Gray, as fate would have it, was having a decidedly shitty day. First his alarm didn't go off, causing him to be late. Then his boss was all over his ass about an upcoming deadline that, Gray was pretty sure, had nothing to do with him.. Add onto the fact that thanks to some jerk he had to wear his lunch and Juvia refused to give back Gray's previously stripped clothes, because who else would take them, it was safe to say today was absolute crap and all he just wanted to by this point was crash in his bed and forget.
Gray's plan would have gone off without a hitch...if he didn't fall asleep on the bus and miss his stop.
And then panic and get off without even thinking of asking the driver where in the actual hell he was.
So yeah, by this point Gray was not feeling it.
"Oh my fucking god! Who built this cluster fuck of a city?!"
Not feeling it at all...
After turning into, yet another, dead end for what had to be the hundredth time, Gray lost it.
"You. Stupid. Brick. Piece. Of. Shit!" He screamed, letting each word accompany a resounding kick to the nearest red brick wall. He was tired, covered in dried food and had two new assignments to complete in a weeks time that were way above his pay grade. To top it off he had no earthly clue where the hell he was and obviously his phone had to pick right now to die.
It was so cliché he was about to vomit.
Gray, absorbed with in his own thoughts, which were mostly "Fuck my life.", failed to hear the steadily growing footsteps as a small figure made their way into the narrowed alley.
"You alright there, stranger?" The unfamiliar, masculine voice inquired, his face obscured by a dark hood.
Shocked to say the least, Gray stood frozen, his leg raised in a kicking position, ready to deliver what was going to be a debilitating blow to his immovable foe. 'Shit!' Gray panicked, 'He's looking at me! Oh god, he must think I'm an insane person, attacking a brick wall like this. What am I supposed to say? The bricks started it!? Okay just say something Gray, anything!'
"...uh...ummm...hi?"
'Oh my god brain, you fucking idiot.'
"Hi to you too, I guess." The hooded figured replied with more than a hint of laughter in his voice. "So what were you doing at-"
"-Attacking bricks?" Gray interjected with a sigh, sounding more done with life than intended, "I was showing off my sweet ass ninja moves to ward off attackers." Finishing his statement by firmly planting his raised foot on the ground, Gray could only cringe at how dumb he must of sounded.
Why must his pride forbid him from admitting how lost he was.
"Your 'sweet ass ninja moves' huh?" This time the hooded figure really did laugh, and not a soft one either.
'...a least he's got a cute laugh...', Gray thought awkwardly.
Pulling down his hood to reveal a spiky mess of salmon coloured locks, Gray caught sight of the best thing to happen to him today.
'He's got a cute smile to match.' True to that thought, the salmon haired male supported a face splitting grin that showed off his long canines.
"Phew.", the male sighed, feigning wiping away a tear, "You just made my day, the name's Natsu by the way."
Realizing he was staring, Gray felt heat rush to cheeks. The cute stranger, now know as natsu, waited patiently for his relpy by switching focus between studying the confused look on Gray's face as he stumbled over his words and letting his eyesight drift further...down from Gray's face to his naked torso. Oh.
"...my name's Gray."
"Like the colour?"
Wow, not like he's been asked that one before. "Yes." Came the clipped reply, Gray clealy not being in the mood for dumb questions.
"Why are you half-naked?"
'Just look at this guy!' Grat though, 'having the audacity to ask why I'm naked when I'm clearly wearing...clothe-Shit!'
Still on the defensive, no matter how little clothing he had, Gray replied with a sharp " Do you always make a habit of playing 20 questions with random strangers?"
Natsu shrugged, this wasn't the first time he'd questioned a practically naked guy in an ally way, but it wasn't, like, his hobby or anything. It just kept happening to him. An awkward silence lapsed after that, only to be broken by the soft startings of rain.
"-Okay, total honesty here," Gray interrupted, disturbing the gentle patter of the sky water. "I have no clue where the hell I am. Can you just point me in the direction of a bus station. Cab. Train. Anything? Hell, I'd take a boat. I just need to get home."
The smile that overcame Natsu's face filled Gray with hope...and for some reason, dread. But he was lost, tired and desperate so god help him this was going to be fine.
Gray was getting the hell home, and no amount of dread, or fear or even an army of fucking ninja pirates was going to keep him from his bed. Taking Natsu's outstretched hand, feeing the warmth radiate from it, Gray felt as though he was invincible.
"Lead the way."
True to his word Natsu lead him all the way, back out of the winding labrinth of alleys and the wide cobblestone street flooded with the telltale artificial yellow lights. Along the way, they talked for hours about seemingly everything, yet nothing at all. Gray laughed a proper laugh for what had to be the first time today as he regaled Natsu with the tale his crappy day. Gray loved the way Natsu laughed. It was so full of life and happiness, unlike the hollow sounds the people around him used to make.
As they made their way to the bus station, it finally dawned on them that they would now have to part ways.
"Thanks, I owe you one. You really helped me outta a tough spot." Gray remarked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Grabbing a ticket off thf the driver he began to head on board but before he knew what hit him, Natsu's lips were pressed up against his, the passion between them palpable. As Natsu's arms snaked their way around his body Gray began to kiss back fervently into what soon evolved into a full-blown makeout.
Tounges clashing, as to not be out done by one another, lips nibbled on. The whole shebang. Eventually they broke apart, chests heaving and heavily stained cheeks. Gray didn't even have a chance to ask "what the hell that was" or "can we do it again" before Natsu ran off and became part of the shadows.
In still shock, Gray took his seat as the bus began it's journey. Content to sit quietly and think about what had just transpired, Gray attempted to get comfy only to be disturbed by the crunching of paper. Disgruntled but curious, he pulled out the paper and examined it. A phone number! Was it Natsu's? But how? And when? But what was that scrawled at the bottom of the page?
'How do you like my 'sweet ass ninja skills'?
"The fuck?"
It was at that point he noticed that his pockets were far lighter than they should be.
"...He didn't..."
'That little shit, he took my wallet!'
Smirking to himself, Gray settled down for a long ride home. Don't get him wrong, the bastard was gonna pay for stealing his shit, but deep down Gray was excited for an excuse to see Natsu again.