end so please, tread carefully!

#

"You know, just because a town has an Aquarium, doesn't mean we have to go see it." Gray whispered – he didn't want to burst their little bubble of happiness. They were on his bed, naked and he was caressing her back slowly.

That morning Juvia had dragged him to see the attractions on the town's aquarium and he couldn't simply tell her no, not when she gave him her puppy eyes. After a very nice lunch, they took a walk and then returned to his apartment where, from the moment they stepped inside, they started to take each other's clothes along the way until they reached his bedroom.

"Juvia knows." She chuckled, a hand on his chest – the blunette had her body pressed on his, the covers on their hips. "She can't resist, though and it's not like we don't stop for five minutes in front of buildings you find interesting."

"Well, there's that." He conceded her the point and with her as a guide, he didn't mind the tour: it was always very interesting, she got really excited and it made him feel better.

After a few more moments of silence, he twisted one of her curls on his index finger and said: "Your hair is longer."

"A bit." She agreed. "Juvia was thinking if she should trim it a little or not. She is kind of enjoying longer hair." He hummed, absent minded. "What do you think? She could cut a bit of it."

He considered for a moment. "It looks nice as it is and it looked nice before too."

"You are absolutely no help at all." Juvia pouted and Gray snorted.

"Sorry." He turned to lie on his side to face her, she kissed his lips lightly as he moved so the front of their bodies touched.

"Juvia should go take a shower." She whispered to him. "Her flight is in three hours."

"Yeah." He agreed but neither of them moved. "I can't believe the three days are over."

"Me neither." Juvia put a hand on his cheek and looked at him with sad eyes. "But now it's just two more months and we will be able do be like this every day if we want to."

"I am guessing we will want to." Gray snorted softly and Juvia smiled. "Let's just keep talking to each other everyday like we have been and things will be fine."

"They will." She agreed and gave him a few sweet pecks on the lips and he sighed into it. "Come on, get in the shower with Juvia so we can enjoy her last minutes here with you."

#

"Text me when you get there."

"It's going to be very late here." The blunette told her boyfriend.

"I don't care." He said while they walked slowly towards the boarding area. "I just need to know you got home okay. Don't even think I forgot you live in a dangerous neighborhood."

"Okay." Juvia agreed. "And you, play nice with your friends here. Juvia liked them even though she is incredibly jealous some of them are girls."

Gray rolled his eyes. "I have friends who are girls in Magnolia."

"Yes, girls you've been friends with for years and know you are very much taken." Juvia spoke, serious.

He snorted. "Trust me, I know I am taken."

"Good." She gave him a kiss.

"Now you promise me again you won't get into trouble."

It was Juvia's turn to roll her eyes. "Juvia spent four months without troubles at all, we just have two to go."

"Don't jinx it."

#

Gray looked away from his computer when his phone rang and he frowned when he saw who the caller was. Cana didn't really call him. Well, few people called him, he'd rather text so if Cana was calling, it was important.

"Hey, Cana." Gray greeted her once he answered the call. "Is everything alright?"

"No, everything is not alright." Cana's voice was angry and Gray's frown deepened. "Have you talked to your girlfriend today?"

"Uh, yes, a few hours ago." He told her. "Why?"

"Oh, so I am guessing she told you she needs to go to the fucking hospital?" Cana was sarcastic and Gray's heart stopped for a moment. What was she talking about?

"What? Cana, what is happening? Is Juvia alright?" Gray asked, worried. When he talked to Juvia earlier, she sounded okay and said she didn't have any news. She didn't even sound sick or anything.

"Should I put her on? I had to drag her from the diner." Cana said and without even waiting for Juvia to answer, she spoke again. "She looks like a scolded child right now and she's dragging her heels to go."

"Cana, stop scaring me shitless and tell me what happened." He almost screamed at the phone, getting frustrated, passing his fingers through his hair.

