Disclaimer: Mashima-sensei owns the magnificent plot and characters of Fairy Tail while Kyo-Ani/Oji-sensei owns our little guest star!
Warnings: Language, Violence, Fluff, minimal Angst, Potential OOC-ness
"Oji-san?"
Makarov glanced down at the boy who was clutching his hand as they walked through the bustling streets of Magnolia. He smiled fondly at the boy as he noticed the bright curiosity in the boy's emerald green eyes. As he regarded the boy he couldn't help but be thrown back in time; to a time when his grandson Laxus would hold his hand and praise him or even to the time when he found Natsu and brought him to Fairy Tail. He smiled to himself as he realized how much time has passed since then; one thing was for certain, time never rested.
"What is it child?" He tilted his head to the side, "Do you have a question?"
The boy chewed on his lip,
"I…I was just wondering how long Granny was going to have me stay with you? N-Not that I don't want to be here…I just…"
The corner of Makarov's mouth dropped slightly at the boy's question; there wasn't a way he could answer it and if there was one thing his frowned upon it was lying to children. However, this was a case where he didn't have a choice in the matter; it was a request given to him by an old friend. He couldn't say he wasn't expecting the request, especially after he got word of the massacre that occurred on the East shores of Fiore…but he hoped that his friend wouldn't be caught up in the tragedy.
It was a fairly typical day for Fairy Tail (loud, rambunctious, and destructive) when he had gotten a call on his lacrima from his dear friend Tsuchida who told him that their seaside village had been attacked by some sort of demon and that the children were being evacuated so as to keep them safe from the destruction. She had asked him if he would be able to keep an eye on her grandson until the matter was dealt with and there was no way he could say no. Tsuchida had done a lot for him in the past, so it was only right that he return the favour.
However, that wasn't the only reason why he accepted the request…
Tsuchida had also asked him for assistance because both of the young boy's parents were murdered by the monster in front of his eyes and unsurprisingly the boy had not been the same since; apparently he wouldn't even speak to his closest friend in the village anymore. She hoped that sending the boy to Fairy Tail would help him open up once more and Makarov couldn't help but agree with him. His children were special and he knew that once they caught sight of this boy they would probably smother the poor thing with love; he'd just leave the tyke to Mirajane and the other girls, he should be safe in their capable hands.
"Unfortunately, your Granny wasn't clear on the details," Makarov ruffled the boys sandy brown hair, "But I promise everything will be alright; we'll most likely hear from her in the next couple days."
"Okay," The boy squeezed his hand tightly, "I just feel bad because I didn't say goodbye to my bestest friend."
The old man smiled at him softly,
"Don't worry about that child; you'll see your friend again."
The boy didn't say anything more and simply nodded. Makarov forced back a sigh; he really hoped that the girls could help the poor lad come out of his shell a bit. It was heartbreaking seeing him so downtrodden. He was about to offer some more words of encouragement to the boy when his keen eyes noticed a pillar of fire shoot of into the sky in the distance. A shiver rolled down his spine as he glared at the flames; he didn't like the look of this one bit…
His Natsu senses were tingling…and if Natsu was causing destruction, his partner in crime wasn't too far behind.
"Oji-san?" The boy looked at the column of fire with wide eyes, "What is that?"
"Just a couple of brats making a mess of things." He muttered.
He picked up his speed slightly so he could get to the guild hall faster; he really had a bad feeling about this. He held the boy's hand tightly and paused a few times when the little one tripped over his feet; he did have short legs after all and he was young. When Makarov rounded the familiar corner of a cobbled street, the first thing he noticed was the people…the second thing he noticed was that his precious guild hall had a gaping hole in the ceiling…the third thing he noticed was that half of the building was frozen solid…
He forced his way through the crowd; his menacing aura causing all the villagers to move out of his way in fear. He hoped he wasn't scaring the boy too much with his anger, but this was the fourth time this happened this week. He made it to the front doors of the guild and kicked it open with astounding strength; he nearly sent the doors flying off their hinges. Countless eyes turned towards his enraged form, but his eyes were solely on the idiots standing in the middle of the hall; who were still fighting like the oblivious destroyers they were.
"That is enough!"
FTFTFTFT
Gray Fullbuster was having a bad day.
Not only was Magnolia blazing hot today, but the constant annoyance in his life also known as Natsu Dragneel wouldn't leave him alone. As if it wasn't hot enough outside, the dragon slayer thought he would entertain himself by playing with his fire magic indoors. He was such an oblivious asshat; couldn't he see that he was making some people feel like shit. No, of course he couldn't! He was just a flame brained idiot who only thought of himself and not how his presence affected those around him.
So obviously, it didn't take long for the idiot to get in his face and pick a fight with him. He wasn't in any mood to move, let alone fight, but the jerk face pissed him so much that he couldn't resist himself. He hoped that if he was able to knock the fire breath out fast enough, he could enjoy the barely working air conditioning in peace; but surprise, surprise, things didn't go as planned. All the brawl resulted in was a couple cuts and bruises, a hole through the ceiling, a destroyed bar, and a half frozen guild hall; and if that wasn't bad…
"That is enough!"
Gramps came home…they were so screwed.
"Just what the hell are you two idiots doing?" He scolded them, "This is the fourth time this week!"
Gray rolled his eyes,
"Don't look at me, that idiot is the one who started it."
The pinkette growled,
"Who are you calling an idiot, you damn stripper? You're the one who hit me first!"
"It wasn't me who was pissing everyone off was it?!" The ice mage slammed his forehead against his rival's, "If you weren't throwing your damn fire balls around this wouldn't have happened!"
"Oh yeah?!" Natsu spat as pushed against him, "You're the one who's been in a pissy mood all day! Are you PMS-ing or something ice princess?!"
"THAT'S IT!"
The raven and pinkette let out dual sounds of pain as they were smashed into the floorboards by the large palm of their guild master. Gray cursed as his ribs dug painfully into the ground and he glared darkly at the bane of his existence; it was always that bastard's fault that he got into situations like this! When the weight left his back, Gray pushed himself to his knees and sat there; damn Gramps packed a punch. He could hear Natsu complaining from beside him, but he found himself not paying attention.
Instead, he found himself looking at the strange boy hiding behind Gramps. The boy couldn't be older than four and was clutching the back of Gramps' cloak as he scolded the two of them. He had sandy brown hair that hung in slightly droopy emerald green eyes. He didn't know who this kid was, but there was just something about him that seemed so familiar…he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Gray!" Gramps yelled furiously, "Listen to me when I'm disciplining you!"
"Aye sir!" He squeaked nervously; did he seriously just channel Happy?
"And you call me pathetic." Natsu muttered petulantly from beside him.
The raven scowled at him bitterly and opened his mouth to retort only to be silenced by Gramps' murderous glare. Why was he getting in trouble when it was pretty damn obvious that the fire breathing bastard was an instigator?! He folded his arms across his chest and looked away from the old man; it wasn't fair damnit.
"Now listen up you brats," Gramps began; his eyes set in a determined frown, "I'm not letting you get away from destroying the guild this time around, prepare for your punishment!"
Gray gulped; was Gramps really going to do that to them?! He glanced at his rival from the corner of his eye and he could tell that the pinkette was shaking like leaf even though he was trying to hide it. This time he wouldn't tease or insult the dragon slayer for reacting the way he was; after all, that was a fate worse than death or even one of Erza's smack downs.
