Chapter Text
Juvia watched with a fond smile as Gajeel continually fussed over Levy and her now round belly. The poor girl was six months pregnant with twins but looked ready to pop any minute because of her naturally small size.
The dragon slayer’s paternal instincts were kicking in and he was making it everyone's problem, thankfully Jett and Dray had learned that Gajeel’s natural ‘rough-around-the-edges’ personality wasn’t a personal attack. He had actually grown quite close to the boys and brought them on higher stakes jobs with him too.
Gajeel’s current dilemma was that Levy needed new shoes because she could no longer buckle up her usual sandals without some assistance and he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. Even though Levy insisted she was fine and had slip-on shoes that she can use instead.
His last meltdown was how they would get money after Levy gave birth. Jett and Droy insisted that they would help Levy with absolutely anything while Gajeel went on jobs to provide for Levy and the twins, which somewhat calmed the dragon slayer down. He was also reminded that she had Juvia for any woman related issues the boys wouldn’t understand.
He seemed to be taking every little, small, minute thing very seriously. Which is great to see from a father-to-be, but overwhelming as his friend.
Juvia’s eyes shifted to Gray who was across the guildhall talking to Cana, Gildarts and Elfman, he was laughing at what was probably a bickering session between the father and daughter duo. He briefly caught her eye and gave her a sweet smile, making her heart flutter and back straighten with pride.
“Oi, stop making eyes at your man friend and focus on the issue at hand!” Gajeel barked at her suddenly, pulling her out of the moment. “What the hell happens if I’m on a job and Levy needs a bath-“ She simply stared as Gajeel rambled on about how Jett and Droy couldn’t lift a naked and pregnant Levy out of the bathtub. How it would ever get to that Juvia would never know.
He was now yelling at Jett and Droy for being pervs.
“Wow, fatherhood really does change a man, huh?” Gray's voice sounded from beside her, making her jump slightly. He had somehow slid onto the bench with her since their eye contact broke. “You looked like you needed some back up over here.”
“Thank you, this has become our new daily routine as a team… Gajeel is so worried and protective already it’s quite sweet,” Juvia blushed as Gray leaned back and ever so casually rested his arm behind her on the wood on the back of the bench.
“Team Shadowgear is already having issues with their new members.” He joked, raising an eyebrow at her. “That was quick.”
She giggled in response, “not issues. Just learning how to support each other outside of missions. This team's dynamic is very different to how it was with the Element 4’s way of communicating, I’m also normally used to only dealing with Gajeel and Lily on jobs.”
“Yeah, no kidding. I bet Gajeel’s new attitude is a lot to take after knowing him for so long too.” Juvia nodded and Gray smiled at her. “Big bad Black Steel with a baby would’ve been a terrifying concept back in the day.”
“Sometimes Juvia does wonder about what Jose and the other Phantom Lord members would think of us now, settled and in love with two fairies,” she smirked as he lightly blushed. “The whole of Phantom was actually rooting for Totomaru and Juvia to become an item, you know?”
“I don’t think a fire mage and a water mage would be the best romantic combination,” he grumbled and shifted his gaze away from her with a huff. “Fire doesn’t suit you.”
Juvia chuckled and nudged him with her elbow, “Juvia agrees.”
Content with each other's silence, they watched as Gajeel narrated the poor boys, until Pantherlily reminded him not to yell in front of Levy in case the twins had dragon hearing abilities, which immediately shut him up.
“Alright, enough of this,” Gray shifted from the bench and stood, motioning for Juvia to join him.
“So, when’s your next job? Pantherlily and Juvia are going west with Jett and Droy to the Desert Village, they’ll need a water mage on hand with all the heat,” Juvia stood up and dusted her dress off, following Gray away from her rowdy teammates and towards the door. She knew that any of them needed her; they could just use their communication lacrima to reach her in the meantime.
“We have nothing planned for right now, which is nice. I think Erza wants us all to stay around Magnolia for a while. How long will you be gone for? I was hoping we could spend a little more time together,” Gray said while calmly looking down at her. She blushed and looked down, he’d been more and more open with her ever since Team Natsu returned from the 100 years quest.
She was still getting used to it, but thoroughly enjoyed it every time it happened.
“It won’t be long, it’ll take less than a week according to the job poster,” smiled brightly at him. “We leave in a few hours if you feel like getting some lunch?”
Gray nodded and subtly lifted his arm to create a gap between his torso and elbow, taking the hint Juvia slid her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder while they walked toward the food district.
“See anything up there, Lily?” Jett shouted to the sky while shielding his eyes from the blaring sun with one hand.
“Nothing exciting, what about you Juvia?” The group looked to the small oasis where Juvia refabricated into her solid form.
“Nothing to report… Perhaps the strange energy the villagers felt is coming more towards the town?” She suggested and looked nervously to the west of Desert Village to Oak Town, where a large, derelict, concrete building of her resided. The old Headquarters of the Phantom Lord Guild.
