Jellal stays overnight at Juvia's place, wanting to spend more time with his lovely sister after years apart. What he doesn't know and doesn't expect is to meet Gray Fullbuster and Erza again the next morning.
"Gray Fullbuster, why are you here this early in the morning?"
"I come over for breakfast every day, Jellal-san." the raven head responds in a monotone voice "You don't mind, do you?"
The sarcasm in his voice pops a vein on Jellal's forehead. Despite the height difference, Gray raises his head and stares into the forest green eyes, challenging. If Erza isn't there, the older bluenette would gladly beat the heck out of this kid for testing his patience with that arrogant attitude.
Erza, who is standing beside Gray, whacks the back of his head and gives the young man a stern look. She doesn't like it when the raven head shows his cocky side, it's irritating and almost unbearable, having to listen to his tart reply every 2 seconds.
"Gray-sama, you came!"
A soft, soothed voice comes from behind Jellal as Juvia walks out in an apron, just finished cooking the food.
"Jellal-nii, why don't you let them in?" she turns to him, pouting "It's not nice to prevent someone from having breakfast!"
"Ah, no worries, Juvia. Jellal-san here is eager to let us join breakfast with you guys, right?"
Juvia can swear that she hears the sound of her door cracking and sweatdrops, she can imagine a blizzard is coming this way as her brother is clearly not enjoyed Gray's words. Erza sighs and proceeds to walk inside after the man moves away. While Gray walks toward the kitchen immediately, Erza and Jellal stay back, eyeing each other as the red-haired woman smiles, asking how things are between the siblings.
When Jellal informed her that Juvia was his sister, Erza wasn't very surprised. The moment Gray introduced Juvia to her, she could pick out the similarity between the two immediately. Pale skin, signature blue hair, soft voice, very polite and charming. When she knows that Juvia also has an undying love for music, she suspects that they may have connections with each other.
"Did you tell her that you're going to transfer to Magnolia University?"
"I did, she seemed to be against it but I was able to convince her that everything will be fine."
"Well, she's a smart kid. To transfer from Crocus Music Academy to Magnolia University is a bold move after all." she sighs again, moving her hand to brush the blue locks "You don't regret it at all, do you?"
"No, I don't."
Jellal smiles fondly at her, which makes Erza blush and retreats her hand. They walk to the kitchen, where Juvia has already offered out the pancakes for everyone. When the young bluenette turns to see her brother and Erza, she immediately picks up an odd atmosphere around them and how the air is turning into heart shapes.
As they're sitting down and eating, Juvia's eyes never leave the two. She cleverly observes them, the way their elbows brush against each other, how Jellal steals a few glances at Erza, and how the red-haired woman smiles whenever her brother says something. Juvia is a polite girl, she will never put both of them in an awkward situation by questioning their relationship, but now, she's too eager to know the truth between them.
"Jellal-nii, may Juvia ask a question?"
"Go ahead, Juvia."
She bites the inside of her lips, waiting for everyone to finish what they're doing before addressing the elephant in the room.
"Are you and Erza-san dating?"
Mavis-sama blesses her...
The moment she asked that question, she felt like time had just stopped. Jellal freezes in his seat, Erza stares at her like she grows a second head, Gray almost spurts out that gulp of water in his mouth and Juvia just giggles at the sight, their reactions are the evidence she needs to conclude her theories.
"Wa-wait, Erza and Jellal-san?"
"Gray-sama, you don't know?" she turns to him "They're quite obvious about their relationship."
"No, I don't." he exclaims "Erza, is it true?"
The red-haired woman's face is bright red, she continues with her breakfast and refuses to comment on the subject matter. The raven head then turns his attention to Jellal, who still hasn't come out of his freezing stage.
He frowns at the sight, just the thought of his senior dating someone sends chills down his spine. Anyone who has a close relationship with Erza has to know how scary she is. Gray has lost count of how many times he and Natsu got beaten by the young woman for breaking the rules, she may be a person of words but Erza never shies away from using violence to deal with things.
Another thing that surprises him is the way she turns down every man who asks her out on a date, saying that she wants to focus on her studies during this time. But now, she's in a relationship with Jellal? It doesn't take two brain cells to see how obvious their feelings are for each other and yet, Gray seems to be too oblivious to notice any changes around them.
"Jellal-san..."
The man turns his attention to the raven head, his face still dazed by Juvia's words.
"Good luck to you guys!"
Because any man who dates Erza will earn his respect.
"L-let just put that to the side, okay?"
Her response makes Juvia giggle, the young woman looks just like a kid who got caught stealing a cookie. She's very happy for her brother, to have such a wonderful woman by his side. Looking at them, the bluenette wishes that her future with Gray will be the same as theirs. If her wish comes true, she will be the happiest woman on earth.
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Juvia stares at the cookbook in her hand, looking at the steps of how to make the perfect cheesecake for her darling Gray-sama. It's been a few days after the charity event, and while the bluenette has reassured everyone that she's okay, they're still worried about her. Their kind and caring words warm her heart.
Jellal has asked his sister to keep his relationship with Erza a secret, knowing the red-haired woman will be all flustered and uncomfortable if her friends know about it. The young bluenette almost laughed at his request, her brother should know that she's not talkative and will not say anything without asking him first.
"Jellal-nii worries too much..." she pouts.
