I’ll Keep Your Secrets Safe - Ch. 17
AN: All I can say is I have some of the best readers ever. Seriously so many of you reached out and just sent me some love and I can't thank you enough. So as a way of saying thanks, I'm currently just finishing up chapter 19 and the next chapter the Christmas party kicks off, so I wanted to ask you all if there's any character cameos you'd like to see, or maybe something funny/fluffy you'd like to see happen. I can't promise all of them will make their way into the next chapter but I've got New Years Eve to write as well so let me know. Characters, Christmas tropes, small ships. I'll see what I can cook up. ;)
This chapter is dedicated to Nap Team Captain on ff.net.
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
"Silver, what are you doing?" Ur hissed.
The sounds of shuffling feet followed, and Juvia frowned and nuzzled deeper into the warmth beneath her, pulling the blanket up to block out some of the light. She was exhausted and not nearly ready to wake up.
She recognized the distinct click of a phone camera coming from the direction Ur's voice had. Somewhere to the left.
"Don't take pictures of them." Ur continued to reprimand him in a harsh whisper.
"But They look so cute, when am I ever gonna get a chance to catch Gray like this again?" Silver cooed, his own voice kept low as well.
Juvia wanted to turn around, to move away from the noise, but she was tightly sandwiched in her place. One eye flickered open and she took in Silver and Ur standing in the doorway whispering to one another, and then she looked down and became aware of the bare chest her head was resting on. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she pieced together exactly where she was.
She slammed her eyes shut again and tried to even her breathing in an effort not to bring attention back to herself.
"Well you got your picture, now we should wake them up before Lyon gets up and sees this." Ur said.
"Oh come on, let them sleep," Silver replied.
"Are you crazy?"
Juvia's heart hammered at Ur's words. Ur was right, Lyon would flip out. How late was it?
How much time did she have?
"Ur it's barely seven, Lyon's gonna be asleep for at least another few hours, and Juvia's got to be exhausted. She probably didn't sleep well last night and that's why she ended up back down here." Silver rationalized.
Juvia let out a long breath, feeling herself relax.
"Down here, on a couch, with Gray. They could have slept on separate couches. Why are they cuddled up together like that?" Ur demanded, her voice raising a little.
Gray stirred slightly beneath Juvia, and his arms tightened about her waist. He didn't move though, and his heartbeat and breathing were still deep and steady. Juvia envied him a bit for his ability to sleep through this.
"I think you're overreacting a bit," silver said. "They're both clothed and Netflix is still running on the TV. They just fell asleep watching movies. Nothing sinister is going on"
Ur sighed. "I guess, it just feels weird that she's here with Gray and not Lyon."
"Yeah, well, Lyon isn't exactly easy to wake up, and I highly doubt she came looking for gray, he was probably just here when she came down."
There was a pause in their conversation and some shuffling but Juvia kept her eyes closed, not wanting them to know she'd been listening.
"Look, we'll let them sleep till nine. I'm pretty sure Juvia will be up by then and if they're not then we'll wake them."
"Okay, I suppose you're right this time." Ur conceded
"Can I get that in writing?"
"Don't push your luck," Ur chuckled.
"C'mon. I'll make you coffee." Silver said
Their feet padded away, growing distant along with their voices.
Juvia forced her eye open and confirmed they were no longer present. She tried to will herself to sit up, or even open her other eye, but she was warm and comfortable. The pillow she'd been using had disappeared, and her neck was a little crooked but the steady sound of Gray's heartbeat acted as a lullaby.
Her eyes dropped and she struggled to reopen them. She ought to get up. She knew it would be in her best interest, but she didn't want to move, and the knowledge that silver would wake should she sleep too late made it all the more enticing.
Just one more hour, she hadn't slept well for most of the week and it was catching up with her. Another hour, just to help keep her lucid.
She shifted and snuggled deeper, moving her head to a slight more comfortable place.
Gray hummed and his arms tightened again as she shifted, holding her close. His heartbeat thumped in her ear, her eyes closed and she felt her body relaxing again as she drifted of.
She'd get up soon. Just one more hour.
Juvia found herself drifting in and out of consciousness. She was aware the room was bright with light filtering in through the window, and of the muffled sounds coming from the kitchen. Mostly she was aware of Gray. Of the sounds of his breath and heartbeat, of the warmth of his skin pressed against her, of the faded woodsy smell of, what she assumed was, his cologne.
It was these things that keep her from truly waking. They lulled her back in every time she tried to will herself awake and off the couch.
