Every Time We Touch
Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail
Author's Note: I know I made Gray a jerk! *sob* But it'll just make his character growth all that more appealing! Gray's in for one heck of a journey, but so is Natsu!
Chapter 2
Gray stared at the ceiling from his bed. He was starting to feel guilty for yesterday evening. Sighing to himself, gray sat up and decided to get ready get dressed in order to get to the guild. Maybe there was a mission available that would take his mind off his sudden remorse.
He soon headed out of his apartment and quickly made his way toward the guild. He'd be reaching it soon. And that meant he'd have to deal with the flamebrain. Would he tell everyone what happened yesterday? Would he confront him in the guild? The potential retaliation was something Gray couldn't predict and he didn't know why that made his so concerned.
What should he do?
Gray could only think of one option. He had to apologize to the flamebrain.
Of course, it wouldn't really be a sincere apology. Just something to appease his conscience. A perfect plan, if he did say so himself.
Feeling more comfortable about going to the guild, Gray quickened his pace.
Gray sat at a table, the other members gradually trailing in to take a seat somewhere in hopes of getting breakfast from Mirajane. His blue eyes fixated on the door as he waited for the flamebrain to arrive, but as the minutes ticked by, so did his patience. What was taking that moron so long?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Natsu walked through the door, ultimately avoiding eye contact with everyone…including his closest friends. Natsu slumped in a chair near the back of the guild, staring at the wall blankly.
"Good morning, Fairy Tail!" Makarov suddenly greeted cheerfully. "I hope all of you are all really well rested, because I have some big news! Who wants to guess what it is?"
What the fuck was this? A game show?
"You're retiring," said Cana with a belch.
"No," the man chuckled, waving his hand as if to dismiss the comment she'd made. "You'll be going on a guild trip this spring. It'll be mandatory."
The members' mood visibly dropped.
"Um, where are we going? And for how long?" Lucy piped up. A guild trip meant that they'd be away from home, which meant that all her savings would go to her rent since she wouldn't be on any missions.
"For two weeks, we'll be going to a spring camp where there are all sorts of activities for you to sign up for. You'll be paired up and each pair will be assigned their own cabin. And the food's included. There will be no cost to you whatsoever because you have to go. This will allow us to become closer as a guild."
Natsu raised his head slightly, becoming just a bit more attentive. Free food and shelter for two weeks? That beat rummaging out in the woods. Hell, that was the greatest opportunity to come his way in a long time.
But could he handle it?
Well, maybe if he didn't use his magic, he wouldn't lose control. He really shouldn't have let his anger get the best of him in that café. Gray had just made him so angry, he'd let his flames loose without a second thought.
So if he didn't use his magic, maybe the trip would give him the chance to rest up and recuperate, and when they came back from the trip, he'd search for a job and earn enough to rebuild his and Happy's home. Yeah. He liked that idea.
Feeling a bit better about what was going to transpire, Natsu relaxed in his seat and sighed. Gray noticed this, and he was both curious and puzzled by the flamebrain's sudden reaction to this so-called trip. But it wasn't like he cared.
As soon as Makarov ended his speech, Gray made his move. "Hey, flamebrain."
Natsu froze.
"Are you sure you can go on this trip? Because I'm pretty sure you need to skill. We don't want you getting left behind and all," Gray taunted.
"Leave me the fuck alone," Natsu growled as he turned to face him. "Haven't you done enough?"
Gray clicked his tongue. "Talking back. What a shame."
"Don't fuck with me, Gray. I'm warning you."
Inching closer to the rigid dragon slayer, Gray bent his head down and stared at him with an evil glint in his eyes. "You know, flamebrain, I should be the one warning you. I already got you fired."
A fist suddenly collided with Gray's face, making him stagger back. Tears stung Natsu's eyes. "Why can't you just—"
"Natsu!"
The dragon slayer spun around, only to come face to face with Makarov. "I-I can explain—"
"Enough! I have had enough of you two being at each other's throats! When we go on this spring trip, you two will be paired up and you will do everything together. If not, I will make sure that the two of you do not make S-rank," the man snapped.
Natsu felt as if his freedom had been snatched away from him again. And it was too much. He couldn't prevent the tears that suddenly ran down his cheeks. "Excuse me," he gasped as he fled the guild.
Makarov and Gray watched him go, both of them stunned and concerned about the dragon slayer's reaction to the situation.
"Can you two be civil on this trip?"
"Whatever," Gray mumbled as he, also, left the guild. Just what had been the flamebrain's problem? Why had he cried? Because he had to room with him? No, that couldn't be the reason…could it? And—
Wait. Why was he thinking about this? He didn't care about the flamebrain. But if that were true, why did he feel a tiny sliver of concern? Especially after the flamebrain had hit him! He should be angry because he'd hit him! However, his thoughts had immediately gone to what that stupid idiot was feeling. Just what the hell was wrong with him today?