"You two idiots having been fighting non-stop from the moment you laid eyes on each other," Gramps paced back and forth; being careful of the little body that was hiding behind him, "That's over ten years of near irreparable damage that you caused the guild and over ten years of damage expenses that you've accumulated by destroying the cities that you were supposed to protect!"
The raven scratched the back of his neck nervously as he thought of all the damage that he and Natsu had caused; Gramps' wasn't going to make them use their mission money to pay him back was he?! He needed that money damnit! He had rent to pay and groceries to buy! If Gramps' ended up choosing that as their punishment, Gray might seriously have to kill Natsu this time; not everyone could live off fish and expired food products (where else would he get food). Then again, maybe Lucy would take pity on him and feed him for a few months.
"Uhm, Master?" Mira's soft voice tittered from the front of the mob of Fairy Tail members who were trying to avoid Natsu and Gray's rampage, "Before you get around to deciding Natsu and Gray's punishment, why don't you tell us about the little boy that followed you into the guild hall; is he a new member?"
Thank you Mira! He internally cheered at the distraction; maybe if she got Gramps focused on the little boy, he would forget punishing him and the flame brain! He watched in interest as Gramps' stopped pacing and blinked a few times before turning to the boy who was still trying to huddle behind his tiny frame. From beside him, he could tell that Natsu's interest had been peaked as well; there hadn't been a new member in the guild for seven years and there was nothing the flame brain liked more than meeting new people.
"Oh right," Gramps' face brightened slightly as he pushed the boy into view, "This boy's name is Makoto Tachibana; his grandmother, a dear friend of mine, asked me to watch him for a few days. Make sure to treat him with respect and don't pester him too much; and yes, I mean you Nat…"
The older mage's voice trailed off as his gaze settled on the excited dragon slayer before they slowly trailed over to Gray. The ice mage felt himself gulping again from the strange look; he really didn't like where this could potentially be going. Gramps' smiled at the two of them before he snapped his fingers.
"I just thought of your 'punishment'!"
Natsu's shoulders slumped dramatically as sweat started to pour down his body,
"He's going to put us through that isn't he?!"
Gray sure as hell hoped not,
"Don't give him any ideas flame head!"
Gramps eyed the two boys for a few moments longer before he turned his attention to the surrounding mages. He raised his hand and pointed towards Freed, who was looking annoyed because some of his green hair managed to be singed in the brawl earlier. Oh no, Gray thought fearfully, if Freed was annoyed enough he'd be willing to do anything Gramps asked of him with a smile on his face.
"Freed," Gramps' voice echoed around the anticipating guild hall, "I want you to grab onto Natsu and Gray's wrists right now."
"And why on Earthland would I want to do that?" The runes mage raised an eyebrow.
"It has to do with their punishment; now do it." He ordered.
The raven fought the urge to run as Freed stalked towards him and the idiot. Even if he tried to run, he probably wouldn't get very far; Gramps would take him down without hesitation…he'd rather not have broken ribs thank you very much. Gray tensed as Freed's slim fingers tightened around his wrist and he was faintly aware of Natsu fighting, uselessly mind you, back instead of accepting his inevitable fate.
"Now," Gramps paused for effect, "I want you to bond these two together so that they're unable to leave each other's side for longer than twenty minutes."
Gray blinked at the old man in disbelief as the rest of the guild's voices rose up,
"WHAT?!"
"Uh Gramps," Natsu chuckled tensely, "I don't know if you're aware of this, but Gray and I despise each other; do you want one of us to end up dead?!"
"Master?" Lucy raised her hand shakily, "I have to agree with Natsu on this one, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Aye!" Happy stated cheerfully, "It might even destroy Magnolia in the process; when Erza gets back and sees that she'll be so mad and then there will be even more blood!"
Gramps smirked haughtily,
"I know exactly what I'm doing; I know they'll hate it, it wouldn't be a punishment if they liked it."
The raven had to admit that Gramps was right about that; but he was being cruel. In his mind spending all his time next to Natsu was way worse than that punishment could ever be. And from what he could see of Natsu from out of the corner of his vision, the idiot was on the same train of thought.
"How long do you want me to see the rune for?"
Natsu glared at Freed in devastation,
"You're actually going to go through with this?!"
"For once I agree with the dumbass," Gray paled, "Don't do this to me man; I'm going to lose my mind if I'm stuck with this idiot!"
The pinkette opened his mouth retort only to be caught off by Gramps,
"Two weeks should be enough for now; we could always remove it or extend it depending on extenuating circumstances."
"Oh yeah?" Gajeel chuckled from his position against the wall, "And what 'circumstances' would that be old man?"
Gramps smiled brightly,
"Well, simply keeping you two boneheads together at all times isn't going to be enough to teach you a lesson on responsibility now is it? No, I thought I'd teach you two responsibility by tasking you with a request from me."
"And what would that task be?" Gray demanded impatiently.
"Why, you and Natsu are going to see what it's like to be parents," Gramps' stated seriously, "You two are going to be the guardians of young Makoto here while he stays with us."
Silence was met with Gramps' announcement as the minds of everyone in the guild hall exploded at once. Gray tilted his head to the side in incomprehensible confusion as he waited for the Gramps to tell them that this was all some elaborate joke. His eyes trailed over to Makoto and noticed that he looked just flabbergasted as the rest of them seemed to be; he also seemed a little scared too.
Gray didn't blame him; the flame brain's stupidity was a frightening thing.
"Master," Mira's soothing voice carried over the stupefied group, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
The older mage raised an eyebrow at the takeover mage,
"Do you doubt my decision Mira?"
The platinum blonde girl smiled weakly,
"Well, I'm just not sure if Natsu or Gray have the ability to take care of a child…you know how they are."
The ice mage frowned at the girl; he didn't know how she did it, but she insulted him and the flame asshole while making it look like a compliment. That aside, he couldn't help but agree with her; he didn't like children too much…in fact he tended to frighten them off with his cool exterior. Children didn't like the cold and he didn't blame them, really he couldn't; even if it did hurt sometimes…Natsu on the other hand…
"I resent that," Natsu pouted, "I raised Happy just fine!"
Lucy chuckled nervously and sweatdropped,
"Sorry to break it to you Natsu, but Happy is a cat, not a child."
"Lucy," The Exceed wailed overdramatically, "Don't be mean to me; at least I'm not an eternally hungry demon like you are!"
He found himself ignoring the celestial mage as she yelled at the Exceed for calling her a demon. He was paying attention to Makoto who seemed to stiffen the very moment when Happy called Lucy a demon. Gray furrowed his eyebrows at the boy and tried to figure out what his problem was when Juvia's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"I think Gray-sama will be a great father," She sung, "After all, Gray-sama and Juvia are going to have thirty children together!"
The ice mage nearly tripped over his feet in surprise,
"Oi don't involve me in your crazy fantasies!"
"But Gray-sama," Juvia's lip wobbled, "Juvia is just saying that she thinks you'll be a good father…"
He looked away from the water mage,
"I don't know about that…"
"However," She continued on as he hadn't said anything, "Juvia does not like that Gray-sama is going to be indefinitely tied to Natsu; there is no way that she will stand for it! But he can be tied to…"
"Either way," Gramps talked over her ramblings and placed his hand on Makoto's shoulder, "I'm not budging on this; you're punishment is staying together and taking care of Makoto until he is to return home; is that clear?"
"But Gramps!" Natsu complained, "What about going on missions?!"
Gramps merely shrugged his shoulders,
"You're suspended from missions for the time being; don't worry Natsu you'll survive."
