Hey guys! So since I'm bringing in some of the other pairings in Fairy Tail, some chapters will involve some of the other characters~ I really hope you enjoy :)


Chapter 2: Rain

My tired body hit the ground with a loud crash. I groaned, rolling onto my back, hoping that that would stop my body from aching so much. "Are you sure you want to continue like this Levy?" Jet came to sit next to me on the soft grass and it was only a matter of time before Droy had done the same. We were sitting in Magnolia Southgate Park close to the embankment that led up to the road. I took a moment to look at the tree against which Gajeel had pinned the three of us. Then my eyes wandered to the spot where Gajeel had stood when protecting me against the careless attack Laxus had fired. "I want to be stronger." I clarified for what felt like the tenth time that day, shifting my eyes back to the boys. Why did Droy and Jet not understand where I was coming from? "Since when do you care about strength?"

"I want to have the strength to protect the ones dear to me." I answered Jet's question before I closed my eyes and lay down on my back, enjoying the breeze that caressed my skin gently, "I don't want to have to sit by and watch all the time, especially when things go wrong. I want to make a difference."

"But Levy," I opened my eyes again. Droy looked almost panicked to me, as if he was afraid that I was about to do something that was going to change me forever, "You make a difference!"

"And did he defeat those Grimoire Heart wizards?"

"Yes but-."

"Didn't you do enough then?"

"Somehow," I pushed the thoughts I was having out of my mind, "I doubt that I make that much of a difference."

"You know, without the support of his friends, Natsu would never have become as strong as he is now." Jet was trying a different approach it seems, one that he knew would work on me, and it did, "Knowing that so many people think of you and care for you can make such a big difference. What we lack in strength we make up for in heart and conviction. Levy, you're the same." Jet put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently, "You never used to worry about strength so much."
"Instead," Droy continued for Jet, "you concentrated on doing your best. You've never had to be strong to make a difference because you already do make a difference! You're smart, caring and supportive and if anyone says otherwise they'll have to deal with us!"

"Yeah Droy's right Levy! I bet Gajeel made you feel this way didn't he?"

"Now, now." I was smiling again, and somehow it felt so good to be able to do that again: to smile with Jet and Droy like the old days, "Let's not have you two pick a fight with him again."
"We won't." The two promised in unison, both looking very sorry to me, probably remembering the speech I'd given them after seeing how badly Gajeel had been hurt by Laxus. With a sigh, both boys joined me in lying down, both shooting a glance at me and smiling when they saw that I was smiling again.

For a while none of us said a thing, we simply lay there together, watching the clouds above us sneak along the sky as though they believed that no-one could see them. "Hey that one looks like a chicken wing!" Droy pointed at a cloud that hovered to the left of us. Jet and I tried to see what Droy was seeing, really we did but somehow… it just looked like a big bunch of cotton candy to me and nothing like a chicken wing. "You're far too food-focused." Jet laughed, crossing his arms behind his head to lean on them, "What about that one?" He pointed at another cloud, smiling as he explained that it looked to him like Happy's head. This time I could sort of see what he was seeing… well with a lot of imagination but it worked right? "It's been so long." I was the first to reminisce a little, thinking of how the three of us used to find ourselves a hill to lie on and watch the clouds back when we were younger. It was shortly after the two boys had asked me to join their Team Shadow Gear. They had both been convinced that I was far too weak to be in such a 'cool' team, but I sure showed them. "It has." Both boys sighed. It was nice to wind down a little again. Maybe I really had been too uptight ever since we returned from Tenrou Island but why? Why did it get to me so much? Why did it bother me that Gajeel had told me to get all strong and big before facing him head on if I want his acknowledgement? That just sucked! He was such a damn jerk for going and saying it like that! I am so totally not weak! I was chosen for the s-class mage promotion trial! That meant something right?

There I go again... Why did I let this happen every time? Why couldn't I just stay cool and collected thinking about it? It was just Gajeel so where was the problem? I didn't have to be stronger than Gajeel to be good enough! I was smarter than Gajeel! Way smarter than Gajeel so that made us equally matched. Well maybe not in his eyes seeing as all that matters to him is brute strength. I smiled, closing my eyes and letting the warmth of the sun soak into me and my aching muscles. One day… I felt my smile fade away slowly, I'll make him acknowledge me. That was the last thing that ran through my mind before the sun's warmth carried me off to sleep, into a world where I felt that I was strong enough to protect that, which is most important to me.

