GENERAL POV

FAIRY TAIL GUILD HALL

"The fact stands that it wasn't Natsu and Gray that started this brawl. That very fact heavily disappoints me."

Makarov spoke in front of the Fairy Tail crowd, a scowl on his face. He continued to chastise the instigators, going on and on about how disappointed he is, while estimating the damages done.

"Sooo, where's the visitor?"

Lucy asked Makarov as she looked around her surroundings, not finding a foreign face in the mess of Fairy Tail mages.

"I had Erza escort him to his quarters. I wouldn't want him to see our guild in this state of anarchy."

"Him?"

"Yes. Our visitor is a male. I've been informed that this brawl was started due to wagers about the visitor's gender. And no wagers will be paid, got it? You will ALL fix the guild hall in twenty-four hours time as punishment, you hear?"

A wave of weary grunts washed throughout the guild hall.

"Yea gramps..."

"Ughh..."

"Good. He'll be visiting us tomorrow instead, so you brats better start repairing NOW."

"YES SIR!"

SOMEWHERE IN CENTRAL MAGNOLIA...

Natsu and Happy were wandering around Central Magnolia to pass the time. No one was allowed to go on missions until the visitor arrived at Fairy Tail, so they were left to do absolutely nothing. Currently, the duo were walking along a boulevard laden with Magnolias and restaurants to the side. Interestingly, Natsu wasn't fixated on food at the moment, having a certain icy person on his mind.

"Hey Natsu! There's a nice ramen shop down the road over there! Wanna check it out?"

"Maybe... maybe not."

Natsu looked dazed as he walked along the boulevard. Happy shot him a confused look in response to his reply, then he went up in front of Natsu and extended his left paw, signalling Natsu to stop.

"The Natsu I know would be fired up at the mention of food. What did you do to him, you doppelganger?"

"I'm not a doppelganger, Happy. I just have a lot of stuff on my mind..."

"Like what?"

Natsu's eyes widened at the question. He thought of just telling Happy right there and then on how confused he's feeling around Gray, but he thought that the Exceed might just laugh, so he forcibly switched the topic instead to escape.

"Well, uhh... HEY LET'S CHECK OUT THAT RAMEN SHOP NOW!"

Natsu ran off in the direction of the ramen shop, leaving a confused Happy in his wake.

"Aye, sir?"

The duo went and stayed at the ramen shop for a number of hours, eating up whatever they could order. Once they're finally content, they asked for the bill. Natsu ate up the remainder of his ramen, and slammed the bowl down to the table, surprisingly not breaking it. Happy simply laid down on the table.

"Oh man, that was really good!"

"Told ya it was worth checking out."

"Soooo, now I gotta pay up, and I got..."

Natsu brought out a feeble amount of money from his pockets.

"One-hundred Jewel..."

Natsu grimaced at the amount of money he has. With a slightly horrified look on his face, he turned to Happy.

"Happy... what does the bill say?"

"Two-thousand Jewel!"

Happy chirped, which didn't help to lessen Natsu's anxiety; it only made it worse.

"HAPPY. I HAVE NO MORE MONEY LEFT."

"You ordered a lot, Natsu. I only had the fish ramen."

"GET LUCY. SOMEBODY WITH MONEY. QUICK."

Happy playfully looked around the ramen shop's window, spotting Gray in a cafe just across the street, who was playing around with his iced coffee. Gray never splurged his money in one go, so he became a potential "savior" for Natsu.

"I can see Gray on that cafe across the street. I could ask him?"

"No! Anyone but him!"

"Why, Natsu? Too stubborn to swallow your pride?"

"N-no! It's just..."

Natsu constantly stuttered, and the thoughts about Gray he was having was making him blush uncontrollably. Happy took immediate notice.

"Natsu? Your entire face is red!"

"I-I, uhh..."

"Hmmm I've seen that look before..."

"What?"

Happy appeared to be deep in thought, then his eyes suddenly widened and he covered his mouth with his paws, puzzling Natsu with his antics. Happy started to snicker.

"Oooooohhhh Natsu you liiiiiike Graaaay?"

"W-what?! N-no! Never!"

"Your face is redder now, Natsu! You do liiiiiike hiiiiim!"

Natsu was now feeling the heat in his cheeks, embarrassing him and prompting him to cover his face, thinking someone might see him like that. Defeated, he answered Happy.

"Okay. Fine. I... think I like him, but that's it. I'm just confused..."

"You coulda told me, Natsu. I'm your best buddy and ya know it!"

Natsu uncovered his face, only a slight blush remaining on it. Happy flew and plopped down on his head.

"I'm just kinda... REALLY surprised that it's a guy you like! And Gray!"

"Heheh. Suprise?"

"Mmhmm. It's a big surprise to me."