"But…"
Before Gray could voice his concerns, Gramps nodded his head at Freed and a purple glow started to erupt from his wrist; this really couldn't be happening right now. He felt a tingling travel up his arm as the rune attached itself to his body; it felt like an itch that he couldn't scratch. A few brief moments passed and Freed finally released both of their wrists; the runes floating on top of their arms before dissolving into their skin.
He shot another quick glance at Makoto and slowly made his way over to the nervous child. He could still hear Natsu complaining and asking Freed to deactivate the rune; Gray shoved the hurt that he felt towards the idiot's actions to the back of his mind…not that he understood the reason why he was feeling hurt in the first place. When he got about a meter away, Gramps nodded at him before going to talk to the other members of the guild; they were probably going to set up a 'watch' to make sure that he and Natsu were taking care of the kid properly.
Gray knelt in front of Makoto and held out his hand. The green eyed boy stared at him for a moment, as if he was trying read him, before he hesitantly reached out and grasped onto Gray's fingers. Just from that touch alone, the raven could tell that Makoto was going to have a lot of power one day.
"Hello Makoto," He spoke softly, "Sorry about having you dragged into this; it's probably the last thing you want, huh?"
The sandy haired boy smiled weakly,
"Uh, it's okay…you guys are just…strange. I'm only used to Haru-chan and he's really quiet; the others are kinda loud, but not like you guys."
He couldn't help the slight smile from appearing on his face as he listened to the timid boy speak. Gray knew how hard it was going to a new a place and meeting strange people; he had to go through it himself a couple times in the past. He shook the dark thoughts out of his head and released Makoto's hand. The boy looked at his feet for a moment and then raised his eyes again to look at the ice mage.
"Wh-what's," He swallowed thickly, "What's your name?"
"I'm Gray," The ice mage tilted his head towards the dragon slayer, "And that idiot's name is Natsu; don't worry his idiocy isn't contagious."
"He reminds me of a friend back home…" Makoto giggled behind his hand briefly only for another frown to take over his face, "I hope that everyone is alright…"
The raven frowned back at him before rubbing the top of the boy's head comfortingly. Makoto leaned into the touch slightly and relaxed; even if it was only by a little bit. The sandy haired boy suddenly yawned and Gray noticed how tired he was. He smirked at the boy fondly and then cautiously wrapped his arms around the boy waist and lifted him the air. Almost on instinct, Makoto wrapped his small arms around Gray's neck and buried his nose against the ice mage's shoulder.
"You," Another yawn cut off the boy's sentence, "You remind me of Haru-chan…Gray-chan…"
Gray stiffened at nickname and was about to ask Makoto not to call him that when he noticed that the boy had fallen asleep. He walked over to the fire mage, who was still ranting and raving about their predicament, and punched him over the back of the head. Natsu cursed loudly and turned to punch him back only for him to immediately stop and stare in surprise.
"Look the kid is tired and frankly I am too," Gray told him flatly, "So I'm going to take him home; you can come home whenever you feel like it."
He turned on his heel to leave when he Lucy grabbed onto his forearm,
"Uh Gray, I don't think you can do that…"
The ice mage sighed in exasperation,
"And why the hell can't I?"
An abrupt laugh reached his ears forcing him to turn towards Cana who had reclaimed her previous spot on the table with a barrel resting firmly between her legs. He waited impatiently as she finished a swig out of her barrel and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Don't tell me you forgot about the runes on your wrist already stripper," She smiled like a cat, "You and Natsu can't be separate from each other for more than twenty minutes."
"Yeah," He raised an eyebrow, "So what?"
Cana rolled her eyes at his apparent cluelessness; it wasn't his fault damnit, dealing with that flame brain really tired him out. Instead of answering she just started drinking out of her barrel once more. He cursed at her for leading him on, when it suddenly clicked. He and Natsu couldn't be separated for more than twenty minutes. Although his home was less than twenty minutes from the guild, it still meant that Natsu would have to go home with him now; who knew what the runes would do if they were separated for longer than the time limit…and there was something else…something terrifying…
"You mean I have to share a bed with this flame thrower?!"
FTFTFTFT
Gray scowled at the road in front of him the entire way home. He was aware of Natsu's constant presence near his side and it really bothered him. Even though the sun had started to go down now and the intense heat of the day was starting to recede, he still had the human heater known as Natsu Dragneel walking precariously close to his personal bubble. Gray adjusted Makoto in his arms as he thought of the inferno that was going to be his bed for the next couple weeks; he wasn't going to survive damnit.
"Oi ice princess…"
He glared at the flame brain in order to shut him up,
"Keep your mouth shut until we reach my house; we can talk there."
Natsu bristled slightly,
"Who said that we were staying at your place?!"
"My two beds and visible floor, that's who!" Gray fired back.
He heard Natsu cursing at him under his breath, but he simply ignored him. Living with Natsu was going to be a constant headache; Gramps was sure cruel when it came to handing out punishments that's for sure. Gray felt his shoulders sag in relief when his apartment building loomed over them; finally, he could go to sleep. He found himself shifting Makoto in his arms once more so that he'd be able to grab his apartment keys from out of his pockets.
"Uh," Natsu's hands shifted restlessly at his side, "Do you want me to hold him for you?"
Gray shook his head,
"Nah, I got it."
And he did…he just struggled a little is all. He shoved his key into the lock and opened the door; not for the first time since he bought this place, he was happy that he was on the first floor. He walked through the silent halls with Natsu walking quietly on his heels. When he finally reached his actual door, he flicked the key chain he had in hands so he could have access to the key that opened his door. Once again, he slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open with his hip.
He held the door long enough for the flame brain to put pressure on it so that it wouldn't close on him. He walked through the door without looking back as he toed his shoes off on the matt near the door; at least he wore his sandals today instead of his combat boots, those would've been a pain in the ass to take off. Completely ignoring Natsu's presence, Gray made his way through his apartment and walked into the guest room.
He smiled in relief when he saw that the bed was still made from when Lyon decided to visit him a few months ago. He wandered over to the bed and pulled the covers back enough so that he would be able to slide Makoto comfortably beneath the covers. He gently tugged on the arms that loosely encircled his neck and laid them down next to the boy's sides as the boy snuggled into the pillow that now rest beneath his head. He pulled the covers up so that they almost covered the boys chin. Subconsciously, Gray reached out his hand and ran his fingers through Makoto's hair like his own father used to do for him when he was a child.
When he noticed what he was doing, Gray retracted his hand and shook his head back and forth; he had no place doing something like that. He glanced at Makoto once more to make sure that he was still asleep before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him. He walked down the hallway and back towards the kitchen to see that Natsu was still staring stupefied at his kitchen and adjoined living room.
"I told you that my floor was visible." Gray crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter, "You didn't believe me fire breath?"
"No," Natsu shook his head, "I just realized that I've never been to your place before."
The ice mage rolled his eyes,
"Well we weren't getting along at all before recently and now if we all hang out we usually go to Lucy's." Not that they were ever technically invited over; but she didn't mind.
The pinkette seemed to consider that for a moment, but didn't respond to the matter. Gray's eyebrows furrowed at Natsu's strange behaviour, but just shoved it to the back of his mind; Natsu was a strange person after all. He looked at the dragon slayer for a brief moment before sighing.
"Okay, so we have to establish some ground rules."
Natsu snorted,
"Obviously ice block; our predicament isn't all that desirable."
