Hey guys! I made this fanfic for all my fans who requested a Gray X Natsu fanfic rather than the Natsu X Gray fics I've been doing, though even if you prefer Natsu X Gray, I think you'll still like this one ( I hope)! Don't worry, I haven't become strictly Gratsu. I still believe it can go either way. I hope you guys appreciate it. It's the longest fanfic I've bothered to write and took me a whole month to write. It came up to 52 pages on my computer. It was actually supposed to be a one shot, then I went a little crazy, and I even made sure to keep the ending open for a sequel if I feel like it and if you guys like it.

Please Review also. Reviews are always read, and requests are always taken into consideration. If you like my writing and my stories, let me know. It's always great to hear from everyone! If I get 69 likes or more (OR IF PEOPLE TELL ME IN REVIEWS), I will write a sequel.

Now time for the usual bit at the beginning of every fic. I don't own anything except for the antagonist, the name of the town they're in, and the moody conductor guy who hates his job.

LET'S BEGIN!

Chapter 1: When I Realized I Loved You

Fairy Tail parties were always fun. People danced, and sang, and every time someone challenged Cana to a drinking competition to steal her title of 'Fairy Tail's heaviest drinker'. Natsu had tried tonight, but he'd never been good at holding his alcohol. He started to feel tipsy and wondered off to the dance floor. Everybody cheered as Cana downed another barrel.

Natsu went to sit down after dancing for three hours straight. His feet were killing him but he smiled as he ordered a juice from Mirajane. He felt too happy to let some achy feet bother him. Spinning around in his seat he watched the other members of his beloved guild having a great time. Life didn't get any better than this.

"Hey Natsu!"

Natsu looked over to see Gray walking over, hands in his pockets. Of course it was no surprise that he had managed to lose his shirt.

Natsu gave a big smile back.

"What, no snappy insult fire head?" Gray sat down beside Natsu and ordered a beer. "You drunk or something?"

"Hey buzzkill! Why you trying to wreak my mood?" Natsu stretched and sighed happily. "I feel too good to worry about an ice freak like you."

Gray closed his eyes and smiled. "You got to love this place."

"Mm hm. These people are my family." Natsu said looking around at all people that he's come to know over the many years in the guild.

Gray closed his eyes, tilted his head down and smiled. "Family eh?"

"Well yah, I mean, what do you think as everyone here?" Natsu looked at him curious, his cheeks becoming slightly flushed from the alcohol.

Gray turned around and rested his arms on the counter. "Well there are people here that I think of like family, and others that I'm close to as really good friends. That doesn't mean that they aren't important to me though. Also, there are people that I think of as more than just typical family."

"Wow, you sure like to categorize people."

"Like I said though, they're all important to me and I'd do anything for them. If it means risking my life, then I'd do it." Gray smiled.

Natsu laughed. "Yah me too!" The two rivals laughed for a bit, suddenly Natsu stopped, resting his head in his arms. Gray thought he was feeling sick from the alcohol. He poked him in his cheek and Natsu's head rolled to the side and Gray heard the small snores from the boy. Natsu was asleep.

Gray shook his head. This guy was hopeless.

"Hey Mira! I'm gonna go bring Sleeping Beauty back home. I'll pay the bill tomorrow before I leave ok?"

"Sure thing Gray!"

Gray scooped up the sleeping dragon slayer and flung him on his back, piggy-back style. He smiled as Natsu grumbled something in his sleep.

He walked outside to meet the cold evening air. Gray was unaffected, but Natsu got goose bumps on his arms. Gray rubbed his arms, trying to warm up the fire dragon slayer. Even though Natsu let off a lot of heat, as Gray could feel because it was burning his back, he still shivered when the cold wind blew against his lower back that was peeking out under his vest.

Gray kept walking, laughing a little when an especially strong wind caused Natsu to retreat his cold nose into Gray neck, seeking what little heat the ice mage had to offer.

Finally they reached the run-down house that Natsu called home. He guessed that the fire head and Happy didn't really feel the need to take care of it because they were always gone on missions.

"Still, you can clean up a bit can't you?" Gray sighed as he kicked over a mountain of garbage to get inside. Typical Natsu.

Finding his bed among the avalanche of junk, Gray laid the pinkette down. Natsu sighed and smiled in his sleep, nuzzling his face into the pillow and rolling over on his side.

"Well, guess I'll see you later fire breath. I have a job I need to leave for early in the morning." Gray turned around to leave when something caught his attention. The corner of a photograph turned upside down was sticking out from under Natsu's pillow with a bunch of writing on the back.

"Oh, what do we have here?" Gray gave a mischievous smile down at the sleeping man. "Is this a picture of a crush? Wonder who it is!" Gray carefully removed the picture from under the pillow, careful not to wake Natsu, who only snored a little louder.

Gray read the writing on the back of the photograph, just to find out he guessed right. In Natsu's messy handwriting read: 'The day I found out I loved him'.

