Chapter 12 – Secret Sharing
Gray POV
Mirajane burst into the room, an eruption of noise coming from somewhere behind her. "I'm sorry to disturb you all, however…" she began. Walter turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
Before the Requip mage asked anything Lucy spoke up from her position next to me. "Is something wrong, Mira?" she asked, eyes straying to a spot behind the waitress, obviously looking for a hint. The Take-over mage looked to the group in general before speaking again. She then looked directly at Walter and Cyrus, who both now stood out of their seats, their backs to the group as they each looked directly at Mirajane.
Mira inhaled a breath and then spoke once more. "Yes, Blake has just entered and he looks like he's be attacked" she said with a slightly worried expression. There was a loud collective gasp around the table and I looked straight from Walter to Lyon before resting my attention on Makarov, seated just beyond Lucy to my left. The Guildmaster immediately rose from his seat.
"Show us" he said. Walter looked to him and nodded.
"I would like to go on ahead and survey my team member myself before you arrive, would you and Cyrus co-ordinate everyone to the atrium whilst I see to Blake first, then I will come get you" Walter stated. Gramps nodded in understanding of Walter's concern, before looking to the group, Cyrus coming to stand beside him.
"Well, you heard him, let's all go downstairs" he said. There were a few mumbled remarks about the commanding tone of the Guildmaster, however no one argued back openly. Once that was settled everyone moved with Makarov at the lead, Cyrus walking only a step behind. Walter had already dashed off from sight, no sign of the Requip mage ahead of us. I felt Natsu come up behind me, his hand tapping my back discreetly.
"Hey Gray," he whispered, "Do you think this means there's another one of those guys nearby?" I looked to him as he came to fall in step beside me. We were lagging behind the group, Erza and Lucy only a little ahead of us making sure that all of the other mages were heading in the right direction.
I sighed and looked at the flames, bright and brilliant, in my boyfriend's eyes. "I don't know Natsu, but I don't think Gramps'll be sending us off to fight them too quickly if they've already proven they can defeat Blake, and you know how tough he was" I replied. Natsu's train of thought was always an easy one; food, friend, foe, fight.
Natsu pouted unhappily. "Aww, I wanted to fight someone" he groaned. I smirked. Yep, predictable I thought, although I had to admit I had similar thoughts. Natsu caught my smirk and smiled back.
"Guess you wanted to fight 'em too?" he suggested. I nodded.
"Heh… guess I'm easy for you to read like you are for me" I stated. Natsu laughed a little, before remembering what had just happened, the slight look Erza was giving us suggested she thought our laughter was inappropriate.
"Yeah, but isn't that supposed to be how it is for…" he leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "boooooyfriends". I glanced up to check no one had heard any of the Fire Dragon Slayer's antics, however it didn't look like anyone had; they were all too busy navigating the large guildhall and thinking about or discussing the meeting and the news about Blake.
I grinned as I leaned in closer to Natsu. "Yeah it is but… we aren't that far into our relationship yet" I said. This caused Natsu to look at me oddly, causing my grin to widen ever so slightly. "We have only just started Natsu, or did you forget there's more to a relationship than just one date" I stated. Natsu cocked his head and smiled.
"I know that, there's always a little more… fun" he raised his eyebrows questioningly. I chuckled lowly, avoiding annoying Erza again. Natsu chuckled too and then we had to stop as we rejoined the tail end of the group as they all stopped. The infirmary was just through one of the side corridors and we could see Makarov gesturing for us to come over.
We responded quickly to the Master's wishes, and he immediately spoke in a hushed tone as we arrived beside him, both me, Natsu, Erza and Lucy all present, as well as Mira. "Mirajane is going to take them all downstairs, whilst we, as well as Ooba and Bob are all going to go check in on Blake. They insisted on coming" he said. We nodded to him as the aforementioned other Guildmasters joined us.
"I hope he's okay" Bob said, voice genuinely concerned. Ooba shook her head.
"First they say they're all powerful, then one of 'em comes back beaten and bruised. If they were lying about their power I'll spin them, I don't care if they've got ties to the council, no one lies to me" the 'old hag' said. Jura and Sting joined us as the group of other wizards left.
"I hope you're not forgetting about me" Sting said, his tone a little cocky despite the more serious look he was wearing. Makarov nodded to him.
"Sorry about that Master Sting" he apologised. Sting held up his hands.
"It's my fault for not asking to come" he replied coolly. Jura nodded.
"I wish to go to, as the only person here with actual connections to the newly reformed Council, as well as the Wizard Saints, I wish to observe this 'Blake' myself" he stated. Makarov nodded and motioned for us to go.
"Of course, I'm sure Walter will have no objections" he said. At that final statement we all went over to the infirmary door, a 'come in' resounding out before we could even knock.
