Every Teardrop is a Waterfall
-A Fairy Tail fanfiction
"She's singing 'baby, come home' in a melody of tears while the rhythm of the rain keeps time…"
A/N: My heart aches, guys. Seriously.
Based on the theory/headcanon that Gray is a double agent and he left Juvia because he doesn't want to endanger her.
Aaand, as for their "reunion", I have two scenarios I thought of: first, Gray and Juvia will fight each other (I actually like this one, since it parallels to how they first met. And Mashima has been making a LOT of parallelisms lately) and second, Juvia will be left in the village and Gray will be the one to go to her and dramaness unfolds (if Mashima wants to go for the feels and all, he'll do this one. But I doubt it…). For this fic, I used the second one because as much as I want Gray and Juvia to face each other in battle, I can't write an awesome fight scene to save my life. So, I kinda settled for this one instead. I hope you like the drama overload. And forgive me if Gray seems OOC.
SUPER late upload because life got in the way…
Please don't forget to drop a review!
DISCLAIMER: Gray is sooo "hot damn" and as much as I want to claim him, Mashima-sensei (and Juvia) owns him. And the fic's title was based on Coldplay's awesome song with the same title, while the summary was a line from the song "Jet Pack Blues" by Fall Out Boy. THIS IS NOT A SONGFIC! Coldplay and Fall Out Boy are just plain awesome for me not to use.
It was raining. Hard.
As Gray assessed the surroundings, he found it hard to imagine that the town was once lively, busy and bustling. The houses were abandoned, the playground's swing set was rusty and the townspeople… they were all gone: the man who sold newspaper every morning, the little boy who always helped his mother carry her groceries and the kind old woman who gave Juvia flowers every time she passed by.
He walked slowly as he turned his gaze at the dark sky, letting the water cascade down his face and dousing him completely. After meeting with Natsu and the others once again and defeating Avatar, Gray lost no time in traveling back to the town he and Juvia lived for six months.
As he continued to walk, he recalled his conversation with Lucy earlier.
"You two should talk, Gray. She deserves an explanation. It's the least you could give her after all this time. Juvia… I've never seen her like that. She took it hard, you leaving without saying anything. But despite that, she continues to wait for you to come home.
Lucy's last words left him with a feeling of nostalgia. She said "come home" instead "come back". And he won't deny it, because that's what Gray is doing right now: coming home.
He assessed the place, looking everywhere and coming to the conclusion that Juvia must have lived through the last six months with only the rain as her company.
Only the rain.
He halted.
Only the rain.
His head snapped up, his eyes widening in realization.
ONLY the rain.
Suddenly, he was running. Running as fast as he could towards their home.
Juvia lived with this cold, cold rain alone. And it was his fault.
It wasn't his intention for things to go this way. He only wanted to keep her safe, because the mere thought of her getting hurt was enough to drive him insane.
He was panting now, his breath coming in short gasps as he ran under the heavy downpour. Every drop of water felt like her tears, her worries, her sadness and her pain. And every time they hit his skin, he felt all of them, piercing him.
He finally saw the little cottage he and Juvia shared. He started to run faster when he abruptly stopped.
There, sitting on a bench, was a woman dressed in blue with her head bowed down. Just like him, she was soaked to the bone, and Gray could see her shivering slightly, but she never made a move to seek shelter.
Gray kept his eyes trained on her as he slowly made his way forward. When he was near enough, he carefully crouched down and with a shaking hand, caressed her blue locks.
At the gesture, she looked up. And when she did, Gray's eyes widened in shock.
"Juvia… I've never seen her like that..."
He almost didn't recognize her. She looked so sad, like she carried the world on her shoulders. Her face was too pale—she must not have been eating properly and taking good care of herself in his absence. And her eyes. Gray had never seen them look so lifeless. Sure, way back in Phantom, her eyes were serious, but never lifeless. Now, she had this empty look on her face.
Gray swallowed the lump in his throat, his own eyes threatening to form tears. With gentleness, he moved his hand to rest on her cheek.
"Juvia…"
He spoke her name with a slight quiver as he tried to meet her gaze. Yet, she continued to stare at him blankly, still unmoving.
He brushed his thumb on her cheek and called her name once again, this time with resolve. After a while, she blinked and for once, her eyes became focused and she stared at him.
She blinked once again, "Gray…sama?" she asked tentatively.
He breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her voice then smiled crookedly, "Yeah, it's me."
Juvia's eyes widened and without warning, she flung herself to Gray, holding him tight as if he would disappear once she let go. In return, Gray held her just as tight. She was shaking hard and he could hear her sobbing his name over and over. He continued to hold her against him, letting her cry.
Quite a few moments had passed before Juvia untangled herself from Gray's embrace. She hiccupped and with all the strength she had, shoved Gray away.
Because he did not expect it, Gray stumbled back but before he could protest, she started beating his chest with her fists.
"Gray-sama is an idiot! Juvia was so, so worried! You're an idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
Instead of stopping her, he just let her hit him with all she had. It was a small price to pay, compared to all the things he had done and the pain he put her through.
Slowly, the beatings stopped and Juvia's hands were now just clutching Gray's shirt. With utmost care, he grasped her hands in his, intertwining their fingers tightly. At this Juvia looked up to him.
They stared at each other in silence before Gray said, "I'm so sorry."
Juvia just shook her head furiously, "Gray-sama will always be forgiven."
He chucked half-heartedly as he averted his gaze, "I don't deserve it. I'll never deserve it. But I just want you to know that…"
His speech was interrupted when Juvia pressed her index finger on his lips, effectively halting him from speaking. She took a deep breath, "Juvia knows that Gray-sama wants to talk...and Juvia… she wants answers. She wants to ask the questions that were plaguing her since Gray-sama…" she gulped, leaving the statement unfinished. But they both knew what she meant.
Then she smiled at him, her lips curling into that radiant and sincere smile Gray became so fond of. And her eyes, previously filled with emptiness, were now sparkling with happiness and life.
Gray smiled back at her. Resting his forehead on hers, he gazed at her tenderly.
"I'm home, Juvia."
Juvia's smile became wider and her eyes filled with tears of joy.
"Welcome home, Gray-sama."
Then, the rain gradually ceased until it stopped completely. The dark clouds dissipated, letting the warm rays of the sun shine through.
-owari
So, what do you think? Is it any good? I was a little groggy while writing this, so forgive me for the errors and whatnot.
And just in case you guys are wondering where Natsu and the others are, I just kind of made it look like they were somewhere close, since if it all comes down to Gray going back to Juvia, they would leave them alone to settle things between themselves.
Thank you for taking time in reading this!