Another beautiful day in Magnolia town, the shining sun, the clear blue sky, and a not-so-peaceful guild, Fairy Tail. After having to rebuild their building again and the return of all the previous members, Fairy Tail is officially reborn. With the preparation for the potential war against Alvarez Empire, members of Fairy Tail have taken plenty of quests as a form of training.
Within one year of disbanding, they had become stronger but with their current strength, it's still impossible to say that victory is a guaranteed thing. While listening to their master Makarov summarizing the power of Alvarez Empire, members of the guild realize that they have to become stronger, much stronger if they want to win this war.
As Gajeel is scanning the request board while his comrades are fighting for silly things, the dragon slayer stumbles upon a piece of paper hidden behind a mountain of paper that have been pinned on the board and smirk. This request is sure to provide a huge amount of jewels and he knows exactly who he should bring with him. Not the shrimp of course, though he can't deny that he wants her to be with him.
Turning around and scanning through the room, he spots the mage and his so-called 'best friend', Juvia Lockser, the girl with beautiful blue wavy hair who is obviously flirting with a certain ice mage.
"Oi, Rain Women!" he calls and marches towards the couple "Want to go with me on a quest?"
"Gajeel-kun is asking Juvia?" she looks at him, blue orbs glinting with curiosity "How rare, it's been forever since you asked Juvia to come with you. Normally would be the Shadow Gear and Levy-san…"
"Do you want to go or not?"
Juvia smiles with the expression of 'Juvia knows it' and takes the paper out of his hand, her eyes open widely as she reads the quest's summary. They need a water mage for the mission and further instruction will be provided when they reach the destination, the city of Triton.
"Oh…" she pauses which causes the ice mage beside her to be curious as well "Oh…"
Gray Fullbuster, surprisingly not naked yet, looks at her. It's the first time he sees such an odd expression from her, but then again, isn't she always odd? What surprises him, even more, is that she begins to smile and accepts the job, Gray notices how happy the blue mage is and how Gajeel smirks like he has done something amazing, he knows that these two are best friends but the fact that even he can't bring that kind of smile to Juvia is irritating.
"What job are you guys doing?"
Without waiting for her answer, Gray takes the paper and gives it a quick look, which doesn't seem like a special job to him…Juvia tries her best to retrieve the paper, pleading Gray with her sweet sweet voice to "please give it back to Juvia" as she tiptoed to get it back.
"What's so special about this job?"
"Gihi, and you said you'd lived with her, Popsicle." Gajeel smirks "Are you sure that you know everything about the Rain Woman?"
"What is that even mean?"
"Ask her yourself. I'll meet you at the station tomorrow at 8."
Okay, this is very irritating…
Juvia seems to ignore him completely and waves at her partner as he leaves the guild with Pantherlily, since when did these two become this 'close'? The water mage soon turns to him with her warm smile and pursues to make him uncomfortable again as she hugs him tightly and claims to the whole world how 'in love' she is with him. Gray doesn't mind as the embarrassing actions of Juvia start to grow on him.
Her sweet smile, beautiful blue orbs shine with love and devotion, smooth skin as white as the snow, soft body, and a lovely scent of lavender are the things that he wants to see every day. Juvia Lockser is indeed a beautiful woman with a heart of gold.
Yes, he understands that her beauty is nothing compared to Erza, Lucy, or Mira but there is something about the water mage that he can't seem to ignore. With the amount of time he lives under the same roof with her, excluding the fact that he left for Avatar and broke her heart, Juvia has grown on him even more and it's hard to believe that she would go anywhere without him by her side.
"Juvia, do you have something to say about this?"
"Gray-sama, are you jealous?" she starts to walk into her La la Land again "Juvia is so happy! Her darling is jealous that she goes with Gajeel-kun on a job!"
"Stop imagining things, Juvia!" Gray blushes and yells out which causes his guildmates snickering behind their back.
"Sorry…" she lowers her head, the love of her life is scolding her like a kid, how embarrassed "Is there something that Juvia can help you with this quest?"
"This is not a special quest, right? It's true that they need a water mage but you and Gajeel seem to be very happy about this. Care to explain?"
