Story Title: Wild Training Grounds
Rated: T
Pairings: NatsuXGray
World: Anime World/Canon
Beta Reader: Gothpandaotaku
Warning: Shounen Ai, Yaoi (Sexual themes), Language
Long boring Author Note:
Hello Everyone. I know, I know. I am definitely not the most punctual person on earth-and-I am not about to be one, so all I am asking for is forgiveness, and maybe this looooooooooooong-seriously-ridiculously long one-shot, will get you to open up your heart to any delays I have made. This story came up from-Indeed-no where. So if you find it a tad strange, don't hesitate to express your confused feelings for me. I don't mind.
But if you find it enjoyable, then that's good, right?
Anyhow. Watch out. Because it's really long.
There comes a moment in my life, that I scream alone to myself-In the shower-that In fact, I do own Fairy Tail. So screw it! I own Fairy Tail!
O.o.O Wild Training Grounds O.o.O
By Flame-Belt
"Doesn't Natsu ever learn from his mistakes?" Lucy murmured to Happy who shrugged off the comment, saying something—Actually the most irritating thing—about Lucy being a heavy fat unsupportive friend which resulted in him almost dying from Lucy's choking hand.
Almost all people in Fiore's local market gathered around in the middle of the afternoon, when the sun was at the highest peak, angry and blistering, attracting attention to the passerby and kids, thus encouraging more people to join in the current event. The event wasn't something new. In fact, people in Fiore town were used to this being a monthly/weekly routine that they will never get tired of—if they weren't actually looking forward to it as it served to be a major entertainer in their monotonous lives.
Bets and cheers were loud, and mostly, the members of Fairy Tail gathered among the crowd, sweat dropping and waiting for the inevitable.
"It's awesome to be young and full of energy." Makarov's eyes shone with joy. He was sitting down at his arranged spot which was one of the perks of being a Master of a guild—you know, to have a chair and spot in case one of the Dragon Slayers decided to put on a good show, which was the case.
Oh, he was enjoying this. The beer, the heat of the crowd, and the feisty soul all his members had.
About ten meters away, Natsu stood face to face with Erza whose face was calm, over-confident and full of some contempt, yet respect towards Natsu who liked his ass being kicked by S-class mages and embarrassed in front of the whole nation on a regular basis. There was no help for his case, however, that doesn't mean that she refuses a fight. It's what she just does.
She likes to fight. But no one said that this was a good day to do so.
"ERZA! I AM GONNA KICK YOUR ASS TODAY!"
Despite the fact that this is Natsu Dragneel's eternal introductory sentence to whatever challenge he throws at anyone, Erza thought that it'll never get old. In fact she almost scoffed at the sentence as if Natsu didn't say anything offensive. Seriously, it wasn't.
"I am standing right here. My ass is still intact."
"PREPARE YOURSELF! I AM SETTLING THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
"Aye! Go Natsu!"
Lucy was aggravated. She stood next to Wendy who smiled nervously and tried to ease Lucy's current unstable mood.
"Natsu-san is brave, right?" The little girl whispered.
"No, he's just an idiot." Lucy tousled her blond locks in total disapproval.
"FIRE DRA-"
Natsu didn't get to finish his sentence as he felt fresh agonizing pain in his stomach and found himself flying and crashing against a covered watermelon wagon. The nasty part, was when the horses started freaking out and galloping and Natsu found himself throwing up, presenting an awful sight to Erza who rubbed her fist, showing some pain from the ultimate punch, but nothing too serious.
"Hm. I guess I went too far." Erza mused to herself after being declared the worthy winner of this record-setting short battle.
Natsu was brought back to the guild by his only friend-supportive-of-this-event, Happy. Needless to say, he was exhausted from the little trip on the wagon while being covered in watermelon juice. The pale disgusted blue face was quickly replaced by an irritated one while observing Erza's calm figure.
"This is not over. I will get you next time."
She didn't comment on his childish threat and completed eating her lunch. Frankly, eating lunch after being the number one winner that afternoon wasn't so bad of a feeling.
"You know what your problem is, Natsu?"
"Problem? I don't have any problems!" He replied fiercely to Erza's (in his point of view), absurd question.
"I think you do. You lack many things that a good fighter is supposed to have."
"…" He blinked for a while, then shouted, "Stop fooling around! I will beat you next time Erza! And fucking stop aiming your punch or kick to wagons that carry watery fruits for god sakes!"
Lucy sat next to Erza with her lunch in hand and looked at Natsu with venom dripping. "Good going. I thought we were onto some mission today, traitor."
"Yeah, sorry, I got overexcited. Hey Lucy. Erza says I have a problem, do you think I do?"
"Do you honestly think you don't?"
"WHAT?!"
"Natsu, why can't you be more… I dunno. Realistic? You are not going to beat Erza by that attitude of yours in a million years."
"And that is what I call, a supportive friend." Erza smiled, satisfied that Lucy was sharing the same opinion.
"You suck, Lucy." Natsu spat, and stole the girl's food afterwards, earning a fist on his skull.
"Oh look at the lovebirds."
Natsu looked where Cana's comment was thrown, and snorted.
In the entrance, Gray and Juvia entered. They looked exhausted with some battle signs appearing on their torn clothes, but that didn't stop Juvia from chatting extra-happily with Gray Fullbuster whose face was void of any emotion as she went on and on about the details of their accomplishments.
"Juvia, welcome back." Lucy called, glad to see her two guild-mates return from a mission that lasted about two whole days; no rest, no sleep.
"Hey love-rival. Guess what? Once again, I used Unison Raid with Gray-sama! The beauty of being so connected… I-I can't describe it, Gray-sama-"
Juvia found herself speaking with Elfman who gave the girl some looks and she realized that Gray has already moved on to Mirajane's area, drinking something to prevent him from closing his eyes and sleeping on the spot. Because honestly, he could do that.
"Ahhhh, Gray-sama!"
Gray shook his head trying to figure out if his ears were still working. Lucy and Natsu felt bad for the boy's condition. Gray was on that mission with his one and only stalker and bold admirer (for two whole days), no one could envy him, and looks like they were gonna have to be extra nice for the next couple two weeks, trying to soothe his ears and messed up mind. Lucy was thinking of abandoning her bed and sleeping on the couch while giving up her comfort for Gray, that's HOW MUCH Lucy pitied the Ice-mage.
Apparently, Erza Scarlet didn't give a shit about it.
"Natsu, why don't you ask Gray to assist you?"
"Excuse me?" Lucy and Natsu stared at Erza dumbfounded.
Erza's smile was getting wider upon seeing Gray getting closer. "The right man in the right time."
Gray was still holding onto his glass of cold beverage when he gave her the what-on-earth-are-you-even-talking-about look.
"Natsu. Personally, I recommend you seeking help from your friend. He can assist you to be a more of a good fighter, am I right?"
When Gray almost opened his mouth to inquire what the hell she was implying, Natsu interrupted.
"WHEN HAPPY TURNS GREEN AND WHEN MY BODY BECOMES ROTTEN! There is nothing he can teach me because I can kick his ass anytime I want!" The pink haired slammed his fist on the table and glared at Gray who raised a black eyebrow and before he could get out a word, Erza stood equally irritated.
"I am tired of you being a whiny little child, Natsu. It's time to abandon that pride of yours in order to be a proper Fairy Tail warrior. You can learn so many things from each one of us and Gray is no different."
"Even if he can teach me anything, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW IT!"
"Hm." Erza grunted. "Then it's decided."
Gray looked questioningly at Lucy who shrugged and avoided answering his unspoken questions because Erza was involved in the matter.
"Gray, from today, I want you to act like a good acquaintance to Natsu, and teach him how to be a more sophisticated fighter. I am counting on you to see decent results."
"But I said-"
"I didn't ask for your opinion." Erza smacked Natsu and then kicked him until he brutally crashed against the row of tables, destroying some and causing a barrel of booze to fall over his and Cana's hair. "You are going to do as I said."
"A-Aye…"
"Natsuuu!" Happy hurried to his parent to make sure he was alive.
Gray, still pretty much perplexed and bamboozled, stood while his blue eyes stared into the surrounding space trying to figure out what he did so that his life has to be fucked like never before.
Turns out that Erza has a kind heart after all.