Her eyes were closing and she was losing the battle for wakefulness yet again when she felt a staccato vibration right against her stomach.
Her eyes shot open and she lifted herself up and away from the buzzing as Gray stirred and squirmed, his hand sliding down between them to reach for his pocket.
He frowned as his hand brushed against her and blearily opened his eyes, blinking up at her.
She watched as his eyes widened and his cheeks flushed a brilliant red as he seemed to clue into their positions.
Her own cheeks felt warm, and she found herself running a hand through her tangled mess of hair, in an attempt to tame it into something remotely presentable. Why that hadn't occurred to her sleep addled brain before now was a mystery she was cursing.
Another round of vibrations pulse between them, and she looked down to where his hand was frozen in his pyjama pocket. "Aren't you gonna get that?"
"Right!" Gray jerked his hand out of his pants, fumbling the phone as he attempted to receive it before the call ended.
He finally managed to get a hold of it and swiped his finger over the lock screen, then brought his phone to his ear. "Yo," he greeted.
Juvia was surprised when she heard the the voice that responded.
"Fuck, were you still sleeping?" Gajeel asked.
Gray blinked and pulled the phone down just enough for them both to see Gajeel's name written across the top of the screen. Gray frowned before hesitantly returning the phone to his ear. "Uh, yeah…."
Gray paused and waited, but got no reply. "So, what's up?"
There was another long pause before Gajeel sighed. "I've been tryin' to get a hold of Juv's but she's not answering her phone, neither's Lyon. Just wanted to check in; make sure she was holdin' up. I was hoping you might actually be up and know where they're at."
Gray glanced at Juvia. "She's fine, actually. She's right here if you wanna talk to her."
Juvia felt her stomach drop.
"What?!" Gajeel screamed.
Gray jerked the phone away from his ear and winced in pain.
"Why the hell is she there with you?" Gajeel's voice boomed.
Juvia grabbed the phone before Gray could protest or think to respond with anything else incriminating. "Calm down, and stop screaming. You're freaking out over nothing."
"Nothing!" Gajeel crowed. "I try calling you and get no answer, and then I call Gray and find out you're just waking up with him. How the fuck is that nothing."
Juvia rolled her eyes.
Gray is staring at her, white as a sheet and wide eyed with panic, clearly having finally caught up and realized what what he'd said had implied.
"It's nothing, because whatever you've cooked up in your head isn't what happened. We just passed out together, on the living room couch I might add, so get your head out of the gutter."
"That doesn't mean shit with you. You honestly expect me to believe the living room couch is off limits to you? You, the girl Jose caught fooling around on the kitchen counter." Gajeel sneered.
Juvia's cheek flushed bright red, as Gray raised an eyebrow at her. Clearly he heard that. She smacked her palm over her face and attempted to breath through the embarrassment and fought for calm in order to dissuade Gajeel.
"Clearly not, but I'm telling you nothing happened. I woke up from a nightmare, I came downstairs, Gray was down here watching movies, we talked, had some hot chocolate and ice cream, then proceeded to watch the Aliens trilogy and passed out at some point. That's it, that's all," Juvia said through gritted teeth.
"You had a nightmare? What about?" Gajeel asked, quickly switching gears with this new information.
Juvia hesitated, glanced at Gray before swallowing down her anxiety. There was no point in backing down now, it was time to just lay it all on the line. "About my mom and dad, that night and then the accident. Only it switched to Carol when I tried crawling into the front seat. She was passed out from ODing and I couldn't wake her up."
Gray's hand found hers, and gave it a small squeeze of reassurance, and she squeezed his back.
There was a long pause on Gajeel's end before he let out a long sigh. She could almost picture him scrubbing his face with his hand. "Shit. That sucks. You okay?"
"Yeah, it sucked, but I'm doing alright. Like I said, Gray was up and he looked after me. Made sure I had lots of sugar and then willingly watched horror movies with me as a distraction so I'm good."
"Well good. I'm glad someone was there for ya. Gihihi, It was a good choice, going and seeking him out instead of just waking Lyon up." Gajeel teased.
Juvia rolled her eyes at the insinuation, and glared at the couch cushion in his absence. She could feel Gray's eyes on her, and see the smirk playing on his lips out of the corner of her eye. "It wasn't like that. I came downstairs and he was already there. Not much I could do about it."
Gray scoffed and leaned back against the armrest, crossing his arms over his chest and pouted.
