The Stranger Boy

A Gruvia AU for @narcissisticlaments 

I’m sorry for the mistakes, English is not my native language. I hope you like it.

Summary :  The boy ran off, before Juvia could say anything. She wanted to call him, but he had not told her his name.

Disclaimer : Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Gray put a hood over his head and ran. The rain was pouring down and he had to go home on food. At the end of his hockey training, he had stayed a bit too long in the locker room and his brother, Lyon, had not waited for him. Ultear was still at school and Ur would be home late from work.

When he was ten, Gray had lost his parents in a car accident. The only family he had left was his brother Lyon. Ur was their mother’s friend and despite being a widow and had to rise her daughter, Ultear, on her own, she had not hesitated to take in two orphans.

Gray and Lyon had been living with Ur and Ultear for three years. It was thanks to Ur that the two brothers played hockey. She knew the coach and had them enrolled. Little by little, the ice rink had become Gray’s second home. He spent all his free time there and ice was his element.

Gray decided to take a shortcut home and passed through the park. In the distance, he saw a figure sitting on a bench. It was strange, he thought, no one was in the park with such a weather. Maybe this person needed help ? Gray approached.

******

Juvia could not have said how long she had been sitting on that bench. An hour, two hours, maybe more. But she had a feeling that the more she cried, the more the rain fell. As if her tears and the rain were becoming one.

Today, like the other days, the students of her class had made fun of her. They could use any reason to laugh. It could be the color of her hair or her eyes, or because she had no parents, or that they found her weird because she spoke of herself in the third person. It was not her fault that she had never known her parents or that her hair and eyes were not the right color. She had tried to make friends, but Juvia felt that no one loved her and that no one would ever love her. She was trying to be strong, but some days were harder than other.

She bowed her head and because of the sound of the rain, she had not heard anyone approaching her.

‘Is everything alright ?’

Juvia looked up and saw a boy the same age as her. He looked at her curiously. Juvia nodded shyly.

‘You shouldn’t be standing in the rain,’ the boy said.

Juvia bowed her head once again, thinking that this boy would make fun of her too. She suddenly felt something around her. He had put his jacket on her shoulders and his hood on her head. The hood fell on her eyes and Juvia pulled it up. She looked at the boy, surprised. It was the first time someone had been nice to her. She noticed that he was now in a t-shirt and that he was soaking wet.

‘And you ?’ She asked. ‘Won’t you be cold ?’

‘I don’t mind the cold.’

He looked away, blushing.

‘I have to go.’

He ran off, before Juvia could say anything. She wanted to call him, but he had not told her his name. How was she going to give his jacket back ?

The rain was falling less, until it stopped. Juvia looked up. The dark clouds cleared and the sun came out. She smiled. She felt like it was the first time she had seen the sun in years.

******

Three years had passed and Juvia had not seen the stranger boy again. That was what she called him in her mind, the stranger boy. She had tried to find him to give his jacket back to him, but she had not seen him again. She had kept carefully his jacket, until she could return it to him one day.

In three years, a lot had changed for Juvia. One day, when girls of her class were harassing her, Gajeel appeared and stood up for her. Since that day, he was always there to protect her. He was her best friend. No, in fact, he was more than that, he was her big brother. And even if he had never said anything about it, she knew he felt the same way. Then she had met Levy and Juvia could see the growing feelings between her two friends. If only they could see it too, Juvia thought. She had also met Lucy and Natsu. Little by little, Juvia had made new friends for the first time in her life. And all of this, it was thanks to the stranger boy. Thanks to him, the rain had stopped and Juvia had regained her confidence. This brief encounter had changed her life.

It was Juvia’s first day at her new high school. The same high school as her friends. But this day had become special for Juvia. It was at this school that she had seen him again in three years. The stranger boy. He had grown up, but it was him.

It was lunch time and because of her shyness Juvia hid behind a tree. She had imagined millions of scenarios about their meeting, but now that she was in the same place as him, she did not dare to approach him. He was with a white haired boy and with Natsu. Juvia opened her eyes wide. Natsu knew him ? She put her hand on her chest. Her heart was beating faster until she felt like it was going to explode. But she was happy. Happy to finally see him again, happy to know he was near her. She had not felt this way for three years.

‘Juvia, what are you doing ?’

Juvia jumped and looked at Levy and Lucy. She blushed. She did not expect someone to see her behind a tree, watching the stranger boy.

‘No … Nothing,’ she stammered.

Lucy looked at Natsu and she waved her hand.

‘Hey ! Natsu !’

He came to meet them, followed by the stranger boy and the white haired boy.

‘You don’t know each other yet,’ said Lucy. ‘Gray, Lyon, this is Juvia.’

Gray, Juvia thought. His name is Gray. Gray-sama.

Gray nodded, but did not say anything. She wondered if he remembered her. Probably not. Three years had passed and they had only spoken for a few minutes. But it did not matter. Juvia was just happy to spend some time with him.

******

A few days later, Juvia had taken Gray’s jacket with her. She hoped she could give it back to him and thank him. But every time she was in front of him, she stuttered or she was way too intimidated, so she hid to watch him from afar. In those moments, she felt stupid. Why couldn’t she talk to him ?

******

Juvia took a deep breath. Today was the day she was going to talk to Gray and give his jacket back. She closed her eyes and leaned against the tree where she had seen him again for the first time. She hugged the jacket tightly. She knew that Gray would arrive in a few minutes. She would take her courage in both hands to speak to him.

‘Juvia will do it,’ she mumbled. ‘Juvia will do it.’

‘Do what ?’

She jumped and opened her eyes. Gray looked at her curiously.

‘For a few days, I noticed that you wanted to talk to me.’ he said.

‘Ju …’

Juvia stop talking for a few seconds. This was the moment she had waited for so long and she must not stutter.

‘Juvia wanted to give this back to you and to thank you.’

She handed him the jacket and Gray took it.

‘You probably don’t remember. It was three years ago. Juvia was at the park and it was raining. You gave her your jacket to protect her from the rain. Thanks to Gray-sama’s kindness, Juvia felt like the rain disappeared from her life. Since that day, the sun came out. So thank you.’

She looked away and blushed.

‘I remembered you,’ he said. ‘To be honest, I often thought of you and wondered what had happened to you. I’m glad to have seen you again.’

Juvia looked at Gray. He was blushing and was as embarrassed as her. She had to stop herself from not jumping into his arms.

‘I was going to the rink,’ he said. ‘Do you want to come with me ?’

Juvia opened her eyes wide and nodded. She had never been so happy. Gray glanced at the jacket.

‘You know it doesn’t fit me anymore,’ he teased her.

Juvia hid her face in her hands. She should have thought that the jacket would have become too small for him. Gray took her hands to see her face.

‘Let’s go,’ he smiled.

He intertwined their fingers. Juvia knew that the sun would continue to shine for a long time to come with Gray.

The end

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