Title: Against The Never-Ending Sky.

Summary: Juvia is brought out of the slumbers of her sleep from her horrid nightmare, and she seeks for comfort. Thankfully, Gray happens to be in the right place at the right time.

Note: The characters and the world of Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. I am only one of his beloved fans who decided to expand upon his idea, and twist the characters and the plotline into something new. Thus, this still belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Enjoy!

Juvia's eyes flitted open, and she sat up on her bed, gasping. Her recent nightmare swam within her mind, and she wills her heart beat to come back to normal before her heart can jump out of her chest in utter fear. Breathing rapidly through her nose, Juvia felt sweat matting her like a second skin. She blinked, and immediately jumped in her bed when a loud, berating thunder penetrate through the empty silence.

Giving a quick glance out of her window, Juvia could faintly make out the sound of rain drumming outside, and shivered involuntarily in her night-gown. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to recollect her thoughts. Her nightmare had appeared so quick upon her that she no warning given to her at all; which made it all the worse. Of course, it was the same nightmare she had been having for the past two weeks. Only this time, she felt like it was real.

Juvia's thoughts flitted right away to Gray, and she had a strong urge to go to Gray. He was, indeed, down the hallway, barely twenty-five steps away from where Juvia currenly resided.

Her mouth twisted into a grimace, contemplating whether she wanted to wake him up or not. She yearned for comfort, but... she had to admit, Gray wasn't the best person to go to when seeking comfort. As Juvia was tilting to just ignore her rambunctious thoughts and try to go back to sleep before dawn breaks, thunder broke out once again, lighting up her room for a split second and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Juvia could distinctly feel the darkness pushing in against her thoughts, monsters and demons lurking within the shadows, and she knew, she knew she had to see Gray.

She pushed her soft duvet aside, and slid out of her bed, her bare feet touching the cold, bone-chilling floor. Swallowing thickly, Juvia made her way out of her room, and padded quietly down the hallway, pausing just outside of Gray's door. She hesitated, her fist poised above the interior of the door, ready to knock.

Come, Juvia, she chided to herself, do not be a wimp; this is only Gray-sama.

She let her first rapped against her beloved's door, once, twice, thrice, before letting her hand drop dejectedly to her side. She strained her ears to listen to see if Gray had heard her, but she was only met with slight snoring.

Her eyebrows furrowed confusion, she twisted the doorknob to his room, and pushed the door open. Darkness spills out into the dimly-lit hallway, and wrapping her arms tightly around herself, Juvia steps into Gray's room, squinting at the sudden darkness.

All she could barely make out was the form of Gray's bed, and a silhouette of a man who laid, with the covers thrown off of him, in all his glory, drool dribbling out of the corners of his mouth as he snored. Juvia's cheeks flared pink. Aah, Gray-sama, she wanted to cry out dreamily and pinch her cheeks in earnest, why must you play with Juvia's feelings? Alas, she did not do no such thing, for her nightmare swam fresh in her mind, and she felt tears prickling the back of her eyes.

She strolled into the room, her eyes darting from here to there, and she felt suddenly small compared to the vastness of what was Gray's room.

Juvia stopped at the foot of his bed. Blushing slightly and trying not to coo at her lover, she draped his blanket over him, nearly covering him to let have a sense of decency. Or, she thought to herself with a small scowl tugging at the edges of her lips, Gray-sama will blame Juvia for peeling his clothes off and trying to get in bed with him.

Though, on his behalf, it has happened before.

Not that Juvia was willing to admit it, of course.

"Gray-sama?" she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

He didn't stir.

"Gray—sama?" Juvia repeats, louder this time. It didn't seem to wake him up, though, and with a wry smile, Juvia contemplated whether to douse her beloved with herself. Now, that, she thinks to herself drily, would be a wonderful surprise to wake up to.

Juvia opens her mouth once more, in a last attempt to rouse Gray from his sleep, when another bout of thunder cracked in the deafening silence, nearly giving Juvia a heart attack. She cries out in terror, shaking, and that's when Gray finally stirs. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up in his bed almost straightaway. Looking disheveled and dumbfounded, Gray searched for the source of what might have woken him up. His gaze fell on Juvia, who stood at the foot of his bed, looking nearly lost and distraught.

He blinked sleepily at her. "J—Juvia," he frowns, his voice husky from the effects of sleep, "why are you crying?"

Juvia brought her hand up to her cheek, and much to her surprise and chagrin, she was indeed, crying. Thick rivulets of water seemed to stream down her cheeks, and she tries to wipe it away with the back of her hand, her voice caught in her throat. "J—Juvia was..." she stutters, at a loss of words. Embarrassment flared inside of her, and her blush had begun to stain the edge of her jaws and the tip of her ears. She felt stupid, almost silly even. Here was Gray-sama, woken up by Juvia, because of a little nightmare?

It was pathetic.

Juvia lets out a ragged sob as this thought dawn to her, and her hand covered her mouth in an attempt to stay silent—but not really, because she can feel how she is shaking, almost ready to break down, and her knees trembled. Before she knew what was happening, her knees crumpled and she would have fallen to the floor if Gray hadn't caught her in time.

