Day 3 - Part 1
"Natsu? What happened?"
Natsu looked at Happy's confused face, wondering if he was the only one who could remember; the only one who had these kinds of... well, rewinds. This was the third time, and now Natsu was sure that the other two times hadn't been dreams—a dream wasn't that detailed; didn't feel that real. The most logical explanation seemed to be that time had turned back—twice. He'd been given a second, and now a third chance to save Gray's life. And he'd be damned if he allowed Gray to die for a third time; this time he'd protect him for sure.
"Happy... Don't you remember anything?"
Happy cocked his head.
"We were already there. On that mission you just told me about. We've been there, we've fought, we've defeated two of our enemies, and the last one ... killed Gray. Do you really not remember anything?"
Happy stared at Natsu in concern.
"Are you alright, Natsu? I think Wendy should check your head."
That was a clear no. Well, if he was the only one who could remember, then Gray's life depended on him alone. How to go on about it? Try it a third time and be sure to defeat Bubbles this time? No. He'd already fucked up twice. Refusing to go on the mission altogether seemed like the safest way. Then Gray wouldn't meet Bubbles at all and thus couldn't be killed by him. To convince Erza and the others of his idea would be a difficult task, but Natsu was sure he could come up with something before he'd arrive at the guild.
"Natsu?"
He snapped out of his reverie. "Oh. No, I'm okay. Sorry for worrying you."
Happy looked at him warily, but when Natsu flashed him a bright smile, he smiled back, nodded, and left Natsu alone with his morning routine.
Happy tried to talk with Natsu several times on their way to the guild hall, but when he got only "mhh", "ah" and "yeah" in answer, he gave up.
Natsu had come to the conclusion that telling everybody the truth would probably be for the best. He was bad at lying anyway. The best excuse he had come up with was that he wasn't feeling well, which would be highly suspicious since he didn't look ill and wasn't exactly the whiny type. Plus, Wendy could easily heal him. Not to mention she'd find out that there was nothing wrong with him in the first place when she tried to heal him.
He knew it would probably be hard to convince the others if nobody besides him remembered, but he would have to rely on their trust in him. There was also the issue that he needed to find appropriate surrogates to go on the mission in their stead. Well, at least in his and Gray's stead, since there was no way he'd separate from Gray in such a situation. Erza, Lucy and Wendy could still go. Maybe it was even enough if the three of them went alone. Wendy could 'fight' against Yushin, meaning she wouldn't have to fight at all. Who would be a good enemy for Ichika...? Gray's method of defeating her wasn't something anybody else could copy. But since Erza was very creative and strong, Natsu was sure she'd find a way. Lucy could use Aquarius to fight Bubbles. She could float away his attacks, maybe even float them back and hurt him with his own attacks, at least where the green bubbles were concerned. That could actually work.
When they reached the guild hall, Natsu was in high spirits. He took in the sight of Gray sitting at his usual table, unharmed, and went to sit next to him. Gray ignored him in favor of playing with his glass and the water in it, freezing and melting it over and over again. Natsu didn't mind being ignored for now.
He didn't need to look to know that Happy headed straight to the bar to chat with Carla. Things were going the exact same way as the previous two times, no doubt. The clothes were the same, the people present were the same, they were doing the same things, looking the same degree of exhausted. It should have already been obvious to him the second time, but he knew that Lucy was right when she said that he could be dim-witted at times. It didn't matter now. Everything was back to normal and his options to change things were nearly endless. He would wait for Lucy and Erza to arrive, and then he would jump on the table, or maybe the bar where he could face everyone, and tell them what was going on.
He rarely bothered to check the clock, but this time he thought it could be useful—just in case. Erza arrived at 7:50 with her luggage, and Lucy at 7:55, yawning. He waited until the two girls had taken a seat opposite to them and the morning greetings were done with, before making his way over to the bar and jumping on it. He ignored Mirajane's protests that she'd just cleaned it and he was making it dirty again.
"Listen up, I've got something to tell y'all!"
