Work Text:
Night, everyone.
So, I wrote this one-shot for jfangirld on Tumblr since it's her birthday today.
IMPORTANT! As the summary says, this is a prequel to If They Knew , so you'd better read that one in order to understand things.
Happy reading!
January of X791
Juvia watched the unconscious man below her, relieved that he was breathing normally again. "There you go, my love."
Gray stirred, but didn't wake up. She assumed he would remain unconscious for a while after having been knocked out by the leaders of the cult they had come to arrest.
The mission had seemed rather simple when they had taken the flyer a couple days before, but as it turned out these people were expert magic users and they were light on their feet.
They had made defeating Gray look easy, although Juvia knew that the only reason they had done so was because he had been distracted when she was injured.
When she had screamed in pain, he had glanced at her and in that one second they had hit him hard in the head, knocking him out.
To make it even worse, they had started beating his unconscious body, which led Juvia to increase her magic power in order to trap all of them in her water lock.
Thankfully, her plan had worked, thus all the cult members were now scattered across the sunflowers field behind the church where they operated.
Once they were defeated, she had immediately come to her beloved's side and that's when she had realized the extent of his injuries.
The blow to his head had managed to draw a lot of blood and someone had stabbed him in the lungs.
Even if Juvia had known that Gray was strong and would probably be fine, she hadn't wanted to take any risks.
"You'll be okay now." Leaning down to press a soft kiss to his forehead, she was worried by its coldness.
"You didn't have to heal him." Now that voice was unmistakable.
The water mage straightened herself and turned around to face her oldest friend. "I know."
"I thought we agreed that you shouldn't use the Fairy Heart anymore." Mavis sternly said.
"And I haven't used it in years." Juvia replied before glancing at Gray again. "But this is different."
Mavis followed her gaze and sighed. "This is dangerous, Juvia."
"I know very well how dangerous love is." The water mage sincerely said. "But it's also worth it."
"Is it worth constantly lying to him?" Fairy Tail's first master inquired.
"What choice do I have?" Juvia stood up and crossed her arms. "He can't know about the Fairy Heart, so…"
"So you should stay away." Mavis interrupted.
"No." The former shook her head. "I spent decades living in loneliness. I want to live this life now; with Fairy Tail."
"I understand." The latter nodded. "But I still think that you shouldn't use the Fairy Heart anymore."
"I'll try not to." Juvia conceded. "Unless there's an emergency."
Before Mavis could say more, Gray stirred again and groaned; signaling he was about to wake up.
She gave Juvia one last pleading look before walking away. Once she was at a safe distance, she looked back at them.
Watching as Juvia wrapped her arms around him and Gray hesitated before hugging her back, Mavis sighed once again. "I hope that at least their story will have a happier ending."
July of X791
"Lucy!" Natsu's scream resonated throughout the stadium once he rushed to catch the celestial mage.
Juvia watched him, noticing the familiar pain and desperation that Zeref had shown so many years before.
Can anyone else tell that he absolutely loves her?
It was clear as day, but not clear to all apparently.
Soon her attention was caught by Gray, who rushed after Natsu. He seemed tense; which was understandable after having been forced to watch one of his closest friends be tortured.
Though Juvia knew that's why he didn't spare a glance at her, it still hurt to be ignored after she had just declared her love for him in front of everyone.
Although; if she were to be honest; it might be best if he says nothing. She had a feeling that his response might not be positive.
Everything with Gray was so complicated. There were times when Juvia was sure he felt the same, but during others it seemed he didn't even think about it.
It had become rather irritating how he could ignore her one moment, then become sweet and caring in the next.
It specially didn't help that he acted like a jealous boyfriend whenever Lyon interacted with her.
Juvia had never encountered someone as confusing and complicated as Gray Fullbuster in her 100 years of existence, but somehow that only made her fall for him even more.
"Come on, Lucy, please say something." Hearing his voice, her attention went back to the present situation.
Noticing the fear in his eyes once he tried to awake their friend, her heart squeezed with sorrow.
"What in the hell is your problem?" There was an unmistakable yell. Natsu. "You went way too far!" Juvia followed his angry gaze towards Minerva and frowned.
How could someone be so cruel and ruthless?
"Hang on, I need to give her emergency treatment!" Wendy yelled and Juvia realized that she was rushing towards the celestial mage.
I should do the same. No time to get distracted.
"I'll help you." Chelia offered; she was running closely behind the water mage.
Good. With the two of them helping Lucy, she'll be fine.
"Just hang in there, Lucy." Having reached the celestial mage, Juvia stood behind Chelia as the two healers combined their magic.
Her attention shifted between Lucy's concernedly pale face to the rest of team Natsu, who were facing off against Minerva and her pals from Sabertooth.
They traded dirty looks and threats, with Erza reminded them that making an enemy of Fairy Tail was a decision that they would regret.
Juvia knew just how true that statement was. She hoped they would face the consequences soon, but for now her focus was on Lucy.
It was truly worrying that the celestial mage's injuries didn't seem to be lessening despite being healed by both Wendy and Chelia.
Why wasn't their magic working?