Gray was practically malfunctioning. Not exhausted style, not sleepy style, not just injured and needing some rest, style. No. It was more like, I-am-drinking-and-the-liquid-is-coming-back-from-my-nose malfunctioning style. Because no one would believe him if he said that there was a tumor in his head from the days of the ungodly mission. So his nose did the demonstration, and charmed Erza enough to give him the day off; Natsu's loudness-free peaceful time.
Peaceful time, however, is always short and followed by tons of bites in the ass. And that's exactly what was on his mind while standing in front of Natsu in the forest.
"What's up? Did that mission take your ability to produce SOPHISTICATED words?" Natsu snorted while glaring a bit at the still in shock-and-puzzlement Gray.
Stupid, stupid idea. Wait a minute, Ah, Stupid idea? Yes, stupid idea. Natsu thought that this was a stupid idea. Kinda like trying to peek with Gray and the guys at the girls in the baths stupid idea, or trying to take Cana down in a drinking contest stupid idea, or trying to paint some funny shapes on Laxus' face while he is sleeping stupid idea, especially when the Raijinshuu are around. Mostly, Evergreen, but who cares—just what the hell?
Gray Fullbuster had his own ass kicked, like from several people (even if he does retaliate shortly after), and even if he could help in the slightest, he sure as hell didn't beat Erza before. What the fuck is this Sophisticated Fairy Tail Warrior-crap anyway? And more importantly, when was Gray gonna start talking?
"…" Gray's arms were crossed on his chest and confused blue eyes looked at Natsu, trying to understand what was happening.
Natsu thinks that just because Gray looks sometimes calm and collected, doesn't mean that he is actually cool. Right then, Natsu kind of felt that Gray needed to be filled in with lots of information to know why was he exactly going to do this. Reason being, Gray Fullbuster didn't really appreciate hot days or hot afternoon suns—it was why his shirt was missing and frankly, Natsu figured that if they had to stand like this anymore, Gray will be posing nude in front of him.
"Forgive me your highness. Can you please explain the reason I am being forced to be in your crappy company right now?" Gray inquired calmly.
"Sure. I asked Erza for a fight and I was defeated-"
"No kidding?"
"AH SCREW IT!" Natsu yelled at Gray's RUDE comment, "THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO TEACH ME ANYTHING!"
"And you think I do want to teach you anything?" Gray looked at Natsu like he was the stupidest person on earth.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! Let's pretend that you actually taught me something and then go home. None of us want this anyway."
Gray was still standing in his place, looking pissed, but digesting information. "That's a stupid idea since she's expecting results. So can you continue telling me what the fuck did you do?"
"I didn't do anything! She said that I have a problem and that I don't look like a good fighter or WHATEVER. You know stupid-mean-bossy Erza."
"Ahh…" Gray's hand covered his forehead then went down on his shut agonized eyes, the sides of his nose, and then went back to hold his own waist. "Man. Why, just why do you have to be such an idiot all the time?"
Natsu gritted his teeth and shouted, "DO YOU WANT ME TO BEAT YOU RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW?!"
Gray simply glared at the other. "Dumbass, you better treat me better than this or I swear to god, you will be screwed by Erza."
Natsu huffed and crossed his arms on his chest, not liking Gray's upper hand in this at all.
"Obviously, because YOU fucked up, I am going down with you." Gray walked slowly closer to Natsu, then kept circling the boy, looking at him from head to toe as if he was some examining substance.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Gray Fullbuster stood in front of him, throwing a look of resentment. "Before we start this shitty training, you have to change your clothes to something more appropriate AND practical."
"By practical you mean posing nude in front of you? Because that's what you do."
"It'll be fantastic, but no, I just want to have a clear view of your body."
"… Come again?" Natsu's jaw dropped on the floor.
"That came out wrong, don't mind me." Gray scratched his head, trying to figure out how to clarify without being misunderstood,"Yeah, don't mind me."
-Training Instruction #1 -
Gray took a quick trip to the market to buy some stuff that he saw useful, like water because he wanted to preserve his Ice for training exclusively, and some other tools. Regardless of Gray's initial pure intention to buy, he found himself indulging in a heavy-caliber shoplifting activity right under the merchants noses in the huge market. In his defense, stealing shouldn't be that easy. He walked around and whatever he liked, he picked up while the merchant is talking with other customers and practically rolling the red and golden carpet for midday theft.
When the system gets better, he might go ask for help from a random rehabilitation center in Magnolia (because it has gotten worse), but for now, his money wasn't for Natsu's ass, but for his house rent.
He was feeling somewhat guilty, but he blamed it on landlords who bitched about their rent money every fucking week. That was enough to take away the guilt from his morality detector.
After Natsu has agreed to meet him in the same deserted spot in the forest when he has finished shopping and Natsu has finished changing his clothes, Gray found himself partially pleased with how Natsu looked. Who would've thought that Dragon Slayers looked hot in sleeveless shirts and Jeans?
That was sarcasm. Killing the blood circulation wasn't what Gray wanted Natsu to do, but he'll accept anything comes with Natsu as long as it backfired on NATSU. And as for the irritating seemingly-hot scarf, Gray put it around Natsu's waist and made sure that he adds extra pressure when tying the knot for his own self-satisfaction.
Natsu straightened his black sleeveless shirt and rubbed his shoulder which has the red mark of Fairy Tail in annoyance while trying to feel comfortable in sneakers.
"One day will come, and you'll find yourself dead with both of my hands."
"That's if I don't beat your ass to it." Gray breathed, "All differences aside, I say we get on with this so that we can get some decent RESULTS."
"I don't get it. Why should I learn anything from you?! Didn't I beat your ass before?"
"Is that so? Refresh my memory and tell me when and how?"
"When I defeated that stupid Dragonoid created by the stupid lady. You were practically under my foot!" Natsu raised an accusing finger towards Gray who simply grunted at the mentioning of this long time incident. It is true that Natsu defeated Daphne's Dragonoid but that part about Gray being defeated, was completely debatable.
"It was a tie, moron. We never got the chance to fight after what had happened, and I will be glad to do it anytime, however, I need to teach you more important stuff right now."
"Like you can."
"Shut it, Natsu."
They both growled at each other, and Gray finally cleared his throat to continue. "Putting aside your pride and mine, I think that you are an okay Dragon slayer. You have an okay strength, durability, reflexes-"
"How the hell does that count as putting YOUR pride aside?" Natsu felt the fire creeping from his fist, calling for Gray's doom.
"Shut it. What I want to say is, you have a package of good stuff, and sometimes, you just don't know how to use them to their full potential. Having said that, the first thing you need to know in this training is…" Gray paused looking at Natsu's dull green orbs, "It's not necessary that everything you see is the truth."
"… Huh?"
"Allow me to make it easier for your senseless brain. Go ahead and punch me."
"… Huh?"
"What an idiot. I said hit me."
Natsu looked around him then furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you making fun of me? I am not the kind of man who would-"
"Natsu, If you were a million times smarter, you would be dumber than an ant. And sometimes your fucking stupid face looks like you fell out of the ugly tree and hit every fucking branch on the way down-"
Natsu's fire did finally snap and the boy ran with the complete intention of devastating his teammate who was asking for it so so bad. His fist collided harshly with Gray's abdomen and after feeling a little bit relieved and ecstatic, Natsu felt his hand shivering from the coldness. When he tried to look in front, he found an ice replica of Gray shattering into nothingness.
His Green eyes widened with surprise and his heart skipped a beat when he felt Gray's presence behind him. He bent his knees and stood up slowly, then looked angrily behind to a very amused Gray.
"Good job." Gray exclaimed, "Get my point now?"
Natsu was speechless. He kept his gaze fixed on the Ice-mage.
"In the many times that you attack your opponents recklessly, they could have already developed an anti-strategy. I know that you gained experience that allows you to intuitively develop a strategy while being in battle, but that will not make you be able to fight an S-class like Erza."
"I am not in the need of stupid tricks."
"They are not tricks. They are called, how to be careful in battle, meaning strategies. Plus, it allows you to see your opponent's weaknesses."
Natsu wiped away some sweat from his forehead while his skin practically glowed in the unforgiving hot weather, and maybe, the situation he found himself stuck in. "Ok, suppose you are right, how am I supposed to be careful-in-battle with you?"
