WARNING: This takes place during the present time. NOT THE PAST.

NORMAL POV

Sometimes the best thing you can do is cry. To just let it all out. To let your guard down. Not for him. The pink haired teen had been up all night. It was mainly to make sure that his girlfriend would fall asleep. She had been crying ever since she left the hospital. Seeing Gray in the hospital bed just broke her. She had known Gray her whole life. If something would ever happen to him, she wouldn't know what to do. Natsu had been trying to help ever since they came back home with Layla. Silver made it clear that he would stay all night at the hospital with his son. That did make Lucy feel a bit better. Just knowing that one of Gray's family members will be there with him, made her feel just a bit better.

Of course it was a rough night for both of them. Lucy had been crying non-stop, which made Natsu even more worried. He was already scared enough as it is. Being in High School and having your girlfriend be pregnant already put so much on you. Then having your best friend in the hospital made it so much worse. It was a huge bump in the road that neither of them could go over.

The night had been full of crying, and sadness. Natsu couldn't make her tears stop, she just kept crying and crying. He always hated to see her cry. He always cheered her up when she did, but this time it was different. No one made fun of her, she didn't get hurt, and she didn't remember something sad. He couldn't fix it this time. That was all up to Gray. All he could do was comfort her while she cried. He did everything he could, but he didn't feel like he did anything. She was still sad, still lost. All he did was hold her close until she cried herself to sleep. That's all he could have done. It makes him feel weak.

For him this was just all one big nightmare… He wanted to believe that Gray would wake up and come back, but could that really happen? He hated seeing his best friend on the bed with wires wrapped around him… He HATED IT. Natsu wanted so badly for this nightmare to end. He wished he could close his eyes and wake up the next morning forgetting what had happened. You don't know how much he wishes to wake up and see Gray down stairs eating food. He misses his best friend. They might have fought a lot, but Gray was so much more than a friend to him… Gray was like his brother.

"You want us to do WHAT?!" The two boys shouted at the top of their lungs. They couldn't be hearing this right… This old man has lost his mind. He merrily flinched hearing the high-pitch voices screaming at him. He knew that the truth was hard to hear, but still there over reacting.

"You heard me ya' damn brats. Natsu has an amazing arm and Gray is the best Cather on the team. If I put ya' two together… This team will be unstoppable." Coach Gildarts stated smirking at his plan as he patted himself on the back.

"But Sensei… Natsu and Gray don't quit get along too well." The boy quickly shut his mouth as Gildarts shout a glare his way. "NONSENSE!" Gildarts shouted to no one in particular as he had thought of this problem before. Natsu and Gray only gulped as they saw Gildarts smirk. Whatever this man was thinking… Had to be something bad for them.

"That's why I'm forcing them to work together." He added with a wide smirk. The two boys couldn't believe how weird their baseball coach is. "Natsu, Gray you both have got one week to connect!" He demanded.

"Connect?" They asked confused. Sometimes they question their coach's sanity.

"Ya'll have one week to be able to become partners… You practice together, hang out together, do whatever you can to build yourself as partners. I need you two to trust each other. I need a pitcher and a catcher who can work in sink for this to work." Natsu and Gray stood their frozen… Gildarts wants them to work together?

"WHAT?!" They both shout at the same time. Gray stepped forward towards Gildarts as if he had been having a nightmare.

"Coach you can't honestly suggest that Dragneel and I work together?" Gray asked almost as if hinting that this couldn't be real. Him… Work with Dragneel… It was like a horrible nightmare. Who would want to work with a pink hair loner? Gray only stood in shock as his coach only seemed to nod in agreement.

"You've got to be kidding me! He thinks home-plate is 1st base!" A tick mark appeared on Natsu's forehead.

"Well at least I'm not a cold hearted player that only cares about himself!" Gray gritted his teeth in anger. Who is he calling a cold hearted player?!

"Well at least I'm not a hot-head that gets mad bout' everything!" Right before Natsu and Gray both could leap at each other Gildarts had to grab them both by the back of their shirts. These boys… He didn't understand. Why are they fighting? He can even see it… They both had a hard life, but they both choose to push others away. Why? Gildarts didn't understand… They both seemed to similar. Why aren't they getting along? He sighed.

