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“Thank you,” Juvia solemnly gave her umbrella and raincoat to the purple-haired coat check girl in glasses. Gajeel gave the woman a tip along with his coat. He then placed his arm around his friend’s shoulder.
“Come on, that jerk wasn’t worth all those tears. Now stop crying and get hammered with me!” He chuckled. Juvia’s only response was to murmur her ex’s name. “Ok, new rule-- for the rest of the night, I don’t want to hear you say that again! Plus, if all goes according to plan, we’ll both had enough to drink that we won’t even remember his name after tonight!” Juvia just nodded in agreement and followed Gajeel to the bar.
“Have you ever been here before, Gajeel?” Juvia took a seat.
“Twice in the last week. Got a suggestion from a friend.”
The Fairy Tail Stip Club was well known in Fiore for their unique performers and the drama among them. It gained notoriety when a few years after it was established, it became the first co-ed strip club in Fiore, not that anyone was complaining. People came from all over Fiore to witness the fire-breathing Salamander and the sword-wielding Titania.
Gajeel had gone out with Juvia for two reasons. The first truly was for her own good, she needed to get over that jerk, however many nipples and drinks it took. The second being that he needed an excuse to go out for the third night in a row.
His real reason was to catch another performance of Levy McGarden- a member of “Team Shadow Gear”. Their schtick was centered around the idea that the boys would do anything she told them too, even though her stage persona was sweet and innocent. After watching their performance, all Gajeel could think of were orders that he wanted to give her.
Gajeel checked the main stage to make sure he was as early as he wanted to be. He couldn’t afford to miss even a second of the Shrimp’s performance. Noting that only the side stages had performers, he took a seat with Juvia. Behind the bar there was a woman with silvery blonde hair, clad in a bodysuit with a deep v-neck and thigh-high boots. The nametag read Mirajane. “So what brings you to Fairy Tail on such a gloomy day?”
“Broken heart in her case,” Gajeel gestured towards Juvia, head buried in her arms. “Me? I saw Team Shadow Gear’s performance the last two nights, and they say that the third time’s a charm.”
“Understandable,” she giggled lightly, “I can get your friend the ‘Broken Heart Blues Martini’, and for you, Team Shadow Gear’s special”. Gajeel nodded in affirmative and paid. Juvia clearly wasn’t interested in the drink, but took occasional sips to be polite.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you’re ready because our main event is about to begin!” the loudspeaker went off. Dozens of faces, male and female alike, turned to the main stage, jeering. “Starting us off, we have our newest edition to the roster. You may know her for her talents with a whip, or for the lovable troupe she brings with her, presenting Starlight the Gatekeeper!” A blonde woman with a whip and key chain attached to her belt entered the main stage. Her outfit was a bikini top, but with longer sleeves, a skirt that was barely being held up by her belt, and thigh-high stockings. She raised her key chain. There was a flash of light on either side of the stage. Two cages appeared on either side of her. One held a bikini-clad woman and the other held a shirtless man. She teased the caged dancers with her keys, all the while dancing on the poles and doing tricks with her whip.
Both Juvia and Gajeel hardly paid attention. “Would you like a program?” Another bikini-clad woman, a brunette, flaunted several cards with various images on the back side. On the front, there appeared to be a performance line-up in tiny font. Both Gajeel and Juvia took a card. On the back of Gajeel’s was the very petite stripper whom he wished to see. Juvia noted that they were billed for later in the evening.
“Looks like your lucky day, Juvy. Next two performers are guys. The Ice-Man and then Salamander. Heh, what do you know? There he is, right there, on the back of your card.” Juvia flipped it over to see the upcoming act.
She froze a bit. It only took a few seconds to realize why the image cut off a few inches below the man’s six pack. The only piece of clothing visible was his necklace, which was swinging off to the side opposite his chest tattoo. One of his hands was firmly planted on his hip while the other seemed to be scruffing his spiky black hair. His dark eyes were staring back at her own, his lips locked in a smirk.
“Oh wow,” she whispered, quickly downing the remains of her drink.