Gray raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't follow that."
"That trick you just played on me, would have been a lot easier to figure out if your magic wasn't based on Ice which is awfully similar to water."
"So what's your problem, dumbass?" Who said that Gray was the best teacher when it comes to questions and answers?
"The problem is that you have the advantage. My damn nose will not work so I can distinguish nada."
Truth to be told, Natsu never liked fighting with Gray. He loathed it. Gray's scent was the least traceable and Natsu despised it when his opponent is blocking one of his effective ways to take the enemy down. The best strategy to approach Gray so far is by being random. Natsu cursed his luck for having Gray as a rival, but after thinking it through, maybe that's the whole point of rivalry. To have a real danger-thrilling challenge.
Gray toyed a bit with his loose bracelet then walked forward getting closer to Natsu who just glared until the boy stood right in front of him. The Ice-mage was silent for a while and Natsu began feeling itchy in the brain.
"What?" There, it came out.
"Does your dumb nose sense it or not?"
Gray's usually dim azure eyes lit up when the angle of the angry sun hovered above it, viewing the small black pupil. Natsu didn't know how to reply when the atmosphere got a bit intense under the deep serious gaze of the other.
"Other than sexual activities, proximity is the only way you can remember scents. So, Natsu," his finger took Natsu by surprise when it prodded the pink haired boy's chest seemingly too rough, "Remember this scent. Have it engraved in your soul. Have the advantage, become stronger because the more up-up you rise, the more satisfied I will be when down-down I crush you… like the fucking dimwit you are." The last of his words came out as a whispering threat that Natsu didn't appreciate.
No matter how they were pissed at each other, Natsu didn't register the one time Gray had spoken to him with that kind of hostile tone.
He clenched his fists and faced his friend with a smirk. "I will pretend that you are a trainer with a wild spirited soul. So what else do you think I need to know?"
"That's more like it." Gray's blue eyes glowed with contentment.
-Training Instruction #2-
Natsu thought that his mind played tricks on him when he felt aggression radiating from Gray.
Apparently, It wasn't.
And there was more into it than a simple rivalry issue.
Gray had issues. Big issues.
Because when fists were thrown, they were for a reason. They didn't miss. Even though it was just mere training to enhance the Dragon Slayer's sense of what's real and what's not, Natsu sensed a deeper meaning to it. To that whole lesson. Because as they now stand in front of each other, sweat dripping, breaths unconnected and tethered, blood oozing out from a fresh opened lip or cheek or arm—well, it meant war. And Natsu Dragneel does not simply back off.
Gray's rough expression is one of the scariest so far, and when he prepares himself for another round of beating-
"BREAK. I-request… a break." Natsu raises his hands in the air stops him dead in the tracks and he looks at Natsu with an unappreciative attitude and a half surprised look.
It is true that Natsu Dragneel never backs off, but
in that case, he saw it necessary because the topic of rivalry wasn't the one involved in this revengeful heated fight. And Natsu wants to figure out the truth.
Gray spat the copper-tasting blood, and his breaths gradually calmed down. His and Natsu's hair were somewhat damp, and their hearts maintained a fast beating rhythm.
"Fair enough." The black haired man didn't refuse a break. "There is one last thing I need to tell you before we can finish today's training."
"Alright… I am listening." Natsu's eyes frizzled a bit from the bright orange sun and waited for Gray to regain his ability to talk instead of puffing out his breath.
"In battle, you have been proven to endure a lot of pressure, Natsu. Your flaws are a lot too, but I think there is one that bothers me a little more than the rest."
"What is it?" In Natsu's point of view, Gray sounded ridiculous, because almost of the battles with Natsu, entailed the opponent being in Jail, retarded or even almost dead. But not dead-dead.
"You need a damn fire generator." Gray wiped some sweat from his forehead with his abandoned shirt and almost groaned.
"Ha? What do you mean by that?" Natsu was confused.
"Your magic depends on fire. Basically, the more fire you consume, the more powerful you get. In some situations, you are lucky enough because Lucy or Romeo is around to save your ass, but did you ever think what happens if no one is there? If you run out of fire during a ferocious battle?"
Natsu paused to think about the matter and was a little upset that Gray nailed an important point.
"That's why you need a fire generator. And the solution is simple." Gray fiddled with the contents in the bag he got stuffed in the market, and got a small cylindrical shaped tool. "This is a magical item that will generate fire whenever you need. It is initially used for festivals and parties, but I thought it would be helpful in that department."
He threw it to Natsu who caught it and stared at it for some time in an attempt to hide his amazement. All his life, he never thought of using magical tools, except in some limited cases. He didn't think that something like this might come in handy for him.
"It is not as strong as a fire that comes from a mage's creation, however, it is something to close that gap."
"Ah, thanks?" He tried to sound appreciative, "But what if I lost it during a fight?"
"You can buy as many as you want and keep a spare one. It's not difficult. They are not that expensive either…" Actually, Gray couldn't remember. Were they expensive? They could be, how the hell would he know that kind of thing when he didn't even buy it? "Or maybe they are. I dunno."
"How do you not know? Weren't you the one who got this?" Gray didn't make any sense.
"Ahhh. Yeah, sure. But I didn't exactly… buy it if you get what I mean."
"What?! Is this… stolen?"
"I didn't say that."
"YOU IMPLIED THAT YOU ASSHOLE!"
"All I am saying is that sometimes it gets rough when people are asking for money to keep you sheltered so quit being a saint because you're not and just accept it."
"You are UNbelievable. I hate you so much."
"Good because it's mutual. Now, let's call it a day and start again tomorrow. It's so freaking hot."
"Hey Natsu. How's the training going?" Lucy asked as she saw both of her teammates entering the guild, exhausted and injured.
"As ridiculous as this might sound, I am actually learning something."
Natsu nodded as if confirming that point to himself first, making the blond girl release a brief laugh.
"And look where that got you?" She pointed at all the bruises and small injuries, "Rough day, huh?"
Natsu shrugged then wrapped an arm around the blond girl's shoulders and guided her somewhere private to talk, away from any of his friends' ears.
"Listen, I wanna ask you something."
Lucy gave him a suspicious glance. "Ok? Is this about you secretly reading my novel again? I swear Natsu you are a-"
"NO! It's not about that." Natsu almost slapped his forehead, "I just want—did I, in any way, upset Gray without knowing?"
"Not at all. At least, not something that I know of other than your—well, creative pranks last week, and the week before, and the one before and so on."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure-sure. Why? Is there something wrong?"
Natsu looked at Gray who was getting a key from Mirajane to go to the guild's new fantastic baths and his gaze turned back in front, confused, irritated, and confused.
"No. Everything is one hundred percent tiptop."
Natsu couldn't stop thinking about Gray's odd attitude on the way to get a key as well from Mirajane for his dedicated closet, and hurried his steps behind the black haired man who looked tired enough to keel over.
When something haunts Natsu's mind, it's bound to get out anytime. He hurried and held Gray's arm who instantly looked backwards, half-irritated, and half-questioning.
"What?"
Natsu, after a while, left the boy's arm and felt that he couldn't do it that soon. "Nothing. Just… saying thank you for today."
"Sure, I am ready whenever you need me to kick your ass." Gray grunted and marched to the baths, Natsu following after him with a scowling face.
-Training Instruction #3-
"Natsu. You have many qualities to the type of magic you have. You have an extreme advantage over your opponent, however, your problem sometimes lies in the way you approach them. You Look… dreadful."
Natsu resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't appreciate Gray's comment on the way he 'moved'. What's that got to do with anything anyway? Stupid hypocrite (who is practically naked all the time) with his stupid complexities.
Gray approached Natsu who gave the black haired boy a suspicious look. Gray kneeled down, and held both of Natsu's hips, suddenly, shaking and parting them roughly making the boy almost lose balance.
"HEY! Stop! What are you doing?!" Natsu protested and held onto Gray's shoulders who gave him the look from down.
"Ok, so aside from being an idiot, you actually have a good-built body, and great shaped hips, so I say you should use them more often instead of your foot and hands."
"What…? I use them all the damn time, and I didn't sign up for a dancing class, thank you very much."
Gray didn't give Natsu's protests any attention. "Be it any activity or one-to-one fight, I say you should use them more often instead of your fours and abandon the impetuous way you approach your opponent, by being a real expert in fighting which does not involve magic in any way."