Natsu grabbed Happy from his head and hugged him tightly, slightly annoying yet making Happy happy. The exceed released himself from Natsu's clutches and went for the ramen shop's door.

"I'm gonna go ask Gray VEEERY politely for some money."

"Fine... Thanks little buddy. But don't you dare tell him THAT. Or no more fish for you."

"Hihihi okay! Hang tight, Natsu!"

Gray, being loaded with Jewel at the moment, reluctantly agreed to bust out Natsu since the blue exceed gave him the most irresistible puppy-dog eyes (For a cat) he's ever seen. Now they were walking along the boulevard.

"Thanks for busting me outta there."

"If you're gonna order that much, back it up with your OWN money next time."

"Okaaay. I get it."

Gray stared at Natsu suspiciously, noting that something was off with the dragon slayer, such as his grateful attitude, the slight blush on his face...

"Now that I 'busted' you out of there, you owe me."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll give you some Jewel next ti-"

Gray grabbed Natsu's shoulders, and he spun Natsu to face him, which cut the dragon slayer off from his speech.

"I want answers, Natsu. Why did you do that?"

"Huh? Do what?"

"Earlier. You were like, cuddling me."

Natsu's face immediately turned red, then he looked to his side out of embarassment.

"O-oh t-that... N-no particular reason w-whatsoever!"

"You're stuttering and red as a socialist, fire brain. Spill it."

Gray tried to stare down Natsu as said dragon slayer tried to be rid of Gray's clutches to no avail as the ice mage firmly kept his hands on the dragon slayer's shoulders, effectively pinning him.

"I just wanted to feel how cuddling would be?"

Natsu gave out a forced laugh accompanied by a forced grin; Gray wasn't buying it.

"Really? Cuddling? On me?"

"Y-yeah! I didn't want to waste an opportunity!"

BEAT

"I'm not buying it, ash-for-brains. Tell me now."

Gray shook the Natsu for answers, but not enough for Natsu to get sick. Natsu tried to shove Gray away from him but the ice mage was really determined for answers; his hands stuck to Natsu's shoulders like Juvia's hands on Gray.

"Just let it go dammit! I'll pay you if I have to! I snatched this job flyer with a forty-thousand Jewel reward! I'll give you half of it!"

"Hmm..."

Money, huh? But there are some answers that can't be bought with money...

"Nah. Tell me."

Natsu's face reddened once due to the words that came out of his mouth. That, and Gray's nearing proximity towards his face; not enough for a kiss, but enough for a set of eyes to bore holes into another's very soul.

"I.. Like I said, I've never cuddled before. It felt nice cuddling with you, heheh..."

Gray's facial expression changed from "boring into your soul" to suspicion with a hint of curiousity, notably his arched eyebrow. Natsu took it as a sign of doom.

OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT THAT CAME OUT WRONG! SHIT!

"Natsu, are you gay?"

The words came out of Gray's mouth so calm and collected, Natsu couldn't tell if he was asking because it's a joke waiting to happen or if he was serious. Natsu could smell the curiousity from Gray, though, but he didn't know if it was a risk worth taking. Natsu thinks he's gay for Gray, but telling him outright sounds like a bad idea.

A subtle hint should do... not that I am but.. OH FINE.

"I think so? I just wanted to feel how cuddling with a guy would be.."

Natsu's cheeks turned into the reddest shade possible, along with his voice turning fainter and restrained, which kind of amused Gray at the dragon slayer's display of vulnerability and at the same time he felt sorry for the flame-brain.

"Why me?"

Gray asked Natsu in a compassionate tone of voice, along with placing a hand on one of Natsu's shoulders, making the dragon slayer look up to Gray's eyes.

"Because I can trust you.."

Natsu looked away in shame, then Gray patted Natsu's back.

"Hmph. And you can, fire breath. Don't worry."

With those words, Natsu went from downtrodden to ridiculously ecstatic, his signature grin suddenly morphing on his face.

"THANKS ICE PRINCESS!"

Natsu caught Gray in a bone-crushing hug, startling the ice mage. Natsu hugged him tightly, clutching at Gray's upper torso while taking in his icy scent. Gray didn't shove him off, but reciprocated the hug instead, although very lightly.

There's no escaping from this one now, but I don't have to tell him...

I gotta get rid of these thoughts about Gray.. maybe even tell him that this whole 'gay' thing was just a big joke, and everything will be back to normal! Right?

"Ouch..."

Natsu then realized that he was hugging Gray way too tightly. He released Gray from his "death hug" and gave him a small smile, weirding said ice mage out. Overjoyed, Natsu had built up a lot of energy, and he wanted to release it by fighting with Gray. Natsu assumed battle stance immediately, making Gray sigh at the sight; the ice mage wasn't in the mood to fight.