“Wow is right,,” the brunette was still there. Or had she come back after walking away? Juvia couldn’t tell. “Gray Fullbuster. AKA the ‘Ice-Man’. He and I have been here pretty much since the new boss took over. Odd thing about him is he seems to need a new wardrobe every couple of weeks. I swear he just throws his costumes into the crowd and doesn’t care what crazy fan-girl ends up taking them home with her! Heh. Too bad he never seems to take any of the girls home with him instead.”
Juvia was hardly listening. She was captivated by the card. She snapped out of it upon hearing the the loudspeaker announce that Starlight’s routine was over. She was practically running to a seat in the front row. She was leaning forward in anticipation for the next performer.
“Up next, we have an old pro. In fact, he was our first ever male recruit! So gentlemen, hold onto your ladies, and ladies, hold onto your panties! Now make some noise for our resident cool-guy, the one, the only, Ice-Man!”
There was steam from dry ice dripping over the side of the stage as the lights changed to a blue hue. The spotlights focused on a shadowy figure and the music went low. Women started screaming, and all the men in the room rolled their eyes.
“Ladies, ladies, please,” he took slow steps forward. Juvia’s eyes were locked on his face, hoping to make eye contact. “Do us all a favor and keep your cool.” The spotlight landed on him in perfect time with his words. The screaming didn’t die down, in fact it got louder, and only in part due to Juvia’s contribution. He was wearing a turtleneck with sleeves that weren’t attached at the shoulders. Clearly, a tearaway. His legs were obscured by the fog that was rising from the stage.Almost instantly, he ripped his shirt off, with no regard for where it ended up. He then started his routine of various spins, flips, and stunts on the poles. More and more of his clothes came off as he moved. First his sleeves, then his shoes. His socks allowed him to perform various slides across the stage. His pants followed after an overly aggressive knee power slide down the center aisle of the main stage. They landed on Juvia’s face, who was leaning forward from her seat to see the show. She quickly slid the garment into her lap just in time to lock eyes with the performer, who smirked and gave her a wink.
Her heart was pounding. And the several sugary drinks she had downed did nothing to help that fact. He turned his attention on a group of young girls wearing his merchandise on the other side of the stage. Juvia felt her cheeks light up in rage. They did so even more when she heard a blond man to her left shout something obscene. The performer stopped and slowly turned...before kneeling and blowing a kiss his way. The group of homosexual men who were sitting nearby all oohed and ahhed. Juvia nearly broke the bottle that held her 11th drink of the evening.
Nearing the end of the song, for his final act, he ripped off his briefs. But rather than discard the remains, he held onto them. Juvia was captivated by his bare ass as he walked away, being careful not to turn around. And with a final look back her way, and a close of a curtain, he was gone.
“Nice one, Popsicle,” Natsu laughed as he met his friend behind the curtain, preparing for his own performance.
“Thanks, Pyro.” Gray struggled to pull his underwear back on.
“Tell me that you know where at least some of your clothes went?” Erza glared.
“Relax. I made sure that the shirt and sleeves stayed on the stage, and my pants…” He paused. Where had his pants gotten off to? He thought back. “CRAP! They went in the audience! I even winked at the girl who caught them! I--”
“Ooh! You winked? Somethin’ special about this girl?” Lucy teased.
“SHUT UP!”
“Well, considering that you know exactly who took them, why don’t you book some time in the private room?” Erza suggested.
“Ok, yeah, give me a minute.” He ran for the wardrobe rack, looking for something extra special to impress.
“Checking out so soon?” The coat attendant, Laki, according to the name tag, asked.
“No, I just need to put something of value in my purse.” Laki noticed the woman was giggling. A full 180 from her demeanor earlier.
“You seem to be having a good time.”
“Oh yes, very good!” Juvia stuffed the pants into her purse so quickly that Laki couldn’t tell what it was she was stowing away. Before she knew it Juvia was out of her sight once more.
Juvia gazed around the room. She found Gajeel occupying the same bar stool, eagerly awaiting Levy’s set. Juvia looked to resume her seat but another patron occupied it. She was about to go over to Gajeel when she felt a tap on her shoulder. A gravely voice made its way into her ear. “Enjoying the show so far?”
