Alfonzo and Juvia

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Margaret. 

January, x786. 

A few days have passed since Alfonzo and Jura had their spar. And in those few days, Alfonzo started on his job to install the new training chambers for Lamia Scale. Before he started, however, he and Jura made their way down below the guild hall. Then, under Alfonzo's instructions, Jura expanded the space while erecting pillars to help support the guild hall, as well. 

On top of that, on the evening of the fourth night, Alfonzo began instructing Juvia on how to make her [Water Body] out of pure water. Though, he did not have many ideas how to do so. But he did have a guess. 

Suggesting to Juvia that the reason her body was not pure water had something to do with her clothing, Alfonzo told Juvia to undress and try activating her [Water Body]. 

Naturally, because she had a bad impression of Alfonzo, Juvia thought he was trying to get her naked before having his way with her. As a result, she attacked him with her [Water Cane] spell. Unfortunately for her, Alfonzo only had to cover his body in arcs of electricity to put an end to that, leaving Juvia unconscious in the aftermath. 

Then, after Juvia woke up a few hours later, Alfonzo tried explain to her what he meant when he made his suggestion. 

"Seriously, Juvia." Alfonzo said in an exasperated tone while sitting in a chair next to Juvia's bed in her hotel room. "You're a perfect example of a Fairy Tail wizard. You immediately attack first, ask questions later. Then again… Something tells me you wouldn't have even asked questions after your attack, had it succeeded, I mean." 

"What did you do to Juvia?" Juvia questioned sharply as she struggled against the anti-magic restraints fastening her to the bed. "Juvia will never forgive you for defiling her." 

"You really need to get the fuck over yourself, Sweetheart." Alfonzo said with his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, you're pretty good looking, but if you think all men are so taken by your looks, then you're even more delusional than I ever thought possible." 

Instead of responding, Juvia glared at Alfonzo as hard as she could. On top of that, her pride was hurt when Alfonzo dismissed her beauty the way he did. 

"Now, like I was trying to say before you flew off the handle…" Alfonzo said as his expression reverted back to normal. "You should try activating your [Water Body] without your clothes---" 

"You're still trying to get Juvia naked for your perverted---" Juvia started to shout. 

"Seriously, Shut the fuck up!" Alfonzo roared, drowning out Juvia's shouting, and startling her in the process. "I'm not fucking interested in you! So, chill the fuck out and miss me with that shit!" 

Taken completely aback, Juvia could only stare at Alfonzo with her eyes and mouth opened wide. 

"When I said without clothes on, I meant for you to do it in a bathroom or something." Alfonzo said while trying to calm himself. "Somewhere you could be alone, God fucking damn it." 

This being the first time Juvia had ever seen Alfonzo so angry, Juvia was at a complete and utter loss. He had never even gotten so angry after all the time she told him to leave Ultear. Yet, because he was so massively misunderstood, he shouted and swore at her. 

"*Sigh* Sorry about that…" Alfonzo said after taking another deep breath to calm himself down. "But suggesting that I'm some kind of creep like that really got to me… Much more than it probably should have. But look, even though we don't get along, I still look at you like family. Just like every other member of the guild. So, to have someone I see as family doubting my character like that really bothers me." 

Lowering her head, Juvia broke eye contact with Alfonzo after he explained why he got so angry. On top of that, she could sort of relate to what he said. Like the way things were in the past, Juvia had been misunderstood because of the rain that followed her everywhere she went. As a result, everyone she knew treated her badly, despite the fact that she had not done anything to them. 

And just like the people from her past, Juvia had also been treating Alfonzo badly, despite the fact that he had not done anything to her other than being close to Ultear. In fact, he had not even dissuaded her from trying to gain Ultear's affection. As long as she did it in an upright manner. Because like he said nearly a year and a half ago, Ultear could make her own decisions about who she wanted to be with. 

"*Sigh* Juvia is sorry." Juvia said with her head still lowered. "Juvia knows you're not that kind of person. But Juvia is jealous that Ultear loves you so much. And Juvia let her jealousy get the better of her." 

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!* 

"Hey, is everything okay in there?" Ultear asked from the outside of Juvia's room. "You two aren't gonna start fighting, are you?" 

Taking a look at Juvia, who tensed after hearing Ultear's voice, Alfonzo shook his head before responding. 

"No, everything is fine." Alfonzo replied. "We just had a conversation that should have happened a long time ago." 

"Oh, okay." Ultear replied through the door in a relieved tone. 