I closed the front door of Fairy Hills behind me quietly, not wanting to attract any unnecessary attention. I stayed standing in the entrance hall for a moment, trying to imagine what it must have been like around here with all of us missing. What I still couldn't quite wrap my head around was that they hadn't touched our stuff or rented our rooms out to other people in all those years. It was almost as if they had known that we would come back but seven years is a long time to wait for someone. With a sigh I managed to force my aching legs to move, which they did, but not without protest. I groaned. Training had been such a dumb idea! How had I imagined it to work? That I train once and walk up to Gajeel, challenge him and somehow win? Yeah right… I keep forgetting that Gajeel is a Dragon Slayer just like Natsu and tends to kick everyone's butts. By the time the realization hit me that I'll probably never measure up to Gajeel, I was standing in front of my door, staring at its brown wood thoughtfully. I was about to unlock my door when a strangely familiar sound filled my ears. Someone was crying. I followed the sound to one of the doors, realizing that behind it, lay Juvia's room.

"Hey Juvia?" I knocked on the door gently. As soon as I had, the crying stopped but I was yet to get more than that as a response, "Hey open up the door would you?" Again I knocked, "I really need to talk to you." Moments later the door clicked open and I was permitted entry. Juvia's room was neatly kept. It had a green couch standing by a small white coffee table close to the door. The whole arrangement was standing on a round orange and white rug. On the far side of the room she had her four-poster-bed with a blue duvet and… well what a surprise… a Gray doll sitting atop the duvet. When my eyes shifted to the walls, I found numerous paintings of Gray hanging on them for Juvia to admire. Somehow it creeped me out to see how obsessed she was with him. Then my eyes fell on Juvia who was sitting on the green armchair opposite the couch, crying. She had placed a small tissue box on the white coffee table that was littered with several used tissues. Contrary to what she always wore in the guild, now she was sitting there in a beautiful blue dress that reached down to just above her knees. Did she run to the door and then run back to where she's sitting now? I couldn't help but find her a little strange sometimes but it was Juvia, one had learnt to love her for her strange ticks. "What's wrong Juvia?" I closed the door behind me before hurrying to the couch, taking a seat opposite to her. "Juvia is sad." She muttered, blowing her nose again just after she'd spoken.

"Well why though?" I tapped against the seat next to me on the couch, gesturing for her to come and join me and she did, bringing her little tissue box with her. "Well Juvia is so sick and tired!" She started, fidgeting with an unused tissue almost nervously, "Juvia keeps trying to impress Gray but somehow I don't manage."

"Oh now don't go say that!" I put my arm around her shoulder to comfort her, "Why are you trying to impress him Juvia? You guys are friends and he cares for you, that much is certain."

"But if Juvia doesn't manage to impress Gray, he will look at other girls instead." Was this how she really thought? Was this what Juvia did when she thought no-one was watching? Did it hurt her this much? Part of me wanted to be angry with Gray for making her suffer so much but he didn't know better, so it would be wrong of me to blame it all on him. "Is it that much of a burden for you?" I frowned sadly, watching endless tears roll down her flushed face. Why was she doing this to herself? "Juvia cares so much for Gray. I love Gray." And on came another sob which was accompanied by even more tears. That's why she did this… because she loved him and she refused to give up on that, or rather, she couldn't. A noise from outside caught my attention and it was then that I realized that it was raining. Poor Juvia. I put my arms around her, pulling her in for a tight hug.

"You know, I bet you mean more to Gray than you realize."

"How do you know?" She wiped some of the tears off her face, giving me a very hopeful yet vulnerable look. "Well because he talks to you, he's protected you during fights often and just generally looks out for you."

"He does all of that?" Her eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across her face, "I never noticed but now that you say it… maybe you're right!"

"Guys sometimes take time to realize that a girl likes them and then it takes them even longer to figure out how to deal with it or how they feel about it." I laughed lightly, thinking of how Natsu still didn't seem to notice that he cared for Lucy a little more than just in a friend sort of way. "So you think maybe Gray does like Juvia?"

"Why don't you just try and get to know him first? Also, try giving him the opportunity to get to know you better. People fall in love with the small things that a person does."

"Levy you're so kind!" She buried her face in my chest, clinging onto me almost as if she was afraid that her tears may wash her away. "You'll be fine." I brushed over her hair gently, remembering how much that used to comfort me as a child, "Don't rush things. Get to know him first."

"Juvia knows Gray!"
"But how often do you spend time with him?" Juvia pulled away to look at me, a thoughtful look replacing the one of sadness. "Not often… should Juvia try spending more time with him?"

"Yes! Why don't you ask him if you two could go on a mission together?"

"Just Juvia and Gray?" Her eyes lit up again and this time, her cheeks turned quite red as well, "That would be a dream come true for me! But Gray is part of Team Natsu…"
"So what? Gajeel isn't part of Team Shadow Gear and yet he still chose himself as my partner for the s-class make promotion trials."

"And you two grew closer together?" I cringed. Somehow I didn't like the direction in which this was going… "Well you could say that."

"Does Gajeel love you now?"

"N-no!" I felt my face heat up. How had we gone from Juvia's love issues to my issues with that jerk Gajeel? Besides, the thought hadn't even remotely crossed my mind that he could have feelings for me; which I was sure he definitely didn't! "But then why did you chose him?"