Soon two guards came with a gurney, so Juvia and Wendy began attempting to lift Lucy up until Natsu rushed to her side.
Understanding that he wanted to do it himself, they stepped away and watched as he carefully took the celestial mage into his arms; dismissing the gurney with a shake of the head.
Fairy Tail Teams A and B plus Chelia followed him to the infirmary, where Porlyusica was already waiting.
Juvia followed Team Natsu closely, keeping an eye on Lucy to see if her condition improved.
Once Natsu gently placed the latter on the first bed and sat on the chair beside it, the water mage smiled softly.
He's not going to leave her side, is he? He'll stay here until she wakes up because he needs to know if she'll be okay.
Her thoughts were confirmed a moment later when Porlyusica began scolding the dragon slayer and trying to persuade him to leave.
He refused to, claiming he wasn't leaving until Lucy was awake. Thus Gray and Erza had to half drag him to the waiting room that was being filled with Fairy Tail members.
Juvia watched from her chosen spot by the window as the latter tried to comfort him. "She's going to be okay, Natsu."
"She was hurt pretty bad." Gray muttered, ignoring Erza's glare.
"At least she managed to get second place." Gajeel said and Levy frowned at him.
"Is that really all you care about?" His face hardened.
"Of course not! Do you really think I'm happy that blondie is hurt?" Juvia chose to intervene before this turned into a fight.
"No one thinks that." Gajeel glanced at her and already knew something was wrong. "What's wrong?"
"Are you okay, Juvia?" Mirajane asked. Now all eyes were on the water mage.
It's taking too long. Lucy should be better by now.
"Yes." She offered a weak smile. "Just worried about Lucy."
"She's going to be fine." Erza repeated.
"I don't understand." Wendy whispered, exasperated. "Chelia and I joined our powers, so why didn't it heal her?"
"You did a great job, Wendy." Mirajane reassured the young girl.
"That is a good question, though." Levy frowned.
Something isn't right. Wendy's magic has never failed before.
"My guess is that Minerva's magic power is stronger than we had imagined." Makarov suggested. He had been deep in thought ever since entering the room.
"There's something strange about it." Erza said, crossing her arms.
"I don't care what her magic is, I just want to take her down!" Natsu yelled and many people nodded in agreement.
Minerva's magic. It did feel strange; different. What if Lucy was in more danger than they'd assumed?
It was decided. Juvia had to check up on the celestial mage and make sure that she would be alright.
"Excuse me." Natsu frowned when the water mage tried to move past him.
"Where are you going?" Gray asked and she tried not to look at him.
Why is he always so distracting?
"I'm going to check up on Lucy." His confusion was clear once she avoided his gaze. After all, she had never done that before.
"But Porlyusica said…" Natsu started.
"I don't care." Juvia firmly said, catching him off guard.
Seeing an opportunity, she slightly pushed him to the side and managed to move forward to reach the infirmary.
Thankfully, it had been spelled to be soundproof so no one could hear what happened inside.
Closing the door behind her, Juvia's eyes were drawn towards the nearest bed.
Lucy was still as pale, lifeless and injured as before. It seemed no matter what anyone tried, she wasn't getting better.
"What are you doing here?" Porlyusica yelled as soon as she spotted the water mage.
"Her condition isn't improving." Juvia whispered, taking another step until she was in front of the bed.
The healer sighed. "Something is preventing her wounds from being healed."
They could try to figure out what that was, but time was running out. Saving Lucy was the most important thing and Juvia quickly realized that there was only one way to guarantee her friend's survival.
This is an emergency.
She looked in Porlyusica's direction. "I can help her."
"How?" The healer frowned, confused.
Lucy drew in a long, deep breath and her body trembled. She seemed to be in pain and Juvia wanted that to be over and fast.
"No time to explain." Any explanation would include revealing secrets that were reserved only to masters of Fairy Tail.
"Alright." Porlyusica nodded before stepping away.
Juvia sat at the edge of the bed and placed a hand on the celestial mage's forehead. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and soon enough felt magic power coursing through her.
A bright green light spread across her body, then the glow was transferred to Lucy's. Miraculously, the latter's injuries began disappearing one by one until her skin was once again flawless, the color returned to her face and her breathing returned to normal.
It was like she had never been injured at all.
"How?" Porlyusica watched this in amazement.
"There you go." Juvia whispered after the light had disappeared. Briefly glancing at the healer, her expression turned serious. "You can't tell anyone it was me. Please, promise me."
"Why not?" Porlyusica was genuinely confused.
"It's complicated." That didn't even begin to cover the truth.
The healer assessed the young woman in front of her. After a few moments, she concluded that this was serious, so best to keep the secret. "What should I say, then?"
"Wendy and Chelia's powers were delayed because of the extent of Lucy's injuries." Juvia suggested.
"Alright." Porlyusica nodded again and the water mage gave her a thankful look.
Juvia watched as she moved towards the door, opening it and walking outside. Then her voice resonated throughout the building once she explained that Lucy's condition had finally improved thanks to Wendy and Chelia's efforts.
I don't know why you agreed to keep my secret, but thank you.
There are more parts to come...