The guild hall went quiet in an instant, all eyes focusing on him, some with a worried expression, Gray with an eye-roll, and some with confusion written all over their faces.
"This is the third time I'm experiencing the same day. Is there anyone else here who remembers the last two times or anything?"
A murmur broke out, but all Natsu heard was confusion. Nobody seemed to have any recollection of the previous two times whatsoever.
"Okay, obviously not. The last two times, something on our mission went terribly wrong—somebody died, and we need to prevent that from happening again."
Lucy shrieked, and the noise level rose again.
"Who was it?" Erza shouted over the noise.
Natsu closed his eyes for a brief moment, steeling himself. Then he opened them and fixed his gaze on Gray.
Gray's eyes widened in disbelief and horror. "If you think that's funny, then let me tell you, it's not."
Natsu had expected as much. His expression was grim, and his eyes never left Gray's when he shook his head. "I really wish it wasn't true. When I saw you die the first time, I completely lost my mind, and I... I killed the man who..."
Natsu's throat constricted. Swallowing proved to be nearly impossible, but he somehow managed it anyway.
"The second time I was unconscious when you died." Natsu averted his gaze, his eyes glued to the floor in front of the bar. He lowered his voice. "You died because of me. Because I was too weak to defeat my enemy. You gave your life to save mine. Twice..."
When Natsu hesitantly looked back up, Gray was staring at him wide eyed. His vision was slightly blurry, but he blinked it clear.
"I won't let that happen again. Call me a coward, but you and I won't go on that mission again."
Erza jumped to her feet, seeming troubled. "Why don't you use your knowledge to your advantage and counter his attacks? If you know exactly how he'll fight, then you should be able to beat him easily."
Natsu's shoulders slumped. "I thought so, too. The second time I thought I could win easily because I knew his magic, but I lost control. I was so afraid of... well, you know. I wasn't able to think anymore, and he defeated me again. I lost a leg the first time, and my right hand and left arm the second time. Why should the third time be any different? I just don't want to take that risk."
"That's understandable... Then what's your suggestion?" Erza asked.
"I suggest you three go alone. I'll tell you everything about their behavior, their magic, and how to deal with them. I'm pretty sure Lucy can defeat that enemy with Aquarius. I suppose water is much better against him than my fire."
Erza nodded, beckoning Natsu to come back to their table. The rest of what he had to say wasn't really something everybody present needed to know, so he followed her demand. However, his guild mates had other plans. Everyone crowded around their table, offering their help, sharing their concerns, coming up with ideas on how to fix things, even if they didn't know much about the situation. It was nice of them, but it wasn't really helpful. Besides, too many people were talking at the same time, so Natsu couldn't understand half of the things they said.
Erza put an end to the chaos by hitting the table top with her armored hand so hard that Natsu thought it might break. "Stop it, all of you. I know how you feel and it's nice of you all to offer your help, but for now please leave us alone so that we can make plans and work things out. I promise, if there's anything we need anyone's help with, I'll let you know right away."
Reluctantly, everyone got back to what they were doing before, except for Wendy, Carla and Happy, who stayed at the table since it concerned them as well. They still got worried side glances, but nobody bothered them anymore.
While Natsu told them every little detail about their enemies, their magic, their fights and everything else that mattered, Gray listened in silence. When Natsu got to the part where he'd lost his limbs and Gray had protected him, he lowered his head so that his hair blocked the view of his face. He also didn't take part in the following debate on how to deal with Ichika. Erza reluctantly admitted that she would probably not be able to lay a finger on Ichika if she could control the positions of anything that wasn't bound to earth, trees, or anything else that was unmovable. They would need somebody who could use Maker Magic to beat her. Lucy said that Levy could probably do the same thing with her Solid Script, or Gajeel could attach himself to a tree while fighting by extending one limb, and try to catch her and fix her to a tree or the ground as well.
"Maybe Freed could catch her in a rune cage, but he's still on another mission," Wendy mused.
