**Spoiler Alert: This story takes place after the Grand Magic Games arc. If you only watch the anime and have not read the manga, there are spoilers ahead.

Goodbye, Gloomy Me

The time after the Grand Magic games was hectic. Fairy Tail returned home to find their beloved guild rebuilt to its former glory. The townspeople often stood outside the guild to catch glimpses of the returned heroes and get autographs. It took several weeks for Fairy Tail to calm down and for everyone to start going on jobs again. For the first time in what felt like years, Fairy Tail was back in its usual swing of things.

One thing, Juvia noticed, was out of the ordinary. Erza seemed to be distracted, though she had no clue why. She assumed that this was the reason why Erza called her outside, to a porch behind the guild building, for a talk.

The blunette stood with one hand on the fence before her, her eyes wandering over the hilly landscape. The dormitory was atop the hill, surrounded by freshly planted flowers from the townspeople. The world was brightly colored and alive—the opposite of what it would have been if the dragons succeeded in that final assault.

Before she could get any deeper into her thoughts, Juvia noticed that a figure simply appeared beside her. She blinked hard and looked over to make sure that it wasn't her imagination fooling her. Surely enough, Erza had appeared while she was deep in thought. Why hadn't she spoken up sooner?

"Erza-san, what is it?" Juvia asked the scarlet-haired young woman. "Why did you wish to see Juvia?" Was something wrong?

Erza, blunt as ever, spoke her mind without giving any introductory sentence to the conversation. She jumped right into what she wanted to say. "One night at the Grand Magic Games, I took the liberty of speaking to Gray. I couldn't stand seeing your relationship go on the way that it was, so I intervened."

Juvia's heart sprung into her throat. Erza spoke to Gray for her sake!? But, wait a moment: It wasn't really Ezra's business to insert herself into Juvia and Gray's relationship. She didn't seem sorry for it at all though—Typical Erza. She often lacked social grace, but her heart was always in the right place. "What…did you say to Gray-sama?" she dared to ask.

"I told him to be honest with you about his feelings."

"Oh…" She frowned, looking down at the ground. Gray followed that advice. At the party, when she confessed her love like she always did, he blatantly said "no thanks" and walked away.

"What's wrong?"

Juvia told Erza of the events at the party.

"I see," she frowned. She lifted a hand to her chin, as if that position helped her think more clearly. "But Gray didn't say that he didn't like you. He just said he had to make himself clear from now on."

"Gray-sama made himself clear." Juvia lifted her hands, pushing her forefingers against one another as she hesitantly spoke. "Juvia shook it off at the time, but it actually hurt Juvia's feelings."

Erza smiled kindly, putting a hand on Juvia's shoulder. "You're over-reacting," she said gently. "Gray just doesn't like it when you're so affectionate and bubbly. His calm personality doesn't know how to cope with your excitement. Just tone it down a little bit and you'll see that Gray hasn't rejected you." Quite suddenly, Erza took her hand away from Juvia's shoulder. A new scent filled the air. "Butter-cream frosting…Cake." Erza turned around to leave, her eyes set solely on the door of the guild. Who would dare have cake without telling her?

"Juvia can't," she said quietly.

Erza stopped dead in her tracks. Cake…Juvia…Cake…Juvia… She bit the inside of her cheek, frozen with indecision. Juvia made the decision for her when she kept speaking.

"Juvia must be this happy, or the rain will come back."

"The rain?" Erza repeated. She didn't believe that she ever heard anything about this before, but Juvia spoke of it as if it was a curse. The compassion of Erza's heart forced her to set aside her extreme desire for cake as she turned around and looked at the girl who was formally known as the "Rain Woman."

"Juvia was always accompanied by rain, as long as she lived. All in Juvia's life complained about the unceasing rain and called it gloomy. Juvia wanted the rain to stop, but she could never control it. Juvia was the "Rain Woman.""

"So you were saddened by people calling the rain gloomy," Erza sympathized. "Because it went with you everywhere and you couldn't control it."

