Rain pelted the scarcely populated streets of Magnolia. People weren't used to the gloomy weather, but they'd become more acquainted with it since a certain Rain Woman found a Card Mage and Ice Maker trapped in Fairy Tail's basement under a pile of old supplies a few days ago. Cana had been fast to reassure Juvia that she'd just asked him to help her find a few old albums, but Juvia being Juvia, she'd added the other woman to her list of rivals for her Gray-sama's love. Since then, rain had plagued Magnolia nonstop.
Levy huddled under her new umbrella, shivering. She didn't have anything against rain. In fact, she loved skipping under the occasional rain showers that sometimes visited her hometown, but this constant deluge was having a rather depressing effect on her. It was what led to why she was now walking home from a three-day mission, Jet and Droy having opted to stay at the guild for a while after coming back.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed across the sky. They never had natural thunderstorms in Magnolia, and the thunder only meant one thing: an irate Laxus. Levy sighed. Lily was going to be huddling down for a while.
As if conjured by her thoughts, the black Exceed flew around the corner, furs standing on end, his little paws clamped over his ears. He was visibly shaken by the storm, but the determined look on his face let Levy know that he wouldn't be taking shelter till he finished his task.
She decided to help out. "Lily! What are you doing out here?"
"Looking for my idiot partner. Have you seen him?" Another crash of thunder sounded, and both woman and cat jumped a little.
"Well, he's not at the guild. I just came from there," she explained when Lily looked curious.
"I see. Well, there's only one place I can think of that he'll go to with this weather."
"Eh?"
"The park. For some reason, he's been going there almost every day for the past two weeks." The ex-military looked as confused as Levy felt. Then he sighed, silently hoping that Laxus would calm down. "Well, I better go get him before he's rusted to the spot."
The blue-haired mage giggled at the image. "Why don't I come with you? I'm going that way anyway; I have to pick up some supplies."
"If you're sure..."
She just smiled. "It's no problem. Why don't I carry you? We can share the umbrella so you don't get wet."
He knew that she was aware of his phobia, and was trying to help him out without bruising his pride. He smiled gratefully. "Thanks Levy."
They walked—well, Levy walked while Lily covered his ears (Laxus must have been really pissed) —to the center of town. The cat spotted his partner first, sitting under the large tree in the middle of the park square, his face set in the familiar scowl. The dragon slayer looked up as Lily flew over to him.
"What?"
"It's raining, you big idiot, and if you haven't noticed, Laxus is mad." Another crash of thunder emphasized his point, making him flinch.
"Yeah, noticed that. What about it?" The scowl never left his partner's face but that wasn't what concerned the Exceed. It was the lost, almost sorrowful look in his eyes. In all the time since he'd joined Fairy Tail, he'd seen plenty of sides of Gajeel, but never this dark, brooding mage. Lily opened his mouth to demand they get home and talk, but another voice interrupted him.
"I think what Lily's trying to say is, you should get out of the storm before you get hit by lightning." Gajeel jerked his eyes from his partner to the solid script mage. The surprise, although quickly hidden, told Lily all he needed to know on just how deeply Redfox had been immersed in his thoughts. His dragon slayer senses should have picked up on the bluenette's presence long before then, but his distraction, coupled with the weather, served as good a camouflage as any.
