— — — — — —
After the brief incident with Mirajane, Kazuma headed back, planning to check on Juvia. When he got home, she happened to be there.
"Darling! Juvia missed you so, so much!"
When Juvia opened the door and saw the figure she'd been thinking about day and night. She immediately threw herself at him.
She clung to Kazuma, sticking close until she'd had her fill of affection, before finally letting him go.
"Juvia, I missed you too," Kazuma said with a smile. "And… there's something I need to tell you."
"This time when I went out—"
Before he could finish, Juvia cut him off.
"Juvia knows," she blurted out. "Darling met another girl while you were out, didn't you? It was Miss Mira, right?"
She puffed up in a sulk. When she'd hugged him earlier, she'd already smelled it. There was Mirajane's scent on him.
"Huh?"
Kazuma froze for a moment. Women's intuition was really that sharp? Sharp enough to guess things from another world?
Then he realized Juvia had misunderstood.
"It's not Mirajane… well, it is Mirajane, but from another world. And Erza too, from another world."
"Sit down. I'll explain everything properly."
Kazuma picked Juvia up, intending to head for the sofa. Somehow, without knowing how, they ended up in the bedroom. Then, without knowing how, they ended up on the bed. And without knowing how, they were naked.
By the time they came back to their senses, an entire day had passed.
"So… that's basically what happened."
Kazuma held the soft body in his arms and gave her a gentle squeeze, earning a soft hum from Juvia.
"Juvia understands now," she said quietly. "But Juvia is still jealous."
"And Juvia wants a wedding too. No guests. Just you and Juvia."
Her body was still sore and weak. When he pinched her again, it felt like an electric shock running through her. Blushing and annoyed, she smacked the back of his hand, telling him to stop teasing her.
"Alright. I promise," Kazuma said with a grin.
"And pinky swear," Juvia added, lifting her little finger. "No matter how many people there are outside, you won't abandon Juvia. Of course, Juvia hopes you won't have more."
She looked up at him, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She hadn't cried or made a scene, but how could she truly not care?
She couldn't help wondering if Kazuma might stop loving her, if one day he'd choose someone else and leave her behind.
She was afraid. Terrified of imagining what she'd become if the sun she'd finally found were to disappear.
She could endure endless rain, as long as she'd never seen the sun in the first place.
"I'm… I'm sorry, Juvia," Kazuma said softly. "I promise you, you'll always be the first in my heart. I'll always stay by your side."
He paused, then reached out and hooked pinkies with her. It was a childish promise. But it made Juvia smile. It gave her peace. Even a vow like this was enough to soothe her heart.
"Mm."
She smiled sweetly. That was enough. As long as she could stay with Kazuma, that was all she needed.
"Tomorrow… let's go on a date. Wherever you want to go, I'll go with you."
Originally, Kazuma had planned to collect the souls of those dragons the next day. But seeing Juvia like this made his heart ache, so he decided to spend some proper time with her instead.
"I want to go to the amusement park," Juvia said.
"Alright. The amusement park it is," Kazuma nodded.
...
The next morning, they set off together. They rode roller coasters, explored the haunted house, and shared ice cream.
In the end, they took intimate couple photos together. As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Juvia changed into a wedding dress, glowing in the sunset's afterlight.
"Will you put the ring on me?" she asked, nervous.
"Not yet," Kazuma said gently. "There's one more thing."
"..."
"Juvia Lockser... No matter what the future holds, you are the woman I love most. You are my wife. I swear to stay with you until the end of time."
He took out the most exquisite ring from his Treasury and slipped it onto Juvia's finger.
No matter how beautiful or expensive a ring was, it could never truly represent love. But this was enough.
A clear promise was enough to let Juvia know that the man before her truly cared. That was enough.
"Alright," Juvia said, tears streaming down her face as she smiled. "Juvia won't be jealous anymore. Darling should go do what you want to do now."
"But being with you right now is exactly what I want to do," Kazuma replied.
"No," she shook her head softly. "As long as Juvia knows you really like her, that's enough. At most, I'll just act spoiled every now and then."
"But Juvia doesn't want to delay your plans."
She'd noticed him glancing into the distance from time to time. She knew there had to be something weighing on his mind.
Even so, he'd chosen to stay with her.
That made her happy, and it was what led her to make this decision.
"Mwah. Alright then, I won't drag it out," Kazuma said, kissing her lightly. "Once I've taken care of my business, I'll come back and spend lots of time with you."
Since Juvia was supporting him, hesitating any longer would just be silly.
It was time to set out and subdue those dragons, to grow stronger and prepare for what lay ahead.
.
.
.