Series: Fairy Tail
Pairing: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser
Title: Youthful Promises
Prompt: Promise / Little Kids
Rating: E for Everyone
Word Count: 3212
AN: I haven't forgotten the Bluebird second part, I promise. I just needed a pick me up and I had a cute request in my tumblr inbox. Kindergarten AU.
"Gross! It's raining again!"
As far back as she could remember, childhood was a cold, dark world, filled with the cruel voices of her classmates.
"This is all your fault!"
"Yeah! It's always raining around you."
"You can't hang out with us any more."
So even at the unexplored age of six, Juvia Lockser was alone.
She was used to it. Even her parents pushed her away, calling her "depressing." Another child her age may not even know the meaning of such a word, but she did. She knew it all too well.
That was why it was raining. Juvia had no memory of a single happy day in her life. If she couldn't smile, she couldn't see the sun. What a dream: to see the beautiful sun and feel it on her skin. She may never frown again once she experienced its warmth.
That dream was far, far away from her, it seemed to Juvia, as she sat at her tiny desk in the back of her kindergarten class, staring out the window at the dark clouds in the sky.
Even her seat was dark, in the corner where light never fell. All the desks that once were near her had been dragged away and sat side-to-side with others; children seated with their best friends; socializing with classmates; using any excuse not to sit near her.
If she could just make it through this year, she told herself, maybe grade school would be better. She had seen her upper classmen, running around the playground during their later recess. They played in the mud, even when it rained. Juvia hoped that someone like that might want to be her friend, no matter how much rain she brought.
"It looks like it'll be raining today too." The teacher's voice brought Juvia out of her daze, and she focused her attention on the plump brunette that ran the class. "So it'll be indoor recess again today."
The entire class let out annoyed sighs and disappointed "awes" in response, as the teacher instructed them to play nice and not make too much noise. Juvia sank into her seat.
She knew the indoor recess was her fault, but it didn't make her like it any more. Being stuck indoors meant staying in her seat, because no one else wanted to play with her. But that wasn't the only thing it meant.
"Hey, Juvia. What did we tell you about this rain?" A sassy young voice spoke up, before a tiny pale hand slapped down onto the bluenette's desk.
Juvia jumped in her seat, surprised by the sudden intrusion of her thoughts, and then turned to face her new company: a young golden haired girl with her wavy locks tied in a pony tail, and wearing a white blouse with red plaid skirt and matching tie.
"J-Juvia is sorry, Vicky." She whimpered in response. This was the other problem with indoor recess. Any student that had a problem with it took out their frustrations on Juvia. The other students were conniving, they always covered up their bullying as "rough-housing" or something of the sort, and while Juvia wanted to cry for help from the teacher, she couldn't imagine what it would be like if she lost any more approval of her classmates.
"Sorry doesn't cut it. This is the third day this week. Why do we have to suffer just because you can't stop crying? You little crybaby." The blonde's words cut like a knife, and Juvia just balled herself up tighter in her seat, not knowing how to respond.
"Would you leave her alone?!" Another little girl's voice shouted out.
Juvia's eyes widened, and she peaked through her tears to see a blonde girl, dressed in pink with a bow in her hair, standing behind Vicky and shaking her fist at her.
Behind her was a tiny blue haired child in glasses, shivering and clutching the arm of her friend. "Lucy. Maybe you should let this go." The bookish girl whispered.
"No way, Levy!" The new arrival pulled her arm from her friend, and took another step towards Vicky and Juvia. "You're always bullying Juvia. She can't help it if she's sad. Why don't you back off, Vicky?"
Vicky stared back at Lucy in shock, not used to being stood up to, but then turned to her classmate and put her hands on her hips. "What are you going to do about it?" She spoke with a daring tone.
Lucy's face turned red as she was infuriated by the other girl's cockiness. With another quick step, she reached out for Vicky's hair, caught her ponytail and gave it a great yank. To her surprise, it popped right off of her head.