Gajeel chuckled knowingly. "Uh huh, sure."
Juvia felt the heat returning to her cheeks and a quick glance at Gray let her know he'd noticed the change. She bit her lip and shifted positions, pulling her legs out from under her and letting them drape over his and onto the coffee table. "Whatever. So when are you getting here?"
The self satisfied smirk was back on Gray's lips and she shot him a quick glare to express her disapproval.
"Uh, yeah, about that. That's actually why I'm calling. Listen, Levy's grandma has invited us to lunch, and we've tried getting out of it, but-"
"Don't worry about it," Juvia interjected with confidence, despite feeling the initial pangs of disappointment. She took a deep breath and shoved them down, waiting as the line continued to remain silent.
Finally, Gajeel spoke up. "You know it ain't that easy."
Juvia sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know it isn't, but I swear I'll be okay. It's not that bad, and everyone here knows at this point so I'm in good hands. No one's gonna push for anything today, and I'm sure once Lyon's up I'll be coddled for the rest of the day, so go to her grandma's thing. I get it, I'm not upset. A little disappointed, but I can get over it. Just means you're coming later right?"
"Yeah, we'll still be there. I'll grab the pizza on the way," Gajeel said
"So then we're good."
"Yeah, I guess we're good. Not that I have much of a choice."
"Nope, you really don't. Don't want to be the boy that made her skip her grandmother's on Christmas."
Gajeel scoffed. "Yeah wouldn't want that." There was another pause before he spoke up again. "Hey, put Gray back on the phone, will ya?"
"Sure…." Juvia slowly relinquished the phone, holding it out for Gray to take.
He grabbed it and she scooched closer, determined to listen in, in case Gajeel decided Gray still needed an earful about them sleeping next to each other.
"Sup?" Gray greeted, glancing at Juvia questioningly as she perched beside him.
"Listen Fullbuster, I need a favour," Gajeel started.
Gray raised an eyebrow and glanced at the phone warily. "Uh, okay…. Shoot."
"Look after Juvia for me today," Gajeel instructed.
Gray blinked and glanced back up at Juvia. He only hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, of course. You got it."
Juvia quirked an eyebrow at him, but Gray had already looked away and was sitting up on the couch. He stretched briefly before tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder, and stood up, heading towards the desk in the far right corner. "So anything I should know?"
Juvia blinked, she was tempted to follow him, so that she could know exactly what Gajeel would list but froze as she watched Gray fish out a pad of paper and grab a pen. She frowned, feeling like he might be taking the whole thing a little overboard. But at the same time it was kinda sweet.
His brows were furrowed in concentration as he jotted down a few things and would nod along to whatever it was Gajeel was saying. Finally he grabbed the phone back in his hand and looked over the list once more. "I think I got it all. We'll see you when you guys get here. Yeah. Kay. Bye."
Gray hit the end call button and stuffed his phone back in his pocket before turning back to face her. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back for a moment before letting it go and having it fall back across his forehead.
Juvia waited for him to say something, but the silence stretched between them, as they continued to stare at each other. Finally she swallowed and let a small smile curl up onto her lips and uttered a simple "thanks"
After all, for all that she thought he might have gone overboard in making a list of need-to-know's in order to take care of her, it was nice to know that he cared about her, and that he wanted to look after her.
Gray shrugged, averting his gaze, but a small smirk tugged at his lips. "Well, as you kinda pointed out, I shouldn't just do someone a favour cause I know they'll return it. I should do it because it's the right thing to do, So I'm trying that out."
Juvia frowned, trying to remember exactly when she said something like that. It sounded a little bitter to her now, though she supposed it was true. It took a moment before it clicked. The argument in the food court finally coming back to her, and her rebuke of Gray's lack of action towards Lyon.
It surprised her that he remembered that, and more importantly that he took it to heart. She'd been really harsh towards him that day, and he could have easily taken something negative from her rebuke. Most people would have. Instead, he understood exactly what she was trying to say, and was now seeking to prove he'd gotten the message.
She smiled at him brightly.
Gray smiled back and reached out, offering her his hand. "Come on, let's go get you a tea and some breakfast."
Juvia placed her hand in his, blushing as she did, and let him pull her up off the couch and into the kitchen to join his family.
When Lyon woke to an empty bed there had been a moment of panic. He'd been hoping to wake up with Juvia, and bring her tea in bed, to have a moment to talk about how she was feeling and just plan their day. Of course, he hadn't communicated that to her so he supposed he shouldn't be surprised that she'd gotten up and gone downstairs ahead of him. He didn't expect her to sit up there waiting for him to wake up, but he had hoped that maybe she would have woken him up.
