Each morning when the rays of sunlight first creeped in through the window, he would sleepily open his eyes and sit up in bed to find that she was sitting on the windowsill already dressed and ready for the day. He always thought it would make more sense for him to get up first since they were focused on his training, but there she was, every morning. Many people would assume she was there to get a better view of him sleeping, but she was always looking out the room, watching the sunrise.

There were two vertical, rectangular windows with six panes each. One was directly across the room from his bed and the other across from hers. Although hers was obviously closer and more convenient for her to occupy, she always took her place on his windowsill, casting her shadow on him when he woke up. He always appreciated it as an afterthought since the heat would make it unbearable for him and make it difficult to rest.

One particular morning, curiosity got the better of him and he finally asked why she was always up before him. She smiled softly and responded with the same clarity she always had for everything she did.

"Juvia never wants to miss the light" her voice would chime with warmth.

Wherever there was light, there stood Juvia.

She was on the windowsill, the seat at the table underneath the sunroof, the land unshielded by the trees, the sunbaked path.

And with every bit of daylight they could squeeze out, they trained. The moment the sun was up, so were they. They weren't just up, they were kicking, punching, and breathing with every pulse of light the day was offering. During their time together, there was no rain, just the sweat that drenched their bodies and soaked up any cool breeze that passed by them.

She would offer to turn into water for him to cool off, basking in the daydream of encasing him in her water body and he would have to ward off her advances with obvious embarrassment and horror. No matter how exhausting it was, even those moments were cherished.

When evening fell and the light retreated back into the depths of the horizon, she would go back inside to start dinner as he continued training. By the time she called him back in, the stars would dot the sky and lead him back to her. Even in the darkness, she was the light.

It was funny. As much as everyone teased him about bringing light into her world, it seemed like she was the warmth he would never want to avoid.

Night was just as treasured as the day was with her. Always eager to spend leisure time with him, the late hours were filled with her chatter and questions. Although his answers were blunt and kept short, she was never discouraged by his inability to open up. They ate together, got ready for bed together, spent the night in the same room as each other.

The silence before falling asleep was precious and the stillness between them was incomparable to any other moment in time or space.

He could feel every rush of blood from the beat of his heart when she stared into his eyes right before succumbing to sleep. Every night, without fail, she would quietly chirp "Goodnight, Gray-sama" and make the blood rush furiously to his face. Her eyes would slowly droop and every blink would become slower than the last, lashes fanning out from her pale face.

These were the memories he stored in the back of his mind for he knew this could not last forever. As all things, this would end and he would be left with the aching effort to keep his heart beating. Every night, after she fell asleep and the last bits of light succumbed into the darkness of night, he shook the blush away and closed his eyes, anticipating the inevitable dream of Juvia pulling him towards the golden sunlight. He long accepted that this was his fate.

She was the light, the night, all he saw when his defenses were down.