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When it came to fashion, Juvia hadn't had much reason to get into it. Due to the rain that followed her around for most of her life, she wore fuzzy coats and hats to keep warm. Even after her life changed upon joining Fairy Tail, she hadn't deviated from this style, becoming too used and comfortable with it.
And Gajeel had mentioned something about the idea of her changing clothes, once. In their earliest days in Fairy Tail, she had pondered the idea of switching up her look, to better separate herself from Phantom Lord and gain her new guildmates' approval. However, Gajeel disagreed. There was no point in being anything except who you were, regardless of how everyone else felt about it. That had been the sentiment he shared with her - and continued to exemplify as their time in Fairy Tail had matured. He didn't always get along with the other members, yet neither had they forced him out.
So Juvia had kept her "gloomy" aesthetic, albeit with an update: she felt more courage in trying to connect with people (as hard as it was), and felt encouraged to smile and laugh with people. She'd thought Phantom Lord was the first time she'd been accepted by people, but the experience compared with Fairy Tail's was night and day.
Yet now there was just one small problem: she didn't have anything suitable for the ballroom party celebrating the end of the Grand Magic Games! Her best dress still felt too plain for the occasion. Maybe it was going against Gajeel's advice a little, but she wanted to feel like a proper ballroom dancer - for herself and for having an authentic experience, rather than to fit in. To be fair, he was changing things up with his hair for the event, anyway.
With nothing in her closet, that meant her only choice was to go out shopping. Fortunately, since they were in the capital city of Crocus, she expected that the boutiques here would have things that catered more to the nobles that threw those kinds of parties regularly. And she had been right. The unlucky factor, however, was actually obtaining even one of those dresses. For one thing, it was pretty common to have things personally tailored - many of the dresses Juvia came across were actually display-only, with the final product needing time to be fully prepped. Even then, prices were way higher than in Magnolia; with Juvia no longer being an S-Class wizard, she had lost the salary of one, too. Not that she was struggling... But was she really going to set her savings back just for one dress she was only going to wear once?!
Well, it was something she was still considering, as the actual games carried on. She had time to make a final decision, but it was also running out. Even with her growing comfortable with her new guild, she still felt awkward to ask for assistance - especially with them being so far away from their own homes and closets, no one might be able to help her even if they wanted to. Maybe she could ask Erza, though? The Requip mage basically carried her closet everywhere - not just in the sense of her magic, but also in the sheer amount of luggage she brought.
During one of the periods of downtime in between tournament events, Juvia lingered in the small crowd her guild formed on the streets, eyes peeled for Erza Scarlet.
"Maybe it was a bit silly to bring that many clothes... But I just didn't want to come all the way here and end up regretting my choice, so I brought options. You can't possibly compare me to Erza like that! Especially when she'll punish you for saying such a thing in the first place!!"
"Heh, I always wanted to duel with Titania, but between the guild war and the S-Class exam, I still haven't had the chance."
"Don't go wishing for it! You're strong, but she's Erza!"
Juvia's eyes and ears caught onto the conversation, finding herself growing too distracted to continue her search. Maybe a part of that had been due to her recognizing the voices, becoming drawn to them in spite of her current "mission".
There had been a brief time when Juvia had been jealous of Levy McGarden - of muttering the phrase "love rival" under her breath - and maybe in depths Juvia refused to acknowledge, she still was. But she had held back in public, aware of one thing: she hadn't made the first move, Levy did. It wasn't Levy's fault that Juvia hadn't realized her feelings for Gajeel went deeper than friendship until he and Levy came back from Tenrou closer.
Once again, that was on display; although an outsider wouldn't get it at first. They were bickering as they usually did, but Juvia had cracked the code - this was obviously how they displayed their love, at least the courting stage of it. Looking back, she shouldn't have been too surprised that Blacksteel Gajeel Redfox had a hard time being vulnerable , but it was a bit shocking that Levy could be so fierce in any context. She also found herself not taken aback that Gajeel's type was apparently short and sweet book nerds with a hidden feistiness - totally the opposite of Juvia. If Gajeel had been into gloomy girls, he would've asked Juvia out ages ago. He was always the type to speak his mind, never beating around the bush.
