AN: Some Gruvia family time. :3

#

"Daddy?"

"Hm?" Gray answered his five-year-old son without looking up from the vegetables he was cutting for dinner.

"What does pocre- proc-" The little boy took a few seconds and then tried again. "Procreate means."

Gray looked over his shoulder and saw Gris looking up from his homework, eyes curious. Gris looked a lot like Gray, except his hair was dark blue and wavier than Gray's and his eyes were blue like Juvia's.

"Well." Gray returned his attention to the vegetables. "Procreate means to leave descendants, to have babies."

Gris was in silence for a few seconds. "Does that mean Mama procreated?"

Snorting, Gray answered. "Yeah, buddy. Since she had you, she procreated."

Out of all the things Gray expected to happen, he didn't expect his son to start to cry and then to wail loudly. So loud, that Gray left his task to check on the five-year-old to check on for injuries because for a moment, Gray feared Gris had hurt himself somehow. Seeing the boy wasn't hurt at all, Gray frowned when Gris threw his arms around him, sobbing.

"What the...?" Gray was more than confused. "What's wrong, buddy?" He kissed the side of his son's head and picked him up, Gris wrapped his legs around Gray's middle. "Hey, come on, Gris." He said gently.

"Mama." Gris sobbed and it made Gray even more confused. "I want Mama!"

"Alright, alright." The Ice Mage said and walked towards the bedroom he shared with his wife.

Juvia was lying on the bed, knitting Gris a new scarf and she looked up once she heard the sobs and she put the half-made blue scarf away and frowned at her husband, who looked at her as confused as she was.

"He was fine and then started to cry." Gray handed Gris to Juvia and the boy started to cry again, louder since his mother was there. He sat to watch the interaction between mother and son.

"Oh, honey." Juvia kissed the top of her son's head. "What is it, baby? What's wrong? Tell mama."

"Yo- you- you procre-procreated." Gris sobbed.

"What?" Juvia frowned and so did Gray.

"Is this about your homework?" The Ice Mage asked and the little boy nodded. "I don't understand, buddy." He put his hand on the boy's back, caressing it to comfort him.

"Tell us, honey, so we can help you understand." Juvia probed gently.

Gris took a few deep breaths before he spoke. "My book says all living things are born, grow up, procreate and die." The grown up nodded in support. "And mama procreated!" Gris started to wail again and that time he hid his face on the crook of Juvia's neck, sobbing.

"Oh, baby." Juvia couldn't help it but to chuckle while Gray covered his mouth and tried to control his own laughter – he couldn't deny it was cute to see their son's innocence and worry about his mother. "Oh, darling, don't cry, Mama is going nowhere anytime soon."

"Th-the book sa-said..."

"The book isn't wrong, just incomplete." Juvia told him gently, wiping the tears from the boy's cheeks. "All it said was right, but it is missing an important part: grow old. We are born, grow up, procreate, grow old and then we die." She explained and Gray nodded when Gris looked at him for confirmation. "Daddy and I will have white hair, wrinkles and many grandchildren before we die."

"Really?" Gris' little voice was so hopeful, it was beautiful.

"Yeah." Gray nodded again. "You don't need to worry, we will see you procreate before we die and that's going to take a while, alright?"

"Promise?" Gris looked at him and Gray glanced at Juvia.

Their work was dangerous and they couldn't really promise their son they would die old and grey. They would fight with everything they had to return to their son and to each other.

"Well, we promise to do our very best." Gray chose his words carefully.

Gris seemed to consider the word and then nodded. "Okay."

"Good." Gray nodded and kissed his son's cheek. "Now you can hold onto Mama until I finish with dinner, okay? Then it's daddy's turn." Juvia chuckled at that, knowing he meant Gris having some time with his mother and then Gray would have some of his own alone time with Gris and then with Juvia. "Be right back."

"We should procreate again, Gray-sama." Juvia told him with a smile and Gray snorted.

"I think once is enough."

#

AN: Based on a true story about one of my cousins freaking out about his mother procreating and how imminent it was for her to die. HAHA (She didn't, btw lol)