A/N: Finally back from my vacation, so here's the next chapter :D (Kind of a filler. Sorry :p Although, it does set up a few events I have planned for future chapters c;)


Chapter Twelve


Natsu walked into Gray's apartment with a basket under one arm only to find the owner of said apartment doing push-ups in front of the couch. He almost dropped his basket. "What the hell, Gray?!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms and glaring at the raven-haired boy. "I was only gone for six minutes, and you start doing push-ups?"

"Shut up," Gray grunted, completing another rotation. "I told you already, I'm totally fine."

Letting out and exasperated sigh, Natsu walked behind Gray to sit on the couch, unpacking the items in the basket and setting them on the table. "You better not've pulled your stitches, Ice Princess, 'cause I ain't redoing 'em."

Gray didn't answer for a second, doing two more push-ups. "I'll stop at a hundred."

"What are you at?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ninety-five, so shut up and let me concentrate."

"Ninety-five?!" Natsu spluttered. "I can't even do thirty."

"Well, that's 'cause you're you."

Natsu grabbed one of the sandwiches he had set on the table and nailed Gray on between his shoulder-blades with a glare. He collapsed, groaning as his forehead hit the ground. "Ow!" He pushed himself up, snatching the sandwich and looking at it with disdain. "You hit me with a sandwich?!"

"Yes," Natsu said, pleased. "Yes I did. Now eat and stop straining your leg."

"Fine," Gray grumbled, straightening so his back was resting on the coffee table and his legs were spread out in front of him. He unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. "Ew," he complained, wrinkling his nose. "What's on this?"

"Tomato, lettuce, cheese, ham, mayo," Natsu listed off. At "mayo" Gray grimaced and set the sandwich on the table. "I hate mayo."

"Oh, sorry," Natsu said, anything but sorry. "My bad." He snatched the sandwich with a small smirk. "More for me, I guess."

Gray turned to point an accusatory finger at Natsu. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?!"

Grinning, Natsu stretched his legs out so his feet rested almost against Gray's back. "Me? I would never."

Snorting, Gray crossed his arms and glanced out the window, straightening his back to see over the ledge. "Not a lot of Zs out today," he commented, frowning. "Well, it's daytime," Natsu said offhandedly, finishing his sandwich and taking a bite of Gray's.

Shrugging, Gray slouched back against the coffee table and tilted his head back so it rested between Natsu's feet, and he was looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah."


Gray looked up at the ceiling, bored. "Natsu," he said after a while, turned his eyes back to look at the boy, who appeared upside-down to him. He wiped mayo from the corner of his mouth and met Gray's eyes. "What?"

"I want to go on a job."

Natsu visibly froze up and hurriedly shook his head. "Nope. No way. You're not fully healed, Wendy would kill both of us, and after what happened last time..."

"You're one to talk," Gray scoffed, closing his eyes. "Even if you don't remember, I do."

There was silence again for several long moments until Natsu finally spoke again. "If you really want to, I guess we can... But we'll have to be sneaky about it. And we're not going till tomorrow," he added, causing Gray to deflate slightly. "Urgh... Fine. But what am I supposed to do for the rest of the day?"

"You could help me and Wendy in the infirmary, or go up and assist Lucy and Erza in the greenhouses," Natsu suggested, tugging his feet to his chest and hugging them. Gray shrugged. "I suck at treating wounds, and I have the green thumb of a volcano."

"Oh," Natsu said with a frown. "Well then... You could help stock weapons, or work in the kitchen, or clean."

"Ul banned me from stocking weapons after the... rifle incident." Gray shuddered. "And I burn everything I touch in the kitchen."

"Well, that leaves cleaning, then, doesn't it? C'mon, I'll help you."

Gray sighed loudly. "Fiiiinnnnnee." He allowed Natsu to help him up, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach as their hands touched. Geez, I thought I was over this... he thought, irritated as he followed Natsu towards the closet in the corner. After waking up, Gray had amended that it was really better for both of them if Gray shoved his feelings deep, deep, deeeeeep down. After all, Natsu had already gotten kidnapped and tortured, and Gray had gotten shot; obviously the universe was trying to tell him off.

"I'll dust, you reorganize?" Natsu suggested, and Gray nodded quickly, slipping towards his bookshelves and trying to calm his racing thoughts. He started pulling books off the shelf randomly, stacking them on the floor and trying to look productive. I do not have any feelings for him. Nope, nope, nope. None whatsoever. I am tottttaaalllly over him.

"Gray?" Gray jumped about seven feet in the air and whipped around to find Natsu studying him with his eyebrows raised. "Um, yes?" Geez, think of him and he shall appear, I guess...

"Are you trying to organize those in any particular way, because the titles aren't alphabetical, and they're not arranged by author."

Gray bit his lip. "Er, uh, I was just getting them all off the shelf first, and then I was going to organize them."