He quickly put aside his own feelings and headed out into the bathroom to quickly fix his hair and wash his face before heading downstairs. He paused at Gray's door, frowning over the fact that it was ajar, meaning Gray was already up. That in itself was odd, because Gray usually stayed up until all hours of the morning and normally had to be dragged out of bed, but it was also the second morning in a row he was awake before Lyon.
A small part of him hoped that maybe Gray had gone out to another friends, but he had a feeling he knew what had caused Gray to get up early. His step-brother's attentiveness to Juvia bothered Lyon, and not just because he was worried about them hooking up if there was a mutual interest. Lyon was starting to realise that he felt a bit jealous of the way they were connecting.
Which was ridiculous, absurd, and completely irrational. There was no reason for him to be jealous, he was Juvia's best friend, he'd known her longer. No matter what, Gray wasn't going to just come in and take that away from him. And yet, that's what he felt. It's what drove him to lash out last night.
He took a deep breath, and soaked the washcloth with cold water, before wiping it over his face. The cold helped clear his mind and bring him back into focus. He needed to get a hold of himself, and shelve it; at least for the day.
Taking a deep breath he steeled himself, and headed downstairs. He froze in the doorway leading to the kitchen, as he realized his entire family was already congregated there.
Silver was cooking, and his mom was perched on a stool to the left of the stove, nursing a cup of coffee and supervising.
Gray was to his right, and much to Lyon's shock, was chopping vegetables according to Juvia's instructions. Or at least, he was trying to.
Juvia let out a huff of frustration and reached over to grab the knife only to have Gray swat her hand away.
"Stop it, Gajeel said you're not allowed to cook today. You're supposed to be relaxing," Gray said, before returning to slicing the red pepper in front of him.
"I am relaxing, you're just not doing it right-"
"I'm chopping vegetables, how can I do that wrong? They're cut into tiny pieces that's what's supposed to happen," Gray complained.
"They're not even," Juvia protested.
"So?"
"So they're supposed to be. It's not that hard, just let me show you." Again Juvia reached for the knife, only to have Gray hold it out of reach.
Lyon frowned at the scene.
Juvia was clinging to Gray attempting to reach the knife, and he was holding her around the waist to keep her from being able to reach any higher. There was a stupid smirk on his face as she struggled against him, and he couldn't help but feel like Juvia was just being playful, rather than actually frustrated.
It made something in the pit of his stomach churn and twist.
Ultear appeared beside him, having left her place by the coffee maker, and handed him a cup of coffee. "You look pissed."
Lyon grunted his assent.
Finally Silver grabbed the knife from Gray's hand. "That's enough of that, you're gonna hurt someone if you keep it up."
"He's right, Juvia just sit down, we'll live with uneven vegetables for a day, you can show him tomorrow," Ur said.
Gray grinned triumphantly as Juvia fell back onto her stool, and stuck his tongue out at her, causing Juvia to pout in response. He was about to go back to chopping when his eyes locked on Lyon and he froze.
Juvia followed his gaze and blushed when she saw Lyon. Her eyes darted between the two of them nervously.
"Ah, look who's finally gotten up and decided to grace us with his presence," Silver teased, flashing Lyon a brilliant grin.
"Good morning sweet heart. Did you sleep okay?" Ur ask.
Juvia seemed to recover herself, and was quick to hop off her stool and come greet him with a hug. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders. "Hey, good morning."
Despite the storm of unpleasant emotions trying to surge up within him, Lyon couldn't help but smile and hug her back. He pulled her close and held her a little too tightly, for a little too long. "Morning," he murmured, pulling back a bit to smiled down at her. "You should have woken me up. I've missed precious doting time. Do you need a refill on your tea?"
"Um, sure," Juvia replied, letting him go.
He noticed the reluctance to do so, as well as the nervous look on her face, as her eyes shifted back to the kitchen island. His eyes followed her gaze, and found Gray and his parents looking equally uncomfortable. He turned back to her, and cocked his head to the side. "What's up? I feel like I'm missing something."
Juvia licked her lips and took a deep breath. Her hands wrung together in front of her. "Well, it's just-" she paused, and looked up at him, meeting his gaze. He could see the fear gathering in her eyes.
He turned back towards her and placed his hands over hers, stilling the fidgeting. He gave her a light squeeze of reassurance, and nodded for her to continue.
