AN: This one was mine HAHA I needed to show parenthood isn't always glamorous and unicorns and rainbows. LOL

#

Teeth

#

Gray could hear Gris' cries from outside the house and he frowned: by the sound of it, the little boy wasn't too happy about something and having been away for a week because of a job, Gray didn't know why.

He entered the house and the sound became louder. He could hear his wife shushing the baby, but it didn't seem to work. Gray arrived at the living room and saw Juvia with Gris on her arms, gently swaying the baby, her hair was in a messy ponytail, she was wearing one of his shirts and nothing else, apparently, while Gris screamed in her arms, which worried Gray – Juvia always made Gris feel calmer.

"Hey, what's going on?" Gray asked, worried and Juvia looked up at him in surprise. She looked so tired, Gray's worries doubled.

"Oh, Gray-sama!" She sighed in relief it was her husband. "Juvia is sorry, she didn't hear you."

"Yeah, I understand why." Gray put his backpack on the floor and walked towards his wife and son, giving Juvia a peck on the lips and then calling their son's name. "Gris. Hey, buddy, what's the matter?" The baby recognized his father's voice, took a look at him and then started to wail again, making both adults flinch. "Wow, he's pissed."

Juvia sighed. "He's teething again and I think he has colic."

Gray grimaced, he remembered when Gris' first tooth appeared and how he and Juvia took turns, trying to calm down the little guy and make him as comfortable as possible. Now, with eight months, they were at it again.

"Poor little guy." Gray put a hand on the baby's dark blue hair and then o his forehead. "He feels a little hot too."

"Yes." Juvia nodded and passed the baby to Gray when her husband reached for him. "His cheeks are very flushed, more than before."

"He is crying more too." Gray frowned.

"Juvia thinks there are two teeth." She sat on the couch, clearly exhausted.

"Oh, crap." The Ice Mage cringed. "That's why he's like that. And you said he has colic too?" Juvia nodded, her hands over her eyes. "Yeah, I'd be screaming bloody murder too." Gray sat next to his wife and put Gris's body on the vertical, the little boy's head rested on his shoulder, calming slightly, he was tired of screaming too, probably. "How long has he been this restless?"

Juvia stopped to think for a second. "Two days? I think. I don't know, it's been awful." She looked at him, eyes filling with tears. "I am such an awful mother." She cried, terrifying her husband. "My baby is in pain and all I can think right now is how much I wish we could sleep even just a few hours. I'm so tired, Gray-sama." She sobbed. "I love him so much and it's not his fault, of course he's teething now, but I am so tired. He took a few naps, but I had other things to do and when I tried to sleep, he would wake up, fussy and cranky and I would lose my chance and oh, gods, I'm so tired."

Gray felt guilty. Last time, he had been there and they had taken turns with the crying, fussy baby during day and night and it didn't feel as overwhelming, especially knowing the other was just asleep in the other room. Juvia had been alone that time and add teething with colic, of course she was exhausted. And so was Gris.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here the past few days." Gray leaned and kissed the top of Juvia's head. "You are not a bad mother because you are tired, Juvia, you could never be a bad mother. Everyone knows having kids is not fun and rainbows all the time and right now, this sucks." He told her. "The first time we took turns and this time you had to do it on your own but I'm here now, okay?" Juvia nodded, still crying out of exhaustion and clearly ready to drop. "Now it's my turn."

"What?" Juvia frowned.

"You've had your turn with him now it's mine." Gray got up from the couch, whimpering baby in his arms and offered her a hand. "Come on." Juvia frowned, but took the hand and got up.

Gray led them to the bathroom and told her to take her shirt off, and, curious, Juvia did as told while she watched Gray take Gris' clothes. Once they were done, he gave her Gris. "Get under the water, both of you." Juvia opened her mouth to protest but Gray beat her to it. "Trust me."

With a sigh, Juvia started the shower, the baby close to her chest and after a few protests, Gris calmed down a little while his mother gave him kisses on his cheeks, forehead and the top of his head, caressing his back and talking softly to him.

