A/N: Another chapter that kind of flew by. Some things went as expected, some didn't.

This story is just crazy. xD And I'm not at fault! Blame the boys, it's all their doing!
Huh, I probably should mention that this is written kind of at night and so, apologies for typos and all those not so fun things.
To whoever reads this, hope you enjoy the reading, thanks for stopping by and continuing to follow my craziness. I still blame Shia for the enabling. xD


Chapter Three - Confrontation

"What?" Natsu asked, confused.

Gray didn't reply, just but his lip, still looking down.

"Oi, ice brain. What the fuck are you talking about?" Natsu pressed. He was still wary of Gray but he wasn't exactly making sense at the moment.

"Don't pretend, asshole." Gray glared at Natsu, clenching his hands into fists. "You know what I mean!"

"Huh, no?" Natsu was taken aback. But he still didn't want to face Gray. He was too confused still. The fire mage was too distracted by his musings that he didn't anticipate Gray's punch to his shoulder, how Gray grasped his vest in a white-knuckled grip.

"I'm not going to say anything else." Gray said through gritted teeth. "Just know that you better keep your mouth shut, flame brain."

Natsu blanched. He really didn't want to be here, talking with Gray, of all people.

"Who do you think I am?" I shouted, glaring, sparks flickering around his hands. "Who do you think you are?" Natsu pushed Gray back, jerking slightly forward as his vest was still being grasped.

"I can honestly say that I don't know. But if you know what's best for you, you'll keep your fucking mouth shut!" Gray said in a tightly restrained tone of voice. He looked towards the door, probably not wanting people to enter.

"Well, I'm not the kind of person you seem to think I am!" Natsu said with a punch on the wall. "I can't believe you!"

*And I don't know if I can believe you, dragonslayer." The word was uttered with such venom that Natsu was speechless. "I just… leave me alone, okay?"

And with that, Gray turned on his heel and left the bathroom, door slamming behind him.

"This…" Natsu said after a beat. "This fucking asshole!" he yelled into the tiled room. His bellow echoed back at him, again and again.

Fuming, Natsu went after Gray. He'd put aside his own confusion and questions for the moment, his rage at the ice mage's behaviour taking to the forefront of his thoughts. He felt his body as if leaden and frenetic at the same time. A mix of emotions that he couldn't explain but seemed to become an aura around him. Or maybe he did have a too-warm aura around him in reality.

He only knew that Gray was nearly at the guild's main doors and there were too many people between them and that something bad was going to happen if he wasn't able to yell some truths – or at least give a well-deserved punch – onto his stupid face.

"Get out of the way!" He snarled his guild mates, his focus completely on Gray, his senses attuned to the other mage.

Thankfully the path seemed to clear as if by magic. Natsu had half a mind to thank his friends for their understanding. Though, it was very understandable that no-one wanted to be burned by the flame that danced around Natsu.

All of that was just secondary. Natsu had to catch Gray as soon as possible.


Gray's strides had taken him a good distance from the guild but the ice mage belatedly realized the consequences of his actions.

He had threatened Natsu and berated him and he was too conscious of the consequences that might come from that.

But his whirlwind of thoughts was suddenly cut through by Natsu's voice calling him.

Gray looked back and, sure enough, the idiot was running towards him at full speed.

Gray also started running.

He didn't want to have anything to do with Natsu at the moment, regretting having said something but not wanting the thing that was going to happen to happen.

They ran through the maze-like streets of Magnolia, in the older part of the town. Gray running for his life in hopes of tricking the other but Natsu was too good at following and finding him, damn that heightened sense of smell the idiot had.

After turning left, Gray stopped.

He was in a dead end!

Steps sounded behind him and Gray realized that the chase was over. He'd been caught.

Natsu was glaring at Gray, huffing slightly. Wiping his brow with the back of his hand. Gray couldn't help but look, transfixed, at his movements as he, too, tried to regain his breath.

"You finally stopped." Natsu noted unnecessarily. "Tired of running like a coward?"

"I am not a coward, you dumbass!" Gray growled. The sweat was drying in his body, chilling him but that was a good thing, the cold was meant to spread out completely within him, to ground him. To make Gray feel like himself.

