Oh I'm Bleeding

Summary: 2-year-old Aurora is a bundle of energy who doesn’t want to go to bed. Gray and Juvia need to team up in order to get their little girl to sleep.

The Fullbuster home was filled with activity tonight. It was filled with activity every night actually. 2-year-old Aurora was growing up into quite the energetic spitfire. The little girl couldn’t sit still for a minute; she was always running, exploring, and had a constant desire to play. Gray and Juvia had their hands full and had to admit that taking care of a hyper 2-year-old was more exhausting than they had anticipated.

Juvia was currently in the bathroom giving Aurora her nightly bath. She loved bathtime ever since she was a baby (a trait Gray believes she inherited from her mother.) More recently, Aurora was so excited to get in the bathtub that she expended a lot more energy during her baths. She splashed and kicked with such force that Juvia pretty much took a bath with her. Since Juvia was a water mage, she didn’t mind getting soaked during Aurora’s bathtime; Juvia could just absorb the water into her body and keep herself dry on the outside. The only problem was that it was nearly impossible to get Aurora clean when she was splashing so much.

“Sweetheart, I need you to calm down a little,” Juvia said as she tried to grab her slippery daughter. “I need to clean you so we can get you ready for bed.”

“No bed, Mama, I wanna play!” Aurora squealed as she continued splashing.

Juvia sighed knew what had to be done at that point; she had been doing it nearly every day this week when it was Aurora’s bathtime.

“All right, sweetheart, you give me no other choice. Water Lock!” Juvia used her magic to create a very tame Water Lock spell, one that was much gentler than the one she used in battle. Aurora’s body (except for her head) was restrained in a small water bubble, making it impossible for her to move. Aurora pouted and looked down

“No fair, Mama, you have magic.” Aurora said sadly, putting on big puppy dog eyes as an attempt to get her mother to release the Water Lock.

“You can’t beat Mama yet, sweetie,” Juvia said teasingly as she tapped Aurora on the nose. “Now let’s finish your bath.”

Now that Aurora couldn’t move, bathing her was a lot easier. Juvia finished quickly and grabbed a towel.

“Gray, darling, could you come in here please?” Juvia called.

“Coming!” Gray called back as he rushed into the bathroom. He was amused at the sight before him; Aurora was trapped in a Water Lock in the bathtub and Juvia was soaking wet.

“Daddy!” Aurora squealed happily, which was the normal response she had whenever she saw Gray. She was an absolute Daddy’s girl.

“You had to use magic on her again?” Gray asked as he raised an eyebrow at his wife.

“I had no choice, darling, she was relentless!” Juvia answered. “Well, you know what to do now, right?”

“Don’t worry, I know the drill,” Gray responded as he took the towel from Juvia. He went over to Aurora and stood over her armed with the bath towel. Aurora looked up at her father and giggled. “On three.”

“One…two…three!” as Juvia reached three, she released the Water Lock on Aurora and Gray swooped down on the little girl with the bath towel. He wrapped her up tightly so she couldn’t escape, which she was currently trying to do by kicking her legs wildly and laughing. This was the Fullbusters’ new bedtime routine; Gray and Juvia had to tag-team their own daughter in order to bathe her and get her ready for bed.

Gray had Aurora in a bear hug while Juvia dried the little girl’s hair.

“Mama, Daddy, I wanna play!” Aurora said again as she continued to kick her legs.

“No, princess, it’s time to get dressed and go to bed.” Gray said calmly, keeping a firm hold on his daughter.

“Her hair’s dry, let’s get her into the nursery and get her dressed.” Juvia said matter-of-factly.

The couple moved into the nursery and went over to Aurora’s outfit that was already chosen for the night; a purple sleeper with a red Fairy Tail emblem on the stomach.

“All right, darling, hold her under the arms and try to keep her still while I dress her.” Juvia instructed. Gray tentatively removed the towel and held Aurora under the arms. The little girl was still kicking, which made getting the diaper and sleeper on a little challenging, but Juvia managed to do it. They noticed that Aurora yawned and the frequency she was kicking her legs decreased.

“Gray, would you mind zipping her sleeper up in the back?” Juvia asked exasperatedly as she took the baby from Gray.

“No problem,” Gray answered as he zipped Aurora’s sleeper. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, why did you buy a bunch of sleepers that zip up in the back?”

“Because of that little habit she inherited from you.” Juvia said with a smirk as she held the quickly tiring child in her arms. Gray sighed as he rubbed the back of his head; he knew exactly what she was talking about.

“That’s the one thing I really wish she didn’t get from me,” Gray mumbled. “Maybe we can train her out of it when she gets older.”

In addition to Aurora’s recent bursts of energy, she had begun stripping off her clothes as well. Most mornings Aurora would take off her sleeper and diaper and would run around the house naked until either Juvia or Gray caught her. They both had to admit that as concerning as the behavior was, they couldn’t help but find it kind of cute. Juvia figured she could share these stories with Aurora’s future boyfriends when she became a teenager, embarrass her as payback for all the exasperation she caused Juvia when she was a toddler.

“Erza told me that sleepers that zip up in the back are nearly impossible for a child to undo on their own,” Juvia started. “So hopefully we won’t wake up to a naked little princess running around our house.”

“Worth a shot,” Gray answered as he looked at Aurora, who was struggling to keep her eyes open. “Geeze, she crashes pretty quickly, doesn’t she?”

“I think it’s finally time to put her to bed,” Juvia said as she carried the toddler to her bed.

“Mama, I’m not tired, I wanna play.” Aurora said tiredly in between yawns. Juvia and Gray looked at each other and smiled.

“I know, sweetheart, you’re not tired at all.” Juvia said softly as she carried Aurora to the bed. She gently lay Aurora in the bed and Gray pulled up the covers. Aurora grabbed her stuffed polar bear sleepily and hugged it to her chest.

“Good night, Aurora.” Juvia said as she kissed Aurora on the forehead.

“Night night, Mama.” Aurora replied sleepily.

“Good night, princess.” Gray said fondly as he also kissed Aurora’s forehead.

“Night night, Daddy.” Aurora said, almost asleep at this point.

“We love you, sweetheart.” Juvia said sweetly as she gently stroked Aurora’s hair.“

"Loveyoutoo.” Aurora mumbled as she fell fast asleep.

Gray and Juvia let out a breath and quietly exited the room, shutting the light off behind them. They walked to the living room couch, Gray’s arm wrapped around Juvia’s shoulders.

“That kid’s gonna make my hair match my name before I’m 40,” Gray said as he sat down on the couch and let Juvia rest her head on his shoulder. “How are you holding up, Juvia?”

“I’m fine, darling, just a little tired.” Juvia answered.

“You’re exhausted. You can just say it. Aurora’s a handful.”

“But she’s our handful.” Juvia replied with a sleepy smile as she snuggled into Gray’s shoulder. “She’s developing quite a little personality, isn’t she?”

“I’d say so. And I honestly wouldn’t have her any other way. No matter how crazy she gets, she’s still our perfect little girl.”

“Our little sweetheart.”

where did the star go?

falling, dreaming.