Two years on, and I was 127 wins up, no losses. Natsu hated losing, but that just meant he wouldn't give up, and would appear on my doorstep no matter what, every week. A knock on the door confirmed that. Week one hundred and twenty eight. Almost two and a half years.

I got up from my seat at the desk that stood next to the mirror, the same one I had been in possession of all those weeks ago, and made my way to the door, opening it and inviting Natsu in. "Gray, I can't today. I thought... I thought I'd come and tell you in person, in case you waited up all night for me." He was saying confident things, but his voice and the hesitations told a different story.
"Ah, scared of losing?" He looked shocked for a second, then shook his head.
"I.. I have a date. With Lucy. So... I can't today. Or ever again." It was my turn to look shocked. A date? With Lucy? Natsu didn't even see her that way! He'd told me that only a few weeks ago!
"But Natsu-"
"See you, Gray."

With that, he walked away. I slammed the door, resting my back against it... Then slid down it slowly until I reached the floor. A date with Lucy... Surely, feelings can't change in only a few weeks? What could she have done to make Natsu love her? Or at least like her romantically to the degree that he'd go on a date with her?

I guess I didn't even have a right to care. The only reason I wanted to keep Natsu competing against me was my own sexual desire... Or at least, I thought that was my reasoning.

So, feeling as if there was nothing I could do since the Guild would be closed for the night and I had no idea where this date was taking place, I holed myself up in my bedroom, staring at the mirror until the clock hit 2 AM. I was tired, and the guild didn't reopen for another three hours. I guessed that sleep would make the time go faster, so I slept. And then I overslept. And then I felt like an idiot and ran from my home to the guild in a hurry, wanting to catch Natsu before he went off on some harebrained mission, to ask why he had gone on the date.

But I was too late. No pink hair to be seen. Lucy was gone too. I resorted to speaking with Mirajane, on the off chance that she'd heard something. She stood at her usual place behind the bar. "Mira, did Natsu say anything to you about... Going on a date with Lucy?" The white haired, blue-eyed Take Over Mage thought for a second.
"Not that I remember. And Lucy didn't say anything about going on a date with Natsu either..." Mira said absent-mindedly. Weird. I thought Lucy would have told Mirajane, but apparently not.
"Okay, thanks Mira."

No leads there, but Levy would know if there had been a date. Lucy would have told her. "Have you seen Levy, in that case?"
"Yes, Levy's with the rest of Team Shadowgear, just over there," she pointed to one of the benches, where Jet, Droy, and Levy sat drinking Ale.
"Thanks again." I left the bar, and walked over to Team Shadowgear.

The trio stopped sipping their drinks as I approached.
"What's up, Gray?" Droy asked.
"I have a question for Levy... Did Lucy say anything to you about a date yesterday?" Levy looked confused.
"No... Would Lu-Chan go on a date without telling me?" She asked, seeming betrayed somehow.
"I doubt it," I retorted. There had been no date. Lucy wouldn't have been able to keep that a secret. Natsu had lied to me. But why? What was the reasoning behind that?

He must have figured it out. He must have realized that I enjoyed what he did more than when I did it myself, and that was why I kept the competition going... He knew he could give up whenever he wanted to, but that's not Natsu's style... Normally. But here I was, trying to find out why he had given up, and why he had used Lucy as an excuse.

I waited, and waited, and waited for them to return that day. Closing time came and went, so I sat in the dark. I was tired, but this time, I wouldn't sleep. Couldn't sleep. I had to know why he had done this to me.

It was then that it dawned upon me. He hadn't done anything to me. I'd done something to him. My fifteen year old self had acted selfishly, and had bound him to me for nothing more than my own pleasure. No wonder he had said that he and Lucy had gone on a date... He wanted me to get the hint. To see that he knew why I'd done what I had, and that he didn't want a part of it anymore.

"There actually is no reason for me to still be awake," I said to myself with a laugh. "I should have gone home. I told Mira to lock me in... Stupid..." I drifted off to sleep, lying across the center most bench...

...And woke again from the shaking of my fellow guild member. It was Lucy, her brown eyes filled with worry. "Gray," she said, trying to wake me. "Did you sleep on that bench!?"
"Natsu," I mumbled.
"Hah? I'm not-"
"Where. Is. Natsu."


Thanks again for reading! This will be updated every two days or so, since it's not taking long to write, but unfortunately I can't guarantee the next upload will be on the 26th, as I will be attending Comic Con and am not sure if it will be a possibility. Reviews are welcome :)