How about this?" Gray offered as he pulled out a small paper bag, like the ones children use for lunches. It was wrapped and folded neatly to keep items inside from falling out, and a little drawing in marker of a familiar girl's face was on it. "Will you forgive me now?"

Juvia's head tilt at the sight of the bag being given to her on the counter, noticing the drawing right away. "Levy-chan sends a package to Juvia again?"

"She wanted to draw on it, actually. No, this one's from me," Gray shrugged and let Juvia pick up the little bag, tearing the edge open to peek inside. "It's been awhile since I gave you medication, so there's two new bottles of iron supplements for you. I don't know if your brother has gotten you any more, but I know how you barely say anything about it to him...or anyone, for that matter."

"G-Gray-sama didn't have to," Juvia whispered with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. Closing the bag and stashing it under the counter from prying eyes, she refused to meet his eyes. "Juvia is capable of getting her medications, too, Gray-sama."

"I know," Gray nodded to her. "But you are very bad at getting things you need until the very, very last minute. I can see it now; you're crawling into the pharmacy because you're incapable of walking and have to use an umbrella to reach the shelf."

"Gray-sama is so mean," Juvia pouted at him. "Now Juvia isn't sorry for hitting Gray-sama's car."

Gray smiled at her, taking his drink back into his hands. He knew she didn't really mean it, even though she probably praised herself when she pierced his car with a harpoon-like weapon. "Other than that, have you been doing okay?"

Juvia blinked. "What does Gray-sama mean by that?" she asked with a raised brow. "Does Juvia not look fine to Gray-sama?"

"Well, you didn't seem to stay long after the race last night, so I thought you were getting sick or something," Gray explained with a shrug, pretending that it wasn't a big deal. Which, on the inside, it really was for him. "It's been awhile since you've had problems, right?"

Frowning, the blue-haired woman let him finish his glass before speaking. "Juvia is fine, so Gray-sama doesn't need to worry. Juvia just had a busy night - Master Jose has been working Nii-chan and Juvia a lot, since Nii-chan got caught again a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, saw that on TV," Gray rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised that he was able to be bailed out after causing that huge collision on the freeway in the other city."

"Master Jose has his ways, Gray-sama," Juvia frowned at him, her posture going stiff at the defense for her older sibling. "Gray-sama knows the rules, though. You shouldn't ask Juvia such questions like that. Nii-chan did what he had to do, so Gray-sama should stay out of it. Juvia is willing to help Nii-chan to pay back, so she will suck it up."

"I know you're tough, I don't doubt it one bit," Gray assured her when she snatched the glass from him, he inwardly liked how she went from gushy to full of sass in a matter of a second. "Just please don't overwork yourself too much. For Levy's sake, or she'll skin me alive... Really, for my sake, too, okay? I don't want to have to worry."

He heard her sigh lightly, but a tiny smile perked on her cute lips. "Juvia will for -!" she suddenly stopped when a loud bang erupted from the other end of the bar, where Totomaru was standing with folded arms and a stern look on his face. Turning his head, Gray saw the familiar ribbon of smoke rising from the bodies of drinking men.

"What ya mean I can't smoke in here? Didn't see no sign, bastard!" a gruff, obviously intoxicated yell sparked their attention. A man with a wiry beard and an eyepatch waved his cigarette in front of Totomaru, as if mocking the bartender. "Can smoke at any other bar, but this one? What a joke, man! I can do what I want! I can't believe my pal suggested this place!"

"Smoking is prohibited strongly within this bar," Totomaru stated in a firm voice, not caring how the man tapped his stick and let ashed fall to his shoes and onto the counter he just cleaned. "You'll have to take it outside."

"Too drunk to move, bitch," the customer snickered and took a long drag. Once inhaling, the man blew out a cloud of smoke into Totomaru's face, which he waved off. "I pay to come here and relax, and the customer is always right!"