"I don't get it, but what do you suggest?"
"Hold on a second." Gray got a rope from the bag he had the day before and took one of Natsu's hands, tying it up behind his back tightly to the opposite foot so that neither his hand or foot were in use. After that he created a fairly big size ice rock, placing it on Natsu's shoulder which didn't have the tied hand.
"There. Try to walk now."
"Are you insane? I can do this easily."
"Sure. Show me."
Natsu shook his head and moved forward to demonstrate, only he saw the muddy floor of the forest greeting him on his way down.
"Shit…"
Gray clapped his hand. "Good job. Pretty easy I tell you that."
"Shut it Gray! It looks easy, and I just tripped."
Gray helped Natsu stand up, then created another ice rock and put it on the boy's shoulder.
"Okay. Try now."
Natsu held onto the rock, and tried moving. Unfortunately it ended up like the previous time.
"You are not going to get it right until you change the stupid way you are used to recklessly sprint at someone."
"It will be EASIER if I can use my foot."
"You can't. So? What will you do?"
"I am sorry, are you telling me that you can do this and I can't?"
"I didn't say that, but yes I can. In fact, why don't I show you?"
Gray untied Natsu's wrist and foot and created a bigger size Ice rock. Natsu tied the boy's hand to his opposite foot and placed the rock on Gray's free shoulder. "Move." He said as if challenging Gray to do that precise action.
Gray's smirk wasn't so clear from his usual hard rough features, but it was evident. The black haired boy hopped forward once, twice, and three times until he reached the tree that was almost five meters away. He hopped again to face Natsu who blinked in utter shock barely holding his jaw from dropping on the ground.
"It's all about balance, Natsu. It's all about balance."
Natsu's hard breaths were loud as his bare back lay against the forest's ground. His shirt collected enough sweat to not be usable anymore, and after trying Gray's hellish training techniques, he was completely wasted. Splashes of water were thrown at his face and bare upper body and his irritated eyes looked up to find Gray smirking while standing next to the stream of water.
"It's never too late to prank you."
Natsu groaned then wiped the water off his face with his sweaty arm. "You know. Although you are a total jackass and everything, you are one hell of a good teacher."
Natsu heard nothing but the sound of water going through Gray's throat. He looked to his right to see the black haired man standing up and looking at him with the same scowling face that attempted to hold back a slight surprise from the sudden praise.
Gray chuckled a bit. "Huh, maybe I am."
"You didn't know before?"
"I didn't have the chance to train with anyone else after Ur. This is a very rare opportunity. Sharing ideas and whatever."
Natsu stood up and washed his face in the stream feeling his body incredibly heavy. "Yeah I prefer kicking your ass than training with you though."
Gray Tsk-ed and took the backpack on one shoulder, leaving the forest with Natsu.
The guild's public baths were buzzing with Fairy Tail's male members.
Like the girls' public baths, the boys' baths were just as marvelous. It was divided into a number of sections. Quick wash, baths, and changing chambers. The beautifully carved columns separated the quick washing area from the huge inner court, and the floor was lavished by off white ceramic. The baths were, however, pretty luxurious, being made of white marble and the walls were so high that anyone could barely see the end except the quick shower areas.
Having their old building back after the Dai Matou Enbu was so good, but having this additional facility was even better.
Steam was dominating the baths as well as laughter sounds and people chatting freely. In the quick wash area, Macao was sitting down scrubbing his son's back, while Jet and Droy were still in the process of measuring the fat man's belly. Obviously, Jet never gave up on getting his friend back into shape neither from preventing him from having clogged arteries (which Droy considered lame, but if Jet mentions Levy then… well, there might be changes in plans).
Laxus was having the time of his life in the hot baths, not caring about a single thing while Bixlow and Freed were fighting over who holds Laxus' slippers, shampoo, body lotion, towel and every little detail was in the process of being divided-not quite fair-in Freed's point of view.
Talk about another peaceful day at Fairy Tail's baths.
Natsu dipped himself deeper in the water until it was about to reach his weary green eyes. It was a long day, no doubt. Gray didn't have mercy when it came to training. It's not like Natsu was thinking of complaining or anything, it's just that he never thought that he could learn a lot from the other, let alone listening to him. In Natsu's child-like brain, he was only accepting this training to know Gray's weaknesses and to beat him, but he knows better.
Truth is, at first, it was so annoying from Erza to assign him to this training, but after a while, Gray proved that he really is a good mentor and somehow Natsu looked forward to it.
Gray was smart. He was… mmhm, maybe shining? Natsu didn't know why would he even want to praise Gray, but the mere thought of Gray throwing him some 'Not so great, but you'll nail it sometime this year' or 'Not bad, but could you speed up the process? The fucking Dai Matou Enbu will start and you are stuck at this rate, dumbass'.
Natsu blushed red in the water.
Wow, no one has ever praised him that way before. And for the praise to come from Gray—it's just totally unbelievable.
"Hey Natsu! I heard you are training with Gray, how is that going?" Makarov said chillin' on the opposite side of the baths.
Before Natsu could raise his head from the water and answer, Gray took it upon himself to update the old man's data.
"He's doing okay considering that he might perfect some of the moves when you die and Gildarts becomes the next official Master of Fairy Tail. Take it to your grave old man, Natsu will be fine."
Natsu's blush spread wildly on his face and cursed Gray out loud. "SHUT UP ASSHOLE!"
Gosh, why was Gray uncharacteristically nice?! Natsu pouted again under water.
"Is that so?" Makarov laughed, "Do your best Natsu."
Natsu grumbled and sunk into the hot water, however, he kept his gaze fixed on the black haired boy who was looking into empty space. Natsu's brain gears began working then.
"Gray?" Natsu merely whispered, kind of hoping that his rival won't hear it, but his luck was bad.
"What?"
They were practically sitting down on the surface of the baths, while the water covered more than half of their bodies. Under the water, Natsu's toes twisted uncomfortably.
"I was just wondering."
"About what?" Gray looked to his right and Natsu had difficulties in facing his friend a bit.
"Is there… Is there, um, anything that I've possibly-well-not um, willfully, but possibly and probably-"
"Why are you suddenly being so complicated? Stop that. It doesn't suit you man. Just tell me what you want to say."
Natsu licked his lips and faced his friend who was, eyeing him in suspense.
"Is it possible-"
"OH for the love of god! Natsu, fucking just say it!"
"I am trying jerk-face! It's not easy okay?!"
"Fine, I don't want to hear it then."
"Well, I am gonna shove it down your throat if I have to."
"No you are not."
"Yes I am." Natsu finally was able to strengthen his determination and came straight, "Are you mad at me? And not because I made you lose the two million Jewels last week—or trying to fire up your house, OH AND don't even mention the sauce prank, I know you forgave me for all of those."
Gray's eyebrow twitched a little. "Go die you little shit. WHO said anything about me forgiving you for those?!"
Natsu laughed nervously as he watched his irritated friend whose hand was now angrily between the black wet dripping locks.
Gray's mouth was pulled back into a straight line, then he looked at Natsu analytically. "Who said anything about me being mad at you?"
"Well… uh, um, your attitude? Today you really almost broke my arm, and you kept giving me these I hate you glares so I figured maybe I've done something… offensive, I dunno."
Gray's blue eyes widened just slightly, enough for Natsu to know that he nailed the bull's eye that Gray had been showing off all day long.
"Oh…"He looked back to Natsu's slightly worried eyes, "Did you do anything offensive?"
Natsu's green eyes blinked in clear confusion. "I must've. I-I don't think you would be acting this way if it was something trivial, right? But I just don't know—it's not that I care—I mean you can go to hell for all I care and I wouldn't—AHH! Just tell me! Did I or did I not?"
Gray snickered then coughed to sound a bit serious. Natsu got extremely driven to the edge by watching Gray casually soak his arm in the soothing water. After a while, a hand landed (gently) on Natsu's hair, and the water coming from that hand ran all the way to the bridge of Natsu's nose, then slipped until it reached his jaw. The confusion mixed with slight embarrassment gathered on Natsu's inflamed face as he looked at Gray' calm—even reassuring look.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Phew. That's good to know-well-not that it wasn't clear. Natsu hadn't doubted that he did not insult Gray in any way.
