Gray picked at the crust of his sandwich. He was having lunch with Lucy and Erza, but he really wasn't all that hungry.
"I'm so sad Natsu couldn't come," Lucy moaned. "He woke up this morning with food poisoning from all that carnival food he ate last night."
Erza laughed, "Even he can only hold down so many of those odd mushrooms."
Lucy stared at Gray, who was spacing out and didn't seem to be having as much fun as Erza and herself. "Hey, Gray, is something wrong? You're not eating."
"Oh, no, I'm fine, just tired," he assured her, taking a bite of the sandwich in front of him. His mind was so far away, he had forgotten what was in it. It ended up being tuna. Gray was worried about the Rain Woman. What if Mr. Makarov had seen him, and she was in trouble? What if going back was too dangerous? But if he didn't go back, he'd be breaking a promise he made to a person who already had pretty intense trust issues, he figured. He looked out the window to make sure it was still raining, that the Carnival hadn't decided to leave early because of him.
He let out a relieved breath. As it had been for the past day and a half, rain flew down from the clouds, pitter-pattering at the windows and dotting the glass with thousands of tiny sparkles. She was still there. Still close to him.
Something outside turned his focus from the window itself to what was on the other side of it, but before he could mention it, Erza wondered, "Is that Miss Alberona?"
"It is!" Lucy exclaimed, looking at the group of carnies walking through the middle of the road. "They must be advertising for the carnival."
Among the carnies, Gray recognized Cana, some of the freaks (Iron Dragon, Wild Child, and Thunder God), and a few other carnies. Though he was hoping the Rain Woman would be there too, he knew she wouldn't. She was kept under higher security than the others, probably because she was the most likely to try to run away. It didn't escape his attention that the Wild Child was kept in handcuffs, the end of the chain held by Cana. He remembered she was one of the freaks in a cage at the carnival and wondered if she also wanted to leave Carnival Umidus or it was just for show.
"We should go out and say hi!" Lucy suggested, standing up.
"Oh, she probably doesn't remember us," Erza said. "Lots of people get their fortunes told at that carnival."
Gray watched the group continue down the street, but through the rain and the wet window, he could swear the Iron Dragon met his eyes for just a second. Despite the evil laughter radiating from those sharp red eyes, Gray returned the glare to the back of Iron Dragon's head as the group walked away. What's his problem?
"Gray, you're not wearing your necklace," Lucy pointed out.
"Oh, yeah, I must've forgotten it this morning," Gray laughed, not wanting to tell them where he'd been the night before.
Erza didn't seem to buy it. She knew Gray never took that necklace off and was about to ask for the truth, but she was cut off by Lucy's squeal.
Natsu stood behind her silently, covering her eyes with his hands and smiling. "Who is this?" she giggled, reaching her hands up and grabbing his scarf. "Oh, hi Natsu! Feeling better?"
"Yep!" Natsu said, taking the seat across from her.
Gray checked his watch and noticed it was one o'clock, half and hour before Carnival Umidus opened for the day and debated stopping by. On a whim, he stood up and announced, "You know, guys, I have some things I have to take care of at home, so I think I'll head out."
"Really? Ok, see you," Lucy said.
"See you, Gray," Erza and Natsu echoed.
Gray ran through the rain back to his house. He hadn't brought an umbrella to lunch, because now that he knew the reason for the rain, he loved it. Maybe tonight, she'll tell me her name, he hoped.
Makarov lead the Rain Woman into her cage in the freak show tent and then left to tend to the rest of the carnival just as Gajeel, Laxus, and Lisanna returned from their advertisement run.
"Hey, Rain Woman!" Gajeel taunted her, a malicious grin on his face.
"Gajeel, stop it!" Lisanna begged him. "We don't know all the details!"
The Rain Woman motioned for Gajeel to keep talking. Whatever was going on, she wanted to know. They never let her go out into the towns they visited to advertise, because she was both the most likely to run away and the most crucial member of the carnival. Without her the name meant nothing, the posters didn't make sense, and the freak show would lose its most mystifying attraction.
Gajeel roared with laughter, "Guess who we saw eating lunch at 8island?"
