Sealed with a Kiss

"Natsu! Stop! Don't touch anything!" Gray yelled running over to him.

But it was too late.

Lifting the idol off of its base, Natsu turned around with a grin. "Hey, guys, look what I found!"

The room began to shake and just as Gray smashed into Natsu, the floor gave out beneath them. Natsu screamed as the two plummeted down into the darkness, the small light above them disappearing as the floor sealed behind them. Suddenly, below them, a magic circle appeared.

"Natsu!" Gray yelled, trying to move over to him. "We can't fall in!"

Natsu continued screaming, unable to hear Gray.

"Ice Make…!" Gray began.

But it was too late.

The last thing Gray remembered was smashing into a hard floor, Natsu landing on top of him. The wind knocked out of him and his head throbbing, Gray's eyes slowly began to close as he watched the magic circle seal above them.

"I need to get up. I need to move. If I stay like this for much longer, I might not wake up. Listen: pull yourself up. Wake Natsu up! Get out of here!"

Slowly, Gray's body began to tense, his muscles weak, his temple still pounding from the unpleasant encounter with the stone floor. He tried to pull himself up, but was unsuccessful; it was as if a heavy weight was pinning him down, keeping him from moving or even breathing normally.

Opening his eyes slowly, Gray looked down to see what was keeping him from getting up.

"Natsu?" he said softly, reaching up and grabbing the boy's shoulder and shaking him. "Natsu, get up. Get off of me!" With a shove, he slid Natsu off and was able to sit up, his joints popping and his muscles sore. The room was dimly lit—the light seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, filtering through cracks in the wall. Looking around, Gray noticed that the room was a cell with no door, no exits.

Natsu gave a slight moan, startling Gray as he turned to check on the dragon slayer.

"Gray, what the hell did you do?" Natsu said softly, rubbing his head and looking around.

"Me? You're the one who picked up the idol, remember?"

Sitting up, Natsu grinned and picked up the small statue that had fallen in with them. "That's right."

"Give me that," Gray demanded, snatching the idol from Natsu. It was a small man, sitting cross-legged on a stone with a carefully engraved message on the front. "To those who you who dare to lift this treasure, you shall be consumed by fear," Gray read, turning the idol over in his hands. The man appeared to be half angel, half demon, and was holding a scythe in one hand and a lyre in the other.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Natsu smirked, leaning over to take back his treasure. "This'll look great back home!"

"You idiot!" Gray yelled, smashing Natsu over the head. "Why do you have to be so stupid?"

"Who are you calling stupid, droopy-eyes?" Natsu steamed, the two smashing foreheads.

"You, slanty-eyes!" Gray growled in return.

"You wanna fight?"

Gray paused for a moment and then leaned back, shaking his head. "No."

"Well then let's…wait. No?"

"No."

Natsu sat silent for a moment, setting the statue down on the ground behind him. "You afraid you're gonna get beat, right?" the fire wizard said triumphantly.

Sighing, Gray stood up and patted the dust off of his clothes. "No. I'm sick of fighting with you. I don't want to anymore."

"But…that's what we do," Natsu protested weakly. "Fire and Ice; we butt heads, that's how it works."

"Just shut up. I don't want to talk about this right now. We need to figure out how to get out. Something tells me this cell is completely sealed."

"Well, then, we'll just bust our way out!" Natsu said, standing up and cracking his knuckles. "Stand back, droopy," he said as he prepared to punch the wall. With all of his might and a flash of flames, he punched the wall, causing the stone to crack. "Ha!" he exclaimed in victory, turning around proudly. "Just a few more punches and we're out of here!"

"I don't think so," Gray said, pointing back towards the wall. The cracks began to close, and soon the wall was back to the way it was before.

"What?" Natsu yelled, rubbing his fists. "Looks like I'll just have to use some serious firepower!"

"Natsu, stop!" Gray yelled, running over and grabbing the boy's wrists. "You can't use fire in here. It's too dangerous."

"Don't worry, I won't burn you."

"No, I mean the room is sealed. As in we don't have much air, so if you go burning things up we'll just die, got it?"

Natsu blinked a couple times, staring at Gray. "I don't get it."

"Argh, idiot!" Gray yelled, pushing Natsu up against the wall. "I'm saying don't use your fire or you'll kill us both! How stupid can you be?"

Natsu was ready to slug Gray in the jaw, but then stopped when he saw Gray's eyes. For a moment, he saw fear and hopelessness, as if Gray had given up somewhere inside of him. For some strange reason, Natsu begin to feel himself calm down. But on top of that, he felt another emotion well up inside of him: kindness.