"I am acting on my own accord. There is something bothering me and I hope it just goes away soon." It came as a whisper meant for only Natsu to hear. It was extravagantly clear to Natsu's ears even though a whole parade was running in the bath area.
"Ah, that's… cool I think. Um, not that you are having something bothering you, but that-"
"-Yeah Natsu. I understand."
The light touch on Natsu's head disappeared, and somehow, the place above, felt so void.
"If you want to talk about it… I can't give you advice, but at least I offer to listen to you whining for a change. You never whine."
A hard look was Natsu's answer. The boy swallowed slowly and waited for Gray's answer.
"Allow me to give you a piece of advice." Gray wrapped an arm around Natsu's shoulders and whispered in his ears, "Stay out of my business."
Natsu felt sudden chill in his spine as his eyes widened. Gray took the chance to get out of the bath, leaving Natsu alone, wondering about this whole conversation.
-Training Instruction #4-
The pink haired man stood soaked in his sweat. He raised the hem of his shirt and wiped some sweat from his forehead. The ongoing training of how not to use his fours was tough, he must say. He didn't think that balance played a big role in this, and judging from his movements, his balance was more than off.
"Remember Eisenwald?"
Natsu groaned as he looked at Gray who stood a little less sweaty—of course he didn't have to work his ass off unlike other people. Ok, so for him to mention that extremely problematic former guild, Gray must want to make Natsu's day brighter.
"Do we really have to do this? What about 'em?"
Gray tilted his head to the right side for a while, observing the boy then walked forward.
"Aside from taking the whole of Ochibana train station as a hostage, they could've defeated you as well."
Natsu's skin sizzled under the sun, but that's not what has been bothering him. "Yeah? Remind me again, whose fault is it to leave me—oh excuse me. To FORGET me on the damn train in the first place?"
In Natsu's defense. He. Was. On. A. Train. His teammates were the culprits, so it's not his fault that he got in a pinch. It didn't really matter. Erigor, the major dipshit who thought himself some grim reaper and murdered too many people, wasn't able to kill the guild masters because guess what—he was perfectly demolished twice. Quite marvously actually.
It was fairly correct to mention that dealing with that incident looked tremendously draining in those days, however, as Natsu looks at it now, it has been nothing compared to what he faced afterwards. Eisenwald seemed as a small infuriating walk from the garden to the guild.
The Dai Matou Enbu, however, was like riding on a train. Excessively and unmistakably full of heart spraining moments.
"Natsu. That's not the point."
"What is it then?"
"The short lesson of this story that you have to nail in that head of yours, is that you must overpower your opponent by choosing grounds that you have the advantage of. Something that you rarely do."
"How is this going to help me defeat Erza?"
"You tell me."
Fine. If Gray wanted to work out Natsu's mind, then he will pay sooner or later.
"So with that being said, let's get back to our previous lesson. I have chosen the art of swords to practice on today."
"That's lame." Natsu immediately shot with an annoyed expression.
"No it's not. You want to defeat Erza, but the truth is, you can't unless you know one thing or two about a fighter like her type. You have to be able to get a read on her movements, or else, the watermelon wagon is as far as you can go."
"Don't… remind me, please."
"I find it quite hilarious when I bring it up."
"Asshole."
"Nothing you will say is gonna faze my inner laughing child. Ha. Ha. Ha."
Actually, Gray wasn't laughing. He was… his eyes were savoring the image of the whole event that has been rumored about. Last week it was the cherries wagon, the one before was pineapple, then coconuts, and the watermelon is repeating itself for the second time. Why the universe is doing this to Natsu Dragneel, he didn't know. For once he wants to crash against a chicken stand or meat. Or preferably both.
"Stop your ugly gloating moment and let's just get on with this stupid sword training, shall we?" Natsu hissed.
Gray threw an old sword that he borrowed for the purpose of training (Natsu thinks that Gray really has a moral problem), and tossed it in Natsu's direction, who caught it while creating an ice sword for himself.
"This is not fair. Your sword will be deadly." Natsu protested not so strongly because he was tired enough.
"That is the point, smart guy."
Natsu grabbed the hilt of the sword with some anger, and gave the other boy a challenging look. Only then, Gray rolled his eyes and dropped down his own sword and walked behind the oblivious boy.
"Ok, first, you have to know how to stand holding that thing." Gray pointed to the sword.
"I AM HOLDING IT FINE!"
"No you are not."
"Damn it, Gray. Why are you being such a moron?!"
"Don't throw meaningless hissy fits alright? Now man up. I said man up." Gray tapped Natsu's back's middle, and forced the boy to stand, back straight. His hands strongly held Natsu's shoulders in place from behind the boy who kept huffing, not liking how Gray was manipulating his body.
Gray looked into his own hands behind Natsu and saw them… wet from the short contact with the pink haired boy's damp/dirty white shirt.
Natsu got surprised from the long pause and looked back to see Gray looking at his own hands thoughtfully.
"What is it? Something wrong?" Natsu pleaded to the gods that Gray didn't find a more exhausting way for the training just to irritate him.
"No, nothing wrong." Gray took Natsu's shoulders and sat the boy unwillingly down under a tree's shade making him lose control over the sword and not feel his tired trembling legs. "But you will be taking a short break."
Damn. About time? Natsu Dragneel officially lost control over how his legs operated and especially, the calf.
"That's uh, very compassionate of you. Strange."
Gray dug through the contents of his training bag and got a bottle of water, and tossed it in Natsu's direction as well.
"I must say, I appreciate your cold water choice right now. Thanks man!"
"Don't mention it. I can be pretty compassionate when I want to."
The black haired boy walked and stood by the stream, playing with the pebbles right next to it. Natsu looked at his rival's bare back with some questions in mind, not yet satisfied with an enlightening answer.
Gray's bizarreness with him lasted for a good amount of time and Natsu thought it over and found that he didn't like it that much. Like how for example Gray began taking the UN-limited number of tasks with Juvia. Natsu was fine knowing that, however, seeing how much Gray himself is not quite fond of it raised issues in Natsu's mind.
Truthfully, going with Juvia on a mission that lasted two whole nights is not an easy task for Gray. It's like riding on the express train for Natsu. He didn't know which portion of it resembles that, but judging from how the black haired boy returned every time, well, it was enough to tell an unspoken tale. So why does Gray even bother?
Most of Natsu's time is in small tasks and missions along with his friends and for the last two months there has been only one person missing from the major percentage of his life.
In Fairy Tail, there is a term called "Macerated Fairies". Originally, Fairy Tail is a big family, nevertheless, they are composed of multiple groups which create the teams. It actually applies for all the other guilds as well. Macerated Fairies are those individuals who have fallen out of sync with their own teams. These people usually detach themselves to find another fits which could be a good or a bad thing.
When Natsu remembers now, Macerated Fairies, usually end up leaving the guild and abandoning their friends. There was no help for it almost all the time. But it could turn out by creating even better teams.
Gray, becoming one of those, is out of the question even though the doubt made Natsu's usually carefree eyes indent in an unhappy look. The signs were obvious. Leaving your team for more than enough and being a bit detached until the thread becomes too thin for it to break. What was Gray thinking?
The feeling was still un-named in Natsu's mind yet, but it wasn't quite enjoyable.
"Gray?"
"What?"
Natsu's vibrant olive irises were having a hard time maintaining their glowing strength when there was so much of the conservative tone lingering in Gray's clear voice.
"Ah, nothing."
"Then don't call my name so freely." Gray was still facing the stream.
"You know, actually, I was wondering… about your recent activity with Juvia…"
"What about it?"
Please let it be that Gray is finally just finding Juvia attractive and nothing else.
"You and Juvia… are you guys…" Natsu stuttered a bit after Gray turned around with a 'The fuck are you trying to pull off?' look. "You know. That kind of… stuff?"
"No. No, I don't know what kind of stuff."
Natsu huffed while a small droplet of sweat jumped off the tip of his nose. "The mushy-mushy stuff. The I like you and you like me stuff. I mean it's good and all-"
A grunt interrupted Natsu's rambling and the boy didn't have the heart to continue.
"Well, what if I am into that stuff?" Gray crossed his arms on his bare chest with some annoyance evident in his dark blue eyes and the tilt of his head.
