I own nothing. All credit goes to C.S. Lewis and Hiro Mashima. :)
JUNG
"So how old are you, k-Jung?" asked Gray, shoveling food in his mouth at a rather alarming pace. Jung looked up from the rice he was picking at, appreciative of Gray's audible correction. He had been here three days, and Gray kept insisting on feeding him and making him sleep.
"I'm eighteen," he said finally. Then he paused and looked up. "Wait, what day is it now?" Gray gave a little smirk that Jung had come to read as mild amusement.
"January 11, 33 A.D."
"Ah, never mind then," said Jung. He had lost track of the dates-his birthday had been six days ago. "I'm nineteen. What about you?"
"Twenty-two," said Gray, in between bites. He didn't comment on Jung's apparent lack of knowledge about his own birth date. Silence fell again between the two. They had barely talked, but Jung had been in worse living situations than this, so he kept quiet. Gray didn't know who he was, but he was unnervingly nice to Jung, in a laconic sort of way, and it unnerved him.
"So…" began Gray. Jung looked up again, glad for an excuse to turn away from his rice. "What do you think of the new Paslan?" Jung kept his face expressionless. So, it was going to be this sort of conversation then, was it? Was Gray fishing for information? Well, every conversation did turn to politics eventually. He'd take a neutral stance. This, he could do.
"He's surprisingly efficient, given his history, but he lacks both strength and resolve," he answered smoothly. "However, the political unrest following the Seventh Archenland Battle caused a lot of turmoil, and a heroic King would only make things worse. The Paslan appeared at exactly at the right moment, politically speaking, although I do not know if he did so intentionally."
Gray raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The two fell into silence again and Jung looked at the blue veins crawling up the back of his hand. The air was cold. Who was this person anyway? He felt as though he were missing something, but he had been distracted for some time, not to mention out of the country.
"Do you want to go shopping today?" asked Gray, rising from the table abruptly. "We can get you some clothes, and anything else you need." Jung almost bit his lip before he caught himself, embarrassed by the attention. He looked down at the baggy sweatshirt which dwarfed his thin frame.
"I'll pay you back," Jung said. Gray nodded. "Can we-" Jung hesitated. Maybe it was too soon. He didn't want to test this…this whatever-it-was-roommate-thing they had going, but he needed some income.
"What?" Gray asked.
"Can we stop by the newspaper office?" asked Jung. "I can pick up a job there." Gray shrugged.
"Sure. Whatever you want." After Gray had dumped the dishes in the sick, they ventured out into the pale, chill morning air. The temperatures had risen from double digits below zero to single digits above zero, but Jung still shivered. It was good to be cold again. Gray was always turning the heat up, and Jung suspected it was for his sake.
"Do you need a coat?" asked Gray, turning to him. Speak of the devil-he had somehow already lost his shirt, wearing only his characteristic necklace. Jung eyed the dark tattoo on Gray's chest subtly. He could've sworn it was a different shape yesterday…
"Jung?" asked Gray. Jung looked up, taking a second to process.
"Hmm? Oh no, the sweatshirt is fine," he answered.
"I don't think I even own a coat, actually," said Gray, smirking. "Right, let's go then!" Jung followed in Gray's wake, keeping his head down. It was all about blending in. Jung noted that Gray's apartment was in the heart of Magnolia, three blocks away from the newspaper office and five from the shops. Even if Jung hadn't been in the country for a while, he knew that an apartment in the center of Narnia's capital had to be terribly expensive. What did Gray do for a living? He hadn't left the apartment in the three days that Jung had been there.
"Oh, that's him!" said a hushed voice. Jung started, but the twittering dryads were looking past him at Gray. Jung narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Him? What were they talking about? Jung didn't need a lot of attention right now, and if hanging out with Gray was going to get him attention…well, maybe he should rethink his living situation. He ducked his head and put a little bit more space between himself and Gray.
GRAY
Gray looked back over his shoulder at Jung. The kid was subtle, but he was definitely scared-well, maybe wary was a better word. He hadn't said anything to Gray-outside of answering his scattered questions-until his little monologue this morning. Gray pondered Jung's words again as they crossed the busy streets of Magnolia. He's surprisingly efficient, given his history, but he lacks both strength and resolve. The Paslan appeared at exactly the right moment, politically speaking, although I do not know if he did so intentionally. Gray didn't know exactly know all of what the kid was referring to, but from what he did know, the kid's analysis was spot on. Where had Jung come from? What was he so afraid of? As they walked through the streets, the kid had put his head down, an almost unconscious habit that Gray had noticed in the house as well.