"My extensions!" Vicky cried out, staring in disbelief as Lucy eyeballed the length of fake hair in her hands, quite confused by what had just occurred.
"Teacher!" Vicky cried out, quick to be the wolf in sheep's clothing, "Lucy pulled out my hair! Lucy's picking on me!"
"What?! I didn't—" Lucy tried to protest, but before she could say any more, the teacher had grabbed her wrist.
"Lucy! You were told to play nice! Why can't you be more like your friend, Levy?" The instructor bellowed at the tiny blonde. Levy was now cowering behind a desk and apologizing softly to her friend, for being to afraid to step in.
"Whatever! Vicky started it! She's the one picking on Juvia!" Lucy ranted, and pointed a finger to the true villain. However, by the time the teacher looked to where Lucy had indicated, Vicky had her arm wrapped around Juvia's shoulder and was wearing the best fake smile she could.
"That's ridiculous. Those two are best friends." The teacher scoffed, "Liars like you go to the principles office!" And with that, the woman began to drag her student out of the room with her, Lucy shouting protests the whole way.
Vicky smirked victoriously as she watched her rival be dragged out of the room, and then pulled her arm away from Juvia, dusting it off as if she had touched something disgusting. "Oh, would you look at that. Now the teacher and that annoying bleach blonde are gone." She sneered down at the teary eyed bluenette next to her. "How very convenient."
Juvia yelped as Vicky clawed at her blue curls and tugged at them the same way that Lucy had done to Vicky's moments before. Juvia's hair was one hundred percent real, though, and she could do nothing but cry and paw at Vicky's wrist to try to free herself. The blonde did not give in, however, and began to walk towards the back door of the class with the hair still in her grasp.
Juvia sniffled and stumbled behind Vicky, still trying to escape, until Vicky came to a stop. The blue haired child peered up through her strained strands to see Vicky standing on her tip-toes to open the door and then, once in was open, shoved Juvia out into the mud. "If you're going to make the rain, why don't you stay out in it?!" The blonde cackled.
"No! Wait for Juvia!" She cried out, but the door slammed in her face. Juvia reached for the doorknob, but it did not turn in her grasp; Vicky had locked her outside in the rain.
Juvia pounded on the door, praying for someone to help her. Her pounding quieted as she heard someone thump against the door and sniffle, before a tiny voice muttered through the wood. "I'm sorry, I'm too short."
"Levy! Get away from there! Unless you want to go out with her!" Vicky's voice shouted. Juvia heard Levy squeak another apology, before her footsteps ran from the doorway.
Juvia took a deep breath, and then sat down with her back against the door. She rested her forehead on her knees, which she wrapped her arms around, and wept into the fabric of her muddy dress. What had she done to deserve this? Be born? Could being born alone be a sin?
Juvia's sobbing eventually quieted. Time continued to pass and rain continued to fall, but nothing was changing. Her nose was running and her cheeks felt warm, but the rest of her felt cold. She had heard the teacher return to the class, but before she could cry for help, Vicky had lied and said that Juvia had run away, and the instructor had gone barreling out of the room again.
Juvia shivered. She wondered if she could just walk home from where she was. She didn't really know the way, but maybe it would be better than sulking in the mud and waiting for help.
Before she could entertain the thought though, she heard foot steps in the mud, and boyish laughter coming around the building. Juvia peered up from her knees to see a threesome of boys sloshing through the mud. There was a pink haired boy, who was laughing until a ball of wet earth slapped him in the face; a tanned boy, who looked too young for the piercings he had in his ears and nose; and the last kid, the one who had thrown the mud, was a black haired boy who was running around in the rain without a shirt.
Juvia realized they must had been grade school children, out for their recess. She watched them silently, as they jumped around in the mud, and threw playful punches at each other.
