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Juvia stood outside their home, and stared up at the sky. It was overcast today, the wind chill as it rolled down the mountains and tossed the clouds above. There was no weather she loved better than clear skies and sunshine, but today’s gloom was good. Sun would make it warmer, which was the opposite of what she needed now. It wasn’t truly cold yet, the seasons only just beginning to turn, but that was good too. She could ease into it.
Her jacket fell in a heap at her feet, then her blouse, leaving her in just a modest skirt, bare feet planted firmly in the grass. Instantly, her skin began to prickle with goosebumps, and she breathed deep as she shut her eyes, basking in the chill. She was used to this much now, though she doubted she would ever have her beloved Gray’s tolerance for extended stints in true cold. But just because she couldn’t match his time limit without ice magic didn’t mean she couldn’t endeavour to match his temperature threshold. It was early yet for snow, but wind and water stole a body’s heat just as quickly in her experience. Juvia exhaled, and let her magic flow freely.
The first drops were light, gentle on her skin, a cool caress from her longtime companion. Then the clouds opened up, and Juvia gasped as she went from dry to drenched in the space of heartbeats. A shiver raced down her spine, trembled out to the tips of her fingers, and she resisted the instinct to melt into the rain, to turn her body liquid and exist adjacent to human limitations. She’d been forced to let her darling Gray go off alone on his secret mission because she wasn’t strong enough, because he loved her too much to see her hurt jumping into a situation beyond her ability to handle. It was enough to make her swoon dizzily even now, how concerned he was for her, ar least until another cold gust dragged her mind back to the task at hand.
Gray needed her to be strong enough to protect herself when they took jobs together, strong enough to fight at his side without flinching when his power surged and her breath fogged from it. He’d told her about his own training, and she may not have a snow field to go lay in but she could do this much. Could let the wind and rain sap the heat from her until she stopped shivering, and then begin practicing with her magic. Loving an ice wizard was hard, was far more work than most women would accept. More than even she would bother with, for anyone but her darling beloved Gray. But for him, for the man who had brought the sun back into her life with his smile, who treated her with nothing but respect...
A shiver wracked Juvia right down to her core, and she threw a Water Slicer at her target with gritted teeth. For Gray, no effort was too great. When he returned, she would be strong enough that he wouldn’t have to leave her behind for her own safety ever again. When they next fought alongside each other, Juvia would be able to watch his back like no one else could, save maybe for his brother, and Gray’s enemies- their enemies- would never hurt her darling again.