Written for Gratsu Week 2016, Day 6: Distance
In case you want to listen to this rather than read it: This fic is also available as podfic, read by me. You can find it on soundcloud . com ~ Enter either 'Chiyala' or 'Gratsu' in the search, and you'll find it fairly quickly.
Enjoy!
Gray's finger hovered over the 'send'-button, unsure whether he really should do this. He quickly read over it once more.
Yo, Natsu, already sleeping? It's boring here. I never thought I'd miss our banters that much
His heart was pounding, his hands were shaking. What the hell was going on with him? He'd just been in Canada for a week, and he really shouldn't be thinking about, let alone be missing his stupid roommate that much. He'd teased Natsu on their last day together about how relaxing half a year without him would be, and that he was glad he wouldn't have to deal with his childish behavior every day. Naturally Natsu hadn't backed down. He'd vowed that he wouldn't miss Gray while he was away and enjoy the freedom he had in this half year, never tidying up their room, making a mess out of everything, being lazy and all that. His eyes had glistened mischievously when he'd said with a low voice, "You're going to be the one to contact me first."
Of course they both knew that they were important to each other, they just never said it out loud. But sending this message now would be like admitting defeat. It was just one semester abroad for god's sake! Naturally he'd known that they would at some point exchange emails or text messages or call each other or whatever, but besides his "arrived safely" and Natsu's "good, enjoy the stay!", there had been nothing so far. He had no business being in this state after only just one fucking week. However, what scared him most was that he didn't really mind admitting defeat at this point anymore. He never knew he'd react that way to being apart from his stupid, infuriating roommate. But saying that he missed anything about Natsu was still going too far. He changed the text.
Hey flame-brain. If you set my bed on fire or do anything similar stupid, I swear to god I'll drown you in an ice bath!
That was more like it. He hit 'send' without letting himself think twice. The message was sent and delivered instantly, showing in the two grey checkmarks next to the text. He wondered what Natsu was doing right now. It was eight p.m. where Gray was, that meant it was ten p.m. where Natsu was. If he were there with him, they'd probably be sitting at their respective desks, trying to concentrate on studying or some project, and Natsu would drive Gray nuts by groaning every few minutes and complaining about how boring this was and how they'd never need it again once they graduated. Gray would scold Natsu and try to talk some sense into him, but it would make Natsu even more stubborn and soon they'd end up fighting, sometimes with words, sometimes with pillows, sometimes even with fists. Once Gray had managed to pin Natsu down on his bed, throwing his thick, soft blanket over him and lying down on it, burying Natsu under his weight. All Gray had heard and felt for a long while had been Natsu's heavy breathing. Natsu's behavior had been really awkward afterwards. He'd avoided Gray's eyes and had locked himself into the bathroom for a solid hour. Remembering that incident made heat creep into Gray's cheeks and ears.
The hooting sound from his smartphone made him jump, and he nearly tossed it across the bed out of sheer shock. His screen was still on and the conversation with 'Stupid Flame Brain' still on the forefront, so he could read the short message with a quick glance.
miss me already, nerd?
He should be pissed, really he should. But his body wasn't playing along; the corners of his mouth twitched into a fond smile, warmth that had never been there before spread in his stomach. Not letting himself think about it, he typed out a quick response.
as if, idiot, I'm just worried for the safety of my belongings
He didn't need to wait long for the answer.
you needn't worry, I didn't touch anything yet
what's with the 'yet', huh? ò.ó
A few seconds later a picture plopped up in the conversation. Natsu smiling mischievously into the camera, in the background Gray's desk with the books he'd left behind all piled up neatly. Gray should be worried about the safety of his things, yet all he could see was Natsu's face, his lips, his smile, his perfectly white teeth, his soft pink hair, and his beautiful green eyes. His heart was hammering in his chest. The craving to be with his best friend was overwhelming. Gray clutched one hand into the fabric over his heart. 'Shit. This can't be happening...'
He managed typing out a lame don't you dare with slightly shaking fingers, and then went to the bathroom to take an extra cold shower.
He'd calmed down a bit during the shower, but when he saw the LED flashing upon returning to the sleeping room, he was on the bed in a matter of seconds, reading the flippant answer. He managed to have a real argument about the state of cleanliness of their shared bedroom and just like that, their daily routine of texting each other in the evening was established.
Their messages had slowly tripped over from pure banter into banter with... subtext.
Then they started calling, and again Gray was the one who started it, calling Natsu for the first time after two months of being apart. He'd craved to hear his voice, but he did it under the pretext of being able to hear whether or not Natsu was lying when he said that he was studying properly. Natsu didn't complain or tease him about it, and so they started talking on the phone once per week, every Monday evening.
