Chapter 10 – Long Awaited Reply

Hotel Room, Summer Time

Year X792,

Sting Eucliffe

I sat there for a moment, listening to Natsu's explanation; my heart raced. Oddly, I felt no real stress at the pinkette's revelations, not even at the mention of his seeking consultation from Mirajane; I just sat in silence as I listened. Once Natsu was finished, I realised I could escape my feelings no longer, and with a slight, hopeless smile, I let out a sigh. "Well… I guess I couldn't hide it as well as I thought" I said, as my eyes looked to the pinkette, and his deeply questioning gaze.

"You see Natsu… I well… I… I… like… you…" I said, in the faintest voice possible, finally admitting the one thing I had tried desperately to hide for all this time. As I spoke these words, Natsu did not react, he just seemed to freeze in a quiet listening position. The silence was deafening, so much so I almost felt obligated to talk, to explain everything to my pink haired crush.

"I guess I've always liked you. At first it was just admiration for another Dragon Slayer, especially when I was a kid… however after our time at the Grand Magic Games, I found myself thinking of you a little more like… well… like a crush. And then after that whole Tartaros thing, and Fairy Tail being disbanded… and you went missing… I thought I'd never be able to find you again, or… t-tell you… well… er…" I trailed off, looking to Natsu intently, hoping and praying that he'd understand.

Still Natsu did not react.

This silent waiting lasted for a long… painfully long… amazingly painfully long moment, before the Fire Dragon Slayer finally showed any kind of reaction at all.

After all my waiting, Natsu smiled.

"Is that really what's been bothering you?" he asked in a surprisingly upbeat, and encouraging tone of voice. I looked to him with great surprise written across my face. "Just to make things super clear though, you're gay then?" Natsu asked me. I nodded, unable to speak as shock stole my coherency from me; this made Natsu chuckle slightly.

"Y-you mean… you're not…" I stammered a little without finishing what I was saying, as the Fire Dragon Slayer looked like he had more to say.

"I'm not gonna make fun of you or anything Sting" he said, with an honest glint in his eye. "I'm kinda surprised that you like me like that, however… I don't know, I guess it doesn't really surprise me" Natsu answered honestly. I went wide-eyed, before pouting.

"Was I really that obvious?" I asked, in not so much a sarcastic tone, as a defeated one; if Natsu answered yes to this, it would do nothing but make me worry about who else thought I was gay.

Natsu shook his head, however, and I relaxed, a little. "No, I don't think it's because it was obvious or anything… although, the weird way you acted in the restaurant makes more sense now" Natsu said, with a faint smirk. "But don't get any ideas, I did just think that was a normal, albeit somewhat fancy, dinner we had as friends, right?" he added. I nodded in understanding.

"It's okay, I didn't think of that like a date either" I said, in half-truthfulness. Natsu laughed openly.

"Sting, I can tell when you're lying. I've been able to since about the first week or two we worked together" the pinkette stated, tapping his nose a little to emphasise this. I blushed brightly at this new revelation. Fuck… so I really can't hide anything from him then I thought. Natsu seemed to almost read my mind as he began laughing some more, "I could tell you were hiding stuff for a while, so I did kind of worry about you, however I never thought it could have been something like this" he added amusedly. I shrugged apologetically.

"I didn't mean to worry you… I just thought you might think I was 'weird', or worse, if I told you, so I tried to keep it hidden as much as I could" I stated. Natsu nodded, however he shook his head soon after.

"It's alright, I know you didn't mean to worry me, however… did you really think I'd be like one of those homophobic idiots who goes spouting off about gay relationships being 'wrong' or 'unnatural'?" the pinkette asked me, with a slight cock of his head. I sighed as I answered him.

"I guess I did… although looking back now it kind of feels dumb. However… now that you know, I can understand if you don't want to share a room with me, and I'm okay sleeping on the floor or sofa tonight" I stated, trying to make sure Natsu really was okay with all this, as well as try to make sure the pinkette was as comfortable as possible around me; Even if I had no hope of being with him romantically I still hoped we could remain friends after all.

Natsu, on the other hand, rubbed the back of his head somewhat awkwardly. "Well, about that…" he began. I looked to him quizzically as he gazed sheepishly in my direction.

