Hold Your Precious Things Dear

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, Natsu and Gray wouldn't have lived this long… * devilish grin *

Gray woke up that morning with a headache and cough, as he had everyday for the past week. Somehow, he had gotten sick, but he thought it would be over quickly. Keeping true to his stubbornness (and also not wanting to think what the rest of the guild would say when an ice mage caught a cold), he grudgingly got out of bed and headed towards the washroom.

As nice as it would have been to stay home and rest, Gray had agreed to go out on a mission with Lucy and Natsu today. Erza was also tagging along with them for the first part of the journey. That meant no being late or dropping out, especially since nobody knew he was sick.

When he had finished preparing for the days ahead and arrived in front of the guild, Gray stopped for a moment to clear his throat and ensure he looked normal. Upon entry, he noticed that sitting at the bar were Lucy, Natsu and Happy, bored and impatient. Glad that he had not been the last to arrive, Gray headed over to the trio and sat down. A few moments later, the doors burst open and the ominous presence that can only be known as Erza filled the guild. Judging by her expression, Gray assumed that something (although he didn't know what) had gone wrong that morning, and that was most likely the only reason why she had been the last to arrive. Breaking from his chain of thoughts and getting off the stool, Gray headed towards the door, ready to leave. Only after they had gotten halfway to the train station did Gray realize that he had no clue as to what the mission was about. 'Oh well' he sighed. 'I guess it shouldn't be too bad.'

Still staggering after the 4 ½ hour train trip, Natsu was dragging behind the rest. Only after a while of walking on solid ground did he notice that Gray was also going a bit slower than normal. 'Whatever. He's probably just tired or annoyed about the mission or something.' Natsu thought to himself. Then he realized that he was pretty sure he had never told Gray what the mission was…

Arriving at the front of the building where the group was to meet the person who had posted the request, Erza said her goodbyes and headed off to who-knows-where for some S-class mission of which the details were strictly secretive. Entering the cool interior of the building (the team had gone to a more southern town where the weather was warmer), an older man immediately walked up to them. He definitely wasn't the most handsome of people, with white sideburns that were braided underneath his chin and integrated into his beard, bald everywhere else. His skin was covered in freckles from working long hours for many years in the hot sun of the area. But when he spoke, his deep, rich voice filled you with awe. Regal and proud, with experience that proved he had overcome many hardships, the voice was so capturing that the group missed his first words mesmerized by the mere sound of them.

"…ank you for arriving so quickly, my friends. I am Hishiou. Please enjoy your stay in our home, however long or brief it may be. I would like for you to just sightsee and relax, but… business come first. Could you please introduce yourselves?"

"Aye sir!" called an exuberant Happy. "This is Lucy, that's Gray and heeere's Natsuuuuu!" he said, pointing to each in turn and then flying circles around his long-time friend.

When the 3 and cat had finally settled into the room they were to stay in, it was dark. Night had fallen, and Gray still didn't know what the mission was about. Tired of waiting, he walked up to Natsu, picked him up by Igneel's scarf, and said, "What the hell is this mission about?"

Natsu's blank stare changed into a look of surprise, then inward laughter as he realized that Gray was getting tired of not knowing what the mission was about. Responding with a yawn, Natsu said, "Talk to Lucy. I'm gonna sleep now." To Natsu's surprise, however, instead of the cold-blooded retort he had been expecting, Gray just set him down and went over to Lucy. Wondering why and how Gray had not pounded him, Natsu just watched as Lucy explained it all to him.

"The town's been plagued by some weird thing for the past 3 months that's been stealing the water, ruining the crops, and continuing to make the sun beat down relentlessly. The man we saw earlier, Hishiou, recently was appointed village leader in place of the lazy, useless pig before him. That's why he was able to do all this."

Gray sighed as Lucy finished her explanation. He was wondering why, even in the mid autumn, it had been so warm here. He had a feeling this was not going be easy, and he also was getting a bit dizzy. Heading towards the room he and Natsu were supposed to share, he paused for a moment. Sharing a room with Natsu meant that there was the possibility that he would realize something was wrong. Then again, he wasn't the most observant all the time, and Gray couldn't exactly go and ask if he would sleep somewhere else. There was no way Lucy would let him sleep in her room, and Gray highly doubted Natsu wanted to sleep on the couch every night. 'No,' Gray told himself, 'I'll just have to be careful and hope for the best.' Turning back towards the door, Gray went into the room and went to sleep.

The next morning, Gray awoke to find a snoring Natsu in the bed snuggling next to him. Last night Gray had failed to notice that there was only one bed, and that bed wasn't overly big. This made things even harder. As he tried to get out of bed, however, Gray felt a tug on his arm. Natsu had grabbed onto it and wasn't letting go. The dragonslayer was strong, and right now Gray didn't have the energy to focus on this. His cold was getting worse, and it was taking almost all of his strength to keep the symptoms hidden. Knowing that, Gray sat back down on the bed as Natsu began to loosen his grip. When his arm was free, Gray got up. Quickly. Too quickly. His head was throbbing and he had to lean against the wall for support. What made it even worse was that, at that moment, Natsu opened his eyes. And he was looking straight at him. Awake and looking towards the wall where Gray was leaning. The thought once again went through the pink-haired boy's head; 'There's something wrong with him'. But because Natsu didn't want Gray to know he cared – they were rivals, after all - he just made some groaning noises and turned over. Safe for the moment, Gray began to stand up straight –slowly. He moved towards the washroom that was near the corner of the room. Although he knew that there was the chance Natsu would stop him from doing something, he got the feeling that that would only happen if something really bad began. Stepping into the shower, warm water flowing over his tired body, Gray's thoughts were lost as he took in the steam around him.

While Natsu knew that something was up with Gray, he was pretty sure the ice mage was fine enough to keep on with the mission. Plus, if Lucy knew, there would be no chance for Gray. Natsu shivered at the thoughts he was having, Lucy's wrath could be even worse than Erza's if you hit it right.

Climbing out of the bed, Natsu heard the noise of the shower going. He knew that he was going to have to wait, and so the boy instead headed out to the main room to grab a bite to eat.

Lucy was sitting at he table with a bowl of cereal when Natsu entered. He quickly fixed another for himself, then sat down across from the celestial mage. Looking at him with brown eyes questioning, the fiery boy knew she was wondering where Gray was and why he went to bed so early. With a shrug of his shoulders and a jerk of his thumb, Natsu's movements told Lucy that Gray was in the shower and he didn't know why he had gone to bed when he did. As he was clearing his dishes away, Natsu said quietly, "Maybe he was just tired."