"Okay," Natsu said. "I won't use my fire."

Gray studied Natsu for a moment and then let his arms go. "Then that means we both need to calm down, as well. If we start getting riled up, we'll us up the air faster."

"Okay," Natsu repeated, sitting down against the wall. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against the brick behind him and concentrated on slowing down his breathing. Gray sat down as well, doing the same.

"This is a magic cell," Gray said softly. "It's likely that there's about two hours' worth of fresh air in here. Until then, we'll just have to wait until someone breaks the seal and lets us out. That magic circle we fell through was one way: you can get in, but you can't get out."

Natsu sat in silence, not responding to Gray.

He's scared. I've never seen that look before. Is he afraid of dying? No, he's already ready to risk his life; I don't think that is what it is. Natsu cracked open one eye to look at Gray, who had removed his shirt already and was lying down on the floor. What is he afraid of, then?

"Gray! Natsu!" Erza yelled, running over to the floor as it was sealing behind the two boys. Smashing through the boards, Erza managed to keep the entrance from sealing completely. "We have to save…" Erza's voice stopped as she peered down into the dark cavern.

"Erza, what's wrong?" Lucy asked, coming over beside her.

"Look," she pointed. "That magic circle. I recognize it. That's Lost Magic."

"What do you mean?"

"They've fallen into a One Way Cell. There's no way to escape it. It can only be broken from the outside."

"Can you break it?" Lucy asked, stepping away from the edge.

"No, the only one that can do that would be Master. He's the only one with the knowledge to break it." Erza stood up and turned towards Lucy. "You and Happy head back to the guild. If you fly there, it should be less than two hours there and back. I'll stay here in case anything happens. Bring the Master."

Lucy nodded. "Happy, let's go!"

"Aye, sir!"

"I'm not a sir…"

"Natsu," Gray said softly, turning his head to look at the fire mage. "Natsu, are you awake?"

"Yeah."

Sitting up, Gray turned and faced him. "I'm sorry."

Natsu eyes opened slowly when he heard this and he stared at Gray for a moment. "For what?"

"A lot of things," he said, bowing his head. "I guess the most recent thing is calling you stupid."

Natsu leaned forward and tilted his head slightly, unsure of what to say.

"I don't like fighting with you. I don't like arguing with you. I do it because…"

"You're afraid?" Natsu asked.

Jumping with a start, Gray looked up at his friend, his face red with embarrassment. "Uh, yes."

"Of what?" Natsu asked, hoping to find out the reason why Gray was acting the way he was.

Gray shook his head, not wanting to discuss the issue. "Let's just start with the apology."

Smiling, Natsu moved over next to his teammate and patted him on the back. "Okay. I accept your apology."

Gray smiled and looked up at the boy. "And?"

"What do you mean 'and?'" Natsu snarled.

"Don't think that all of this is because of me."

Sighing, Natsu nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry, too."

Holding out his hand, Gray grinned softly. "Forgiven."

Gray's hand was cold and stiff, as if it was unaccustomed to acting so kind as Natsu took it, but instead of shaking it, he compulsively pulled Gray towards him and embraced him, wrapping his arms around the ice mage's torso. Gray sat frozen for a moment, taken aback by the sudden movement. He could feel Natsu's face buried in his chest, his soft hair grazing his skin, his hot breath falling against his body.

"Natsu…stop…" Gray said feebly, trying to push Natsu away, but when he placed his hands on his friend and felt the heat pouring from his body, he grew weak. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I've…always wanted to…but I've never had the chance." Natsu look up at Gray and smiled, pushing himself into Gray's body. "What are you afraid of, Gray? Tell me."

Gray hesitated, then found the strength to pull back and shoved the boy off of him, leaning back. "Natsu, what's up with you?"

"What? I thought we were going to be friends now!" Natsu pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Isn't this what friends do?"

"You've got a pretty strange definition of friendship," Gray muttered.

"So, tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"I said no!"

Natsu sighed and shook his head. An hour had passed since they had fallen into the cell, and already the air was thinning out. Falling backwards, Natsu decided to lie down and rest. He was feeling tired and short of breath, and knew that if someone didn't come to save them soon then they would be goners.

Then if we're going to die, I have to know.

"You will tell me," Natsu said sternly.

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Because I care…" Natsu's voice trailed off. "Because I care."

"Natsu," Gray said softly. "You really do have a heart under all those flames."

"Yeah, and yours is still frozen solid."

Gray winced at this comment, thinking long and hard about his next move. I guess I never really am sincere to him. And he's saved me a few times already. I keep telling myself that I have to fight him, that I have to stay angry at him; he's my enemy. That's what I told myself. But now, being trapped in this cell with death lingering right above us, I truly am afraid.

