A Change In Timing
Chapter 2
by Contrail
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and is being used without permission. No profit is being made from this story.
Gray's letters to Juvia usually talked about mischief he and Cana had gotten into, or interesting things he'd seen or done while doing jobs, while Juvia's usually were about magic she was studying or things she was learning from her housekeeper. Gray would occasionally forget to reply to Juvia's letters, but she would keep sending them regardless, and he'd always feel guilty when he realized he'd been ignoring her. She went to a school that taught normal subjects in addition to studying magic at home, and while she tried not to dwell on it in her letters it was clear that none of the other kids at her school liked her. So really, he was the only friend she had, he'd be a jerk if he just stopped responding to her. Besides, telling her about what he was up to was kinda fun.
Months passed with them exchanging letters like this. In time, Juvia's letters began expressing increasing frustration with the fact that, while she was doing well in her efforts to master the use of water magic, she was no closer to finding a way to get rid of the ever present rain that followed her. Obviously, Gray didn't know enough about different types of magic to be able to help her, but it eventually occurred to him that he knew someone who did. Gramps knew a lot about magic - he knew how Iced Shell worked even though he didn't use ice magic, for example - and while running the guild usually kept him pretty busy, he always did his best to make time to listen to the kids' questions and concerns.
After Gray explained Juvia's problem to Gramps, the old man frowned, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Magic that deliberately changes the weather is not uncommon, but to have such effects unintentionally… Some sort of curse, perhaps, or maybe a family trait… I'm afraid it would take much more time than I have to spare to find an answer for this friend of yours."
Feeling a bit disappointed, Gray nodded to indicate he understood. "Thanks anyways, Gramps."
"Please tell them not to give up, and that I hope they will find a way to stop the rain from falling."
"Will do."
When Gray sent Juvia a letter telling her about his talk with Gramps, he was a bit surprised by the response he got back.
Dear Gray-sama,
It was very sweet of you to ask your guild's Master about Juvia's rain. But really, you didn't need to try to do anything about it - it's Juvia's problem to deal with, after all. If it's a rare problem like you say, though, then that helps explain why Juvia hasn't found any information about it yet. She'll just have to keep searching for answers, and maybe someday Juvia'll get to see a blue sky.
With love,
Juvia Lockser
He shook his head, and wrote back a quick reply that duh, they were friends, of course he'd try to help her if he could.
More time passed, and gradually more children joined Fairy Tail, starting with Erza, and then Natsu a year later. Stories of the antics he got into with them found their way into his letters to Juvia. She eventually admitted that she was kind of jealous, and wished she had friends she could have fun with like he did. Honestly, he didn't think some of the stuff he described qualified as fun (like when Erza forced him and Natsu to take baths with her), but he tried to reassure her that she'd be able to make friends of her own once she joined her uncle's guild.
One day, Gray was reading one of Juvia's letters in the guild's main hall, not paying much attention to his surroundings. That's why he didn't notice Natsu standing next to him and looking over his shoulder until Natsu asked, "Whatcha reading?" and snatched the letter out of his hand to take a look at.
Jumping up from where he'd been sitting, Gray reached out to grab the letter back. "Hey! That's mine!"
Natsu managed to keep the letter away from Gray long enough to scan the beginning and end of it. "Oooh, it's from a girl! Does 'Gray-sama' have a girlfriend?!"
"Give it back! Juvia's just a friend!" An embarrassed Gray yelled as he tackled Natsu to the floor and they started wrestling with each other for control of the letter. They struggled with each other, shouting insults back and forth, for a few minutes before they each felt a strong hand grip their collar and pull them apart.
Looking up with great trepidation, they found what they expected (but dreaded) - a scowling Erza holding them apart from each other. "Are you two fighting?" she growled at them.
Natsu quickly shook his head no but Gray looked down and grumbled, "He took a letter a friend sent me."
Erza sighed. "How many times must I tell you not to just take things from other people, Natsu? Give Gray his letter back."