"What is it?" I asked, with a faint fluttery feeling in my chest as I awaited Natsu's response. The pinkette seemed to need a moment before he gave one.

"If I'm being honest here… I well…" Natsu began to blush a little. What is… oh… is he… hope rose in my chest quicker than I could care to push it down. "Well, Sting, the thing is… I don't really understand this all yet, but…" Natsu in took a sharp breath, before releasing it in one go, "After our job at the Theme Park, I ended up asking you all those weird questions. At the time, I had no reason to bother you with them all, however… there was something weird going on with me. I had been noticing that smell coming from you like I said, which I guess must've been the scent of your attraction or something, however… I think it began to have an effect on me as well, because… well, when I went in the shower after that, I ended up… well thinking about you… a little…" Natsu kept going pinker and pinker each time he spoke; it was all very adorable, however what made it even better was what he was trying to admit. I couldn't bring myself to interrupt Natsu, not if he was going to say what I desperately hoped he was going to say. "I guess… I could be attracted to you too Sting" Natsu finally admitted. I felt my heart do a little summersault at Natsu's confession, and I had to take a moment to let the feeling subside so that I could speak without bursting into a little pile of happiness and giggles.

When I did speak, it came out in the least manly, and most annoying way possible. "S-so… Natsu, does that mean…" I began, before Natsu held up a hand to signal for me to stop.

"I only said I thought that I could be attracted to you too Sting, not that I am sure I am yet" he corrected me. I nodded.

"So… I'm not really sure what that means…" I answered in a marginally confused tone of voice. Natsu smiled brightly at me saying this.

"Well, it's been a number of days since that Theme Park job, and I've had some time to think about it. When I went with Happy on our fishing trip, I may have admitted to him that I thought I might have a crush on someone too, although don't worry, I didn't say who. He helped me come up with an idea I think you may like" Natsu said to me, with a grin plastered over his features. I furrowed my brows confusedly at the pinkette's suggestive behaviour.

"What do you want to do, Natsu?" I asked; at this point I would probably do just about anything if it meant I could be with the pinkette.

Natsu chuckled. "How does you taking me out for a little date sound?" he mused. My eyes and smile could have gone any wider, or shone any brighter.

Sitting atop cloud nine, I grinned at the pinkette. "It sounds like an amazing idea!" I beamed happily. Natsu began laughing.

"Okay then" he chuckled, "How about tomorrow. We'll have the beach house the manager promised us on the job flyer, at least for a day. We can spend a bit of time together during the day, just relaxing and having fun, and then… at night…" he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

I nodded. "Sounds good… although I might have to ditch you at some point to go make some preparations. This is short notice, but I'm sure I can arrange something… I saw some great looking restaurants on the way into town" I stated excitedly. Natsu nodded in agreement with this plan.

With that, not only had I successfully managed to admit the feelings I had always kept for the Fire Dragon Slayer, but also, in only a matter of minutes, I had managed to arrange an amazing date. With the memories of Natsu and Lynn now firmly removed from my psyche, today was looking to be perhaps one of the best days of my life.

However, that does depend on how tomorrow goes… a little voice in my head muttered. I quashed it instantly; at this moment, I wanted nothing but happiness and love in both my mind and my heart.

/

After our talk, Natsu decided to shower. The sand from the beach that we had both dragged into our room meant that the sofa was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Whilst the pinkette showered, I went downstairs in search of the manager. It didn't take me long to find the gnomish old man, and after a brief exchange, he happily handed me over the key to his beach house. "It's lovely, I'm sure you'll be quite comfortable there. Just a word of warning, though, like the room, it does only have one bed" the manager stated, "will that be an issue, or…" I shook my head.

"It should be okay. Natsu and me don't mind sharing" I said, in a politely thankful tone of voice. The manager nodded happily.

"That's good" he smiled, "Now I should probably just show you exactly where it is, and then you can return to your room and collect your stuff. I will allow you to keep it for the remainder of today, and tomorrow, if that sounds fair?"

Again, I nodded and smiled. "It's amazing you're even letting us have this place for the rest of today, never mind the whole of tomorrow, so I can't complain" I beamed. The manager chuckled.