Meanwhile, Gray went to the bedroom he shared with Juvia and took a clean shirt and some underwear for his wife, went to Gris' room and took his towel before he returned to the bathroom.

"Alright, give him to me." Gray placed Juvia's things over the laundry basket and held Gris' towel opened. Juvia frowned, but with another kiss on the baby's cheek, she gave the slippery Gris to his father. "Alright, this was just to wash off a bit of the drooling, off." Gray shrugged, wrapping the baby on the towel. "Now, you take a proper shower. I bet you haven't in the past couple of days."

Juvia looked so relieved. "I love you so much right now."

Gray chuckled. "Good. Those are your clothes." He pointed to the items and she nodded.

Going to Gris' room, Gray had to shush the baby, who was starting to get fussy again, until Gray remembered something that helped a lot the first time Gris teethed. He took one of Gris's pacifiers and used his magic to make it colder and, once he put the baby on the changing table, he gave it to him and Gris's whimpers got lower and he stopped squirming, giving Gray plenty of time to put a diaper and a clean onesie on his son. "Ha, there we go!" Gris looked just as tired as Juvia, but the poor thing was clearly still miserable and it hurt Gray's heart to see it. "I'm sorry, buddy. I know this sucks, but it will be over soon, okay?"

Picking Gris up from the changing table, Gray exited the baby's room just in time to see his wife come out of the bathroom, combed blue hair still wet, clean shirt and looking just a little bit better.

"Juvia can't believe she's clean." The blunette sighed.

Gray nodded. "Now, go to sleep." He pointed to the master bedroom. "I got this."

"But-"

"Go."

"You just arrived, Juvia..." She tried.

"Should do as I say." Gray told her. "I slept at an inn last night, I'm rested and I've dealt with Gris being sick before and with you out on missions. We'll be in the living room. If I need you, I'll get you." She opened her mouth to argue, but Gray shook her head. "You are exhausted, so is Gris. Go rest. I'm his dad, it's my job too. You don't need to be supermom all the time, Juvia."

After a moment's hesitation – sleep was such a temptation, Juvia asked: "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Gray was exasperated. "Sleep. Now."

Juvia nodded and kissed her son's head and then Gray's lips and just before she closed the bedroom's door, she gave them a quick look and finally closed it.

"It's just us now, my man." Gray told his son, who kicked his leg, showing his unhappiness with the world at the moment and the Ice Mage sighed. "Alright, let's see if we can get you to sleep like your mother is probably going to be the second her head hits the pillow."

#

It was decided, Juvia needed a medal for not running away after two days of a crying baby alone with her. Gray was alone with his son for an hour and he was losing his mind a little bit. What helped earlier, seemed to have no effect any longer.

"Come on, buddy, I know you are tired." Gray said in frustration to his son. "Sleep, come on." Gris wailed louder and Gray grimaced at the sound – at least Gris' lungs were damn healthy. "What do you need, kiddo?" He asked in desperation. "What haven't I tried yet?"

Then it occurred to him: he didn't try to feed the little boy and when Gray put him horizontally, Gris patted Gray's chest and the older Fullbuster hadn't connected the dots until then.

Running to the kitchen with his son in his arms, Gray knew in his heart Juvia hadn't pumped, not with a crying baby with her and she really didn't have to. When he found nothing in the fridge, he sighed; he needed to go to Juvia herself. It was better either way, Gris would make a scene to eat from a bottle, as usual.

As quiet as he could, Gray entered the bedroom and saw his wife sprawled on her stomach on the bed and as much as he hated it, he needed her to move.

"Juvia." Gray shook her slightly and she frowned in her sleep, humming. "Juvia, I need you to lie on your back, Gris is hungry." Gray's words seemed to have fallen into empty ears until Gris whimpered and Juvia's instincts took over and he opened her eyes a bit. Seeing her husband and her son, Juvia lied down on her side and, having done that many times when Gris was a newborn – always careful so no accidents happened – Gray gently unbuttoned Juvia's shirt (his shirt, really) and freed a breast.

