Rain

When he wakes up, the sky is covered with thick, dark clouds.

Immediately, he can tell that Juvia's upset.

By now, it's sort of automatic. People from the guild still have trouble trying to figure out the difference between regular rain and Juvia-rain but he's been friends with her long enough to just know. Regular rain smells like wet grass and freshly dug earth but Juvia-rain has that nostalgic far-off ocean smell that just feels sad. It makes him think of warm nights with Metallicana, singing songs with him, playing the guitar—you know, moments that are never going to happen again, ever. It's not something that he can accurately explain.

But anyway, the point is, Juvia's sad and he's going to have to be the one to fix it before she drowns the entire city.

So the first thing he does is look for Stripper because chances are, if Juvia's upset, then it's probably his fault. Then, he realizes that, that's probably not fair of him because Stripper's actually an okay guy and he's pretty nice to Juvia for like, ninety-five percent of the time. So he decides to just head to Juvia's apartment, ask her what's wrong and give her saltwater taffy. It's not raining so he figures that she's not yet too upset and he still has time to nip this in the bud.

When she opens the door, she looks a little surprised (and confused) to see him.

"Gajeel-kun?" she says, her brows scrunching up.

"Hey," he says. She's smiling at him and wearing a nice dress that surprisingly shows off her shoulders and arms. In her hands, there's a girly, little summer hat, her pink umbrella and a wicker basket decorated with all these blue ribbons. All in all? She definitely does not look like a girl who's miserable over something.

But the thing is, he knows that she's the one behind the dark clouds and he's never wrong about these kinds of things.

He's sure that she's sad and is just hiding it. He's seen her do it during their Phantom Lord days. She can be a fantastic actress when she wants to be.

"So…what's wrong?" he bluntly says. No point in beating around the bush. He has a mission this afternoon so he wants to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"W-What?" Juvia incredulously says.

He holds out the saltwater taffy he's just bought her. "Look, I know you're sad and stuff. So just tell me what's wrong so I can give you this and help or whatever."

He doesn't get why she won't tell him. She's usually a lot more open with him when something's bothering her. Seriously. If she's sad or pissed, she will straight up tell him.

"Why on earth would Juvia be sad?" she says. Her cheeks redden and a dreamy look crosses her face. "She just came back from a mission with Gray-sama!"

"Really?" Gajeel says, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "So what did he do? Was he an ass to you? Because if he was—''

"Why would you think Gray-sama was being an ass to Juvia? He was nothing but sweet during our trip!" she says, looking offended in behalf of Stripper.

"Because I know you're distressed and stuff and since you just came back from a mission with him, I figured he caused it—''

"For millionth time, Juvia is not distressed or upset or sad. She's perfectly fine!" she says, looking at him as if he's crazy.

"But the clouds—''

"Natural rain—''

"I'm pretty sure that it's not—''

"Gajeel-kun—''

"What?"

She puts her hands on her hips and arches a brow. "Do I look like a person who's secretly crying on the inside?"

He looks at her bright, sunny outfit and ridiculously cheerful hat and basket.

"Okay, fine. Maybe not," he grudgingly admits.

"See? You're overreacting." Her smile widens and she happily walks out of her apartment and locks the door from behind her. "But Juvia is happy that you're so concerned for her."

"I wasn't," he hastily mumbles. "I just didn't want you crying and making it rain all over the place."

"Right," she disbelievingly says. She impishly taps a finger against his nose and giggles. "Maybe Gajeel-kun should get his nose fixed—''

"Quit it!" he says, swatting her hand away.

She gestures for the taffy and he rolls his eyes and tosses it over to her. She gives him a huge grin in response and chirps, "Thanks, Gajeel-kun!"

"Whatever." He watches her fix the ribbons on her basket. "Why are you wearing that anyway? What's with the basket?"

"Juvia has to look nice for today. And she's going shopping!" she brightly tells him.

He gives her a blank look. "Shopping?"

She nods her head. "Yes. Juvia was planning to do it yesterday but…her mission with Gray-sama took longer than expected. So she decided to take a break and do it today!"

He's sure that he heard a small crack in her voice when she said 'but.'

He gives her a look of suspicion.

"What are you even going to shop for?"

"Oh…stuff," she evasively tells him.

Okay, she's definitely hiding something. And the clouds still haven't gone away.

