"Why won't you listen to Juvia!?"

"Because it's not gonna happen! End of conversation!"

Juvia snarled at the back of Gajeel's head, watching the Iron Dragon Slayer storm away. He was heading back towards town and Juvia could already make out the outline of the guild hall on the horizon. Her heart was racing and the rain seemed to beat against her skin in perfect sync. She raced to catch up to him, grabbing his wrist and jerking back.

"Would you just stop!?" she yelled, Gajeel stopping short. Juvia typically only spoke to him in Boscan when they were alone and she had counted on the sudden language change to grab his attention. "Gajeel, please," Juvia continued in low Boscan, pleading. "We can't keep doing this!"

"What other choice do we have?" Gajeel asked, finally turning to look back at her. His eyes were hard, and Juvia stumbled back. Through all their years of friendship, he had never looked at her like that, all shut off from the world and flat. He had always regarded her with such exasperated fondness.

Gajeel's eyes widened when she flinched back from him, and he immediately deflated, sighing as he ran his fingers through his rain-soaked hair. "I'm sorry, Via, I just can't-"

"We can go," Juvia insisted. "Right now. We made enough on that last job, we can turn around now and never go back."

"Why are you suddenly so desperate?" Gajeel asked, and her grip on his wrist tightened. Teeth digging into her bottom lip, Juvia's eyebrows furrowed. How could she put words to the way she felt tensions in the guild rising? It was like standing on a beach and watching the water start to recede right before a tsunami hit. Guildmates were starting to demand higher pay than the clients could afford, there were reports of Phantom Lord members causing havoc and misery everywhere they went, and whenever someone saw her guild mark, Juvia could feel their hateful stares on her back.

The most worrying thing was the way Master Jose just... let them. He was watching them run wild with a curl to his grin that unsettled her deep in her soul. Ripples had started to form, and she did not want to wait around and watch them turn into waves.

"The guild is changing," she managed to bite out, staring at the spot between Gajeel's boots. "It's becoming something that I do not want to be a part of. Something dark."

Gajeel's expression was impossible to read. "It's always been that way."

"Worse than that," she insisted. "We don't have to go back-!"

"I can't!" Gajeel snapped. "I- There's stuff you don't know, Juvia."

"That's worth our lives!?"

"Yes!"

Juvia's head snapped up, and Gajeel was just a second too slow to cover up the desperation in his expression. They were both breathing heavily, ignoring the rain that had become a storm as the muscles in Juvia's back tightened and the anxiety in her stomach twisted into knots.

"... You can't actually want this," Juvia breathed. "I know you, Gajeel, more than anyone. You think I don't see how mad you get on jobs? How vicious you can be?" Gajeel flinched at her words, teeth grinding together like two steel plates. "That isn't you, Gajeel," she insisted, grabbing his chin and pulling him around so he had to meet her eyes. "You are so kind, but you just get angrier every day!"

"Why don't you just go?" Gajeel asked, cutting her off. "Leave if that's what you want."

Juvia blinked owlishly. "And leave you behind?"

It was Gajeel's turn to stare at her in shock. It seemed that whatever arguments the Iron Dragon Slayer had been preparing himself for, that wasn't one of them. Juvia smiled at him, all fond exasperation that seemed to be the norm with them. "Gajeel, you're my best friend," she said. "Juvia wouldn't go without you."

Gajeel's hand was shaking where she had slipped her hand down to wrap around his. "What if I can't leave?" he murmured. He looked so defeated, his hair hanging limply in front of his face and broad shoulders bent like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulder. Juvia could only wonder what had the power to chain him to their guild like a feral dog; desperate and lashing out at everyone he could afford to.

"Then… I'll stay with you," Juvia responded in the same low tone, swallowing the unease that seemed caught in her throat, and wrapped her arms around Gajeel's waist in a tight hug. "We'll face this together, just like we always have."

It took a few moments, but Gajeel's arms eventually came up around her, banding tightly across her back. And for a moment, he seemed to curl around her, and she could almost believe the rain had stopped.


*CACKLES BECAUSE YOU'RE SO NOT READY*

So I didn't know the Gajeel Juvia Brotp week started today until like two hours ago, so I just slammed my face on the keyboard for a while, and this came out! Hints towards some backstory in nest fic that I guarantee no one is ready for, and of course, plain ol' Gajeel and Juvia goodness! This takes place about two months before the Phantom Lord arc.

As for the rest of the week, it's gonna be a combo of art and writing, so if a prompt isn't filled here, it's probably a half-assed sketch on my blog lol. I can't guarantee they'll all be on time, but I'll guarantee I'll try.


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