Inspired by the piece 'Kiss the Rain' by Yiruma. Try listening to it while you read to, I don't know, set the mood?

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL.

In all its years, Magolia had never experienced such abundant rainfall. The streets are flooded knee-deep in just a few hours. People unfortunate enough to get caught in it scurry to find shelter. To make things worse, the water overflowed in the canals and now sweeps grime and litter across the city. Its usual beauty and cleanliness are covered by the filth.

But the rain is of a different sort. Every drop brings sadness and bitter melancholy. It poisons every person, every form of life with unbridled despair.

Only Fairy Tail knows what's really happening, but that doesn't prevent them from being affected. They're miserable. All are quiet, a far cry from their usual jovial ruckus. No one is in the mood to fight or laugh. Even Cana is uncharacteristically sober.

One raven haired man is determined to put a stop to it. He is, after all, partly to blame.

He finds the culprit perched on a swing set under a tree. Her stance is rigid, and she holds her signature frilly pink parasol over her head. She is completely dry. She isn't even crying, which is something Gray is thankful for. He is incapable of dealing with crying girls.

With his own dark blue umbrella in use, he approaches her with caution. Her pretty face is carved into an unchangeable stoic expression, but he notices that her lips purse ever so slightly as he stands in front of her. She didn't doesn't acknowledge his presence. She stares right through him, as if he isn't even there.

It pains him to admit that he misses her adoration and declarations of love. He had taken her for granted. Gray had hurt her. The least he can do is apologize.

"Hey, Juvia," he says softly. He doesn't ask for her permission to sit next to her as he should, because he knows she will not answer.

They stay like that in silence for a long time. He feels the insistent need to say something, anything to make the awkwardness go away. It's the fear of saying something that will make things worse that keeps him quiet.

He wrestles with himself and starts off slowly. "Look, Juvia, I'm sorry. I –"

She cuts him off. "Sorry for what? For making a stupid bet that puts Juvia's affiliation to the guild at stake? For putting pride ahead of Juvia's feelings and making a choice that isn't even Gray-san's to make?"

Her reverent '-sama' had been replaced with a respectful but cold '-san.' He winces as he notices. "Well, we won, didn't we?" he retorts, and immediately regrets doing so once the words are out. Just what he had been afraid of.

Her eyes flash dangerously. "Oh, of course, Fairy Tail won anyway. There was no need to worry about the outcome, no need to worry about Juvia. Not that she matters anyway, since Gray-san had been so willing and careless to put her on the line."

"I didn't mean it like that, Juvia, and you know it." He is getting rattled. "You were there when I made the bet with Lyon. You didn't see me agree to anything, anyway."

"But nothing was said to refute Lyon-san either! Gray-san ignored Juvia, so focused only on one upping his rival." She stares down at her lap. "And it hurts that Gray-san tosses Juvia aside, because he knows Juvia would willingly die for him."

The rain pours harder than before. He can't think of anything to say to justify himself after that, because the blunette speaks nothing but truth. How many 'I'm sorrys' would be enough to tape back every broken piece of her heart?

She speaks again, though more to herself than to him. "Juvia's definition of love has always been that as long as the other person was happy, then Juvia could smile. Even if it hurt her, as long as she saw Gray-sama's shining face, everything would be alright. But now…" she trails off.

He wants nothing more than to keep hearing her voice. "What is love to you now?" he asks in a hushed tone.

She hesitates. "Juvia thinks that maybe she needs to learn to love herself first. Maybe when she's truly whole, she will care for someone better than she ever has. Maybe love isn't two halves becoming a whole. It's two wholes becoming something greater than they are."

And it strikes him that she is wiser than he is. She is right. She didn't deserve to aimlessly pine after him. He didn't deserve her. Gray regrets leading her on.

But is he really leading her on? Because inside, he knows and fears that he was slowly reciprocating. He keeps all of her gifts. He eats all of her homemade lunches (there's also the fact that she is an excellent cook). He remembers all the little things about her, like her birthday and the fact that lightning scares her and that she's a cat person and she sticks her tongue out at string beans.

He knows that it's inevitable. One day, he will wake up and find that he loves her more than Ur.

"Juvia, please look at me." And because she's Juvia, she does, despite herself. Even if this man rips her to shreds, he is the one who took the rain away. He flushes as he feels her steady gaze directed towards him. Feelings, confessions… he's clueless when it comes to these things and he would rather not deal with him. But there are things that need to be said before it's too late.

Gray would rather not regret wistfully thinking he once could have had her and did nothing.

"I'm so sorry Juvia. I should have punched Lyon and refused to agree to the fucking stupid bet. I should have gone to lunch with you that day. I should have said something, instead of ignoring your actions." He takes a deep breath and continues. "You're priceless. You're strong, you're beautiful and you never give up on your nakama." She was, after all, the only person who believed in him during that Daphne catastrophe.

"I want you to teach me how to love as strongly as you do. Heck, one day I might just even surpass you. But if you aren't ready… then tch, I guess I'm willing to wait until you find yourself." He takes her hand and raises it to his lips. She shivers at his touch, at his warm breath. He always manages to make her stomach do back flips.

"Gray-sama," she whispers.

"You're so strong, Juvia. You're not even crying."

She smiles wryly. "The raindrops are the tears that Juvia isn't brave enough to shed."

At her confession, he knows now why her sadness is so infectious. He stands up and stretches his arm out.

"Dance with me."

Her face lights up in wonder. It's uncomfortable for the first few minutes, since they step on the other person's feet numerous times. But he just ends up laughing and she joins in. All they want is to enjoy the gift of life that the rain brings, and bask in the shower of emotions. So, along with their inhibitions, they cast their umbrellas aside.

A/N: There you have it. It's been raining all day and I had Gruvia feels. I apologize, fluff isn't really my forte. Come to think about it, I have no idea what my forte is, but it definitely isn't fluff.

Thank you for taking the time to read it! I would appreciate your thoughts on this story, whether you loved it, hated it, thought they were OOC or if it was too nauseating. Reviews are love. So are flames. I EAT THEM BECAUSE I AM THE FIRE DRAGONSLAYER -no.