"Ha! That's so cheesy" Gray laughed. Then something dawned on the ice wizard. Him?! Was Natsu gay? He looked down at the sleeping figure who was unaware of Gray prying into his private life. Gray suddenly felt like he shouldn't be doing this. This was way too personal for him to go rummaging around in just for a prank. He tried to put the picture back quickly and get out of there. The photograph slipped out of Gray's hands and landed face up on the floor.

"Shit" Gray cursed softly, bending down to pick it up. His hands froze as he saw who was on the picture. It was of Natsu and him as kids, smiling like lunatics after a brawl. Both had bruises on their faces and each had a black eye, but that didn't change their smile. Gray remembered that day. It had been a draw.

"I'll win next time Gray! Just you wait!" Young Natsu tried to get up, but fell back down next to his rival. "Ugh. I'll become so strong that you won't stand a chance against me!"

"Ha! In your dreams. I'm the one who's gonna kick your butt!" It was quiet for a while and then both boys broke into laughter.

Wiping the joyous tears from his eyes, Natsu spoke; "I'm glad you're my rival Gray." He turned his head and smiled at the raven boy beside him. "You're special."

Gray blushed and turned his head away in embarrassment. "Yah. I... I'm glad too." Then he sighed and turned his head to meet the other boy's smile. "You're special too."

It was a vivid memory for Gray, because that was the day that he felt him and Natsu had made a silent vow to always be by each other's side. Now he realized that Natsu had come to the same conclusion.

He crouched down by Natsu's bed to get a better look at the sleeping figure. Natsu was lost in his dreams and had a ridiculous smile on his face. He heard Natsu give a small laugh that was barely audible, then started to snore again. Natsu was indeed having a good dream, and Gray wondered if maybe, Natsu was dreaming about him.

Ever so slowly, he bent down and gave a small kiss on the forehead of his rival.

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Natsu woke early the next morning to find himself in his own bed, which was weird, because the last thing he remembered was talking to Gray at the guild hall.

He stretch his arms wide and sunk back down into his bed reaching his hand under his pillow to find the precious moment that clung to him every day, but his fingers could not find it.

"What the heck?" Natsu got up and threw the pillow aside and stared at the empty space. He felt a sinking feeling in his chest. Where was his precious memory!

He scanned the room and found it laying on the floor, beside his bed with the picture side facing up. He blushed and looked to see if Happy had come home. No sign of his friend. Good. It was embarrassing. Not just because Gray was a guy, but because the guy had to be GRAY! The one person Natsu knew he would have no hope of reciprocating his feelings. Even so, Natsu sighed in relief that the photograph was not damaged and put it back under his pillow.

He left for the guild hall. It was much earlier than he normally would leave, but he was already wide awake and didn't have any other plans today. Besides, he needed some cash and he was ready to go kick some bad guy's butt!

Happily walking into the guild hall, he laughed at the amount of passed out bodies spread out on the floor and across the tables. Mirajane stood happily behind the counter and smiled when she saw Natsu. Gray was there and he was handing her some cash.

"Oh hi Natsu!" She said giving her a cheerful smile. Gray turned around and gave a small wave to the dragon slayer. Natsu walked up behind him and gave a playful punch in the shoulder.

"Hey Mira. Hello ice princess." Natsu said, clearly in a good mood. Gray gave a Natsu a look but quickly turned his head away. He bite his cheeks to hide the blush that threatened to take over his face. He had been up all night thinking about Natsu and that photograph.

Natsu was confused. Gray was acting different today.

"Hey, something wrong?" Natsu said nonchalantly, scooting into a booth. "One cup of hot cider please." He told Mirajane. She went off to the kitchen. He was actually worried about Gray, but he couldn't let that show. It was hard having this one-sided love for someone he was so close to.

"Nothing, just have one heck of a mission ahead of me." Gray said smoothly. He kept his voice even to keep himself from losing it. It wasn't a lie. This job was going to be tough.

"Hmm, well you'll be fine. Good luck." Natsu looked up and thanked Mira as she placed a hot cup in front of him. He sipped his cider.

A little disappointed at Natsu's lack of concern, Gray nodded and set off.

Natsu watched him go, wondering how long he'll be gone for.

"I'm surprised he didn't tell you that he carried you home last night after you fell asleep." Mirajane said, raising an eyebrow.

"He what?" Natsu sighed. That would explain how he got home. It was quiet for a minute, Mirajane cleaning the dishes and Natsu alone with his cider and his thoughts.

Then it dawned on him. The picture on the ground, the way Gray was acting. It couldn't be a coincidence! Natsu stood up, making some of the cider spill on the table.

"Careful Natsu! I'll make you clean it if you make too much of a mess." Mirajane said exasperated.

"Don't tell me he- "Natsu's eyes were large. "Where is he going?" He demanded to Mira, who was cleaning up the spilled drink.

"A small town just north of Mount Hakobe called Seirion. Why? Is something the matter?" But she didn't get a reply cause Natsu was already racing for the door.

"Please don't tell me he found out!" Natsu screamed as he ran to the train station.

