Chapter Text
August 1, X793
The party was beginning to die down when Gray approached Juvia. He had waited a bit, wanting her to sober up as much as possible before he did this. She had already tried to strip tonight, something she claimed to have picked up from him back when they lived together after the guild was disbanded. He already knew the whispers and rumors from his guildmates that would follow this, but he also knew that it was important to just get it over with.
“Hey, Juv? Can I talk to you in private?” He was already bracing himself when he watched her French Blue eyes light up.
“Of course, Gray! Juvia would love too!” She spun from where she was chatting with Lucy and Cana and practically skipped after Gray.
He purposely led her as far away from Lucy’s party as possible, not wanting the potential fallout of this long overdue conversation to disrupt her hard earned award and the party they had thrown in her honor.
After walking in silence for a few minutes, Juvia finally spoke up. “Where is Gray taking Juvia? Neither of them live in this direction.”
Gray sighed, knowing she had picked up on the fact he was leading her into the woods and away from civilization in preparation for what her response may be after their talk. He stopped under a ray of the full moon, looking to Ur for guidance at this moment.
Juvia stepped towards him, also drinking in the moonlight as her magic also drew power from the moon. Her eyes were directed upwards, staring at the stars in the sky but she was purposely getting closer so that she could snuggle up with him. She was likely imagining some moonlit romantic confession of his undying love for her.
Gray wasn’t blind. Seeing her now, bathed in the glow of the moon, he admired just how beautiful she really was. Her long, wavy phthalo blue hair framed her face and shoulders. Her downturned eyes with thick navy blue eyelashes, the light lipstick that made her lips pink and full. Her full hourglass figure, almost untouched from blemishes thanks to the water magic that kept her almost indestructible. Other than the particularly nasty scar she had on her abdomen from when they were forced to fight thanks to Alverez’s Winter wizard.
And it wasn’t just her physical appearance that was beautiful. At times, her personality could be quite attractive as well. She was a bit socially awkward and shy, but she was fiercely loyal and truly loved those she called friends. Even if she didn’t always show it in the best ways, especially towards Lucy, which was part of the reason he led her so far away from the party. Though of course, after this talk, she’d have a different target in mind for her jealous ire.
In all aspects, it would make sense for him to love her. To finally return those feelings she had made so very clear years ago. They worked well together, their magic meshed perfectly, and for the most part he got along with her. But he couldn’t just lie to her. He owed both her and himself that much.
She had moved in close and attempted to take his hand but Gray stepped away and shook his head. “Juvia, I brought you out here because we need to talk.”
There was that sparkle in her eyes again. “Talk about what?” She asked. Despite her feigning ignorance, it was clear that she believed that he was about to confess the exact opposite of what he really was.
“About us.” He answered.
“Oh, Gray!” She moved in to give him a hug, but he stepped out her reach and held his hand up to stop her.
“Juvia,” He took a deep breath, not wanting to look at the expression of pain and hurt that crossed her face when he rejected her embrace. “Do you remember that promise that I made you before we fought Alvarez?" It had been over a year since the war against the neighboring country, so much had happened in the aftermath that he hadn’t had the opportunity to do this sooner. “The promise that I would give you an answer?”
She nodded softly, clearly still clinging onto some little bit of hope of this conversation turning in her favor.
“I have your answer, Juvia. But, I don’t think you’ll like it…” He closed his eyes, reaching for the cross necklace he wore as a bit of reassurance. “Juvia, I, I can’t return your feelings. I’m sorry.”
He felt the first drops of rain before he looked at her. His mind briefly went back to the party, but knew that Erza had promised to try and get things moved in doors after they left. He hoped she had enough time because the rain was going to get much worse. Maybe he should’ve put Magnolia on flood alert. Then he tightened his hold on his cross to spark a bit of pain in his fingers and bring him back to the matter at hand rather than fantasizing about anything away from this.