"He'll be back from his mission soon," Natsu explained, looking at the clock. He didn't know when they would arrive, but it had to be in less than half an hour. "Maybe around nine o'clock...? So we could ask him, if we think he's the best choice."
Erza let out a sigh. "I personally think that Gajeel is the best choice. How about you?"
Natsu looked over his shoulder, not surprised to see Gajeel sitting at his table, smirking to himself. He'd probably overheard the whole conversation. Well, at least he wouldn't have to explain everything again if they decided on taking Gajeel with them.
Everyone nodded approvingly, and before they had the chance to call Gajeel over, he was already sitting next to Gray.
"I heard there's an enemy to crush," he said with a cocky grin, his arm resting on Gray's shoulder.
While the others started making plans about their strategy, Gray still didn't show any reaction whatsoever. Natsu was getting more and more worried, until he couldn't stand it anymore and kicked Gray's shin under the table lightly. Gray lifted his head slowly, and Natsu gulped, wondering what kind of reaction he would get. His heart clenched when he was met with Gray's blank stare. He'd been ready to deal with anger, sadness, confusion, offence, or literally any emotion on Gray's part, but this? It was so much worse.
"Natsu and I aren't required for this anymore, right?" Gray asked, not taking his eyes off of Natsu.
"Since you won't come with us and Natsu has described everything in detail... I think you're not required at the moment, but we might come up with more questions, so please don't go too far," Erza answered.
Without saying another word, Gray got up and left the guild hall. Natsu was dumbfounded and motionless for a moment, wondering if that meant that Gray wanted him to follow or if he wanted to be alone right now. Lucy rammed her elbow into his side, shooting him an angry glare while nodding towards the door.
He was up and out of the guild hall in an instant. Happy tried to follow him, but Lucy grabbed his paw, and told him to stay.
Gray was waiting for him outside, and when he saw Natsu emerge, he took off in the direction of the place where they usually fought. Natsu didn't hesitate to follow this time.
When they reached the edge of the clearing, Gray stopped abruptly, his back turned towards Natsu. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Natsu stopped close to a tree, a few meters away from him, waiting for Gray to start talking, or maybe hit him or yell at him.
After a moment of silence, Gray turned around, his expression carefully neutral.
"Don't you care that you're endangering Lucy's life?"
"What? I'm not endangering her life, I'm believing in her!"
"And what makes you so sure that the same thing won't happen again, just with Lucy instead of me? Maybe it'll be Erza to protect her, but that doesn't make it any better."
"It was my fault that I got hurt. My mistake, my carelessness, and the second time, my temper. Lucy won't make those mistakes, I'm sure of that. And I really think that Aquarius is a good counter against him."
"Then why didn't you suggest we just go with them and stay out of the fight, just to be able to protect anyone who gets in danger?"
Natsu hung his head low, and whispered, "I'm not sure I would be able to control my temper. This man killed you twice already, and I killed him for it the first time. I'm afraid I'll try to rip him apart right away, and it'll endanger you again, and possibly the others and the hostages as well."
Gray grabbed Natsu by the scarf and shoved against the nearest tree. "What the hell is wrong with you, Natsu?! What happened to your 'I'll crush any enemy no matter how strong' attitude?"
Even though Gray shouted, Natsu answered calmly, "Nothing. It's just that my 'protect the people who are dear to you no matter what' attitude has always been stronger. And if that means to skip a fight, then so be it."
Gray's grip on his scarf had loosened, and his angry expression was replaced by a surprised, yet touched one. Gray averted his eyes, and Natsu could hear his heart beating faster.
"Did I... say something before I died?"
"You said a bunch of things, like—"
"No. The moment when I knew I was probably going to die. You said there were a few seconds between me being caught in that bubble and me actually dying. Did I say something... to you?"
Gray's heart was beating incredibly fast, his cheeks were flushed, and he was still avoiding eye contact. Did that mean...? Was Lucy right after all?
"Uh... The first time, you said nothing... You just... smiled at me. The second time, you smiled and said something, but I didn't hear any of it since I lost consciousness the same second. Why would you even smile when you know you're probably going to die?"