"I always believe that people should get what they deserve, especially when they're as helpful as you two wizards" the old man mused, as he led me to the outside deck of the hotel which then led onto the beach. "The building is just over there" the manager stated, pointing to a fancy-looking building, and the only other one that had stairs leading down to the strip of beach behind the hotel, "If you should want anything, or need anything, don't hesitate to come see me. I will endeavour to make you, much as any guest, as comfortable as possible" the manager beamed.

I smiled down at the little man. "Okay, thank you" I stated, as I followed the manager back into the hotel. Just as we were about to part ways, a thought occurred to me, and I turned back towards the older man. "Actually… there is something I would like to ask you about…" I stated, earning the attention of the manager once more.

"Hmm…" the old man stated, turning to me.

"Where would you say is the best place to get a nice big meal in this town?" I grinned. The manager raised his eyebrows in seeming surprise at my question, before shrugging.

"There are many good and interesting restaurants in Hargeon and the surrounding area, so there are plenty to choose from" he stated, before giving me a more intrigued and questioning gaze, "What did you have in mind, perhaps your choice of food-type or atmosphere would help me to guide you to the ideal location…" the man added.

I smirked at him. "Well… it's kinda complicated…" I began, before I explained exactly wat I had in mind, whilst leaving out a few choice details about my plans.

After a few minutes of discussion, the manager gave me a number of options, and then I returned to mine and Natsu's shared room. As I re-entered, I was greeted by the pinkette, clad only in his underwear. "Hey Sting, what took you so long?" he questioned me, with a slight smirk on his features as he noticed I had become marginally distracted by his current state of clothing (or lack thereof).

I shook my head in order to focus again, my grin remaining firmly fixed onto my face. "Oh, I was just talking to the manager. He said we could use his beach house for the rest of today and tomorrow, so after I've had a shower you might wanna get changed, and then we can move our stuff over there" I explained. Natsu nodded in understanding.

"Alright, I'll get changed and grab my stuff together" he smiled, "Then, how about we get some quality sun tanning time?" he added with a slightly lewd grin. I nodded.

"Sound's good" I stated, before heading off into the bathroom to have a shower. As I stripped off my trunks, an interesting thought occurred to me. I only just told Natsu and he's already making jokes… he's having a little too much fun with this, isn't he? I mused.

As the water began to flow over my body, I shrugged off the thoughts. "It doesn't matter, so long as he's only cracking jokes and not throwing insults I don't really care" I stated, "I mean… I get to go on a date with him, so I don't think there's anything that could really upset me right now" I chuckled.

As I stepped out of the water, I recovered my trunks and tried to wash them out with the shower nozzle so that there wasn't any more sand in them. Once they were sand-free, I went back into the main room, where Natsu had helpfully packed both of mine and his stuff.

"Ready to go?" he asked me. I nodded cheerfully in response.

"Yep. Let's go have some fun" I replied. Natsu laughed.

"Let's go have some fun together you mean" he mused. I blushed.

"Shut up…" I pouted, which just made Natsu laugh all the more. Damn it, if he can make me feel embarrassed like this when we're just friends… what'll he be able to do to me if we take it further? The thought filled me with intrigued questions, as well as a number of inappropriate thoughts.

Slow down, I shouldn't get ahead of myself. One step at a time…date first… that kind of stuff can come later… maybe…

/

Beach House, Summer Time,

Year X792

Natsu Dragneel

We stood at the door to the larger building, our stuff slung in backpacks over our shoulders. Sting held the key that the manager had given him in his hand, a bright smile on his features. Looking to me the blond-haired Dragon Slayer grinned. "So, shall I unlock the door?" he asked me. I shrugged.

"Only if you wanna put our stuff in there so we can get going to the beach" I replied with a cocky smirk. Sting huffed, before turning towards the door and pushing in the key. Once he unlocked the front door, he pushed on to view the inside of the building, I was not far behind him. "Woah… so big…" I breathed in amazement as I looked around the inside of our free accommodation.

