Melted Ice {Natsu x Juvia}

~puddle~

Gray... and Lucy... together.
Juvia couldn't even think. Her eyes were just blank. She had no emotion. She couldn't hear, speak, even move.

Things just refused to sink in. She was imagining things. Dreaming, maybe. Any second now, she would open her eyes, and she'd be in bed, ready to start up the day. But as she stood there, with that petrified look on her face, colors began to reappear in her eyes.

This was real.

'Just breath. Don't cause any unnecessary attention. Just back up. Leave maybe.' Juvia was shaking now. Breath in. Breath out. It was her left leg that gave out first. Next thing she knew, she was drooped over the ground. Like a puddle. Typical.

A tear fell, and she watched it glitter, sparkling in the light. It was beautiful. But then it hit the ground, exploding into an array of little shards. It reminded her of herself. She was now broken, far beyond repair.

No. She had to leave this place. She stood, and took slow, rugged steps, towards the door. Her ears were ringing, and the tears continued to flow, although she couldn't feel... anything. Three more steps, before she broke free of the suffocating crowd. It was already pouring outside.

The moment she left, she broke into a steady run. She didn't know what was going on. She needed to focus. She needed to leave. And so, she ran, forever it seemed, until her legs had given up on her.

And in what spot but the hill beside the lake. The place they had always spent time together at. More memories. Too many to count. She couldn't take it. But at the same time, she didn't think she had the stamina left to push on. So she sat, pulled her knees into her chest, and wept.

Memories resurfaced. The time Gray had saved her from falling off her guild hall. The day they both sat on the roof, out of breath, as the sun rose for the first time in Juvia's lifetime. All the jobs they had gone on. Natsu and Gray, and their stupid rivalry.

Her relentless pursuance of his attention. Their anniversary. The scarf. Her lifelong obsession.
With every thought, more tears came. Lucy. The tower of heaven. Their friendship. All those times she supported her, even when Juvia was being a jerk. Every time she fell behind the group, Lucy was always there to push her forward, giving her the inspiration that no one else could give.

Tears. Tears. She was crying so heavily; she couldn't see anything. And now- now they had both abandoned her. For each other. How was this possible? For the two people she had cared for the most to be the ones to betray her. The tears continued to pour down her face. Nothing made sense.

Then she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Surprised, she looked over, to see Natsu. He was wearing a grim face, and was staring off into the horizon. It pained her so much to see such a deep, lost expression on his face. Hadn't Natsu always been the optimistic one?

Still shuddering, and trying to catch her breath, Juvia leaned sideways, putting all of her weight into Natsu's side. She had no energy. No more endurance. The pouring tears continued, but now, with more ease.

"I"- Natsu's voice cracked. "I know this is tough on you. It's- tough for me too."

They sat together in silence, Juvia still sniffling. "We'll pull through," Natsu said with conviction. He stood up, quite shakily, and extended his arm towards Juvia. "How about we go on a job together. It'll help. The longer we dwell on this... Bad things happen, trust me."

Juvia looked upwards, eyes in slits, as she realized the sun was peering through the clouds. She had never seen the fragile side of Natsu before. Not up close, at least. She honestly had no idea where to go from here. But she could try to start up again.

She slowly reached her pale hand upwards, and took Natsu's hand. She pulled herself up, taking in a deep breath. The tears were still falling, but slower now. Tired and confused, she kept her hand in Natsu's, feeling safer that way. They began to make their way towards the city, and Juvia looked over. She could've sworn she saw a single tear drip down the side of his face. But then again, it could have been rain.

The two stood in the community hall, feeling slightly out of place, but in the comfort of eachother. On the board, a couple jobs scattered here and there. But one specifically caught her eye. It was a bright red and blue poster, reading 'Wizards needed! This job required mages wielding the unique powers of fire and water.'

At the bottom, the reward had so many zeros at the end it made her eyes pop. This was it. The job fate had set for them. Juvia carefully lifted the paper off the wall. With a quick, silent glance, Natsu gave a tiny nod, and the two set off to the desired location, which just happened to be nearby.

Turned out, there was a sea monster terrorizing a nearby village, and the people were pretty defenseless. After a slow talk with the leader, they set out to face the thing head on. It seemed easy enough.

Juvia knew the path ahead of her was filled with obstacles that she would have to find her way around. She was a mess; her Gray-sama was with her best friend. This was something she knew she would never get over. But at least she had someone who was there for her. It was them against the world.
"Fire dragon-!"

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