In The End - A Gruvia Fanfiction

XIII: In The End

Water sloshed and lapped against her wet suit; the sound followed by a giggle of a woman. Said woman was in a pool filled with ocean water that reached waist-level. Her voice was lively as she made cooing noises at the creature that squeaked jovially at the sight of treats in her hands.

The creature circling her before jutting its snout against her palm was none other than a two-year-old Pink Dolphin. "I'm out of fishes, Frosch," she says apologetically, yet the mammal continues to circle her, playing to its delight as its trainer accommodated its request.

Behind her, a man walked into the room, dismissing one of the staff members who had just risen from the other end of the tank, soaking wet. "Juvia, your shift is over." She appeared not to have heard him so he moved closer to the pool, wary to stand far enough in case any one of the lurking dolphins decided they wanted to give him another shower.

"Your shift is over," he repeated once more, giving her a pointed look when she pouted at him. "You're here to work, not play with Frosch." As if to disagree with him, said dolphin sent a splash of water his way. Had he not been fast enough, the dry clothes he just changed into would have been soaked right away.

Juvia grinned, putting a soothing hand on Frosch's head. "Aw, Frosch, that wasn't nice to Rogue." She said but the smug expression on her face made her words insincere. Rogue glares at her in response though it did not last long as he stepped closer to return the favour.

A laugh left the blue-headed girl as she wiped off water from her face; Frosch made a cackling sound that passed off for a laugh in dolphin language.

Rogue could not help but smile as well. He was the one who had taken care of Frosch ever since he was rescued as an orphan calf two years ago and it was known amongst the aquarium staff that Frosch and Rogue had a close relationship. So, it became a big deal when Juvia joined.

She worked with the marine creatures with ease despite it being her first time in the environment. She was also more than happy to get in the waters when required (or not required). Most of all, Frosch who obeyed only Rogue had become enamoured with the newbie just a week into her training.

In the beginning, he thought she was just lucky that Frosch liked her, then he noticed how genuine of a person she was with each person or marine animal she interacted with. It was also hard not to be caught up in her lively demeanour.

He was not the only one who noticed; his boss, Minerva had offered her a scholarship for where she currently studies during the weekdays. With support from an aquarium, Juvia was more than set for her career as a marine biologist upon graduation from Crocus University.

Tapping the water gently, Juvia gave Frosch one last pat and earned a cheek kiss in return before reluctantly leaving the water. She accepted a towel Rogue handed to her gratefully, dabbing at her face gently.

"You need to keep track of the time more when you're here. If we were to leave you here alone, you would stay here overnight without even knowing it, then your brother will send a whole patrol team to comb the city for you." The way he said it was enough for Juvia to know that it was plausible. After what happened two years ago, Gajeel became more protective over her. The only reason he even trusted Rogue around her was because the two actually knew each other from inter-school competitions for basketball back in high school.

He was also roped into looking after the bluenette a month after she joined the aquarium when Gajeel found out the man was her colleague. Said man had better things to do and besides, she's no longer a small child that needed babysitting!

Even as she objected, Rogue had said it was fine and that looking after a friend's sister was the least, he could do when Gajeel used to help him a lot in high school. She could not argue with that, though seeing Gajeel have at least a friend he got along well with brought some sort of relief to Juvia.