"I'm sorry I didn't wake you. I know I should have, it's just, I ended up passing out on the couch last night, and so I was already down here, and-"
"Juvia it's fine, I was just teasing," Lyon said, attempted to halt her rambling. He offered her another smile to ease her worry.
Juvia bit her lip and shifted from foot to foot.
Lyon sighed and brushed his thumb across her knuckles. "Something else?"
She took another deep breath and held it. "I ended up passing out on the couch with Gray," she announced in a rush.
Lyon froze as the words sank in. He stared down at her, and that awful feeling returned ten fold. He dropped her hands and straightened. He could feel all eyes in the room on him, tense and waiting for his reaction. "Oh."
Juvia's eyes widened, and she stepped forward placing a hand over his. "Nothing happened. I swear, we were just watching horror films, and I was exhausted, and we must have just passed out. I swear. I only came down because I had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep."
Lyon's head whipped up to stare at her. "You had a nightmare?"
Juvia bit her lip and nodded.
"Why didn't you wake me up? Was it about your family?" Lyon demanded.
Ultear rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Juvia's shoulder. "Dude, breathe, give her a chance to answer."
Lyon took a breath and nodded.
"I'm sorry I didn't wake you up, I wasn't really thinking, and you're not exactly easy to wake. I just headed downstairs hoping to get a cup of tea. And I'll tell you about the dream later okay? You're just waking up and I'm trying not to think about it to be honest." Juvia said. Her hand fell from his and she wrapped her arms around herself.
Ultear rubbed circles into her back, and Juvia let out a shaky breath.
Lyon forced himself to relax, and let the tension out of his body. "Okay, that's fair." He paused then added a "sorry" for good measure.
Juvia shook her head. "Don't be, I get it."
He nodded and forced a smile to his lips. The gnawing feeling had subsided a little, though it still itched and tingled, reminding him he wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of Juvia sleeping next to Gray, but he decided to put it aside. Today wasn't about him, it was about her. He shouldn’t make too big of a deal out of Gray comforting her, especially if he wasn't there to do it himself.
He took a breath. "So tea refill?"
Juvia smiled at him and nodded. "Please."
He smiled back, and this time it felt genuine. He grabbed her mug from the island and carried it towards the kettle and hit the button to get it to boil.
Ultear leaned against the counter beside him pouring herself another cup of coffee. She shot him a look, and Lyon frowned, unsure exactly what he'd done to piss her off, but she quickly looked away, and returned to watching the rest of their family as she sipped on her coffee.
Juvia sat back down next to Gray, but instead of returning her attention to him as well, she turned to smile at Lyon.
Tension lingered in the air for a moment, before Silver elbowed Gray. "Hop back to it, those vegetables aren't going to chop themselves. And be quick about it, you gotta keep up."
Gray rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his lips as the room filled with laughter, and a few jeers. Even Lyon joined in, taking the free shot while he could. Everyone settled back comfortably and Lyon soon joined Juvia by her side.
It wasn't an ideal start to his day, but he'd had worse. There was still plenty of time to dote on Juvia and he wasn't going to miss another minute of it worrying about Gray.
Lyon's fork clattered against his plate, and he leaned back rubbing his overly full stomach. "Mmm lunch was amazing Dad."
"Definitely one of your better meals, even if the peppers and onions weren't very uniform," Ultear teased, grinning in Gray's direction.
Gray glared back at her. "I'd like to see you do better."
"Now, now. Can you not start? It's been a relatively peaceful meal for once." Ur said.
Ultear shrugged, and Gray sighed, but nodded.
Juvia hummed in contentment and reached for Lyon's plate.
Lyon swatted the back of her hand before she could grab it, causing her to frown at him.
"What do you think you're doing?" He asked.
Juvia rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Clearing the plates?"
Lyon shook his head and gave her his best disapproving mom look. "You know you're not supposed to do that.”
"Seriously? I can manage clearing some plates and putting them in a dishwasher, I'm not that fragile," Juvia complained.
"Nope, Lyon's right," Gray interjected. "Gajeel said absolutely no chores, and that's a chore."
"But-"
"You heard him, Gajeel's orders." Lyon grinned at her, and chuckled when she glared back at him, before starting to collect the plates.
Before he could take them into the kitchen Gray had hopped up and was coming around the table. "I got it, you keep an eye on her."
