A/N: This oneshot is inspired of one of the 10 headcanons I posted on Tumblr the other day, and I truly wanted it done before the chapter 418's release so it's really short, sorry about that! English is not my native language either, so pardon me if there's mistakes... Hope you'll like it, though!
Her eyes flew open when she heard sobs from the other side of the bed. He'd probably thought she was sleeping because her back was turned in his direction, but she wasn't. At least not anymore.
In fact, and for the third time this week, Juvia -now totally awake- was listening to Gray's sobs, a feeling of guilt slightly gnawing her innards. She already knew he was still hurt, and right now the only thing she could do was listen and pretend she was asleep, probably because she felt somehow responsable.
They were on a journey since nearly three months, but the loss of his father was still something he hardly talked about. So here she was, holding her breath and silently watching how the darkness was swallowing the corner of the room they ended up sharing. From time to time, he would release a muffled, stifled sound, and she would bites her lips in return, feeling more and more guilty.
« Gray-sama… » she finally whispered, her voice sounding sleepier than she'd attended it, « Is there something Juvia can do ? »
A flat and hazy silence followed, and she frowned when she felt that Gray apparently moved. Juvia turned over to face him, only to be greated by his back.
« Gra-… »
« Sorry, » he muttured in a low ton, « Just sleep. I'm fine.»
« But Gra-… »
« Goodnight, Juvia, » he cuted, waving his hand in irritation from his side of the bed.
The girl's eyes widened in shock, and a shiver runned down her spine. Something in his voice felt incredibly familiar, and it reminded her of the way he acted towards her before. She watched Gray's silhouette from where she was during an unconscionably long time, wondering if it was alright to leave the situation like this. However, when the sleep came to her an hour later, offering her to take all the problems and the guilt for a while, she concluded it couldn't be helped in the time being, and she would maybe find a solution the day after. Thus she was about to capitulate, closing her eyes and letting all her thoughts sinking into the darkness... But then she heard it.
The same muffled, stifled sound she heard earlier. And it was getting louder at each sob, because once again Gray couldn't take it anymore. So this time, instead of pretending she was sleeping, she leaned forward, spreading her arms around him. And even if she felt his whole body quiver under her touch, she didn't let go. And she knew she did the right thing when she heard the word "thank you" escaping his mouth. And that's how they felt asleep that night, Juvia rocked by the darkness and Gray's beating heart, and him dealing with his wavering feelings.