Gray felt his heart twinge at the insult, but he summed it up to the fact that he was tired. He and Natsu fought all the time, why would it matter if Natsu was insulting him. The raven ran an exhausted hand through his hair before composing himself.
"You can use whatever you want here as long as you replenish it, no playing with my thermostat and when we're sharing a bed you stick to your side; if I find you anywhere near me I'll kick your ass." He threatened menacingly, "Also, you're going to help me take care of Makoto; no running off to leave me to do it by myself, got it?"
"Sounds good, but you'll have to come with me tomorrow to my place so I can grab a few things; my house is too far away from yours for me to be able to go alone." Natsu nodded in agreement and looked at Gray seriously, "And of course I'll help out with the kid; it's part of my punishment too after all."
The raven supposed that there were two good things about Natsu; no matter how much he hated the guy, he was loyal to a fault and his honour was unsurmountable. Once the dragon slayer knew he was at fault for something or in trouble he would see the punishment through to the end; even if he did complain the entire time. He nodded his head to acknowledge Natsu's request and yawned loudly.
"Well, I'm going to bed; remember to stay to your side flame brain."
"Tch," Natsu rolled his eyes as he followed his rival to the bedroom, "As if that's going to be a problem."
FTFTFTFT
Makarov sat behind his desk in the Fairy Tail Guild and looked into the lacrima as he waited for Tsuchida to answer. He tapped his boney fingers on his desk as he thought about the outcome of that day's events. He might have gone a little overboard with Natsu and Gray, but something needed to be done about those two. Up until recently the two of them seemed to be getting along a little better, but sometime this past week they had suddenly reverted back to how they were before Lucy Heartfilia joined the guild; it was quite troubling to be honest. Not that the boneheads didn't fight at all even before this past week; but they hadn't destroyed the guild until now.
"Makarov?" Tsuchida's voice crackled through the lacrima, "Is my Mako-chan doing alright? Is he hurt?"
The Master of Fairy Tail shook his head adamantly,
"Don't worry about a thing Chida; Makoto is doing fine, I thought it would be pertinent that you know of his current situation here in Magnolia is all."
Tsuchida frowned at him in suspicion,
"And what situation would that be?"
"I placed him in the care of two of my mages," He explained, "They needed a lesson in responsibility and felt that Makoto would be perfect for teaching them that."
The grey haired woman stared at him blandly,
"You're using my grandson as a punishment? Are you insane Makarov? Mako-chan isn't in a strong enough mental state right now…"
Under normal circumstances, he would probably agree with her; especially with how unpredictable Natsu and Gray were…however, he knew that those boys could be the key to helping Makoto overcome his grief and smile again. After all, that was what the Fairy Tail Guild did; well, it was its secondary job. Fairy Tail helped those in pain smile again and he's been around long enough to see it work its magic.
"I understand your concern Chida," Makarov acquiesced, "But I feel that the mages I placed him with will help him through his trauma. One of them has suffered the same kind of loss as Makoto and the other is a constant light that instills hope in all those he meets; I have faith that my children will be able to help yours."
Tsuchida was silent for a moment; her green eyes looking at him calculatingly,
"I believe what you say, but I do not want Mako-chan to get too attached to them; if the demon is defeated, he'll need to return home. He's going to be one of the six pillars that will protect our village when he's older…not to mention that Haru-chan, Rin-chan, Rei-chan, Nagisa-chan, Sou-chan, Momo-chan and Ai-chan would be devastated if their friend didn't return home when they did."
Makarov couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face when he heard that. It was obvious that Makoto had some very important friends back in Iwatobi Village and it was because of those friends that he would be able to let go of Natsu and Gray when the time came. He told Chida as such which seemed to soothe her fears. He wished her luck with the monster they had to defeat before signing off. He folded his hands on his desk and looked up at the wooden ceiling thoughtfully.
In his opinion the only people he had to worry about getting too attached were Natsu and Gray. The dragon slayer and ice mage knew what it was like to lose people that they cared about and if they became too attached to Makoto before he had to leave, it might just tear another irreparable hole in their hearts.
FTFTFTFT
Natsu found himself waking up in a haze.
He rubbed his eyes exhaustedly as he stared up at the unrecognizable ceiling above him. He frowned at it as he tried to remember where he was when he recalled the events that transpired the day before. Only Gramps would think of punishing him and Gray by making them stay together at all times for indefinite period. He scowled at the Gramps in his head for putting him through his torture. He rolled on his side so that he could get out of bed and use the bathroom when he realized that he couldn't move very well.
He frowned at his strange predicament and turned his head to see the source of his problem. Gray had managed to break his own rule in the middle of the night. The ice mage's head was pillowed on his chest; his raven hair tickling the underside of his chin in a strangely comforting way. One of the Gray's arms was sprawled over Natsu's waist and one of his legs was tangled with the dragon slayers. Natsu couldn't help but laugh at the situation; after all the missions he's went on and all the times they shared a room, he never pegged Gray to be a cuddler.
He found himself smiling at the ice mage before he could even stop it. He subtly shook his head to knock some sense into himself; what the hell was he thinking about this morning? Without nudging Gray, because the last thing he needed was to wake the bastard up, Natsu slid out of the bed and stumbled his way to the bathroom. He shoved the door open soundlessly and started to handle his business. He thought of the situation that he and Gray were in now with the kid and he couldn't help but think it was a bad idea.
As much as he defended himself for being capable of taking care of a kid the other day, now he wasn't so sure. He sighed at his thoughts and scowled; he really hated having to think like this. Why couldn't Gramps have come home earlier? Things were going great that day; the sun was out and it was warm, he was with his family and everyone was happy…well, everyone except for Gray. Why did the ice princess have to be so damn moody all the time; it pissed him off to no end, that's why he picked fights with him…though, they have seemed worse recently.
Natsu pulled up his pants and flushed the toilet…nah, he and Gray fought all the time and that wasn't going to change. Nothing was different from yesterday than any other day when he and the ice mage got into an argument. The pinkette scoffed under his breath; it's not his fault that Gray was oversensitive and got too annoyed easily. Natsu wandered out of the bathroom and was about to wander back to the bedroom so he could kick Gray's lazy ass out of bed (stupid twenty minute rule) when something ran into him at thigh level. The dragon slayer glanced down to see the kid standing in front of him and rubbing his nose.
"I…I'm sorry," The boy yawned loudly; ah, what was his name again, "I wasn't watching where I was going…do…do you know where the bathroom is?"
Natsu blinked at the boy's innocent question as he pointed behind him,
"It's, uh, right here."
"Thank you!" The green eyed child smiled brightly, "Do…do you know where Gray-chan is?"
He looked at the boy dumbfounded,
"Gr-Gray-chan?"
The boy nodded patiently as he waited for the dragon slayer to reply,
"Uh, he's still in bed…I was going to get him up now, actually. Do you want something?"
"Ah," The boy's cheeks turned slightly red, "I just wanted to ask him something is all…"
"Okay," Natsu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'll tell him that you're looking for him."
The boy nodded at him once more before running around him and towards the bathroom. Natsu continued to stare blankly ahead of him as the boy's nickname for the ice bastard echoed in his head. Gray-chan? GRAY-CHAN? How in the hell was the boy still living if he was going around calling Gray something like that; this was based solely on the fact on how annoyed the ice mage sometimes got when Juvia incessantly called him 'Gray-sama'.