With her back still to Erza, she nodded. "The first time we met, Gray-sama said the rain was gloomy too. But until the day Juvia met Gray-sama, Juvia was always in the rain. The sorrow of Juvia's heart—the sorrow of only bringing sadness to others made it rain around Juvia all the time. Juvia didn't know that back then, but she knows it now. So Juvia fights off feelings of sorrow so that the rain may never fall on the people who are dear to her. But Gray-sama doesn't like me around even without the rain…" She looked up to the sky—the now overcast sky. "Juvia wonders…Will she always be cursed with the rain? To be cursed with not being able to indulge in her sad feelings even when they threaten to destroy her heart out of fear of the rain causing sadness to others?"

Erza was silent. What could she say? Juvia had such a hard fight before her. When she was sad, her emotions were physically manifested. When she was sad, the sky became gloomy and cried for her. Now that she thought about it, there was a time where the rain suddenly did start when she was near Juvia—The battle with Meredy. I never thought that rain was gloomy, though, she thought. It was an angry rain. I wonder…

She approached the sorrowful girl, simply standing by her side as she spoke up to the sky. "I never minded the rain," she informed Juvia. "And I think that you'll find that there are a lot of people who actually like it."

"That hasn't been Juvia's experience…"

"I think it's because of the feelings in the rain. Your sorrow—your fears. The rain can be gloomy when it's full of sorrow. But the rain can be so much more. I think that the rain is cleansing. It washes away sorrow and brings life to the world. That's why I enjoy the rain."

Juvia turned and looked at Erza in surprise. The thought that rain could actually be enjoyed never occurred to her… "Juvia has only ever created rain that carries sorrow," she said in disappointment. "How can Juvia bring about this happy rain? Juvia truly is happy in Fairy Tail, so why hasn't this happy rain come down?" Does Juvia only have the ability to show her sorrow?

"Has there ever been a moment of your time in Fairy Tail where you haven't feared the rain?" she asked then, only to receive an odd look from Juvia. "What I mean is—have you ever had complete happiness and peace with yourself?"

"Only once," she said quietly. "The first time that Juvia saw the sun. With Gray-sama."

"It's as I thought." Erza looked away from the overcast sky as thunder rumbled quietly. "The storm is gone from here, but it's still inside your heart. As long as your hearts in turmoil and in fear, I don't think that you'll be able to produce rain that can bring happiness."

"That's impossible then!" she cried in misery. "Juvia's heart is always in turmoil. She must always fear inflicting sorrow on others. If it is in Juvia's heart, she can contain it. If it rains and passes on to others, Juvia will fall into despair once more."

Quite suddenly, Erza reached over and grabbed Juvia's shoulder. She didn't just set a hand on her shoulder; Juvia wished that would have been the case. Instead, Erza pulled Juvia into her armor-covered breast in a suffocating hug. She winced in pain, trying to gather her breath. In the midst of that painful moment, Erza spoke her words of wisdom. "You don't have to fight alone. I believe in you. You're a kind person who wants to bring joy to those around you. Believe that the warmth inside you can overcome the fear."

Juvia couldn't breathe anymore, but it wasn't just because of Erza's suffocating hug anymore. The words that she said made her lose her breath. "Believe that the warmth inside can overcome the fear..." Juvia wants to believe, more than she wants anything.

With emotions swelling in her heart, Juvia finally released all pent up feelings. All the insecurities, fears, and worries poured out from her eyes in the form of tears. She choked out a sob as the sky too released its pent up water and rained down on the town of Magnolia. Oh great, here's the gloomy rain, she thought in despair. All of Magnolia will feel the sorrow. Juvia cannot bring happiness to others…

"The rain can be gloomy when it's full of sorrow. But the rain can be so much more," Erza had said. Juvia sniffled, recalling those words. Maybe she couldn't hold back her emotions and the rain that came with them. But this rain didn't have to be filled with gloom and sorrow—her heart didn't have to be filled with it. She could take comfort in the strength of her friends and believe in Erza's kind words.

The rain continued to come down, but Juvia's sobs began to subside. The fear was truly leaving her. Hope was beginning to swell in its place. The rain didn't have to be bad. It could be life-giving, cleansing.

"Do you feel it?" Erza said quietly to Juvia after some time. "The mood of the rain isn't sad anymore."

