Melted Ice {Natsu x Juvia}

~scales~

Juvia's POV

Juvia woke up the next morning feeling strangely weak. She nearly fell getting out of bed. Weird.

Today she would sort things out with Gray and Lucy. She knew it would be difficult, but at a point like this, she knew it had been long enough. Moreover, she was worried for her deathlock situation.

Cautiously, she made her way to the mirror. She let out a shuddered breath when she saw herself. Nearly the entire left side was taken over by the silver. She knew she had to deal with this, and quickly.

She departed the house for Gray and Lucy. Best guess, they would be in the guild hall. She was nearly there when she bumped into Natsu.

She was so weak, perhaps a repercussion of the deathlock, that she fell immediately, spots dancing in her vision. Next thing she knew, she was in Natsu's arms.

"Hey, Juvia. You okay?" He said.

Juvia quickly brushed him off and got back on her feet.

"Hey, did ya dye your hair or something? Looks great!"

She walked past him.

"Why don't you go talk to Lucy, or something." Juvia said dismissively. She had no interest in talking to him.

"Juves. Did I like, do something wrong?" He called after her.

She didn't respond, leaving him in the street.

Juvia picked up her pace. She really wanted to get things sorted out with Gray as soon as possible, without having to make contact with Natsu every five minutes. She didn't think she could ever get over what he did.

Finally, she arrived at the guild hall, to find Gray and Lucy on the steps in light conversation. When they noticed her, they stopped.

Juvia gave a little wave. "Mind if I sit?"

They both stayed quite a bit, flustered. Lucy quickly nodded.

The three of them sat in silence, before opening their mouths.

"I'm sorry-" They all said in unison.

Juvia giggled in amusement. Lucy joined in. Even Gray grinned.

Juvia was the first to say anything. "Listen. I just wanna say that I get it. Not all love is double-sided. You guys really are perfect for eachother, and have real feelings for one another.

"Lucy, you were there for me from day one, helping me fit in, and just being one of my best friends. Gray, you helped me find myself on that day on the roof. I don't think I would ever get to where I am now without you guys. So I really get it."

Lucy took her hand. "No, I'm sorry. I haven't been speaking to you, I've been so worried about how you would react. I thought keeping it a secret would be best. I was so stupid, I hurt you even more. I just really miss our friendship-"

Gray coughed. "Listen... this is all my fault. I'm sorry for being so cold to you all the time. I never truly could understand my feelings, and I always took all of that confusion out on you. Me finding Lucy helped me kind of sort out those feelings.

"But I've always been so terrible towards you, after all those years of us knowing one another, and everything you've sacrificed. I'm just-" He choked. "I'm so sorry."

Juvia started sobbing, and both Lucy and Gray embraced her. They stayed like that for a little while longer, until Gray broke the silence.

"So who wants to go get ice cream?"

•••

Juvia had fallen asleep that night feeling warm inside. She had done it. And she felt wonderful.

•••

The next morning, Juvia found herself in a panic. For some reason, her breathing was strained, and she could barely move.

Using all of her effort, she rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a crash.

What was going on?

Slowly, she made her way to the mirror. In a daze, all she saw was- silver. There were no blue strands of hair left.

She couldn't believe it. She thought overcoming the heartbreak would do the trick. That she would wake up, with no burdens left, and her hair would be back to normal. But it wasn't. And her time was running out.

She knew she had to go straight to Gajeel to tell him what was going on. She trudged to the door, opened it, and began walking. She felt sharp pain in her head, ears were ringing. But she knew she had to figure things out, and quick.

She had to stop walking about five minutes in. Her breathing was hitching. She looked down to see her hands shaking. Sweat dripped down her forehead. She had to figure things out. And quick.

Before she could take a step forward, she felt her legs shaking. Was she going to faint? No, she realized. It was the ground that was shaking, not her.

Before she could react, the ground directly below her burst open. She fell down into the hole, before being caught by whatever was flying out of it.

She tried hard to make out what was going on, and gasped when she took in her surroundings.

She was well over 100 feet in the air and counting. All around her, she saw a scaly green. Then it hit her. It was a dragon. And she was being carried on it's hand.

She watched in horror as the world disappeared below her, the flap of wings deafening.

Acting as fast as she could, she uttered a spell, and held her hands out, summoning her strongest water attack.

But nothing happened.

A wave of nausea hit, and she collapsed once again. She couldn't use her powers anymore.

She felt herself being lifted up, facing the dragons head. It's eyes were huge, piercing, pupils thin. It reared it's head back, letting out a roar, and exposing its thousands of sharp teeth.

The arm lifted her towards it's mouth, and she sat in terror, helplessly watching her life fall apart around her. Then she was falling, falling into the thing's mouth.

Darkness surrounded her, and a tooth pierced her shoulder. She was being eaten alive.

•••