The Fairy Tail guild was bustling with the lively noise only it could produce. A table crashed in the distance. Someone shouted about stolen food. Macao and Wakaba were arguing over who had better mustache grooming. Amidst the chaos, things were... normal.
Mira hummed behind the bar as she wiped a mug clean, sneaking glances at Shinra sitting quietly near the mission board, deep in conversation with Erza. She smirked.
"You two are awfully close these days," she called across the room.
Erza, with perfect poise, didn't flinch. Shinra raised an eyebrow.
"Just strategizing," he said.
"Strategizing?" Mira asked, walking over with two mugs of juice. "I thought it was flirting."
Erza choked mid-sip. Mira grinned.
From the far end of the room, Lucy buried her head into the counter. "Why is she like this with *everyone*?"
Levy leaned over, trying not to laugh. "It's Mira. Teasing is her love language."
---
Juvia's POV
Outside the guild hall, hidden in a thick bush that rustled suspiciously every few minutes, a blue-haired figure lurked.
Juvia Lockser, former Phantom Lord S-Class mage, sat with binoculars.
"Gray-sama... so cool even when doing nothing..."
She sighed dreamily as Gray walked by a window shirtless (as usual), sipping from a cup. Inside her head, a fantasy played:
**Gray:** "Juvia, I have come to ask you to be mine. Rain or shine, you are my sunshine."
**Juvia (in fantasy):** "Gray-sama! Yes! Juvia is yours forever!"
She hugged herself tightly.
Back in reality, Gray tripped over a barrel, spilled his drink, and cursed under his breath. Juvia gasped.
"So graceful... like a snowflake falling from the sky..."
From behind her, a voice cleared its throat.
"You know you've already been invited to join, right?" It was Makarov, arms folded.
Juvia nearly jumped out of her skin. "M-Master Makarov! Juvia was not stalking! Juvia was just... observing the weather!"
He raised an eyebrow. "In a bush? With binoculars?"
She looked down. "Juvia... is uncertain. Fairy Tail is kind. But Juvia hurt Fairy Tail once."
Makarov looked at her for a long time, then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Everyone here has made mistakes, Juvia. Fairy Tail is about second chances. And from what I've heard, we could use someone who can control the rain. We burn a lot of things."
Juvia blinked. Then she slowly smiled.
"Juvia... will think about it."
He nodded. "You're always welcome."
As he walked away, Juvia peeked again through the bush.
"Gray-sama is so forgiving... if only Juvia could make her heart known."
Back inside the bush, she pulled out a small notebook titled *Juvia and Gray-sama's Future Love Story*. Page 122: "Chapter 36 - The Rain Becomes a Rainbow."
---
**Back at the Guild**
Inside, Shinra watched Lucy attempt to arm-wrestle Natsu and immediately regret it.
"Ow! My wrist! Natsu, you brute!"
"You challenged me!" Natsu said, confused.
Happy floated above them, holding a flag. "Winner: Natsu! Also, Lucy owes me five fish!"
Lucy scowled. "I didn't *bet* anything!"
Meanwhile, Erza and Mira stood near Shinra, not-so-subtly bumping elbows.
"We should spar sometime," Erza offered with a smile.
Mira leaned in on the other side of Shinra. "Or maybe just have tea and talk about feelings."
Shinra sipped his tea with perfect serenity, eyes closed. "Perhaps both."
At that moment, Cana walked by with her barrel of booze and burst out laughing. "You three look like the worst love triangle in history."
"It's not a triangle," Mira said sweetly. "It's just healthy competition."
Erza raised an eyebrow. "Says the woman who keeps stealing my snacks for Shinra."
"Guilty. But he likes strawberry tarts."
"So do I."
Shinra blinked. "Wait. That was you both? I thought snacks just magically appeared."
Lucy groaned from across the room. "Why is everyone here a romantic disaster except me?"
Gray walked by shirtless, tripped again, and knocked into a table.
"Correction," she said. "*Especially* me."
---
Later That Evening...
As the sun set, the guild settled down. Juvia watched from the shadows, smiling quietly.
Inside, the guildmates laughed over dinner. Shinra shared a quiet glance with both Mira and Erza, who had somehow found themselves seated on either side of him. Natsu threw food at Gray, who retaliated by freezing Natsu's plate. Happy got caught in the crossfire and spun in midair with a dramatic, "Aye, this is war!"
Cana chugged. Levy read. Elfman sat in the corner arm wrestling with others while shouting " Manly!". Lucy scribbled in her journal.
And above it all, laughter reigned.
Juvia looked up at the stars. The rainclouds inside her heart felt a little lighter.
"Maybe... just maybe... Juvia will walk inside tomorrow."