Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail… damnit :(

Warnings: Yaoi

Gray was getting extremely tired of sitting in the infirmary for days on end. If it weren't for Natsu and his other friends coming to visit him hours on end, he probably would've gone insane a long time ago. He sighed impatiently and turned his attention to the snow that was falling outside. He would give anything to run into the snow, strip off his clothes (much to his guild mates' displeasure) and have a massive snowball war with the flame bastard and the rest of the guild. However, before Gray could even contemplate doing any of that he had to let his abdomen finish healing from the emergency surgery, get his six pack back and make sure his sons were potty trained; this was going to be a long couple years.

Gray strained his ears to see if anyone was coming towards the infirmary to check on him before he climbed out of bed. His legs were still a little shaky from the lack of use over the past couple weeks, but no one was going to stop him from seeing his sons. Using the bed as support, the raven walked, more or less stumbled, to the cribs at the base of his bed. When he reached his destination, he lowered himself into the chair that had been placed there for his use. He gazed into the magically sealed cribs and couldn't help but smile at the sleeping faces of the twins. The youngest was moving his legs fitfully, but remained deep asleep; the oldest, however, was completely still and at peace.

The ice mage's mind wandered to when they finally decided on the names of the babies. After two weeks of the babies being referred to 'little Gray' and 'little Natsu' (Lucy's doing most likely) the lovers decided that the babies should finally get their own names. Before the babies were born, the two had come up with a list of names, but for some reason the names on the list didn't seem very fitting anymore. While Gray had been asleep over the two weeks, the babies had already started to develop their own distinguishable personalities; so the ice mage wanted their names to have special meanings…

FLASH BACK

Lucy, Loke, Erza, Gajeel and Wendy were gathered around Natsu and Gray as they held their babies. Everyone feared that the lovers would never get to experience this moment together, but now that they have, they had all come to agreement that it was the most beautiful sight that they had ever seen. The fire dragon slayer and the ice mage were already in a sense a family, but with the additions of the unnamed twins, they looked complete. The youngest son was being held in the ice mage's arms; his wide deep blue eyes were staring up at Gray in interest. He reached up his little hand and grabbed a hold of the silver chain that hung around his neck. Gray lurched forward slightly from the sudden tug, but smiled when he realized what it was. Natsu on the other hand was holding onto the pink haired twin; the oldest was calm and was just looking at his Daddy observantly, as if waiting for him to do something.

"Natsu," Gray began after a while, "You haven't named them yet, have you?"

"No," Natsu snorted, "There's no way I could've done it without you; probably would've frozen my balls then castrate me if I did."

The raven pretended to contemplate the thought,

"I don't know, I'd probably come up with something much worse."

"Wouldn't put it past you." Natsu laughed along with their friends standing around them.

"Have you guys made a list of names or anything?" Erza asked curiously.

"Yeah, a pretty big one too, but I don't think any of them would fit the twins…" Gray said thoughtfully, "What do you think Natsu?"

Natsu nodded and gazed down at his pink haired son thoughtfully. The deep blue eyes stared back as if he was following the conversation that was happening around him. He lifted a pudgy hand and reached for his Papa. The dragon slayer pouted at the gesture while Gajeel just chuckled. Natsu shifted the pink haired twin in his arms so that he could trade with Gray, but the raven haired twin refused to let go of Gray's chain.

"Haha, looks like they both want you." Natsu teased lightly, "Mornings are going to be hell for you."

The raven glared at his lover,

"I am NOT getting up to take care of them by myself, so you can forget it."

Natsu leaned over to press his lips against Gray's temple when something tugged on his scarf lightly. He shifted his gaze down and laughed when he saw that the raven twin's hand had transferred from Gray's chain to his scarf. Gray and Natsu carefully traded the twins and settled back down. The raven twin snuggled into Natsu's constant warmth and let his deep blue eyes drift closed. He turned his head and noticed that the young pinkette had curled into Gray's arms and fallen asleep as well. Natsu and Gray stared at their babies lovingly for a moment before Wendy's quiet laugh brought them back to Earthland.

"What's up Wendy?" The dragon slayer wondered curiously.

"It's just that their magic hasn't even fully awakened yet, but they already know what they need." Wendy giggled, "Well Pinky-chan knows what he needs anyway."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well if remember, Pinky-chan always seems to be kind of restless when he's with Natsu-kun. He doesn't throw a fit or anything, but when he's sleepy he tends to reach for Gray-kun. It's because he's a fire mage like his Dad; he gets overheated when he cuddles with Natsu for too long."

