Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or the song. Just, allow my insanity, okay?
Warning: This story contains some dub-con. If you're not comfortable with that, please do go back to the previous page...
Rose Red
Chapter One – Noche de Tormenta
The water from the small creek sung happily as it made its way down the small plane. The willows undulated with the wind, creating the feeling of perpetual motion.
In the middle of the green, lush plane a small house, made of stone, stood.
All of a sudden, the door opened and a pink haired figure emerged from its dark confines. A dull grey robe clad said figure.
It was a young man.
A pissed off young man.
He stomped his way to the small creek, a bucket dangling in his hand. He was muttering curses and it seemed that the weather had changed to agree with him, as a loud thunder rumbled in the distance, shaking the ground slightly.
A storm was coming.
"Of all the stupid days for a fucking thunderstorm-!" he grumbled as he walked faster. In no time he was filling the bucket with crystalline water and making his trek back home, pushing against the ever sharpening wind. Just as he reached the door, heavy raindrops started falling, landing in the closed blinds and on the ceiling.
"At least it waited until I got home…" he muttered, placing the bucket heavily by the small sink. "Way to go Natsu. What now? You really had to choose the right time to be punished, huh?" a hand raised to mess his hair even further. As the house was getting uncomfortably cold – and that despite the tapestries and other things that covered and insulated the walls he reached the fireplace and set the logs in the appropriate positions. Then he pressed two fingers against the dry wood and, satisfactorily, saw the flames come to life. The orange-yellow glow lit his face, a contented smile was stretching his lips. This was a thing that would never get old.
He sat down on the chair that faced the fireplace, resting an arm in the sturdy wood of the table. Still pretty much deep in his thoughts.
The fire and the way it beckoned him and how it, strangely, felt as if were part of him. These oddities were sort of a secret to the world - not many heard the call of the elements and, the ones that did hear it, had disappeared mysteriously. He didn't want to disappear (the Sacred Dragon knew, how that happened) nor did he want to be an experiment to the signor's group of puros, the priests. It was said that they didn't stop until they knew everything and, were he to be caught, that would mean being prodded and poked and cut apart. Nah, he would do without the torture, quite well, actually. But still, this punishment was unfair. His master, Igneel, shouldn't have sent him to the middle of nowhere to think of his wrongdoings and of the risk of showing the new tricks (he would so be in trouble if his master ever heard him call the magic tricks!) he had learned to his oldest friend, Lisanna.
However, to be the worst of it all, he had to meditate, to discover the reason for the sacred rose to be black. And what it meant that it had had another colour, in nearly forgotten times – red.
'What can make the black rose go red?' had been the final riddle.
And Natsu didn't have anything!
Still, meditation wasn't exactly his forte…
Maybe he should try thinking of it again…? Or maybe he was going to have more patience tomorrow – it wasn't exactly easy to meditate while in the kitchen, listening to the crackling of the wood, the heavy pitter-patter of the rain, the loud thunder or the knocking on the door or-
Wait a minute. Knocking on the door?
Who in the worlds had been crazy to the point of going out in this weather and – more so – of being this deep in the middle of nowhere?
Natsu hurried to the door, opening it and seeing the cloaked figure. The dark brown fabric was soaked and rivulets of water made their trek to the ground. On the far distance, lightning ripped the skies.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I'm just a traveller that was caught by the storm. Would you give me a place to stay tonight? The weather's just too bad to travel." The shadows covered the other person's – by the voice it was a man – face, but bright, intelligent eyes could be seen.
"S-sure. Come in," Natsu pushed the door open and let him in.
Large puddles formed on the ground. The other person started taking off the heavy cloak and placed it in the back of the chair, water dripping down.
The newcomer turned to Natsu. "Thank you for letting me stay."
Natsu stared at him, suspicion running through him. Nobody came this deep into the forest – heck, even less knew of this clearing! How could this dark haired person be here? Besides, the clothes (a white, long sleeved tunic with dark blue lines and black pants) were too… finely made? He didn't know how to explain but there was something there. He could feel it!
"No problem. But you've ventured quite deeply into the forest…" he cocked an eyebrow.
Scratching his cheek, the other looked to the ground before he replied. "I know. I think I got lost, I mean, I'm not from here and…" he said more things but Natsu was distracted looking at the other's leather satchel. And there was also something nagging him harder at the back of his mind. These words seemed rehearsed…
"I see… Okay, I'm Natsu," he extended his hand, "and this is my humble home. Where were you travelling to?"