Gray finally met his eyes again, and it was the softest expression he'd ever seen on his face. Natsu's breath caught in his throat, and suddenly he was hyperaware of just how close their faces were.
"If I knew that my death would save your life, then I could die happy, without regrets."
Was Natsu imagining things or was Gray's face slowly coming closer?
"D-don't say such things... so casually... as if it's no big deal, throwing your life away l-like that."
Gray's face was indeed coming closer, and by now Natsu could feel his exhales on his lips.
"But it's not thrown away if it saves the life of the one who's most precious to me."
Gray probably meant to make Natsu happy with this, but the effect was the exact opposite: It made him furious. Before their lips could meet, he pushed Gray away brusquely, knocked him to the ground, and pinned his wrists down beside his head, straddling his hips.
"If that was meant to be a love confession, let me tell you, it was a bad one. If you loved me, you'd think about my feelings as well, and what do you think having you die right in front of my eyes would do to me? Can you imagine what it feels like to know your death was my fault? To have to live on with that guilt and regret? Do you even care? Because to me it sounds like you're only thinking of your own feelings. If you really loved me, you'd want to live to make me happy and let me make you happy day after day... If that's what you think love is, then I don't want it! Throwing away your life for mine... How could you think that I would appreciate something like that? Losing you... forever..."
Natsu felt his eyes welling up again as the memories of Gray dying replayed over and over in his mind. Usually he would feel embarrassed about crying in front of Gray, but right now he was too upset to care. Gray was an idiot. An insensitive, suicidal—
"Natsu."
—selfish, ignorant—
"Natsu!"
—uncaring idiot.
"NATSU!"
With a jolt, Gray threw him sideways onto his back, and a second later, their positions were reversed.
"I'm sorry. That was a thoughtless thing to say, and it came over completely wrong. I would never choose death over life if there was another solution."
"Then why did you do that?!"
"I can't really give you a proper answer, because I don't remember a thing. But if I'd thought there was any other chance for the both of us to survive, then I promise you I would have taken it."
"You didn't though!"
Gray let out an unhappy sigh. "How much time did I have to react?"
"I... I don't know... The first time I was fighting not to lose conscience, and I didn't see it happening, you were just... suddenly in that bubble... And the second time... maybe half a second..."
The memory was too painful. Natsu felt a tear breaking free from his eye, unable to fight it down.
"I'm sorry. That must've been a horrible experience for you. If I saw you die... I think I would lose my mind. Though I'm sure I can't really understand what it must feel like to be in that situation... But I'm sure there was no other way. I'm sure I must've thought there was only the choice between me dying or you dying. And my choice in such a situation will always be the same. Because the wish to protect your future is stronger than my will to live."
"Then your will to live isn't strong enough in the first place!"
Gray punched the ground right next to Natsu's head so hard that his fist pressed the grass into the soil, leaving a small hole behind.
"Then tell me what you would do if you were in that position! If you had only two choices, either die and save me, or let me die!"
Natsu couldn't hold Gray's angry stare any longer. He knew that Gray was right, that he was being unreasonable and childish.
"Answer me!"
Natsu bit his lower lip, forcing his eyes to meet Gray's again.
"I'd do the same thing... for you." There was a lump in this throat that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he swallowed.
Gray's hand came up to cup Natsu's cheek and wipe away his tears. His expression had gone from angry to soft in a heartbeat, and Natsu found himself at a loss of how to react. He couldn't get the pictures of Gray dying out of his head, but at the same time he felt warm and safe and happy. He shouldn't let something that wasn't going to happen ruin the moment.
Gray seemed to have reached the same conclusion. "Then... can we just stop fighting over this and just be happy that we're both alive and well?"