Her mind was going to ignore the glaring issue that he hadn't said anything overt about liking Levy, either.
"Anyway, I don't see what's the problem with just buying something here. That's what I did."
Oh. It seemed Gajeel had a similar idea as her, albeit finding success with it. Was it something to do with men's clothes being a simpler affair than an elaborate ball gown? Or was he just more decisive than Juvia? Wait, what was she saying, of course he was! That was literally one of things she liked about him.
"What kind of shop did Gajeel go to?" Juvia had found herself asking, having come up right behind Gajeel. He and Levy barely jumped in response to her sudden arrival; Gajeel had had years to get used to her, especially with Dragon Slayer enhanced senses, but it was a bit (conflictingly) nice that Levy was ahead of her guildmates in becoming unphased.
In the brief period she had to think, she had come up with the idea that the shop that helped Gajeel might help her. However, as Gajeel gave his unhelpful answer - having not really paid attention to the stores, only focused on locating clothes and acquiring them - she quickly realized a potential flaw: some stores were designed only for men's wear. Even if Gajeel properly remembered, there was a chance it was one of those. Or, if it wasn't, it was a place Juvia had already gone to. She had quite literally checked everywhere, after all.
Luckily, Gajeel didn't pry about her question, likely figuring it was the usual small talk and friendly curiosity. Instead, Levy asked her own, which ended up with the same result.
"By the way, Juvia, we were talking about the ball and everyone's fashion preparations for it. With how you usually dress, I'm curious what you'll be bringing!"
Levy smiled. She had that odd way of smiling - of making it seem genuine, when Juvia was sure there was an underlying venom. Even though, like all Fairy Tail wizards, Juvia felt warmth and content in her presence, the back of her mind kept screaming at her not to be fooled: she had to be just like the people who'd scorned her in the past. Like now... "With how you usually dress". The comments about Juvia's fashion sense had gone down since joining, but the main proponent of the remaining ones had been Levy.
At first, it had tickled at Juvia, but she chose not to say anything so as not to cause a scene. As the newcomer, everyone would side with Levy, anyway. Then she took things Levy said more personally, after Tenrou Island and after it became glaringly obvious she was wrapping a finger around Gajeel. But once Juvia reflected, her jealousy turned to lamentation. She gave up the fight. Gajeel, before he had been her crush, was her best friend. If Levy was the one to make him happy in that way, she would support him. Even if it bitterly felt like Levy picked up on Juvia's side of things - ramping up her disguised jeering in order to gloat.
"Oh, Juvia has..." Juvia let her words trail for too long of a beat, enough for Gajeel to take note and do his thing.
"You don't got a dress yet?" he clocked almost immediately. Pride should've made Juvia deny or lie, but it was too hard in the face of her closest and longest friend.
"Yes... Juvia was looking for something suitable for a ball, but it's been difficult."
"Right. I guess most of these shops don't got your usual thing."
She fought not to wince, knowing Gajeel didn't really mean anything bad by that. In that time Juvia struggled and failed to think of a response, Levy cut back in.
"I have a spare dress. If the size difference between us isn't too bad, I can lend it to you."
Blinking, Juvia's mind still searched for words, even as her mouth murmured, "Sure..."
"Great! You should probably try it out ASAP, just to be sure!"
In a matter of seconds, Juvia's hand was taken by Levy's, which dragged her away from Gajeel and everything else. Hyperfocused on the girl touching and guiding her, the walk to Levy's temporary room was a blur. The only other thing Juvia paid attention to was her own thoughts, which were grasping for an explanation to the current situation - and what she could expect in the next few minutes. She was once again skeptical that Levy truly meant to aid her - this had to be a ploy to isolate her, to get them both away from Gajeel, and expand her taunting in ways she couldn't in front of others. But the more she pondered, the more things confused her. How talented did one need to be to hide such malicious intent behind what truly felt to be a genuinely, welcoming demeanor? If Juvia had never been bullied before, would she have ever "picked up" on any suspicion? Because it was hard for her to tell if Levy was the one giving anything away.