"I'll get you back for that mud ball, Gray!" The pink haired child shouted out, and then began to gather a pile of mud in his arms. Before anyone knew it, he began to throw them rapid fire at the other boys, who ran with their heads covered. Suddenly, one of the mud shots came flying towards Juvia, and she gave a squeal and covered her face.
Juvia peaked through her fingers to watch the shirtless boy leap in front of her and punch the mud out of the air. "Hey! Watch it Natsu! There's a girl over here!"
"What? A girl?" The tanned boys voice drawled.
"I thought girls hated mud!" The energetic 'Natsu' barked, and both the boys made their way to their friend to stand around Juvia.
"She's all wet." Natsu pouted.
"Great observation, Einstein." The tanned kid retorted.
"Shut it, you two." The kid called Gray said, "Are you okay? I've never seen you before."
Juvia marveled at the boys surrounding her. She wasn't quite used to total strangers showing her compassion. "Ju-Juvia is okay. Juvia is just cold." She said and squeezed rainwater from her wet hair.
"Why don't you go inside then?" Natsu asked. Juvia pouted at him. Obviously she would if she could. This Natsu fellow didn't seem to be the brightest.
"Juvia got locked out by her class mates." She explained, "Because when she's sad it rains. And Juvia is always sad."
The three boys looked at each other, and then back down at Juvia with concern.
"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard." The boy with piercing stated.
"I agree with Gajeel. For once." Natsu added.
Juvia stared on as the shirtless boy reached a hand out towards her. "Come on, we'll take you inside through the grade school."
Juvia's eyes widened. She looked down at the out held palm as if it were something alien to her.
"He doesn't bite." Gajeel said. "He's the only one of us." He and Natsu grinned and showed off their impressively sharp teeth.
Juvia gasped a bit, and then caught herself giggling a bit, before taking a hold of Gray's hang. "Okay. Juvia thanks you all very much."
As the foursome walked through the halls of the school Juvia could feel the eyes on her. She was still dripping wet, and the bottom of her dark blue dress was almost black from the mud and rain. She kept her eyes to the ground, avoiding the stares of her upperclassmen, and closing her mind off from the whispers.
She kept her fingers wrapped around Gray's hand though, as the boy walked side to side with her, the other two trailing behind with their hands behind their heads.
They reached the doorway that lead into the kindergarten section of the school, and Juvia peered at it with worried eyes.
"Hey, Gray. Class is about to start." Natsu said, leaning his head over his friend's shoulder. Juvia subconsciously tightened her grip on Gray's palm; afraid he might leave her alone again.
"I'll just walk her to her class. You two go on without me." The black haired boy instructed.
"Alright, if you say so." Natsu said, and flashed a peace sign as he and Gajeel turned around to head back to their own classroom.
Gray glanced at Juvia, before pushing the door open and leading her into yet another hallway. "So, which is your classroom?"
Juvia scanned the doors, until she saw one painted bright yellow, and pointed. Gray nodded, and began to lead her towards it.
As they neared the door, Juvia's ears picked up on the sound of Vicky's voice.
"A girl like that's no good any way. If she grows up making it rain all the time, no man is ever going to want to marry her, and she'll die all alone."
Juvia's feet froze where they were. She bit her lip. She tried to close the words out. She felt Gray tug at her arm a bit, before he stopped and looked back at her. He didn't say a word, but held her hand tighter still, until she took another step with him and he pushed open her classroom door.
As soon as the two students stepped into the light of the room, all attention turned to them. Vicky grimaced, while Levy's worried face lit up. Then the teacher turned to them.
"Juvia! Where have you been? I called your parents and they were furious! What were you thinking, running away like that?" She barked at the blue haired girl, who flinched at the lecture being thrown at her.
"But Juvia didn't—" Juvia started.
"Yeah, Juvia. What were you thinking?" Vicky said from her seat in the front of the class. "You have all your friends inside and you ran outside. And now you're all wet and gross."
"You're the one who's gross." Gray's voice growled.
"What?!" Vicky sputtered out.