The Rain Woman shrugged, but she had an idea.
"That boy you saw for literally two minutes and completely fell for!" he cracked, and suddenly, the Rain Woman was very interested. Gajeel saw her excitement and only cackled more. "Geehee, but guess who he was with?"
"Gajeel!" Lisanna snapped, but he ignored her.
"He was with these two girls! A blonde and a redhead, both with no lack of chest, if you ask me!" Gajeel walked away and sat on his stage, snickering and letting the Rain Woman fall into her despair.
Each word Gajeel'd spoken dug into her heart like a knife. Her body trembled with confusion, sadness, frustration, betrayal, and simple astonishment. Gray seemed so sincere before… How could he do this? She remembered how she pictured him with other girls and worried over it, but now that it was real, she didn't know what to do with herself. She curled up on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in them.
Outside, the rain began to come down harder and harder with every passing second. The droplets of water fell like bullets, pounding down on the tent and creating a loud roar inside.
"What's going on in here?" Cana demanded, bursting through the opening and running up the path to the Rain Woman's cage.
Laxus followed her and explained, "Gajeel told Rain Woman that we saw this guy she's got a huge crush on eating lunch with two super hot and busty girls today, and she did that."
Cana sighed in frustration, and slapped a palm to her forehead. "You might not know this, but the rain gets worse when she's upset. Outside, we only have little tents or tarps up on poles, so rain this violent is a big problem. My station's already falling apart, it's getting pelted so bad! Don't mess with the Rain Woman!" she snapped at the few freaks who were in the area, and then crouched to talk to the Rain Woman. "Hey, I'm so sorry Gajeel did that. He's a dick! I'm sure your guy is only friends with those girls."
The Rain Woman tightened into her ball. How did she know he wasn't dating one or both of them? She wasn't his girlfriend yet. What right did she have to be upset over him hanging out with other girls? After all, he'd never done anything romantic towards her. All he did was show interest and promise to come back. Sure, he gave her the necklace, but that didn't have to mean anything.
Cana sighed again and stood. "I have to get back to my station now. We open soon. Promise you'll be okay when the customers come."
The Rain Woman managed a small nod. She'd try. For Cana.
"Okay, see you later then," Cana said gently and left, giving Gajeel a most disapproving glare on her way out.
Lisanna mentioned to the Rain Woman, "the girls' boobs really weren't much bigger—if at all-than yours," and took her place in her huge cage, which was decorated with cardboard cutouts of wild animals from all over he world.
The rain outside began to subside, almost returning to its normal pace, and the Rain Woman got ready for the show. She stood in her cage, which was positioned under a curtain that resembled rain, and when Makarov showed up, ready to present her, she was fully under control. Falling to pieces inside, but in control of her appearance.
She only faltered in her composed façade when who should come by but Gray? He was right up in front, smiling up at her. How could he look at her as the Rain Woman had seen couples look at each other when he'd just finished lunch with two busty girls? The Rain Woman wanted to be angry at him, but she couldn't help herself. The shattered fragments of her heart melted back together, and she felt like, if they were ever to become a real couple, it would probably freeze that way, whole and happy.
"You come back?" Mr. Makarov asked when he recognized Gray.
"Yeah. You've got an amazing carnival on your hands," Gray replied, trying to sound respectful.
"Well, thank you."
The group moved along, and Gray followed, winking at the Rain Woman before turning to the next freak. That wink sent a burst of joy through her heart. Winks were normally flirtatious, right? Or had she been isolated from civilian society for so long that she was misinterpreting?
The Rain Woman tried to push the negativity from her head, trying to be optimistic. Maybe he liked her.
Meanwhile, Gray spent another few hours around the rest of the carnival, and the whole time, he worried if the wink he'd made was too forward for her and made her nervous or uncomfortable. After all, she's lived in the carnival for who knows how long and hasn't spoken a word.
That night, at precisely two o'clock, trying to arrive at the same time as the night before, Gray dressed in black, grabbed the pad of paper and pen, and ran to the trailer the Rain Woman and Miss Alberona shared.