"And I bet you want me to come along with you so I can carry all your stuff, right?" he says.

"Um, actually, not really—''

He heaves a big sigh and makes a show of being annoyed. "Fine. I'll do it."

"But—''

He grabs her by the elbow and carefully steers her towards the exit.

"You know, you really should stop making me go on your shopping trips," he grumbles.

"But Gajeel-kun," Juvia whines. "You never went shopping with her. And she never asked you to come."

Obviously, he knows that. He's not stupid. But something's up with her and he's not comfortable with leaving her alone until he knows for sure that she's okay. They've only been in Fairy Tail for a few weeks so they haven't really made a lot of friends yet. At this point, they've really only got each other when it comes to sharing their problems.

And he knows that she has a problem.

His nose is never wrong.

He really shouldn't have tried being a good friend.

He really shouldn't have.

He's just spent the last three hours being dragged across town, helping Juvia buy the most ridiculous things. First, they went to a candle store and spent forever choosing between a white, spirally candle with golden flecks and one that was shaped like a tree with red cherry blossoms. Then, they went to a fruit stall where Juvia annoyed the fuck out of the fruit lady because none of the fruits were good enough—they were either too bruised or ripe or too fruity-smelling. After that, they went to a flower shop where Juvia spent one whole hour obsessing over which flowers to pick and nitpicking over the perfect arrangement.

He's seriously never going shopping with her again.

"Can you please hurry up?"

"Just hold on for a moment. Juvia is still picking."

"I have a mission to get to!"

"She knows but—''

"Don't you have a train to catch as well?"

"There's still plenty of time."

"Ugh," he says, sighing in annoyance. He stands there for a few minutes, irately tapping his foot.

"Gajeel-kun?"

"What?" he gruffly says as he checks the time. Shit. It's almost noon. If he doesn't leave now, he's going to miss the train.

"Do you think this frame is something a sophisticated, older gentleman would like? Or this one?" Juvia asks him as she holds up a dark, blue, rectangular frame and a brown, circular one.

"I guess—wait. Older gentleman? What're you talking about? Who's that for?" he says, eyes narrowed in scrutiny. "Our creepy ass grandpa guild master better not be taking advantage of you—''

"It's not like that!" she says, face reddening and cheeks puffing up in anger. "Now tell me. Which one is better? This one? Or this—''

A loud wail interrupts her train of speech.

The two of them turn around and find a little boy crying. Juvia puts the two picture frames down and heads towards the kid.

"What's wrong?" she gently says as she carefully takes his tiny hands into her own.

"I lost my daddy," he whimpers, face wet with tears.

An expression that Gajeel can't read maps across Juvia's face. It's there for a second and then, just as quickly, it's gone.

"Is that so?" Juvia says. "Don't worry. Juvia will bring you back to your daddy."

"Um…Sprinkler?"

"Hm?"

"Is this gonna take long? Because I still have a mission to get to," he asks. The look he just saw on her face is a little troubling but he really has to go and so far, for the whole morning, she seemed totally fine. Like her usual self. And it still hasn't full-on rained yet so maybe, he might have been wrong when he thought that she was causing the dark clouds.

"Oh right! Don't worry about it! Just go on ahead," she cheerfully tells him. "Juvia'll be fine on her own."

"You sure?"

She nods her head and gives him a re-assuring look.

"Okay. Well. Have fun babysitting," he impishly says as he starts walking backwards.

"Bye Gajeel-kun!" she says. She waves one last time before taking the kid's hand into her own and walking away.

When the train enters Magnolia and rain starts pounding against the windows, he whacks a palm against his forehead and loudly groans. So he was right. Juvia was upset. And now it's become so much worse—there's lightning and the thunder and he feels as if the wind is about to lift off the entire train. It's a fucking storm.

He starts panicking when he realizes that she's probably crying and being all emotional right now. And he absolutely can't handle her when she's being like that. Okay, fine. Maybe he sort of can. But that doesn't mean he enjoys it. Or is very good at it.

The train squeals to a stop, pulling him out of his thoughts. He quickly gets out and heads to the nearest saltwater taffy stand to buy a bag. Taffy's not going to fix everything but it will help. In the taffy stall, he asks another customer how long it's been raining and when the man answers that the rain just started, he sighs in relief. That's good. At least that means Juvia hasn't been depressed for too long.

