Open Your Eyes

Juvia is more than eager to return home after being away on a job. Only days ago, Gajeel had asked her to be his partner for a job. The duo originally believed that they could head back home tomorrow morning, but they finished their job earlier than expected. So rather than spending another night away from their loved ones, they each are hurrying to their own homes to sleep with them.

Her heart skips a beat when her home comes into view, even if a single light is not on inside. Oh, Juvia is more than ready to be with her one true love again. Although, he might be asleep due to the late hour that it is. She takes out her key, unlocks the front door, and slips inside. After doing the deadbolt, she navigates through the dark home with ease since it is always clean. By the time she enters the master bedroom, her eyes have adjusted to the lack of light.

Juvia is able to make out the lone person on the king-size bed. Lying on his back with the blankets up to his bare chest, Gray is fast asleep. Even in the dark, she knows exactly how he is since she has him memorized from head to toe. The man has dark locks and dark blue eyes. Along with his fair skin, he has a toned build from keeping in shape.

Oddly enough, Juvia takes note that he is on the right side of the bed which is her side. She can only assume it is because he misses her. Being quiet as to not disturb Gray, she walks over the side of the bed he is on. She spots the Juvia plushie that she handmade for him resting on the same pillow his head is using. Softly smiling, she moves the plushie onto the nearby nightstand since she will be taking its place soon enough. Then she bends down a little to place a kiss to his forehead before making her way into the ensuite master bathroom.

After gently closing the door behind her, Juvia turns on the light and blinks until her eyes adjust to the sudden change in darkness. She removes her small bookbag and sets it onto the counter to empty it. She always has to unpack before doing anything else. It is just some habit of hers, which is the opposite of Gray since he waits to unpack from jobs.

The first thing Juvia takes out from her bookbag is the very top item, her favorite handmade Gray plushie that provides her comfort when she travels. She will take the real deal any day over the plushie, but it comes in handy when they are apart. It is easy to understand why Gray had the Juvia plushie with him earlier. Then she removes the rest of what her bookbag contains, tossing her used clothes into the dirty laundry hamper and putting the other items away in their proper places.

Her next step is changing into something much more comfortable and suitable for bed. Tonight's choice is a blue babydoll with lace and frills, making her feel like a water nymph. Juvia stands in front of the counter once more, glancing at her reflection in the mirror. To go along with her dark sapphire blue eyes, she has pretty blue hair falling in thick beach waves down to her shoulder blades. Her pale figure is slender, but she has curves in the right places.

Brushing her teeth is the last step she takes before shutting off the light and leaving the bathroom. Juvia discovers that Gray has changed positions and is lying on his right side, his back now towards her. She crawls into bed, slides underneath the blankets, and scoots closer to Gray who is completely unaware of her presence.

Feeling like everything is finally aligned in place, Juvia sighs in contentment. "Goodnight, Gray-sama," she whispers. "Juvia loves you."

After a moment, low murmuring from Gray breaks the spell of silence in the bedroom. Juvia can only assume it is due to whatever he is dreaming about. She knows he talks in his sleep even though he refuses to admit that he does when he is awake.

She becomes slightly worried as he continues mumbling incoherent words and starts fidgeting. They are telltale signs that he is having another nightmare. So Juvia spoons Gray, supporting him from behind so he can face whatever is before him in his mind. She knows that he can do it. He has done it before.

However, his condition does not become better. She has enough when Gray cries out in anguish. "Gray-sama, open your eyes!" Juvia urges, using her left hand to shake his shoulder.

His eyes fly open and he bolts into a sitting position, the blankets pooling around his waist. Gray leans forward, hands covering his sweaty face. He is quivering and trembling, breathing heavily to catch his breath.

As to not startle him, Juvia slowly sits up. "Gray-sama, Juvia is back," she says gently. "Juvia is home."

He is surprised by the sound of her voice, and almost gives himself whiplash from turning his head so quickly to look back at her. He blinks, making sure that she is really there.