Guess he'll just have to resort to another measure... Force them to get along.

"That's it! You two are going to get along weather you like it or not! You have one week. If ya both fail… You are no longer a part of this team!" Natsu and Gray couldn't begin to even explain how stupid this was. They both huffed and shot their heads in different directions.

Neither of them knew at the time... This was a start to bring them both not only to a strong friendship… But it brought together as brothers.

-X-

The Raven haired boy couldn't do anything but grumble as he made his way down the lunch line. "Stupid Gildarts… This is stupid." He hated having to hang out with the hot-headed pink haired boy. He didn't want to be hanging around someone whose Father killed his mother. He didn't want to be around a son's criminal. Heck, he didn't even want to be around any in general.

He knew the stories of the Dragneel boy his was nothing more than a son's criminal to Gray. Heck, Gray had better things to do then hang out with the pink haired loser. What didn't help him at all was that his step-sister was friends with the loser. For some unknown reason they were friends. Which Gray HATED. He hates having to walk home with the boy and seeing him at his house. Yet, worst of all is that he has to play baseball with him. His life couldn't get any worse.

Yet, he had to live with it. If he wanted to be on the team he needed to be able to work with the loser. He'd do anything to play baseball. Even if he has to hang out with a criminal's son.

"Where is he anyway?" Gray mumbled as he looked out into the court yard. He could see his step-sister hanging out with some of her girlfriends. He saw her smile and wave towards his way, which he only did in return. He didn't get along with Lucy at first but after a while… She did warm up to him. Her friends were even pretty nice. He was glad to see that she was getting along with everyone. Not that he was worried for her. She such a nice kind girl. He just worried about the people like Dragneel being her friend. Unfortunately for him, Dragneel and his sister's relationship was very strong.

Gray sighed as he now just realized where Dragneel was… Sitting on top of the hill under the tree. Why didn't he think of it before? He always sees him during lunch time under the tree all alone. As Gray got closer to the tree he could clearly see the boy lying down with that weird white scarf covering his eyes.

"Why do you always come all the way over here?" Gray almost hissed out. He was annoyed that he HAD to sit with Dragneel in the first place.

"Ya' don't need to hang out with me in the first place." Natsu hissed back from the ground. Gray only glared at him… Dragneel was lucky that he couldn't see the face Gray was giving him.

"Don't you remember? Coach demanded that we hang out… Besides they are other kids on the team in this school that were told to 'spy' on us." Gray quoted as he sat down in the shade but left some distance between him and Dragneel.

"How could I forget when you keep grumbling about it?" Natsu quoted back. Gray sent the pink haired boy another glare, but soon rolled his eyes from the comment. This is how it had been for a couple days. They just sit together and not talk. Gray didn't mind it, the less talking the better it was. Yet, something caught Gray's eye this time… Usually the boy had always had a lunch on the ground next to him, but this time was different.

"Aren't you going to eat lunch?" Gray asked breaking the silence.

"What are you my mom?" The pink haired boy chuckled back. Gray's eye brow twitched.

"No, but you still should eat." Gray pointed out. He was confused. Why was he acting like he almost cared?

"Gee… Thanks, but I don't have any money." He spoke slowly. "Not every kid has parents to lend them money." It was silent for the next few minutes. Gray hadn't spoken a word after that. How did Dragneel say that with no emotion behind it? He didn't know why he was doing this, but he picked up the apple off his plate and tossed it at the boy.

Natsu slowly sat up feeling something land on his stomach. It didn't hurt him at all, but it felt weird to him. His eye's widened for a split second looking at the bright red apple in his hands. Gray had given this too him? Why? Didn't he hate him?

"What's this for?" Natsu asked as he held the apple in his hand. He could clearly see Gray roll his eyes, but he chooses to ignore it and wait for an answer.

"What do you think it's for stupid? You said you had no money for lunch, and I couldn't let you slow me down during practice tonight because you didn't eat any food… So this was my compromise." Gray added like it was the easiest thing to say in the world. Natsu's eyes widened a bit after hearing that. Is what Gray said true? Did he really mean it?

