Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Ice Plus Rain Equals?

Chapter Two: Behind Everything Else

Crap, crap, crap, oh, and did Gray forget to mention? Crap.

So he was right after all. It was not some sort of trick in the light, nor was it his imagination. 'Innocent', pretty-faced (demonic) Mirajane had some sort of dark twinkle in her ocean blue eyes when Gray asked Juvia to go with him in the mission.

But what was she smiling about? Gray pondered that question from time to time in his house, once again not aware that he was stripping and putting his clothes back on repeatedly as he walked to and fro, back and forth. It was somewhat comforting. Practically because Gray had been doing this since his childhood days. But Gray didn't want to feel nostalgia wash over him for even a moment.

Mirajane had a secret to keep. And whatever it was, he absolutely knew that he was part of it. But about what? Stealing? Punching? He couldn't bring himself to concentrate. But the most hideous part of his thoughts could decipher was that this was payback. Did Gray do something to upset her? Oh shit. He was in for it now. Whether he had an option to challenge a thousand of dark guilds fully clothed with only his fists or face the scariest, no doubt devastating side to Mirajane, he would pick battling it out with a dark guild for the rest of his life. Even if it meant that he had to wear clothes all the time. That was how much he feared Mirajane.

What do you think you're doing, moron? Mira can't hurt you if you're traveling to Seven. Concentrate on the mission, damn it!

His inner side was probably right. What good did it offer if the Ice Mage was too busy worrying about one of the Strauss siblings? For now, he should think about the mission. Not to mention his partner.

Hmmmm...

Gray never went on a mission with her before, and they were alone. Just the two of them. No Erza to keep him from fighting with the matchstick. No Lucy to get Juvia to sprout with jealousy (and he was quite thankful for that), no Happy to lighten up the mood, and no flame-eating moron to annoy him to the ends of the planet. Good, sort of. When he actually went with any of them, everything was just either too loud or too unbelievable. This mission with Juvia might be as peaceful as his one-stand missions. Wait, no. This was Juvia Loxar he was talking about. The same Juvia who he found freakish. Heck, this mission would be far from quiet.

The poor wizard. He didn't know what kind of chaos that would be waiting ahead for him already when he was going to face tomorrow.

Juvia squirmed underneath her covers. Gray-sa-, no, Gray asked Juvia to go with him to Seven. All alone. With just the two of them. The alarm clock she had was set a seven o'clock, but it displayed that it was just a quarter past midnight. Even then! She had been to the riverbank, nearly replaced the fresh water with her salty tears, and she had changed her hairstyle back to when it was spiky-ish and layered. And she didn't even stop her childish giggles the whole walk to her room.

A whirl of her fantasies had not been put to a stop since. She imagined all the possibilities in the mission: Breathe the same air as Gray-sama, eat with Gray-sama, be together with Gray-sama in complete isolation from interferences. Possibly... even have any romance slide in.

Juvia's cheeks had risen to the highest possible hue of red as she thought about it. And she still couldn't forget his words.

"Just call me Gray. No need for honorifics all right? You are my true love."

Okay, so maybe she altered the last sentence just a teeny weeny bit. But she still couldn't get used to the fact that her beloved had wanted her to call him by his first name. They're in that stage already?

Juvia did not care if it was just a short while. For Juvia, a short night with the man she truly loved from the bottom of her heart was more memorable then spending an endless night with someone else.

That was how strong her love for Gray was.

She closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep, not knowing about the laughable disaster that awaited their journey.

Wendy looked at Mirajane with a mix of shock and amazement, as well as relief.

"You took out the other possible one-person mission on purpose and left two remaining options for him?" she questioned incredulously.

Mirajane continued to smile as she put the Sky Dragonslayer's drink softly on the wooden table. "Yup."

"Just so Gray would choose Juvia?" Charle inquired.

"Yup." She replied as she placed a bottle of milk on the table.

"Mira-san, I never knew you were so interested in the two of them," Wendy admitted, twirling her indigo tresses as she faintly blushed.

"Those two had caught my interest for a while. Everyone knows about Juvia's strong feelings for Gray, excluding Natsu, of course." Mirajane replied airily.

The blue-haired girl felt a bead of sweat roll down her temples at the mention of Natsu's obliviousness. "But you also can't forget that Gray doesn't notice it, too." she pointed out.

Mirajane nodded. "Yeah, you're right." her eyes blinked. "But maybe, just maybe, let's say Gray unconsciously knew it for a long period, but just like his obsessive habit off his to take his clothes off, he doesn't realize it himself unless someone points it out for him."

Wendy nodded slowly, seeing her point. "Yeah, I guess you're right to think that, if you put it that way. But... if he starts to realize it, Mira-san, is there some sort of possibility he has feelings for her in return? What I mean to say is, Gray doesn't seem to show interest in that stuff," she babbled, hoping she hadn't said too much.

However, the S-class wizard smiled at her sweetly. "Maybe. Maybe not. But if I didn't do this, then there would be no way of knowing the open possibilities in their relationship."

Charle scoffed. "But if he doesn't, wouldn't it just hurt Juvia instead?"

Mirajane was silent for a while. "It may be like that. Like I said, I don't know, because a lot can happen, but what Juvia feels about Gray is strong, and Gray seems to talk to her in a not -so-bashful-way as if they were an item, though he seems rather unacknowledged by this. Rather bold if he admitted that he likes her, putting it in a way that he does have feelings for her, but Gray isn't the sort to actually say those things. His actions toward her are rather friendly, like friend romance that will bloom. But if it was just him trying to be good, unaware of her feelings, then maybe it's not meant to be." Her eyes brightened. "But what they have is... special. I can feel it when I see them together."

