No fear
Chapter two
Juvia jolted awake, not realising that she had finally fallen asleep. When she got to Natsu's house, she had been greeted by his mess. She had sent Happy with Erza to go and get her some clothes to wear and a few other bits and pieces that she was going to need while staying at Natsu's place. It hadn't really taken her long to clear everything off the sofa and find a home for it all, but it was just more sleep time wasted. They had also all decided that it was best if Happy stayed at Lucy's place for the time being, even if he did hate that idea. Unfortunately for him, Natsu wasn't very fond of him being in his house.
"I guess cleaning Natsu's house is enough to tire even me out."
She sat up and stared out of the window, noting how dark it looked. Looking down at her phone, she took in the time before scratching her head. Sleep wasn't something that came easy to her anymore and the only time she got really good was sleep was making herself exhausted from all her solo jobs where she didn't have time to think about guilt and her stupid mistakes so that she could have a dreamless slumber.
She was staring up at Natsu's ceiling, trying to count how many cracks he had in it when she felt him leave his room. She rolled her head in his direction and took in his wild appearance. His eyes were trained on her and she waved slightly.
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you." She wasn't loud, so she wasn't sure how she would have done that anyway, but she was more than happy to apologise just to stay on his good side. Who knows, maybe she was loud to his sensitive ears. "You can go back to sleep, I'll be here."
She watched as he stalked his way towards her before dropping down on the sofa beside her. She would've questioned it if she were able to get an answer from him, but she knew it would be radio silence. Besides, it was his house, he was allowed to sit wherever he wanted, it was her interfering with his space.
She leaned back into the sofa, ready to be awake all night. She enjoyed the comfort of the cushions, and she almost tensed up at the feel of Natsu's hands clutching hers, but she didn't let it phase her. She could feel his body running hot yet again and he probably wanted some relief, so Juvia started pumping her water through him, as if to give him some sort of dialysis. She kept on running her water through him to cool him down before bringing it back into her body to cool it down and then doing the whole cycle again.
The endless wave of moving her magic from hot to cold sent Natsu off to sleep and Juvia couldn't help herself as she smiled fondly at him. He looked so peaceful and so cute. Although, if someone asked her if she thought Natsu was cute, she would immediately say no. It was also funny being around him all day and not having him say a single word, because he is the noisiest person she knows. Before long, Juvia could feel her eyes fluttering before the world went dark.
When Juvia woke up the next time, it was because she could feel nothing but eyes on her. She didn't like the feeling of being watched and it didn't seem like it was Natsu who was watching her. Finally opening her eyes, she took in the light that streamed through the window and then she looked in the direction of the front door, she saw Natsu's team staring at her with surprise.
"You guys seem awfully close."
"They liiiiike each other."
"Happy, shut up."
"You're so mean to me, Lucy!"
"Hmm?" Juvia didn't know what Erza meant by that statement, but when she tried to sit up, she felt some weight around her midriff. She felt her pillow beneath her head move and when she looked up, she was greeted by Natsu's red eyed stare. He seemed to be growling in the back of his throat and she wasn't sure if it was because he was territorial about his house being occupied by others all of a sudden.
Juvia sat up and realised that she had actually had a dreamless sleep, even though she had previously slept for hours before Natsu had joined her on her sofa. Usually, she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully for another week. The nightmares of Lucy's injury, Gray dying amongst other things were always enough to keep her wide awake at night. Her own incompetence constantly ate at her, yet she was able to sleep peacefully this time around.
"I must've fallen asleep on his lap after pumping so much of my water around his body. I think he was uncomfortable."
Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "Why would you have to do that for him?"
Juvia wasn't really in the mood to remove Natsu's hand from her hip, so she let it stay there. His grip had tightened and she was sure that if she were to remove his hand, it would just wander back there anyway.
"Because for some reason, he's running on dragon force magic. I really don't understand what black magic hit him, but all I know is that I can tell the difference between his normal body temperature to that of his dragon force one and it's currently running at that temperature 24/7. I don't think it's healthy for him, so this is the best I can do to cool him down. I have a feeling that the moment he's back to normal, he's going to sleep for days due to exhaustion."
Wendy looked sympathetic. "That must take a lot out of you, right?"
Juvia smiled and shrugged as she leaned back into the sofa. She knew it had to be Lucy and Lisanna who bought this obscene amount of cushions for Natsu, because she doubted that he really cared about such a thing.
"It does, but I'm not complaining if I have to help out my nakama. It's the least I can do. If I have the ability to help, then I should. Anyway, why are you guys here?"
Gray shrugged, but as he spoke, Juvia could practically hear Natsu's annoyance in the form of a growl, despite him not even saying anything yet.
"Blame the girls. They wanted to come and see how he was doing and if you'd gotten anywhere yet."
Juvia raised an eyebrow, moving in a little closer towards Natsu. She had to soothe him somehow. He obviously isn't an animal, but if his dragon side was the part that was currently in charge, then she technically had to see him as one for now, right?
"It's okay, no one's here to threaten you. Gray isn't here to take over your territory."
That got him to stop growling a little bit, but his frown was still in place. Juvia had whispered it softly to him so that only he could hear her talking, although judging by the look on Wendy's face, she could hear her too. Maybe she would have to ask her about what was going on.