Juvia was crying, but not quite in the way he had been expecting. She was ridged, frozen like a statue with her hands by her sides but shaking ever so slightly. She had tears flowing from her eyes, but not thick ones. She was doing her best to control her emotions and not bring forth rainclouds so severe that she drowned all of Magnolia. Her words surprised him more than her self control of keeping her emotions at bay.
“Ju-” She hiccuped a bit, choking slightly on her words. “ May- May she say some- something?”
“Yeah, of course,” Gray said.
“Juvia just… Just wants to say that Gray is… Is unlike anyone she has ever known. So, so, if she pushed him, or if she came on too strong…” She shivered and shook her head slightly as the rain fluctuated from a downpour back to a drizzle. “Or, or, if it's because she ambushed him, for that, she’ll say she was wrong.” She choked down another sob and Gray wanted to reach out and stop her tears. “And if Gray hates Juvia,”
His eyes widened at that, not wanting to believe she had actually said that. He moved to speak, to try and assure her that it wasn’t that at all. But she kept speaking over him, her words flooding from her mouth so that the rain didn’t do it instead.
“Then Juvia is sorry her love is too much for him to handle.” She finally moved, wiping at her face with her hands, smearing her makeup even more than it already was. “But Juvia’s not sorry for loving Gray!”
“Juvia,” Gray started.
“Let Juvia speak,” Juvia shook her head harder this time, causing the raindrops in her hair to splatter on him. She was almost rambling, taking soft gasps of air to stop her sobbing. “Juvia spent her whole life in the rain. Was cursed by it since she was just a baby. She was all alone her whole life, she had no friends but the ones she created herself. Only Gajeel is the friend she had before Gray came into her life. So when Gray helped clear her gloomy rain, she thought for sure that he was her dream come true. She thought she knew…”
Gray took a step towards her, but she backed away almost like a wounded and frightened animal. “Juvia, I’m sorry. I’m sorry this didn’t go the way you wanted, I’m sorry you’re hurt and, and, angry but I-”
Juvia let out a sound that was a mixture between a laugh and a sob. Her hands tangled in her wet hair as she stared down at the ground. “Juvia is angry! She’s restless and sad! She doesn’t understand, what about the moments that she swears that they had?” She had stopped trying to block her emotions down, the rain was pelting them now, almost like the rain was punishing Gray for what he was doing. “Juvia wishes that Gray would chase her, or try to embrace her the way she did for him! For once! For once, she wishes he would just… Lie and say that-”
Gray took her hands in his, causing her to look up at him in confusion. “I love you,” He told her.
Her eyebrows drew together in indigent disbelief, her eyes scanning his cerulean blue eyes for an answer she wasn’t aware she was asking for. “He-He does?” She asked.
Gray nodded before he pulled away from her again. “But not in the way that you want me to. I’m sorry, Juvia. I, I should’ve told you so much sooner but I didn’t realize it until a couple years ago. I’m in love with-”
“Is it Lucy?” She interrupted, almost ready to take her anger from Gray and spin it on someone, anyone else.
“No,” Gray stated firmly. “I’m in with Erza. I think I always have been… I didn’t realize it until she and I were working on cracking Avatar but-”
“Juvia has heard enough.” Juvia said softly. The rain let up a bit, but not by much. “Juvia… Juvia thanks Gray for his answer… She’s leaving now.”
Gray sighed again and ruffled the rain from his raven hair. He wasn’t sure what to do now other than go back home. The party was definitely over now, even if Erza had moved everyone indoors. Not that he felt like a party now anyway. Now, he just wanted to see Erza. And maybe smoke a cigarette.
As he walked back towards his apartment, he noticed the rain continue to fluctuate as Juvia worked through her emotions in solitude. Even though he knew she was heartbroken, he didn’t have to worry about her potentially going after Erza in any way. She’d never be crazy enough to try and fight Erza like that. Erza wasn’t someone that Juvia could intimidate or threaten, even if she wanted too. Still, the idea wasn’t something he was fond of thinking about and tried to clear it from his mind.