"She didn't tell me much but apparently last night she was coming home and the sidewalk was a bit slippery. She sprained her ankle and now it's a bit purple and she's walking all funny." Cana's voice was clearly accusatory and he could picture his friend glaring at the blunette.

"Shit." Gray said but felt relieved it was much less serious than he thought. "Where are you?"

"We took a cab and we are going to the hospital to have it looked at." Cana told him. "Can you talk to her into letting the doctor do their job when we get there?"

"Yeah. Pass the phone to her." Gray said, taking a few calming breaths.

"Sure."

It took them a moment to change the phone from Cana to Juvia and his girlfriend's small voice almost broke his heart. "Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"It's not that bad."

"It is." He heard Cana speak on the background loud enough so he could hear her.

"What happened to not cause trouble when I am not around?" He asked her, stern and she didn't answer. "You know this is serious and you didn't tell me or looked for help." He scolded her.

"Juvia has a performance in three days." She whispered and Gray suddenly realized she was afraid. "Juvia has to perform, it's the semi-final."

Gray sighed. "Not with your ankle sprained, you can't. I know you think you are invincible, but if you are injured, you need to slow down or this could get worse and then you won't be able to perform at all."

"My scholarship-"

"Accidents happen, Juvia." He groaned in annoyance. "They will not kick you out of the skating team because you got hurt by accident once."

"I-"

There was some noise and then Cana's voice came from the phone instead of Juvia's. "We're arriving at the hospital. I'll call you soon."

"Wait-" He tried but the call ended. "Fuck."

His focus to finish his project was out of the window, then and he kept texting Cana to have any updates on his girlfriend.

To: Cana

21:17: Has the doctor seen her?

21:18: Cana!

21:20: Cana, please

From: Cana

21:25: Sorry, we were filling out forms. I know way too much about your girlfriend's medical history now

21:25: Apparently is a slow night and someone is going to see her in a while

To: Cana

21:25: Please, text me as soon as someone is seeing her.

21:26: How is she?

From: Cana

21:27: Gotcha.

21:27: She's sulking but I think we won't have problems when the doctor comes

To: Cana

21:28: Good. Please, tell him how important Skating is for her

From: Cana

21:29: I will. Don't worry, Gray. She's not alone

To: Cana

21:30: Thank you, Cana

#

"Tell me." Gray demanded while he talked on the phone with his girlfriend. "Tell me what happened."

He heard her sigh but she spoke. "Last night when Juvia was returning from work, the sidewalk was a bit slippery and she sprained her ankle but the moment she got home, she put some ice and she really thought it was okay." She stopped for a moment. "By morning... it was a bit ugly."

"You should've gone to the ER, then, Juvia." Gray sighed, tired – it was almost three a.m. there and he was so tired. "This is something important."

"I know, but Juvia panicked." Juvia told him in a whisper. "Just a few days until the semi-final, Gray-sama. Juvia really has a chance of winning and... god, my coach will kill me." She added as an afterthought. "Juvia imagined all the consequences of it being worse than it looked and it freaked me out. Juvia went to school and then to work, that's why Cana-san found me limping."

"Juvia." Gray could feel the migraine he was feeling worsen with her words. "I talked to you earlier, why didn't you say anything?"

"Juvia was trying to ignore it and you would get worried and would make her go to have her ankle checked."

"Like you did twelve hours later?" He asked, sarcastic. "Would've saved a lot of worrying."

The blunette didn't answer right away. "Sorry."

Gray groaned in annoyance knowing she was feeling guilty for worrying him. "Juvia, this can't happen. You can't get hurt and not tell me. I know most of the times you are right when it comes to our relationship but this? I'm right on this and you know it."

"I do." She whispered.

"Good because if it were me you'd be scolding me." He pointed out.

"That is true." Juvia sighed. "Juvia will see it not happens again. She's just not used to anyone other than Gajeel-kun caring enough to get this worried. Oh god." She moaned in pain. "Gajeel-kun will have plenty to say too."

"Good. Someone should. And get ready for the girls to come over too, I bet Cana already told them."