"Nothing? A second version of Alzack and Bisca does not hurt. Happy for you man."
A piercing dark look stabbed Natsu's soul silently as the black haired boy's pose seemed frozen for a while.
Natsu didn't like the silence. And looks like that earlier comment he made didn't help his case.
One bit.
"Break time's over." Gray stated with a soft yet not so smooth tone, "Get up."
Being ordered around, was not something that Natsu appreciated. Something in that tone made him obey. He removed some dust from his dark blue Jeans and stood up holding his sword in front of Gray who monitored the younger's movement with his expressive eyes.
"I remember I told you man up." Gray pressed, then went again behind Natsu to set the angle of the back according to his own liking. He even nudged Natsu's legs wide apart with his foot, catching the boy by surprise.
"Stance is important." He raised the pink haired boy's arms and instructed him, "When you see the Fuller glowing, that's when you stop raising this up." And demonstrated by holding tight Natsu's forearms.
Natsu, acting a bit like a foreigner because of excessive closeness and physical contact, he was unable to do anything, if not mess everything up. "Uh, okay, can you-"
"-Not until you are holding it tight."
"It's a bit difficult-"
"No it's not. Stop flailing like a damned frog."
"Like this?"
"No, for god sakes-"
"-SORRY, but I am not an expert when it comes to sword arts."
"If I was teaching a grasshopper, it would have been a little less hard."
"What are you implying?!"
"Exactly what you are thinking." Gray hissed as he caught one of Natsu's wrists on the hilt.
"Screw you! I don't want to learn this!"
"Dumbass…" Gray sighed and his hands retreated until they rested tiredly on Natsu's shoulders. "That's what you are… a dumbass."
Natsu dropped the sword from his hands on the ground and breathed long enough while wiping the sweat forming under his nose with his not so dry arm. He stood, back almost touching Gray's chest, nevertheless, the distance between their souls seemed to be further apart.
"I… am a straight forward person." Natsu stated not caring about Gray's facial expression which was behind him, "Now, I am alright with you… forming a new relationship, but our team is not complete without you. So… just, do something about it. Because I don't like it."
Natsu's heart dropped a little for saying something so selfish, but so true. A pang of jealousy is ignited whenever he sees his friend accomplishing a victory out of their team circle. He did feel this way with Lucy when she joined Cana for a small task, or Erza when she storms off alone. It's a developed protectiveness and attachment towards anyone that belonged to his team. Or their team.
"Natsu, I am trapped."
Natsu's face immediately turned into a questioning one, and felt the blood racing through his body.
"What…?"
Warm fingers stayed on the back of Natsu's neck who stiffened at the simple move as his heart leaped in his ribcage.
"I never asked for any of it." Gray's somehow collected voice, justified, "I forced myself to think that your stupid smile wasn't… what got into me. Maybe it was Erza's fists, or Lucy's sleazy underwear. She was after all, standing next to you."
Gray's fingers slipped back onto Natsu's shoulders. "I tried to give Juvia her chance. I tried to play with reasoning and guilt, but just as steel shackles, you keep on trapping me."
Another droplet of sheen sweat ran all over Natsu's glowing vermillion cheek. His black pupils turned into a small dot while his glistening shamrock greens got larger.
'What on earth…?'
"You had the nerve to get me thinking of… things that I have never wanted to think of with any other man, I…" Gray paused, getting angry and overwhelmed, "I am not saying that I am a straightforward person, but dammit Natsu Dragneel! Either you unshackle me, let me go, and let me stay sane, or you you get the fruits of your doing because…"
Shaking in the heart, and red in the face, Natsu sensed Gray's deep breath hovering just above the back of his neck.
"… I can't take it anymore."
Just as if Nature was mocking Natsu, the sounds of the water, birds, and every little animal was silenced and he could hear nothing except for the accelerated sounds of his own gut and heart. He was sure that at some point, Gray dismissed the training, and walked away leaving very unresolved matters.
Oh-my-lord.
Natsu was in the guild sitting on one of the tables, eating breakfast, when Erza joined him, holding the magazine of the Weekly Sorcerer which was the most irritating magazine of all times. As usual, Jenny's and Mirajane's sexy competitions were still ongoing, and he recalled Mirajane being a bit pissed off because Jenny's picture in cat-underwear was taking a slightly larger border.
Loke was a disappointed when he took a look at the magazine, because he was sure that this time he could send Hibiki Lates to the underworld while he gets all the glory of the first Fiorian girl's dream, but to no avail. Speaking of which, Blue Pegasus should quit being a fighters' guild and work for the entertainment business, it will do them a lot of good.
Loke SNORTED at the magazine and marched away resisting the urge to draw a mustache on Hibiki's face.
Erza sipped from her green tea and caught Natsu's eyes staring at her.
"What…?" Because it wasn't Natsu's usual self to be interested in a magazine.
"Oh nothing. Do you know where Lucy is?"
A smile greeted Natsu's question and the Scarlet flipped another page. "She's with Gray and Juvia."
At that, the fork slipped from Natsu's fingers awkwardly, drawing Erza's attention back to him.
"Something wrong?"
"Ah… No? And Happy?"
"He went with them. Said it could be fun."
"Oh… Where—where are they?"
The girl smiled at the page which showed a photo of her previous battle during the Dai Matou Enbu, when she was in the middle of a difficult battle with Minerva Orlando—and in conclusion, she was exceedingly proud of herself. Just like every time she sees herself on the page of top strong fighters.
Well… right after Cana Alberona. She made quite an appearance. Erza didn't know that slaying one hundred monsters could be a setback for something like a 'Fairy Glitter'. Thinking about it, Ah, it was stunning.
'Cana huh? I should just beat her next time…'
Unknowingly to her, Cana was just behind her, having the first headache from a hangover mumbling something about bad booze.
"HELLO. Erza?"
Erza snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "They went to a small mission. Lucy could really use the money."
"Did they mention-"
"THIS IS THE LAST TIME I AM GOING WITH THE LIKES OF YOU BOTH!"
Natsu stopped mid sentence, looking at the entrance to the trio who were covered in sticky, dirty, browny, type of mud.
Happy included.
The bitchy sound belonged to Gray Fullbuster who looked like he wanted to kick both of his teammates. The barrier between the two girls and his fist or foot, was their own gender.
"I did good by not coming along." Loke mentioned as he tried to soothe Cana's profound headache.
"What happened?" Erza strictly demanded an answer.
"I will tell you what fucking happened! Juvia and her Lucy the love rival shit happened!"
"Gray-sama…"
The blue haired girl, had her lips biting each other on her tissue, and an abundant amount of tears were pouring that only fueled Gray's fury more while Lucy was so disgusted with herself and her clothes. The smell was destructive, so she summoned Virgo.
"Hime? How can I help you?"
"TAKE ME TO THE BATHS NOW! And please take this stench off of me! I can't take it…" Lucy was crying from the smell that leaked into her nose. However Lucy's intentions were, it made the pink haired maiden delighted.
"As you wish, Hime. I shall erase this terrible, awful, disgusting and awful smell, and restore your charm once more."
"Please do that…" Lucy was desperate, and crying heavily, not able to touch herself as her honey eyes contrasted perfectly with the mud that covered her face.
Virgo moved, carrying the lady of her dreams (Lucy knew that she'll regret this), and all the male members of Fairy Tail, worked their brains to fantasize about two girls rubbing each other with strawberry scented soap in the females baths… which made Erza want to join, just for the amusement.
The Sexy type. Macao and Loke barely stopped themselves from having a nosebleed.
"Why are you coming?!" Lucy shouted.
"I should help a friend in need." Erza argued as Virgo continued marching towards the baths.
"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"
"But you do. You shouldn't let your spirits do all the nasty stuff for you, Lucy. That's what friends are for."
Lucy cried some more.
Juvia cried after, and wondered who will help her with getting the dirt off of her, and fortunately, Lisanna was around. With a sheepish smile and a positive attitude, the girl accompanied Juvia to the baths who apologized several times to the sweet helping girl.
The Cute Type. Really, Natsu snorted at Loke's and Macao's active imagination.
No one saw Happy sneaking into the Females baths.