She then thinks about the cheesecake she's going to make today. Gray has mentioned, or at least, has murmured that he wants to eat the dessert, specifically Minerva Orland's cheesecake recipe. Knowing this, Juvia purchased the patissier's cookbook a few days ago, hoping that her treatment would make him happy.
When she finishes baking, the bluenette stares at her final product in awe, her heart jumps at the beautiful cheesecake that has been decorated carefully. It's her third time making the dessert and she has to admit, the third time is indeed a charm. Her first and second attempt was a total disaster, one got burnt and the other had a huge crack on the surface.
This time, the cheesecake is baked beautifully, golden brown with no cracks. Juvia bites her bottom lips, almost crying at her success. Finally, after all the hard work, time, and money, she has made the perfect cheesecake that is creamy, light, and smooth. And it's not just a plain cheesecake either, Juvia pours her heart out in decorating the dessert with berries sauce and a strawberry on top.
"It tastes so good!" she exclaims after taking a big spoon out of it "She hopes Gray-sama will enjoy this."
Carefully wrapping the cheesecake into a container, she puts it in the fridge and then does the dishes, patiently waiting for Gray to return from his basketball match with the guys. Maybe after giving him the treat, she can spend some time with the raven head, that would be nice...
Talk about Gray, she is glad that her brother approves of their relationship, or whatever is happening between them. She knows her brother is going to support her no matter what but the bluenette wants him to accept Gray, she doesn't want to see any tension between them.
Although Jellal doesn't like the raven head at first, Erza has reassured him that the young man is a good person and will make Juvia happy. The older bluenette didn't buy it but after seeing how happy she is around Gray, Jellal accepts it. Besides, the raven head seems to be more polite to him after knowing about his relationship with Erza, which is a good sign for both of them to 'start again'.
Jellal has also given her his apartment key and vice versa, telling her to come whenever she wants to. The young bluenette almost squeals when she knows that Erza also stays with her brother, which makes the man shyly scratch his head and the red-haired woman almost kills her by grabbing her shoulder and shaking violently.
"Well, Gray-sama has told her to not get on Erza-san's bad side." she shivers, remembering the incident "Erza-san was so scary..."
Juvia puts the cheesecake in the fridge, feeling an urge to play her violin. She takes out the violin in the case, smiling as her hand caresses the wooden surface of the instrument.
This violin was a gift from her parents on her 7th birthday, but they didn't allow her to play it because it was considered big for a child like her. She jokingly described the instrument as a dangling prize, one that she had to overcome her struggles to get it. On her 10th birthday, after all the hard work and dedication, her father finally allowed her to play it and the violin has followed her ever since.
Juvia loves this violin, she loves it so much that she has never played a different one. She always says that the bond between her and the violin is unbreakable, the reason why she can express her music with such emotions is not only because of her ability but also thanks to this violin.
As Juvia is playing a sparkling and cheerful melody of Gavotte by Gossec, a fond memory comes back. The scene of her mother, playing Gavotte, while Jellal and Juvia ran around and danced to the song. Their father was sitting on an armchair, a loving smile appeared on his face as his foot tapped on the wooden floor, following the soothing melody.
The day her father disowned her, Juvia had many questions in her mind. She kept asking herself what she did wrong. Was it because of her rejection of the proposal? Was it because her style of music does not line up with his? Was it because she does not exceed his expectation, to be a prodigy like her brother? What was it that made a kind man like him change?
She understands how their mother's death affects their family, but for her father to change drastically like that just doesn't seem right...
She remembers her time in that house, practicing the violin and trying to perfect the techniques. Whenever she was able to master another piece of music and share the great news with him, the man just ignored her and focused on Jellal instead. Juvia yearns for her father's love, she wants to make him proud, but every success she had was dismissed and brushed aside by him.
This is why she began to follow her heart, play the violin with passion, infuse her emotions into every sound she makes, and convey her feelings to her audience. The same way her mother played the violin. The woman once asked her a simple question, 'What is music to you?'.
What is music to Juvia?
To her, music is not only the way for her to express her feelings but also the way to people's hearts, conveying her emotions and the meaning behind each piece of music that she chooses to play. She has the techniques and years of practice and training, but one thing that makes her stand out, even more, is how her music touches the audience's heart and soul. Although she is not a prodigy like her brother, her passion and ideology about music are praised by almost every member of the theatre club.
When she plays the violin, she plays it with confidence, her pride soars high, and the joy of infusing her emotions into the melody and moving the crowd to tears is the best feeling ever.
"Oh, Gray-sama must be at home now."
She looks at the clock, smiling. The bluenette skips to the fridge, the aura around her is all sunshine and rainbows as a scene plays out in her head. Should she say that she bought this cheesecake from a bakery? Juvia squeals in excitement, imagining his expression when the raven head receives the treat. She has put extra care into the cheesecake and lots of love, too. If Gray accepts this, does it mean he accepts her feelings too?
Standing in front of his apartment and ringing the doorbell, the bluenette squirms in her stand, and an adorable blush adorns her face as she eagerly waits for him to open the door.
"Yes?"
"Ah, Gray-sama...?! Eh?"
In front of her is a young woman, with silky black hair and reddish-brown eyes. Juvia's eyes widen when she sees how revealing her clothes are and how her hair is slightly damped like she just got out from a bath.
Gray-sama turns into a woman?!