"You also never answered my question." Natsu just stared at Gray with a confused look. What was he talking about? "Why do you always come up here?" Natsu sat there in shock. What was Gray trying to get out of him today? What was his goal? First he gives him food and now he's actually talking to him? This doesn't seem right.

"Why you so talkative today?" Natsu asked bluntly. Natsu only watched as Gray seem to freeze in his spot. Had he been communicating with Dragneel? What was happening to him? It had to be with the mission Gildarts both gave them… Yeah that was it!

Right as Natsu was about to bit a piece of the apple off Gray spoke up. "Well… We need to talk in order to get along and stay on the team." Natsu froze in midair before sinking his teeth into the apple. "Besides Gildarts told us to get to know each other better. If we work together then we both can stay on the time. It's not like we want to work with each other anyway." Gray blankly stated.

"That's it then, huh?" Gray slowly looked up to see Dragneel sitting in front of him. "How could I think otherwise…" Natsu mumbled. He didn't know that Gray had heard that last little part. Natsu didn't know why but it felt as if sadness had surround him, because yet again someone didn't even want to be his friend.

Gray only watched as Dragneel stood up slowly and tossed the apple back towards him. Gray only watched as Dragneel slowly wrapped the scarf around his neck and started heading back down towards the court yard. Gray quickly stood up and gathered his stuff before running after the boy.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Gray shouted as he quickly grabbed Dragneel's shoulder and twisted him around. Natsu only growled at the feeling of someone pulling him back, but right as he saw Gray his anger filled him.

"Nowhere with you…" Gray looked at him confused. Weren't they sort of getting along a second ago? What had happened?

"Gildarts said that-"

"Gildarts said this! Gildarts said that!" Natsu mocked in Gray's voice as he looked at Gray right in the eyes. "Guess what! I don't care what Gildarts thinks… He's stupid if he thinks that I can get along with someone like you!" Natsu spat out. Gray was taken back by that statement. What the hell had just happened to the boy in front of him? Why was he acting like this? Just as Natsu turned around, Gray had pulled him back by his scarf.

"Do you think it's easy to hang out with someone like you?!" Gray snapped back holding onto the scarf. Natsu glared back dangerously.

"Let. Go. Of. My. Scarf." Natsu his dangerously. Gray only smirked in return.

"You know why no one wants to be your friend? It's because your nothing but a loser who has a murder as a Father." Gray spat right in front of Natsu's face.

"You think you so funny don't you?" Natsu mumbled. "You think that just because your cool no one will bother you. You know what your probably is?" Natsu hissed out. Gray only glared right into those charcoal eyes of his. "You push everyone away. You have this perfect idea, and you don't let in any room for others. You think that your SOOO much better…. You act like a cool person, but in reality your nothing but a cold heart jerk. No one wants to be your friend… because your nothing more than an ass who only cares about himself." A tick mark appeared on Gray's forehead. There was no way that he could deal with this boy any more.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings? If you had any… Because let's face it, you're going to be just like your Father one day. All you'll be is a killer. You and your Father can both be locked behind bars together… Just like Father. And. Son." Natsu's eye narrowed with anger.

"You. Know. Nothing. About. My. Father."

"Oh! I'm sorry! Did I miss a detail about how your Father's a murder?" Gray questioned. Before anything else could be said Natsu had lunged at Gray with full force.

The two of them rolled on the ground bunch, scratching and yelling. It didn't last that long as a bunch of students surrounded them shouting the words 'Fight' over and over again. It took a minute until then for the fight to actually end. Lucy and her friends had sprung into action and forced them apart.

"What is the matter with you two?" Lucy shouted as she broke into the circle. She looked between her friend and brother. She knew they didn't seem to get along, but this was totally out of control. She could see that they were both a bit scratched and bruised. Why would they resort to this? What had happened?

