The soft chirping sound outside the window becomes more lively as the sunlight creeps in, waking up the raven head. Groggy eyes open slowly from the deep sleep, refusing to wake up fully.

What time is it…?

He tries to reach the side table to grab his alarm clock and is surprised to see there's nothing on the surface besides the small table lamp. He stirs his body a bit more, trying to regain his conscious back but something, or someone, is stopping him from doing so. Gray can feel a soft breath right next to him as something is laying on his arm, he turns to his side and his eyes are wide open to see the familiar blue locks.

Juvia? Wait…What happened…?

The first thing that comes to his mind is the worst-case scenario, fear surges through his body as he thinks of what horrible thing he has done to the poor girl until he notices their situation. Their clothes are still on, the ones they wore yesterday. Memories pour back to him, Gray remembers what happened last night, they met the man Juvia calls father, the way she held onto his arms tightly and refuse to let go, the way she begged him to stay with her for a night.

"Uhm…"

A soft moan escapes her lips as she tries to snuggle to the source of warmth next to her. Such a rare sight he sees in front of him, and for the first time after many months, Gray finally sees it. The sight of Juvia sleeping peacefully on her bed, so peaceful that no one can know how much fear and worry she has on her small shoulder. The way her brows frown a bit as she scoops closer to him, once she finds a great spot to cuddle, a small smile forms on her pink lips as Juvia returns to her slumber again. It would be a lie if he doesn't want this moment to last longer.

For a man who prioritizes his fixed schedule more than anything, Gray finds it hard to get out of bed and starts his day. What time is it? 7:00 AM? 9:00 AM? 11:00 AM? Maybe he still has time to get to class, maybe not, who knows. He doesn't care anymore as he turns to her side, the other hand touching her arm and caressing it gently.

So cute…

What is this fluffy feeling he has right now? A soft blush appears on his face as Gray touches her soft cheeks, earning him a soft pleasing moan from the sleeping girl. What would Erza say if she sees this? What would Jellal do if he sees this? Surely, the older man would send him to heaven immediately if he finds his little sister in the same bed with the raven head.

"Uhm…Gray-sama…?"

She speaks softly, still very much in a drowsy state as blue orbs half open to look at him.

"Good morning." A rare loving smile forms on his lips "Sleep a bit more, I'll wake you up later."

"Mmhmm…"

With that, Gray gently combs her hair as she drifts back into her dreamland. Just for one day, he wants to spend this moment with the bluenette to the fullest.

While Gray and Juvia spend a lovely time together, their friends at the campus are wondering where they are. Loke tries to call his friend a couple of times, knowing too well that Gray will never skip class if he does not have a good excuse. And if he does, he will give Loke a call or at least send him a text. But all his effort goes straight to the voicemail as Gray does not pick up his phone.

Even Meredy has to come to their lunch table and asks if Juvia is with them, she tried the same thing but the bluenette did not answer and she is worried that her friend got into trouble. Jellal and Erza look at each other, they don't quite understand what's going on. Everything seemed well yesterday after the pair got out of their car.

"Jella-san, can you call Juvia?"

"She doesn't answer my call." he sighs, looking at his phone screen.

"I can't get to Gray either, his voicemail is probably filled now." Loke does the same thing.

"Hey, maybe Gray and Juvia a-OUCH!" before Natsu can finish his sentence, Gajeel covers his mouth with a big slap, glaring deathly at the pink head.

"Not one word…" said the scary man.

Jellal looks at them, confused and yet skeptical at the same time. Is that possible?

Don't get him wrong, Gray does score himself a player look, but surely he will never do such a thing to his beloved little sister… Right…?

"Jellal-san, if that is what you think about, I can guarantee that he will never do that." Said Loke "Gray is not that type of person, I promise."

Loke's words help ease the tension in the group, especially Jellal, who is worried sick about his sister. He trusts Gray, he trusts that the young man would never do anything to harm Juvia. But that does not explain why both of them are absent today without saying anything.

"How about we go to their place after class?" Erza suggests.

"Yeah, let's do that…"

And with that, Jellal and Erza agree to meet up with the young pair in the afternoon. Jellal's car is parked in front of their apartment building and they walk up the stairs, in their hands is to-go food they bought earlier. As they arrive at the apartment, none of them notice the black car parks near the building. A sinister smirk forms on their lips as they order the driver to continue driving…

There you are… Jellal…

Jellal presses the doorbell of his sister's apartment and as always, Gray is the one who welcomes them in.

"Gray, you're absent today." said Erza as she puts the food on the table "Care to exp-?"

Gray shushes her before she can finish her sentence. He points to Juvia's bedroom and tells them that the bluenette is still sleeping, he does not want to wake her up.

"Is she okay? Is she sick?"

"She's tired, that's all…" he replies "Although…"

Gray stops himself and thinks about what he's going to say, should he warn Jellal about this? Or he should let Juvia talks to her brother? It's an important thing to warn him, especially after he witnessed how traumatized Juvia was after seeing her father.

Jellal notices the way Gray looks at him like he wants to say something, something important. The raven head signals him to follow outside the apartment as he asks Erza to look after Juvia for a bit. As the door close behind him, Gray turns and gives him a dead serious look. It's one of those rare things that Gray does if whatever he's going to say is an important or touchy matter.

"Jellal-san, did something happen to you and Erza last night after dropping us off?"

"No, nothing happened. Why did you ask me that? Did something happen to you guys?" he looks at the raven head, confused.

"I…I don't know if Juvia wants me to say this but I think it's important to let you know."