Time slipped by carelessly as the two sat in silence, the air thickening, the heat building. The cell began to feel like a pressure chamber, ready to burst at any minute—or crush them in a horrible death.

"Erza!" Lucy yelled, running up the steps of the temple they had been investigating for some local villagers. "We're back!"

"Excellent," She exclaimed, clutching her fists and smiling. "Master," she said, "come here." Erza led the old Master to the opening in the floor: down below, a glowing magic circle spun slowly.

"Hmm, yes," Makarov said softly. "I'm very familiar with this kind of magic."

"So you can break the spell?" Lucy exclaimed, Happy cheering behind her.

"No."

"No?" Erza asked.

"No."

"Why not?" Lucy cried, dropping to her knees. "They're going to die in there?"

"Nope."

"Nope?" Erza repeated.

"Nope." Makarov sat down at the edge of the opening and looked down into the cell. "They can get out on their own, and they will. We just have to be patient."

But with those boneheads, who knows how much patience we'll need, the Master thought, grumbling to himself as he waited.

Natsu had fallen asleep and was snoring softly across from Gray. "I want to tell you everything," Gray said softly, "but I'm too afraid." Gray looked at the boy and frowned: he was having trouble breathing, and his body was covered in a thin layer of sweat. "I guess I'm able to keep cool, but he's not." Gray sighed and crawled over to Natsu and looked at him for a moment. "This stupid scarf needs to come off," he whispered, grabbing the cloth and unwrapping it from around Natsu's neck. Suddenly, Gray found that his hand had fallen on Natsu's chest. The heat was intense, the skin was slick, and the muscles were hard. Maybe I should try and cool him down. Gray's hands fell over Natsu's body, the ice magic cooling the skin.

"Gray," Natsu whispered, clasping one of Gray's hands in his own. Gray stuttered for a moment as Natsu moved the frigid hand over his face, cooling it down. "This feels so nice," he said softly. "Thanks."

"Y-your w-welcome," Gray stammered.

"Lie down," Natsu said.

"I'm fine, really…"

"I said lie down," Natsu commanded, pulling Gray onto the floor next to him. "How much time do we have left?

"I-I…I don't know. Twenty minutes? Fifteen?"

"So basically we could die anytime soon, is what you're saying."

Gray sighed. "Yeah."

"Then tell me what you're afraid of," Natsu demanded, squeezing Gray's hand that he still clutched.

"But why?"

"So I can fight away those fears."

Gray didn't know what to think about those words. They were sending him over the edge. All of the pain he had gone through to keep up his front, all of the work and effort and self-sacrifice: it was all about to dwindle away to nothing because his heart was beginning to melt.

"I hate you," Gray whispered. "Why do you have to do this to me?"

Natsu sat up. Now we're getting somewhere. "Talk to me, Gray. Please."

"I'm afraid…" Gray started, unsure of whether or not he wanted to say the words that were forming at his mouth. "I'm afraid…"

"Of what, Gray?"

"Of losing you!" Gray suddenly exclaimed. "I don't want you to die before me. I don't ever want to have to go through that! I…I love you too much."

Silence fell over them as tears rolled down Gray's face.

"If we're going to die down here, though, we'll at least die together. I…I can't live unless your with me, Natsu. The reason I kept fighting you was to keep you at the right distance. Not too close, but always within reach." Gray looked up at Natsu whose face was filled with shock. "Go ahead and think what you want. I know: I'm pitiful."

"Gray," Natsu said, falling into the ice mage's chest, burying his face in the cool skin, wrapping his weak arms around his waist. "So you feel the same way, huh?"

Gray gasped, inhaling sharply.

"If we die, I'm glad you'll be by my side," Natsu said, looking up at Gray's dark eyes.

"Natsu," Gray said, grabbing the side of Natsu's burning face, pulling him closer. Their lips crashed together, staying joined for as long as they could stand, gasping for what little air was left. Gray fell backwards, Natsu toppling down on top of him. A burning sensation rushed through Gray's body, focusing on his chest as he felt as if he was being engulfed in flames. He clutched Natsu's shirt and held him as tight as possible. "I think this is it, Natsu. I can barely breathe."

"Me neither," Natsu gasped. "Gray, I love you, too."

Smiling, Gray closed his eyes and let the burning sensation overwhelm him. "Thank you for melting my frozen heart."

A bright light overwhelmed them, and then disappeared forever.

"Gray!"

I can hear his voice.

"Gray!"