He knew Erza was waiting for him back at their apartment that they had recently moved in together. He didn’t want to tell her about how things had gone down, she’d be able to tell from the weather, but knew it was going to happen anyway. Knowing the guild, rumors would be everywhere by tomorrow morning, meaning that the two of them really only had tonight before their relationship was possibly outed to the entire guild. He just hoped no one would think that Erza was some kind of homewrecker that had stolen him from Juvia, though he knew those rumors would be flying around regardless. At least no one would be stupid enough to whisper those things around Erza, not unless they wanted to meet the end of her blade.
When he opened the door, Erza was doing exactly what he expected. She was pacing around the apartment while muttering to herself and stretching her fingers in a scratching-like motion by her sides. Her eyes met his and her worried expression changed to a forced neutral one. “Gray, if you’re going to take off your clothes, at least put them in the laundry basket.”
Gray looked down and noticed that he had taken off his wet clothes and just dropped them on the floor. “Sorry, Erz,” He said. He picked up his clothes and took them into the laundry room, leaving them in the basket after wringing them out in the sink. Then he went into their bedroom and changed into a white tank top and some boxer shorts to sleep in. He returned to the living room with one towel for the floor where his clothes had made a puddle, and one to dry his hair off.
When he was done, Erza sat on the couch and motioned for Gray to sit beside her. He leaned into her, relieved and glad to be home with the woman he loved.
“So, how’d it go?” She asked.
“Better than I expected,” He answered. “But still not great.”
Erza nodded softly. “I wish it could’ve gone differently.”
“Me too.” Gray muttered.
“Maybe I should go check on her tomorrow?” Erza wondered aloud.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Erz.” Gray looked at her, brushing some of the red hair from her face so he could see her eyes. “No offense, but other than me, I think you’re the last person she’s gonna wanna see for a while.”
Erza’s shoulders slumped and her face dropped into a frown. “Oh, right,”
Gray pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek lightly.
“I hope she comes around,” Erza whispered to him. “I would hate to lose her.”
Gray wasn’t sure what Juvia would do and could only hope the same. “I think she will,” He shrugged, “Eventually.”
August 14, X793
It had been a rough couple of weeks in the Fairy Tail guildhall. After the sudden rainstorm during Lucy’s party, rumors were flying around Magnolia faster than the guild could react to. Many of the guests still at the party had seen Gray and Juvia go off together and quickly connected the dots that the gloomy weather was likely the result of whatever had happened between the two of them. Nobody could ask Juvia what had happened, as the bluenette had seemingly vanished after the award party. Though it soon revealed they didn’t need to ask her because a new couple was announced a few days later. Gray Fullbuster, the object of Juvia Lockser’s long known and well documented affection, and Erza Scarlet, Titania : Queen of the Faeries, were seen walking into the guildhall hand in hand.
In truth, Gray and Erza were not planning on announcing their relationship to all of Fiore, but unfortunately some of Sorcerer's Weekly’s reporters were still making trips to the guild to report more on Lucy’s book and award. Before the two had a chance to comment for themselves, headlines were splashed all over magazines and newspapers across the kingdom. “Has the Queen of Faeries found her King?” “Lovers scandal inside Fiore’s top Wizard Guild! Secret Love Affair?” “Gray Fullbuster, fan favorite Wizard and long thought boyfriend of Juvia of the Great Sea, found smooching the Queen of Faeries?”
Lucy was extremely apologetic and felt responsible for their relationship being outed nationwide. In a way to make it up to her friends, even though they had assured her that it wasn’t her fault, the famous author made a relationship announcement of her own. Lucy Heartfilia had been in a romantic relationship for over a year with Loke, known otherwise as Leo the Lion, leader of the Zodiac Celestial Spirits. Her announcement quickly swept Gray and Erza’s under the rug as it was another shock to fans of the Fairy Tail guild.