"It was you wasn't it? You're the one who locked her out side!" The boy pointed accusingly.
"Gray. It's okay." Juvia whimpered, pawing at his arm. "Juvia is used to it."
"Yeah right you are!" Gray turned to her, "If that's true, why are you always sad?"
Juvia's eyes widened, and then quickly filled with tears. She began to sob loudly, and wrapped her arms around one of Grays.
"What are you talking about, young man?" The teacher questioned. "Juvia ran away, she didn't get locked outside."
"No! He's right!" A tiny voice broke out from the middle of the room. Little Levy McGarden came running up from her seat to stand in front of the teacher. "Vicky's the one that's lying! She locked Juvia outside as soon as you left with Lucy."
"What?" The teacher asked in disbelief. Levy was not one to lie, though. "Is this true?" She scanned the class and caught a lot of guilty frowns and a couple slow nods.
"Vicky! How could you do that to Juvia?! I thought you two were friends." The teacher lectured the haughty blonde.
Vicky gasped and pouted as she saw her lies crumbling around her. She crossed her arms and belted back at her teacher. "As if! Be friends with a boring, gross, girl like Juvia? The only thing she's good for is flooding the town!"
"Shut up!" Gray's voice roared through the classroom. Juvia stared up at him from her hiding place on his shoulder. "I've known Juvia for a whole ten minutes and I already know that she's none of those things."
Juvia's eyes glittered as she gazed upon the boy who stood up for her.
"She's a little weird, sure, but she's neat. And she's sweet. And she's put up with all your crap for who knows how long. But not any more!" He wrapped his arm around the side of the six year old, making her gasp. "Anyone who has a problem with her from now on has to deal with me!"
The class gaped at Gray as he made his speech, until Vicky scowled at him. "And who are you?"
Gray slapped his shirtless chest proudly, and beamed. "I'm Gray Fullbuster! Grade one! And from now on I'm going to protect Juvia, until she can protect herself."
Juvia's face turned red. She was sure she has been told before that she was too young to fall in love, but she was absolutely sure that there was no other definition for what she was feeling at that very moment.
The class broke out into laughter and applause at Gray's speech, and Vicky could only look back and forth before realizing she had been beaten. The teacher dragged the young lady out of the class towards the principle's office, just as the bell rang for kindergarten to let out. Gray and Juvia stayed near the doorway, just staring at each other, though Gray did send a glare at anyone whom he deemed threatening.
Levy stopped by the two of them on her way out. "Um, Juvia." She started. "I'm really sorry I couldn't—"
Juvia threw her arms around Levy and captured her in a strong hug. "Oh Levy! Thank you!" She cried, and then leapt away. "Oh no, Juvia is sorry. She is all wet still."
Levy observed her with wide eyes, and then let out a laugh. "No. It's all right. I'm glad you're okay. I'll see you tomorrow." Juvia waved goodbye to her new friend, and then noticed the quiet as her and Gray were now the last two left in the class.
Gray's posture relaxed, and he dropped the arm that he had forgotten he still had around Juvia's side. He scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Sorry about all that."
"Did Gray really… mean all those things?" Juvia stammered out.
Gray studied her bright red face for a moment, and then put a hand to her shoulder. "Yeah," He replied, "I mean, I can't stand people like that girl. Some one has to stand up to her."
He shoved his hands into his pockets and peered up at the clock. "Oh man! I'm so late! My teacher is going to kill me! You be careful going home, Juvia." He told her and scrambled for the door.
"Oh. Juvia." Gray stopped in his tracks right outside of the door. "About what those girls were saying before we got in the room." He stood with his back to Juvia, who stared at him curiously, and watched as his ears burned red. "That no man will marry you."
Juvia leapt up and her cheeks turned pink.
"Well, if absolutely no one else will, I'll marry you." Gray peeked over his shoulder to show his bright red cheeks that matched Juvia. "Promise."
With that, the boy went barreling down the hall as fast as he could.
End