He's just heading towards the exit when he see Juvia sitting on a nearby bench, knees pulled closed together and hands clasped tightly on top of her lap.

"Juves?" he carefully says as he approaches her.

She looks up, startled. Her eyes are rimmed with tears and she's sniffling, her wet hair sticking against her face.

"What…what the fuck happened?"

"It's…it's nothing."

"But—''

"Look…Juvia is fine, okay?" Juvia says as she hastily attempts to rub the tears out of her eyes.

"You know if you're crying…" he says as he reluctantly sits beside her. "I promise not to make fun of you."

Juvia hiccups at the familiar line, her lips twitching into a half-smile.

"Come on! Tell me who made you cry! I'll beat his or her face in!"

She shakes her head. "It's nothing. It's just…just that…Juvia missed her train…"

Her voice cracks and more tears escape from her eyes. Gajeel uncomfortably shifts, unsure of what to do.

"Oh," he says, not really sure what to say next. Why was she so upset about missing her train? "Did you have an important mission to get to?"

"Sort of," she says as she looks at her hands.

"Hey, come on. That's nothing to cry over. You can go on the next train—''

"But it won't leave until late in the evening and Juvia…Juvia needs to get there by today!" she says, her voice breaking out into a wail.

"Why? Can the mission only be done today?"

She nods her head.

He loudly exhales. "Well, you probably would've made it to an earlier train if you hadn't helped that little brat—''

"Gajeel-kun! He lost his daddy!" Juvia fiercely protests, an emotion he doesn't recognize clouding her voice.

"Well, whatever. It's your fault that you missed the mission so stop crying and just own up to it!"

"Y-You're right! It's all Juvia's fault!" she moans, breaking out into sobs.

Okay, wrong thing to say.

"But I mean, it's probably okay because Master Makarov is nice so he probably won't be too mad. He'll forgive you so you shouldn't be out here crying like an idiot. And maybe an earlier train will come. The day isn't even over yet so you still have plenty of time," he hastily says as he awkwardly pats her back. "And besides…look! I got you taffy!"

Juvia buries her face in her hands for a moment. Gajeel just sits there in tense silence, still holding the bag of taffy out to her.

After a few minutes, Juvia sits up, a small smile on her face. "You're right. She's being ridiculous. She still has a lot of time!"

"Yeah. I mean you can rent a private carriage or something—''

She tackles him into a big hug. "Thanks, Gajeel-kun!"

She's about to tell him to get off of him but then he remembers that she's still crazy sad right now. "Yeah...sure. Whatever."

She leans back and tosses the taffy into her basket. A dimple appears between his brows when he realizes that instead of that ridiculously expensive bouquet they had bought, there's a spray of ice-blue flowers mounted on an intricately carved pedestal made entirely of ice. There are roses and irises and a couple of orchids, all carefully shaped and arranged, glistening against the dim station lights. He swiftly shoots her a questioning glance. "What happened to your flowers? And was Stripper here?"

"Yes! He was! He helped her bring the little boy back to his dad!" Her face softens. "In her hurry to get on the train, she dropped her flowers and it got smashed into the railway. But Gray-sama saw it all and made her a new one! Isn't it pretty?"

"I guess," he mumbles.

The two of them stand up and start walking towards the exit. She looks at the flowers and wistfully runs a finger through one of it's leaves. "They're really so much prettier than the ones Juvia bought. It probably won't last long but...Juvia is really thankful she has these at least."

"I guess. So you okay now or what?"

She forces out a smile and nods her head. "Yup! She feels better!"

She avoids his gaze and turns her umbrella over in her hands. He squints his eyes at her, tries to read the expression on her face.

"You know…you can be such a drama queen sometimes," Gajeel says.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia says, cheeks puffing up in anger.

"What? You know it's true!"

Well. At least she's smiling again.

He's been following her for the last thirty minutes. Which really isn't easy in this pouring rain.

They split up at the market because she had to go somewhere. She insisted that she was fine and that she was feeling better but it was still raining and he just knew that she was still up to something. He's not an idiot. Missing the train is obviously not what made her sad.