At the beginning it had been a bit awkward. Being able to hear the voice of the other was more personal than just exchanging text messages, and they'd shied away from implying anything on the phone. They'd acted as if the slight flirting via text hadn't taken place, and yes, it had indeed been flirting, at least on his part, Gray had to admit. But then, one month into their calling habit, there was a sudden silence on the phone during a call. They'd finished talking about some topic Gray had forgotten the next second, and just like that, there were only the sounds of their even breathing to be heard. It was like a magical moment, feeling strangely intimate. Neither wanted to break the silence, so they only listened to each other's breathing for a minute or maybe even more.
Then Natsu released a shuddering breath, and whispered into the phone, "I really wish you were here right now."
"Me too," Gray whispered back without hesitation, and he'd expected a serious talk about what they were to each other to ensue.
But then Natsu burst out, "then we could sneak into Lucy's and Lisanna's room and paint their faces in their sleep."
Gray was sure that his laugh must've sounded strangled even to Natsu, who usually was rather oblivious to these things. Neither of them had commented on or mentioned it again, so they went back to bickering.
It was just one more month before Gray would go back home, and he couldn't wait to see Natsu again, although he was confused and unsure as hell. Not about his feelings towards his best friend, since he'd come to terms with being in love fairly quickly. The insecurities were about Natsu. He'd been sending so many mixed signals over the past few months that Gray didn't know what to think anymore.
Today was Natsu's turn to call, and Gray had been sitting on his bed, staring at his smartphone screen for nearly an hour when he finally heard the familiar ringtone.
"Good evening."
"Hi, Gray," came the hesitant answer with an apologetic undertone.
He sighed. "What did you do this time?"
"Uh... I may have exchanged the sugar dredger with the salt dredger, and the victim who put salt in her coffee instead of sugar might have been... Mrs. Scarlet?"
Gray burst out in laughter, rolling back and forth in his bed, holding his stomach. "You- seriously-" another fit of laughter- "oh god Natsu. You'll never grow up, will you?"
He could hear a snort on the other end of the line. "She made me clean our classroom! And she wouldn't let me go until everything was as clean as she wanted it to be! I didn't deserve that kind of punishment!"
"No, sure you didn't," Gray said with a smirk.
"Well... whatever, that's why my call is a bit late... Sorry."
"It's okay. In a month I'll be there again to protect you from such unfair punishments."
"Nah, you'll just be boring, watch every step I take and tie my hands whenever I try to do something fun."
"Something fun like putting salt into Mrs. Scarlet's coffee."
"Or burn a hole into your mattress."
"Yeah. Like hell you'd do that."
He was met with silence.
"... Natsu?"
"Erm," was all he got before the other fell silent again.
He let out a low growl. Surely Natsu was just pulling his leg. There was no way he'd really do such a stupid thing... right?
"Well, I guess I'll just have to sleep in your bed, then." As soon as the words had left his lips, he felt the urge to slam his hands over his stupid mouth or hit his head against something hard.
"I was joking. I didn't actually burn a hole into your mattress." Gray sighed in relief. "But... if that's the outcome, then I wish I had." His voice was low, sending a shiver down Gray's spine.
"And where'd you sleep then?" he asked hesitantly, because one could never be sure what Natsu really meant.
"With you in my bed, dumbass."
"Your bed is small."
"I know."
"I'd need to snuggle up with you."
"Mmmm. Good."
Gray's pulse and breathing were elevated, and his stomach felt like it was doing back flips. Imagining him in bed with Natsu, cuddling... it was too good to be true.
"My body's always cold. I know you wouldn't like that."
"Oh, I'm sure I could find a way to get you hot."
Well, okay. That was pretty damn straightforward. And incredibly arousing.
"L- like what?"
"I'd start with caressing your cheeks, cradling your skull, and kissing you, if you'd let me...?"
"God, yes," he half-moaned, his free hand moving to cup his hardening cock through his pants on its own volition.
Natsu let out a sharp hiss, then continued, "and then I'd let my hands roam all over your body. Your defined abs, your muscular arms... maybe I'd lick your nipples, how would you like that?"
God, were they having phone sex right now? Natsu's breathing was ragged. He was probably also touching himself right now. Yep, they were. And Gray fucking loved it.
"Yeah... I'd like that very much." Natsu let out a stifled moan, and it was too much. Gray opened the fly of his jeans one-handedly and slipped a hand inside and under his boxers to cup his aching erection directly.
"Gray... if you're not yet naked, then I want you to strip for me now," Natsu demanded with a sultry voice.
Gray nearly managed to fall off the bed in his haste to comply. When he was done stripping, he brought his smartphone to his ear again. "I'm... naked now."
