Standing in the Rain
Chapter 2- You Took the Rain Away
Gray was wandering around Magnolia not exactly sure where he was going. He had left the guild in a hurry to find Juvia after his worry had finally outweighed his pride. He wasn't going to check on her because he returned her feelings or anything, he reasoned, she was only his nakama, he would do this for any friend. As he walked the streets aimlessly with no clue of where to look for her after checking her room at Fairy Hills he was getting soaked to the bone by water pellets that were relentlessly pouring out of the sky.
Great, he complained to himself, I'm out here in the rain and she's probably fine. He knew though that she wasn't fine. He couldn't tell how he knew, he just felt it. He had already walked through much of the town, so he decided to check the open area by the pond just on the outskirts. As he approached, the rain suddenly slowed from its torrent to a light drizzle. It was warmer too, and almost… salty? As he was in the middle of deciding what it meant, he finally arrived at the park and as he felt the last drop of rain hit his face he saw her. She was sitting on the park bench staring out at the little pond in front of her that had filled up due to the storm.
What the hell? He thought. Was she causing this storm? What is she doing out here?
He walked up behind her and the noise of his feet crunching on fallen leaves caused her to whip her head around in his direction. He noticed her wipe her eyes quickly and then she looked him straight in the face.
"Gray-sama?" she questioned, sounding slightly surprised.
"Hey Juvia, I just umm noticed you weren't at the g-g-guild this morning so I came to see if you were o-okay, you know, because you're my friend". He added that last part quickly so she wouldn't get the wrong idea. Everyone knew that she had a wild imagination, especially when it came to him, and he didn't want her to start planning the wedding. So much for trying to play it cool, he thought.
"Oh, Gray-sama is always so considerate towards his nakama. He really is a kind person."
"Huh?..oh umm thanks?" He wasn't sure what to make of the fact that she hadn't swooned when he said he was worried about her.
"Juvia-"
"No need to say anything Gray-sama, Juvia knows what it is you want to say"
She did? He was just going to ask what was troubling her, it was obvious to him that she was sad for some reason.
"Yes, and Juvia has decided to stop pestering Gray-sam- Gray-san with her declarations of love. She knows that she may be annoying to Gray-san and she has embarrassed him many times and Juvia does not wish for Gray-san to see Juvia as a freak."
Gray was staring out her in shock. She knows that her random public declarations are embarrassing and annoying and she is going to stop being all over me? He feels he should be happy about this but cannot seem to understand the pain in his heart at the idea of not having Juvia around him all the time. Not to mention he may think that she is a little weird but he never thought that she herself was annoying or that she was a freak and he wanted to let her know that and ask why she even thought that in the first place.
"Juvia, I don't think you are a freak" he started "and I don't think of you as an annoy-"
"It's ok Gray-san, you don't have to pretend for Juvia's sake. Don't make this harder for Juvia by lying to her to make her feel better" she said sadly as she stood up from the bench and walked in front of him, effectively cutting him off and shutting him up.
"But" he looks up at her "Juvia will always love Gray-sama, because he took away her rain and showed her the beauty of the sun for the very first time" she said softly, then she turned and walked away.
Gray, who was too stunned to even understand what had just happened, just stared after her.