In reality, home is wherever Juvia is. That is home for Gray.

She smiles softly at him even though he can barely make it out in the darkness of their bedroom. "Shall we go to bed?" Then Juvia lies down on her right side, an invitation for him to join her. "Lie down, Gray-sama. It is time for bed."

Doing as he is told, he lies down on his left side with his head not at the same level as hers. He cuddles up to Juvia and holds onto her tightly, burying his face into her collarbone. He inhales deeply, Juvia's scent filling his nose.

The duo normally takes this position when Gray has terrible nightmares that haunt him. It is a way for him to ground himself into reality and gain his bearings back. This is a vulnerable time for Gray that Juvia experiences from time to time.

His voice is low and shaky when he speaks, the nightmare replaying in his mind. In fact, the nightmare is of a past event. "You died…"

"But Juvia is alive," she assures him, a hand gently stroking the back of his head. "And Juvia is sure that Gray-sama can hear her heart beating right now."

He can. It is a lovely sound to hear. She is alive and well. And, best of all, reunited with him.

As Gray focuses on her heartbeat, his body becomes less and less tense by the minute. He is slowly but surely relaxing.

"Juvia loves Gray-sama," she says.

Pushing himself up with his feet and lifting his head up, Gray seeks out Juvia's mouth. His lips press into her soft ones ever so gently, like she is fragile and might break. Then he deepens it, making his actions strong and firm.

Juvia's heads is spinning. Or maybe the room is spinning. She is not entirely sure as she gets lost into her Gray…

Then Gray pulls his back his head to look at Juvia through the dark. "And Gray loves Juvia." Now he sounds like his normal self.

Her heart swells with happiness. "Forever and ever," she says.

"And ever," he adds, and lightly smooches her nose. "Not that I'm complaining, but I thought you weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow afternoon or evening."

"Gajeel-kun and Juvia thought so, too. But we finished the job earlier than we planned."

"Wait, what time is it now?"

"After midnight. Juvia got home not too long ago."

"I see." Absentmindedly, Gray feels around for her left hand with his right until he finds it, touching the one ring that she has on her left hand. Apart from normally being shirtless, his signature look consists of three pieces of jewelry because they have sentimental value to him. The first one is a silver sword necklace with a stone set in it while another other is a silver metal bracelet that is worn around his right wrist. The last one, the one that means the most to him, is a ring on a certain finger of his left hand.

"Does Gray-sama want to hold hands?" Juvia inquires, curious about his actions.

"I'm just reminding myself that I have a pretty great wife who cares about me," he admits.

"Of course, Juvia cares about Gray-sama!"

Gray smiles. "Yeah, I know that. I really know that." And he appreciates every single thing that he does for her. He appreciates her just for being Juvia.

His fingers trail up her arm until he meets the fabric of her strap. "Huh?" Then his hand travels down her side, finding even more fabric.

"What is the matter?" Juvia asks.

"Hey, why are you wearing that?" Gray deadpans.

"Eh, this?" Juvia toys with the fabric. "Juvia likes it."

"Why are you wearing clothes in bed with me?" He enjoys skin to skin cuddling with Juvia. He always feels warm when he is with her.

Even now with their current relationship status, she is embarrassed. "S-so bold..."

"I'm naked so you should be, too."

She did not notice that he is not wearing anything when she had cuddled him earlier. She was too focused on his mental state to notice his physical one. "O-oh…"

"If you're not going to take it off, then I will." Not giving her a chance, Gray straddles Juvia and is careful not to crush her with his weight. His head hovers over hers, his breath warming her face.

Gray cherishes her. For she is his beloved Juvia. She has opened his eyes to a whole new world.

A/N: Not gonna lie, Gruvia is my second OTP of FT only because NaLu is first. And NaLu is first since I see the relationship I have with my fiancé in them. I dunno if I'll write more Gruvia in the future, but I've been wanting to get this work outta my system since I first read Ch 499 :P