REPOSTED!
This one's very late, but at least I managed to finish it. Don't know why it was so hard to write, I guess I was really tired.
The prompt for day 6 was nightmare, so I decided to try something different and have Gray and Juvia's son having a nightmare. So this story mainly focuses on Gray comforting him, but there are some nice Gruvia moments at the end.
Enjoy! Don't forget to comment, follow and favorite.
Gray woke up with a jump, the nightmare still vivid. He took a few moments to calm himself down and return his breathing back to normal; hands tightly gripping the edge of the dark blue sofa where he had been napping. He rubbed his tired eyes, trying to wash the sleep off them.
Once he was fully awake, the ice mage stretched while staring at the half eaten plate filled with caramade franks and the empty glass of wine. He had been in the middle of dinner when tiredness overtook him and he ended up falling asleep. Luckily, the kids had already gone to bed, so he wouldn't have to get an earful from Juvia once she got back from her dinner with Meredy.
"Let me go!" A loud yell echoed through the house, startling him. Gray quickly stood up and looked around, keeping his guard up. Realizing there was no one else there, he relaxed.
"What was that about?" He whispered, confused. The scream had been so loud and desperate; it didn't seem to be an hallucination.
"Mamma! Come back, mamma!" His eyes widened once he realized where it had come from.
"Ur." He let out worriedly before racing to his son's room. He slowly opened the door, trying to avoid loud noises that might awake the baby next door.
With great care, Gray tip toed across the room until he reached the bed. It was really dark and he couldn't turn the lights on without awakening the child, so the ice mage had to leave the door open.
"Mamma!" The little boy was crying while kicking his blankets away. Gray spotted the blue dragon that he had given Ur during their trip to Antartica and a teddy bear Ultear had given for his birthday on the ground.
"Hey, buddy. It's okay." The ice mage sat on the bed and placed a hand on his son's back, gently caressing it. Since the child kept moving, he settled for taking him in his arms and wrapping him in a tight hug like Juvia would do when she comforted their son.
After a few minutes of Gray rocking them back and forth, Ur finally calmed down and his arms dropped as he fell limp against his father's chest. Satisfied, the ice mage began putting him back on the bed, but the child grabbed his shirt and whimpered.
Gray sighed; it was always like this. Whenever the little boy had a nightmare, he'd force Juvia-since she was the one who usually comforted him- to stay with him until he fell completely asleep. Sometimes the water mage would take pity on the poor boy and take him to their room, lying him down between his parents.
The ice mage had always thought this to be unnecessary and harmful, since it made Ur accostumed to sleeping with them and so when he was with others he'd suffer from not being able to do it. However, he knew better than anyone how horrifying and heartbreaking nightmares can be, so he kept these thoughts to himself.
"Ur, you're gonna have to let go." He tried once again to put the boy down, but Ur only grabbed him tighter.
"No, daddy. Don't let go." He whimpered and Gray realized he was no longer sleeping. Removing his arms from around the child, he was met by half-opened, familiar blue eyes.
"Hey, there." Ur yawned before blinking a few times.
"Where's mamma?" It was the first thing he asked.
"She's at dinner with aunt Meredy, remember?" Gray replied, but the boy bit his lip while frowning.
"So she's okay?" The ice mage was confused.
"Yes, she's fine. Why do you ask, Ur?" He had a bad feeling and it was confirmed when the child answered.
"Mamma was hurt by the monster." Gray sighed before giving him a reassuring look.
"It was just a dream, buddy." Ur still looked unsure.
"But what if the monster goes after her in real life?" That left the ice mage worried. Never before had his son worried so much about a nightmare. Usually all it would take was the reassurance that it had been merely a dream to calm him down.
"There is no monster, Ur." It still wasn't enough to convince the child that Juvia was all right.
"But you said there was, daddy. You said that the monster was really bad and scary." Now Gray was confused.
"When did I say that?" Ur's eyes showed fear when he answered.
"When we were in the snowy town. You said the monster was the one who killed grandpa and grandma and his name was De..De.." The child couldn't pronounce it, but Gray understood and his eyes widened.
"Deliora?" His son had a nightmare about Deliora?
"He was going after mamma." The little boy said and the ice mage took in a heavy breath. This wasn't good. When he had explained his parent's death to Ur while they visited his old home, the last thing Gray had wanted was for the child to have nightmares. He should've known that mentioning Deliora was a terrible idea.
"I'm scared, daddy." The ice mage sighed.
"I'm so sorry, son. I didn't mean to scare you when I told you about Deliora." He picked Ur up and placed him on his lap before protectively wrapping an arm around the child."But you don't have to worry about him, he's long gone."
"Really?" Those big blue eyes that were just like his mother held uncertainty still, so Gray nodded eagerly.
"Yep. You've got nothing to worry about." He tickled the young boy, bringing a small smile to the child's face.
"Stop, daddy!" Ur giggled and Gray couldn't help but to smile as well. They played around for a few minutes until the sound of a door opening caught their attention.
"Mamma!" The little boy yelled before jumping from the bed and running towards the living room at unimaginable speed.
"Hi sweetie." Hearing her soft voice made him sigh in relief by the reassurance that she was all right.
"Mamma, I'm so glad you're okay!" When he arrived at the living room, the sight that met him brought a bright smile to his face . There was Juvia, kneeling down still in her short red dress and black heels, a look of surprise was on her face as Ur's arms wrapped around her tightly.
"Hey." She greeted the ice mage with a smile before caressing her son's back as his arms tightened around her neck. "Is everything okay?" Gray nodded.
"He had a bad dream." The bluenette pulled apart from Ur's hug so she could look at his face.
"Is that true, baby?' The little boy nodded, tears beginning to form.
"There was a monster, mamma. And he took you away from me." Her heart broke at the sight of his crying face and she was quick to bring him into her arms.