"We can still fight, right?"

"Just not now, Natsu."

"Whyyyyyyy? I'm all fired up now!"

Natsu whined at Gray, and continuosly pestered him for a sparring session, until Natsu's nose picked up a foreign scent which made the dragon slayer sniff all over the place. Natsu ran towards the source of the scent with Gray following behind in case the dragon slayer does something he'll regret later.

"You smell something?"

"Not something. A dragon slayer... and not from here either..."

The duo ran for a few city blocks, then they stopped after a few more blocks, and out of curiousity, Gray wanted to know how the scent smelled like. Natsu continued sniffing.

"What does the guy smell like?"

"Uhh.. cold? Kinda minty. Like your scent, but with a dragon slayer's too."

"So I smell of cold stuff. Wow."

"You're an ice mage, so it makes sense!"

Happy interjected from the side, annoying Gray.

"Can it, cat."

Happy giggled, mostly because of what he knows about Natsu's views on Gray. The ice mage squinted at the exceed, who did more antics to annoy said ice mage. Natsu continuosly looked for the scent's location, oblivious to a certain ice mage who happened to be spamming ice lances at a constantly dodging and snickering exceed.

"I think it's that guy."

Gray stopped spamming ice lances at Happy. Natsu then pointed at a figure sitting on the seaside railings.

The figure appeared to be a guy with really fair but not albino skin, a very youthful face similar to Leo's but with rounded eyes, red irises, a scar on his right eye, and spiky silver hair.

The guy also wore black combat boots, black cargo pants with dark grey knee padding laced with red line accents, a weird necklace of a bullet and a piece of ice, a metallic grey sleeveless vest with red lines along its edges, along with light colored fur lining the collar and the arm holes; said vest was left unbuttoned, much like Natsu's, which exposed his fit chest and abs, along with a large line of a scar that went from his chest to the upper part of his abdomen.

His muscled arms bore numerous mini-scars, padding on his left shoulder, a watch on his left hand, and a bracelet on his right hand. Natsu stared at the guy, unaware that Gray was giving him teasing looks.

"Oh ho ho. Interested, are we Natsu?"

"S-shut up! Let's just go to him. I just wanna meet another dragon slayer!"

"If you say so~."

The duo and exceed then cautiously approached the supposed dragon slayer, and as they got closer, they saw a bolt-action rifle and a pair of swords leaning on the railings, a holstered pistol on his belt, and an exceed figure in front of him; they appeared to be chatting. Natsu was able to pick up some snippets thanks to his dragon slayer hearing.

No, my little comrade. Everything is cool.

Was that a pun?

Oh.. was it? Eheheh..

They're just people, not the enemy kind. You'll be fine!

Uhh, I don't know...

I'm just gonna go get some snacks. I'll be back, kay?

The exceed, which happened to be silver colored and donned a red vest and dark grey pants, flew off to the direction of the markets. Natsu, Gray, and Happy sneaked towards the guy, unaware of their presence since he just looked at the coast while leaning on the railing. Then, in an instant, the guy spun to face the "sneaky-sneaky" trio.

"Who are you? What is your business?"

"Oh uh. I just smelled you and-"

"I am not looking for any trouble! So please leave me be! And no, I am NOT a male prostitute."

The guy burst out as he went into a defensive stance, hinting at the numerous people that "propositioned" to him for some "easy Jewel"; said people, mostly young men and Leo, appeared to be down below the railings, encased in ice. Natsu and Gray went wide-eyed at the outburst, while Happy tried not to laugh.

Your getup says otherwise... kinda ironic for me too.

"Huh? No! All I'm saying is that I smelled a new dragon slayer so I went here!"

"Hmm? Did you say 'smelled'? And dragon slayer?"

The guy eased off, then a curious expression formed on his face at the mention of those words. Natsu immediately went hyper, which made Gray groan at Natsu's "instant happy" trait.

"Yeah and yeah!"

"So, I take it you're a dragon slayer too?"

"Yep! I'm the Fire Dragon Slayer known as the Salamander! And here's my exceed buddy, Happy!"

"Aye! Nice to meet ya!"

The guy bent down to pet Happy, who happened to like it.

"Oh hello. I have an Exceed with me too, but he went to get snacks."

It's like almost every dragon slayer has an exceed. Maybe it's a standard.

Gray thought as he played around with some small ice-make objects that he made out of boredom. Then he interjected on the dragon slayers' conversation, directing a question at the guy.

"Soo, who are you?"

"Umm, I'm not really the kind to just give out my name, but I do go by the title of 'Ice Lion' where I'm from. So just call me that for now."

"Ice... Dragon Slayer? And I'm guessing you're a foreigner with that weird accent you have."

"Mmhmm. Correct."

