The Duchess - Gruvia

Chapter 11

He needed to get her somewhere warm; her lips were far too blue and her skin too pale for his liking and the Duke knew that a trip back to the castle, receiving cold wind – even after he wrapped her in his cape – would make her even worse, so, Gray had to decide what to do as soon as he pulled his wife from the water: take her somewhere she could get warmer before returning to the castle.

So, after covering Juvia with his cape, the Duke tied Honey in Black-Rust's saddle while picking his wife up in bridal style to try and find cover for a couple of hours at least. Luckily he knew the area well enough to locate himself and remember that there were a few caves not too far from where they were.

After five minutes, Gray found the caves and put the blunette lying on the floor; she was shuddering in a worrying way, but before he could take care of her properly, they needed fire.

"Juvia, I will search for wood to burn." He told her. She tried to hold his hand, but Gray grabbed hers first and kissed it, noting how cold she was. "I am not leaving you, okay? It's just for a couple of minutes." And before she could answer him, the Duke left.

#

Juvia's consciousness came and went while the cold took over her body and she'd rather just pass out than shiver the way she was, but she fought the urge to sleep, while waiting for her husband to finally settle down.

She saw him start a fire – while talking to her, to keep her awake, she thought – and for a moment, she felt better, but only that wouldn't warm her up properly and the Duchess wondered what would happen.

"Juvia." Gray kneeled by her side and she opened her eyes after resting them for a moment. "I need to warm you up, but for that I need to take your clothes off." She was seeing things then, because she could swear she saw his cheeks get pinker. "Your shirt, coat and pants are soaked and it will just make you colder. I promise that you'll feel warmer later."

The Duchess would prefer that the first time he saw her without clothes would be somewhere with four walls, but at the mention of upcoming warmth she sighed in anticipation of finally feeling like a person once again and not a chunk of ice. "Y-you a-are m-my hus-hus-husband." She managed to tell him – at least they were married and no one would think it was inappropriate. "T-ta-take them o-off."

Gray nodded and reached for her feet to take off her boots and after he was done, the Duke uncovered her body, he hesitated for a second before reach for the buttons and undid them fast, then helped her sit down to push the shirt and coat away from her body and Juvia noticed that he looked everywhere but to her naked skin. The Duchess put her arms around herself to hide her body from him – maybe he didn't like it? Marge always told her that her breasts were too big for a decent girl – as she saw him reach for her pants, very concentrated on the task. She lied back on the floor and raised her hips to help him out and he still hasn't had a look.

When she was completely naked before him, Gray covered her with some blanket he had on the pouch behind the settle of Black-Rust and Juvia was about to tell him that she was still cold, not warmer like he said she would, when she saw him unbutton his own shirt.

The Duchess only saw one man without a shirt in her whole life and it had been the old man from the stables back when she was fourteen in her March; and to tell the truth she thought it was a nasty vision and if every man was like that, she'd rather be single. But her husband... he was very different from that old man; his muscles were well defined, not flaccid, for a change. His abdomen had six protuberances that she found weirdly mesmerizing.

He undid his pants and Juvia took a sharp a breath in anticipation, but let it go when she saw he was wearing his underpants and had no intention of take it off. The Duke put his clothes aside and before the blunette could say anything, Gray was underneath the blanket and by her side.