When Juvia finally laid eyes on the dress, her confliction turned into a baffled guilt. If it had been ugly, maybe she could still go on believing that Levy harbored some grudge or malice towards her - whether it be from wanting Gajeel, from Juvia being ex-Phantom Lord, or Juvia just being someone detestable. Instead, Juvia had to reconsider who really had been holding a grudge; she wanted to be a supportive friend towards Gajeel's happiness, but maybe she could've coped with the grief more if Levy was secretly awful, and maybe that would even give some hope. That's the subconscious fantasy Juvia had realized she'd been living in.
Because the dress was gorgeous.
"Here it is! I bought it a few months before Tenrou, because I really fell in love with the look. But when I tried it a while back, I realized it wasn't really me." After holding it up for enough time for Juvia's eyes to devour it, she turned it around and pressed it against Juvia's body. "It looks absolutely perfect on you, though! Maybe it was destiny that I got it, for a different reason..."
Juvia - still hypnotized by watching her own body covered by the dress - just barely caught how Levy's voice trailed off, in a way that was familiar to Juvia herself.
No... Maybe Juvia had replaced one delusion with another? There was no way...
Seated at one of the white-cloth draped tables encircling the ballroom, a wizard woman with curly, watery locks watched the dancers with gloomy blue eyes. Nearly reaching the floor was loose, velvet cloth almost matching the dark blue of her eyes. Black lace outlining appeared at the end of the skirt, the end of the sleeves, and around the opening of the collar. Shimmery blue of a lighter shade peeked out in purposefully crafted crevices starting from her torso and streaking down the skirt in diagonal patterns - almost like rain against a cloudy sky. Unlike most of the other dresses, with a slight puff to their skirts, this one hung closer - but not tightly - to the body. But no one seemed any less pleased at the sight. To the contrary, the wearer had gotten a compliment from nearly everyone in attendance.
Still, Juvia sat alone, her smile having faded now that the last of the compliments had been delivered - because there was no way she could respond to them in any other way except glee. But what else could inspire joy? Everyone else was pairing off for dancing, sometimes switching partners with each music change. Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale had asked for her hand at one point, but between him starting to pick a fight with Gray and one of Lyon's guildmates shooting her a glare, that ended up not going anywhere.
In her surveillance of the banquet hall, she caught the late arrival of Gajeel and Levy, coming out from one of the smaller side rooms in the castle - together. Well, she had already watched Levy dance with her friends Jet and Droy earlier in the night, until she had become absent. Pantherlily had also been around the banquet for sometime, so Gajeel had to have been somewhere.
They must've been somewhere secret, together. That's what Juvia decided. The intense battle with dragons they just finished nearly ended in tragedy - for the kingdom at large and for the wizards personally. People almost died. Weakness had been felt by all, in spite of the victorious outcome. Juvia wouldn't be surprised that, in the wake of this, some might re-evaluate their present and future. If they could die at any moment, what regrets would they be taking in the afterlife? What things would they wish they had said or done? Even if being part of a guild meant one was never alone, was there a different kind of company they wished they got to enjoy?
Juvia had felt something like that herself. She'd nearly died. According to Levy, Gajeel almost didn't survive, either.
Perhaps if she had managed to find Gajeel earlier in the night, she would've done something that went against her previously-thought firm stance on "supporting his chosen happiness". Even if she was sure she was only a friend to him and Levy much more, the desperation was like a fever pitch. She didn't expect anything to come of it - she hoped nothing would become ruined between them. It just felt so important to get this secret out of her, to have him finally know, regardless of how things turned out between them and Levy.
Yet seeing how they reached the dance floor together, joining in seamlessly on the current song, that desire was fended off once again. Levy beamed up at him as she raised their hands, taking the lead while Gajeel surprisingly matched her moves well and only really stumbled when it came to maintaining his iron expression. Outside of their defeat at the hands of Fairy Tail - and his own defeat at the hands of Natsu - Juvia had not seen anything phase him. Not before Levy. Even Juvia's own mannerisms - things that either weirded people out or merely confounded them, he received them as if they were normal. Levy hadn't swayed and lit up like this with her dances with Jet and Droy, either. They were much in the same boat as Juvia - they made Levy happy, but not in the way they wished they could, in the way Gajeel seemed to somehow master right under their feet, all in spite of their many years together and deeper knowledge of each other.