He pulled her in close, his arms wrapping around Juvia's thin, frail body. He rubbed soothing circles upon her back, easing her sobbing as he whispers encouragement into her ears, "It's fine, Juvia. I am here. You don't need to worry now. It was all but just a nightmare." He continued to repeat this mantra many times, until she herself believed it, and her sobs had quieted down to merely a small hiccup every now and then.

To say Gray was in shock was an understatement.

Juvia—the bright, bubbly Juvia, had always seemed so optimistic and upbeat. She was the sunshine to Gray's cloudy day, and she had so well contrasted to his dark, brooding personality that it just seems odd and strange to not witness Juvia either smiling or laughing. And that nearly broke Gray's heart. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he knew, deep down to the inner depths of his soul, that he was festering feelings for the rain woman and there was nothing he could to refrain himself from feeling... whatever this was.

When Juvia had finally calmed down, she pulled away from him, rubbing her eyes shyly. "Thank you, Gray-sama," she whispers softly, her throat bobbing up and down, averting her gaze from Gray. She didn't want to see the expression that was etched upon his face—perhaps pity. sympathy, or even disgust? A pang shot through her heart and Juvia wanted to scream.

Gray detangled his arms from around Juvia's waist, and he pushed her softly away. He looked down upon her, his expression unreadable. "Juvia..." he murmurs, his voice a deep baritone that differed against the harsh thunderstorm barreling outside. Juvie wouldn't meet his eyes. "Juvia," he says again, a determined edge lining the fringe of his voice, "look at me."

Juvia bit her lip, but complied anyways. Swallowing a lump that seemed to be lodged in her throat, she forced herself to raise her eyes to meet Gray's eyes. She didn't know what to expect, though. Maybe annoyance swirling deep in his orbs? Or even irritation for disturbing his sleep? What surprised Juvia even more was deep comfort and solace to be sprinkled about in his dark, azure irises. A frown was tugging at the edges of his lips, one that was laced with worry and perturbation.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded mutely.

Gray saw through her lie immediately. "No, you are not," he says, his voice hard. He hesitated for a moment. He was afraid to ask her what seemed to be troubling her, but how was he supposed to help her if she didn't tell him what was on her mind? "What was your nightmare about?" Gray finally asked.

"It was nothing," Juvia squeaks out, her voice an octave higher than usual.

Gray narrowed his eyes at her. A blush had began to blossom upon Juvia's cheeks, and she finally relented. "J—Juvia was having a nightmare about her, uhm, past. It was when she had still lived in an orphanage with the other children, and they had stayed clear away from her because she... she always bought sadness wherever she went." Juvia felt strange telling Gray about her past. She never told him about this part of her life, but finally letting all of her feelings out left her with a sense of satisfaction. "The children always bullied Juvia. They told her she shouldn't bother them and leave. They said she was worthless and no one would ever love her."

Gray listened to her intently. The further he listened, the further his eyes grew darker. By the end of her tale, his fists were clenched tight, and a menace and murderous aura seemed to surround him in a wide berth. "Juvia," he says firmly, his eyes flashing, "you are not worthless. Do not let anyone tell you what you are, okay? Your past does not define you for who you are now. You are kind-hearted, affectionate, caring, and thoughtful. You have many friends here at Fairy Tail, and you have a new family now. You are not alone, because we will always be there for you. No matter what."

And you have me, he silently added.

Juvia peered up at him through her long, dark eyelashes, a small and hopeful smile dawdling amongst her lips. "I know," she murmurs softly, as if this had just dawned to her, "thank you, Gray-sama," she added with a beam. All traces of her tears had now vanished, and a small glow seemed to reside upon her face now. Gray grunted in satisfaction, and was about to suggest going back to sleep when Juvia launched herself at him. She wanted to express her gratitude through a hug, but her sudden movement had caught him off-guard, and they both tumbled out of the bed and onto the ground.

"Gray-sama!" she squeals from the ground, her arms still circled around his torso as they laid in a heap of tangled limbs.

It was uncomfortable, and Gray was almost certain that he couldn't feel his feet when he realized that he wasn't donning any clothes. "J—Juvia!" he yelled out in a highly distressed tone, his eyes widening as his heart continued to pump blood with a new fervor, "Get off of me! I—I'm naked!"

"Even better, Juvia's beloved Gray-sama!"

He internally groaned.

This was going to be a long night.

The next morning...

"Gray-sama?"

"Hmm?"

"Juvia just wanted to inform you that you need to sort out your snoring problem."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"It's not problematic, it's just—owww!"

A/N: Hi guys! I'm sorry that I haven't posted a new one-shot in such a looong time! I had no inspiration to write, and it took me a few months to get back into the swing of things, but here I am! I hope you guys truly did enjoy this fanfic, and if you have any questions, just hit me up with a private message! (Psst—I also just realized that this is my first one-shot that had a happy ending... so cheers to that!)

Don't forget to drop in a review! It would mean a lot to me. Thank you! :) hehe.

—Esha Ali