"Oh, sweetheart. It's okay, mamma's right here." Juvia reassured him, gently kissing the top of his head.
"You know, he was fine before you came in." Gray pointed out, rolling his eyes at Ur's overreaction. The little boy was just like his mother sometimes, so overdramatic.
"He doesn't look fine." She replied while carrying their son to the couch.
"Yeah, it's my fault." He sat down by her side and she turned to him, blue eyes curious.
"Why do you say that?" He sighed once again.
"His nightmare was about Deliora." Her eyes widened in shock and she stopped caressing Ur's back.
"Deliora? Seriously?" Gray nodded grimly.
"Yes. Maybe we shouldn't have told him about what happened with my parents and Ur." Seeing his guilty look, she extended her hand and took his.
"Stop beating yourself for this, okay? It's not your fault." Maybe it had been a mistake, she thought, but they had decided together, so it was their mistake.
"I just can't help feeling like the whole trip was a mistake." Gray said, letting go of her hand. It was her turn to sigh.
"Me too." She looked at him worriedly. "I was hoping it would bring you some closure, but it seems like all it did was restart the nightmares." He was caught by surprise. He had been so careful over the past few days not to awaken her when he was plagued by dreams of his parent's death.
"How did you know I was having them?" Even more surprising was the fact that she hadn't brought it up.
"I've known you for years, my love. I know when you haven't been sleeping well, even if you're not as loud as you used to be." Both grimaced at the memory of the first few years since they got together, when his nightmares were frequent and left him trashing, screaming and sweating. Back when Juvia got pregnant, she had to sleep in a separe bed, or else she'd never sleep through the night.
"Why didn't you talk to me about it, then?" This time a small smile came upon her face.
"I assumed you'd want some space." It might've taken seven years, but she managed to understand how he worked and learn to respect his ways.
"Thank you." She was about to say more, but a whimper coming from the child in her arms brought their attention to him.
"Hey, Ur. Look!" Wanting to distract the distressed boy, Gray used his magic to make snowflakes fill the living room.
Juvia pulled him away from chest and turned him around on her lap so that he'd face his father. "Don't you love snowflakes, baby?"
"Yeah, but..." The little boy said, though his frown remained.
"Hey, you don't have to worry about your bad dream, okay? Mamma's not going to leave you, I'd never let that happen." The ice mage gave his wife an intense look and she knew the deeper meaning behind his words.
"But, but..." Juvia moved him again so that she could stare into his identical blue eyes.
"No buts. You're not getting rid of me that easily." She smiled reassuringly at him and Ur nodded.
"I don't want to. I love you, mamma." Her smile enlarged and she stared at him lovingly.
"I love you too, baby." The water mage hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead. Gray heard her whispering comforting words in his year and he smiled. She always knew just how to make their son feel better.
The loud sound of a baby crying interrupted the beautiful moment and Juvia pulled apart from the hug.
"Let me get her." The ice mage told her, but she shook her head.
"She's probably hungry, so I'll do it while you stay with Ur." He nodded and she slowly removed her arms from around the little boy, making him whimper.
"No, mamma. Don't leave." Juvia knew that he was traumatized about his nightmare, but Mika needed her now. So she embraced him again before moving him to Gray's lap.
"I have to pick up your sister now. I'll be right back, I promise." It was hard to turn away from those sad eyes, but the increase in the baby's crying made her quickly cross the room and go towards her own bedroom.
Meanwhile, Gray hugged his son while using his magic to distract the poor boy. It didn't work so well; Ur kept glancing towards the door, but at least he stayed put. And only a few minutes later Juvia came back with Mika in her arms.
"Look who's here." The ice mage said and Ur's face lit up at the sight of his sister. He loved being the big brother, so he was always a big help when it came to taking care of her.
"Hey, Mika. Are you hungry?" He asked once Juvia sat back on the couch. The baby stared at him sleepily for a moment, before giggling.
"She really likes you, buddy." Gray smiled; it was always satisfying to see how close his children were.
"I like you too, little sis." The young boy took his sister's hand and she grabbed his arm with the other.
"You two are such great siblings." Juvia smiled, a fond look on her face as she recalled similar moments with Gajeel when they were children.
"Yeah, I'm sure you'll be great when the next one comes." Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped Mika.
"The next one?" Realizing what he had said, Gray started freaking out.
"Wait, I didn't mean it like that. No, wait, I did. I mean..." He paused, taking a deep breath and ignoring Ur's curious eyes that were staring up at him in confusion. "I'd like to have more children."
"Really?" Juvia was caught by surprise.
"Yeah." He blushed a bit and she smiled. "I didn't think that I'd ever want children after everything that happened, but then Ur and Mika came and it brought me happiness like I never imagined. I want to feel that again."
"Me too." She took his hand and squeezed it.
"So I'm getting another sister?" Ur excitedly asked, staring between his parents.
"In the far and distant future, yeah. Right now we have enough trouble handling the two of you." Gray replied and Ur jumped with joy.
"Yay!" Juvia smiled at him before looking back at her husband suggestively.
"We could start trying now." His eyes widened in shock and she laughed. "I'm kidding."
"You're going to be the death of me someday." He shook his head before moving so he'd be closer to he and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"But I guess I'm fine with that." Juvia rolled her eyes.
"I love you too." He laughed at the priceless look on her face before leaning in to kiss her lips.
"Hey!" Ur complained as he was squashed between them, but they ignored him as Juvia's hand came to rest upon Gray's cheek while he brought her even closer.
His nightmare long forgotten, the ice mage relished in the happiness of being with his family.
So, thoughts? Did you enjoy Papa Gray?
What about Ur? Isn't he the cutest little thing? I just love children, they're so fascinating!
Have a nice day, everyone!