The first few times he did that, Gray had been red as a tomato but after a while, became natural: it was nothing he hadn't seen, touched and put his mouth on, he shouldn't be embarrassed by seeing her breasts do what they were meant to, which was to feed their son.

Gray put Gris sitting next to Juvia and the little boy, seeing his mother's breast, leaned and latched on, being completely quiet for the first time in what Gray assumed it was hours – even with the cold pacifier he was still humming in annoyance.

"Smart boy." Gray whispered, watching his son rest his head on Juvia's ribs and suckling at the same time. Juvia didn't even flinch – she must've been more tired than he thought.

After a while, Gray was glad to see that Gris had fallen asleep while eating and he sighed in relief. Now both most important people of his life were resting.

He gently buttoned Juvia's shirt and gathered Gris in his arms and headed out to the living room. After burping the little guy – he hadn't woken up, thank god – Gray took off his own shirt and lied down on the couch, putting Gris on top of him. Gray used his magic to make another pacifier cold and offered to the baby to make him feel more relief and Gris eagerly accepted in his sleep.

Gray's own eyes started to close, tired as well and soon, he was slumbering too.

#

He woke up when Gris started to squirm on top of him, cheeks still flushed but not crying, so it was a plus.

"Alright, buddy, I'm up." Gray yawned and reached for a teething ring, made it cold and gave it to Gris, who took it and started to drool all over Gray's chest, making the older Fullbuster cringe with it. "Well, better covered in saliva than having you crying, so I'll take it."

Both boys stayed in silence for a while, Gray caressing Gris' back soothingly until he heard footsteps and when he managed to look, he saw Juvia, hair in a mess of curls, shirt half buttoned and with marks on her face, standing just a few meters away. She still needed more rest, but she was looking much better.

"Hi." She said.

"Hey." Gray greeted. "Nice nap?"

"Oh, Juvia's a new woman." She smiled for the first time since Gray's return. "Juvia didn't even say a proper 'hello' to you." The Water Mage kneeled in front of the couch and kissed her husband. "Welcome home."

"Thanks." Gray smiled and then looked down to their son, who was humming and chewing the teething ring. "I can't believe you got two days of that tantrum. I had to deal with it for a couple of hours and it was driving me crazy."

"Not his fault, poor thing." Juvia passed a hand through the baby's hair. "I think his colic is gone, Juvia gave him some medicine just before you arrived."

"Well, he farted a lot, I could feel them with my hand on his diaper. It was... a lot. Like a machine gun." Gray chuckled. "I think that's why he's not as fussy, he just needed to fart a little bit and his tummy was upset."

"That's a relief." Juvia said and Gris looked at his mother. "Right, baby?" Finally, finally Gris offered the adults a small smile, showing them small bottom teeth. "There's my baby boy." She turned to look at Gray, suddenly curious. "Did you come inside the room and I breastfed him?"

"Yeap." Gray nodded. "Just like when we took turns when he was a newborn."

"Juvia thought she was dreaming." She chuckled. "Thanks for not waking me."

"You deserved the sleep." Gray shrugged. "And hey, I don't want to hear you call yourself a bad mom again just because you got tired, especially when I'm not here, okay? It's okay to be tired, babies are a lot of work and while I'm here, we'll share the duties, like always."

"You are a wonderful husband."

Gray snorted. "For doing my job? Nah. I'm alright at best."

Juvia chuckled and kissed him once again. "Juvia will try to make something for dinner while Gris-chan is quiet." She looked at the pool of drool on Gray's chest. "Need a towel?"

"It's fine. He's covered me with worse fluids than this. Besides, I'm afraid to move him." Gray said, honest, making Juvia laugh. "Better not to play with the odds."

"You are right. Juvia will call when it's done."

"Deal." He agreed and watched Juvia get up from the floor and walk towards the kitchen. "And you, sir, try not to overwhelm your mother when I'm not around or overwhelm me when she's not around to help. It's not cool, man."

Gris' smile was Gray's only answer.

#

AN: Poor Juvia! A teething baby with colic would make anyone go crazy! Thankfully Gray's a good dad and husband!