"She did." Juvia said. "Juvia already has a lot of texts on her phone. Being cared for like that... is nice."

"Yeah." He agreed. "I'm still mad at you, though."

"I know." She spoke softly.

"Are you putting ice on it?" Gray asked.

"Actually Juvia has an elastic compression wrap and she has to use it for thirty-six hours and she's supposed to rest as much as she can for two weeks." She sighed again. "This sucks."

"It does, but you have to follow the doctor's orders." He told her. "Please, don't overexert yourself, if you were prescribed two weeks, take it easy for two weeks."

"Yes." She agreed. "Juvia will call her coach and her boss tomorrow to tell them what happened."

"Just so you know, now that our friends know, I highly doubt you can go anywhere without one of them seeing it and reporting to each other and to me so you are going to take it easy."

"Juvia doesn't have any choice, then." She chuckled.

"None at all." He snorted. "Look, it's late here and I have class in four hours."

"Oh, yes, yes. Sorry, Gray-sama." She told him. "God, Juvia completely forgot the time difference."

"It's okay, I wasn't going to sleep until I talked to you and now that I did, I think I can now."

"Thank you for caring so much, Gray-sama." Her voice was soft.

"Of course I care." He rolled his eyes. "Get ready for this to happen whenever you get hurt."

"Alright. Good night, Gray-sama."

"Good night, Juvia. Call me in the morning and this time tell me everything."

"Okay."

#

It took Juvia a while to get a hundred per cent better but after a week, she was okay enough to go to work but instead of serving, she worked as the cashier so she could keep her ankle high enough behind the counter. Sometimes she'd freak out about it and Gray had to talk her down but mostly she was alright.

Thankfully, two months seemed to fly by especially when the finals week arrived and suddenly it was time for Gray to return home and Juvia couldn't be more excited. Just two days and she'd have her boyfriend all to herself once more. She would be kind enough to share him with their friends, but not for long.

Juvia was about to heat up her lunch when her phone started to ring and she saw the picture of her gorgeous boyfriend – it was one she took during her trip, she caught him smiling and there was really no sight more beautiful.

"Hi, Gray-sama!" She answered, cheerfully.

"Hey." He answered her. "How are you?"

"Great!" She beamed. "Juvia can't believe she's going to have you back here in two days!"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "When do your week off work starts?" Juvia had decided to split her vacation days between summer and winter, taking a week at time so she could really relax.

"In four days." She told him. "Juvia has the night off tonight, though."

"I see." Gray answered. "Are you home?"

"Yes, Juvia was just about to start on lunch-" She got interrupted by a knock on the door and she frowned. "Uh, wait a second, Gray-sama." The blunette walked towards her door. "There's someone on Juvia's door."

"Yeah, I know." She heard him chuckle.

"What do you-" Juvia opened her door and right there, with his suitcases and backpack there was her boyfriend. "-mean?"

"Hi." Gray smiled and Juvia's eyes widened.

"Hi." She whispered, still talking on the phone. Oh, her heart was beating so fast. "You are here." She ended the call, still trying to believe her eyes. "You..."

"Surprise." He also put his phone on his pocket.

"You are here!" She shrieked and threw her arms around him as Gray laughed when she started to kiss his face wherever she could reach it. "Oh! Did Juvia get the date wrong?" She asked between kisses and finally kissed his mouth and Gray moaned into it. "You were supposed to arrive in two days! We even have a party planned!"

"I thought I should take revenge and surprise you." He told her, kissing her lips once more.

"Good!" She giggled between kisses. "Juvia is very happy you are here earlier."

"Me too." He told her and saw some movement on their right and saw Juvia's neighbor standing there, smiling softly – she probably heard noise from the hallway and decided to check it out. "Hello, Martha. Sorry we bothered you."

"It's alright." The older woman chuckled. "I'm glad you returned, young man. Juvia missed you and everyone could see it."

"I know." Gray nodded and Juvia beamed at him. "We will take the reunion inside. Nice seeing you." Martha said the words back at him and only then the couple untangled from each other, just long enough to bring Gray's bags inside.