"Oh, it's because Juvia is having a chance to visit her hometown." Juvia points at the name of the city "The city of Triton is where Juvia was born and…"
Juvia is having trouble finding the right words and Gray tilts his head to the side, questioning her behavior before a lightbulb flashes on his head. Juvia used to say that he was the one who took the rain away, then returning to her hometown must bring back the dark past of the rain that she hates.
Interesting…
"Is it because of the rain?"
"Oh, Juvia guesses you are right…" lowering her head, Juvia nods as she pokes her index finger together "It's something that she never wants to experience again."
"Hm…"
Juvia has a complex relationship with the rain. She hates it as the rain brings back her dark memories of loneliness and despair, but also loves it as it is the only time she can snuggle against her beloved as he showers her with some rare affection.
"If you want, I can come with you." Gray said without even realize "You hate the rain right? Maybe if I'm with you, the rain would stop and you would be happy with the mission."
Oh, what a fool he is…
Juvia looks at him, a bright blush spreads across her cheeks as she tries to process his sentence. Cana and Mirajane who are at the bar giggle at the confession. Erza smiles to herself, knowing that Gray has finally come to terms with his feelings for the bluenette. Lucy smacks Natsu's head as he tries to ruin the moment with his denseness. Wendy lowers her head, mumbling a string of unknown sentences as Carla tries to help the poor kid to cool her head. Happy flies around with his signature tone 'You liiiiike her'.
Gray, in the moment of his declaration, realizes how his wording may cause misunderstandings, especially with Juvia and her weird imagination. But instead of being escorted into her La la Land, the bluenette gives him her heartwarming smile, eyes tearing up, and nods her head. It is one of the few times that she reacts normally to his so-called 'confession'. He wants to respond with his usual calmness that "it's not how they think it is" but seeing the expression on her face makes all of his reasons fade away, oh well…
Gajeel can feel his vein pop up as he sees his friend and a not-welcoming face, Gray Fullbuster the stripper.
"What is HE doing here?"
"Gray-sama will go with Juvia." she exclaimed happily "You don't mind right, Gajeel-kun?"
"I'm not talking about him, Sprinkler. I'm talking about Salamander and his team."
"What do you me-?! Oh, you guys are all here?"
Natsu and his teammates smile as they wave their hands at them. Juvia, although quite happy, seeing her 'love rival' here while she's doing a job with her beloved really pushes her buttons. A dark aura circles around her as she glares at the Celestial mage, upset that she may join the quest and ruin her moment with Gray.
"Ahaha…don't look at me like that Juvia…" Lucy sweatdrops "I'm just here to escort Natsu and Happy, they said that they want to go with you guys."
"Juvia doesn't mind if Lucy-san decides to GO with her." said Juvia with her cold tone "It would be FUN…"
"Ahaha, I have another quest to do with Levy so I'll pass. Thanks for inviting me." she laughs and runs back to the guild immediately.
Wendy and Erza sweatdrop as they feel the rising tension. Of course, they know better than to join in the quest, Juvia may not be saying anything but she's clearly upset with their appearance, especially Lucy and Erza.
The red hair knight can understand why, it was her fault that Juvia fell into the depth of agony and almost ruined the relationship of her guildmate. It was her fault for asking Gray to join in the mission while having him keep it a secret from the water mage. Erza couldn't stand to see those blue orbs looking at her and Gray as if they were her worst nightmare when Juvia found out the reason why her beloved left her and she has never looked at the knight the same way again.
Gray had tried to clear the air, apologizing every day and begging the bluenette to open her heart again. He believed in her big heart and kindness, that Juvia would never cut all ties with them and it was true. The bluenette eventually opened up to them, joining them in a few quests, expressing her unconditional love for him. Despite all of that, to this day, she still has that 'weird' stare at him whenever he is alone with Erza, as if she is afraid of losing him again.
Erza has stated that she would never forgive herself and the water mage has the right to hate her but oh sweet Juvia and her heart of gold forgive Erza and Gray for putting her in the mess that they had made.
"Juvia…"
"Yes, Erza-san?"
"…it's nothing…" Erza smiles at her "Take care, I'll see you after the quest."