The other took the pink haired's hand and shook it. "I'm Gray. heading North, back home, after having been in the South taking care of some businesses."
As they shook hands a jolt of electricity ran through Natsu's arm. He blinked, confused. He let go of Gray's hand as soon as possible.
What had just happened?
Looking into the other's face, he was only met with a neutral, bordering on curious, look. It was as if Gray was asking if something was wrong.
"Huh, I was about to start dinner so you could just-" his mouth closed with an audible click when he remembered something.
The black rose from his attempt at meditation a little earlier was still on the table. And people that weren't from the signor's circle weren't allowed to touch, see or smell them. It was a crime and he was just showing it to a complete stranger! He could just call in the guardanos! No. He had to-
Throwing himself at the table (and praying that the other hadn't noticed) Natsu grabbed the flower and hurried to the room, saying that he was going to get some towels.
He failed to see the knowing smirk on the other's face.
Natsu returned with the towels (the flower resting on his bedside table) and made the other sit while he busied himself with dinner.
They made small talk as Natsu cooked the meat and sautéed some vegetables.
Strangely, the conversation flowed very well, there were no awkward moments and the silence – when it existed – was comfortable. It was weird. And Natsu felt something resonating deep within. It felt important.
They did the dishes and in no time were getting ready to go to bed. Natsu was doing a bed in the small couch on the main room while Gray was in the bathroom. He finished it and then had his turn on the bathroom. He did his ablutions quickly.
While bidding his impromptu guest a good night, Natsu didn't fail to notice the awkwardness that in the meanwhile had raised, or the coldness that permeated the room despite the fire that crackled happily on the crate.
But he didn't think much of it, just shrugged it off as some oddity of this strange day and decided that the day should end as soon as possible, so, off to bed he went.
Outside, the storm kept raging.
Natsu woke up some time later, well, one might say that feather light touches woke him. They were everywhere, the cold touch feeling wonderful in his feverish skin. A mumble left his lips and he heard a chuckle. That made him twitch slightly and force his unresponsive limbs to wake up and get in motion. Opening his eyes (and waiting until they adjusted to the few light that came from the open bedroom door), Natsu saw that Gray was hovering over him. Oh, and another thing went by him – Gray was pretty much naked.
That was when he finally did something. His mouth opened and he tried to shove the other away.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, you perv?" he demanded in outrage.
There was another chuckle and the hands once again resumed their roaming over the pink haired youth; who realized that he was stark naked.
When in the worlds had that happened?
"Hey. I want an mphgh-!" his tirade was cut off as lips crashed against his, and he was straddled by Gray. The kiss was demanding, it almost seemed like Gray was trying to dominate Natsu, but the latter wasn't going to allow that. He might have been surprised but he was going to fight back.
He fought back, furiously, biting on the other's lip and raising his head from the pillow.
Nobody was going to control him!
Gray's hands slid down Natsu's arms and pushed them so that his hands were resting on each side of the pink haired one's head. The dark haired youth grabbed the other's wrist and pressed them tightly to the bed. Then his hands slid sensuously until their fingers laced. Only then did the 'kiss' end. Gray ground himself against Natsu and seemed pleased at the gasp he heard in response and at the effect that his ministrations were having.
His eyes bore down, intently, and Natsu felt himself fluster slightly and his embarrassment increased.
Leaning down so that he was whispering to the Natsu's ear, he asked, "Do you know what this is? Borealis-est. The sacred time…"
The other youth looked at him, confused, "W-what?"
Gray brought one of Natsu's captured hands to his lips and kissed the back. "Don't worry. Just… just let me do it. Will you allow me to-?"
Natsu's eyes widened as he realized what was being asked. He had… he never did it with a guy (heck, it wasn't like he was very experienced in these things, with the secrets and crap that didn't stop happening in his life) but he had overheard enough conversations to know how it went. Though, of one thing he was sure – it was going to hurt. A lot. And he didn't want to…
However, on the other hand, something within told him to let himself go. In fact, that feeling in his gut urged him to do it (or rather, be done – where were the dry jokes coming from?), concede because it was important to his future.