Wiping away his tears with the back of his hand, Natsu banished all thoughts besides the one that Gray was right there with him. When he opened his eyes again, staring into icy blue eyes that told him without a word how much he meant to Gray, he couldn't help but smile. Gray blushed and took his bottom lip between his teeth, seeming much more nervous than a few seconds ago. Natsu's attention was inevitably drawn to Gray's lips by the motion, and his tongue came out to lick over his own lips on their own volition. Gray hesitated, then leaned down and kissed Natsu's lips while lacing their fingers together.
The kiss was slow, hesitant, and one-sided at first, but after overcoming his insecurities, Natsu kissed back, and soon the kiss grew more intense.
Gray let go of Natsu's hands in favor of running his own through Natsu's hair and caressing his cheeks, his ears, his neck. Natsu put his hands on Gray's shoulder blades and pulled him down until their chests were touching and Gray rested all his weight on him. It felt so good to feel their bodies pressed so close against each other's, to feel Gray's weight against his chest while kissing him.
When Gray's tongue touched his lips for the first time, he jerked in surprise. The tongue and Gray's weight vanished immediately, and Natsu found himself met with a worried and apologetic look.
"No. Sorry. It's fine, I just didn't expect that, but I like it. Please keep going."
Smiling tenderly, Gray leaned down again. Natsu's eyes fluttered shut, expecting to be kissed in the next moment, but Gray paused a millimeter before their lips touched, whispered sensually, "prepare for more," and then closed the gap between their lips.
Natsu's head started spinning when he wondered what Gray meant by 'more', but as soon as their kiss deepened and Gray's weight was back on his chest, he lost the ability to think altogether.
If somebody asked them later how much time they'd spent rolling on the grass, hugging and kissing each other senseless, he wouldn't be able to tell. It had to be somewhere between ten minutes and two hours. The best, most intense ten minutes to two hours Natsu had ever spent. They didn't say a single word during that time, and their lips never parted for more than a few seconds when they'd rolled over, switching positions.
Now they were silently staring at each other, with Natsu sitting astride Gray's hips. Their tongue kisses had been clumsy at the beginning, but they'd worked out a good technique together. Also, Natsu had found out that he really enjoyed nibbling at Gray's lips and vice versa. Gray seemed to like it as well, and that was probably the reason their lips were slightly swollen now.
Gray grinned at him. "I didn't expect that you're such a good kisser. Do you have experience?"
Natsu narrowed his eyes. "Why would I have?"
"Well, maybe with Lucy—"
"Seriously? You're still on about that? After all we've just done?"
Gray pushed Natsu gently off his hips, then sat up so that their faces were level with each other's. "No, I'm not. Not anymore anyway. I just wanted to tease you a bit. See your reaction. At least now I understand why you always became so angry when I suggested that you were into Lucy."
Natsu brought his face closer to Gray's, a cocky smile playing on his lips. "You were jealous of Lucy all this time!"
Gray blushed, but he didn't look away. "Of course I was, idiot..." He swallowed, suddenly looking more nervous than before. "So you've never... uh, not even in the past, you know... felt something for her?"
"And you are still jealous! That's adorable."
The blush on Gray's face went a shade darker. "Sh-shut up. Just answer the question."
"Aww, Graaay, so bossy," Natsu teased.
Gray's blush grew even darker, and he clenched his hands. Natsu knew that if he teased him anymore, he'd surely be smacked for it, so he decided that he'd teased Gray enough. Time to put his cards on the table.
Natsu reached out for Gray's face with both hands and cupped his chin so that his thumbs could brush over Gray's cheeks freely.
"I've been in love with you since I was twelve or thirteen. Or maybe even before that, I don't know. I can't really tell when it started. What I know is that I've been in denial for years, and that it was your sixteenth birthday when I finally admitted to myself that there was more than rivalry and friendship. I can still remember it clearly. I got you a present for the first time, and you didn't expect one from me. You were surprised at first, but then you smiled at me so brightly..."
Thinking about that day made Natsu feel the same emotions all over again: Surprise, realization, embarrassment, and finally, panic. His hands had started trembling and sweating, and he was about to pull them back since he didn't want to wet Gray's cheeks, but Gray caught his wrists as soon as the contact was gone, and pushed them back. His eyes said that it was okay, that Natsu should keep them where they were, and that he should go on. So Natsu left his hands on Gray's cheeks, albeit embarrassed.