Trying to clear his head, he brushed off everything he was feeling and continued walking down the streets of Magnolia, his stoic persona returning, giving him the visage he was known for. He'd give the flamebrain his space for the rest of the week, but when they went on their trip, he'd seek his revenge.
Four in the fucking morning was far too early for anyone to be up. And that was just the meeting time at the train station before they went on their guild trip to spring camp. What a joke. Like anyone really wanted to spend two weeks of their lives bonding with guild members.
More than half the guild looked like they were sleeping standing up as they waited for the tain to arrive. The only one who didn't seem fazed by being up this early was Gray. And that was really starting to piss Natsu off.
Natsu looked over at where the ice mage stood. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But then he also had to share a cabin with Gray. They'd be living together under the same roof. What the dragon slayer had hoped would be a nice time to relax and recuperate was turning into a time for stress and the unknown. Especially since Gray had made no move to even look his way. Was the ice mage up to something or had he just decided to not waste his time with him?
His thoughts were soon interrupted, however, when Makarov decided to come his way. "Natsu, a word if you will," he said, practically dragging him over to Gray. Just what the hell did this guy want now?
"Gray, I'd like to speak to the both of you before we go on this trip," started Makarov. "I spoke things over with the camp coordinators about the…relationship between you and Natsu and we've come to a consensus on how to get the two of you to bond, for lack of a better word."
"Bond?" Gray echoed, eyebrow raised. Was this man insane? He wasn't going to bond with the damn flamebrain! No way in hell!
" You and Natsu will be on a completely different schedule than everyone else. Sure, you'll all share your meals together along with your free time, but we want to ensure that the activities the both of you do are…well…safe."
"What the hell? We can't choose what we want to do?" Natsu exclaimed. That meant he wouldn't be able to hang out with Happy and Lucy. He had to hang out with Gray instead. This wasn't fair!
"You can't do that!" Gray snapped at the man.
"Oh! And the two of you will also be sitting together on the back of the train," added Makarov. "We'll start your bonding time early. Once everyone's seated, I'll pass out the list of activities and a blank schedule to the other guild members, and I'll provide the both of you with your completed schedules, all right? This is going to be fun, boys."
And with that, Makarov walked away to socialize with the other guild members, leaving a very stunned Gray and Natsu in his wake.
The ice mage clenched his fists, visibly shaking from rage. No one had the right to create a schedule for him! He was the one who needed to be in control of the choices made that affected his life! Oh, yes. Someone would pay.
Natsu sighed and started tugging on his hair. What was he going to do? He knew this had seriously pissed off the ice mage, and Gray would undoubtedly take his anger out on him. He was definitely going to be in for it.
"All right, everyone! The train is here! Everybody load up!" cried Makarov, beckoning them over to the train.
Slowly trudging to the back of the train, Natsu took a seat on the right, next to the window. At least this way he'd be able to keep throw up out the window when the train moved. Gray sat next to him, keeping as much space between them as possible.
And after everyone was seated, Makarov passed out the schedules. When Natsu and Gray received theirs, they quickly scanned it over.
Daily Schedule
8:00 AM – Wake-Up
8:30 AM – Gather Outside for Announcements
8:45 AM – Breakfast
9:45 AM – Yoga
10:45 AM – Nature Hike
11:45 AM – Arts and Crafts
12:45 PM – Lunch
1:45 PM – Rest Period
2:00 PM – Ping Pong
3:00 PM – Cooking
3:50 PM – Snack
4:10 PM – General Swim
5:00 PM – Shower Hour and Free Time
6:30 PM – Gather Outside for Announcements
6:45 PM – Dinner
7:45 PM – Evening Activity with the Entire Group
9:00 PM – Free Time
10:00 PM – Lights Out
"You've got to be kidding me," mumbled Natsu. Yoga? They were being forced to do yoga? The rest…he could really care less, but yoga? He glanced over at Gray to see what his reaction was to their so-called schedule…and it wasn't pretty. The ice mage's hands were shaking so badly, Natsu was surprised the poor paper didn't rip in half.
Suddenly, the train made a jolt, ultimately sending Gray into a now nauseated Natsu. Their bodies pressed together a bit too closely for their liking, but they were too stunned to do anything else but stare at each other.
"You two look like a couple," Happy observed. He'd turned around in his seat to look at them, a contemplative expression on his face.
Both teens were horrified by the statement and quickly pushed themselves away from one another as fast as they could. They even looked away from each other, determined not to say anything about Happy's comment.
Another wave of nausea hit Natsu and he shoved his head out the window.
"Turn around and sit back down in your seat," Gray quipped. He was not pleased. Saying that they looked like a couple. What utter nonsense. Like he'd ever think of the flamebrain that way. Thank goodness no one else had heard that statement. Otherwise he'd never live it down. It'd have been too embarrassing to even comprehend their reaction.
This was going to be one hell of a guild trip.
End Chapter