Apparently fans had thought that Lucy was dating Natsu Dragneel, also known as Salamander. This came as a great shock to both Lucy and Natsu, who had never realized people thought their relationship was ever anything more than platonic. Especially since Natsu Dragneel had been dating Lisanna Strauss, the youngest sibling of the Takeover Strauss Siblings, since the beginning of the year.
Now reporters were sniffing around Fairy Tail more than ever before, each hoping to get the next hot gossip from Fiore’s most famous guild. Master Makarov was running himself half ragged trying to keep Sorcerer’s Weekly from harassing his guild members. He had several members working the doors as a security staff but even that plan wasn’t foolproof.
Even though things had started to die down in the public regarding Gray and Juvia, the whispers and rumors within the guildhall were still ripe and particularly vicious towards Gray. Many were claiming he had been leading her on for years just to humiliate and break her heart in the most despicable way ever. Erza had been on a tirade of trying to find those responsible for the horrible accusations against her boyfriend, but Gray had just asked her to leave it alone as he didn’t want to make things worse for them.
“Nobody important thinks you’re an asshole, Gray,” Lucy said consolingly as she, Loke, Gray, and Erza sat at a booth inside the guildhall. Then she looked at Erza and put a hand on her shoulder, “And nobody thinks you’re a homewrecker.”
“Nobody dumb enough to voice it, at least,” Loke said playfully.
“Loke,” Lucy glared at her boyfriend and shook his head. “Not helpful.”
Loke held up his hands in a mock surrender. “Hey, excuse me for trying to-” His voice trailed off as he looked towards the main doors. “Oh shit,” he muttered.
Gray, who was sitting beside him, also looked shocked. His eyes widened in surprise before he quickly averted his gaze.
Lucy and Erza looked behind them and found Juvia had come through the doors. She was dressed in all black and dark blue, similarly to how she used to dress before joining Fairy Tail. Her head was hung slightly and she just looked at the floor as she moved silently through the guildhall and took a seat alone at a table far from everyone else.
“She looks so lonely,” Erza muttered to herself. She planted her hands on the table and stood up, “I’m going to go talk to her.”
Gray grabbed her hands to stop her, “Erz, that’s not a good idea. Just give her some time.”
“Gray’s right,” Lucy backed up the ice wizard. “We all know how… temperamental Juvia can be. It’s best to give her space and let her come to you.” Lucy could definitely speak from experience after being brandished Juvia’s love rival for years. “Besides, we haven’t seen her in weeks. It might be a good sign that she even showed up today.”
Erza sighed and sat back down slowly. “I guess you’re right…” Then she let out a stubborn huff and laid her head on the table. “I hate the idea that she’s mad at us!”
“You knew she would be,” Gray rubbed her hair softly.
“Whatadya think she’s doing here anyway?” Loke wondered, looking over at the water wizard who was still staring at her hands in disassociation. “It doesn’t look like she’s out of her funk yet.”
“It hasn’t been raining the last couple of days, maybe she’s feeling good enough for some fresh air?” Lucy suggested.
“Umm, excuse me, everyone!” Levy stood on the guild stage next to Gajeel. Everyone who was looking in their direction made a collective groan, fearing that Gajeel was about to break out into another terrible song. Luckily, that wasn’t the case as he didn’t have his guitar with him. “Hello?” Levy called out, noticing she barely had half of the guild’s attention.
Gajeel took a deep breath, almost as if he was about to perform one of his roar attacks, and cupped his hands over his mouth. “Oi! Listen up!” Thanks to Gajeel’s loud and brassy voice, now the not-so secret couple had the entire guild’s undivided attention. “There ya go, shrimp,” Gajeel stepped out of the way so that Levy could take the spotlight.
“Thanks,” She chuckled awkwardly. She used her Solid Script magic to make a microphone. “Sorry for the interruption everyone! Gajeel and I just have an announcement we’d like to make.”
“Do they think we don’t already know?” Gray joked in a whisper to his girlfriend. “Its pretty obvious they’re together.”
“I don’t think that’s their announcement,” Lucy muttered, more to herself than to the others.
