Ok... another dream... another one-shot :D This time it's a Gruvia one :D
Yes, I do understand that I continually post these as a break from The Dragon Fest, not to worry I am working on the next chapter :D
Anyway, this one is a Modern AU. It takes place in the NYC... probably because the scenery just.. fit. hehe :D
And here... we.. go ;)
Rain Girl
Year 2000, Juvia Lockser 12 years old
"Hey! Hey! Have you heard?"
"What? Heard what?"
"That girl over there… The one with the blue hair… You have to have heard!"
"What? Spit it out already!"
"They say she's jinxed…"
"Wha…? No way! How?"
"They call her the Rain Girl…"
The two gossipers giggled away as said girl glared at them.
Juvia hated the rain. She hated the way she could correctly predict when it was going to fall. She hated that it looked so gloomy. But most of all, she hated that others hated her for bringing it to them.
"Rain Girl! Rain Girl! RAIN GIRL! RAIN GIRL!"
Juvia curled up into a ball.
Juvia hated the rain.
Year 2013, Juvia Lockser 25 years old
"… And there's going to be a light precipitation over Central Park this evening. So, don't forget your umbrellas everyone! Back to you, Mirajane!"
"That was our weather girl, Juvia Lockser! And now, we bring you this special report…"
Juvia felt her smile slide from her face as the camera panned towards Mirajane, the current anchor of Fairy Tail News, one of the most popular news channel from the Big Apple.
She did not want it to rain. Not today.
"That's a wrap people!" Erza, the director, announced, "Good job, everyone! Mira and Freed, remember that we have a special tomorrow! Lisanna! Don't forget to bring your segment tomorrow as well!"
"Aye! Aye! Titania!"
Erza rolled her eyes, but smiled at the nickname that she had earned in the set. She then spotted Juvia making her way towards the exit. She was dressed in a fashionable little blue dress with stockings and high-heeled boots. However, despite her nice dress, she looked highly depressed on the outside.
"Juvia!" The blue haired girl jumped when she heard her name and turned around to look at Erza, "Are you going somewhere?" the red headed girl asked while she smiled at her teasingly.
Juvia returned the smile weakly. "I kind of… have a date today."
"Oh! That's nice! Remember to put on your jacket, though. The temperature is starting to drop."
"Yes… Well…"
Erza frowned at her reaction. Wasn't she supposed to be happy? "Is something wrong?"
Juvia looked startled at her question. "What? No, no, no, it's…"
Erza put a hand on her shoulder.
"Tell me." Coming from her it sounded more like a command than a request, Juvia thought.
"Oh… Um… Look!" she spotted her escape, "There's Elfman!"
Erza quickly veered around, her gaze murderous.
"ELFMAN!" she barked, "Come here! How many times have I told you to start the Sports segment WITHOUT speaking the phrase 'They're manly'!"
Juvia sighed. At least she got her attention away form her… date.
"What do you mean you're breaking up with me?!"
"Shh… Babe, we're at Central Park. Someone might see…"
Juvia stared in astonishment at her boyfriend (now ex), Bora, the famous actor, who looked nervously around for cameras flashing from her outburst.
"…Why?" She asked darkly.
"Well… Um… you remember Jimmy, babe, right?"
Juvia felt like throwing him to the nearest ditch by now, her anger taking over her sadness.
"No."
"You sure? Because he told me you went to middle scho-"
"No."
Juvia crossed her arms over her chest and glared. Bora sighed, almost as if he was dealing with a small child instead of her. Her annoyance increased.
"Anyway, he told me you were… well, you know… jinxed. That it rained everywhere you went. And, quite frankly, babe, many of our dates have had that gloomy appearance."
Juvia thought about now that she had HAD IT with the rain.
"You know, how that will look in the papers, babe," he continued, "and-"
"Juvia thinks that you should go fuck yourself."
And then she threw her hot drink down his pants.
"… And Juvia does not GET IT! Juvia does not understand why it rains ALL THE TIME!" Juvia blew her nose into the Kleenex.
"Oh great. She's talking in third person… again." Gajeel remarked.
Levy turned around from where she was beside Juvia on the couch to smack him on the head. She may love him, but he was an idiot.
She, Gajeel, Lucy and Natsu had crashed into Juvia's apartment as soon as they heard the news.
Juvia had known Gajeel since they were kids but, in college, he met Levy, who became his girlfriend. Levy was friends with Lucy who had a boyfriend named Natsu, who was childhood friends with Erza, and the rest, they say, was history. Safe to say, these people were probably her closest friends. If she weren't weeping she probably would've found it amusing that they were now huddled around her couch trying to comfort her.
"I still don't get why we can't just beat the shit out of him," Natsu remarked.
"Because, you idiot, as we have said before. That might just get us landed in jail. Even by just getting near him we might get fucking busted. Use your brain, asshole." Gajeel replied tiredly.