"In fact, you should have a serious talk with Juvia, too." Alfonzo continued. "We need to just get everything in the air so that we can put this whole thing behind us." 

Knowing exactly what Alfonzo was talking about, Ultear had yet to have a serious conversation about Juvia's stalker behavior, hoping that just ignoring her would cause her to give up. However, she knew that Alfonzo was right. If she had sat Juvia down and talked to her, things might not have gotten so bad. 

"Don't worry, I will." Ultear replied. "But that will have to wait until tomorrow, after my spar with Jura. I wanna get to bed early so that I can be at my best. I'm not strong enough to just overpower him like you, Alfonzo." 

"I understand." Alfonzo replied with a nod. Then, he looked over to Juvia. "Are you okay with that, Juvia?" 

"Yes." Juvia replied quietly, knowing she would not like the way that conversation would go. 

"Well, there you have it." Alfonzo said with another nod. "I'll be back in the room a little later, Tear. I still need to finish telling Juvia about my theory." 

"Okay." Ultear replied. "Then, if I'm asleep when you get back, good night. Good night to you, too, Juvia." 

"Good night." Alfonzo replied with a smile. 

"Good night…" Juvia replied, sounding slightly apprehensive. 

Then, the sound of Ultear's footsteps retreating from the front of the room could be heard before the sound of a door closing followed shortly afterwards. A moment later, Alfonzo turned his attention back to Juvia. 

"So, are you ready to hear my theory about making your [Water Body] pure, without blasting me for suggesting to take your clothes off, I mean?" Alfonzo asked while smiling cheekily. 

Despite herself, Juvia also smiled. Though, her smile was quite wry. Then, she nodded her head meekly, signaling Alfonzo to continue. 

"Alright." Alfonzo said. "Like I was saying, I think your clothes, which are integrated into your [Water Body] when you activate it, are what add the impurities." 

"That's why you said Juvia should activate her [Water Body] without clothes on?" Juvia asked, finally understanding why Alfonzo made that suggestion. 

"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Then, if you could give me a sample to analyze, I could tell you if it's pure, or not." 

"Then, why didn't you say that from the beginning?" Juvia asked with a skeptical expression on her face. 

"You never gave me a chance to get that far." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile. 

In response, Juvia could only look away with a blush on her cheeks. 

"Anyway, if my theory is correct, then you should see if Lici knows about material that would keep your body pure when you activate your [Water Body]." Alfonzo said. "And if she can, you should commission her to use those materials for all your battle attire from now on. In fact, it would probably be a good idea to get all your clothes made out of those materials. You never know when shit could pop off, after all." 

After nodding in understanding, Juvia lowered her head once again. 

"Thank you, Alfonzo." Juvia said quietly. "And Juvia is sorry." 

"*Sigh* I'm sorry, too." Alfonzo replied. "If we had talked about this earlier, a lot of hostility could have been avoided." 

With that, Alfonzo stood from his seat while dispelling the restraints around Juvia's limbs. Then, he turned towards the door. 

"Oh, and just a tip for you." Alfonzo said without turning around. "If you tried approaching Gray like a regular person. Meaning, without stalking him or talking about all that soul mate shit, he would probably be much more receptive to your advances." 

Hearing that, Juvia raised her head with a surprised expression on her face. 

"As for Ur and Tear, I'm not saying you should give up…" Alfonzo said. "Well, I actually do wish you'd give up on Tear… But anyway, neither of them really seems to be into girls the way you want them to be. So, you're probably barking up the wrong trees in their cases." 

Knowing that Alfonzo was right, Juvia lowered her head again. Though, she really was not willing to give up on Ur and Ultear. 

"Anyway, I'm going to bed." Alfonzo said as he started moving towards the door. "I gotta get up early to work on those training chambers. So, I'll see you in the morning. Good night." 

Then, without waiting for a reply, Alfonzo left the room before returning to his own room. Meanwhile, Juvia spent more time thinking about the way she had been acting since she joined Fairy Tail. 

The next morning, Alfonzo, Ultear, and Juvia had breakfast together in the Viper Inn's dining room. While Alfonzo and Ultear looked well rested, Juvia, on the other hand, looked as if she did not sleep very well last night. 

"Juvia, are you okay?" Ultear asked in a concerned tone. 

Hearing the concern in Ultear's tone, Juvia could not help but brighten up a little bit. However, before she started with her usual antics and calling Ultear her soul mate, she remembered what Alfonzo told her the previous night. 

"Yes, Juvia is fine." Juvia replied while lowering her head. "Juvia didn't sleep well last night, that's all." 

