Gray looks at the way Juvia is holding him, then turns his gaze at the man. Those icy blue eyes, the way he stares at the poor girl, and how Juvia utters those words out of fear…

So this is the infamous father of Jellal and Juvia…

The man does not seem like he's going to make a move, but as every second passes by, the raven head can feel the tightening of Juvia's hold on his arm. Without even looking, he knows that there's terror in her eyes, cold sweat is dripping down her forehead as she tries her best to avoid the cold gaze as much as she can.

"I never thought that you would come back home this late, let alone come home with another man…" the man looks at her "You are just full of surprise…"

She flinches at his words, lowers her head, and scoops herself closer to Gray. Please… Anyone… Help her get through this…

"What do you want from her?" Gray looks at him, using his body to shield away the poor girl.

Mr. William Fernandes stares back at him, there is a hint of amusement in his eyes. This is interesting…

Up to this point, Juvia still refuses to look at him. Just the way he has his eyes on her sends a chill down her spine. Why is he here? How does he know that she lives here? What does he want? Questions after questions pop into her mind as Juvia feels her legs slowly give in, unable to support her any longer.

"I see that Jelal is not here." he speaks slowly, enjoying every flinch his daughter is making "You might know where he is, don't you?"

"I… I… "

"You know this man, Juvia?" Gray turns to her, acting clueless "And who is this Jelal he's talking about?"

The young girl looks at him, it takes her a few seconds before she realizes what he's trying to do. She shakes her head, signaling to her father that she does not know where her brother is. The man gives her a stern look, knowing too well how bad of a liar she is, but he ignores it.

If he wants to force the truth out of her mouth, he has his own way to do it. Juvia knows very well what punishment she is going to get if she disobeys him and he will make sure that she learns that lesson again, but now right now. The young man in front of him is someone he knows he should not mess up with, those icy eyes stare at him blankly without any emotion attached to them. The way he shields the bluenette is the silent answer to his obvious threat to her.

"Very well."

With that, William takes his leave, but his dangerous aura still leaves Juvia shivering in fear. Fear that he will do something to hurt her brother, fear that he will do something to break her peaceful life, fear that he will do something to hurt her beloved Gray-sama…

She slides down to the ground, unable to maintain her usual calmness anymore. Tears shed down as she stares at the ground blankly, unable to process the situation or know what to do. That man, her father, has finally shown back in her life once again. What can she do?

"Come now, Juvia."

Gray guides her back to the apartment, knowing how distressed she is right now. He walks to the kitchen and brews a pot of chamomile tea for both of them, hoping that a cup of hot tea will at least bring Juvia back to her sense.

"Here you go."

"T-thank you, Gray-sama…"

Sitting next to her as he takes a sip of his tea, Gray can still feel the trembling body against his arms. Juvia unconsciously scoops closer to him, hoping to feel the other person's presence to calm down her nervous system. She is glad that Jelal did not come up to her apartment, who knows what that man will do if he sees her brother right here, right now.

"Juvia…"

"G-Gray-sama, sh-she is sorry for what happened…"

"What? Why? You did nothing wrong." Her words take him by surprise as Gray stares at her.

"S-She's only causing you trouble…She is sorry…"

"Don't say that." He gives her a stern look as Gray grabs her arms "Never say that to me ever again. You did nothing wrong. I told you that you can rely on me, didn't I?"

Her gorgeous blue orbs stare back at him and her lips quiver as she nods her head, blankly agreeing with what he said without any rejection. He did tell her that and she is grateful that he is by her side right now. Although her father did not do anything, the underlining tone of his voice said it all. She is scared, not because her life is now in danger, but because of what he will do to Jelal and Gray, as William knows his face.

Juvia tries to calm down, telling herself that as long as William does not know where Jellal is, then maybe…maybe he will leave her alone. She only hopes for that outcome to happen, the thought of him doing something to Jellal and Gray makes her stomach turns. Living under his tyranny for so long, she knows very well what he is capable of doing.

"Why don't you get some rest?" Gray suggests "Come now, let's get you to your bed."

Juvia looks at him and nods her head, her mind is too overwhelmed to even think of anything else besides what her father might do. Letting Gray guide her back to her bedroom as she lays down on her bed, Juvia stares blankly at the ceiling, still thinking about everything that just happened.

Gray gently brushes her hair, telling her that everything is going to be okay and that she should not be afraid of anything, as long as he's with her. Juvia wants to believe that, she wants to believe that he is her knight in shining armor, the one who will shield away any pain that tries to get her. But she can't do it, not when she knows that she will bring him into her messed up life.

Oh how she regrets bringing her beloved Gray-sama into this, she should not have done that. He is now in danger because of him, her father has set his eyes on him, who knows what that man can do to harm him? She can take all the pain, she can take all the blame, but she can't stand looking at Jellal or Gray in danger. She just can't…

Just the thought of William might do something to them brings Juvia to tears as she knows too well through her experience. She prays to god, to Mavis-sama, and to anyone who has the power to take this away from her. To take this fear away from her…

The raven head turns to take his leave and turns off the light in her room, as the darkness wraps around her, Juvia's whole body tensed up immediately.

It's so dark… her room is so so dark…

It's lonely… it's so so lonely…

Since when did she forget that she is afraid of the dark? Since when did she forget that she is afraid of being alone? Tears stream down her eyes again as her fears once again pop up in her life. If her father did not show up, then maybe she might have forgotten about those fears.

"G-Gray-sama…" her voice cracks up as she calls out his name.

Gray stops at his feet and turns around to look at the young girl. She sits up and just looks at him, her hand reaching out into the dark room as if she is trying to grab him. The raven head walks to her bed and holds her hand in his, feeling how small and yet, how it fits perfectly in his own palm.

"Do you need something, Juvia?" he asks her tenderly.

She opens her mouth to say something, but the words are stuck in her throat as she feels too ashamed to even talk to him. What will Gray say if she asks him about this? Will he freak out? Will he look at her like a crazy woman? Will he leave immediately? Questions after questions pop into her head as Juvia slowly pulls her hand away, feeling too overwhelmed and embarrassed to even talk about it.

But Gray refuses to let go as he holds onto her hand even tighter, his other hand slowly caressing her cheek, encouraging her to speak up. Blue orbs look at him, her lips quiver a bit and for the first time in her life, Juvia lets herself be selfish.

"Please, will you stay here with Juvia?" she asks softly "She does not want to be alone…"

Gray stays silent for a few seconds before nodding his head, laying right next to her after she makes some room for him. The raven head holds her trembling body close, his hand combs the blue locks gently as he can feel his shirt becomes slightly wet. He sighs in relief, Juvia finally puts down the walls she builds around her as she cries softly in his chest, her hands grabbing onto his shirt tightly.

Juvia cries, she cries her heart out. She lets herself become so small, so vulnerable, so fragile in front of his eyes. The bluenette lets out her pain, her sorrow, all of the darkest, ugliest part of herself that she has tried to hide for so long. Gray stays there with her, never once letting her go, not even when she finally lets the tiredness take over and falls asleep in his arms.

"It's okay now Juvia. I'm here, I'm right here with you."