Juvia froze. She slowly turned. “I...um...yes...I…” She lost her words. The Ice-Man was back. He was wearing the sleeves from before with a new, tighter set of pants and boots. Across his chest were two straps linking the sleeves together in the shape of an x. And the most welcome addition was a wide brimmed hat with a feather.
“No need to be shy, sweetheart. I saw you in the crowd and wanted to get a closer look at you. Perhaps in a more… private setting?” He gestured to the cluster of rooms in the back.
“I… uh… yes… please...I--” That was all he needed. He grabbed her by the hand and entered his room of choice.
“So tell me,” he cast his hat off to the side, “What’s your name?”
“J-Juvia. Lockser.”
“Pretty. Unique. I like it,” He leaned in close. His hands rested on the pillows to either side of her. His legs were spread open around hers, which were crossed together.
Juvia was trying her best not to look him directly in the eye. Realizing this, Gray brought a hand up to her cheek, turning her head to face him. Her blush because more and more obvious. She noticed Gray licked his lips before he gave her a smirk.
What had started as an interrogation for Gray had quickly turned into a rather enjoyable evening. Once she had gotten over her nerves, Juvia had turned out to be quite the conversationalist. Song after song had played outside, and the two of them stayed in the private room.
“Why do you keep your necklace on during a show?”
“I don’t wanna lose it. It’s one of the last things I have from my parents.”
“Oh. I’m sorry,” she grasped his hand as it worked its way up her thigh.
“It’s ok.”
“How did you get into...uh,” she knew she was being invasive, but he was just so fun to talk to and so interesting to learn about.
“Stripping? It’s actually a funny story. My foster mother, Ur, she used to strip before she had her daughter, Ultear. After that she cleaned up her act, actually became an elementary school teacher, believe it or not.”
“Oh I believe you,” she laughed as he started to climb up the small pole in the room.
“Anyway, she adopted my foster brother Lyon because he was in her class when his parents passed away, right around the time her daughter left for… various reasons. But she ended up teaching Lyon some of her, uh, skills before taking me in. By then it was just a ‘family activity’ I was expected to participate in. Not that I’m complaining though. It was pretty fun, actually.”
“How did she adopt you?”
“She was a volunteer in the rescue crew for the disaster that killed my parents. She saw me, and decided that one more kid couldn’t hurt.” He was hanging upside down with his bare legs wrapped around the pole, his hands gripping it tight from the bottom.
“So sweet.” Juvia pressed her hand to her heart.
“Yeah, she was pretty awesome.”
“Has she seen you perform?”
“Yeah she did a few times before… before she passed, a few years ago. Around the time I joined Fairy Tail, actually.”
“Wow. I’m sorry, but are you sure you’re not cursed?”
“Ha. Funny. Well, Lyon and Ultear are both fine for now. Ultear just adopted a little girl actually.” He lowered himself back to the ground. “What about you?”
“Oh there’s not much to know. I was sent off to boarding school as a kid, hardly saw my parents, got a job in criminal investigation work as soon as I hit the requirements, parents both died in a car crash shortly after, got clinically depressed, and OH! I just got dumped last night by… I don’t know, someone, I’m blanking on his name right now.”
“Wow. You were right, there’s not that much. You’re totally boring me right now.” Gray crawled over to her and slowly ‘climbed’ up the cushions to her. They smiled at eachother.
“You know I’ve had fun tonight-” she hiccuped. “Getting to know you. Seeing you perform, all that good stuff.”
“Mmm. Me too. Maybe you’ll come back sometime, so we can do this again,” He suggested.
“Maybe I will.” They both grasped their hands on either side of each other’s face. They moved in closer and closer until their lips finally touched.
The kiss was messy. Gray hadn’t kissed anyone in years and wasn’t exactly the most affectionate guy. She was drunk and madly in love and had just gotten out of a relationship, in which the only kissing involved sex in some way. Both of their tongues were out and about, but neither seemed to know what it was doing. Juvia swore she felt him rolling his hips against hers. She also swore he undid her bra clasp. Next thing she knew was her phone was going off from her pocket. He broke away from her so she could answer.