"What did you-"
"What he means, Natsu," Levy interjected while glaring at her boyfriend. She did not want to have a fight now. "Is that he's a world famous actor and we're… well… we're just an engineer, a librarian, a journalist and a fireman. I'm sure that he'll hold the cards at court."
Natsu frowned, as if he were deep in thought. "We cold just escape from jail by conveniently having a fire…"
"Natsu," Lucy's tone caused him to shut up immediately, "We're here for Juvia. Not to make escape plans by blowing up a jail, you pyromaniac!"
"Hey! What makes me such a pyromaniac!"
"You burned half my kitchen last week! You know why? Because you left the stove on because you were looking at the fire!"
"But it was pretty!"
They all turned to look at Juvia after that because she suddenly started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. One thing was for sure; she really did love her friends.
"Are you seriously alright? You did get my text, right?"
Juvia laughed lightly at her friend Lisanna as she fretted around her. Since her special segment on animal rights was coming up today, she had spent the whole night practicing, but she had heard the news from Juvia and she deeply regretted not being able to come over to comfort her like the rest.
"Don't worry," Juvia replied, "The others kept me company."
Lisanna sighed, "I just wish I was there so I could punch that asshole. Who cares if he is a damn king or whatever! Just you wait, Juvia! I'll sic a lion on him!"
Juvia laughed at the picture that phrase generated, but Lisanna noticed that the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"In other news…" Lisanna decided that changing the subject was probably the best way to go, "Have you heard of the hottie that's coming in for Mira-nee and Freed's section?"
Juvia thought that yesterday she had probably been a teensy bit busy to notice this piece of news.
Lisanna shook her head as she saw the denial on her face. "Juvia, Juvia… We've got to get you back in the market. Make the stupid jackass jealous! Anyway," she continued, ignoring Juvia's grimace, "He's an ice sculpture artist from up north. His art is so famous; it's getting a special exhibition near the Rockefeller! It's gonna be on the outside!"
Juvia wondered if she should pay a visit to the exhibit. She did like art…
"Although, they say he's a bit cold… Cold as ice, get it?" Lisanna giggled.
Juvia rolled her eyes at the comment and was about to answer… When she crashed into someone. She was about to fall but the person grabbed her arm to steady her.
"Juvia is sorry!" She winced at her habit of referring herself to the third person when nervous. She has got to work on that.
"Hey, you ok?"
Then Juvia turned up to look at what was quite possibly the most perfect being in the entire universe. She was sure she was dreaming.
"Oi! You're turning red!" he turned to look at Lisanna, "Is she sick or something?"
Lisanna smirked, already knowing who it was, "I don't know… Ask her, Mr. Fullbuster. Oh! I think I hear the director calling for me. See you!"
"Hey wait!"
"Fulbuster…" Juvia mumbled, still in trance.
The man turned to look at her with concerned eyes.
"Um… yeah. I'm Gray Fullbuster, the ice sculpture artist."
More like ice GOD. Juvia thought before snapping back to her senses. She smiled at him brightly.
"Juvia is pleased to meet you, Gray-sama!"
"…sama?"
Juvia ignored the comment.
"Juvia is the weather girl in the news and… and… she has heard of your art… and…" she was so sure she was red as a tomato.
"Yeah… Hey, my segment is coming up… So, I have to leave and-"
He interrupted himself because she looked so sad at that comment and sighed.
"…But we can talk afterwards. Juvia, was it?"
Juvia smiled once again, which caused Gray to blush a little. Over excitement aside, she wasn't bad looking…
"Juvia is happy! …I mean… yes," she cleared her throat, "Juv… I would love that."
"And so, Mr. Fullbuster, what types of sculptures will you be showing us this Friday?" Mirajane asked Gray with a practiced smile.
"Well, I can pretty much do anything as long as I have a clear image in my head. Since Christmas is coming up, I've been having a lot of requests for angels…"
Juvia sighed dreamily from backstage as she watched Gray-sama's interview. Lisanna chuckled at her reaction.
"Earth to Juvia! Earth to Juvia! You're supposed to be preparing your segment, not looking at hot artists!"
Juvia smiled, "Juvia has decided she does not care about the weather when Juvia can stare at Gray-sama."
Lisanna rolled her eyes.
"OH… So quickly. I thought it would take you some time for a rebound."
Juvia chuckled, but Lisanna cursed her mouth when she saw that the smile didn't reach her eyes again.
"It's not serious. It's more like… an infatuation," she began while reviewing her notes. Suddenly, she stopped.
"Juvia?" Lisanna asked alarmingly, "What's wrong?"
It can't be… But then again, her predictions were never wrong.
"…And so, this Friday expect rainfall. That'll be all, Mirajane."
"Thank you, Juvia and now…"
Juvia's fake smile vanished as she walked up the set.
Again. She did it again. Why did it always have to rain?
"You know… You actually look great out there."
Juvia looked up to see the face of Gray-sama, who, true to his word, stayed over to talk to her.