Juvia had her friend. It was all she had ever wanted in the eternity before she joined Phantom Lord. Even in the suffocation of that guild, it still felt like the Rain Woman and Blacksteel had a mutual, not unpleasant understanding between them. So why did it hurt? And why did Levy's bright smile towards her make her flutter earlier and make her sink now?
Her eyes followed the dancing forms of Gajeel and Levy; even as her thoughts took over her awareness, her subconscious still guided her gaze, in a way she might not be able to brush off as a spaced-out stare. It was a good thing most people were focused on their own dancing or their conversations. How could she explain herself? Not even she was sure of her own self, her own behavior, her own motivations.
From her perspective, everything must be going magically for the couple of honor. Then, Levy's eyes went past Gajeel's head and onto her. They had, in their dancing, traversed one end of the dance floor to the other, reaching all the way to Juvia's table. One of Levy's hands parted from Gajeel, pointing in Juvia's direction. No, right at her, there was no mistaking that. Levy's lips let out a message Juvia could not overhear, then they broke off from each other. Gajeel turned around and gave a brief wave at Juvia, before going off to other parts of the banquet hall. Meanwhile Levy went straight for her. What was she doing?! What were they doing?! This was their moment!
"There you are!" Levy greeted, her voice and expression as sunny as the dress she had on. "Actually, I saw you earlier, but you seemed busy with other people."
"Oh, yes... Lamia Scale was giving Juvia some regards." At the end of her baffled haze, another thought struck her. "Oh! They were complimenting the dress Levy gave Juvia!"
"Well, duh! It's like it was made for you. If I didn't remember I bought it, I'd believe you had it custom-made."
Shrinking away, Juvia asked, "By the way... Juvia didn't notice Levy was looking for her."
"I thought we could hang out some during the party." From the corner of her eye, she spotted Levy's hand suddenly being very close to her, outstretched and palm-up. "Do you have time for a dance with me? I'm guessing you've been resting your feet."
"Ah, well..." Slowly, Juvia forced herself to look at Levy's hand - the best she could muster. "Juvia... Levy would be the first to dance with Juvia..."
For tonight, and possibly since ever.
"Then I'm glad to have the honor." Hearing that soft voice, Juvia glanced upwards to see the smile she'd already been expecting by now. It was like a gentle siren's song, enchanting her hand to take Levy's.
A second later, Juvia was off her chair, blinking from the table to the center of the dance floor. With their already interlocked hands staying together, Levy's other hand landed on Juvia's back. It kept them steady as they began their dance. For that reason, Juvia quickly found herself latching onto Levy's side. Then she kept it there, since even that spot felt like too much of a transgression.
For what felt like an hour - but realistically had to have been just minutes - Juvia tried to keep her feet on-beat and out of Levy's way while meeting Levy's beaming gaze. Her mouth was partly open; the shock at the turn of events was hard to contain, but she tried to keep the expression as neutral as possible. In her astonishment, it was hard to smile, and it'd be rude to frown - so hopefully this was an acceptable compromise? Well, Levy had never commented on her face before. Even Gajeel had untactfully done so in the past.
Speaking of him, the sight of flowing black hair briefly broke the spell on her. She spotted Gajeel in front of a food table with the Dragon Slayers and Exceeds of Sabertooth. The darker of the human duo - Rogue Cheney - stood out in her memory. With the knowledge he had once been a fanboy of Blacksteel's during the Phantom Lord days, it was no surprise that they were conversing. Except for why Gajeel would abandon Levy to do so - to just leave Levy with her. Maybe she needed to tweak her perception a bit - maybe this was a case of a girl in love and a boy hopelessly oblivious. Like between them.
There was a pause in the music, as the current song ended and the musicians prepared for the next in their setlist. The dancers - Levy and Juvia included - came to a standstill, using this as an opportunity to take a break or call it quits entirely. Levy and Juvia stayed where they were, coming down from the clearly secret magic that arose from ballgowns and music coming together.
Before either of them could speak - suffering a delay from their own inability - Gajeel had apparently finished his conversation with Sabertooth, catching up with them.
"Levy wasn't kidding. You're fu-" When they both looked at his arrival, he suddenly cleared his throat. "That dress looks nice on you."