"I knew then. I hoped it didn't show, but inside I was panicking," Natsu confessed.
"Your face turned completely red and your smile looked forced. You were really jumpy the whole day. But other than that, it didn't show." Gray smirked, and this time Natsu removed his hands for real.
"Wh-whatever! I've been trying to hide it from you for the past three years. Lucy's arrival didn't change anything. She found out half a year ago, and since then she's urged me constantly to make a move on you. Honestly, I was so glad to finally have somebody to talk to about my feelings."
Instead of answering, Gray leaned in and kissed him again, slowly and tenderly. Natsu's anxiety and nervousness faded, a warm and happy feeling taking over instead as he melted into Gray's touch.
When they parted, a streak of saliva stretched between their mouths, which Gray broke hastily, looking flustered. He cleared his throat, and then locked his eyes on Natsu's.
"I wasn't in love with you when I turned sixteen, but I noticed your weird behavior, and I couldn't stop wondering what it was about. I think it started then. I was watching you whenever you weren't looking, just out of curiosity. I saw you blushing once or twice over small things that day, and I'd never seen you blush like that before. I couldn't stop wondering what was bothering you, and before I knew it, you and your stupid blush were on my mind way more often than I liked. I tried to play it off as concern, as a normal thing between friends, but deep down I knew that things were changing. I often found myself staring at you, lost in thoughts. Then I started having those dreams, where we were hanging out with each other, talking, laughing. They slowly changed into dreams of holding hands with you, kissing you, hugging you... I tried to fight the feeling until about a year ago... I noticed it was too strong and it wasn't going to change or go away, so I gave up and accepted it. I just never thought I had a chance against Lucy, and I would've been prepared to support your relationship."
That last sentence struck a chord with Natsu.
"You really were, huh. Yesterday—ah, I mean the previous time this day happened, you thought Lucy dumped me, and you seriously tried to comfort me... There was no trace of schadenfreude in your eyes. You were concerned about me and nothing else."
Gray's expression had turned sad again. He gulped before answering, "Yeah. It would have killed me inside, but your happiness is more important to me than my own. So, if you had been happy, I'd have done anything to support the two of you. I'd even be your best man at your wedding..."
The thought of that was painful. Him, marrying Lucy, with Gray being his best man, suffering silently. Natsu didn't think that he would ever be able to do the same thing for Gray, if he were to choose Juvia or anyone else who wasn't him. He would have been jealous constantly, and probably also acted upon those feelings. Sighing, he dropped his head, leaning his forehead against Gray's shoulder.
"I don't deserve you," he mumbled.
"Yes you do. And anyway, there's nothing you can do to get rid of me now. I... I love you..."
Warm arms wrapped around Natsu's shoulders and pulled him close until their chests were touching. Hearing those words... they warmed Natsu in ways he'd never experienced before. Finally being able to hold and kiss Gray like he always wanted was so much better than he'd ever imagined.
Natsu lifted his head from Gray's shoulder and nudged Gray's nose with his. "I love you, too, my ice princess."
"He-hey! I'm not your fucking princess!"
"Ohh? But you look so cute."
Gray let out a growl, and in no time at all Natsu found himself being pinned to the ground, with an equally flustered and angry looking Gray on top of him, staring at him challengingly.
"Want me to show you a side of me that's the exact opposite of cute?"
As if Natsu could ever refuse something that sounded like a challenge. "Bring it on." Natsu thought he'd either be challenged to a real fight or a fight for dominance in kisses, but never would he have expected what Gray did next: Lowering his head to suck lewdly on the sensitive skin of his throat and grinding his hips against Natsu's. Not that Natsu didn't want it or had never thought about it—he definitely had, and on a quite regular basis, to be honest—but this was a bit too rushed for his liking. He pushed Gray's hips away, trying to escape his lips at the same time. Gray understood immediately, and he jumped to his feet, away from Natsu.