The female Exceed firmly put her front paws on Wendy's ears. "You're too young to know about this."

"No, I'm not!" Wendy argued, struggling.

"Things like that happen later in life, Wendy. Don't waste your youth indulged in things like that," Charle advised.

Wendy grabbed one of Charle's paws.

"But don't tell me you've set the mission up!" Charle continued, giving up on Wendy's insistence.

Mirajane shook her head. "No," then she grinned. "but I'm making sure some things are going to happen," she turned her head and made her way to leave.

Wendy and Charle stared after her.

"Where are you going?"

Mirajane replied without looking back. "I'm going to send a message to a friend of mine in Seven."

"Where is she?" Gray said to himself aloud. "She's late, and if we don't get on the train soon..." Gray didn't want to think of that.

The train station was bustling with a fair amount of people, all chattering at the same time. It was too loud for Gray to hear anything. The trains that were set to leave had left distant, yet echoing sounds of the engine running that lead to the people's destinations.

He clutched the scroll for his mission. If Juvia really was late, he'd have no choice but to board the train without her. Then again, he did recall the last time she was angry, and no thanks, but he didn't want that kind of ruthlessness displayed towards him.

A sense suddenly knocked him in his mind. Something was coming. Something really fast. And it was directing it's route straight at him.

Given that he was never really wrong with these kinds of things, he simply sidestepped, and coincidentally, a mini-whirlwind found a spot right where he was staying.

"Juvia is sorry that she is late! She had to make some preparations," the blunette bowed her head in apology.

"N-no, that's fine, Juvia. It's only just ten minutes until the train boards the passengers. You're ten minutes on time," he flashed a small grin at her.

Juvia felt herself go numb in every part of her body. Her deathly pale complexion began to glow red. "Y-you're too kind, Gray-sa, no, Gray," she mumbled.

Gray noticed Juvia's hair had changed back to when she first joined Fairy Tail. "Nice hair," he blurted out absentmindedly.

She began to entwine both of her hands together. "J-juvia does not know what to say," she stuttered and placed one hand on her cheek.

Gray looked at her perplexedly. "Huh?" noticing the clock on the stone wall, he grabbed her wrist, "Five more minutes to board, damn! Let's hurry!"

And just like that, her fantasies played in her head as her knight in shining armor pulled her away.

"We... made it," Gray panted as he collapsed on one of the chairs.

Juvia, who popped out from one of her dreams concerning the two of them, took the opposite place in the compartment.

"Is Gray-sama all right?"

Gray shook the small dots dancing around his vision. "I thought I told you not to call me that," he muttered, once again, not taking notice that he removed his polo.

"Juvia would like to keep calling him that, just calling Gray-sama with just his first name is a little bit daunting for her," Juvia said, dreamily staring at the shirtless Water Mage.

"Whatever floats your boat," he said nonchalantly.

"Gray-sama, your shirt," Juvia informed him.

"Crap!"

As he buttoned his polo, Juvia had a pleasing thought in her head. Juvia is with Gray-sama on the train. She does not need to follow him like a stalker. They are partners in this two-person mission.

However, as much as she enjoyed that thought, she couldn't help but feel curious about the mission itself. The train's engine began to run, steam blowing off the vehicle, and the sound of the wheels against the metallic railroad as the scene shifted swiftly all at once.

"Gray-sama, do you know what kind of heirloom they have lost?" she asked once said latter was done buttoning his shirt.

"No, but if they're giving us four hundred thousand jewels for this, then I think that it's some sort of jewelry, like a ring," Gray replied.

Ring.

Ring.

Engagement ring.

It was a laughable disaster all right.

Juvia's imagination had whirled and turned into the highest form of romance.

"Juvia, my love," Gray-sama will say and takes her hand.

"Yes, Gray-sama?"

"Let us get married," he should announce as if he was telling her the weather forecast.

"Yes, Gray-sama!"

The real Juvia, had full steam blowing from her nose and ears, completely scarlet in the face. "M-marriage?"

Since she was so focused on her own little world, she did not notice Gray raise one eyebrow up in confusion.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

The Water Mage squirmed. "No! Juvia thinks that things should be taken more slowly, just how she prefers it! Even though you go too far that it seems so endearing to Juvia!" she slapped a hand on Gray, and ironically, the guy who was able to take Natsu's fists slammed into the seat, painfully. And that was a first, considering how the seat was made of cotton!

Melodramatic? Check.

Unrealistic? Unrealistic enough that he got slammed into a seat made out of cotton and covered with leather and it actually hurt and sent vibrations throughout his entire body? Double check.

Action? Apparently, he was the one to be picked on, and not the other way around.

While Juvia was contented into giving in to a fit of giggles, Gray let out an earsplitting scream. Damn it. If anything happened to him on this mission that was completely uncalled for, he had someone to be held accountable for it.

"MIRAJANE!"

Snowdrop: And the second chapter is up!

Gray: You're so slow. The second chapter was supposed to be updated the day before.

Snowdrop: *demon eyes* I was awake until eleven. Do not challenge me.

Juvia: Juvia does not wish for Gray-sama to be hurt.

Gray: What nonsense are you talking about?

Snowdrop: I got Mirajane to steal your clothes when you took them off.

Gray: O_o

Snowdrop: *cackles evilly*

Mirajane: Please review if you want me to give Gray back his clothes. ^ ^

Gray: *shivers at Mirajane* S-someone, help me...

Snowdrop: Anyways, Juvia?

Juvia: Before this shall end, please listen carefully. TheSilverWisp's (AKA Snowdrop) friend, Inksewn, is holding a Four Seasons Literature contest. Please take a look at her profile for more information and private message her if you wish to join. Snowdrop will also judge the winter category.