"Nothing… Just showing this punk how to shut the hell up." Gray hissed out as he tried to jump onto Natsu again, but a white haired girl had to hold him back. While a red haired girl had to hold back Natsu from spring on Gray. Lucy looked completely shocked. That was the first time she had ever heard Gray swear.

"I'll gladly shut the hell up once you admit that your wrong!" Natsu shouted as he tried to at least kick Gray in the shin. Yet, the red haired girl heled him back from doing so. He was confused… How can a girl be this strong?

"Wrong?" Lucy questioned as she looked at Gray. He only glared towards Natsu with… Hatred? She had never seen Gray EVER give someone that look. "What did you say?" Lucy asked as she could also see Natsu's anger forming.

"He talked about how my Father killed someone! When that didn't happen!" Natsu shouted as if shouting it out to all the world. Lucy stood there in shock. She knew how much Igneel meant to Natsu. Natsu had also told her that he hates the blame his Father gets. It must kill him inside to have someone talk about his Father like that.

"At least my Father loved my Mother… My Father didn't kill me Mother!" Gray snapped. Lucy gasped in shock… Gray would never say something like this. Not ever. She could practically hear Natsu growling in anger.

"At least I have a friend unlike you! Ya' cold hearted Ice freak! I wasn't the one that pushed my own sister away because I couldn't get over the death of my Mother! At least I wasn't a wimp unlike you! Who cried and still cries over his dead Mother." Natsu spat.

"Will both of you knock it off!" Lucy screamed causing them both to snap out of their glaring tension. They only stood there in shock as they saw the look on Lucy's face. They both froze as the saw tears form in her eyes. "What is wrong with you guys? I thought you were just starting to become friends. I thought that I could finally hang out with two of my closest friends together." She added as a tear dropped down her cheek. She merrily whipped it off and continued.

"Look at you two… Why must you say such horrible things? Why must you fight like this?" Lucy asked them both. "Why do you both have to look at the horrible things that happened?" Lucy asked. "You both had two amazing parents that loved you so much… Why should you try to dig any deeper than that? Why think about the bad when you both had so much good?" Lucy asked.

"I love to have to have two parents that loved me as much as you did."

Gray and Natsu's eyes widened. They both didn't get along, but they knew one thing at that point.

They both fucked up.

-X-

Natsu couldn't believe what he had done. Why? Why was he so stupid? Lucy was right… At least both of his parents loved him. He can remember that. The only reason he had wanted to play baseball in the first place was because of his Mother. Yet, now he couldn't. He quit. There was no point on him getting along with Gray. They were both like Fire and Ice, complete opposites.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Natsu shouted as he kicked the rock on the ground. Why had he let his anger get the best of him? Why didn't he try a bit harder?

"Well, I'm not going to disagree with that!" Natsu would have jumped at the voice, but he could quickly tell whose voice it was coming from. He slowly grumbled as he turned his head to see Gray coming over to him with some workout clothes on. He probably just got back from his practice.

"Why are you here?" Natsu asked trying not to sound snappy. Gray tried his best not to glare back at the boy, even though it was hard not to. "Don't be too joyed to see me." Gray stated with sarcasm. Natsu only shrugged in response.

"Why weren't you at practice?" Gray asked breaking the tension in the air.

"What does it matter to you? Last time I checked we don't care about each other." Natsu stated. Gray was trying hard not to explode and snap back. This boy was being so difficult. Slowly Gray unclenched his fist and relaxed his body.

"You weren't totally wrong." Gray mumbled. It was silent for a moment. Natsu slowly turned his head meet the raven boy's face. Gray was only looking at the ground. To Natsu it seemed that he couldn't look anywhere else. "You weren't wrong about me pushing people away." Gray added. Natsu only stood there as if letting Gray continue.

"My Mother died when I was a bit younger. We had a special bond that could never be broken. I believe that we still have a special bond to this very day." Natsu's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Gray to tell him this at all. "My Mother died from some type of illness. No one could help her, or fix her. It was almost like she was cursed." Gray added. As a frown came upon his face. "Sometimes I'd wake up in the middle of the night hearing her scream and cry because she was in so much pain. The hard part was trying to help her… It's hard seeing someone you care so much about feel that much pain. Sometimes I could even hear her begging for my Father just to let her go."