Gray shoves one hand into his pockets, his eyes scan around to make sure that no one is there to spy on them. Maybe he's being delusional, but it's better safe than sorry. He needs to make sure that they are safe when talking about this matter.

"Let me know what?"

Jellal raises a brow, what can this possibly be?

"Jellal-san, last night, I… we… " Gray tries to find the right word, but nothing comes up to his mind except the truth he wants to say "You need to be careful, Jellal-san. Your father was here last night, looking for you."

Green orbs stare right back at him as if he just saw a ghost.

Father…?

"I was here with Juvia last night when we saw him waiting in front of her apartment." Gray continues "We said that we did not know where you are, but he didn't seem to buy into it."

"But how…?" Jellal stares at the ground, unable to process the younger male's words "How is that even possible…"

"I don't know. But just to be safe, I don't think we should meet up regularly at Juvia's place. He might not know where you are but Juvia is not safe, not anymore…"

"I-I get it… Thank you for letting me know." the bluenette nods his head "I was right to put my trust in you, Gray. Protect her for me please…"

"I will, Jellal-san!"

As they end the conversation quickly, they walk back into the apartment to find Juvia and Erza talking about their favorite sweets and the famous bakery near the campus. The soft smile adorns Juvia's face sends a wave of relief to both men, especially Gray, who is glad that she is okay.

"Jellal-nii! Gray-sama!" she looks at them "Juvia made tea, would you both want some?"

"Sure!" her brother smiles "Are you feeling better now? You did not come to class today."

Juvia stops her pouring for a few seconds as she remembers what happened last night that led her to oversleep, but not wanting to worry her brother, the bluenette once again put on a smile and nods her head in response.

"Juvia was tired last night and did not set the alarm clock. She is sorry…" giving them their tea cups, she turns to her brother "Did something happen at the club?"

"Besides Meredy who is worried about you nonstop, nothing happened." he smiles "You have such a good friend."

"She really is her good friend!" Juvia agrees "Why don't we start eating? Juvia wants to make food but she doesn't want to waste all the food you guys got for her and Gray-sama."

"Oh, we're good! We're actually going to have dinner with Erza's parents right now so you guys can enjoy yourself."

Erza stops what she's doing and sends Jellal an odd look, since when did they plan dinner with her parents? But before she can say anything, Gray taps on her shoulder and shake his head, letting the red hair woman know that Jellal will tell her the situation. Juvia doesn't notice this and is very happy for her brother. To have dinner with Erza's parents can only be a positive thing after all.

"Juvia is so happy for you guys!" she smiles "Please let her know how it went, Juvia would love to know how amazing Erza-san's parents are."

"Of course, we'll see you both later!"

With that, Jellal takes his leave, and following him is a very confused Erza. As the door close behind them, the man lets out a big sigh as Erza gives him a serious look. She does not like it when they're trying to hide something from her or she is the last person to know what's going on. Jellal grabs her hand tightly and she can feel how shaken it is, this only causes her to worry even more. What on earth happened between Gray and Jellal that makes him like this?

"Jellal?"

"We'll talk in the car. For now, it's best for both of us not to stay at Juvia's place…"

"Okay."

On Gray and Juvia's side, they're eating dinner with the raven head looking at her attentively, trying to search if there is any sign of discomfort on her face. Juvia notices this and smiles at him, she feels so grateful that he cares about her so much.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, Juvia feels a lot better. Thank you Gray-sama, for taking care of her."

"Of course." nodding his head, he sighs in relief as Juvia finally reverts back to her bubbly state "There's a new cooking show on the TV tonight, you want to watch it?"

"Yes, Juvia heard that they will show a lot of new recipes. She wants to learn it."

As they agree on what to do tonight, Gray smiles at her fondly as he focuses on washing the dishes while she is cleaning up the table. When they are done with their chores, they make themselves comfortable on the sofa and watch some news on the channel while waiting for the cooking show.

Gray lets himself relax next to her and enjoys her soft voice as she hums to the song she has in her mind. Juvia has this habit of humming to the tune of whatever the TV is showing her, whether it is the weather channel, the news, or some TV drama series, etc. It's one way to distract herself from thinking about what happened last night.

She's so grateful that Gray agreed to spend a night by her side, holding her so close and so gently. She would not know what to do if he declined her request. For the first time in her life, she let herself be a selfish person, asking for something that she knows deemed to be inappropriate. But the bluenette craves nothing more than to be in his arms, even just for a few hours, because she knows how safe and warm it is, the embrace that washes all her fears away.

Oh, Gray-sama…What shall Juvia do…?

She sighs to herself. Ignore the fact that her father appeared in front of her after years of not seeing him, she can take all his anger, but what about her brother and Gray? What will he do to them if he finds out the truth in her lies? She can not bear to see him touch them, let alone hurt them.

"Are you okay?" he asks her softly, sensing how tensed her whole body is.

"J-Juvia is fine…" she smiles weakly "She's fine…"

Gray does not let those words slide as he presses her head gently onto his shoulder, allowing her to rest on it. Blue orbs open wide in surprise, she wants to pull back, she has caused enough trouble for Gray. But when the bluenette feels his hand combs her hair, she can't help herself and want to stay, by his side, right here right now.

She is being selfish, she knows very well. But the hope of being loved, being cherished has taken over and Juvia allows herself to rely on him once more. To enjoy the gentleness, to enjoy his warm hand, to enjoy every second of this moment.

"It's okay Juvia, I'll always protect you." he said with the most tender tone "I promise!"