The moment they were inside and the door was closed, Gray pulled her close to him and pinned her on the wall, his intentions very clear.

"Aren't you tired?" Juvia asked, sighing in contentment when he started to kiss her neck and let her breathe, his hand under her sweater.

"Unlike you, I actually sleep on planes so I'm fine." He said, lips caressing the skin of her shoulder. "Are you?"

"Oh, god, yes." Juvia agreed, breathless and she shrieked in surprise when he put her over his shoulder and walked towards her bedroom. She started to laugh, happy and more than okay to how her afternoon turned out to.

#

Gray couldn't believe he had been home for two weeks. God, he missed his crazy, messy, loud friends. He thought as they shared a meal at Phantom's so Juvia could pop by a few times. They had spent her week off of work to spend a couple of days at his parents' and then four days at a very nice cabin at the mountains. God, he had missed his girlfriend.

He was so freaking glad to be home.

"You know, I'm already fed up with you." Natsu told him.

"Second that." Cana raised her hand, followed by a few of his friends.

"Oh, fuck off, all of you." He rolled his eyes, knowing they were teasing.

"Juvia is more than happy you are home, Gray-sama." Juvia had just arrived to take their orders and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "If they don't want you around, you can spend all your time with me."

"Thank you."

"My poor, poor friend." Cana pretended to cry.

"Stop it, Cana." Lucy chuckled.

The blunette smiled and started to get their orders until another waitress arrived next to her and said, in a low voice, but Gray was close enough to hear. "Juvia, there's a policeman here to talk to you? Go, I will take your section."

Juvia frowned and both her and Gray looked in the direction the girl had come and they saw a tall man with dark skin, bald and wearing a trench coat. Gray looked at his girlfriend and saw she didn't recognized the man at all.

"Uh, guys." She told their friends, smiling but tense. "Kiara-san here is going to take your orders but Juvia will be here as soon as possible."

She glanced at him and Gray could see she wanted his company so he excused himself as well and Juvia waited for him so they could meet the man, who was watching them from afar. "What would he want?" He asked.

"No idea." Juvia told him and got close to the man. "Hello."

"Miss Juvia Lockser?" His green eyes assessed her quickly and once she nodded, he offered his hand, Juvia took it and shook it. "I am Detective Jackson Ryan, from Oak Town." He stared at Gray, who knew Oak Town was where Juvia lived before Magnolia. "And you are?"

"Gray Fullbuster, I'm her boyfriend." He said, confused and so was Juvia. Detective Ryan nodded and offered him a hand and Gray shook it. "What's this about?"

"Miss Lockser, do you know a woman named Carly Herman?" Detective Ryan's voice was deep and Juvia seemed to be surprised to hear the name.

"Uh... kind of?" Juvia frowned and looked at Gray before her eyes returned to the dark-skinned man. "We met briefly when Juvia still studied at Phantom U, but Juvia's been living in Magnolia for almost two years, now."

"You haven't had any recent contact with her?"

"No, not for two years." She answered. "Is something wrong? Is Carly-san in any trouble?"

"Miss Herman took her life two days ago." The Detective told her and Juvia's eyes widened, the man clearly documented Juvia's reaction in his mind. Gray put a hand on her lower back for support but he was also surprised – neither of them waited for that answer and Juvia had gone awfully pale. "Now tell me, Miss Lockser." The Detective took a piece of paper from inside his trench coat, unfolded and gave to Juvia, whose hands were trembling so hard when she took it from him. "Why would a girl, whom you haven't spoken to for two years, leave this suicide note?"

Gray read the words on the paper and his whole body went cold at the words, he could feel the shock coming from his girlfriend as well.

"Well?" The Detective asked and Gray looked down to the paper and read:

'I might've taken my own life, but I was murdered a long time ago. Find Juvia Lockser to find my murderer.'

#

AN: So... this is happening. Sorry for the little cliffie?