Mirajane agreed to open the Male baths for Gray Fullbuster who was irritated, aggravated, and wants to kick someone in the ass so bad, and he stormed, kicking the door in the process, going to clean the mess he got himself into.
After the small parade was silenced, Natsu found his hands leaving the delicious food, and thinking about one person in particular.
'Maybe… he could use some help…'
Natsu shook his head as a light shade of pink dusted his cheeks. SERIOUSLY, what was he thinking? Especially after what happened the day before. He can't just break in there and offer help when he is the one causing Gray trouble. They never cleared up anything, so he can't… just yet.
The pink haired boy's flustering didn't go unnoticed by Mirajane.
"Natsu, are you gonna eat that?"
"…" Natsu coughed, "Ah, no. I think I have had enough."
"I see my food's quality is going down?"
"No no no no no! It's really good, I—I just lost my appetite that's all."
The woman shrugged. "Okay, give me your plate."
Natsu stood walking towards her with the plates. Afterwards, he got to the door of the guild and about five minutes passed while he stood in total contemplation. Then something changed. The way his heart beats, the way the warmth crept up to his body just thinking about yesterday's events, and the way his guts did a double flip at it.
He sighed while his green eyes looked unwaveringly from the target he set.
-Training Instruction #5 (Not quite a training)-
Natsu groaned. Walking in the baths, meant walking under a high level hot-temperature dryer. It is true that steam mixed with the scent of soaps and other washing materials soothed him when he NEEDS it, nevertheless, it bugged him a bit when he walked almost choking on his spit from the strong aroma that snuck into his unwilling nose.
The pink haired boy breathed deeply then went to one of the benches, took off his red T-shirt, scarf, shoes and socks and threw them carelessly. He kept his jeans on while going to one of the chambers, the most irritating one. His nose was very sensitive to the different scents of soaps, perfumes, lotions, and cleaning-everything in that chamber, but learned to tolerate it somehow as it was important to enter every single time he approached the baths. Normally, Happy will be helping him with that task, but the bastard chose to go with the females.
Natsu wonders what will happen if his Exceed was to be discovered.
He shrugged, and used his free magic to manipulate the desired bottles of body wash out of their cabins. After taking a look at what he could use, he discarded the extra bottles back into their cabins and made sure to do everything safely, because obviously, Master Makarov is the one funding this supply of goods. The old man would kill if something was to be broken or wasted.
Stingy.
Natsu gathered three bottles and looked thoughtful for a minute.
'Lavender Honey, and Coconut Lime?' Natsu looked back to the cabins then sighed, 'If this can't take off the smell, then nothing will.'
Along with a bottle of 'Moonlight Magic'. Master Makarov bought a huge amount of these and claimed that they were on sale. Apparently, Makarov ignored the quality factor and focused on the budget more. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to try this now.
He hugged the three bottles to his bare chest and walked outside the chamber to head to the main bathing court. His head whipped right and left, searching for a mop of black irritated stuff, and walked between baths further more to search for his friend, only the steam was making it somewhat harder. His nose wasn't working either, because of too many distractions, so he just focused on his vision.
But damn, that mud really had a devastating smell.
The boy tried to keep his facial expression neutral while walking towards the person who had been burying himself under the main fountain that supplied all the baths with hot water.
Said person's first expression was to send a glare like a dagger in Natsu's direction, but the pink haired boy remained unfazed by it.
"I come in peace, so knock it off."
Natsu kicked one of the towel baskets at Gray's head whose eyes twitched in anger, but didn't speak or even pay the pink haired man any attention. Natsu kneeled down on the edge of the huge bathing area with the bottles in his arms and wiped a bit of the sweat that formed on him from the steam.
Gray gave him a questioning look for minutes, and the boy remained staring at the Ice-mage.
"In case you haven't noticed, I am looking for private time."
Natsu rolled his eyes.
"I have noticed your majesty. I just came offering help."
"And why would you do that without me asking you to?"
"I don't see the harm done when your scent is too charming to handle."
"Go back. I do not wish to be in your presence."
"But your majesty-"
"I said go back."
Before Natsu even knows it, he was talking medieval times with Gray Fullbuster, the arrogant asshole of all times.
The boy dropped the bottles on the slippery floor and groaned when his Jeans got a bit wet. He bent on his toes (that was too comfortable) and used his free magic, again, to yank Gray from under the fountain and move him under the water to where he was bending.
Gray cursed and when he turned to shout profanities, Natsu held him in place by the shoulders where Gray was giving him his back in the water.
"I want to help. Let me… help you." He didn't know whether it was from the steam or the excess of heat inside the bathing area, but he felt the blood rushing to his sweaty red face, and it did not help his loud heart. Especially, when the feel of the muscles underneath his fingertips was just so…
BAD. Yes, bad.
Gray glanced at the pink haired boy from the corner of his eyes, and then turned his back to him again, and Natsu, judging by the faint relaxation in the muscles, thought that Gray finally gave in.
"Thanks."
He began opening the bottles and mixing them together as he tried to distract himself from the fact that he was seeing the other half naked in front of him. He'd seen Gray naked several times, but this time, it's just different… maybe Natsu himself was suffering from something serious in his head.
"So… Just what happened… you know, in the mission?" Natsu rubbed his hands together with the cleaning soaps and tangled his fingers in Gray's hair.
Gray sighed heavily, then seemed to be abhorring the idea to recall the earlier events.
"Nothing happened… Juvia got freaking jealous because Lucy was leaning on me while reading the request's flyer, pushed Lucy into a pig mud pond, then Lucy dragged Juvia, then Juvia dragged me. When we went to the client, he dismissed us because of our… terrific scent and outstanding representation."
Natsu blinked, and stopped working with hands for a while, then snickered.
"The whole of Fiore was amused, so go ahead and laugh. You have the right."
"It's… it's not that." Natsu muffled his lips for a minute with his arm, then resumed washing Gray's hair which had mud all over, even after Gray soaking himself under the high pressure water fountain. "So… was she leaning on you really close?" And he felt stupid when he asked this question. Moreover, he wasn't supposed to be bothered over something like this.
"Does it even matter?" Gray asked rhetorically.
Natsu made sure to add extra pressure on Gray's stubborn head earning a low grunt. Well of course it doesn't matter. Except Gray was the one who-CONFESSED-to him and the one who has been ignoring all of his teammates like a loser Macerated Fairy in order to suppress his overflowing twisted perverted urges.
Ok, so maybe he doesn't have overflowing twisted perverted urges, but what gives? Natsu was indeed interested if Lucy did lean on him so close. For some unknown reason… which was ridiculous, why would he even care?
"Say…" there goes his jabbering mouth again, "Wh-Why… do you like me?" A fierce blush took over his face and his toes dug into the tiles underneath with double strength, getting nervous over a simple yet complicated inquiry, "I… you always call me an idiot. You ignore me while I am talking and—you have me as an annoying rival, so… I just don't understand." by the time he finished, his soap-coated-hands were on his bent knees and his pink hair looked identical to the state of his face.
Silence dominated except for the sound of flowing water and the droplets that kept rolling off of Gray's hair. Natsu didn't see Gray's face at all, but he was tons of nervous, and anxious, and slightly scared that he might lose his friend with that line of questioning.
All that came to halt when the black haired spoke in a firm tone.
"You are… a spontaneous kind of person." Gray splashed water on his face because of the threatening soap, "You never cared about appearances. You never got scared of anything… not your past, not your future, and acted like the whole Fairy Tail guild is your own…"
Gray paused thinking about his own words.
"You speak arrows that might be hurtful for your nemesis, but inspiring to your own friends." Gray laughed a little, "You think me liking you is weird? You are a fool to not notice that every one of our guild holds a different kind of love and admiration for you, Natsu."
At this point, Gray turned to face the red-Natsu who was looking at the tiles with his pink locks almost covering his frizzled and shocked viridian irises.
"I am just one of many."
Natsu kept his gaze down, too afraid that he might do something stupid if he was to look at Gray from that close proximity.
"You are wrong." He mumbled, "I get scared too. I… thought you hated me—I mean us. You know, team Fairy Tail. Watching you slowly slip away… is the scariest so far-" His tone was soft, and he knew that he'd made a mistake when he chose to face Gray who reached out, and placed Natsu's face within the palms of his rough wet hands.
"—Natsu."