Juvia did feel it. She felt it swelling up inside every fiber of her being. "What would you call this rain, Erza-san?" she whispered. "Juvia doesn't have the word for it…"

"Emotions are always hard to put into words," Erza smiled softly. "But if I had to choose one for this rain, I would call it…healing."

"Healing?"

The Titania nodded. "I can feel your heart," she said. "This rain is bringing healing and cleansing. It's hopeful and calm. This is the type of storm that I love."

"A storm…" Juvia frowned. Storms often brought destruction wherever they went. As if reading her thoughts, Erza spoke.

"Some storms are good. They bring about change and revival. This is that type of storm."

Juvia didn't question Erza's logic. Even without her words, Juvia could feel in her heart that she was right. This was a good rain—a good storm. And the change would be brought about in her heart. "Thank you, Erza-san," she said in a small voice. She pulled back and Erza finally released her from the embrace. "You may go inside, if you wish to stay dry."

Erza smiled as she raised an eyebrow to Juvia. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "I told you—I like this rain. I'll stand in it a while longer."

So she did. Time passed and the rain kept falling. The drip-drip of the rain on the macadam, the grass, and the buildings was no longer a sound of dread. The rain was heavy enough that it produced puddles on the ground, yet soft enough that it didn't hurt to bounce off the tops of their heads. The two stood outside till they were drenched to the bone—Even Erza was wet underneath her armor. As Juvia reached a further calm, the rain pitter-pattered to a slow drizzle and then disappeared entirely.

Erza looked over at Juvia, gazing from behind her drenched scarlet hair. "Don't be afraid to share your emotions, whether they're good or bad. All of us have battles in our hearts. Those who care about you won't mind the sorrow. The happiness you bring all of us is greater than the sadness."

"Erza-san…" Juvia didn't know what to say to those kind words. It was like she knew: the battle of sorrow and fear wasn't over in Juvia's heart. She would always have to battle her anxiety and depression. Sorrowful rain would appear again someday. But when it did come, she didn't have to be afraid. The rain would no longer isolate her.

The two returned inside the guild in silence. There were no more words that needed to be said. Juvia's heart was at peace, even while the inside of the guild hall was in its typical chaos.

"What a freak storm!" Wakaba groaned from his bench. Upon hearing the word "storm," Juvia's eyes automatically wandered over to that table. There he was, attempting to smoke a soggy cigar inside the guild. "I got completely drenched on my way back from a job."

"You're telling me," Macao moaned right back. "I had even further to travel than you did."

"Heh?! Are we going to make this a competition now?"

"You want a competition, bring it on!"

"Still," a new voice said at the same table. Cana put down her body-sized barrel of alcohol, holding it between her legs as she looked at the two older men. "I thought it was a nice rain. It felt...peaceful."

"Maybe it did, but I'm still soaked!" Wakaba laughed. "Cana, give me your bikini to dry off."

"Pervert!" she shrieked. "And I was out in the rain too, idiot."

"Plus, a bikini top wouldn't dry much…" Macao interceded.

While Wakaba got into one of their typical friendly arguments, Juvia began to tear up. Erza was right. The rain truly was different today. She wiped at her tears and walked over to a table nearby, hoping to listen in to the conversations around her to hear what others had to say about the rain. She hardly even noticed that the table she sat at was occupied by another.

"You were caught in the storm too, eh?"

Juvia jumped out of her skin, turning to look at her sole table mate. "Gray-sama!"

"You're soaking wet," he noted.

She blushed, smiling as she recalled the peace she felt in that rain. "Juvia is very soaked." After that, she seldom knew what to say. As much as she admired Gray, sometimes it was hard to hold conversations with him. Especially after he shunned her at the ball after the Grand Magic Games… And especially when he was staring at her like that. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she sat down.

"You seem…different," he finally said.

"Juvia feels different." Her heart was calm, like still water. The storm in her heart settled and caved in to a peace she never felt before. She no longer had to be bubbling over with enthusiasm out of fear of a storm; she was confident enough in her heart to know that she didn't need to fear the sorrow anymore. A victory had been won today, and when the sorrow tried to take her heart again, she would once more fight for joy.

Goodbye, Gloomy Me. Hello, Hopeful me.