Hi, I am posting this because, it is an idea I had, and maybe I can work through it? For everyone's information, it's going to be gang fic, and there will be a little ooc because its sounds better. This is set in the real world (or sort of real world).
Disclaimer: i don't own Fairy Tail, characters or anything.
Please let me know your thoughts! I would always like to know what's good, bad, and up!
It really wasn't the same city in the rain.
Call public relations, call the mayor, call the City Supervisor because all it took to upset normal life was a little drizzle.
Juvia was not particularly of any mind to agree or disagree with this upheaval. Rain was discomforting, the way it carried an unsettling, melancholy touch. She disliked how it seeped through her clothes, and soaked into her skin, as if trying so desperately to clean something, something dirty deep inside which she could explain as well as the rain could reach. But, there was the other side of the storm. The calm it brought to the world: the empty streets, the muted colors, the refreshing chilled taste in the air. As much as the rain itself bothered her, she admittedly felt most at ease on those gloomy days.
Even Jose Street, the commercial center, was beautifully near deserted. The usual market stalls had all been stripped and tucked underneath awnings, whilst vendors and patrons hid behind foggy shop windows. Usually boisterous flags and store banners drooped on their poles, sleeping away the day. An odd patron now and then ran by with their head cloaked.
Juvia hurried, but less than the runners, down the street. Water had already saturated her dress, and each step in the little pavement rivers squeezed a cold puddle into the toes of her boots. Small cold droplets from the sky kissed her cheeks, as heavy ones dripped off her Russian hat and splattered on her nose. Still, she did her best to keep her head up.
She could have called Sol, or Totomaru, but then again, she would have missed seeing the city so peaceful.
Passing a misty elegant scripted window, she observed the display crammed bookcase of ancient disheveled looking spines glowing from the gold light inside. But the shop itself appeared empty. Aria, her third roommate and the store owner, was probably in the back at the register or pondering over sea maps in the storage room.
The street's right line of buildings ended, turning into a tall black iron picket fence, green grass on the other side. A little further down, was a gate, 'Oak Park' written in orange-let styled metal branches across the arch's center. The park had an ovular shape, with a winding jog path that ran along the perimeter, but since Juvia's apartment building was in the residential streets directly opposite from the main entrance, she crossed straight along the park narrow. It left her a mere two blocks from home.
And there was where she found him. A drooping dark head of dripping locks, leaned back against the scuffed up glass of the old bus stop. He was not even underneath the roofing.
She tried to remember him, a mid-twenties city kid like herself. Maybe they had crossed paths in the district? Nothing came to mind, though it should have been expected seeing as he seemed not to know about the bus.
Carelessly, he lifted his chin and fixed her with bored jet eyes, and she wondered just how long he had been waiting. Juvia noticed what he was wearing. A white suit coat, with a light purple hibiscus patterned button up, contrasted by dark jeans and light blue sneakers. The poor shirt and coat had already been ruined in the rain.
"Hey." He called and Juvia's eyes flashed back to his face. Heat flooding her cheeks for being openly caught staring, and made worse by the fact that he, of course, was something to stare at.
"Is there something you want to ask?" But, his voice was flat, no nonsense.
Juvia cringed, bracing to keep from stepping back. She reminded herself that he was the stranger here though, she had the advantage within these blocks. In all likelihood, the guy was probably lost. And this was not the area to get lost in, especially as even she was careful about going out alone. If that was the case, then to just leave him standing there wet would have been cruel.
"This bus stop was taken off the route two years ago. There is another four blocks…."
"I'm waiting for someone." He cut in, and Juvia found she was mildly surprised.
"Oh, maybe Juvia could help." She did know of most the people in the area, at least by face. The trouble was, the neighborhood was a pretty rough crowd, which left the question of where he fit.
The man did not look entirely out of place. Just his dark eyes, and the cold atmosphere around him had her unnerved.
Yet, he was still young, and sort of on the scrawny side (though she could be damned for fantasizing hard muscles and lines underneath those clothes). She was not about to let someone potentially misguided, no longer daring to use the word innocent, wait around to draw attention and become a victim.
"Excuse me sir..."
"Gray." He supplied, lifting his eyebrows, expecting her to continue. Her lips stuck open for a second in surprise and hesitancy, then Juvia hastened to recover. As she spoke, she tasted the name, embarrassingly. She was a girl that did not talk to gorgeous men that often.
"Gray. I do not recommend standing out here alone….not with this weather." The last bit added to avoid the underneath cause, lest she scare him unnecessarily.
He made a noise just short of a snort. "And yourself?"
"I was not the one standing around in the rain." She replied a bit perplexed. He half snorted again, though he did seem to listen to her advice stepping away from the glass, hands pocketed, and…still bored. He looked up the street.
"I'm looking for Totomaru."
Juvia felt thankful that he missed her silent gasp. Totomaru? Her roommate had not told her a friend would visit; none of them ever even had guests, though they would go out.
Juvia was not ignorant, knew that her roommates were more heavily involved in underside affairs than her, and it did not matter. They kept her out of their business, while providing an extremely cheap place to stay and protection in this city.
"Are you friends?"
"We have a meeting." He replied carelessly. Almost as if his ease were contagious, Juvia felt herself relax a bit too. If Totomaru had agreed to meet with him, then there was less need to worry.
It sparked her fascination, finally meeting the mysterious friends, business partners, whoever her roommates went out with. And just by looks, Juvia was impressed. She had always pictured Sol, Aria, and Totomaru with old men or sleazy thugs from the warehouses. This guy did appear tough, but ten times more composed than those grimy folks. He did not seem like the type to leer shamelessly at women, or waste his earning at the bar each night (though that could have just been her imagination again drawing conclusions).
"Oh, Juvia lives with him. If you'd like to just follow. He should be home by now." Gray nodded, and Juvia smiled, feeling some sort of accomplishment.
Maybe she felt a little more informed about Totomaru, Sol, and Aria's lives? Maybe she could ask them some questions later, to draw them closer together? And to find out about the mysterious, ominous Gray.
However, that was not to omit the fact that a dangerous man was silently trailing her down the street. She kept a good couple of steps between them.