"But it's not even been a full day since I've been looking after him. Miracles don't just happen. I heard he's been like this for a week while I was away and you expect me to work wonders in 24 hours?"
Everyone in the room except Natsu flinched. Juvia had become more of a recluse in a sense. It wasn't on purpose, she just hated seeing all the people close to her get hurt because of her. She was tired of being useless and she wanted to become strong, so she spent all of her waking hours training and getting stronger for the next big evil. Gajeel and Levy were expecting, so she had to either find a new team or work alone. She loved working alone, although she did team up with Lisanna sometimes too. She didn't want to be seen as an annoyance anymore, she wanted to be taken seriously, but she also didn't want stupidly high expectations thrown at her like this.
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sorry, sorry. I shouldn't have snapped, but you guys need to understand that this situation seems a little delicate. It's not something I can just fix in a matter of 24 hours. Plus, Warren might have a little more pull here, as he's the mind mage."
Juvia stood up to stretch, arching her back as she did so with a yawn. She was feeling a little hungry and she really hoped that Natsu had something of substance in his fridge otherwise she was going to be more than snappy.
Just as she went to take a step away from the sofa, a hand wrapped around her wrist with a vice-like grip and pulled her back down. She was stunned, but she allowed her body to fall down to see where she ended up. She sat on Natsu's lap as he then nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck. Juvia didn't even react to the noises that came out of everyone's mouth as she just sat there, relaxed as if it were normal. It very much wasn't, but there was a certain element of calm that washed right over her.
Everyone gasped as they stared at the scene in front of them and Juvia didn't even seem surprised. Wendy noted that she even looked a little content with what was happening.
"What is he doing?! Juvia, aren't you freaked out?!"
Juvia actually laughed at Lucy's reaction and shook her head. It was Wendy who then explained things.
"He probably sees you as his mate."
Everyone turned to her for an explanation as Juvia raised an eyebrow. She was the last person that Natsu should be seeing as such. They didn't spend enough time together to be considered as close. Then again, she didn't really know how mating worked and what really constituted mating. She shouldn't use human logic where animals are concerned. After all, animals don't necessarily grow up knowing each other as friends and then choose their mates the same way humans choose who they love.
"When you think about it, we were all terrified when we realised what had happened. On top of that, I'm too young. I'm still a girl and not a woman in his eyes. Despite the fact that there are same sex matings, he doesn't seem to like Gray very much, so he's not attracted to him."
There was relief in Gray's eyes as Wendy continued.
"Juvia so far is the only person to really not be scared of him. Juvia got rid of her fear of things a long time ago, so stuff like this doesn't bother her. She's also been helping him with his dragon force. That right there is enough for him to choose her to be his mate. For a dragon, it's common sense. You can't apply human thinking to how animals think. Natsu doesn't want her away from him, he's protecting her. Basically, this display is telling us to not come back, or else."
Erza shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest as if to show that no one could stop her from doing what she wanted. "That's ridiculous! We need to come back to check on his progress and see how things are going! We're not able to do that if we can't come here and see if he's getting better or not. Besides, if it's a matter of fear, then we're not scared anymore, not while some of our questions have been answered."
Wendy shook her head. "It doesn't work like that, Erza-nee. It's all about the initial reaction. Dragons mate for life, so you only really get one chance to prove yourself with them. The moment when Natsu turned to face us and he looked different from before, I heard everyone's heart race, mine included. That right there is a signal of fear. Juvia probably went in confidently. As long as she saw Natsu for the first time in this state and wasn't scared, he put her down as someone he would potentially mate with, due to her lack of fear. No fear is a sign of great strength."
Natsu's arms had snaked around Juvia's waist to her tightly against him, as if not wanting to let her go. She had pretty much given up on any thought of doing so and just went limp in his arms. He growled in her ear, but it was different from all his other growls. He was clearly pleased with her as he continued to scent her closely, rubbing his nose into her neck so that everyone around them knew just who she belonged to. Juvia felt the urge to close her eyes and bask in it, but she still had to deal with his team who seemed adamant to come and slow down his progression with their 2 jewels that they thought they could add when it wasn't needed. Wendy was a dragon slayer who understood what was happening, they should take her word for it.
Lucy sighed. "Well, we should do as Wendy says. Juvia's got this." The blonde smiled at Juvia and Juvia smiled back lightly. "We'll be going now. Keep him safe and fed! Oh and make sure to take care of yourself too, Juvia. Please get some sleep, you seem like you need it."
Juvia laughed a little. "Are you saying I look bad?"
Lucy shook her head. "Well, the bags under your eyes would agree with me. Give us a call if you need anything. Maybe to do some shopping? I'm really not sure if Natsu has anything."
"We don't," Happy said as he spoke up. He had been watching Juvia and Natsu interact quietly, thinking of ways he could mock his friend when he was finally back to normal.
Erza sighed. "I'll do some shopping and come back later then, how does that sound?"
Juvia nodded her head as she pushed water from her through to Natsu. "That sounds good. Thank you."
They all nodded and left with their goodbyes. Natsu was still nuzzling her neck softly as Juvia's eyes fluttered closed and she finally drifted off yet again.
So how was it? I know, it's very simple and it seemed more like filler in a way, but the stage has now been set. I guess it was more of a fluffy chapter? In a way? Let me know what you guys think!
Lolita-chan