After a brief silence, he continued, "On the news, I mean. I think I've never seen someone give a more accurate portrayal of the weather and… Hey. Hey! What's wrong?"
He looked so alarmed, she wondered. She touched her cheeks only to feel them wet.
"Juvia is sorry," she whispered.
"For what? Crying? You know that we sometimes can't control-"
"No," Juvia shook her head, "For making it rain on your exhibition."
Gray paused for a moment to stare at her.
"That's stupid. You didn't make it rain. No one can. It's just… It's just bad weather, no big."
She sniffed, "But they say Juvia's jinxed and… and…"
Oh dear God was that a whine?
Gray frowned. Clearly, he was stepping on an issue here… He thought about what he should do since he never did like crying girls…
He gripped her shoulders.
"Come to my exhibition."
Juvia turned her watery eyes towards his dark ones, "…Wha?"
"Come. And I'll show you that a little rain isn't going to stop me."
Juvia sincerely had no idea why she decided to come. She thought the most reasonable explanation was hormones… Well, that and curiosity.
Under her umbrella, she could see the ice sculptures. They were so beautiful… But when she looked at the sky she knew, she could just feel it; she knew that it would begin soon.
This was stupid, she thought. Why did she even hope this would be different? It's so obvious the exhibit will be ruined and-
"Oh good, you're here."
Juvia turned around to see Gray in a suit walking up to her. She decided to hide in her scarf so that he may not see that she kind of drooled at the sight of him.
He looked happy, though, probably because his exhibit was going well.
He smiled when he caught up with her, "So, have you taken a look around?"
"Yes," Juvia nodded, "Juvia thinks that the sculptures are beautiful."
"Thanks," he grinned. She smiled a little and then frowned.
"… It's going to rain soon…"
He frowned as soon as the words were out of her lips, "So?" He said dryly.
Juvia sighed, "Juvia has seen Gray-sama's guests. All of them are in pretty dresses or in suits… Some of them don't even have umbrellas…"
"Hey…"
"…And, well, Juvia can just imagine what will happen, and Gray-sama will be so angry and-"
"Hey!" He gripped her shoulders and she tried to ignore the electric shock she felt from his fingertips.
He was about to say something when, suddenly, his eyes widened and he looked up. Juvia sighed. This is it. Here she will hear another person telling her just how horrible luck it is to meet Rain-
He turned her around harshly and enveloped an arm around her shoulders while, with the other, he pointed at the sky.
"Look."
And then, Juvia saw it. Of course! She had been so worried about Gray-sama's exhibition that she didn't think about the temperatures that have been dropping lately!
Instead of little, clear drops of rain falling from the sky, there came little white snowflakes. She stared in wonder at it.
"You know…" She whipped her head around to look at Gray, "I have this… this thing, I guess… I can sort of tell when it's going to snow. And when you told me it was going to rain…"
He looked sheepish as he let her go and scratched the back of his head. Juvia thought that she must've looked like a gaping fish right now.
"So then… Gray-sama knew… that… that…"
He sighed and then looked at her straight in the eye. She could feel herself swooning.
"Look. Ok, I know I just met you and stuff, but I noticed that you had this… this… thing for the rain and, well," he started turning a little red, "This beauty… All of this scenario cannot be done without rain."
When Juvia looked at him blankly, he sighed.
"What I mean is that, even rain can create some beautiful things. I don't consider it gloomy in the least…"
He smiled at her a little and her heart stopped.
Her smile in return though, was just so damn bright for him. And then… she almost tackled him to the ground.
"Thank you, Gray-sama! Thank you! Juvia is eternally grateful!"
She grabbed his arm and began pulling him to the sculptures before he spoke.
"Juvia wants to spend the day with Gray-sama and his art. Come!"
"Now, see here. If we're gonna start seeing each other more often, we're gonna have to talk about this 'sama' thing…"
Juvia laughed.
Maybe he hadn't realized it yet, but he had taken away some of the gloom that the rain had caused to her all these years.
Finally, she was beginning to see the sunlight.
THE END. :D
Yes, this time I don't really see a continuation any time soon... Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to tell :3
I decided to do this take on Juvia's personality because, well, I know how the rain affected her as a child in Fairy Tail, so I decided to give it a more... realistic, if you will, spin to it. Yes, I also decided to do that with the way she speaks. Since she's older and well.. we don't normally hear people speaking in third person, I left it that she did it when she was highly emotional (which occurs of course every time she's around Gray ;D) I hope I maintained her in character.
As for Bora, I used him because he's continually being used as Juvia's ex.. And I didn't want it to be anyone else from Fairy Tail... Nor did I want Leon or something like that because... well I like Leon.. And the person who had to be her ex in this story had to be a little bitch who whines about rain... So, not Leon.
Why NYC? Because it snows there. I know there are several other places where it does snow... My head just made it look like this place.
Anyway, thoughts? Laughs? Was it good? WAs it bad? I don't regularly write Gruvia, but this was my image of them :)
Thanks for the read! Review, favorite or whatever :D