Lyon quirked an eyebrow at him, but handed the plates over. It was more than a little obvious that Gray was trying to curry favour, Lyon just couldn't figure out if it was with Juvia or him. It made sense that Gray might be acting out of guilt, and part of him wanted to believe that maybe Gray meant it when he said he was trying to make amends; but another part of him caught the way Gray looked at Juvia, saw how attentive he was to her needs, and knew that there was something more going on there.
It's was weird though, being around both of them, it was easy to slip into friendly banter and forget about everything else. It was easy to work alongside Gray where Juvia was concerned instead of constantly butting heads.
Lyon reached out and threaded his fingers through Juvia's as he continued to contemplate the complexities of their little dynamic with Gray, while she chatted with Silver, Ur and Ultear.
Once Gray was seated back at the table Ur straightened, and cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"Alright, it's time to get down to business, the party is tomorrow and there's still way too much that needs to be done so I'm going to need you kids to help out. Silver and I are going out to pick up food and supplies. While we're gone I was hoping the rest of you could handle decorating the house and the tree."
Ultear groaned and laid her head down on her forearms, one hand gestured loosely between Gray and Lyon. "Ask your sons, that's usually their job."
Gray and Lyon both shrunk under Ur's scrutiny, but hesitated to commit themselves to helping, instead glancing warily towards Juvia.
Ur let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head. "She doesn't need both of you playing mother hen, I'm sure one will suffice."
Lyon had to admit, he was eager to decorate the tree and help with the decorating. It had always been his favourite part of the year, but another quick glance at Juvia and he knew he needed to sit this one out. "Sorry Mom, I promised Juvia I'd spend the day with her as payment for going out to Magnolia last night, so you're stuck with Gray."
Ur rolled her eyes at his comment, but he could see her fighting back a smile. "That's fine, Gray's actually done just fine the last two years. I'm sure it'll be beautiful, and I'll be happy so long as it gets done."
Gray puffed up at little at the praise, but his eyes lingered on Juvia.
Lyon wrapped his arm about her shoulder and pulled her close, locking eyes with Gray from across the table in the process.
Gray held his gaze for a moment, and Lyon thought he might argue about the arrangement, but the moment passed and he deflated, turning to Ur. "No worries, I've got it covered, at least it means we won't have to live in some tacky green and red hallmark card for the next couple of weeks.
Lyon scoffed, and shot a glare at Gray. "Uh huh, cause there's a lot of other options right?"
Gray just rolled his eyes and got up, heading through the kitchen, towards the mud room to fish out the decorations.
Lyon knew he ought to just stay seated and ignore him, but something was nagging him about Gray's comment and finally he cracked, and got up and followed.
He frowned as he entered the room and his eyes fell on the boxes of decorations. "What are those?"
Gray frowned at him, confusion mapped across his face. "The Christmas decorations. What are you doing in here? I thought you were going to spend the day with Juvia?"
Lyon felt a sliver of guilt, but pressed on, ignoring Gray's jab. "Since when?"
Gray's face screwed up in confusion, before a look of understanding took over. "Since you left."
"Why did we get new decorations? What happened to the old ones?" Lyon demanded, a surge of panic running through him.
"Relax, there in here too. And we didn't get new decorations, I did. Everyone forgot about decorating the year you left and when I realized that I decided if I was gonna be the one doing it I wanted to do it my way." Gray explained, while dragging the Christmas tree box from the closet.
Lyon glared down at the offending decor. "What, exactly, was wrong with the decorations we had?"
"They're tacky," Gray said with a shrug.
"Tacky," Lyon sputtered. "They're traditional! And a lot better than these I might add. I mean blue and white snowflakes? Really? That's so overdone." He continued, gesturing to the assortment of bulbs and lights at his feet.
"Yeah, cause green and red isn't?" Gray shot back.
"That's different, those are the colours of the holiday. They can't be overdone." Lyon stated, matter-of-factly.
"Whatever. I'm decorating, that means I can do what I want." Gray said, leaning down and grabbing one of the boxes and hefting it up. He started carrying it out to the den where they usually set up the tree.
Lyon followed, hot on his heels.
"Besides, everyone's liked it the last two years, I've gotten a shit ton of compliments." He called back to Lyon over his shoulder.
"So? I always got compliments too, they were probably just being nice to you."
Gray rose an eyebrow at Lyon. "I'm old enough that they're not going to be worried about hurting my feelings, you on the other hand, were a kid. Pretty sure if any one was getting the pity compliments it wasn't me."
"Well, I think you're wrong. My decorating is on point and I think we should put it to a vote."