Natsu couldn't believe what he was hearing. He hadn't expected Gray to tell him his Mother's story. Not what after Natsu had said to him. "One night I guess she got lucky and it was her time to go. I felt like I wasn't able to say good-bye to her. One night she was talking to me and the next morning she was gone. Sometimes I wonder it's better that she got leave… Was she free of the pain?" Gray mumbled. He didn't know why but he was having a hard time looking up from the ground. It was like looking at Dragneel right in the eyes could break him at any given moment.

"I got so caught up in my mother's death that I didn't feel I could make anything better. I didn't want to be in the same pain again… I didn't want to lose anyone else close to me." Natsu could see it now… Gray was taking down his shield. He could see the difference. His eyes were no longer Ice cold to him… It was like his Ice Shell was melting.

"I pushed everyone I cared about away. I didn't want to have another mom… I didn't want a sister. I just want my Mother back. I didn't want to feel the pain of losing someone again… You were right. I pushed everyone away and acted like a cold hearted jerk all because I didn't want to go through the same pain again."

Natsu stood there in shock. How could someone just open up like that? Why did Gray even say all of this? Last time Natsu checked Gray didn't want anything to do with him… Yet, why is he sharing this information? Wait! Why did Natsu even care in the first place? So, what if Gray talked about his Mother. It's not like it matters to him… Right?

"Here." Natsu didn't notice that Gray was digging through his pocket… But the Raven haired boy pulled out to what appeared to be an apple and tossed it Natsu's way. Natsu only caught it with a bit of a surprise ad he stared down at the apple in his hands. Something told the pink haired boy that he should say something, but he didn't know what to say.

"I thought since you didn't have lunch that you'd might be a bit hungry." Gray added like it was the easiest thing to say in the world.

"I told you that you don't need to care about my wellbeing… Besides I'm not even on the team anymore." Natsu snapped out. "So ya' can take your stupid apple back." The pink haired boy shout as he through the apple back towards the boy's way.

Gray didn't even try to catch the apple. If fact, he had been standing there frozen. Dragneel quit? He quit the team? Gray would have been jumping with joy at the statement, but it just didn't seem right. If he hated the boy… Why did he feel so sad to hear this news? Why couldn't he except this?

"You… Quit?" Gray asked confused as he pointed right at Natsu. Natsu only rose his brow in confusion. He didn't expect Gray to be acting like this… Wouldn't he be happy if Natsu was off the team? Looking at Gray he seemed only shocked and a bit scared. Why?

"Are you an idiot?!" Gray shouted. He couldn't believe what he was hearing… This boy. He didn't understand why he always does this? Seeing Dragneel in the distance the boy always seemed quite and an outcast. He could always hear warnings not to get close to him. It never mattered to Gray at the time, but it all made sense now.

He could hear Natsu say something, but his anger got the best of him. "Why?!" Gray snapped. He only took a couple steps close enough to get right in his face. "Why do you let yourself become a quitter?!" Gray snapped.

Gray remembered… Every time Natsu tried to hang out with someone they always turned him down. No one wanted to hang out with Dragneel. No one wanted to be his friend. He had been alone ever since. He could always see it happen, because he was almost like Natsu… They were both in their own way alone. No one wanted to hang out with them… No one seems to care as much.

"What?" Natsu spoke in almost a gasp.

"Every time things get too hard for you… You Quit." Gray hissed as he japed his finger into Natsu's chest. "You run away before so you don't have to fight for what you want… You're lonely. You give up because you feel as if it easier than trying…You. Are. A. Quitter."

Natsu could almost feel heat coming off of his skin. Just what the hell is Gray trying to get across? Shouldn't Gray be happy that he's not on the team anymore. That doesn't have to deal with him anymore… Yet, why is he getting mad? Why is he going off on him?

"Like you know anything about me." Natsu snapped as he hit Gray's hand away from his chest. He didn't like being touched by this person. Heck, he couldn't even stand being right by him at the moment. Quitter? He doesn't have the right to say that. He doesn't know what he's been through.