The first thought that came across Natsu's mind, was to shove Gray away, tell him to stop calling his name with some tone that gets his knees a tad weak.
It simply wasn't fair.
Gray uses the small tiny hesitant seemingly non-existent strokes on his cheeks to dry up all the energy he had, and he was doing a magnificent job. Natsu just couldn't stop getting redder under the awkwardly caring thumbs while his soapy hands turned into fists resting on his bent knees and he couldn't help but to look down when he felt his heart beating like he had been running for a long, long time.
"Ah…" Natsu swallowed slowly in an attempt to regain control over his feeble-hard-to-get-out voice, and at the same time, getting away from the embarrassing situation he was thrown into, "I should uh—it's better… if I am-" Green eyes widened shockingly—then right after, shut quickly in almost a frail way, wanting to get over the shock and the reality. He shouldn't have talked, because before he could even finish his sentence, his mouth was interrupted in the most ill-mannered way by Gray Fullbuster who obviously thought that kissing someone out of the blue was legitimate.
It definitely wasn't. Because Natsu was kind of panicking, but somehow he couldn't think of anything else but the lips pressed on his own.
Gray held Natsu's face exactly the way he wanted it to be, his fingers ended up tangled in the pink locks, gently tugging them down towards him while the Lavender and Lime scents acted as a mist around Natsu's now-completely-inaccessible mind. The fingers in his pink hair slowly slid down to brush either side of his heated neck, where his pulse was pumping, and somehow, someway, just by the tactic Gray uses to touch Natsu's extremely warmed up body, Natsu feels the agonizing urge to open his mouth in a terrible need for more as weak low whimpers easily escape his throat.
Natsu tried to remind himself that when he first decided on helping Gray, his first thought was that he was entering a beast's den. That he easily set up himself. And when Gray easily pinned him down and climbed out of the bath to be on top of him, not ever breaking the deep needy kiss, he thought, again, that he couldn't be any more right.
He fucking did this to himself.
His deeply shut eyes opened in a moment of realization and broke the heated contact, turning his head to the other side to catch his desperate breaths while trying to figure out how the hell could he get rid of the redness that was smeared all across his face and drumming ears.
"S-stop! This… this is-" He was trying to get out an understandable sentence, but after realizing that he might've forgotten his own name, he decided to give himself a break.
His legs were in the air, Gray trapping him between them while the an unsteady line of ticklish white soap foam ran from his hot tan chest until it reached the end of his abdomen as a few blotches escaped to wet his Jeans and feet toes as the hot water droplets kept on falling over him from Gray who was already leaning down again.
But Natsu wouldn't have any of that.
He stopped the perverted bastard by his hand, and snapped seriously, "I said stop!"
Natsu then was flushed red when he noticed where his hand was. Gray's radiant blue eyes emitted a dangerous white glow that seemed more suitable for hungry wolves. Natsu tried to get his hand back, off of Gray's mouth, but it was a bit late. Gray grabbed on the wrist and his tongue darted, licking Natsu's soapy fingers hungrily.
As moisture coated Natsu's shaky fingers, the boy's body was in a passion shock. In his chest, neck, ears, stomach, and most importantly, between-his-fucking-legs. All of it burned and set into a blaze of sleeping desires.
That… was the most perverted thing he'd ever witnessed.
Correction, that was the sexiest thing he'd ever witnessedsomeone doing for him.
His free hand was over his extremely flushed face, specifically, his eyes then his hair, then once again his eyes, and the boy called with a desperate seemingly hysterical hurricane of needy emotions one name.
Gray…!
He only had to say that world for the person on top to release a throaty growl, then he bent down, occupying Natsu's fiery mouth once more, but not as soft and as gentle as before. The kiss was more violent, more passionate, more moist, and even more arousing. Before they could catch a breath with their mouths connected with the thin white thread, they clashed again, and again in an unbelievable necessity.
When the trail of warmth-and-violent mixture slid down to his neck, shoulders, chest and finally reached his abdomen, the black haired man stopped, huffing the same breath over Natsu's lower area, surprising both of them at how thoughtful his actions began to be.
Natsu was breathless, fighting over air to get into his lungs as the mouth and jaw were wet from all the sweet abuse, and some small droplets of tears were threatening to fall because obviously, it was just too much for his body to take, however, he didn't care as much. The boy stood up and tried to glare at Gray.
He held the boy's face close to him and rested his forehead on his.
"Do… it… Do it now!"
Gray gently shook his head and before he could speak, Natsu beat him to it.
"Please… Don't be a bastard, especially not now…"
"…" Gray smirked, kind of feeling a tiny bit of a victorious feeling, "With pleasure."
He sat on the floor, back facing the chilling wall as the hot steam blew past his chest.
Gray showed up a while after, dressed only in his black pants, and looking as revived as possible.
The perverted asshole.
Why wouldn't he? He got clean enough, and had some of his desires fed in the most violent ways.
Natsu grunted as he closed his eyes. His tan chest and neck full of what looked like small circular red bruises and his dark Jeans were soaked. His heart fluttered when Gray kneeled next to him, giving him a bottle of water which he gladly accepted, drinking almost all of the small bottle.
"How is your body?
Natsu almost laughed at the question, but he DIDN'T. "Wrecked, thanks for even caring."
Gray huffed and took the bottle from Natsu, drinking the rest of the liquid. After a good amount of contemplating, Gray faced Natsu with a vague look.
"I know it's probably late for this, but… I—I am just sorry, when you are in front of me, I…" Gray looked scared enough, "If I could stop what I am thinking, what I am feeling, believe me, I would."
"No need." Natsu was still resting his head on the wall as he looked at the other's tortured expression, "There is just no need."
"What are you saying?! I crossed the line, I-"
"Yeah, genius, I told you to. So stop saying bullshit because the minute I entered this fucking-damn facility, I knew something—Anything is gonna happen." Natsu groaned a little when he tried to sit straight because of the pain that shot in his back, "Ugh, what I mean to say is… I didn't really see it so… bad—even though you were totally okay and stuff-"
"Oh, I was okay?"
"Well, yeah-"
"I was not okay Natsu, I was—I am amazing."
"WHAT?! No-"
"Probably the most amazing thing that ever happened in your life. I showed you the stars."
Natsu's blush returned full on his face. "YOU WANT TO DIE?!"
Gray took a towel and dried his neck from the excess of irritating hot steam as Natsu remembered, that he was going off track.
"Wh-what I mean to say is… I am really… thankful for what you are feeling for me."
Truth to be told, It was the first time in Natsu's life that he feels special to someone. Especially when that one is his lifelong rival.
"So… does that mean that I stand a chance?"
Natsu collapsed on Gray's leg from exhaustion. "Sure. If you carry me home."
"In your dreams moron."
"Meanie, but I like you. You can be cute sometimes."
Gray rolled his eyes, but smiled shortly after while ruffling Natsu's pink hair. It was when he noticed the redness gathered in Natsu's ears. He wanted to mock Natsu's comment earlier because really, truly, and honestly…
Natsu was the cutest of them all.
Loke and Macao are still fantasizing about the girls' baths after hearing bits of the heated conversation, then got joined by Gildarts who was this cloth from destroying the entrance.
Mirajane scowled while realizing that she had to clean the pond of blood surrounding the three men.
Little did Macao, Gildarts, and Loke know, Inside the girl's bath, Lucy, Erza, and Virgo created another pond of blood because of the sounds they heard during what seems to be, a violent love making session between two impossible matches.
Terrific Mirajane, just terrific.
A few days later, Natsu stood in front of Gray coated in Ice. The black haired boy was kind enough to not let his fire-mage rival crash against the peaches wagon. Surprisingly enough, Natsu was glad even though he still feels his head stepped on thousands of times.
"I didn't say it's clear to go out there and make yourself Fiore's joke."
Natsu huffed. "Yeah whatever. I wanted to see the results."
"And what do you think?"
"You are a crappy teacher, I can't beat Erza."
"That's it then. It's Erza we're talking about. No one can beat Erza, are you crazy?"
It was in that moment, when Natsu realized his big mistake.
THE END
A/N: After this looooong read, go check up your mind in some mental institute, come back, drop your complains here, and I might stop trying to corrupt all of your minds.
But above all, I hope it was something that gave you a great crazy fan time.
Love,
Flame-Belt