Natsu pouted as he begrudgingly held out the letter to Gray. "I wasn't going to keep it! I just wanted to see what it was…"
Gray accept it, frowning when he noticed how wrinkled the letter had gotten during their fight. At least the flame brained idiot hadn't set it on fire. Letting go of their collars, Erza continued lecturing Natsu on proper behavior. Standing where Erza couldn't see him, Gray made a face at Natsu before leaving the guild hall. He was definitely going to avoid reading Juvia's letters there in the future.
Juvia and Gray sometimes talked about meeting up in person again, but that was something easier said than done. Gray didn't really have the money to travel for fun - most of what he made from jobs went to keeping him clothed (damn stripping habit) or towards travel expenses for his jobs. While Juvia would've had to ask her uncle to pay for any trips she went on, and she was pretty reluctant to ask him to do that so she could meet someone her uncle had never met and knew little about.
It wasn't until Juvia's twelfth birthday that they saw each other face to face again. Gray had managed to scrape enough jewel together for a train ticket to Juvia's hometown and a present. A narrow river with banks lined with willow trees ran through the middle of the small town. Juvia's house was located on the outskirts of the town, a decent sized two-story home that looked well-kept. A light drizzle was falling over the area around it, so Gray was carrying an umbrella with him.
Knocking on the door, it was soon answered by a middle-aged woman with a pleasant smile. "Please come in. The young miss is waiting for you in the living room." The housekeeper started leading him in that direction but they hadn't gone far when they caught sight of Juvia racing towards them.
"Gray-sama! You really came!" A wide smile stretched across her face.
"'Course I did. I said I was going to, didn't I?" Gray rubbed the back of his head, a little awkward in the face of such an enthusiastic reaction to his presence. Thrusting a small gift-wrapped package towards her, he continued, "Um, happy birthday. Here, I brought you a present."
"For Juvia?!" Somehow, her smile managed to get even wider at this. Carefully pealing the wrapping paper away, she opened the box to reveal a simple glass pendant in the shape of a teru teru bozu doll, hung on a silver chain. "Oh, it's pretty!"
Gray shrugged. "It wasn't expensive or nothing, I just got it because it reminded me of when we first met."
"Still, Juvia loves it! She'll treasure it forever!" He was spared having to come up with an answer for that declaration when Juvia finished putting the necklace on and grabbed one of his hands and started pulling him deeper into the house. "Agnes-san made Juvia's favorite dish for lunch today, she hopes you like it!"
He soon found himself sitting at the dining room table, an admitted delicious pasta dish set in front of him. Gray looked up from his food when Juvia asked, "Has Natsu-san gotten into any trouble since your last letter?"
Smirking, he replied, "Oh, man, has he ever!" Gray launched into the story, which left Juvia giggling and shaking her head. The initial awkwardness easing, they found it as easy to talk with each other as it was to write. They played a few card games together and watched a movie lacrima.
When they went outside afterwards so that Juvia could show him more of the property, it wasn't even drizzling anymore, and the cloud cover was thin enough that they could barely make out the outline of the sun through it. The late February air was chilly, but Juvia was dressed warmly and the cold rarely bothered Gray, so they didn't mind.
"Uncle thinks Juvia will be ready to join his guild in another year or so," she commented as they walked.
"Really? That's great! Y'know, I'd like to fight you some time," Gray responded.
"Eh? Fight Juvia?" She cocked her head to the side.
"Not seriously, I meant like a sparring match or something," Gray clarified. "It'd be fun to see which of us is stronger."
"Maybe someday," Juvia agreed with a small smile.
When it came time for Gray to leave, Juvia abruptly threw her arms around him as he stood in the doorway. "Thank you so much for coming! This was Juvia's best birthday ever."
Patting her head a little awkwardly as he let her hug him, he smiled down at her. "I had fun, too."
Releasing him, she looked up at him hopefully. "Maybe Gray-sama could come again next year."
"Maybe. Anyway, I really need to get going if I'm going to catch my train. Bye!"
"Goodbye!" With a last wave, Gray headed back towards the train station. It was a little sad that even having a single person there for her birthday was rare enough to make her so happy, but he was glad he'd been able to give her a reason to smile.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and/or favorited the previous chapter! :^)