When Natsu sat up and searched Gray's face, he found that Gray had his mouth covered with both hands, staring at him wide-eyed and ruefully.
"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It's too soon. I should've—"
Natsu had jumped to his feet and was now standing right in front of Gray, his hands clasping the front of his red tee shirt.
"Don't treat me like that just because we're a couple now! I didn't become weak just because I kissed you or because I confessed my feelings! If you're doing something I don't like, you bet I'll tell or show you, so don't you dare treat me like I'm made of porcelain! And besides"—Natsu's lips quirked into a mischievous smile—"you're rather hard down there, so I'll just take it as a compliment."
"You're pretty hard, yourself."
"What I was trying to say is, it's nice that you're considerate of my feelings, but don't go overboard. I've never been one to crack easily. I like the way we treat each other, so don't you go easy on me from now on."
Gray grinned back, and that special glint in his eyes that was always there whenever he taunted Natsu was back. "You like it the hard way, huh? Very well, I won't go easy on you."
Natsu wanted to retort something, but before he could say anything, somebody cleared their throat. Natsu let go of Gray's shirt, turned around and froze at the sight of Lucy, standing a few meters away from them, her face bright red, and her eyes glued to the ground. He hadn't noticed her at all. He'd been too distracted by Gray.
"I... sorry. I was waiting for a good moment to... uh, interrupt, b-but..." She cleared her throat again, still not looking them in the eye. "W-we have a few more questions and it would be good if you could come back to the guild... And congratulations! I was worried you two would never get your shit together."
She turned around to leave, but Natsu was by her side in an instant, grabbing her arm, preventing her from leaving. "You knew? Of Gray's feelings, I mean."
Lucy looked over her shoulder right into Natsu's eyes. "Oh, please. Everybody who has eyes knew it. Except Juvia, for obvious reasons and Gajeel I guess, but he's also kind of dumb when it comes to this kind of thing."
"Was I really that obvious?" Gray asked, sounding surprised and embarrassed.
Lucy craned her neck a bit so she could see past Natsu and look Gray in the eyes. "You were both so obvious and oblivious at the same time it hurt. Do you know how hard it was for me and all the others to control the urge to just bang your heads together and shout 'now kiss'? You're both so stupid sometimes... Well, whatever, it's settled now. Anyway, we don't have much time before our departure, so you'd better come with me now, or Erza will make sure you regret it."
The mention of Erza never failed to have the desired effect, and the three of them made their way back to the guild hall without further delay.
While walking back, Natsu thought about whether they should tell their guild mates that they were a couple now, wondering what Gray would want. He didn't want to ask Gray, since it was kind of embarrassing with Lucy in earshot. He'd just wait and see how Gray would behave, and accept whatever decision he made. Natsu didn't mind either way. He could keep it a secret for a while longer, but he'd also very much like to shout it out for everyone to hear, stake his claim on Gray so that nobody would ever get the idea of pursuing his boyfriend. Or, in Juvia's case, stop pursuing the idea of something more than friendship with Gray.
Thinking of which, she was surely already back from her job and waiting for Gray-sama. A low growl escaped his throat at the thought. There was no way he'd stand by passively while Juvia was trying to hug Gray. He hoped that Gray's behavior would resemble the one of the previous repetition of the day. Otherwise he'd have to interfere.
"Natsu? Are you alright?" Lucy asked.
Natsu wanted to ask why she thought that he wasn't, but then he noticed that his fists were clenched tightly, and that his arms were trembling. He relaxed his muscles.
"Yeah, alright."
Lucy shot him a worried look, but said nothing more.
There are two (yes, t w o) amazing fanarts on this fanfic. You should definitely check them out!
Since I can't include any links here, all I can do is tell you they can both be found on my tumblr 'chiyalawritesrewind'.
Thanks for all your favorites/follows and the nice Reviews! They make me so happy, you have no idea *_*
See you next Sunday with the next chapter ;)