She starts climbing up a steep hill and it takes him a while to catch up because of all the mud and rain. But when he finally gets to the top, his eyes widen in surprise when he sees that she has a mat spread out. The picture frame (she picked the blue one after all) is placed at the front and the flower arrangement and candle are placed at each side.

Gajeel moves forward, careful not to alert Juvia of his presence, as he tries to get a closer look at the photograph in the picture frame. It's a photo of a blue-haired man of about thirty years old, with a sharp nose and distinctly angular face. He probably would have looked severe if it weren't for that bright look in his eyes that was so Juvia—it's the same look she gets whenever she goes into one of her crazy imagination-spiels.

Who is that man? And what the hell is Juvia doing?

She brings a match out and after several unsuccessful attempts, lights up the candle. An icy wind flits past her. She shivers and tightens her hold on her umbrella.

She picks up one of the apples and takes a huge bite out of it, leaning back as she tenderly gazes at the photograph. He's not exactly sure if it's the rain or the tears but her face is wet.

"Sorry that Juvia couldn't go home today," Juvia says as she gingerly touches the photograph with her fingers. Rain and wind slams against her and she rubs her arms to keep herself warm.

Her eyes crinkle up into a smile. "Happy Birthday, otou-sama."

Fuck.

Fuck.

So that's why she didn't want to tell him anything. Her parents' death has always been a very touchy subject for her.

Suddenly, he feels like he's intruding on an intimate moment and wishes that he never bothered to follow her in the first place. Before he can stop himself, he starts thinking about Metallicana and all those warm nights singing songs and playing the guitar.

Great. Just great. Now Juvia has him feeling all weird. He rubs the back of his neck, trying to distract himself from gnawing feeling moiling in his chest. He should probably just leave and—

Juvia loudly sneezes.

He looks up and finds her shivering and sniffling. She looks so...alone. And vulnerable. He probably should lend her his jacket or something. But then again, she didn't want him to find out that today was her dead father's birthday so he's not exactly sure what he's supposed to do.

She sneezes again.

He sighs in annoyance.

"Oi! Idiot!"

Juvia turns around, surprised. He barrels straight towards her and starts taking his jacket off.

"Gajeel-kun?''

He tosses the jacket towards her. It slams against the head and she topples backwards.

"Crazy woman!" he scowls, looking away. "What do think you're doing staying out here in the rain with nothing but those clothes on? You're gonna get a damn cold."

Juvia looks up at him, a slightly angry look in her eyes. "Gajeel-kun…what are you doing—"

"I can leave if you want," he quickly says, cutting her off before she can finish. "Just didn't want you to die from pneumonia or something."

"Gajeel-kun. I'm the ame-onna. The rain woman. Juvia's pretty sure she wouldn't get sick from the rain."

"Look, do you want me to leave or not?" he impatiently asks.

A long stretch of silence passes between them.

"No," she says, voice small.

"Fine. Scoot over and give me some room under your umbrella." Gajeel sits down and looks away, feeling jerky and uncomfortable. Her brows are still drawn together and her mouth is stretched into a thin line. She's still angry with him. And honestly? She has every right to be. He gets that. He has no right to be here. But he obviously can't just leave her here in the middle of freaking thunderstorm, even if she is the ame-onna. Juvia's not only his friend—she's his person. He'll always have her back even in times that she doesn't want him to.

He looks over at the picture and briefly wonders if he should mention the fact that he's basically intruding on her dead father's birthday celebration.

He catches a glimpse at the hard, tense look in her eyes.

Probably not the best idea.

Well, fine. She can be as mad at him as much as she wants. At least he didn't leave her here to die or something.

"Gajeel-kun?"

"What?"

She leans forward and wraps her arms around his shoulders. He looks at her from the corner of her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispers.

"Yeah, well…" He pauses for a moment and tries to think of a way to return the gesture in a way that won't make him feel weird. Finally, he awkwardly pats her on the head. Juvia shoots him a slightly bemused look.

"Sure. Anytime."

He ruffles her hair and she looks up and smiles at him. He's not sure but he swears he sees a bit of the sun peeking through the clouds.

Author's Note: Why do I always write brotp moments in the rain? Hahaha well this was a bit serious than normal but I suppose it has something to do with the prompt. I'm thinking of writing a companion piece to this; it'll be about Gray meeting Juvia and seeing her all sad as she misses the train.

Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think if you have the chances :)