With that, she takes Wendy back to the guild. Gajeel looks at them, a sympathy feeling rose in his heart as he heard the water mage bid them a sincere goodbye. Just like them, he wasn't there when Juvia was at her lowest, only to learn the story on that special night when his bubbly friend decided to crash at his place and cried her heart out.
Oh how he wanted to kill this ice prick for bringing such tears to the bluenette, going as far as stopping Gray from having a chance to talk to her. The ice mage had to pay the consequences of his own actions, as well as the Titania. But Juvia forgave them, well, at least TRIED to forgive them. She opened up after weeks of apologies and pleading, not only from her lovely Gray-sama but also from Erza. With her kindness, of course, she would forgive them, how could she not? It's bad enough that she couldn't look at the stripper and Titania, she didn't want their friendship to end in such a negative way, because Juvia was the kind woman who loved her friends and comrades.
"Can we go now?"
"Gajeel-kun, you haven't forgotten your puke bag, have you?"
"I have enough to survive, not sure about Salamander though."
Juvia giggles as she looks at the fire dragon slayer whose face is as pale as a ghost. What a nightmare, having to take 2 dragon slayers on the quest with her.
As she expects, the moment the train leaves the town, they both throw up like crazy. Juvia sweatdrops as she hands Natsu another puke bag that she has prepared for her friend while Pantherlily and Happy just smile in sympathy. Gray is sitting next to her at the window seat, admiring the scenery outside while munching on a donut that she had bought while on her way to the station.
She did offer her Juvi and Gray bread but he declined, feeling. They're good, very good. Juvia and her cooking/baking skill have increased ever since they start living under the same roof and she was the one who does most of the housework as Gray and his lazy ass found the work too troublesome. But the thought of eating the bread is just too much to handle.
Juvia, with her dramatic behavior, cries a little bit about how Gray doesn't like the treats that she has made but is interrupted by another sound of puking coming from Natsu. Gajeel seems to be in a better place than Natsu, with Juvia's help of course. The trip to Triton City is going to be quite a long ride, 6 hours and she still has plenty of time. She reads a book, sews another Gray doll, and takes care of the dragon slayers until she feels her eyelids become heavy.
As time goes by, Gray feels a weight on his shoulder and turns his head to find the soft blue hair sleeping soundly. Part of him wants to push her away, or at least adjust her head so nobody would get the wrong idea yet he can't do it. Besides, there're only Natsu, Gajeel, and Happy who are also taking a nap, Lily who is cleaning his blade and him being awake all this time.
"She's sure a fine lady, isn't she?" said Lily who hasn't stopped cleaning his blade.
"What?"
"Juvia." the black cat points at her "Is a fine lady, right? I remember how Gajeel used to comfort her during the time when we were rebuilding the guild. She kept on apologizing to this guy for ruining his sleep and that she didn't deserve such a friend like him."
"Why…?"
"Apparently, a stupid boy had broken her heart and left her alone without saying any words." Lily notices how tense Gray has become and smirks "Didn't know you were such a jerk to her."
"I… I have my reasons…"
"Whatever those reasons are, you can't deny that YOU were the one who brought back the rain, right?"
Upon hearing this, Gray stays silent. What Lily said is no longer a simple comment, it's a fact.
"And even if you had apologized to her, you still toying with her feelings by not giving her any straight answer." Lily adds "Remember one thing Gray, Juvia is a woman. She is a woman full of love, compassion, and devotion to her guild and her man. She needs a straight answer from a man, not a boy who keeps playing with her heart."
"I…" he frowns "I ca-can't give her that. Not yet. Not now. It's…it's not the right time to do so."
"I see…" the black cat sighs "Then WHEN is the right time?"
"I… I don't know…" Gray stated in his defeated tone.
Looking at Juvia who is peacefully sleeping by his side, Gray sighs, how can a beautiful girl like her can fall in love with a demon like him? Gray has nothing to offer except for his dark past, his cold behavior, and his wounded heart yet this girl accepts everything. They say Juvia Lockser is nothing but a gloomy woman, the one who brings the rain everywhere she goes but to him, she's the selfless lady, a beautiful woman, and an angel that has come to heal all his wounds. He is forever grateful but…
How can Gray be the man that she can rely on when he can't believe that he deserves such happiness?