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Natsu arrived at the train station and looked around. Then he spotted him, giving his luggage to the conductor, then turned around and walked onto the train. Natsu raced to the ticket booth.

"I need a ticket for the train leaving right now."

The ticket man blinked and slid it across the table. "That'll be-"

Natsu threw a bunch of jewel on the counter, probably more than enough, and took off. It was the first time he ever boarded a train without thinking about his motion sickness.

It didn't make the motion sickness go away though. As soon as the train started moving, he slouched in his seat, feeling his stomach start to heave and the world started spinning. He had planned to go looking for Gray once he got on the train. His stomach had other ideas.

He groaned and put his head down, waiting for the uneasiness to stop. He wanted to find Gray, but that would have to wait until they got there. He would have to catch him before he got off and Natsu wouldn't be able to find him.

He leaned against the back of his seat and waited for the world to stop spinning.

The conductor looked at him worriedly. "Sire, may I interest you in a bucket?"

He probably just didn't want to clean up the mess Natsu was sure to make. "No that's ok-". Then he felt his stomach heave and he put his hand over his mouth, his face turning a light shade of green. "Yah, on second thought, that would be great."

The conductor hurried off to grab the bucket to avoid a mess he really didn't want to clean.

Not more than a minute later, he handed the bucket to Natsu. "Just in time" he said before throwing up inside of it. The conductor wrinkled his nose at the sight and walked away, probably thinking he doesn't get paid enough for this.

At around that time, Gray had got up to use the bathroom. On his way there, he passed a familiar head of spiky pink hair. Natsu had his head in a bucket and was too busy being sick to notice him. He went up beside him and rubbed the back of his friend. Natsu unleashed another load.

"Ugh. Thanks." Natsu said without raising his head, obviously unaware of who was there.

"No problem." Gray replied and watched as Natsu's green face rose to look at him.

"Gray!" He smiled and was about to ask him about the previous night when he felt another wave of nausea and bent his head down again.

"Geez, you're pathetic." Gray sighed as he continued to rub his friend's back.

"Yah whatever" Natsu mumbled. "Doesn't help that I'm a little hung-over."

"…You're welcome for carrying you home last night" Gray spoke softly.

Natsu hid his face behind his pink hair but Gray could still see the blush dance across his ears. "Yeah… Thanks."

"So about last night…" Natsu began, his blush getting deeper.

Gray didn't trust his voice so he answered with a, "Hmm."

"Well umm…" Shit he never thought about how he was going to ask Gray about it. "Well… I was wondering… if you saw anything weird at my place yesterday…"

"Weird how?" Gray asked, trying to feign innocence. Apparently it worked.

Natsu blushed. "Just weird ok! You know weird stuff… Stuff that just… makes you weird…"

"Aw do you have a secret porn collection?" Gray cracked a smile. Even if he didn't know what Natsu was talking about, he could have worded that better.

"That's not it!" Natsu screeched, looking around to see if anybody had heard that, then turning his head around to throw up again.

"Relax. I'm only joking. I didn't see anything weird." Gray reassured rubbing Natsu's back again.

"That's good." Natsu sighed. "Blah. I feel like I'm dying. Is my forehead hot? I feel like I have a fever. Do you know if they have cold compresses on board?" He started looking around for the conductor, but it seemed he escaped to another part of the train so as to not have to deal with his sick passenger.

"You can use me if you want." Gray said nonchalantly before he could stop himself.

Natsu looked at him, a little embarrassed. "You sure?"

"Umm… yeah I guess… If you want to that is…" Now Gray was embarrassed. What was he doing? Just because he knows now about Natsu's feelings that doesn't mean he should start cuddling with him.

Natsu slowly nodded his head. Carefully, he let himself rest against Gray's cool shoulder. It soothed the ache in his head and felt good against his skin. Gray's skin was soft and cold, but it made Natsu feel comfortable, while at the same cooling away all uneasiness.

Yes. This was the person he loved.

"Ew. You're all clammy." Gray teased.

"Sorry." Natsu mumbled. He was feeling a little shocked because, for the first time in forever, Natsu was starting to not feel sick on a vehicle. "You know, this might work better than Wendy's troia spell."

"Glad I could be of service." Gray smiled. "Now we know what works for you. Just a cold compress."

"…Yah, that must be it." Gray could feel Natsu's heat rising from his blush.

"You sure you didn't see anything weird right?" Natsu had been SO sure that Gray must have seen the picture, which in a way, he would've been glad for since he wouldn't have to hide it anymore and he wouldn't have to tell him how he felt.

"Yeah I'm sure."

Natsu sighed. "'kay. I'm gonna sleep now if that's ok." He felt so relaxed cuddling up into Gray's shoulder that he started to feel really tired. He was closing his eyes before Gray could say anything.

Gray listened to the soft snores that were similar to that of the previous night.

"Don't worry," Gray rested his cheek against Natsu's soft hair and closed his eyes as well. "There's nothing weird about it."

I found a cure for Natsu's motion sickness. Aren't I nice? Don't forget to review!