With water still dripping down the strands of his hair, he walked out of the bathroom and stood lazily in front of the mirror by the bed with only a pair of shorts on and a towel around his neck. He didn't bother putting on a shirt, knowing he'll only discard it moments after he walks out of the room. He especially didn't want that to happen after he came close to losing some of the shirts Juvia made for him.
There wasn't much change in his physique since the training began and the black webbing across his right shoulder and chest no longer surprised him. Still, there was a sliver of hope within him that the image of himself that he had been seeing for the past few weeks had only been a dream. A cruel dream in stark contrast of Juvia leading him to the light.
When he saw that the black tendrils had only gotten bigger and pulled taut at his muscles, his eyes narrowed for a fleeting second before relaxing into the hooded eyes he had always seen the world with. With a sigh, he lifted the towel off his shoulders and dried his hair off with swift swipes before throwing it into the laundry bin on his way to the door. With all the clothes he would throw off at random times, it was the least he could do to help Juvia.
He thought it would haunt him- the demon slayer magic taking over him in physical form. Instead, whenever he closed his eyes, he saw her humming in the kitchen, picking up his clothes strewn across the floor, training alongside him, brushing her teeth with him. Shaking the images out of his head, he opened the door and walked out into the kitchen where he heard the familiar humming.
Her songs always sounded curiously like raindrops. It wasn't the downpour that they were caught in when they first met. They were like the soft dripping down a rooftop, pooling on the ground to reflect the clouds retreating from the sky. It wasn't what he imagined waking up to every day, but he had grown accustomed to it. Strangely, he had grown fond of the apron and pigtails.
As he did every morning, he opened the fridge for a drink to go along with breakfast and stiffened when he felt her arms wrap around his torso and her cheek against his back.
"Good morning, Gray-sama"
He wanted to relax into her embrace, into the escape she offered from the dark reality of the magic and his quest. He wanted this quiet life with her. He wanted to give in to this cure.
Instead, he had to welcome a different kind of pain.
"I think the fish is burning" He said coldly while pushing her arms off of him.
He felt her small smile press against his spine before letting go and scurrying over to the stove to make sure their breakfast wouldn't go to waste. His coldness towards her didn't stop her happy humming.
She turned the stove off when she deemed the food ready and turned around with the pan of fish to bring it to the table that was already set for the two of them. When she saw the noticeably bigger mark, her eyebrows furrowed with silent concern, but didn't press on. She decided long ago that she would wait until the day he was ready to talk to her about it.
She clasped her hands at her chest and went starry eyed at sharing the early morning with her beloved shirtless in front of her.
"Itadakimasu" was all he muttered and started eating, knowing that she'll catch up to reality and try to feed him soon enough.
Sure enough, she snapped out of her daydream and picked up her chopsticks. Without enjoying a single bit herself, she picked up some of the fish she prepared and leaned over to try to get him to eat it. She only pursued him more when he leaned back in his chair and pushed her hand away with a slight flush on his face. When her eyes watered up and she started to whimper words about him not enjoying the fish, he sighed and took a swift bite.
Her tears subdued immediately and she went starry eyed once more.
He struggled to keep a smile from creeping up on his face. He never thought that these moments would mean so much to him. With each day together, he found that his desire for her grew in his heart. He longed for more than just the ghost of her warmth and silly antics, but they would have to remain only in his memories. He would have to repeat them in his mind like a mantra before going to sleep to keep his sanity.
But he could never let these moment that meant so much come too close to him.
Because as much as they were what he desired with all his heart, they were what made it all that more difficult to leave her.