But her words caught Loke’s attention, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “What do you know?” He purred.
“Shh,” Lucy put a finger to her lips, not wanting to spoil their surprise.
Levy had been using her Light Pen to write down something in the palm of her hand. The few moments it took for her to finish writing, the suspense and anticipation in the guild was almost tangible. She tucked the pen behind her ear and cupped what she had written in both hands. She wore an uneasy expression and looked at Gajeel, who nodded softly in support. With a calming, deep breath, Levy raised her hands and let the message she had written grow over her head, large enough for everyone in the guild to read it.
WE’RE HAVING A BABY
It took a moment for the shock of the announcement to wear off on the guild. Like Gray, everyone had been expecting them to announce they were a couple, not that Levy was pregnant. But after the shock had worn off, everyone erupted in thunderous cheers and applause.
“I knew it!” Wendy exclaimed before covering her mouth like she revealed a secret.
“How?” Charle asked, worried that Wendy may have accidentally walked in and seen or heard something she shouldn’t have.
“Yeah, how, squirt?” Gajeel asked, looking at Wendy with equal suspicion. He helped Levy off the stage and put himself between the group of people rushing to personally congratulate them.
“I’m sorry!” She bowed her head. “I- I overheard at Ms. Lucy’s party! I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I promise!”
“It's okay, Wendy,” Levy assured the teenage girl. “Thank you for not saying anything.”
Wendy smiled and nodded, “Of course, Ms. Levy!”
“Levy,” said Jet, clearing his throat. He and Droy stood in front of the crowd waiting to personally congratulate the expecting couple. Levy’s smile dropped a bit and it was clear that she was just as unsure about how her teammates would react to the news. Everyone knew that the two of them had crushes on Levy and had for years.
“Hey, guys,” She greeted them, though it was clear that she was pretty tense.
“Congrats,” Droy smiled brightly. “Both of you.”
“We know you’re gonna be an awesome mom, Levy.” Jet told her, giving her a wink and a thumbs up.
Levy’s eyes welled up with tears and she threw herself into her teammates arms. She cried, burying her face into their strong arms.
“Huh, so that’s why Levy’s smelt different lately!” Natsu exclaimed.
“What?” Levy asked, wiping tears from her eyes as Jet and Droy put her down. “I don’t smell bad do I?” She started sniffing her clothing and armpits.
“No, not bad,” Natsu answered, stepping closer. He leaned down to sniff her shoulder a bit, “But more like-”
“Oi!” Gajeel grabbed Natsu by the scarf and yanked him away from Levy. “Don’t go sniffin’ my girlfriend!”
“I’ll sniff whatever I want!” Natsu snarled, grabbing the collar of Gajeel’s shirt.
“Oh, yeah? Maybe I’ll go sniffin’ your girlfriend then!” Gajeel threatened.
Natsu puffed some smoke into his face, “Don’t you dare, metal-face!”
Ignoring their boyfriends starting to brawl, Lisanna took Levy’s hands. “Congratulations, Levy! How exciting!”
“Thanks, Lisanna!”
“Wow, Levy! You’re going to lay an egg?” Happy asked, flying over to her.
“No, I’m not going to lay an egg, Happy.” Levy laughed uncomfortably. A short pause followed her sentence and the color drained from her face. “Oh, gods, I’m not going to lay an egg, am I?”
“How far along are you?” Bisca asked to change the topic. She was joined by a crowd of women forming around Levy while the more rowdy members of the guild took the opportunity to join in the fight.
“Thirteen weeks,” Levy replied. “I wanted to wait to let everyone know until after I was out of the first trimester. Gajeel only found out during Lucy’s party.”
“Oh, congrats, Levy!” Lucy hugged her friend tightly. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks, Lucy!” Levy laughed. “I’ll be honest, it was a bit of a surprise.” She blushed a bit. “We weren’t planning on having a baby… At least, not right now, anyway.”
