A/N This is set during the six months after Tartaros when Gray and Juvia were living together. A small analysis of the possible events and the mindset of Gray that transpired during this time frame.

Please feel free to express your opinions. Any feedback is welcome. Enjoy!

Winter's Howl

It wasn't necessarily his right to think the way he did. Few things remained in this world that he did have a right to, but this type of thing warranted his current attitude. It was unacceptable. It was abhorrent. It was so terrible, that he figured this was the worst event of his life. Worst of all, there wasn't a single aspect he could influence.

He despised it, loathed it, and wanted it removed from his life. His, o' so terrible life...

Certainly, it wasn't his right. Yet, it was a part of him. He couldn't remove it, change, transform, or destroy it. It, however, remains, remained, and will remain.

It was hell. Worse than hell. He was so deep. He could not see the light. Even more climactic, there was no way out. A prison. Nay, his prison.

He wanted to blame someone for it. Anyone...

Stuck...

Trapped...

Nowhere to run...

Nowhere to hide...

The darkness within him screaming...

The brightness within him beaming...

A date with Juvia!

Woe is him!

Gray wasn't a cruel man. Indeed, he had his brighter, kinder moments (the inverse was also true). Yet, he was apprehensive. Very much so. Snow had been pelting the small cabin they had been living in and the frost was harsh. He, of course, didn't mind this much. Frankly, he wouldn't have noticed had it not been for her shivering and soft moaning during the night time. Juvia was not partial to the cold. This much he learned quickly. Surprising, considering her admiration for him.

An act of kindness could be misconstrued as an act of love, he thought, and, well, he didn't want to encourage her. His purpose in life wasn't to be happy or have a family. Kids, a house, a bourgeois lifestyle.

He thought about it many times. Settling down with Juvia. She was willing. Sometimes, she was too willing to pursue that life.

He couldn't do it.

Something prevented him. A darkness. A devil. An overwhelming sense of... something.

Besides, he was conflicted about his own feelings. The passing of his late father. The acquiring of powers that he didn't understand (or fully control).

She was, or seemed to be, far above this morose sense of duty calling him. Free and light like a petal dancing in the wind. A feather carried off into a gentle stream. The harmonious thrum of rain falling on a wooden ceiling. Calm, serene, and in a way, beautiful.

She was pretty. He was no fool. Her admiration for him, to him, seemed only to exist because of some passing infatuation. At least, this is what he told himself. Quite a passing infatuation.

He had experienced similar thoughts and feelings not too long ago himself. He had compassion for her, he was no monster. He was, perhaps, in some way afraid. Afraid of what could happen if he allowed himself. Afraid of bringing her down to his level.

This magic was not love's magic. It was not protective magic.

However, this magic of his, it was almost a siren's call.

Lulling him to sleep.

Molding his soul.

Turning it to shades he didn't want to see.

Her soft painful hums, as she fumbled around in bed at night, trying to find warmth, were becoming too much for him to bear. He wasn't cruel and no friend of his would suffer a moment longer if he could help it.

One particular night, the frost was especially biting, and she just couldn't seem to get the right sleeping position. Constantly shifting. Shivering so much that the frame of the cot was practically experiencing a small earthquake. Frankly, it was almost annoying and he couldn't bear it any longer. So what some would call cute and heart-warming, he called being a good friend.

He called her.

A soft call. "Juvia..."

She fumbled once more and answered, through chattering teeth, a yearning reply, "Gray-sama?"

"Are you alright?" He asked rhetorically, he had already made up his mind.

She hummed in the affirmative.

Naturally, it was a lie. A white, frosty lie. She could hardly admit to him that she was freezing. If her hair wasn't blue before, she was certain it would be now.

Gray, steeling his resolve for what was to come, called out again a little more forcefully.

"Juvia, are you cold?"

She sat up in her bed, holding the sheets tightly around her, trying in vain to conserve heat.

"Gray-sama, Juvia will survi..."

Gray cut her off, "Juvia, are you cold?"

The wind howled and hissed as it blasted against their tiny cabin.

"Juvia... is a little chilly." Juvia admitted this reluctantly. Her Gray would think that she is weak. She was also disappointed in herself for not being able to resist the cold. He would never love her now. She could feel the tears threatening her eyes. No, she would be strong and prove herself to him.

She peered into the darkness. She couldn't see very far. The outline of Gray in the bed opposite her. The last embers struggling in the fireplace.

"Juvia, never repeat this to anyone."

She froze with shock, what could possibly be the... Her thought, however, was interrupted as she felt Gray move next to her.

"Juvia shift a little."

She acquiesced and Gray climbed into the bed next to her. Their arms were touching. She was as stiff as a board. Strangely, she didn't feel cold anymore.

They lay down together. Not entirely comfortable. Not entirely uncomfortable.

"Gray-sama..."

"It's an icy night. Didn't want you to get sick."

Juvia smiled contentedly. Her Gray-sama was so thoughtful and caring.

"We need a few supplies; I am going down to Amefurashi Village tomorrow morning. Do you want to come with?"

Juvia hummed in the affirmative.

"Try to get some rest."

Juvia, however, was wide awake. Not only was her Gray-sama sharing the same bed with her, they were going on a date the following morning. Her heart fluttered in excitement.

Maybe he would finally notice her.

Gray woke up to pitch black.

A voice reverberated through him. It was loud and screeching. Searing through his head. A white hot flash penetrating his skull.

"GRAYYYY!"

"AAARRRE YOUUU AFFFRAAIDDD?!"

"YOU MUST DESTROY E.N.D."

The world around Gray was beginning to melt and for the first time in a long time, he felt cold. It was biting, unrelenting, and raw.

"YOU MUST DESTROY E.N.D."

Something was crawling around on his arm. It wrapped around his wrist and forearm.

"YOU ARE ALONE, GRAY."

"YOU CANNOT PROTECT YOURSELF, MUCH LESS YOUR FAMILY!"

"YOU MUST DESTROY E.N.D.!"

The darkness began to swirl in front of him, forming a face. A sinister face in front of him. His own face.

"Accept your destiny. You were marked by the demon Delioria through the death of your family. You remain marked. Are you willing to let your family die again?"

Gray found his voice and howled at the face, "Never! No matter what!"

The darkness retracted and Gray was left alone.

Something searing hot was crawling over his arm. Gray wanted to scream in agony but no sound escaped him. It was spitting all over his body, covering his chest and face. It bubbled and felt like it was going to burn right through his skin.

It burned him so intensely, he felt like he was going to die.

The voice returned, "YOU MUST KILL E.N.D."

Gray was in pure agony.

"I will destroy E.N.D.! No matter what! I will do whatever needs to be done."

"YOU DO NOT KNOW THE MEANING OF TERROR! BE CERTAIN, YOU WILL"

Gray awoke to a tangled mess of blue on his chest. He grimaced. He knew she was going to pull this out of context at some point during the day.

It was still early morning. Only a few tentative rays of sunshine dared peak through the most minute cracks in the cabin and into the darkness of the cabin. It was going to be a beautiful day.

At least, he hoped as much...