With widened eyes, Natsu made his way back towards Gray's bedroom; the boy's voice calling Gray that nickname echoing throughout his mind. When he entered to room again, he noticed that Gray was practically swallowed up by his blankets; all that was visible was a shock of raven hair that could be seen near the pillow. The dragon slayer smiled mischievously as he tiptoed into the room and grabbed onto the only accessible corner of Gray's blanket. With an almighty tug, he pulled on the blanket causing Gray to unwrap like a poorly wrapped burrito and land ungracefully to the floor.
"NATSU!" The raven roared furiously; his sleepy deep blue eyes attempting glare at him, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
The pinkette smirked,
"You couldn't even if you wanted to 'Gray-chan'."
Gray, who was in the middle of getting to his feet, paused in his movements and glared at the fire mage darkly:
"Don't you dare call me that."
Natsu raised an eyebrow,
"But that's what the kid calls you; why is that anyway?"
The ice mage stood upright and ignored the dragon slayer in favour of remaking his bed after Natsu had ruined it. Natsu tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Gray to answer him. The raven huffed through his nose before finally glaring at him.
"First of all, the 'kid' has a name which is Makoto and second of all, he calls me that because I apparently remind him of someone important to him and I don't want to take that away."
Natsu frowned at the fact that Gray was defending the kid so easily; the pinkette has known him for years and it took the ice princess up until Galuna Island to start opening up to him like that. Yet somehow, some kid that the both of them just met was important enough for Gray to 'protect' him at the drop of a hat; how unfair was that?
"Anyways," Natsu ignored Gray's explanation, "Makoto was looking for you this morning."
The ice mage's eyebrow furrowed,
"Did he tell you why?"
"No," Natsu shrugged his shoulders as the raven walked across the room to his dresser, "He seemed kind of agitated though."
"He's in a new place with complete strangers," Gray muttered as he pulled a shirt out, "That's to be expected; now go check on him and see if he needs something, I need to get ready."
The dragon slayer rolled his eyes,
"I don't even know why you bother, you're just going to strip out of your clothing like the exhibitionist you are anyway."
"Just shut the hell up and check on him." Gray ordered tersely.
Natsu simply shot him a mock salute before he migrated through the house in an effort to find the boy they were supposed to be watching over. He sniffed the air experimentally and felt a rush of winter pine and mint rush into his nose. His nose crinkled from the slight burn that it caused, but he couldn't help but relax when he smelt it. As much as he hated the ice mage, he had to admit that he liked the way that he smelled; though he'd deny it for the rest of eternity because that was just stalker-ish and creepy. However, in the midst of all the winter smells he managed to latch onto the faint smell of sweet grass and dirt; it was weird smelling such a summery scent at Gray's house, even if he had never been there before.
He followed the scent to the kitchen and adjoined living room where he saw Makoto (that was his name right?) sitting on the couch with his legs pulled up to his chest. His small chin was resting on his knee caps and his green eyes were staring blankly ahead. Natsu tilted his head to the side as he noticed the look of grief and sadness in his green orbs; for some reason Makoto reminded him of someone he knew.
"Oi Makoto," Natsu called over to the boy, "What's wrong?"
The sandy brown haired boy jumped at the sound of his voice and nearly toppled off the chair,
"N-Natsu-san, you scared me!"
The dragon slayer fought back a scowl; so Gray had a nickname, but he didn't…that wasn't fair at all. Natsu cracked his knuckles to relieve the tension that appeared in his body and he tried to smile his go-lucky smile at the boy.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were alright; Gray should be out in a few minutes."
"Oh," He relaxed, "Okay, thank you."
Natsu chewed on his cheek as he contemplated the presence of the boy in front of him. From his base instincts, he could tell Makoto was a good kid, but he couldn't help but be annoyed by him for some reason. Maybe it was because he was so nervous all the time and didn't seem like someone who would go out of their way to make his thoughts heard; the polar opposite of Natsu himself. The dragon slayer frowned to himself; perhaps something happened to the kid before he go to Magnolia.
"Listen," Natsu addressed Makoto, "Would you like something to eat?"
The sandy haired boy looked at him blankly for a moment before nodding his head. Natsu smiled at the boy and held out his hand for him to hold only for Makoto to run straight passed him. His forehead furrowed in confusion when he heard a very familiar voice saying good morning. He turned around to see that Gray had entered the kitchen and Makoto had run over to him and jumped into his arms, but the strangest thing of all was that Gray was smiling. He was genuinely smiling; something that Natsu had only seen a handful of times since meeting the ice mage and yet that brat could make him do it so easily.
What the hell was that about?!
FTFTFTFT
Gray watched Makoto as he sat at the counter and ate his breakfast. It wasn't anything extravagant, just peanut butter toast, but he was eating it like he was eating a lobster or something. As the boy was filling his stomach, Gray's eyes couldn't help but wander over to Natsu who was sitting in his living room with a brooding expression that could rival his own on his best days. What the hell was the fire mage's problem? He was expecting the dragon slayer to be all over Makoto and asking him so many questions that the boy wouldn't even be able to keep up.
"Oi flame head," He called over to his rival to get his attention, "When do you want to head over to your place to get your things?"
Natsu continued to stare ahead of himself apparently in deep thought; now wasn't that odd. Gray rolled his eyes and ruffled Makoto's hair before heading over to the scowling fire mage. He stood in front of the other teen with his hands firmly on his hips and waited for the asshole to notice him. Gray huffed through his nose before raising his hand and striking the idiot over the top of his head.
"Ow!" Natsu shouted as he jumped to his feet, "What the hell was that for ice prick?!"
"That was for ignoring me and this," He flicked Natsu's forehead, "Is for cursing in front of Makoto; he's too young to be hearing that crap coming from your mouth."
Natsu pouted and rubbed his forehead,
"Coming from someone with a potty mouth as bad as mine, I find that extremely laughable; now what do you want?"
Gray looked to the side in annoyance,
"I asked you when you would like to go to your place; I just realized that Makoto didn't have any clothes with him when we brought him over, we need to either buy him some or ask Gramps if he has his things."
"We can go whenever you want," Natsu folded his arms over his chest, "But do we have to take the kid?"
Gray's mouth nearly dropped open at his statement,
"We're not going to leave him here flame brain; we're supposed to be taking care of him, remember?"
He observed as Natsu scowled in Makoto's direction; the boy still obliviously eating his breakfast. What did the idiot have against the kid anyway? He watched as Natsu fidgeted with his muffler before jumping to his feet with his usual enthusiasm; though, Gray could tell that it was more exaggerated than normal. Natsu cracked his hands and stretched his muscles before smacking his cheeks; it was as if the dragon slayer was gearing up for a fight.
"Yosh," Natsu clapped his hands, "We can go once Makoto finishes eating and then we can figure the day out from there."
Gray raised an eyebrow at the dragon slayer before simply shrugging his shoulders; Natsu would be Natsu he supposed. As the pinkette went towards the bedroom once more, Gray wandered over to Makoto who was finishing up his milk; he had to remember to go grocery shopping later. When the boy put the milk down, his fingers flitted across the counter mindlessly; though he seemed a little troubled.
"Makoto," Gray placed his hand on his small shoulder, "Are you alright?"
"Ah," Makoto fidgeted with his shirt, "Gray-chan, does Natsu-san not like me very much?"
"Nah," Gray poked lightly at the child's ribs, "Fire breath is just being strange this morning; he probably doesn't mean anything by it."
"Okay," The green eyed boy looked down at his feet, "I just don't want to make Natsu-san sad; is he sad Gray-chan?"