“So are you going to get married?” Erza asked. She thought back to when she found out that Bisca and Alzack had gotten married while she was on Tenrou Island. She didn’t want to miss another one of her friend’s weddings.
Levy hummed and shrugged, “Well, we haven’t really thought about it. The past couple weeks, all we’ve been thinking about is baby stuff. The idea of getting married hasn’t even really crossed my mind.” Levy then wore a bit of a frown and placed her hand on her relatively small baby bump, though maybe it wasn’t very noticeable thanks to the baggy shirt she was wearing. “Plus, now that I’m officially in my second trimester, I don’t wanna stress over a wedding. Besides, soon I’ll be too big to wear a wedding dress.”
“Oh, okay,” Erza said, sounding a bit dejected.
“Don’t say that, Levy.” Lucy sounded offended for the sake of her friend. “You’d be the most beautiful bride no matter how pregnant or not pregnant you are!”
Levy blushed, “Thanks, Luce. But we’re gonna at least have the baby before we think about something like that.”
Loke leaned down and rested his head on Lucy’s shoulder, purring softly while hugging her. The blonde sighed, knowing his affection wasn’t just for affection’s sake. “Yes, you can go fight. Just try not to bruise your face.”
“Of course!” Loke kissed her cheek. “Can’t damage the most handsome part of me.” Then he pounced into the fight, grabbing Gray by the shoulders and flinging him across the room.
“Gajeel,” Juvia approached Gajeel, who had Elfman in a headlock.
“Oh, Ju!” Gajeel grinned at her. “Glad you decided to come today! Told ya that ya’d wanna hear the news!”
Juvia gave him a halfhearted smile and then pointed towards the far end of the guild where she had been sitting previous to the announcement. “Juvia wishes to speak with Gajeel in private for a moment.”
“Huh? Sure, one sec!” He released Elfman a bit and twisted himself so that he could throw Elfman over his head and into Natsu. He followed Juvia over to her corner and grinned down at her. “Pretty great news, huh?” He asked her.
“Juvia is very happy for Gajeel and Levy,” Juvia replied, though her water blue eyes didn’t meet his.
Gajeel narrowed his red wine colored eyes in response to her lackluster answer. “What?” He asked. “Yer actin’ like yer hiding somethin’, Ju.”
After years of friendship, Juvia was still surprised Gajeel was as good at reading her as he was. She sighed and ran her fingers through her strong blue curls. “Juvia has been doing a lot of thinking lately… She needs to get away and clear her mind.”
“So, what are you sayin’?” Gajeel asked. “You goin’ on vacation or somethin’?”
Juvia shook her head with a frown. “No. Juvia is leaving Fairy Tail.”
Not wanting to believe what she was saying, Gajeel doubled down on his earlier sentiment. “Right, on vacation.”
“No, Gajeel,” Juvia said in an increasingly irritated tone. “Juvia is quitting Fairy Tail.”
A pregnant pause followed her statement and the two friends just looked at each other. Then Gajeel finally comprehended what she had said. “Yer what?” He shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear him despite the brawl taking place.
Juvia lowered her head, embarrassed that his yelling had brought a ton of eyes on them. “Gajeel, please don’t make this harder on Juvia than it already is…”
“But-but why?” He asked. His face suddenly turned sour and he shot an angry glare at Gray, who had been looking at them. The ice wizard quickly averted his gaze, but the two of them had made brief eye contact. “Is it because of Fullbuster? Do ya want me to kick his ass?”
“No!” Juvia exclaimed. “Please don’t make any more problems. This is Juvia’s decision.”
Gajeel’s face fell when he realized that she was serious about leaving. “But, what about-”
Juvia frowned and stepped forward, taking her friend’s hand in her’s. “Juvia will be there for Gajeel whenever he needs her. She promises that she’ll visit plenty before and after the baby is born.”
“I can’t convince ya to stay?” He asked.
She smiled sadly and shook her head. “Juvia promises that she’ll keep Gajeel updated if he promises the same.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek.