"I know. It doesn't look so big from the outside, but inside it seems so much bigger" Sting commented, before he began to venture around the beach-front building. I followed him. Looking around, the entire building seemed to be on only one floor, with a large central space, in which a sofa area and kitchen area were set up. Leading on from the kitchen there seemed to be a large bedroom, with one king-sized bed, as well as an adjoining bathroom and shower. Normally I would have been a little surprised by such a large bed being shared between Sting and myself, however as the White Dragon Slayer had already warned me that we'd have to share a bed again, I was prepared. Plus… it's not like I don't like sharing with him I thought with faint affection.

"Hey Natsu, look through here" Sting called out to me from back at the centralised space. I wandered back the way I had just came, depositing my back-pack onto one of the sofas as I did so.

"What ya found, Sting?" I questioned the blond as I tried to figure out where exactly the White Dragon Slayer had vanished off to. Suddenly Sting's head poked out from behind another corridor leading to the back of the house.

"Over here, I think you'll be interested in this" he said, with a happy smile on his face. I followed the grinning blond to the back part of the house, where the corridor, split into two rooms and a door that lead to the outside veranda. "That way leads outside. There's a couple of steps down to the beach, so we don't need to go all the way back down to the hotel to go on the beach" Sting informed me, before he gestured to the two doors opposite each other, "These, however, lead to an indoor hot tub, as well as a private sauna" he stated.

I looked to the two doors for a moment, before raising my eyebrows. "Really?" I asked, in mock suspicion.

Sting nodded. "Yeah, really. The manager was telling me about them before. We're free to use 'em if we want too. I don't know if you go for that kind of stuff, but… I just thought it was something worth pointing out" Sting said. The White Dragon Slayer looked to me with an intriguing expression on his face. He really wants to make me happy, doesn't he? I thought for a moment, as the scent of attraction seemed to rise off of Sting's person once again.

I decided to shrug and smile at Sting. "Yeah, I don't mind that kind of stuff, although it's not like I find the water or steam all that hot" I stated. Sting nodded.

"Okay, it was just an idea" he stated, "Anyways, did you see the bedroom?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, one bed just like you said" I informed him.

Sting nodded. "I'm sorry we have to keep sharing like this… I know it's probably pretty weird for you, what with me being… well, gay…" he stated.

I sighed. "Again Sting, I said that I'm okay with it. I trust you wouldn't do anything to me anyways, and well… hey, wait a minute…" a thought occurred to me, that hadn't when we were speaking earlier. Sting seemed confused by my sudden stopping.

"What's wrong Natsu?" he asked, with a worried tone of voice. I looked to him for a moment, before speaking.

"Well, I just thought" I began, "This morning… I errr… heard you masturbating in the shower, remember?" Sting nodded weakly, as his face went beet red. This immediately confirmed my suspicions before I could even voice them. That pervy little…

"Yeah… N-natsu…" Sting mumbled. I smirked lewdly.

"You know what I'm gonna ask, right?" I stated to the White Dragon Slayer, who again nodded weakly. "So… were you… um… thinking about me, then?" I asked. Sting buried his face in his hands; a clear confession ready.

"M-maybe…" he whispered embarrassedly. "But… well…" he looked up to me, "I couldn't help it. I was just…" he suddenly looked a little worried, "I was just… so close… to you…" he trailed off, averting my gaze as he did so. I couldn't help but smile at his completely out-of-character embarrassment. Maybe he thinks this'll put me off sleeping in the same room as him? I wondered. However, I don't think he understood what I was referring to earlier when I said that I had been thinking about him in the shower… I mused.

With a smirk on my face, I moved to hold Sting's shoulder, hoping that the White Dragon Slayer would raise his head some too. "It's alright" I stated in as calm a tone as I could muster, "I don't blame you… you had a lot of stuff to put up with, especially me. Although, could you perhaps not do it whilst we're in this place?" I asked, trying not to giggle just yet.

Sting turned his head upwards to look at me. "Okay" he agreed. I nodded.

"Good" I stated, before grinning, "Besides, it's not like I could blame you, given how hot I am, and how I already did the same thing, like I said earlier" I added amusedly. Sting seemed surprised by this information for a moment. So he really didn't realise that when I said I was thinking about him earlier… the realisation was quite funny I found.