It was a text from Gajeel. Heading out with Shrimp. Don’t drive home. Catch you later. Juvia checked the time on her text.
“I’m sorry. It’s almost two in the morning, I should really be going…”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry for keeping you so long.”
“It’s fine,” her head was spinning. She didn’t know what she’d been doing moments before. She just had to get out of there.
She rushed out to the coat check and quickly gathered her belongings. She didn’t bother to notice Gray following her. She didn’t notice that it wasn’t raining anymore, meaning she didn’t need her umbrella. She didn’t notice that at the coat check desk, Gray had stopped to write her a note on her program from earlier.
Gray didn’t know where she had gone, but she wasn’t in the parking lot when he followed her out. He sullenly walked back into the club and took a seat by Erza backstage.
“Did you get your pants back?”
“DAMMIT!”
In the following week, Juvia passed by the glowing lights and neon signs of the Fairy Tail Strip Club. Five times she did this. The first time she just passed by it and headed home after a long day of work, not giving it a second thought. The second time she pulled off the road and into the parking lot. She sat in her car for a few minutes before choosing to head home. The third time, she exited her car after parking, only to get back in a few seconds later. The fourth time she approached the door only to back away sheepishly when she saw him on the stage. The fifth time she passed over the entrance to the parking lot in favor of the coffee shop down the street.
She had a rough day at work needed a cronut and a chai latte as soon as possible. She was discouraged to see that there was a line. She watched the clock on her phone intently. Finally she was second in line.
“Iced latte please.” Juvia froze once again when she heard the voice.
“It’s not him,” she muttered. “It can’t be. It’s Friday night. He should be working.”
“Who’ll that be for?”
“Gray Fullbuster.”
“I’ll just put ‘Gray F.’ if that’s ok with you?” the barista scribbled furiously.
“Sure, sure.”
“If you could please stand over there, sir.”
Gray turned around. Both of their worlds nearly shattered when they finally looked each other in the eyes.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she was shaking.
“Why haven’t I seen you in the last week?”
“I, well, uh...very busy at work and um, that’s why I’m here, actually. Just work related stress-relief. No ulterior motives or anything nope nope nope.” She waved her hands up as if in innocence.
“Ok. What do you want? I’ll buy it for you.”
“Thank you. Uh, cronut and a medium chai tea, for Juvia L.” she told the barista. “That’s sweet of you, to offer to pay.”
“It’s nothing. Actually got a pretty big pay off for keeping you in the private room for so long.” She laughed at that.
“So, why aren’t you working tonight?”
“I’m driving out tomorrow to see family. Well sort of family… former foster brother…”
“Lyon,” she recalled from their conversation earlier.
“Yes. Did you ever remember the name of that moron who dumped you?”
“I never did, actually. I want to say… Jack? Alex? Ryan? Zach? Wait, or Maria? Yeah, Maria. That was definitely it.” They both laughed.
“Iced latte for Gray F. and cronut and chai tea for Juvia L.” the barista called out. Gray paid and tipped the man.
“Thanks again for paying,” Juvia smiled. She turned to walk away, but a hand on her wrist stopped her.
“I never got to give you this at the club.” She frowned, looking down at the tiny object. It was her program from the previous week, but on the back there was a note written on it. Had fun with you tonight. Call me. 718-1256.
“Oh. Ooohhh,” she was in shock. “I’ll, uh, make use of it. As soon as you get back.”
“Of course. I’ll be back by monday.”
“Great. Oh, I almost forgot, too. I have your pants in my back-up purse at home,” she blushed.
“What?”
“Drunk and heartbroken and hopelessly in love me thought it was a good idea at the time…” she meekly defended.
“Hopelessly in love?” He asked softly.
“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, I guess. I’ll call you.”
“You better. I want my pants back!”
They both walked out together, only separating to go to their cars.
She called him first thing on Monday morning. He got his pants back on Tuesday night. He took her bra on Wednesday night. She didn’t get it back until after he used it in his Friday night show. But she never did remember the name of the moron who dumped her.