"How do you plan to do that?" Gray asked.
"We'll each get a side of the tree, most votes get to decorate the house." Lyon proposed.
Gray's eyes narrowed and he seemed ready to agree, then he shot Lyon a smug look. "I would, but there's just one problem."
"And what would that be?"
"You promised your girlfriend a whole day of horror movies."
Lyon faltered, and the smile fell from his face. He'd almost forgotten all about that. He frowned and sighed. He hated the thought of letting Gray win by default, because he was sure he'd win, but Juvia did take priority.
"Hey, what are you two arguing about now?" Ultear asked, wandering into the den with Juvia in tow.
"Nothing," Lyon muttered.
Gray smirked. "I was just showing Lyon the new decorations and telling him about all the compliments I've been getting for them. He wanted to compete to see which style was preferred, but well, I reminded him he's got prior obligations, and promises to keep."
Juvia raised an eyebrow at him. "That's sweet of you, but I really don't mind if he wants to decorate. If I'm honest, you two have been smothering me for the last two hours and I could use a break."
Lyon perked up, and looked at Juvia, trying to see any signs of hesitation. "You know you don't just have to say that. I did promise to watch horror movies with you, and I fully intend to keep that promise."
Juvia nodded and smiled at him. "Oh, I know you will, but it doesn't have to be right this minute. It's better to watch movies in the dark anyways."
Lyon's face lit up and he wrapped Juvia up in a tight hug. "I love you, I love you, I love you." He planted a firm kiss on her cheek before sprinting off towards the mud room in order to pull out his decorations.
"Okay we're heading- Woah!" Ur cried as Lyon almost barrelled straight into her.
"Sorry Mom!" he called, hopping around her and returning to his mad dash.
Gray stalked into the room behind him, and grabbed another box from the floor as Lyon managed to drag a large box from the closet.
"What are you two doing?" Ur asked.
"Decorating," Lyon grunted, hefting the box up and following Gray back into the den.
Ur followed behind them, a worried look written across her face. "Both of you?"
"Yep, we're gonna divide the tree in half and decorate it in our own styles, and you're all going to vote to see who gets to decorate the rest of the house." Gray said, setting down the box with ease and moving to go grab another.
Ur held her hand up and fixed him with a stern look, halting him in his tracks.
Lyon let out a huff as he straightened after setting down his own box and turned his attention back to his mom.
"This is not happening. You two are not turning decorating our house into a competition." Ur insisted.
"But Mom-" Both of them cried in unison, then turned to each other with a scathing glare.
"No, no buts. I thought you were spending the afternoon watching movies with Juvia," Ur said to Lyon.
"Well-" Lyon started
"I don't mind." Juvia interjected. "To be honest this is kinda interesting."
Ultear cackled, and draped an arm around Juvia's shoulder. "That's the spirit! You get comfy on the couch, I'm gonna grab some wine and snacks."
"What?" Ur exclaimed, "No, no wine. This has not been agreed to."
"Oh, come on Mom, let them duke it out. You said you'd be happy no matter what, so long as it was done for you," Ultear said.
Ur shot Ultear a reproachful look.
"She's got a point, you did say that dear," Silver said with a wide grin plastered on his face as he walked into the den from the kitchen.
"Not you too. We don't need to different sets of decor throughout the house." Ur said.
"It won't be," Lyon said. "Just two sets on the tree and then the winner gets to decorate the house in their style."
Ur frowned, but sighed when she noticed everyone looking at her expectantly. "Fine, whatever. Just don't destroy anything."
A chorus of cheers echoed through the house.
Ur rolled her eyes, and headed for the door, not wanting to witness the catastrophe that was about to unfold. "We'll be back in a couple hours!"
"'Kay." Ultear said.
"Bye Mom!" Lyon exclaimed and waved.
"Drive safe," Gray called out.
Once she was out the door Lyon was back to retrieving boxes.
Silver smirked, and clapped Gray on the shoulder as he made his way to the door. "Make me proud kid."
"Will do," Gray called out, with a wave.
Ultear grinned at Juvia. "Get comfy girl, this is gonna get good. I haven't watched them compete at something in over six years!"
Juvia giggled at Ultear's enthusiasm and plopped down onto the couch. Both boys were rushing about, piling more and more boxes into the room. It was a bit weird, sitting there in the midst of the chaos, surrounded by Christmas everywhere she looked. There was a time when it would have been unbearable, but in that moment, it really wasn't so bad.