The four mages contemplated Wendy's explanation and noticed that she was absolutely right. For the majority of the day, the pinkette twin liked being with Natsu, but when he started to get sleepy he would start wanting the ice mage; as soon as he would get in Gray's arms he would go to sleep.

"It seems that Pinky-chan is really clever." Erza pointed out proudly, "He's even able to trick his own brother into believing that he wants something else."

"What do you mean Erza?" Lucy inquired.

Gray laughed when he figured out what the red haired mage was getting at,

"Pinky wanted me, but Blacky wanted me too so he reached for me knowing Natsu would oblige to his wishes. By doing this Blacky got sidetracked by Natsu's scarf instead of my chain and let go willingly."

"That is one clever baby," Natsu laughed, "He even used his own Dad."

"That's not too hard," Gajeel smirked, "You're an idiot."

Natsu growled deep in his throat,

"I'm so going to kick your ass later."

"You mean you'll try."

Natsu opened his mouth to retort when Gray's voice cut him off,

"Toshiro…"

"Hmm?"

"His name," Gray nodded to the pinkette sleeping in his arms, "is Toshiro Igneel Dragneel."

The room silenced at that moment. Everyone, especially Gray, knew that Natsu was frozen on the twin's middle name. Gray could see the tears building in his lovers eyes and started to regret saying anything before warm lips pressed against his,

"I love it," Natsu whispered against his lips, "It's perfect."

"Toshiro," Loke smiled, "Japanese for the word wise; I have to agree with it being perfect that's for sure."

"It's a beautiful name Gray." Lucy smiled kindly.

"What are you going to name Blacky-chan?" Wendy said excitedly.

"I'll leave that one up to you Natsu," Gray laughed, "I named Shiro, it's your turn."

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully and stared down at the sleeping baby in his arms. The youngest had a lot of problems when he was born; he was smaller than Toshiro and had a weaker immune system. According to Porlyusica, that was normal with twins, but was also commonly seen in ice mages. The hag and Gramps were worried that 'little Gray' wasn't going to pull through. But it turned out he was just as stubborn as both his fathers and then some; everything worked out. Natsu smiled as a name finally came to mind,

"I like the name Niall; of course his full name would be Niall Lyon Dragneel."

Gray smiled at the sentiment and thought about his lover's name choice,

"Niall… I like it too, has a nice ring to it."

The ice mage and the dragon slayer shifted so that Natsu was now sitting on the bed beside Gray. The raven leaned his head on the pinkette's shoulder and smiled in contentment. He couldn't be more happy that Toshiro Igneel Dragneel and Niall Lyon Dragneel had come into their lives.

END FLASH BACK

Gray smiled happily at the memory and continued to watch Toshiro and Niall as they slept. He placed his hand on the glass that covered Niall and was about to lift it up when a familiar warm arm wrapped around his shoulders. He turned and wasn't surprised to find Natsu standing behind him staring at his sons. Natsu grabbed Gray's hand and helped him to his feet then wrapped a firm arm around Gray's waist to keep his ice mage's legs steady. The raven leaned into the pinkette and rested his head in the crook of Natsu's neck.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Natsu teased, "Erza would flip if she was the one to come up."

Gray shuddered at the thought of an angry Erza,

"Yeah, I'm glad it's you alright."

Natsu laughed and placed a kiss against Gray's temple,

"We have to get Shiro and Niall ready; Freed and Gramps are going to be up in a few minutes to seal the Core."

Gray tensed slightly at the mention of the sealing, but relaxed when he remembered that Natsu and his friends were going to be by his side. The ice mage nodded in understanding and both himself and his dragon slayer stepped forward and opened the seals that protected the cribs. As Gray reached in to pick up Niall, a sense of foreboding washed over him. He shook his head and pretended that it never happened; after all, it had to be his imagination.

FTFTFT

Natsu wasn't exaggerating when he said that Freed and Gramps were going to be up in a few moments. Natsu and Gray stood side by side, hips touching as a form of assurance, as they entered the room. Gajeel, Lucy, Erza and Loke followed them in as well in order to fulfill their duties as friends and godparents; Wendy felt it wasn't her place to attend, so she decided to wait outside the infirmary until the runes were complete. Gramps stepped forward and cleared his throat before addressing the young adults in the room,

"Alright, I just want to make sure that this is what you two really want to do. You can back out now if you want to, it's up to you."

