Asleep. Awake.
Subsequently, the time of the latter became very short.
No matter whether it was on missions or not, there was always an irrational – or perhaps not so irrational – fear, hidden in the back of Natsu's mind. The fear of loss, especially if it was something the Dragon Slayer couldn't fight with brute force, when it had always seemed to work so well in the past.
So sometimes, many times, Natsu would sit there by the bed in silence, watching and listening for the constant sound of steady breathing; the proof that he was alive.
Warm sunlight spilled in through the window, and Natsu's sharp ears easily picked up the shrill chirps of nearby birds. A gentle breeze lifted the curtains slightly, making them sway from side to side.
It was an entirely beautiful day.
The figure in the bed suddenly stirred, and Natsu glanced around.
"Natsu…?"
Dark eyes glassy with drowsiness peered to the side, blinking in recognition and the bright light. Natsu pulled his chair closer, his expression carefully neutral.
"…I'm here."
"Heh… That's not like you. Is this a dream?"
"You sayin' that I'm just a dream, ice-brain?"
"There we go... I guess not then."
A faint, tired grin tugged at the corners of Gray's mouth in response to the familiar banter. He breathed out in a long sigh, eyes half-lidded and threatening to close again. "How long this time?"
"Not too long," Natsu lied. "A few hours."
"You get crappier at lying each time, you know."
"S-shut up!"
Gray laughed airily, a quiet chuckle melting into the air. In spite of himself, Natsu smiled as well, just a little, ignoring how it seemed to feel that a large lump was beginning to settle in the back of his throat. "It's nice outside."
"I can see that," Gray retorted dryly.
"We should go on a mission soon. All five of us together."
"Sounds… like a plan." His next words came out more subdued, distant, feather-light and fading as if being carried off by a breeze. "…Might have to… wait a bit though."
Asleep. Awake.
Repeat.
It seemed that today was to be merely a short visit.
Natsu crossed his arms, staring out the window. The indistinctly muffled chatter from passing people outside was just barely audible, a pleasant humming that signaled sounds of life. "Next time then."
The words were spoken as casually as one might have spoken of the weather. Yet concealed behind them was their mutually understood and steadfast promise. He would not accept anything less.
"If… you're still up for it," Gray said haltingly, visibly struggling to keep his eyes open, "We can even have a fight. It's, been a while… right?"
"Just as long as Erza's not around."
"Yeah."
"And Lucy's not yelling about her rent."
"…Yeah."
"That's what the mission'll be for, anyway."
"…Yeah…"
"I'll totally kick your ass."
"Ha… You're the only one I refuse to lose to, ash-brain."
Natsu started, turning back, and their gazes met.
Gray had never seemed more awake than he did at this moment, alert dark eyes reflecting only Natsu and flashing with a strong light that was unchanged from the days before. Natsu inhaled sharply at an involuntary, stinging spike of pain in his chest, almost able to believe that everything was still the same.
The moment passed, and everything was the same.
It was as if the instant had never happened as Gray blinked slowly, his expression beginning to glaze over in that subtle way they had all come to recognize and expect and dread, sooner or later.
Somehow, Natsu managed to force the words out through an abruptly dry throat. "I know. Wouldn't expect anything less." Tugging at his scarf, which had inexplicably become uncomfortably tight, Natsu then leaned back in the chair, folding his arms behind his head. There was nothing else to be done.
So.
"Get some rest. We'll be here."
"…Mm."
Though it was apparent that he was already on the verge of complete sleep again, there was no doubt that Gray certainly nodded in acknowledgement, ever so slightly. And gradually, his eyes finally fluttered shut.
Natsu waited for the rhythmic sound of soft, sleep-induced breathing to stabilize, holding his own breath in anticipation. When he was reassured, a heavy sigh of his own escaped, and Natsu looked out the window once more.
"…Hurry and wake up soon, Gray."
In its own way, this was also a dream, repeated over and over. Being left wondering if even there, he was being caught up in the familiar chaos of the guild they all loved so much.
Without any trace of clouds marring it, the sky seemed oddly lonely.
Beyond the sky, in that vague and blurry realm of dreams, even if Gray was laughing with everyone as he used to…
…That laughter could not reach Natsu and the others, where they were now.
"Don't keep us waiting, or else."
.
.
.
everyday life.
Over time, this was what it slowly became, as the endless cycle of days ambiguously carved itself into routine.
Even now, the world continued to turn without him, as beautiful as ever.
In the castle surrounded by thorns…
…That person, is having a quiet dream.
fin.
The Dream of Sleeping Beauty.
.
.
.
A/N: …And that's the end. Seriously. What happens after that, what caused this to happen in the first place, even I don't know. Feel free to make your own assumptions.
From what I can gather in the original author's note, the story was never meant to have a concrete plot explaining why this was happening. I believe it was written more to show what Fairy Tail would do in such a situation, when there's something they can't fight happening to one of their own, and their reactions to it. I'm sorry if the ending disappointed anyone, but I'm just the translator here, and what I loved about the original story was the emotion in the writing. I hope people enjoyed reading it as much as I did.
In short, that's it for my little translating project here. Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews. My attention after this will be turned to my two multi-chapter stories, If The Sky Should Fall and Parallel Days. I'm a pretty slow writer when it comes to my own things, so updates will become more sporadic from here on out. I'm also planning on starting a drabble series called Cover to Cover, which will be about every possible character and topic in Fairy Tail, all less than a thousand words. I'm planning on taking requests too, so if there are any prompts (or pairings) people would want to see, I'd be more than happy to take a look or even write a oneshot about. If it's about a pairing, I literally ship everyone with everyone in Fairy Tail, so don't worry about stepping on any toes.
So, until next time! And thank you again.