Juvia blinked twice. First at the realization that compliment was for her - and then when it registered that Levy had apparently said something like that about her to him. Was it not a concern of hers - for Gajeel to know others were pretty? In her own dress ?! Unless...
Now she was sure. Not of the weird "yearning" delusion that suddenly jumpscared her back when she first tried on the dress, but a more realistic possibility: Levy wanted to be friends. She wanted to be friends with the best friend of her lover, not rivals like Juvia had jumped to! It would hurt him more if the two most important girls in the world to him were fighting - how did Juvia not see that before?!
Gajeel grinned as he threw yet another curveball. "And you did her justice as a dancing partner, after my horrid attempt."
Could they stop doing that?! Could they let Juvia reach a contented conclusion and keep it?! What did he mean by that? He had been a captivating sight for Juvia - and she barely kept it together herself! How could he not see that?! Their romantic ballroom waltz had to have been way more magical for Levy than the friendly frolicing she got with Juvia.
As if to prove her point, Levy giggled and gave a playful pat at Gajeel's side (the furthest she could reach). "Oh Gajeel, no need to put yourself down like that, you weren't so bad! You and Juvia both did so well for your first tries!"
"Yes, Gajeel was so cool-!" Her whispery response was cut off at the whirling look Gajeel suddenly gave her. She'd nearly given her earlier (unintended) spying away, yet apparently something else was on his mind.
"Nobody's danced with you yet?!"
"Er, no..." Why did he sound like this was the greatest plot twist in literary history?
And like the greatest injustice. "Why the hell not?!"
Despite her usual tolerance for his sudden volume changes - and his resting bitch face - she found herself flinching at the question.
"Well, I was frankly shocked you hadn't danced with her yet." Now Levy sounded accusatory, with her hands on her hips. How, after claiming her spot as their supportive friend, had Juvia still ended up coming between them?!
Somewhere in the muttering Gajeel did, Juvia thought she heard "I was gonna..." If only she had the hearing of the Dragon Slayer, so her silly brain would stop hallucinating silly things. Or, well, maybe he would dance with her, in a best friend sort of way - in the pitying, "I know no one else will because no one else gets us like we do each other". That way. That way they'd always been. Platonically. She phrased that with platonic subtext, yes?
Suddenly, her hand was in Levy's again. Looking between them, she found Levy had also grabbed Gajeel's.
"Well, we can 'iron' out Gajeel's dancing," Levy started, grinning up at him before glancing at Juvia. "And up Juvia's dancing time, while the night is still going."
They were carried off to join the beat of the new song. In their haste to balance the line-up Levy had started, Juvia and Gajeel locked their remaining free hands, completing the three-way circle. Juvia was struck at the feel of what usually looked like rough hands from afar - she'd hardly ever held hands with Gajeel, but even this felt different than the few times they were forced to due to circumstances. It was a hot iron around her fingers - or was she the warm one? That was hard to tell, the colors at the corner of her eye closest to Gajeel not helping matters. Gajeel didn't blush. Juvia was sure he hadn't even blushed around Levy.
Levy... She'd given Juvia a beautiful dress without being asked. She'd gone out of her way to offer Juvia a dance. She was always smiling at her...
Gajeel had teased her the least back at Phantom Lord, backing off firmly for good once he caught how rainy that made her feel. He had followed her to Fairy Tail. He looked more offended than Juvia felt, when it came to poor treatment towards her that sometimes still cropped up.
She didn't know what she'd do without Gajeel. And now... She didn't want to let go of Levy, either. She wanted to keep feeling this warmth, more than from anyone else in the guild. These feelings she felt denied for nearly her whole life, she felt she was finally allowed to have. The clear value she held in their eyes and grasps was the permission she finally recognized. She hoped she was sending back the same sentiment to them - she was way out of practice with that.
A minute into their swaying and circling, Levy's hand loosened from Juvia's. Slinking up her arm, it landed and held Juvia's waist. Juvia felt a slight pull to come closer, with some of the arm-length distance between them slashing following Juvia's first steps.
"I'm really glad you joined our guild, Juvia." She heard it in one ear.
Juvia sent a smile back to Levy. "Juvia is very happy she did, too."