Quiet.

In the time Gray knew Juvia, he knew it was unusual if Juvia was quiet. She was always loud and happy around him, around her friends at Fairy Tail, around everyone in general. She made them smile, made them laugh, did little things to make them all happy.

But it was the times that Juvia fell quiet, that Gray knew he should worry.

He was sitting with Natsu, Lucy and Erza at the guild, talking mindlessly over their latest job when Gajeel came in, looking positively horrid, dropping at the table next to them with a grunt of pain.

"Gajeel?" Levy's soft voice asked and Gray watched as she sat down beside him, her hand resting gently against his arm.

He jerked away from the contact, nearly falling off the bench as he did. "Don't do that." He gritted through his teeth.

"Gajeel, what happened?" The script Mage sounded worried, scooting a little closer to her hurt friend.

"Just got a little more roughed up on the last job." He tried to make it sound like nothing, but Gray could see right through it. "Nothing that ain't gonna heal in a few days."

"Where's Juvia?" The blunette asked.

Gray held his breath at Gajeel's hesitation. "Dropped her off at her apartment."

Gray was up and out the door quicker than he'd ever moved in his life.

Gray slammed the door behind him as he entered the apartment Juvia lived in.

"Juvia?" He called out. The room was dark, as was the entire house. "Juvia, where are you?"

The silence was beginning to scare Gray.

He stumbled through the room, walking over to the couch, where he didn't find Juvia.

"Damn it Juvia where are you?" He mumbled, turning and heading down the hall.

Gray paused upon hearing a strange noise, one he wasn't unaccustomed to. He stood completely still, waiting to hear the sound again. Seconds ticked by, but there the sound was again.

A sob.

The noise came from his left and he walked into the open room, not bothering to be noiseless with his footsteps. "Juvia?"

The sob grew a bit louder and Gray ran his hand along the wall until he found the light switch. He flipped the lights on and nearly gasped at the sight before him.

Juvia lay on her bed, her body seemingly beaten. Her clothes had been torn into shreds hanging from her body. Her arms lay limp at her sides, discolored with the amount of bruising covering her body.

"Juvia, what the hell happened to you?" Gray rushed to her side, dropping to his knees. His hands hovered over her body, afraid to touch her for fear of causing her pain.

Juvia stayed silent, tears falling from her eyes. She didn't even look over to Gray.

"Juvia, talk to me." He demanded her, scooting closer to the bedside.

She let out a sob, this one louder than the others. Quickly Juvia turned her back to Gray, a gasp of pain escaping her.

"Juvia." Gray carefully placed his hand on her arm, tugging her into her back. She whimpered and Gray winced. "What happened to you?"

"Gajeel-kun was hurt." She began, turning her head to face him. "Juvia had to protect Gajeel-kun, as he would do the same for Juvia. This mage, he has magic that could hurt Juvia." She closed her eyes, fighting off more tears.

"Gajeel-kun told Juvia to run. She couldn't leave Gajeel-kun behind. The mage attacked Juvia, and there were more than one. Juvia can't remember much else, other than Gajeel-kun carrying her home."

Gray felt his heart sink in his chest. The job Gajeel and Juvia had taken was supposed to be fairly easy. With both of them being very powerful mages, they shouldn't have been injured this much.

"I'll go get Wendy." Gray went to stand, but Juvia's hand grabbing him by the wrist stopped him dead in his tracks.

"No, Gray-sama. Juvia deserves this."

Anger boiled beneath his skin in a way it never had before.

"Juvia failed Gajeel-kun. He was hurt because of Juvia's weaknesses. It's Juvia's fault."

"Shut up, Juvia." He snapped, ignoring the surprised look on Juvia's face. "None of this is your fault, so just shut up."

Juvia began to protest, but Gray didn't allow it. "No!" He almost yelled, jumping up to sit in the edge of the bed beside Juvia. "Don't say it because it's not true."

Juvia looked as if she were about to cry, and suddenly she burst into tears. Her hands reached up to cover her face but Gray's stopped her. His fingers laced with hers and squeezed. He felt her grip tighten significantly, her cries becoming louder.

Slowly, Gray lowered himself onto the mattress beside the water mage. As gently as he could, he pulled Juvia into his arms. She responded instantly, clenching onto the fabric of his shirt tightly and holding herself against him. His hand rubbed her arm while his other held her head against his shoulder.

Gray held Juvia while she cried, whispering to her every few seconds, trying to get a word out of her. She did not respond to anything he said to her. Not a word of it.

It was beginning to worry Gray a whole hell of a lot.

Without thinking, Gray pressed his lips to the top of her head. "You're okay, Juvia. Everything is okay."

He felt a pair of lips press against his collar bone and he felt as if all the blood in his body rushed to his face.