August 29, X793
It had been sixteen days since Juvia had left Fairy Tail. After Juvia had given Gajeel a heads up about her plans, she went right into the Master’s office. Just as Gajeel had, the old man tried to convince her to stay, but Juvia was steadfast in her decision that it was the right thing for her. She was informed that she’d always have a home here, and then Juvia said her goodbyes.
Gray and Erza were certain that the water wizard with butterfly blue hair hadn’t meant to make things worse. But after her departure, the vicious, whispered rumors surrounding their relationship and the heartbreak it caused Juvia only grew into shouts around the guildhall.
Especially from a certain Iron Dragonslayer, who claimed that Gray had driven his best friend from the guild and from his child. Things escalated one day when Gajeel had muttered something unsavory about Erza. Nobody but Gray had heard him, and things turned into a brutal fight between the two of them. Unlike most fighting between guildmates, this was a true fight that neither one wanted to back down from. It only stopped because Levy intervened. She made Gajeel apologize to Erza for what he had said, but things between Gajeel and Gray stayed frosty and hostile.
But then a letter arrived to the guildhall from Juvia. She explained that she had just been searching around for some freelance gigs while she paid the last of her lease in the Fairy Hills apartment when she ran into Lyon Vasita of Lamia Scale. It seems she had found another guild rather quickly and was already adjusting to life as a Lamia Scale member. The news was bittersweet for Fairy Tail, who had many of Juvia’s friends hoping she’d come back. Still, if she was happy, then that was all that truly mattered.
“But I still don’t get it!” Cana huffed after chugging down a mug of beer. “What’s so special about Gray? Why’d she hafta go off and join another guild when we’re her family?”
Mirajane frowned at her girlfriend’s distress. “It’s her life, Cana. If Juvia felt like this was the best option for her, then you need to respect that.”
“I do!” Cana protested.
“Bullshit,” Mirajane called her out. “I know you and Gajeel were scheming to go and snatch her like some kind of kidnapping.”
Cana pouted and crossed her arms like a toddler who had gotten caught in a lie. “Not seriously…”
“Uh huh,” Mira hummed, unconvinced. “She said she was happy in her letter. Isn’t that what’s important?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cana muttered.
“She even said she’s going out with her friend Meredy. It seems like she’s already doing better after getting away for a while.” Mira pointed out. “If Juvia decides to come back, then she will, but if she doesn’t then she won’t. We can’t force her to do anything.”
Mira took the letter from Lucy, who had read it to the group gathered when it was announced it was from Juvia. “Here, I’ll put it down here for Gajeel. He’ll wanna read this when he gets back.”
“Where is Mr. Gajeel?” Wendy asked. “He and Ms. Levy asked me to do an examination of the baby today.”
“He went on a job,” Lily explained to the Sky Dragonslayer. “He wants to make sure they have enough Jewel for when the baby arrives.”
“Aww, so sweet!” Mirajane smiled. “He’s already stepping up!”
“How are you gonna look at the baby, Wendy?” Happy asked the fifteen-year old. “Isn’t it still inside her tummy?”
Charle rolled her eyes and shook her head at the question. “Just how daft are you?” She asked the tomcat.
“I’m gonna use magic to sense the baby through her belly.” Wendy explained, much more receptive to the question than her Exceed friend. “Its still too early to tell the sex of the baby, but I’ll be able to tell how well the baby’s doing.”
“Poor Levy has been very stressed out about the impossible idea of laying an egg, thanks to you.” Charle said, directed at Happy.
“It's a valid question!” Happy defended himself. “I came from an egg, you came from an egg, and dragons come from eggs!”
“Yes, but Gajeel and Levy are both human,” Lucy said. “Still, I guess I get why she’d be anxious about it…” She tried to picture herself laying an egg before shuddering at the image in her head.
Levy came running through the guild doors before she nearly collapsed on the floor. Elfman, who was the closest the moment she came through, grabbed the petite pregnant woman and held her up.
“Are you alright?” He asked her worriedly.