"And hard?"
"Like a rock."
Natsu let out a long moan. "Are you already leaking pre-cum?"
Gray wanted to answer that, no, he wasn't, but when he glanced down, he noticed a fluid pearl shining on the slit. "Yes."
"Then I want you to coat your thumb with it, and swirl it around the head of your cock, imagining it was me licking you."
A jolt of pleasure shot through his body as he did exactly that - smearing his pre-cum all over the head of his dick, while his mind was supplying him with the dirtiest of images of his best friend kneeling before him, licking his tongue languidly over his cock. "Oh god- ahh- this feels so good... Shit, I didn't know you were this filthy, Natsu."
"If you think this is filthy, then just wait what I'll do to you when you're physically here with me," Natsu whispered seductively, which made Gray's hair stand on end, and made his spine arch.
"Nah- tsu- If you don't- ah- stop talking like this, I think I'll come soon," he admitted with a shaky voice. It was embarrassing as hell that Natsu's voice had this strong impact on him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He hadn't even done anything besides massaging his tip yet.
"You like my voice that much, huh. Just listen to the sounds you make. You're - making me so horny. I'm stroking my cock right now, imagining it was your hand touching my hard penis, making me feel so- ngh- good."
Gray's tip was so slick with pre-cum, that he could slide his fingers so easily over his sensitive skin as though it was coated in soap. He'd added his other fingers, imagining Natsu was wrapping his lips around his cock. Along with Natsu's dirty words, it was too much, and he already felt his balls tightening.
"Natsu- I'm- god, I'm- about to-"
"Yes, come for me, Gray. Imagine you're coming all over my face- oh shit, ah, Gray, I'm coming-"
Natsu's loud moan sent Gray over the edge as well, and he came all over his hand, his hips jerking even after the orgasm had ebbed away. A long while the only sounds were his and Natsu's breaths slowly calming down. When Gray felt calm enough to talk, he asked, "Where did this come from?"
"I... I had the impression that you were... flirting with me, and I thought that if I finally had a chance with you, I should make the best of it... So I watched much gay porn-"
"Wait. You used our laptop for watching porn? The one we bought together for research and study purposes?"
"Er- but that was for research and studying... At least at the beginning, but then I noticed I liked it way too much, and I couldn't wait to see if you liked what I learned so far..."
Gray exhaled audibly. "Did you at least save a backup of all our study material somewhere besides on the hard drive of our laptop before entering a porn website?"
"I- uh- no?"
"Then you better pray that you didn't infect the laptop with a virus that'll destroy everything on it. I swear to god, I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit for a week!"
"Ohhh Gray, now that's kinky!"
He choked on his saliva. Damn this stupid idiot! He was so... so infuriating... But still, Gray just couldn't be angry with him for long. He sighed in defeat. "You're incredible..."
Natsu didn't respond for a long while, and Gray didn't say anything either. He could feel the mood shift. It felt like they were going to talk seriously about their situation, and this time his guess turned out to be correct. When Natsu finally broke the silence, his voice was barely a whisper.
"Gray... I miss you so much. I'm feeling... miserable without you here."
Gray placed his free hand over his rapidly beating heart, uncaring of the fact that it was still dripping wet with semen. "Me too. I never thought I'd fall for you, but then you were suddenly out of my reach, several hundred kilometers away from me... and it somehow happened."
"So you fell in love with me recently?"
Thinking about the answer, Gray found he wasn't so sure anymore. Thinking back, he always felt differently for Natsu than for all of their other friends. He'd always been happier with Natsu around. He'd always tried to spend as much time with Natsu as possible, even if it was only subconsciously. When exactly he'd fallen in love, he didn't know. It had been a slow process, so slow that he hadn't noticed the change at all until Natsu was no longer around. The day he had trapped Natsu underneath his body and the blanket replayed in his mind. At that time he hadn't been able to classify the heat inside him while he'd been pinning down Natsu, but now he understood. It had been desire.
"Apparently I've been in love with you for much longer... I just never noticed until recently."
Natsu's breath was elevated, and Gray wanted nothing more than to feel it against his skin. "And you're calling me an ignorant idiot. At least I know I've been in love with you for nearly two years already."
Hearing Natsu say it out loud ignited a fire inside him that roared unbidden through his body. His stomach tingled, and his skin felt impossibly hot. His craving to kiss his stupid best friend right now was killing him inside. And as much as he wanted to whisper more sweet confessions into his microphone, he knew that it would do nothing but increase his longing even more. So instead, he chuckled lightly, and said, "I bet you're going to be a very clingy boyfriend."
"Damn right I will be. Just you wait until I get you into kissing range - I'm never letting you go again."
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