Ice Lion's nose wrinkled, Natsu thinking that it might be because of the scent Gajeel told him about earlier.

"So uhh, speaking of smells, you smell. The awkward kind, I mean."

Natsu looked at Ice Lion awkardly, and Gray tried to sniff for the smell, finding nothing.

"I don't smell anything. Is that a dragon slayer thing?"

"Yeah. I-uhh..."

Natsu constantly stammered uncontrollably as his face reddened, which prompted Ice Lion to explain to Gray.

"A very strong scent that only dragon slayers can smell. It's mating related, and your pink-haired comrade here seems to have found one; a mate, I mean."

"I don't speak 'dragon slayer', alright?. So what does that mean?"

"He is in love with someone."

Gray's face slowly morphed into a really big grin, then he elbowed Natsu.

"Ooooh! Flame brain's got a crush! And I thought you were too stupid to feel stuff like that!"

Yeah, you.

"Shut up."

Natsu said to both his inner voice and Gray, and both of them did stop with their antics. As seriously as he could, he turned to Ice Lion with questions concerning mates.

"Do you know any more about it?"

"Don't ask me about that. It's a.. delicate matter for me, so to speak."

Ice Lion's face turned slightly red and he looked to the side. Natsu didn't press any further.

"Oh umm.. okay."

Ice Lion's communication lacrima buzzed in his pocket, and he brought it out to read its message. After reading its message, he pocketed the device, then he grabbed his rifle, swords, and some duffel bag from out of nowhere.

"I am needed elsewhere now. Goodbye."

Ice Lion ran off as he finished speaking, going towards the same direction his exceed flew off earlier.

"Hey! It was nice meeting ya!"

Natsu waved at Ice Lion's figure. He stopped his waving when Ice Lion was already at a considerable distance. Gray approached Natsu and rested his arm on his shoulder.

"Now, do you still think fire and ice can't be together..."

Fire and Ice CAN be together! Why do you think I like you?!

"...as friends?"

"Oh uh.. what?"

"I said do you still believe that fire and ice can't get along? You were being friendly with 'Ice Lion' earlier, and there's us."

Us? There's an us?

"Oi flame brain, quit spacing out on me."

"Sorry. I'm just feeling weird today. But yeah... I'm kinda thinking against that now."

"Good. Cause I'm getting sick of fighting you all the time and I just want a regular relationship without any insults and fists everyday."

A relationship... with Gray... my mate...

"You... want a relationship?"

Natsu looked at Gray with hopeful eyes. Gray elbowed him in response.

"I meant a regular friendship. What did you think I meant by that?"

Natsu's face tinged with a hint of red, embarrased. Gray smirked at the sight.

"Oh."

Gray laughed at Natsu's embarassed state. He then draped an arm over the dragon slayer's shoulders with a playful smirk, making Natsu redden a bit more yet with a pissed expression on his face.

"Come on. Let's get back to the guild hall."

The trio arrived back at the guild hall, with Happy immediately making her way to Carla, while Natsu went to get food at the bar. Soon after, Gray walked by Natsu and patted him on his shoulder.

"Hey. If you want to talk about it, just tell me, alright?"

Oh sure! Hey, I got a weird crush on you! How's that?

Natsu shooed his inner voice away, and just gave a meek smile at Gray as a reply, who smiled in return as he walked away. Mirajane looked at Natsu with a cutesy demeanour.

"Aww, look at you two! Being all friendly!"

"It's.. no big deal Mira. I guess he's just being nice."

"It's a really big deal, Natsu! We're more likely to find one of Zeref's demons than see you two get along!"

"Mmhmm."

Mira teased the dragon slayer to no end. Nearby, Master Makarov was addressing the "clean-up crew" from earlier's predicament.

"Excellent. The guild hasn't been reduced to rubble right after being repaired. A commendable job."

The clean-up crew sighed in a mix of relief and despair. Not soon after, Erza burst through the guild doors in her usual "shock-and-awe" demeanour.

"There you are, Erza. Is he with you?"

"Of course, Master Makarov."

Erza moved away from the door, holding it open for someone.

"Please enter."

Then a figure stepped inside, a silver haired, fit, and fair skinned male, to be exact who instantly earned stares of recognition. A silver colored exceed followed after him. The guy looked around the interior of the guild hall.

"Your guild hall looks bigger inside..."

Natsu sniffed for the guy's scent, which seemed to confirm his suspicions.

"Hey! You're the guy from earlier!"

The guy, Ice Lion, recognized Natsu's voice and directed his gaze at the Fire Dragon Slayer, his red eyes widening as he immediately recognized the pink hair, and the smell that followed.

"Blin..."

Here's a new chapter! Review if you can! I would like to know your thoughts on this!

BTW, "Blin" is a mild Russian cuss word that translates to "pancake". Dunno why xD