She was smiling at him - that sweet smile that was meant to tell him that everything was okay and she was just happy to have had the time with him that she had gotten.
But everything was not okay, and Gray didn't know what else to do. He couldn't move, he couldn't hear, he couldn't speak, he couldn't even think straight. He was helpless as the great demon beast that had ruined his life held the woman he loved in its grasp - a grasp that was slowly tightening around the blue haired woman, restricting the airflow to her lungs.
He could see crimson trickling from the corner of her smile, a bruise over her left eye, and scratches adorning her face and chest. A large, sharp claw buried itself further within her gut, and more blood came from her.
And he was helpless. He could do nothing.
Deliora grinned with its sharp, yellowed teeth, tightening its fist once more before opening his hand and letting Juvia fall to the ground. Gray managed to find his feet and ran to her, falling to his knees and scraping them badly on the hard ground. But that didn't matter - he caught her, and she was okay.
No, she wasn't okay. Not at all. She looked worse than what he thought, and she wouldn't open her eyes. The smile was slowly fading from her lips, and she wasn't moving; instead lying limp and lifeless in his arms.
She was gone.
He could feel it in his heart - in his soul. She was… gone.
A scream ripped from his throat, but he didn't register the pain. He could only scream in agony at the loss of his sun.
His world was plunged into darkness.
Gray bolted upright, eyes wide and panting heavily. He could feel warm pressure on both of his cheeks and he blinked a couple of times before his eyes focused and he found himself looking into the eyes of… her.
"Gray? Gray, it's me - Juvia! Look at me," she said, and oh, her voice. Her sweet, sweet voice. He could hear her, and she was talking to him.
"Juvia," he said, but his throat was raw - his scream had been real.
"Yes, it's me. Juvia's right here." And it was too much. Tears burned at his eyes and his vision blurred.
She was okay. She was alive.
Juvia moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close so his face settled in the juncture of her neck and shoulder. A soft, soothing hand ran through his hair as he tried to control himself.
"I'm right here," she whispered, "I'm not going anywhere."
She knew - of course she knew. It wasn't the first time he'd awoken in a cold sweat thinking Deliora had returned to claim the life of the woman he loved. And each time his eyes opened, he found her right in front of him, then he was in her arms, one hand on his back and the other in his hair.
She calmed him down until he was ready to tell her the details of the dream - something she insisted he do, then they would lie back down, arms wrapped around each other, and either talk or stay in silence until the morning, neither falling back asleep.
She would be tired the following day, but she insisted she stay awake with him, knowing he was never able to sleep after such dreams. She wanted to be there for him, and he was more grateful for it than he could ever express.
While he blamed himself for what happened to Ur, Gray could only thank the woman for all that she did. Not only did she train him and mold him into the man he had become, but she had guaranteed that the demon Deliora would never again harm his family - a family soon to grow in the coming months.
With his mind slightly at ease, Gray tightened his arms around his wife and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Juvia's eyes sparkled before she turned in his arms and they both watched the window, waiting for the sun to slowly peek over the horizon.
But he already had the sun wrapped in his arms - she was bright and forever shining, and he'd never let anyone extinguish her light.