The ice mage smiled at the boy fondly as he ruffled his hair once more. He lifted Makoto off his seat and placed him on the ground causing him to immediately latch onto Gray's pant leg. Gray couldn't help but think back to all the times he did that to his father and mother when he was younger; it was always a sense of security. Did that mean that Makoto felt secure with him? Judging by the fact that Makoto said he reminded him of one of his important friends back home, he was willing to bet that the kid did.
"Don't worry about him Makoto," He patted his head soothingly, "I'll talk to the idiot later, alright?"
"Okay." Makoto whispered softly.
When Natsu had finally come out of the bedroom, the three of them walked over to the entrance way and started to put their shoes on. Gray found himself looking at the dragon slayer from the corner of his eye and he noticed right away that he still seemed agitated. He didn't think Makoto could have actually done something to upset Natsu; the boy was too kind hearted for that…maybe there was just some sort of misunderstanding.
"Alright then!" Natsu called out cheerfully, "Let's go!"
Too bad that Gray could tell that Natsu wasn't feeling cheerful.
Gray grabbed Makoto's hand and followed the dragon slayer out of his apartment; he could feel deep in his bones that today was going to be a long day.
"Uh, Gray-chan," Makoto looked up at him curiously, "Where'd your shirt go?"
FTFTFTFT
After Natsu grabbed a few things from his house and after they visited the guild to see Gramps about Makoto's belongings, the dragon slayer might have hoped that Gramps would have decided to call off their punishment and take Makoto into his care. The pinkette sat on the outcropping that over looked the river bank, his and Gray's spot, and watched as Gray and Makoto played next to the now non-existent river. He couldn't help but feel angry at the fact that the ice mage had brought Makoto to their special spot; it was place that was only meant for them.
He scowled as he watched Makoto run across the grass and tackle Gray playfully causing the ice mage's laugh to echo throughout the fairly silent area. How was it that this brat was able to make Gray so happy, when whatever Natsu did made the ice princess so angry. Makoto had only known Gray for a span of one day and yet, he seemed closer to the ice mage than he could ever be.
Before this past week, Natsu would say that he and Gray had been fairly close; the closest they've been in a long time. But then the stupid ice princess had to go and ruin it. Not that Gray wasn't allowed to hang out with other people, that wasn't the problem at all, the problem was that Gray would forget about everyone else in favour of the one person he was hanging out with and it pissed him off; it even got to the point where Gray was bailing on missions to hang out with this person.
This person was none other than Lyon Bastia of Lamia Scale.
Ever since they came back from Tenrou Island, Lyon had been hanging around Fairy Tail more often. And he would be lying if he said that some small part of him still hated Lyon for what he did to Gray on Galuna Island; Gray almost died because of his pompous ass. Now the ice head thought it was okay to take Gray away from Fairy Tail and away from Team Natsu whenever he wanted; yeah right. Natsu also couldn't help but be mad at Gray for going along with him either; the ice mage had other obligations after all.
After Lyon had finally left from his last visit, Natsu thought that Gray would go back to normal and they could start going on missions together again; only to realize that the ice bastard was planning to go visit Lyon at Lamia Scale sometime in the near future. And now there was the matter of Makoto; the boy that they were supposed to be taking care of.
"Hey Natsu!"
The pinkette was pulled out of his thoughts by Lucy and Happy coming towards him. He tried to smile at them, but he was sure that they could tell that it was forced. He waited for the two to sit beside him and then shifted his gaze to look over Gray and Makoto as they lay on their backs and looked up at the sky.
"Natsu?" Happy's voice chirped in his ear, "Why aren't you playing with Gray and Makoto; they look like their having fun."
He scowled and crossed his arms,
"Then why don't you go play with them?"
"OKAY!" Happy cheered without hesitation as he flew down to the others; the brat was even stealing the Exceed away from him, that's perfect.
Natsu watched as Happy landed on top of Gray's head and stared down at Makoto who was looking up at him in awe. With his sharp hearing he knew that the boy was asking Happy if he could pet him and maybe tell him how he was able to fly like that. He tuned them out and returned to his brooding; this was really bothering him, Natsu Dragneel didn't brood! That was Gray's job not his!
"So," Lucy began hesitantly from beside him, "Are you going to tell me why you're glaring at Makoto like he destroyed Fairy Tail?"
"Maybe that's because he did," Natsu buried his face in his muffler, "I don't like change and he's changing everything."
The celestial mage went silent and stared at the other three next to the river. When he thought that she wasn't going to say anymore, she sighed and leaned against Natsu's shoulder. Lucy smiled softly,
"You know, I never thought that Gray would be so good with kids."
Natsu scoffed under his breath,
"Yeah, that's double for me."
Lucy twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers,
"I've never seen him smile so much either; it's definitely strange to see him being so happy, no matter how macabre that sounds."
The pinkette sighed through his nose and finally glanced at his friend,
"What are you trying to get at Lucy?"
"I'm just saying that you should be happy that Gray's happy," The blonde smiled brightly, "And stop being so jealous of a kid it's almost painful to watch."
Natsu flinched at her accusation, but couldn't find the ability to refute it. As he watched Gray, Happy and Makoto playing again he realized that was exactly his problem. And he wasn't only jealous of Makoto, he was probably jealous of Lyon too. Since when did he care about what Gray did with his time anyway? When did he start getting jealous of other people having Gray's attention? His shoulders slumped as he noticed the reason why the guild hall has been nearly destroyed for the past four days; he was trying to get Gray to pay attention to him.
"Shit," Natsu clenched his fists, "What the hell is wrong with me?"
Lucy giggled causing him to look at her again,
"You care about Gray that's all; it's nothing to be afraid of, especially since I know that he feels the same way about you too."
"That's a laugh," Natsu snorted, "As if the ice princess would feel anything for me other than hate; that's just the way we are."
"I don't know," Lucy sung teasingly as she winked, "You guys have always 'had a special bond'."
He fought back the urge to tell her not make his relationship with Gray sound dirty when he realized that she was saying what Happy said to him on Tenrou Island when they were trying to figure out how Gray was doing in the battle. He thought back to that day and he realized that even then he had felt something for Gray; it wasn't quite like what he was feeling now, but it was something.
"But," Natsu stared at her incredulously, "What am I supposed to do about this?"
Lucy looked at him thoughtfully for a moment,
"How about you try being yourself; that always helps."
FTFTFTFT
Natsu found himself staring up at the ceiling as he lay in bed that night.
After the exhausting day, Gray had managed to pass out long before him and he was pleasantly surprised to find that the ice mage had once again migrated from his side of the bed and resumed the position he was in the night before. Natsu had to resist the urge to run his fingers through the raven hair that tickled the underside of his chin; if Gray woke up to him doing something like that, things probably wouldn't end very well.
His mind couldn't stop thinking about the revelation he made that day with Lucy. He never thought about it, but he really did like Gray; like more than he probably should. If it was any other person, he would tell them about it right away because that was the type of person he was; he never did anything half-assed. But with Gray, everything was tossed out the window. The ice mage being male wasn't the problem of course; the problem was that he didn't know if Gray felt anything for him other than hate. Then there was the fact that he'd been a bit of an ass since Makoto had come into their lives.
God, he felt like a horrible human being.
He closed his eyes in an attempt to get him to fall asleep when his ears picked up the sound of footsteps coming from down the hallway. He turned his head towards the barely opened door and tilted his head slightly when he noticed that it was Makoto. The sandy haired boy was clasping onto the doorframe and he could tell from where he was lying that Makoto was quivering.
"Makoto," Natsu whispered out to him, "Are you okay?"
