Juvia caught Gray's eyes across the guild and motioned towards the door silently asking him to meet her outside, he blinked confused but nodded excusing himself from his table of friends to slip out the front door. She joined him outside a moment later without word or sound, she started to walk away from the guild leaving the bewildered ice mage to follow her out of the city and into the surrounding forest. After what felt like miles into the forest she stopped simply staring at him as he walked past her "What do you want with me?" he asked stopping ahead of her some distance. A laugh crossed the distance to his ears, her shoulders seemed to shake with the laughter as she moved forward cutting the distance between them in half, a light drizzle of rain beginning. Her demeanor was different than usual causing Gray to tense up. She smiled at him, her eyes slipping half closed, he waited. In his brief wait Gray began to really take in her look and notice the way she seemed disheveled, her hair not kept straight and neat, haphazardly sticking out from beneath her hat, her dress seemed crumpled as if it'd been slept in. Her eyes spoke volumes, her piercing blue eyes, a shade of blue that seemed always brighter than her blue hair and clothes, but now they seemed dull and sunken in.
Her smile slipped seeing the change in his stance "Five minutes" her voice was heavy with the weight of some burden unknown to the young ice mage "Just give me five minutes" at these words Gray relaxed his stance nodding for her to continue worry filling his mind. She took a moment, breathing slowly before she opened her mouth to fill the air with the same weighted voice "When we met all that time ago when I was still with Phantom Lord, I was lonely despite the other members of my guild, I was lonely and I'd convinced myself that I'd always be that way for who would want to be near endless rain…" she paused to look up at the over cast sky currently raining slightly on them "but then I met you, Gray. I met you and the then the rain stopped, I was happy, I didn't feel alone anymore. So I followed you, I joined Fairy Tail where there was no rain." She chuckled dryly, a tear rolling down here cheek, indistinguishable from the rain "I tried to be forward and blunt with my feelings, or at least I thought I was being forward and blunt, but you never seemed to notice," her voice cracked at the word, his stance loosened, worry over taking his features "I don't blame you, eventually I backed off, as long as Gray was happy so then would be Juvia, so long as she could see him, and he existed then Juvia could be happy and I was; or tried to be."
She looked over her shoulder back towards Magnolia "Juvia…. Juvia loved Gray-sama so much, and Juvia- she- I tried to make my home any place where he was to keep out the rain" she shook, her voice growing thick with sadness "I loved you Gray, and seeing you happy made me happy; it truly did, but it hurts seeing you happy with people who are not me…so Juvia thought; I thought I could get over Gray-sama and just be happy at Fairy Tail with Gajeel and her- my other friends" Gray opened his mouth to comment; stunned, but she gave him no time "Juvia will leave Fairy Tail. She will find herself, but I- Juvia wanted to say goodbye to her Gray-sama before she went" she breathed sharply "b-be-because Juvia loves Gray-sama even though she shouldn't!" her voice cracked and shook at her exclamation, her eyes flashing to look at him before dropping to look at the ground "I'm sorry" she tacked on in a mumble.
Gray was silent, stunned by her confession, worried about her and her plans to leave the guild. Despite all the words bubbling at his mind, all the things he wanted to say he couldn't seem to will his tongue to work. Juvia seemed to take his silence as an acceptance and rejection of her words, her hands moving to cover her face as sobs seemed to overtake her features and shake her body. His heart hurt horribly watching the display, if felt as if someone had pinched his heart in half, and without thinking he reached a hand toward her still not finding the power to form words, his arm not closing half the distance between them, his legs felt like lead, as if weighed down. He'd not felt this great sense of immovability since he'd faced that demon as a child and watched as Ur saved him at the cost of herself. He cursed himself for this weakness when it was clear that the water woman needed him, but did he want to help because she was his guild mate or because he felt guilty? The question weighed heavy on his mind stalling him further from fighting his ability to move, or lack thereof. What did Juvia mean to him?
Ever since she had joined the guild no matter what happened or where they went Juvia had been there, smiling, laughing, enjoying life with the guild or so it seemed and Gray couldn't even begin to imagine all the quests and hi-jinks without Juvia's smile, without her presence somewhere near by waiting for him and the others. Juvia's warm eyes; Juvia's bright smile; Juvia's musical laugh; despite the short amount of time she'd been with the guild Gray doubted he could handle never seeing or hearing them again. Juvia; who seemed to no longer be able to stand the silence aside her sobs, she began to mumble apologies between sobs starting to move up the path through the woods, moving towards him, but further from the guild to pass him. "W-wait!" he called finally finding the courage to form words, his hand grabbing her are lightly as she came closer "Juvia I-I" he seemed to struggle with himself when she peeked up at him eyes full of tears her movement stalled by his hand. His other hand found its way to her face wiping a tear from her eye only for it to be replaced with another "Please don't leave" he choked out in a whisper "stay with me please?" he pleaded with her knowing ultimately he could not stop her if she truly wanted to leave.
He pulled her against his chest holding her close as she cried, unsure what else to say to the upset mage. She didn't struggle, instead pushing her face against his chest and letting herself sob more nodding against her chest. Grey simply held her and let her cry until she could cry no more and then they'd return to town where he'd try his best to make things right with the woman in his arms, the woman he loved; maybe.