"I don't care what you are, yeah?" Natsu said suddenly. "I just never thought that you would say that kind of thing about me. Is that what you think I am?"

"Of course not, you melted-brain. But don't you see? I just can't-!" Gray cut himself to make an unintelligible noise.

"So…" Natsu crossed his arms and leaned in faux-casualty against the wall. "Do you want to explain this to me?" he said in an earnest voice that belied his nonchalant posture.

"Are you so dumb that you need an explanation?" Gray deadpanned.

"Sure, if it makes you feel better?" Was the reply, complete with the arching of an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. I was born like that, a freak, and so that's it." Gray said in a low, tight voice. "Ugh, why did I have to fall for someone so-!" Gray's eyes widened and he clapped a hand over his mouth. His expression full of alarm. He'd just said too much.

"Huh? Fell? What the fuck are you talking about?" Gray noticed how for the most, Natsu had remained in a state of some befuddlement.

"You don't want to know. Nothing to do with you." Gray said airily, trying to walk past Natsu. Unfortunately a hand curled like a vice over his arm.

"I think it has…" Natsu said in a serious tone. "And I want to know everything. Now, spill."

Gray gulped, a cold that wasn't like the one he was used to started settling in the pit of his stomach.

"What do you want to know?" Gray asked in a defeated tone, running his free hand through his hair in an agitated gesture.

"Like I said, everything. But what's that thing of you falling for someone?" Natsu queried.

"Ugh. You don't pull any punches." Gray said with a huff.

"You know me and I don't, icicle." Natsu said in a cheeky tone. The sombre air lifting a little from between them.

"Well, as you seem to have guessed already – yes, I know you and now I know that you seem to be gloating on the inside – I've fallen for someone. That someone is super stubborn, doesn't get a clue and most of the days I just want to punch their face into a bloody pulp. It's fun, though." Gray ground out, glaring daggers at Natsu. "Can you let me go now?"

"Nope." Natsu said with a large grin. "And I like you too, asshole." The fire mage had the gall of grabbing Gray's arm with his other hand while he interlaced his now free hand with Gray's. "It's good to finally say it."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Gray babbled, in shock. "No, you're trying to pull a prank or something now that you see that I'm not… No! I'm going to kick your ass so hard if-!"

"Oi!" Natsu snapped his fingers before Gray's face. "I'm not kidding or anything. I've…" he shrugged awkwardly. "I've been feeling this for a while now but never wanted to fuck anything up. I didn't want to lose our friendship."

"And I didn't want to lose the friendship we have either." Gray added. "So, that means that we're both dumb?"

"If the girls were here, they would say that we're super dumb." Natsu shrugged and smiled crookedly.

Both mages laughed at the, well deserved, image of the girls laughing at them.

"Anyway." Natsu said, sobering up. Gray winced, as he knew what was coming. "Can you please explain what I saw?" the fire mage asked in a gentle tone.

"I…" Gray rubbed at his forehead with his free hand, avoiding Natsu's gaze. "I don't know. This is how I was born, you know?" he finished lamely with a shrug.

"But something bad also happened." Natsu added, tilting his head to the side.

"Uh, yeah? My life has been quite an assortment of bad things. But in regards to these things… I know that I'm a freak but-" Gray's tirade was momentarily paused as two fingers pressed against his lips.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Natsu asked in agitation. "You're not a freak. Igneel told me that sometimes that happens in nature. In everything. He gave me a weird explanation about the flow of magic or whatever? There were some dragons who were like that too."

"Natsu, you're not comparing me to a dragon, are you?" Gray said in an amused tone.

"Why not? They were the best!" Natsu defended himself.

"Fine, fine. They were awesome. But that doesn't change my… oddness." Gray said with a sigh.

"Okay, I'm going to show you what's odd." Natsu said with finality, starting to walk down the path they'd just used.

"Where are we going?" Gray asked, letting himself be dragged. Strangely.

"Your home." Natsu said with finality. "I'm going to show you what I think about your oddness."

Gray followed, half dazedly.


(Another note: I'm a bit unsure about posting the last chapter here since it's explicit and, explicit stuff shouldn't be posted here. So, to be safe, it will be posted on AO3. Feel free to read there.)