The green eyed boy swallowed,
"I'm sorry to bother you Natsu-san…but…I had a bad dream."
Natsu frowned at the boy in sympathy; nightmares weren't fun. He used to get them a lot after Igneel left him. He carefully, not like him at all, shifted Gray off of him and laid the ice mage's head on the pillow. He held his hand out to the boy and motioned for him to come over; even though he probably couldn't see it in the darkness of the room.
"Come here; we can talk about it if you want or we can just lie here…"
He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when the sound of Makoto running across the room reached his ears. The bed dipped a little, barely at all, under the boy's weight and Natsu felt Makoto crawl up to him so that he was lying in between the Natsu and the slumbering ice mage. Natsu lay back down and positioned himself on his side so that he could look into Makoto's face if the boy wanted to talk to him.
"Is…is Gray-chan still asleep?" Makoto whispered.
"Yup," Natsu smiled through his voice, "Once he's asleep, he can sleep through practically anything; so you don't have to worry about waking him up."
"Okay," Makoto nodded his head in relief, "That's good, I don't want to make Gray-chan sad."
"You don't have to worry about that," Natsu tapped his nose, "You make Gray-chan very happy and that makes me very happy."
Makoto seemed to relax,
"Really? That makes me really glad."
Natsu smiled at the boy's happiness and innocence and he couldn't help but hate himself a little for the way that he treated Makoto. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Makoto's body press against his own; his head pressed up against his chest like Gray's was only moments ago.
"You're so warm Natsu-san," He whispered, "And Gray-chan is so cold; I can see why Gray-chan likes sleeping beside you Natsu-san; it feels so nice."
The dragon slayer stored that comment into the back of his mind for later and pulled the boy closer to him. He felt Gray shift from the other side of Makoto and was faintly aware of the ice mage embracing the boy in his sleep. Natsu himself started to feel sleep latching onto him when he felt Makoto's hand grip onto the front of his shirt.
"Natsu-san," He sniffled suddenly, "Have you ever seen a monster before?"
The pinkette found his eyes snapping open at the frightened question,
"I've seen a few…why are you asking?"
Makoto was silent for a few moments; so silent that Natsu thought that he had fallen asleep despite his question, when the boy's soft voice reached his ears once more.
"A monster showed up at my home and my mama and papa are gone now," He buried his nose against Natsu chest, "That's what Granny says and I had to say goodbye to Haru-chan and the others; I don't want to be alone Natsu-san."
And that's when Natsu understood.
The morning before when he thought that Makoto reminded him of someone he knew; the green eyed boy reminded him of Gray when he had told them about what happened to his parents and his teacher; Makoto had felt the exact same pain that Gray had. He felt the ice mage shift from the other side of the bed once more and that's when he realized that Gray had actually been awake the entire time.
"Sh," Natsu hushed Makoto, "You don't need to worry about that; your friends and Granny are going to be alright."
"But," Makoto whimpered into his chest, "I'm scared."
"It's okay to be scared," He whispered, "It's only through fear that you're able to grow stronger and if you feel like you can't do it on your own, Gray-chan, me and the rest of Fairy Tail will be able to help you out."
The sandy haired boy sniffled in his chest once more before nodding his head. He was aware of Gray looking at him from over Makoto's head so he looked at the tired ice mage and gave him a tired smile. Despite his better judgement, he reached out for Gray and placed his hand on one of the ice mage's. He was sure that Gray was going to pull away and curse at him, but instead of that, the ice princess clasped his hand even tighter around Natsu's and held it close to his chest as he started to nod off to sleep. Natsu couldn't fight off his bright smile as he sandwiched Makoto's body in between his and Gray's, his hand holding onto Gray's tightly, as he drifted off to sleep.
FTFTFTFT
Two weeks had passed since Natsu and Gray had started their punishment.
And even Makarov had to admit that this wasn't the outcome that he had expected. Not only were Natsu and Gray getting along, for the most part, both of the boys had accepted Makoto as if he was their own. In fact, he had noticed some strange interaction between the two mages as they watched over the boy they were tasked with. First he noticed that Natsu was much more affectionate towards the ice mage. There were moments were Natsu would simply rest his hand on Gray's hip or brush his fingers across his Gray's arm, while the raven haired teen would actually allow him to do so.
He couldn't help but wonder if something like this had been hidden under this surface the entire time.
Then, there was the matter of Makoto himself. Since arriving at Fairy Tail, the boy had always been shy and a little distant. However, he was surprised to see that the tyke had latched onto Gray pretty quickly. During one of his conversations with the ice mage, Gray had said that he apparently reminded the boy of a friend of his back home. He had to say that he was initially worried about Natsu and the way he reacted to the boy's presence. Natsu was actually fairly distant, which was odd for the dragon slayer, but luckily that only lasted for the first day.
Makarov would go as far as to say that they acted as if they were a family; a dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. But sadly, the day that he found himself dreading had finally come. He looked up at Tsuchida as she stood in front of the guild doors; a wistful expression on her face. He knew that she was ready to bring her grandchild home, but the question was, were Natsu and Gray ready to let him go?
"Makarov," Tsuchida smiled down at him, "I really do appreciate you for taking Mako-chan in like you did."
The Master of Fairy Tail inclined his head,
"I'd like to say the pleasure was mine, but you'd probably have to say that to Natsu and Gray; they were the ones to watch over him for the past couple weeks."
"Then I shall thank them," She looked towards the guild once more, "I'd say it's time that I collect my grandson; Haru-chan and the others miss him greatly, even if Haru-chan can't exactly put it into words."
Makarov nodded in understanding and pushed the doors open. The guild was still as loud as always; but at least there were no flying tables today. As he entered Fairy Tail with Tsuchida on his heels, the guild immediately silenced. All his children's eyes were on the strange woman who had entered their domain. In fact, the silence was somewhat tense until an excited voice echoed throughout the silent guild hall.
"Granny!" Makoto cheered as he ran towards his grandmother, "You're here!"
Tsuchida smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around him,
"Hello Mako-chan, I missed you so much; how are you doing today?"
The green eyed boy smiled back,
"Good, Natsu-san and Gray-chan are going to take me to play at the park today!"
Makarov found himself smiling at the boy's excited chatter, but as he looked over at Natsu and Gray, his heart couldn't help but throb a little. Gray was half standing from his bench with his emotions playing across his pale face while Natsu sat beside him with wide eyes. He knew that this would happen; his boys had become attached…they had actually figured themselves as Makoto's parents and now they had to let him go.
"I'm sorry to tell you this Mako-chan," Tsuchida placed her hand on his head, "But we have to return back home today."
The smile that was on Makoto's face dropped slightly,
"But…I don't want to go home. I…I want to stay with Natsu-san and Gray-chan! I want to stay here with them; I like it here."
Makarov winced as he felt Chida's burning glare; yeah, she did tell him this would happen. He opened his mouth to explain to the child that he couldn't stay here only for the sound of feet to reach his ears. He looked to his left to see Natsu and Gray walking over to the upset child and grandmother. As soon as Makoto heard them coming, the boy turned away from his grandmother and ran towards the ice mage and fire dragon slayer. Gray reached down and wrapped his arms around the boy and lifted him so that Makoto rested on his hip.
"Makoto," Gray looked at the boy sadly, "No matter how much you want to or how much we want you to, you can't stay here with us."
"Gray-chan, I don't want to leave you and Natsu-san!" The boy's eyes filled with tears and his bottom lip wobbled, "I don't want Natsu-san and Gray-chan to be sad; I love Natsu-san and Gray-chan."
