Notes: I can't believe I haven't written anything for Lluvia yet. How on earth has this happened?

The Need For Sound

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Lucy asked for a moment. Lluvia sat a little straighter.

"Oh, yes. Absolutely. No weaknesses here." She took a long, loud slurp, flashy straw pinched between her teeth.

Lucy nodded weakly. "You know I'm not trying to steal your would-be-boyfriend, don't you?"

"That's nice of you," Lluvia patted Lucy's hand and upped her suspicions another fourteen percent.

She touched his elbow so he'd know she was there. He gave a little jump, mouth just opened, and she thought she might like to kiss him. He gave her half of a puzzled smile, more on reflex she knew, but it was still enough to make her dizzy from the heat on her face.

"—So it's not a matter of force, you know, we need to get in under the walls somehow, so the whole town doesn't get blown up. They're wood, so Natsu should be able to burn through—"

Erza nodded from across the table, her chin set outwards, one eye scrunched in thought. "I can distract them while he's burning through and meet up with you two later."

After a moment when it became clear that she had no place in their conversation she tucked her legs under the table and slid onto the bench beside him. Erza tilted her chin a little but didn't break off from what she was saying, voice pitched low and intense. Her ribs all clenched together when he glanced at her, and then slid his half-drunk tankard towards her, then saying something to Erza. She didn't catch it. She was too busy staring at the wet smear on the rim.

Carefully, she turned it around so the smear faced her, and raised the glass for a drink.

Lluvia leaned far out over the rail, half-listening what Kana said to her. They'd come to the dance together as friends, mind, and now Kana had found someone she'd rather spend some time with, and was making her awkward excuses. Lluvia didn't blame her—she was a good friend, and she'd ditch her date if Lluvia asked her too. But of course she'd never ask.

"Have fun," Lluvia smiled, and waved when Kana visibly relaxed and waved back, hurrying back to her new date. She had such lovely, dark hair. Lluvia watched as the two of them met somewhere in the middle, coming together and walking so their arms just touched. She felt the imaginary pressure of a nose pressed up against a window, and turned away guiltily, caught somewhere between the soft darkness outside and the loud, laughing light from the party inside.

And then she realized that if she leaned out a little further, she could see Gray. She did so, toes and knees hammered into the railing's opening for balance, arms braced on open air. He was sort of leaning on the door below, face turned to the side and talking to someone she couldn't see. He hadn't combed his hair. She thought he looked sort of dashing in a suit, and clapped her hands back over her mouth to hold in a giggle. She nearly fell over a result, but caught onto the railing with a squeal.

She saw one of his shoulder's twitch with the sound, and clamped onto the railing harder, leaning towards him. "Come on," she whispered, "Come on, look up. Look up if you like me. Look up—"

"Lluvia?" he had his chin up and eyes squinting and oh, oh she could just faint. This was better than all the daisy's she'd pulled apart for good omens, all the wishbones she'd snapped for a long end. "What're you doing? Are you gonna fall?"

"Just looking at you," she said honestly, and then added, "And I already did."

She watched his face closely. He shuffled a little, and ducked behind his bangs. "Oh. Okay, then. Be careful."

He made to go back inside, but she called, "Would you catch me?"

"Why don't you just use the stairs—Oh, jeez," he abruptly turned and trotted back over as she swung up one leg, straddling the railing. She hadn't spent so many hours making herself pretty for nothing. He looked up at her anxiously, palms pressed against his hips like he was trying to rub off the sweat. "Don't—I mean, okay, yes, I'll try, but it'll still probably break our necks and—and are you drunk?"

"A little," she admitted, and leapt off. It was only a very short fall, perhaps fifteen feet or so, but she wasn't wearing very good shoes for landing, so it—it was a good thing he caught her. Kind of.

"I knew it," she absolutely beamed at him, "I knew you'd catch me."

"I think you broke some of my ribs," he said weakly, so adorably annoyed and grumpy and she just couldn't stand it, so she just sort of leaned down really quickly, before she lost her nerve and—and sort of chickened out so it was just the corner, really, but she thought for a moment there, he might have kissed her back.

And wasn't that just lovely?