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Gray swung his black tuxedo over his shoulder, sighing deeply as he listened to the surroundings around him, walking past the street lights. He loosened his tie with his other hand, frustratingly. Gray was horribly worn out. Sitting on a chair stiffly while wearing a suit while playing the piano exhausted him.
A soft, cold breeze pushed the trees to and fro rustling melodically in his ears. He took in a deep breath, observing the sounds of nature as he closed his eyes.
The night was tranquil, silence hanging over the air. The lights emitting from cruises shimmered over the calm waters set far from the park his footsteps left a trail of his presence. The theater he just performed in, were closing, as time passed by. Benches spread around the park were empty, becoming cold. The skies rumbled loudly, as if it was a growling bear hunting for its prey.
Rain was to come and yet he walked slowly around the stone brick paths constructed throughout the park.
He looked up the sky, mumbling a swear word under his exhausted breath. It wasn't that he hated the rain– he just never felt it. When it rained, it was often that he just got wet, and it bothered him a lot. Usually, with the other sounds of nature, he could feel it. But, rain, it was just a whole different thing. His father always told him that the day will come when he will feel what rain really is. Gray waited every time it rained upon, taking in the useless drops of rain mercilessly pattering against his umbrella or the windows.
It never happened until he heard the music notes of an instrument blending within the damned weather. It didn't happen as if fate made it out to be, it was more like he found out of mere coincidence.
The black haired male passed by some cherry blossom trees and he heard something behind the trees. It was a distinct tune he once heard in his childhood. The solemn tune of the notes. The very familiar tune attracted him to shove a branch blooming with sakura blossoms.
He saw a figure standing next to bench with an opened violin case. The person held the instrument onto their shoulder placing it next to their neck. He craned his neck closer to see a woman there. She had blue silky hair falling softly onto her shoulders. She wore a loose, huge plain gray hoodie with black skinny jeans and white sneakers. Her face was expressionless with eyes closed.
The street lamp set beside the bench she stood next to, had incandescent light bringing out the features. She then started playing a song with a rhythm he held close to heart at the time of December. The woman was playing a song dear to his heart and it made him freeze in his place. That song may have brought joys in his life, but it also brought grief and loss.
She stood like a statue yet her hand moved the bow across the strings of the violin gracefully. The rhythm of the song was almost perfect, making Gray realize that she must've been practicing it for quite some time. Gray was terribly confused. He didn't understand why she'd be playing the violin if there was no crowd.
Just as he was about to leave uninterested, he felt a drop of rain fall onto his face. Gray looked up only to find the drizzle of rain starting to fall harder. Then something about the melody of the song changed.
Gray looked once more at the woman playing the violin and she had moved. She was swaying her hips now, moving her body along with the music. It was as if she was moving in accord with the song's notes. Her feet moved daintily over the puddles forming on the stone pavements.
As the song reached its chorus, she started to show troubled somehow calm expressions on her face. The longer he watched and listened, the more he felt the conveyance she was trying to give out to her empty audience.
The rain didn't seem to bother her at all though. Gray was intrigued at how the rain dripping off of the strands of her hair seemed to accentuate her appearance. She danced along with the rain conveying a simple message. The rain was like her partner in crime when she played the instrument. She was like one with the rain.
That was when he realized something. The rain that wet his hair didn't bother him. The longer he listened to her version of the song, he could feel the rain.
Gray could feel the calmness and smoothness of the rain. He could feel the frustration of the raindrops as it fell harder onto the ground. He could feel it.
Gray felt the edges of his lips curve up slightly. He then noticed that the song was soon coming to an end and that she was soaked wet through and through. Her movements became slower and then as she played the last note she stood still. She then opened her eyes.
He found her eyes mesmerizing. They were the color of cerulean blue and they shone prettily under the illuminating light from the lamp. She sighed, closing her eyes once again, looking head up the sky, with her violin and bow dangling from her hands.
Gray found her interesting. He walked through the trees, trying to not damage his tuxedo and shirt. He approached her, tapping her delicate shoulder making his presence known.
She shuddered in response, gasping, almost dropping her instrument. She looked at him with a worried expression. She said nothing but her eyes made it all possible to see through her. She wasn't as good as he was in hiding feelings and thoughts.
And right now, she was thinking, "Who the hell is this man and why the fuck is he here?"
"Look, I'm a nice person and I saw you soaked in the rain. I'm afraid you might get sick, so being the nice person I am, I was wondering if I could take you home and dry you off."
"Lead the way," she replied. Her eyes was emotionless and he couldn't grasp any thought through it.
He was surprised. She was more than he expected.