After a brief moment, Sting seemed to recover himself, before smirking at me lewdly. "You jack ass, you made me actually feel guilty there for a second" he muttered, before tapping my side lightly in a friendly punch. I chuckled.

"I just couldn't help it, not when you were all cute and flushed" I laughed back at him, before removing my hand from his shoulder. Sting began chuckling.

"Well… at least I know you have no problems with your own self-confidence" he said, before he brushed past me. "Anyways, let's get ready. I wanna hit the beach soon, then we can maybe spend some time in the little spa area here?" he looked to me over his shoulder for confirmation. I nodded vigorously.

"Sound's good, let's go" I beamed at him. He nodded.

"You already dropped your stuff off on the sofa, just let me do the same, then we can go, 'kay?" Sting shouted back to me, as I began opening the door to the veranda that would lead us out onto the privately-owned beach.

Looking out onto the blue, blue ocean, I breathed in deeply. "Ahhhh…" I sighed contently, as the salty smell of the sea water, mixed with the beautiful views before me, helped to relax me a little. "I didn't notice how nice this place is when I was working…" I mused, before Sting reappeared.

"You say something?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"Nothing important, now…" I looked him up and down, the white swimming trunks with black stripe up each leg from earlier still on his person. And nothing else. "You ready to go?" I asked him with a wicked smirk.

Sting smirked back. "We're checking each other out now, are we?" he mused, "That was fast".

I shrugged. "Have you met me, I'm not really one for waiting" I laughed, before beginning my descent down the stairs towards the beach. I heard Sting coming up quickly behind me.

"Does that mean I can skip ahead a little to something more fun, after our date?" he whispered. I stopped and blushed.

Damn it, cocky bastard! I turned to look at him, a smile on my face as I tried to hide my slight blush. "Maaaaaybe… depends on how good the date is first" I replied, earning a smirk right back from Sting.

"So that's not a no" he stated, "Interesting…"

I didn't bother replying to that second statement, as I decided that getting to the beach would be better. Especially since if this keeps going on its not just my hair that'll be pink I thought with faint embarrassment at the effect the White Dragon Slayer was having on me.

/

Meanwhile,

General Perspective

Natsu and Sting lay on the sand, their bodies close to each other, each with a big grin on their faces. It was enough to make her sick.

"Look at that stupid Dragon Slayer, and his boyfriend next to him" Lynn scoffed, watching the pair from a distance as she failed to enjoy the remainder of her day off. "I mean, how dare that pink haired fool pick some guy over me. And what the hell did I do to piss off that blond bastard anyways, I was only doing what was natural" she added to herself, as she bobbed up and down in the waves a little distance away.

"Is there an issue, m'lady?" a voice rang out from somewhere close by to the blonde Water Mage. Turning to look for a source, a new arrival caught her attention.

"I was just… it's none of your business actually" Lynn replied, "Although… if you're looking for something fun to do…" she pursed her lips in a way she thought would be seductive. The new arrival, a young man with dark black hair, shook his head.

"There's no use trying your tricks on me" he mused, "However, from what I could overhear, you appear to have an issue with those two fine young gentlemen over there" he added after a moment, before gesturing quickly with one arm towards the beach area where Natsu and Sting lay.

Lynn narrowed her eyes at the floating man. "How much did you hear?" she questioned him. He smirked wickedly.

"Enough to know I may be of some help to you" he replied, earning an intrigued look from Lynn.

"Help how?" she questioned, although the man did not answer right away. "Speak quickly, or I may just use my Water Magic to take out my frustrations on you instead" she added with a venomous tone.

The man practically grinned at this threat. "Well that would be interesting, however… I think someone such as yourself might be a might bit more interested in revenge perhaps?" he chuckled.

Lynn smiled at this man. "Whatever do you have in mind, my cunning new friend?" she asked. The man's whole face shone with wickedness.

Then he began to explain his particular role to the Chief of Hotel Staff, who grew more and more interested with every word. After their exchange was finished, almost no one would have noticed the sudden disappearance of the blonde Water Mage for the remainder of that day. Nor would they notice the cut wound on her hand the following day when she returned to work. By then of course, it was too late, although Natsu and Sting were none the wiser.

Yet.

End of Chapter 10

Chapter Hint; About You