“Are you sure you want to go there? You and Lily can stay out here and Droy and I can check the town,” Jett suggested, picking up that she was uncomfortable with the idea of approaching her old guildhall.
“No, I don’t mind but thank you. I just hope you both know how sorry I am still, I was more just worried that you both would lose trust in me if I insisted we go to Oak Town,” she looked between Jett and Droy who smiled sadly while Pantherlily had a look of confusion as he eased back down to the ground and retracted his wings.
“We trust you, Juvia. There’s nothing to worry about. Besides, I’ve heard of this one restaurant in Oak Town that exclusively smokes their meat with the special oak trees that grow in the forest nearby,” Droy led the way towards the town and continued to talk about the various foods he’d like to try. Jett placed a hand on her shoulder as they walked and nodded at her, letting her know the duo held no grudge about the war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail from years ago.
She walked alongside her three teammates until she heard a familiar whisper in the wind, making her stop dead and go an even paler white colour and her body stiffened.
“Juvia? What’s wrong?” Pantherlily, now in his smaller form, put a hand on his sword, preparing himself to fight whatever had affected Juvia so suddenly.
“I’m surprised you remember the sound of my voice, dear Juvia. I was beginning to think you had forgotten all about me!” A harsh voice sounded from a magic circle in the ground in front of the group and from it rose José Porla, the previous master of the Phantom Lord guild.
Lily immediately transformed into his larger self while Jett and Droy got themselves into a position to fight. Juvia stood stiff where she was and stared at the now much older man.
“Master… Juvia thought you were…” her voice trailed off and José simply smirked at her speechlessness. He stepped away from the magic circle and let it disappear, but not coming any closer he held a hand towards her.
“Yes, I was briefly imprisoned, however, I am now a free man. So join me, my dear, and bring Gajeel back home so we can have a true reunion. The other elements are waiting,” he smirked and held his hand up flat, his palm facing upward. A small projection image of her previous team members shackled to a stonewall appeared, to her horror.
“She’ll never go back to the likes of you, not if we have anything to do about it!” Jett yelled at the man, stretching his left leg back to prepare to defend the group.
“Well, it’s not as if you can,” José said smoothly, and as he did phantoms created by his magic manifested and wrapped around Jett, Droy and Pantherlily rendering them powerless against him. “Now, what do you say, Juvia?”
“Juvia will never bring Gajeel back to you, he doesn’t deserve this!” Juvia exclaimed, thinking of the future child that Gajeel was already so in love with. Who knows what José would make him do to Levy, with child or not.
“Oh, but you will. I can have any memory your precious fairies have of you both erased, gone without a trace. As if you never even met,” He smirked, and she knew he was telling the truth. José was a much more powerful man than he could ever show during the war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail, while Fairy Tail had sheer, brute strength, José’s control of the mind was terrifying. “You will bring him back to me, and you will both be mine again!”
His phantoms suddenly wrapped around Juvia and lifted her off the ground, squeezing her thighs, her waist, her neck, and trapping her arms to her sides. She could feel the phantoms’ ability to nullify her magic had worked already, all she could do was glare back at him.
Her teammates' screams fell almost silent as the phantoms containing them covered their mouths and tightened their grip around their bodies.
“You will tell me where he is. I know he is not at the Fairy Tail guild hall, my phantoms can see everything,” her heart stopped at that, she thanked whatever powers were above that Gajeel had probably taken Levy home early for the evening, or maybe on a last-minute vacation date. “Spill it, my dear. Or your friends may get a real taste of what the Phantom Lord guild could have served them all those years ago.”
“NO!” She screamed as she saw a black phantom trail towards Droy's back. “If you leave Gajeel, and the rest of Fairy Tail alone and unharmed… Juvia will come with you. Willingly.”
She saw the eyes of her friends get wider and they thrashed and screamed, only to become weaker from José’s magic. She smiled sadly and let a tear drop from her eye and down her cheek, José’s phantom slowly lowered her back to the ground and let her go.
“There… that wasn’t so hard, was it?” José spoke, “you have yourself a deal. I won’t touch a single member of Fairy Tail, but I will erase any memories Fiore holds of you being in that dreadful guild, lest one of your little friends tries to free you.”
She nodded and turned back to her guild mates, who were still trying their hardest to reach for her. Her heart was heavy, she tried to smile at them but couldn’t stop her tears as she realised she would lose the family she was so proud to be a part of. But, she thought, this is the only way her family will be safe, away from José, and away from the wrath Phantom Lord.
This realization closed the sky’s above them, her devastation causing a rain storm that drenched the area in seconds.
She pictured Gray’s face as she stepped towards José, his new found affection with her and all the time they were supposed to spend together after she got back from this mission. She felt sick, he would be so upset if he knew she was handing herself back.
Oh, Gray-sama… Juvia is so sorry.
Her hand rested on top of José’s outstretched palm, and she looked up to where his eyes were. He looked so proud and smug. As he clicked his fingers she heard the thumps of her teammates' bodies all slouch onto the sand.
“Now, your turn,” he placed two fingers on her forehead, and the world turned to black.