He knocked on the Rain Woman's window, but she didn't answer. "Rain Woman," he whispered, hoping she'd open it. He looked around, but fewer lights were on than the previous night and no one seemed to be moving around too much.
"Hey, boy," Cana whispered, opening her window and sticking her head out. She didn't look happy with him at all, but Gray walked over to her. "I don't think the Rain Woman wants to see you today. I didn't know who you were until now, but a few of the freaks noticed you today having lunch with some girls. Busty girls."
Gray was stunned. Busty? He'd never noticed before, but now that she mentioned it, pretty much all the girls he knew had fairly large chests. "Their names are Erza Scarlet and Lucy Heartifilia, and we're just friends. In fact, I feel like Lucy and our other friend, Nastu Dragneel might start dating soon. You met the four of us yesterday, but you probably don't remember."
"No, now that I see you, I remember, and those two have much more boob than I'd been picturing."
"No more than you."
From the Rain Woman's window, Gray heard her knock on the side of the trailer to get his attention.
"Rain Woman!" he whispered, happy to see her.
Suddenly, a man appeared behind Cana, planting a kiss on her neck. He was muscular and had straight dark hair pulled into a bun that was covered by a cloth and light-colored eyes. "Hey, Cana. The kid seems sincere, and Rain Woman's not dwelling on this whole lunch thing. We should forget about it too and give them some privacy by going back to my trailer."
Cana laughed. "Fine! Gray, you treat her well."
"I will," he promised, and Cana and her man, who Gray recognized as the carnie, Bacchus—beat him in a drinking contest, and you win a hundred dollars. As soon as Cana closed her window, Gray rushed to the Rain Woman's. "Hey! I'm so sorry if there was a misunderstanding about who I was seen eating lunch with today. Those two girls are my friends. One I've known forever, so she's like an older sister, and the other is about to start dating my other friend. I've never thought anything romantic about them ever, and I probably never will."
The Rain Woman just put a finger to his lips and motioned for him to hand her the paper and pen. Why does Gray feel so bad for seeming like he was on a date? she wrote.
Reading this, Gray didn't understand. He didn't get that she didn't see herself as someone he had feelings for, but he clarified, "Rain Woman, I probably haven't been showing it well enough, but I really like you, and if you weren't kept behind these things all the time," he said, touching one of the bars that separated them, "or forced to stay with the Carnival, I'd do anything to be your boyfriend. That is, if you wanted me to."
The Rain Woman couldn't breathe. She clutched his necklace, which hung around her neck. She didn't know how to show how much she cared about him but—
She wrote across the paper quickly in her excitement, but decided it looked too sloppy, so she ripped the page off and wrote in her best handwriting on the next page before thrusting it into Gray's hands.
He read the single word that she'd put on the paper, and then, puzzled by its meaning, said it aloud, "Juvia?"
The Rain Woman blushed furiously, unable to contain herself. Impulsively, she reached her arm out, grabbed Gray by his neck and pulled him closer. "Rain Woman's name is Juvia," she breathed into his ear.
The breath left Gray's body. "I thought you couldn't speak."
"Juvia can speak, she just chooses not to unless she really likes that person. Juvia speaks to Cana, but only because she knows Cana won't tell anyone else that Juvia can. Now, Juvia wants to talk to Gray," she said softly.
"Juvia, you're so beautiful, you know. You're name and voice too," he said with a laugh.
Juvia smiled, and Gray slid his hands through the bars to hold her face. Feeling brave, Juvia pulled him up so that his face was right there in her window and, abandoning all caution, she kissed him.
Gray couldn't believe how lucky he was. She'd opened up enough to not only share her name but speak as well. And now their relationship was moving forward. When Juvia stopped the kiss, he gave her another quick one. "You're really an amazing person, Juvia."
A/N: Hurray for progress!
If you don't keep up with the manga, you wouldn't know who Bacchus is and won't for quite a while. If you want some background of his character read on, if minor MINOR spoilers are too much for you, then don't. He's a member of the guild Quatro Cerebus and beats Cana in a drinking contest. After winning, he takes her bikini top as a trophy. Macao punches him, and Bacchus is lucky Gildarts wasn't around.