"I didn't! He insisted!" I scrunched the ends of my dress together nervously, wishing I could find something to say that didn't fluster me. "Juvia thinks you two have grown closer." She smiled at me gently, "Gajeel has never protected someone before." That's right, they have known each other a lot longer than I have known Gajeel, seeing as they used to be in the same guild. When I thought about it, they were like Cana and me. We'd known each other since we were kids so we know a lot about each other yet still don't hang out that often. "What do you mean…? I'm sure he's protected someone before!"

"I heard that he protected you when Laxus attacked Jet. Before that he'd never protected anyone. He used to treat the Phantom Lord wizards like trash, hurting them for disturbing his lunch and on other occasions also." He did that? Right… I had forgotten that Gajeel had been in a dark guild and had also assaulted and tortured us. How could I have forgotten what he did to Jet, Droy and me? Well because somehow it didn't matter so much anymore. Gajeel was a part of our Fairy Tail family and that's all that mattered. "Are you feeling better now?" I changed the subject desperately, feeling the same sort of ache rise in my chest the more I thought about what Juvia and I had been discussing. "Yes I do." She continued to smile at me thankfully, "Juvia is very grateful."
"It was a pleasure. If you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where I live." I winked at her, making her laugh. "Oh no!" Her laughter turning into a horrified gasp, "Juvia totally forgot to brew some tea for us! How rude of me!"
"There's no problem!" I put my hands up in a dismissing gesture, trying to calm Juvia down again, "We can catch up on that some other time."

"It's a promise!" Juvia nodded enthusiastically, taking my hands in hers for a moment before getting up, wiping the last of her tears away in the process. She brought me to the door, thanking me one last time before I slipped out, walking to my room, happy to be home again. Why did everything have to involve Gajeel nowadays? I closed the door behind me, leaning against it once it was closed. "This is so stupid." I let my eyes skim over the many books that I had in the bookshelves that lined my walls, reaching all the way up to the ceiling, "Why am I acting like some lovesick teenager? I don't even think of Gajeel that way!"

The next morning, I was surprised to see that Juvia had really taken what I'd told her the day before to heart. I was busy reading when I noticed Juvia walk past me with a piece of paper in hand. I watched her walk over to where Gray was sitting with the rest of his team, arguing with Natsu about something trivial. "G-Grey…? Juv-, well I want to ask you something." She started nervously, almost scrunching up the paper in her hand in her nervous fluster, "I found a job request and can't do it on my own." She held out the paper for Gray to read, closing her eyes as soon as she saw that he was looking at it, terrified of his reaction. "Well why didn't you say you needed help earlier?" Came the reply from Gray, at which Juvia's eyes flew open again and started watering. "You mean you'll…?"

"Help you?" Gray let a tiny, almost invisible smile curve up the one corner of his mouth, "Our magic goes well together. I'd say you're a pretty good partner." So figures that Juvia would take that in a relationship sort of way. Her face turned blood read and her hands were clinging onto each other desperately, shaking a little. "Y-you really mean it?"
"Uh… yeah I guess." Gray mumbled, looking a little at a loss due to Juvia's reaction, "So when do you wanna leave?"

"Juvia is ready to leave as soon as you want." She was beaming! I hadn't seen her that happy in such a long time and it made me so happy that she'd finally found the courage to talk to Gray and take the initiative. I was still watching the encounter when my view was blocked by something large and pretty dark. "Shrimp." Aw why did he have to show up now of all times? I wanted to see how things turned out between Juvia and Gray! "Good morning Gajeel." I looked up at Gajeel who was standing in front of me, arms crossed and smirking. "You're coming with me Shrimp."

"What?" No seriously… what?! He shoved a piece of paper in my face, causing me to almost fall back and off the chair I was sitting on. "Gee Gajeel can't you be a little less of a jerk for once?!" I snapped at him, taking the paper from him to inspect it. It was a job request all the way from Hargeon. Whoever had posted this request wanted us to find their child that had gone missing two days ago while the man and his daughter had gone to Hargeon Festival that went on for the rest of the week. I knew very well that it wasn't very likely that we'd find a child if it had already been missing for more than a day. Whoever kidnapped her could be halfway across Fiore by now and we'd never find her. "Why do you want to take this job?" I asked him, tearing my eyes from the paper and looking at Gajeel instead. "Well 'cause I felt like it." He grumbled, averting his eyes for a few seconds before looking at me again. Somehow I couldn't imagine that it was merely one of his moods. "If you don't wanna, I'll just as someone else."

"First tell me why you're asking me of all people to work with you on this job."

"Because you 'aint useless." He smirked when my mouth dropped open, "What you thought I was sick of you after the s-class trials smallfry? And what the hell are ya gawking at me like that for?" A giggle erupted from my throat right before a huge grin spread across my face. "Is that a yes?"

"You bet!"


Aaaand that was chapter two! I really hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to review ** 3