"This is the only way they'll be safe," Gray whispered, "I don't ever want them to experience what I did and this is the only way to make sure they never have to."

"I'm with Gray all the way on this Gramps; we just want them to be happy."

Makarov smiled softly at the strength that the two men before him possessed. Not many people have dealt with what they have and come out intact. Of course, this only happened because they had each other; they didn't let anything separate them. Even now, they were going to protect each other to the end; he couldn't be more proud of his two children.

"Freed," Makarov turned to the green haired mage, "It's time."

Freed nodded in understanding and approached his nakama without hesitation. He kept eye contact with the two mages as he spoke,

"The casting is pretty simple, I need to perform the runes on them simultaneously due to the fact that they each possess half the core," Gray and Natsu nodded in understanding, "Can you lay them on the bed so I can begin?"

Gray and Natsu hesitantly laid Niall and Shiro on the bed side by side. The twins reached out to each other so that their pudgy hands now clung to each other. The lovers quickly kissed their sons' foreheads and stepped away from the bed. Natsu stood behind Gray and wrapped his arms around Gray's waist in a backwards hug. The raven leaned into the contact and tried to supress the worries that continued to plague him since he heard Freed and Gramps were heading up. He was dragged out of his thoughts by the presence of his friends standing around them as a wall of support; Gajeel even seemed genuinely worried. Freed placed his hands over the twins and magic circles immediately formed above them. After a few moments nothing seemed to be happening, but then Gray lost complete feeling in his body. He looked down at his arms and he saw that the golden aura that normally formed around him when the Core activated was beginning to pulse around him.

"N-Natsu…"

The dragon slayer seemed to finally clue in to what was happening right in front of him. He hastily whipped Gray around so that they were looking each other in the eye; a kaleidoscope of colours was beginning to surface. The lovers turned to the babies on the bed and noticed that the Core was activating for them too.

"Freed stop, the Cores are…"

Before the words could leave Gray's mouth, the runes over Shiro and Niall exploded sending everyone in the room flying backwards except for the bearers of the Core of Magic. When the runes exploded, so did the Core, showering the Fairy Tail guild hall with the seven Elements of Magic. Gray fell to his knees from the use of power, but Natsu had his arms around him before his head could even touch the ground.

"N-Niall," Gray coughed, "T-Toshiro… are they okay?! Natsu go check on them please!"

Natsu handed Gray's exhausted body over to Gajeel and Loke who had moved to stand beside them. Erza and Lucy ran over to Gramps and Freed to see if they were alright. Natsu nearly tripped over his own feet when he reached the bed, but was relieved to see that the babies were wide awake and very alert; maybe a little confused.

"They're okay," Natsu sighed in relief.

"W-What happened?!" Lucy cleared her throat, "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"It was my Core of Magic," Gray rasped, "I don't think it was too fond of Freed trying to seal up its descendants."

Suddenly, the door burst open and Wendy, followed by Mira and Elfman ran into the room. They looked confused, terrified and ready to kick ass, which wasn't always a good thing.

"What's going on Mira?" Gramps demanded.

"The Council knows," Mira whispered as tears gathered in her eyes, "And they're on their way here to arrest Gray for treason and take Toshiro and Niall into their custody."

Everyone in the room froze; no one spoke, no one moved and no one breathed. They all just stared at Mira like she had just said the sky was falling. Natsu was the first to snap out of it; he gathered his sons in his arms and sat beside Gray once more, his ice mage was on the verge of having a panic attack.

"Everything's going to be okay," Natsu whispered, "We'll fight…"

"No." Gray's voice broke.

"What do you mean 'no'?!" Natsu roared causing Gray to flinch slightly.

"I'm not going to be the reason Fairy Tail gets disbanded," Gray whispered, "I refuse to let that happen."

"Well I'm not going to let you turn yourself in either!" The dragon slayer argued.

Gray reached out and pulled Niall into his arms. He stared down into the pools of deep blue and then looked at everyone in the room; Wendy, Gramps, Freed, Mira, Elfman, Erza, Loke, Lucy, Gajeel and finally, the light of his existence, Natsu. He closed his eyes and tears started to roll down his cheeks. He felt Natsu's warm hand on his cheek, his thumb trying to wipe away all his tears. Gray opened his eyes and looked into the sea of onyx sitting before him. A quiet conversation seemed to pass between them that only they could understand.

"I'm going to leave Magnolia," Gray whispered, "And I'm going to take Niall with me."