Gray ducked his head under the low door of the newspaper office, an ancient brick building filled with the clatter of typewriters and the smell of ink.
"Gray!" exclaimed a loud voice. "Where have you been?" Jung, coming in behind him, looked up in surprise. Gray made a shushing face at Lucy, jerking his head back towards Jung. He didn't want Jung to know who he was, not just yet anyhow. Everyone he knew saw him as the sexy ice stripper from Fairy Tail, and he enjoyed being the stranger, for once. Lucy looked puzzled, but turned away at the last second. "Later then!" she exclaimed, bounding off with Plue at her heels. Gray looked back at Jung, but the kid said nothing and stepped past him towards the receptionist.
"Hello, my name is Jung. Do you have any proofreading positions available?" The receptionist smiled at Jung's charmed formality.
"We do, as a matter of fact. One of our proofreaders just left. Let me get the director for you," she said. After she had left, Jung turned to Gray.
"You can go ahead, if you want," he said. "I'll just be a little while."
"Sure," said Gray. He didn't want to leave the kid, but he didn't want to seem too curious either. He looked back one more time as he left. Jung was already deep in conversation with the director, who was smiling broadly. The kid certainly had a way with people. He wandered down to the shops, but he couldn't relax. The kid was just-well, he was just-he needed looking after. If the kid could take care of himself, which he obviously could, why had he passed out in Gray's bed? If he could take care of himself, why was he sick, exhausted, and starving to death?
Finally, he spun on his heel and strode back towards the newspaper office. Lucy met him at the door.
"Gray!" Gray smiled. Of course, Lucy would be the first person he saw.
"I didn't know you still worked here," he said, looking around for Jung.
"If you're looking around for your friend," said Lucy, "he left a few minutes ago. But where have you been? Everyone at the guild is worried." Gray frowned. A few minutes ago? He should've met Jung on the way here then. Where was he?
"I'll explain some other time, Lucy. I have to find the kid," he said, turning around. "Oh, and don't tell anyone from the guild about him," he said over his shoulder. Lucy smiled and waved.
"Sure. Come back soon, Gray!" The end of her farewell was lost as Gray stepped into the cold air. Where had Jung gone? Back towards the apartment? He started in that direction, only to pull up short at the corner of the building. He had heard something. He closed his eyes and listened intently. There-low laughter and a stifled cry. Jung.
He sprinted around the corner of the building and towards the back, pulling up abruptly before he reached the narrow alleyway. He peered around the corner, listening intently. His eyes fixed on Jung, who was sprawled on the ground. A wolf paced next to him, laughing quietly. Gray's eyes narrowed. He recognized the sign of one of the lower guilds tattooed on her muzzle.
"Did you think that nobody would recognize you?" she snarled at Jung. She lifted her paw and sent Jung skidding across the ground until he hit the brick wall of the building opposite. Gray clenched his fist. Using magic against a non-magic user, even the low level strength enhancer spells that she was using, was downright unfair. Enough was enough. He walked around the corner casually.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "Am I interrupting something?" The wolf turned and sprang at him, but Gray backhanded her. Ignoring her yelp as she collapsed to the ground, Gray knelt down by Jung's side.
"Jung?" he asked, pulling him up in his arms. The kid looked up at him, eyes unfocused.
"You have no shirt again," the kid murmured, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp in Gray's arms.
"Jeez," muttered Gray, pulling the kid up onto his back. "This is the second time this week, kid." By the time they had reached Gray's street, Jung was stirring.
"I think I'm going to throw up," he said, tumbling off Gray's back unceremoniously. He stumbled to the curb and retched, throwing up the few bites of breakfast that he'd eaten that morning. Gray sighed, supporting him with his hands. He could feel the sharp poke of the kid's shoulder blades under the sweatshirt.
"Sorry," Jung muttered, straightening and pulling away from Gray. He stumbled and Gray caught him, pulling him up. Gray looked down at him-he was a good couple of inches shorter than Gray was-but the kid wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Look, ki-Jung, you probably have a concussion. More importantly—" Gray stopped and looked around. Perhaps the corner of his street wasn't the best place to have this conversation. He pulled Jung up onto his back easily, ignoring the kid's murmured protest, and made his way to the apartment.
"I'm fine," said Jung as the door shut behind them. Gray let him down gently and sat him down in a kitchen chair.
"You're not that fine, actually. What have you been hiding from me?"