Makarov could tell that the normally witty ice mage didn't know how to respond to that. Suddenly, Natsu made his presence known by standing closer to Gray and placing his hand on Makoto's hair soothingly. Makoto sniffled loudly, but tried to wipe away his tears; even if more just seemed to take their place.
"Mako," Natsu smiled at the boy goofily, "Don't you miss all your friends back home? I'm sure they miss you a lot."
The boy sniffled again and buried his face into Gray's shoulder,
"Of course I miss Haru-chan, Rin-chan, Rei-chan, Nagi-chan, Sou-chan, Momo-chan and Ai-chan; but if I go then I'll miss Natsu-san and Gray-chan and…and…I might not get to see you anymore."
Makarov felt his eyes water at Makoto's proclamation and he was pretty sure that he could hear the other members of the guild sobbing silently as well (in Juvia's case not so silently). However, Gray and Natsu's eyes managed to stay dry, even though he could tell that they wanted nothing more than to breakdown into tears of their own. Makarov watched as Gray tapped Makoto's nose playfully and smiled.
"You'll see us again," Gray nuzzled the top of his head, "And even if it's a long time from now; we'll be right here."
The Master of Fairy Tail's heart nearly shattered into little bits when he saw Gray poke lightly at the front of Makoto's shirt; right where his heart was. Makoto looked down at his pale finger in surprise before he tried to smile at the ice mage.
"Do you promise?"
Gray bit his lip slightly and nodded his head,
"From this day on, now and forever more."
Makoto buried his nose into Gray's shoulder once more, but this time his sobs were much more controlled; though, the same cannot be said for the other members of Fairy Tail. Makarov watched as Natsu rubbed the boy's back soothingly and buried his nose into the boy's hair just as Gray did; but he was willing to bet that Natsu was trying to engrain Makoto's scent into his memory.
"Stop your crying Mako," Natsu whispered, "It'll be alright, we'll always be here so don't you cry, okay?"
Makarov watched as Makoto raised his head and reached for Natsu with one arm so that he could give him a hug. He noticed the way Natsu's smile nearly broke as he felt Makoto's arm wrap around his neck tightly. After a few moments, Makoto let go of the dragon slayer's neck and secured his hold around Gray's neck. Natsu glanced over at Gray and the ice mage nodded his head slightly. Like they were participating in a wake, the two mages approached Tsuchida with Makoto in their arms.
"You must be Tsuchida-san," Gray smiled weakly, "Makoto has told us a lot about you; he loves you very much."
The older woman smiled in return,
"From what I've seen today, he seems to love you and that pink haired fellow very much as well; Natsu and Gray I presume?"
Makarov observed his children's interactions with Tsuchida and he could see just how much they didn't want to give Makoto up to her. As he looked at Natsu and Gray in this very moment, they truly did look like parents. They looked like parents who were giving up their child even though they loved him with all their heart.
"I want to thank you for taking care of Mako-chan for me," She tilted her head to the side, "It's good to see that he's smiling again."
Natsu shifted slightly and touched Gray's bare waist as a form of comfort,
"We didn't do much, Mako is a great kid and for the record, he helped us smile too; so make sure his smile doesn't disappear, yeah?"
"Natsu," Makarov raised an eyebrow warningly, but he was cut off by Tsuchida's acceptance.
He watched sadly as Gray pressed his lips to Makoto's forehead and Natsu ruffled the boy's hair one last time. The ice mage gently pried Makoto's hands from around his shoulders and handed him over to Tsuchida. With a quaint bow, Tsuchida thanked them once more before she turned around and walked out of the guild hall; Makoto's green eyes never leaving Natsu and Gray as he was carried out the door…
"Don't worry," Natsu repeated solemnly…
"Just look over your shoulder," Gray continued tearfully…
"We'll be there always…" They whispered together.
Makoto waved at them as the door finally shut on their retreating figures. The guild was engulfed in dark silence as sadness started to overrun them. Although Makoto spent most of his time with Natsu and Gray, they had grown to love them too, but most of their pain stemmed from the fact that two of their own were hurting. Without a word to anyone, Natsu and Gray walked out of the guild hall; their shoulders brushing and their hands touching.
"Man," Elfman's voice broke the silence, "That was heartbreaking."
The rest of the guild mumbled in agreement when the doors were thrown open to reveal a shadow standing in the doorway. Makarov smiled softly as Erza Scarlet marched through the doors as if she owned the place. Maybe with her return from her extended mission, Natsu and Gray would be able to work passed their dark time.
FTFTFTFT
Natsu and Gray sat on the outcrop that overlooked their place by the barren river.
They were so close to each other that their shoulders and hips were touching; but Gray had comfort in knowing that. He leaned his head on Natsu's shoulder and closed his eyes as he the tears he had been fighting to keeping back had finally spilled forth. He knew that this day would come eventually; he knew that Makoto wouldn't be able to be with them forever, but that didn't stop him from wishing for it every night.
Makoto's very existence changed everything about their life. Without Makoto, they wouldn't have gotten their heads out of their asses and realized that they not only needed him, but each other. He choked back a sob when Natsu buried his nose in Gray's hair and inhaled deeply. Their lives were going to be so quiet that Makoto was gone…well as quiet as they could be with them being Fairy Tail wizard.
"The bond between us can't be broken," Natsu whispered, "Even though he isn't here anymore, I won't leave your side."
Gray nodded his head and grimaced at the sound of tears in Natsu's voice,
"I won't either."
The wind whipped around them causing the smell of sweet grass and dirt to fill their senses. If they closed their eyes, they could almost see Makoto running around and playing. They could see Makoto laughing and cheering. They could see Makoto being happy. Gray reached out his hand and twined his and Natsu's pinkies together.
"He'll be in our heart…"
Natsu pressed a light kiss to Gray's temple,
"Always."
THE END
First of all, HAPPY BELATED FOURTH OF JULY MINNA!
Second, you are all about to hear my sob story as I apologize for the fact that this was not up yesterday like it should've been. I was just finishing up writing this super long prompt (thank you Rewinsan!) when the power flickered in my house and I. LOST. EVERYTHING! . I almost died guys and I felt so bad that I still wasn't able to finish it until today! I'm sorry if I disappointed you guys!
Third, as I previously mentioned this prompt was submitted to me by Rewinsan! :D It's freaking long, I know, but I just couldn't resist myself! Seriously, I'm contemplating on making this a legitimate multichapter fic at some point because there were so many things that I could've expanded on. As for the Free! characters being involved, I hope you don't mind…I watched the dub of Free! for the first time and while the 1st episode made me panic because it was nothing like I thought it would be, the 2nd totally won me over…
Makoto saying Haru swims like a boss probably helped with that XD oh Funimation lol
But, I digress…I hope you guys enjoyed this prompt if you guys actually manage to find the time to get through it! :P I'm looking forward your reviews! :)
Oh… and I own Tsuchida…well this character…the name was just a random one I remembered from Kuroko's Basketball…sports anime I tell ya!
-sktrgrl
I'd like to send a huge thank you to those who reviewed/favourited/followed! You guys are all amazing and the faith you all put in me makes my day just a little bit brighter :)
EternalFlame401, Crystal. Ice. DS, AsDarknessSpreads, AUehara and uzukun89 I want to thank you for your comments! Your praise and criticism makes me a better writer, so thank you so much for all your support! I hope you like this one…even if it's late :'(