"You think it's easy having people reject you?" Natsu hissed. "Why don't you try having parents pull their kids away from you because you have a Father in jail! Why don't you try to deal with people fearing you, because they're afraid you might hurt them? Sure, I quit! What's the big deal?! It's one less parent that has to be worried about their kid hangin' around me!" Gray's eyes widened. This was how Dragneel felt about himself? Gray could feel guilt reach him as he thought about all the horrible things he might have said.

"So, what?! I quit! It's easy to run away before you have another door slammed in your face again because you have a Father in jail. You don't know me… You don't know what it's like to see someone murder your Mother right in front of you!" Natsu stopped taking a deep breath. He could feel something cold slide down his face, but he just chooses to ignore it. "You don't know what it's like having your Father being locked up for something he never did. You never had to live a life were people are afraid of you... You don't know anything about me. So what if I quit, It's not like it matters to anyone."

Natsu didn't know why he was crying, but it felt as if his emotions got the best of him. Why had he said that? Did he really feel that way about himself? Did he really not matter to anyone? All his life no one took the time to really get to know him. He was just always known as the kid 'Whose Father is in Jail'. Every time he'd go to the park everyone else would leave. No one ever gave him a second glance.

"You Idiot!" Gray snapped. Before Natsu could look at Gray he had fit a fast pain hit him right on his cheek as he fell down onto his butt. The pain tinged him on his face. He only looked up at Gray then realized that… Gray had punched him? Natsu was about to snap back but the look on Gray's face had completely shot that down.

"Your stupid to think if you matter to no one!" Gray snapped. Natsu's eyes widened. "What about Lucy? Are you two friends? Don't you hang out with her? Why would you say such things? Does your friendship with Lucy not matter to you?!" Gray snapped bluntly. "What about your parents… Don't you matter to them? What about your Father?! How could you quit like this if you have people who do indeed care about you?!"

Natsu felt like his ears were playing tricks on him. Could Gray really be saying these things to him? Didn't Gray hate his relationship with Lucy? Why is he talking like this? Why is Gray trying to make him feel better? Weren't they supposed to hate each other? Do they still hate each other?

"It doesn't matter if people run from you or fear you! There not the ones that you should care about!" Gray shouted as he slowly caught his breath. Natsu only stared up at him in shock. "Your friends and family are the ones that should only matter to you. So what, if people run from you… That just means there not worth your time. Your Father, Lucy, and m-me. Were your friends and family… You don't need to worry about us slamming the door in your face anymore." Gray added the last part as if trying to keep quite.

Natsu couldn't believe what he had just heard. Gray calling… him? His friend?

"Come on you idiot… Let's get going before night hits." Gray added holding his hand out towards the pink haired boy. Natsu didn't know what he should do… Was this just another trick again? Did Gray say those things because of the baseball team? Or did he really mean them? Last time Gray was being nice to him was because Gildarts wanted them to get along. Was that the same reason Gray was helping him now? Natsu didn't want someone to pretend to care about him… He didn't want a fake friendship.

"Hurry up or I'm going to leave you here." Gray added. Yet, it looked like Gray wasn't doing that to him. Those cold eyes that Gray use to have were gone. It was like Natsu could see the real Gray. It was almost as if everything in his mind and body was telling him to trust the Raven haired boy.

That's when both the boys felt it. Right as their hands meant it 'clicked.' They both could see it and feel it. A connection. In fact, they both weren't different at all. They seemed to have the same trust issues. They both were lonely and sad. They both knew that too. No matter how much they had fought they both knew that they weren't that much different. One was hot-headed and one had a cold shield… They almost fit perfectly for each other like a puzzle.

This Connection not only binds them as partners or friends but as brothers.

A/N:

I am so sorry for the long waited update! I wish I could tell you the reason, but I didn't really have one! All I can say is that School is over and I'm free to write as much as I want! YEAH! I made this chapter extra-long (again because I'm really sorry of the late update!) Please forgive me!

I will continue to write this story if you would like me too! Also please tell me what you think about this story so far! How do you like it?!

Please Review!

-SnowyFireFlame