“Is-is Gajeel back yet?” She panted, her face pale and her eyes wide in fear.
“No, Levy, what's wrong?” Lucy asked, running over to her friend.
Wendy took Levy’s wrist and checked her pulse. “Mr. Elfman, can you take her up to the infirmary please?”
“Is something wrong with her or the baby?” Erza asked, following the royal blue-haired girl after Levy and Elfman.
“I’m sure she’s okay, Ms. Erza,” Wendy told her. “Her circulation just seems to be off and I want to make sure she’s alright.”
Elfman placed Levy down on one of the beds before he left and let Wendy, Erza, Lucy, and Bisca take over caring for Levy.
Wendy silently went over Levy’s vitals, checking the circulation in her hands and feet, and exclaimed her tongue and mouth. “Ms. Levy, have you been feeling dizzy or fatigued lately?”
Levy nodded softly, “But I thought that was just normal. Is the baby okay?” She asked, panicked.
Wendy put a hand on Levy’s chest and had her lay back down. “Yes, the baby is okay.” She assured the pastel blue-haired woman. “But due to some of your other symptoms, I think that you’re low on iron intake.”
“I’ve been eating all the proper foods that pregnancy books recommended.” Levy told her, confused on how this could happen.
Wendy hummed, “Well, Mr. Gajeel is an Iron Dragonslayer. Sometimes a wizard’s baby can affect the pregnancy. It could be possible that the baby is absorbing more iron than you are. She noticed all the worried faces and gasped, realizing she was making things sound much worse. “But, that’s okay! All that means is Ms. Levy needs more rest, plenty of water, and a bigger iron based diet.”
“So the baby will be okay?” Levy asked once more, just for clarification and peace of mind.
Wendy nodded firmly and placed her hand on Levy’s growing bump. “The baby is strong and healthy. Their magic is also very strong!”
Levy placed her own hand on her stomach, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness,”
“Now why did you come running in here?” Erza asked, since the nervousness of the baby’s health was now settled.
Levy’s soft smile at feeling her baby’s magic faded and she looked up at her friends with worry. “I… I haven’t said anything because I thought I was just being paranoid but…”
“But what?” Lucy pushed. “What’s wrong?”
“I think someone found out about my pregnancy.” Levy replied. “I’ve been being followed ever since we told the guild I was pregnant.”
“What?” Bisca gasped. “By reporters? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I told you, I thought maybe I was being paranoid…” Levy sighed, chewing on one of her thumb nails like she often did when anxious. “But when I was on my way here, I noticed some men trailing me.”
Erza growled and pulled out one of her swords. “How many?” she asked, already preparing to hunt down whomever was harassing her friend and guildmate.
“S-six or seven?” Levy answered. “A couple of them had a rune pen. It looked like they were maybe taking notes of me or something…”
“I was afraid of this.” Master Makarov said, as Elfman set him and his wheelchair down just outside the infirmary door.
“Afraid of what, Master?” Lucy asked the old man.
“As you all know, Dragonslayer magic was a lost practice for centuries. Until the past couple decades, Dragons and Slayers were long thought extinct. Now that a handful of Dragonslayers are widely known across Fiore, I fear many are curious about how their magic will affect their children.” Makarov explained.
Levy let out a whimper, “So they see me and my baby as some kind of experiment?”
“I’m afraid some might, yes,” The old man replied. He wheeled his chair further into the room and took the young woman’s hand in his. “But don’t you worry, dear. I refuse to let them cause you any more fear nor harm. If they want you or your child, they’ll have to go through all of Fairy Tail first.”
“He’s right, Levy!” Lucy put her hands on her friend’s shoulder. “We won’t let anything happen.”
Erza was staring out the window of the infirmary, brandishing her sword threateningly as she scanned for anyone suspicious. Levy smiled softly, knowing she was safe with her guild and her Dragon by her side. In fact, she almost pitied the poor sap who will run across Gajeel once he finds out what’s been going on.