The room was shocked into further silence and was even more surprised when Natsu nodded his head in understanding,

"I may not like it, but it's probably the only way."

Natsu helped Gray to his feet and wrapped his arm around the lean waist. The ice mage turned to Makarov,

"I'm sorry Gramps, but I'm going to have to leave the guild."

"NO!" Erza cried, "Gray, you can't this is your home."

"Erza's right, I'm not letting you leave the guild." Makarov denied.

"But…"

"Fairy Tail will be waiting for your return Gray Fullbuster," Makarov continued, "We will see you again and you will rejoin your family."

More tears rolled down Gray's cheeks as his friends pulled him into a tight group hug. He tried to return each and every group hug to his best ability. Finally, he turned to Natsu who was watching him, trying to hold back tears of his own. Gray handed Niall to Erza and Gajeel before taking Toshiro out of Natsu's arms. Toshiro snuggled against Gray's natural cold aura as he placed a kiss on the smooth, tanned forehead. He ran his hand through the tuff of pink hair affectionately as he spoke to his son,

"Shiro, be good for your Daddy and do as he says. I'm so sorry, that I'll be leaving, but I want you to know that this isn't what I wanted. I will come back to you one day; both me and Niall and then we can be a family again. Be strong my little flame thrower and grow to be an even better man than both your father and I combined."

Gray noticed that Natsu had moved to Niall and was saying goodbye as well. Gray wanted to collapse from everything that was happening, but he knew he had to stay strong. After a few moments, Natsu handed Niall back to Erza and Gajeel, while Gray handed Toshiro to Loke and Lucy. The two lovers walked up to each other slowly; prolonging their goodbye as long as they could. When they reached each other, Gray placed his hands in Natsu's committing his warmth to memory; he knew that his dragon slayer was doing the same for his cold.

"Please wait for me," Gray's voice cracked, "I know it's a lot to ask but…"

"Marry me." Natsu interrupted.

"W-What?!" Gray choked.

"Promise me that when you come back home, you'll marry me right here in this guild hall." Natsu whispered, "Promise me that your love for me will never change, promise me that you'll think of me every day and promise me that you'll tell Niall about his Daddy like I'll tell Shiro about his Papa."

Gray's lip trembled as he tried to hold in his tears,

"I promise you everything Natsu. I'll marry you when I come home and Niall will know how much his Daddy loved him and wanted to be with him. He'll know how brave his Daddy was and how his Papa loved him very much and never wanted to let him go. I promise that we will meet again Natsu Dragneel; I could never leave you for very long without having to come back."

Gray wrapped his arms around his mate's neck and buried his face into the warm shoulder as warm wrapped around his waist once more. Natsu kissed the top of Gray's head, then the tip of his nose and then the lips. The last bit of magic shared between them for who knows how many years they would spend separated. The kiss was electrifying, salty and life absorbing; they both knew this kiss was the final promise… the promise that they would see each other again. Natsu rested his head against his love's, feeling Gray's minty scent one last time.

"I love you Gray," Natsu sobbed, "Please come back to me."

"I will; I won't ever leave you alone," Gray cried, "I'll always come back to you, I love you almost as much as my own existence."

With one last kiss, the lovers separated. Natsu held onto his ice mage's hand as they walked over to the twins. Gray raised his shaky arms and Erza placed Niall into his arms; tears cascading down her face. The ice mage glanced at each teary eyed member of his family before giving them all one last hug,

"Be safe," Gray smiled sadly, "Make sure Natsu and Shiro don't cause too much trouble and don't go overboard too much… actually… I lied, go overboard so I can read about it."

His friends laughed and smiled at him through their tears. He walked away from them and stood at the far end of the infirmary. A colourful magic circle instantaneously appeared at the base of his feet and the golden aura covered his skin once more. His raven hair turned a pure white and his blue eyes changed into every colour of the elements. A warm, electrifying wind whipped around him while the smell of grass and metal entered his senses. He could hear the water in the distance and could feel the cold snow on his skin. His eyes met Natsu's one final time before Niall and he were whisked away from Magnolia, from their life, for an undetermined amount of time.

TBC

Don't hate me… don't kill me… im sorry… im sorry… im sorry… im so so sorry! Please keep reading, I promise it's going to get better, that's why it says TBC and not THE END. Despite the fact that I might be going to an early grave, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was definitely one of the hardest things for me to write even though I've been preparing myself for this moment for a long time. I'm looking forward to you reviews :')

-sktrgrl