Juvia had to admit, she was more than amused at how seriously the boys had taken the challenge presented to them. Most people would have said they were going overboard, but Juvia admired tenacity, no matter what the reason for it, and both of them had it in spades.
Once they'd finished piling boxes into the den they'd actually worked together to assemble the tree. Ultear had been in charge of the music, but had quickly abandoned the effort as the two of them had argued repeatedly over what to listen to, and complained loudly when the other's choice was being played. In the end, Juvia had taken over, with the rule that the music being played had to be Christmas themed as that seemed to garner the least amount of bickering or complaints.
And so she'd spent the last half an hour going back and forth between Gray's traditional choices and Lyon's pop renditions. Currently it was Lyon's choice, and he'd decided to put on a show with it.
"What a bright time, it's the right time, to rock the night away," Lyon sang, He was right in front of Juvia as his hips swayed to the music. "Jingle bell time, is a swell time." He turned and smacked his ass. "To go riding in a one-horse sleigh."
"Ah! Lyon stop, get your butt out of my face!" Juvia shrieked, amidst a chorus of laughter, as she planted her foot against his ass and tried to shoved him forward.
Lyon caught himself before he moved far, and planted his hands on his knees and began twerking his way back toward her as he sang. "Giddy-up jingle horse pick up your feet. Jingle around the clock."
He swiveled his hips right above her lap and Ultear let out a whistle and Gray shout out cat calls.
"Mix and a mingle and a jingling beat. That's the jingle bell, that's the jingle bell, that’s the jingle bell rock!" As Lyon ended the song he dropped into Juvia's lap, arms spread wide in a typical tada fashion.
She would have been more annoyed, but the room erupted in laughter and applause and truthfully she found it more funny than anything. The wine Ultear kept feeding her was probably helping in that matter.
Plus the little stunt seemed to diffuse the remaining tension between him and Gray. The two of them laughed together, as Gray hauled Lyon off her and they returned to decorating the tree. It was a gaudy monstrosity at this point; half covered in red and green ornaments, with big red bows, and candy canes, while the other half was blue and silver ornaments, with white snow flakes, and icicles dangling. The only thing uniform about the tree was the white lights.
Juvia sighed and returned to queuing the playlist. She'd been good about keeping their preferences even, but after a bunch of searching she'd finally managed to find what she was looking for, and grinned. "Guys, I don't suppose you'd be okay if I played some of my music for a bit?"
"Uh…." Lyon tensed and turned to look at her, apprehension written across his face.
Juvia did her best to look innocent.
"Sure." Gray replied, with a shrug, still focused on hanging icicles from the tree.
"I don't know…." Lyon said, still eyeing Juvia suspiciously.
Gray frowned and glanced at Lyon. "I don't see what the big deal is, so long as she sticks to the rule, which is that it has to be Christmas music, then it can't be that bad."
Lyon bit his lip glancing between them.
"Geez, you hate her music taste or what?" Ultear asked.
Juvia giggled, "I have a bit of an eclectic taste in music. It's kinda all over the place."
"Well I say go for it, so that's two of us, and Lyon's supposed to be pampering you for the day, so he can't really complain too much, so I think you're in the clear," Ultear said.
Juvia grinned. "Awesome."
"Oh boy," Lyon muttered. "Don't say I didn't warn you two."
Ultear rolled her eyes, and Gray scoffed.
Juvia hit play, and the soft chime of jingle bells started forming the background to the song, and Lyon stared at her in confusion, before looking pleased at her choice. Finally a choir of singers softly began to sing.
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
The jingle bells dropped out, distorting into heavier background music, and Juvia let her grin turn devilish as Lyon's shoulders sagged in resignation.
This time the voices were louder and more rough.
We wish you a metal Christmas,
We wish you a metal Christmas,
We wish you a metal Christmas and a happy New Year!
Drums erupted and a heavy electric guitar wailed.
YEAH!
Ultear stared at her in complete shock and Gray dropped an ornament as he practically jumped.
Juvia laughed as he spun around, giving her the most perplexed look. "You're into heavy metal?"
"Yep," Lyon replied for her, heaving a sigh.
"Seriously?" Ultear asked, raising her voice to be heard above the music. "You don't exactly seem like the type!"
Juvia responded by raising her hand in the air. Her fingers formed the sign of the horns and she banged her head along to the music. She caught Lyon rolling his eyes at her, but he sent her a small smirk anyways, and to her surprise, none of them complained.
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