Natsu. He's calling me. He's calling me…

The darkness…it's receding…. We must be in Heaven.

I'm dead.

I'm dead.

I'm…dead…

"Gray!"

Suddenly, a solid jolt shot through his jaw, waking the sleeping ice mage as his eyes shot open.

"Dammit," he muttered, rubbing his jaw. "What's going on…?" Looking up, Gray saw Natsu's smiling face above him. "Natsu?" he said softly, reaching up and placing a hand on the boy's face. "It's really you." Natsu smiled warmly down at his friend, his eyes blinking back tears. "You…jerk!" Gray exclaimed, knocking Natsu in the jaw as he sat up. "You didn't have to go and hit me!"

"I'm sorry," Natsu said, ignoring the pain and staring Gray in the face. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too," Gray said, grinning. "What's going…"

"What a touching moment!" Makarov exclaimed, walking up next to Gray.

"G-g-g-gramps!" Gray jumped. What are you doing here?" he asked nervously.

"Well, I was going to rescue you two, but then I realized I didn't have to."

"What? Where are we?"

"Still in the temple. You see, that wasn't a One Way Cell like you thought it was. Instead, it was a Pressure Cell!"

"Huh?" Erza asked, stepping in beside the Master. "But I recognized that circle!"

"Yes, as it turns out, they look almost identical. It takes a trained wizard like me to spot the difference!"

"Then, what happened in there?" Lucy asked, kneeling down next to Gray and Natsu.

"The Pressure Cell does what its name implies: puts pressure on those who fall into it. But it can be any kind of pressure. Seems to me," Makarov gleamed, smirking at the two boys, "that it put a bit of emotional pressure on you. The cell seeks an answer, and it puts pressure on you until it gets it."

"Then…" Gray started. "All of what happened," he said, turning to Natsu. "It was because of the cell, then?"

Natsu's smile faded away. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Good," Gray said coldly, standing up. "So, can we leave now? I'm sick of this place," he muttered, his face a light red.

"Yes, let's go home!" Happy exclaimed, running over to Natsu. "I'm starving!"

"That's all you can ever think about, isn't it, you stupid cat?" Lucy growled.

The sun was setting over the small lake behind the guild, the golden rays of light skipping over the tops of the mountains and falling into the dark blue water. Gray sat in silence, the breeze blowing over his bare chest as he lay out in the grass, his body absorbing the colors of the evening sun.

Everything that happened in that cell…really happened…but what I said afterwards... The way I acted was as if it wasn't the truth.

"But it was," Gray said softly, running his fingers through his hair. Gray closed his eyes, wishing that he could forget what he said in the cell. He wished things would go back to normal, but in the few days that had passed since they returned, Natsu and Gray hadn't fought once; in fact, Natsu seemed to keep his cool as much as possible around Gray, whenever they were together; but for the most part, Gray hadn't seen Natsu that much—and that was really what hurt Gray the most.

"Gray…"

Rubbing his eyes, Gray sat up slowly and looked around him, wondering who was calling his name.

"You've been asleep for a while, Gray," Natsu said softly.

"Natsu?" Gray said groggily, turning around. The young fire maze was sitting a couple feet behind him, his knees pulled to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. "What are you doing?"

"I was waiting until it was safe."

"Safe? For what?"

"I need to talk to you."

Gray sighed, moving back to sit next to Natsu. "I kinda figured you would want to."

"It's just…I really meant what I said. Even if it was just the cell messing with us, I meant it."

"Idiot."

"What? Where did that come from?" Natsu exclaimed, fuming angrily at his fellow-wizard.

"You're not making this easy for me, are you?" Gray smirked. "This is honestly why I can't stand you."

Natsu's face burned with anger, and he was about to knock Gray in the jaw once again, but he was stopped when he felt Gray's arm slide over his shoulders and pull him into his bare chest.

"No one can know about this. We have to just…play along and pretend things are the way they were."

"But I'm sick of fighting you!" Natsu exclaimed, clasping Gray's arm and staring up at him as he rested his head in the other boy's lap.

"I'm sick of it, too," Gray said, leaning down to kiss Natsu's soft lips. "But we don't want to others getting suspicious of us. It would be horribly embarrassing if word got out about this."

"I guess you're right."

"And Natsu," Gray smirked, "if you play along, I'll even let you beat me a couple times."

Natsu grinned, "I don't need you to pretend, trust me; you'll get beaten on your own!"

"We'll just have to see about that," Gray smiled and wrapped his arms around Natsu, holding him gently as the reflection of the moon danced in the water in front of them.

"Gray?" Natsu said softly.

"Yeah?"

"What happened to your clothes?"