"Oh, well, let me help you."

"Um, okay..."

Natsu sat down beside Gray and started pulling books off the shelf, putting them in irritatingly neat little stacks. Gray tried not to look at him too long, but he couldn't seem to stop sneaking glances at him from the side. His hair was swept back from his forehead, and he had two clips keeping it pinned back out of his eyes. The sun from the window beside the shelf hit his face slant-ways, leaving shadows across his nose and making his olive eyes appear golden. Gray inwardly slapped himself and continued pulling books off the shelf. Ugh, those are definitely not unromantic thoughts!


Natsu placed the last book on the ground and turned, sitting criss-cross and beginning to sort them by author, genre, and title.

"You're irritatingly efficient, you know that?" Gray told him, turning to face him and mirroring his position as he too started to sort the books into the small piles Natsu had started. Natsu stuck his tongue out at him and continued sorting with a dopey smile on his face.

"Are you actually happy about cleaning?" Gray asked incredulously, noticing that Natsu had started to hum lightly under his breath.

"Yep," Natsu said with a grin. "My uncle Atlas used to have me clean his garage all the time, and I guess I've just... always liked it. It's calming, and it's so simplistic to just... organize things."

"You really are weird," Gray snorted, going back to his work. He had to admit, though, the humming and smiling really wasn't a turn-off. No, no, bad, bad, bad! Stop it, brain! Gray growled and gripped his head angrily.

"Um..." Natsu asked cautiously, "are you... okay?"

"Fine!" Gray said quickly, busying himself with sorting. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Well, okay then..." They lapsed back into silence, until all the books were sorted, and Natsu stood to start putting them on the shelf. Gray joined him, and after a while, all the books were back on the shelf, now sorted alphabetically and by genre. Natsu dusted his hands off and stood back with his hands on his hips, surveying their work. "Looks perfect! Good job, Gray!" He held out a hand, and Gray just stared at it for several seconds before grasping it, and Natsu shook it once, grinning a closed-eye grin that made Gray's heart stop for several seconds.

He quickly pulled his hand away and sat on the couch. "Er, well, I'm going to take a nap now, so you just... do whatever!" He quickly lay down, turning his back to Natsu. "Well, I'll take one, too," he hard him said. "Although, if you're taking the couch, then I guess I'll take your bed."

"Fine," Gray said quickly, blushing at the thought of Natsu sleeping in his bed. He quickly closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. Obviously I'm not at all over him... Fuck. What am I supposed to do about this?! I need to ask someone for advice. Not Lyon or Ul; they'd never let me hear the end of it. Wendy's too young for this stuff, so I guess that leaves Lucy and Erza. Probably Lucy rather than Erza. She's good with this kind of thing.

He rolled over, nodding to himself. Yeah, I'll ask her when I see her tomorrow at breakfast.


Natsu flopped down in Gray's bed, sighing at the softness of the blanket and pillows. He burrowed under the covers and buried his face in the pillows, inhaling the fresh, hearty scent of Gray. He smelled like mint and evergreen, and so did his pillows.

Sighing and settling down, Natsu closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


He woke about two hours later and got up to see Gray still sound asleep, letting out soft exhales every other second. He tiptoed to the door and slipped on a pair of flip-flops, slipping the key in his pocket before softly opening and closing the door.

Walking down the stairs, he kept an eye out for Lucy or Erza. Since Gray was asleep, he figured it was the perfect time to ask one of them for advice. He thought Lucy was working in the kitchens today, so he headed for the mess hall. When he arrived, Natsu poked his head in the door. He caught Lucy's eye quickly and he waved her over.

The blonde excused herself quietly, slipping off her plastic gloves and following him out into a secluded corridor where they wouldn't be overheard. "Do you need something, Natsu?" she asked, her eyes kind.

"Um, yeah... I wanted to ask you about... something." Natsu rested a hand on the back of his neck, glancing at the ground with a faint blush. "Ooh!" Lucy said, nudging him suggestively and raising an eyebrow. "I know that look. You like someone."

Natsu's blush deepened. "Er, yes... I wanted to ask you the best way to approach him..."

"Him!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes gleaming. "This is getting juicier and juicier! Who is it? Lyon? Max? Jellal? Gray?"

When Natsu's face reddened and he flinched at the mention of the last name, Lucy let out a triumphant Aha! "So it's Graaaaayyy, huh?" she said teasingly. Natsu's blush reddened, and he nodded slightly. Lucy grinned. "Got a crush on old ice block, huh?"

"Yes," Natsu said, letting out a long sigh. "That's my problem. He just seems so... unapproachable."

"Don't worry," Lucy said, wrapping an arm around him and heading back towards the kitchens. "I think I can help you with this."

"But," Natsu said, confused, as she pushed him towards the stairs, "what are you going to do?"

Lucy smirked. "You'll see~"

Natsu gulped. Why does that statement make me so nervous...?