Hearing that, Ultear breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she looked at Alfonzo with a confused gaze while wondering what he could have said to her last night for Juvia's behavior to change so much, in such a short time. 

"Anyway." Alfonzo said, deciding to keep his conversation with Juvia, from the night before, to himself. "We should really start thinking about buying groceries. Although the meals at the hotel aren't bad, they aren't exactly up to my standards, either." 

Hearing that, both Ultear and Juvia's eyes lit up. They, too, were getting tired of the meals at the hotel, having been spoiled by Alfonzo's cooking at the guild. 

On a side note, Juvia was one of the few Fairy Tail wizards who did not cause property damage on her quests. Something she more than likely brought along with her from her time in Phantom Lord. So, she often exchanged her guild points for Alfonzo's cooking, despite the fact that she could not stand him previously. However, she could not deny the fact that his cooking was delicious. 

Then, with thoughts of having Alfonzo's cooking again, Alfonzo, Ultear, and Juvia finished their breakfasts before leaving the inn and heading to the Lamia Scale guild hall in the S 600. 

Meanwhile, at the Lamia Scale guild hall, Lyon, Ur's first disciple, finally returned from his quest with the rest of his team, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby. 

"It's been more than a week since we left." Yuka, or Yuka Suzuki, a short young man with extremely bushy, rectangular eyebrows, black eyes, and vibrant blue hair styled into a braid wearing mostly green eastern style clothing, said as the quartet entered the guild hall. 

"Yeah, I miss everyone." Toby, or Toby Horhorta, a tall lean, muscular young man with straight, shoulder length brown hair, tan skin, large, round black eyes, and features such as the lower half of his face and the ears on the top of his head resembling that of a dog's who wore only a pair of blue pants with frayed hems, replied with a smile. "*Sniff* I'm glad to be home." 

"We were only gone for a week, Toby." Lyon said while smiling wryly. "There's no need to cry." 

"*Sniff* I'm not crying..." Toby replied while wiping the tears from his face. 

"It's okay to cry, Toby." Sherry said while extending her right arm in a theatrical manner and clenching her left fist against her chest. "Especially if it's for {love}." 

Naturally, the quartet's usual antics drew the attention of all the wizards present as they entered the guild. 

"Welcome back, Lyon, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby." Jura, who was waiting for the Fairy Tail wizards' arrival, said after Lyon's team entered the guild hall. "How was the quest? I assume you completed it." 

"Yeah, everything went well, Jura." Lyon said as he led the rest of his team through the guild hall. "We finished it without an issue." 

"That's good to hear." Jura replied with a smile. "Well done." 

"Thanks." Lyon replied as he looked around the guild hall. Naturally, he noticed that a few of the tables were repositioned. "I guess the construction started while we were gone, huh?" 

"I'm actually looking forward to it." Yuka replied. "We'll be able to get more out of our training when it's finished." 

"Does that mean Alfonzo is here?" Sherry asked in a curious tone. "*Sigh* Seeing his {love} for his wife, Elicia, was so beautiful." 

"No, he's not here right now. But he should be here soon." Jura replied. Then, he made eye contact with Lyon. "And Master Ur's daughter, Ultear came with him." 

Hearing that, Lyon began to shudder. During his trip to Magnolia to attend Alfonzo and Elicia's wedding along with Ooba and Jura, he was forced to spar with Ur, to assess his progress. And although Ur said his progress was passible, she told him, just before the wizards from Lamia Scale left Magnolia, that Ultear would be there to test his progress again when Alfonzo arrived to install the training chambers. 

"Would you look at the time, we really need to go report to Ooba Babasama on our quest." Lyon said quickly as he turned away from Jura and started walking towards the stairs. "Hopefully this won't take too long, I wouldn't wanna miss Ultear's visit." 

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be here all day, Lyon." Ultear's voice sounded from the guild hall's entrance. "So, you can take your time." 

Upon hearing Ultear's voice, Lyon froze. Then, after a few seconds, he slowly turned towards Ultear. However, when he caught sight of Juvia, who was standing on Ultear's right, he froze once again. This time, with a completely enamored expression on his face. 

"Oh, he looks like he just saw his soul mate." Alfonzo said with a grin. Then, he glanced at Juvia. "And it looks like he's looking at you, Juvia." 

In response, Juvia groaned, feeling uncomfortable with the way Lyon was staring at her. Then, she realizing exactly how she had been looking at Ur, Gray, and Ultear, before vowing to be better going forward.