Gray peeked back to the waitress, who was watching the scene take place, frowning deeply and bring her hand to cover her nose and mouth when that little smell drifted over their way. Eyes narrowing, Gray was about to rise from his seat when Juvia used her other hand to grasp his leather coat, making him freeze on the spot. She shook her head at him slowly, and he didn't disobey her silent order. Stiffly sitting back down, Gray heard Totomaru make a sharp whistle and watched as Boze slid off his little seat and strolled on over, cracking his knuckles.

"What's up here, Toto-sensei?" Boze barked out, letting the rest of the lively noise shrink into silence as the drunk man blinked and glare upward to the tall man. Noticing the cigarette in his hand, Boze's grin grew to a dark smile. "I see, I see. Ya know the rules here, man?" Boze hovered over the seated customer, hands grasping the shoulders in a tight hold. "No smoking inside the bar, see? Some folks here can't handle that shit, man. I'm sure you don't mind taking it outside, no?"

"Can't make me do -!" The drunk man didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when he was lifted up by the bouncer. Boze pinched the cigarette, killing the light and proceeded to drag the man away from the bar and towards the door. The man began shouting profanities and rants as Boze opened the door and practically threw him out...

Juvia's brow twitched as the stench of the cigarette smoke reached to the other end of the bar, unconsciously squeezing her hand on Gray's shoulder. He looked up to her, a displeased look in his eyes when she pinched her nose shut.

Totomaru went to the other end, yet keeping a distance from Juvia as she backed further to the wall. A sad smile on his face, the man with the facial tattoos nodded to her. "Would you mind watching the counter while I scrub my face and change clothes? I'll open the back door and bring a fan in to get the smoke smell out."

"Juvia can handle things here," Juvia said, letting go of her little nose. Using the same hand, she waved in front of her face and let go of Gray's coat. "Juvia is sorry, Toto-sensei."

"Nah, don't worry about it, Juvia-sama. It's hardly your fault," he winked at her and looked to Gray. "Keep an eye on her for me, too. Gajeel-sama asked to watch over her until he does his shift."

Juvia rolled her eyes and pointed to the curtain for Totomaru. The older man simply nodded and left through the curtain, letting Juvia wait a couple of seconds before exhaling the breath she was holding when Gray gave her the okay to breathe. Pouting a little bit, Juvia turned around to fix Gray a glass of iced water. "Juvia is not a child. Toto-sensei knows that Juvia outranks him a lot, yet he still has the balls to baby her," she muttered under her breath, yet it didn't miss Gray's ears with the background noise rising again, as if nothing happened.

Watching her talk to herself, Gray remembered the time he witnessed the outcome of Juvia when she was around cigarettes, or any other kind of smoke that could make her struggle to breathe. They were in their late teens at the time, and Gray was inside an underground lot with a bunch of other drivers smoking within their own cloud. He used to smoke, too, ever since high school to get under people's skin, but it was Juvia's reaction that changed his whole attitude to his habits.

Basically, Gajeel and Juvia entered the lot to collect their wins on foot, and Juvia became unable to breathe and got sick. With her anemia, her lungs were the most sensitive to the polluted air, and she nearly passed out if Gajeel didn't pull her out in time...but Gray got a good look at how pale Juvia could get and how she couldn't breathe without coughing a lung out and had to lay down in Gajeel's car. He remembered Gajeel coming back to the lot and beating the life out of those who were smoking in front of him (thankfully, Gray did not have a cigarette in his hand).

Since that day, Gray has never smoked another cigarette.

Even if Juvia would tell him that she's fine and healthy, he knew better than that. He checked out books and internet articles about her possible anemia after that, trying to find anything to help her out, and even asked Levy if she knew anything on how to make her stay healthy and happy. For whatever he studies and tries to get her to spill, Juvia is very sensitive about talking about her medical problems. He concludes that she lacks iron in her lungs, or she develops seizures when overworked or inhaling harsh chemicals, such as cigarette smoke. Anemia, asthma, epilepsy, Gray just doesn't know, but that never stopped him from trying to provide to the blue haired girl who caught his attention years ago and clean himself up. He can recall when Wakaba offered him a smoke and he turned it down, actually making Elfman pass out from shock...