"I don't… " he closed his eyes and sighed. "Do it, just do it. But," his eyes snapped open and looked up, his right hand getting rid of Gray's and shooting up to grab and squeeze menacingly at Gray's throat, "if you do something that's not meant to be, I'll kill you. And you can bet that I'll know." The hand tightened around the other's windpipe, making Gray smile.
"Don't worry. I won't give you reasons to act that way." Gray answered, in an amused tone, when Natsu let him go. "Then, that said, we can begin."
The room smelt of sex and sweat but, timidly at first and then gathering some strength, the sweet scent of roses filled it.
Both mages saw the fully red rose descend slowly and fall on the bed gently. As the glow softened, both mages were lost to sleep.
Outside the rain continued falling, albeit in a gentler, calmer way.
It was still night but the storm outside had ended. Gray opened his eyes and blinked them. There was a slight crust making them close but after rubbing them, everything was alright.
The ice mage sat up, disentangling himself from the limbs that had, somehow, found themselves curled around him.
Looking to the side, he could see the outlines of the other mage and couldn't help but remember how it had felt to touch and lose himself in the other. He had never felt anything like it so this had to be a good sign, right? This was it.
This was finally it. The reason for all his-
But no! He couldn't think of those things anymore. He had a mission. Many things depended on how he moved and he just couldn't afford to step blindly.
A sigh couldn't convey the frustration he felt welling inside him. Gray lay down on the bed once again, a hand coming to rub his face. The night was coming to an end and he had… he just had to do something.
An arm lay across his midsection and Gray let out a growl. He grabbed the limb firmly and put it on the other side of the bed. Who did this fire mage think he was? Gray didn't cuddle.
His eyes landed on Natsu's face. The fire mage had his mouth open and was snoring lightly. He smacked his lips and mumbled something. Gray shook his head but, before he knew it, his right hand was brushing the other's warm skin. It was such a big difference…
Gray caught himself and got up, shaking his head. He better just do something. Now.
Natsu woke up to the sound of birds chirping. At first he was slightly disoriented, not remembering why he was naked or what was this feeling of something crusty upon his body until everything came crashing down onto him.
He had just-!
With a random stranger!
The fire mage sat up on the bed, taking a sharp intake of breath as the pain from his backside made itself known. Slow and stiffly, Natsu got up and covered himself with a blanket. He dragged himself to the hut's main room only to find it deserted. Even the couch was as it had been the previous day.
Had he just had a way too real dream? No. His body said it wasn't a dream and also – wait. The rose had been red?
He hurried to the bedroom as fast as he could only to see that the flower was lying in the bedside table. Black, as usual. Natsu grabbed it and sat carefully on the mattress. He twirled it (mindful of the thorns) as his mind sped up.
'OhmygodswhatdidIjustIcan'thavedoneitit'…'
Not coming to any conclusion (just having this newfound panic) he placed it on the bed but then something caught his eye. It was a red petal. Natsu smelled it and came to the conclusion he expected. It was a rose petal, only it was red like the one he had seen during…
A blush crept to his face as he remembered.
'Don't tell me that that's the answer to Igneel's question…!'
A/N: Now, should I continue this story or not? I still have a lot of things to write for this 'verse but it would be nice to have some feedback…
Emilie Autumn's album is the one to blame for this bunny! I was listening to it and when it got to Rose Red, bam!, I was attacked. I don't need to say much more, do I? All I know is that I have a new long story to write, if there's people interested in reading more...
I didn't need it but, hello new AU. I hope to take care of you quick enough. xD
Now, I would like to dedicate this story to some people, who will probably not even read this but I've been thinking of you so, there you have it!
First, to Yami-Taichi, dude, I hope this distracts you a little from what's coming. I know that it sucks but we have to hope for better days. Fight-o! :D
To hostilecrayon, it may not be anything but I've been thinking of you and I'm hoping for the best…
To Wild Rhov, I hope everything went well and that you're back home safe.
Wow, I'm hoping for a lot of things. xD
My thanks to Nightslayr for taking a look at this, you're quite important and, hey, this Gray/Natsu wasn't all that bad, huh? :3 Now, seriously, you were a precious help.
Oh, if there's something iffy it's my fault. Long and tiring day, you know? But I just had to post this!
Anyway, what did you think of this story? Say something? I always love to hear what the readers have to say…
A/N2: This chapter has been edited due to ffn's directives. If you want to read the full chapter, please head to my Livejournal. Thank you.