As he took her home, there was an awkward silence, but he knew better than to strike a conversation. After she took her shower and dried off, she laid on his sofa, closing her eyes in exhaustion. Gray carried her to his bed, tucking her safe and sound.
He stayed up all night with a notepad and pencil out, writing words that sprung from his mind carelessly. Gray decided that this night was the best he's had for a while.
Since that night, they hadn't spoken or talked to each other. Not a single word. The woman was completely oblivious to the fact that someone watched her every night at the same place. Playing the same song again and again, he fell in love with the song once again. It's been a long time since he's actually felt quite dear to the song.
Although no voice came out of her lips, he found himself fascinated by her charms with the sounds that was played through the violin. If often rained when she played and those were the nights he enjoyed the most. He didn't find her just standing still; he found her dancing within the music.
Gray soon found himself talking to her weeks after and she was surprisingly shy and shut out to the people around her. He finds her name very unique after he finds out. She opens up to him, one night.
"Juvia likes to play at night because it's calm. Also, people don't correct the things that they don't like about my music."
"Huh. She shouldn't be so shy," he mumbles quietly to himself.
It has been weeks since the day he brought her to his house and he's finally finished the song. At night, after her performance, he takes up a conversation with her as usual.
"Hey, Juvia. Remember when I said that I couldn't sing?"
She nods shyly.
"Well… I can. I came up with this song and I need a violinist to do it with me."
"Okay, so, where does Juvia come in this?"
"You're a violinist and I want you to help me. Is that fine with you?"
She accepts the offer and ever since then the park remains empty at night. The sounds of music remains ceased ever since the moment she joins him in his duet.
They work hard and on a somber night of a rainy July, they finally start practicing their parts. At the rooftop of his apartment, the city lights surrounding them were aureate and Juvia was enthralled by it.
He brings his portable piano up to the top and Gray let's Juvia practice with it. On other nights, she practices with the violin. She wonders why she's agreed to it since he doesn't even sing during practice. It infuriates her, but when she hears him humming the tune, her anger just sails away.
He tells her a night before the concert to dress formally for the next night. Gray didn't expect much but when she appears upon his doorstep, he realizes that she's the most beautiful miracle he's received in his whole life.
Juvia had her hair falling down with a braid that wrapped around her head like a crown. She had no makeup on keeping a natural look, but she had red lipgloss smeared on her lips. Juvia wore no jewelry except for a necklace she wears all the time. It was a silver chain with a blue sapphire shaped like a teardrop as the charm. Juvia was wearing a shimmering blue gown with slits that raised up all the way to her thigh, showing quite a lot of skin. She had a tattoo of some sort on her left thigh which interested Gray, but he didn't question her about it.
"Y-you look stunning, Juvia."
She chuckled and slapped his back and said, "So do you, now let's go."
He grabs the mike set next to his piano and says, "We have a guest with us tonight and she's going to be joining me in a song I wrote a month ago."
The heavy velvet curtain rises and it's dark on the stage. The spotlight focuses on Gray as he clears his throat. He starts moving his hands gracefully over the keys letting the audience take in the soft sounds of the ballad. He starts singing and the people clap in response. Juvia then begins to play the violin which blends in perfect harmony with the piano. The limelight spears on her too.
His voice is silky and smooth and she listens to the lyrics carefully.
Juvia almost drops the bow she was using to play her violin with. She opens her eyes to glance at him and he's smiling quite dearly at her. She wants to cry but she does her best not to even mess up this performance. It was important to them after all.
Gray sings of a violinist under the rain. He tells about how he discovered her and how he came to fall for her. He sings about the sounds he heard that night and what it felt like to watch her dancing. Gray sings how she changed his opinion of a song he once hated and she swore that a tear was about to fall off her eye. Juvia never felt so happy and light hearted in her life. She knew that she had fallen in love with the pianist ever since then.
As the song ends, he stands up from the chair and walks to her as he carries the removable mike in his hand. He kisses her cheek and says loud and clear to the mike, "This song is dedicated to this violinist right here, and tonight I want to let the world of music to know that this woman is a beautiful miracle in my life."
The audience responds with catcalls, whistles and a series of 'awws'. He grins widely and grasps her waist and she yelps. Juvia has tears running down her face, yet she has a smile etched upon her visage.
As the curtain falls down, he hears the audience clapping loudly. Juvia still has tears streaming down her cheeks. Using his thumb he wipes it off. He leans his forehead onto hers and their breath is rapid and unsteady.
"I love you, Juvia."
She grabs his face and kisses him full on the lips. It surprises Gray but he kisses back immediately. It was gentle yet passionate. As she pulls away for breath, she whispers something into his ear.
"I love you too, Fullbuster."
He smiles and they leave hand in hand out of the theater.
In some intricate way, sounds can blossom into a newfound love.