Gray woke up to the warmth of Juvias body and the dying fire. How had he ended up in this position he wondered he had not remembered falling asleep but no matter how having her asleep in his arms was really nice. He stayed like that relishing the sensation for a long while with the thought of escape in the back of his mind. He could not let her wake up like this, he did not want to give the sweet girl any misguided sense that their relationship was changing. He would not ready for that talk.
Gray slowly got off the couch without disturbing her. As he stood in the dark room he realized it had been too dark. The fire was running out and he needed to go to the shed to retrieve more wood for it felt especially cold tonight.
As Gray gained consciousness and walked outdoors he sensed that earthland had gone still. Tonight was one of those night where it was so cold Gray imagined the sun was dying, the earth being unable to move not even shiver, all the animals remaining quiet forever never to sing again during their endless wait for the sun to rise.
He remembered his mother who told him that the Goddess was creating balance. She said that living things were so small so we moved and lived too fast for the Goddess to keep track of so she had to stop the earth and get us to slow down, to talk less, sleep longer, chew our food, enjoy the walk and cherish each breath of the air that she allowed us to breath.
His body felt as though it was aware of everything.
Each breath.
Each heartbeat.
Every particle of air touching his skin and filling his lungs.
He took his time walking towards the wood shed and when he entered turned on the oil lamp genteelly. As though it was his last time he took his time to evaluate how it felt on his fingers and he picked the fire wood with care. He could hear slow quiet steps coming his way.
There was a single knock on the shed door.
"Come in." Gray's voice felt Raw as though he has not made a sound ever in his life. This is always how it felt on these nights though as though every action was important, new and unique in the world.
"The earth stopped." Rouge stated.
"Yeah."
"SkiaDrum used to say that this a night to reflect and to stop hunting. He said that if you killed on a night like this when the earth started up again you would be cursed and you would not be allowed enjoy anything. Not your food, not a decent night's sleep, not a nap under a great shade tree all the simple pleasures would be gone."
"My mom said that the goddess was trying to get us to slow down, that she would blink and generations would be dead and long gone. So, she wanted to slow down the world and take the time to look at us and recalibrate the balance in the universe."
"That's lovely. Your mothers version is a lot nicer." Rouge commented
"So is your dads, kind of scary but it teaches you to respect a night like this."
"I know they are just tales to keep kids from misbehaving, but I believe it a little. You have to be a really rotten person to do wrong on nights like this." Rouge nodded.
Gray held 3 nice wood pieces as him and Rouge just stood still looking at the moon.
"Rogue, I think I am doing the wrong thing, in every way, all the time, by Juvia that is." Gray sighed
"That cannot be true, Juvia thinks highly of you. You can say rude things at times but-"
"That is it.. right there it freaks me out scares me shitless even when I am a total ass she is still so so so unwavering. How do I break it to her?"
"Break what to her?"
"That she is wasting her time... because I don't feel the saa- " Gray sighed.
"Gray don't play dumb there is a whole villageand you choose to share a home with her. You did not have join her or allow her join you after your guild disbanded. You could be anywhere but you are here. Please don't insult everyone's intelligence you care about her and worse you not only ignore it but capitalize on her feelings."
"You are right I care deeply for Juvia but I have a mission we have both accepted it and understand what I means. "
"You're a great fool Gray Fullbuster." Rogue chuckled.
"Yeah I am." Gray mumbled as he picked up all the fire wood.
A.N
SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READS THIS.
It was a wild night i came home from work and decided i needed a little caffeine so i could edit. well during my bathroom break my puppy decided to knock down my white chocolate mocha and drink it off the floor.I freaked out and tried forcing her to puke then i hit google to see if she will be okay and called my bf to calm me down.
I hope i see some of my regulars in the reviews i feel so bad for disappointing you guys.