/
We entered the infirmary room to the smell of blood. Walter was standing over a bed where Blake lay. The dark haired wizard rested upon white sheets with red splatters already covering a large amount of them. "He's gonna make it through" Walter said, very matter-of-factly. Blake's eyes were closed, but his chest was rising and falling in a somewhat erratic pattern, suggesting he was still alive, although barely. Wendy entered after a moment, Mirajane behind her. The younger Sky Dragon Slayer immediately went over to Blake, however Walter placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from even beginning. "He needs a moment before you work on him" the Requip mage said. Wendy looked at Walter with a confused expression. Walter nodded. "Remember that his magic changes his body, in his current state your healing spells will have no effect on him" he informed her. Wendy looked to the group, who seemed to be analyzing Blake carefully, especially after hearing Walter's last statement. Makarov stepped forward.
"Is there anything we can do to assist him?" the older wizard asked. Walter looked at him with a serious look in his eyes, but shook his head.
"Not until he wakes up we can't" Walter informed him. Makarov looked to the rest of us together, before Mirajane went to leave to deal with the other wizards in the main section of the guildhall.
I took a closer look at Blake's condition, even from here I could tell it was serious. Natsu was sniffing the air carefully, a suspicious look on his face. I only glanced at him before I analysed Blake's wounds; he was covered from head to toe in scratches, with many holes in his clothes. The holes and wounds were not perfect, or evenly shaped, it looked as though a wild beast had attacked him, with claw marks raking across his sides that seemed to lead onto his back. He had a large gash on his other side, and you could almost see the bone in his right leg from the depth of the wound there. Overall he looked well on the way to death, yet Walter seemed confident of his condition. Cyrus, who had been remaining oddly quiet stepped forward after another moment.
"Walter, do you think we should try it?" he asked. Walter looked to him, and then back to Blake, before responding.
"Guess so, doesn't look like he's gonna wake up of his own accord any time soon otherwise" he replied, almost casually. The exchange seemed to have piqued the interest of the Ooba and Bob, who each looked like they were about to ask the same question; what are you going to do?
Makarov beat them to it. "What spell are you going to cast?" he asked. Walter looked at him fleetingly as he and Cyrus each took a vigil on either side of Blake's bed.
"We're going to use a more basic healing spell" Cyrus replied, "It's not as potent as Wendy's magic, but it should allow Blake a moment of consciousness to allow him to get things started". The response seemed to only raise more questions in the assembled wizards of the group, although no one spoke now as Cyrus began writing in the air. He snapped his fingers and the spell activated. "Script Fusion; Blue, Green, Violet, White, Gray" he said flatly, "Fuse and cast… Healing Font"
Walter chimed in a second later. "Requip; Apothecaries Master" he said, a light enveloping him and changing his attire to a longer white coat, with a white shirt and black trousers. In each hand he wore a white glove with myriad blue symbols all over them. Cyrus' spell caused a flow of rainbow light to pour forth from the symbols, enveloping Blake's body as Walter held his hands over Blake, a faint light emitting from the gloves to join the rainbow outpour. After a moment the rainbow light stopped, some of it sinking into Blake's skin whilst more of it dissipated harmlessly into the air. After another few moments Walter ceased his casting too. No sooner had he done that Blake awoke.
There was a slight inhalation of breath from our group as we all were amazed by the two healing the half-dead wizard. Blake looked around groggily before setting eyes on Walter firmly. Walter grinned as Blake tapped his throat and made a sign.
"You aren't strong enough to lift it yourself?" he asked. Blake shook his head silently. Walter nodded and laughed. "You need to stop making a habit of this, showing up beaten, battered and bruised at the guildhall, we're guests here, remember?" the Requip mage teased, a light enveloping his index and middle fingers, which he tapped to Blake's throat. As soon as he did that Blake opened his mouth and after a deep breath, which looked painful, he began to sing.
"Thy great divinity, to be marveled by all…" he began, the sound filling the room, causing Bob, Sting and all the others here, including Makarov and Erza, to mutter in amazement.
Cyrus looked to them and held a finger to his lips. Before they could ask why he wrote something in the air with his spell-pen.
BLAKE'S MAGIC ALLOWS HIM TO CONTROL MAGIC BY SINGING, BUT WE CAN'T DISRUPT HIS HARMONY. WE MUST BE TOTALLY SILENT. WENDY, YOU MAY BEGIN WORKING ON HIM AS SOON AS HE FINISHES OR LOSES CONCIOUSNESS.
He wrote. Everyone scanned over the words and nodded to him. He nodded back and then refocused his attention to Blake. The song continued, and soon a small, accompanying hum filled the room. Bob seemed transfixed by the sound, whilst Sting looked around in confusion. I grinned and looked to Natsu, who I noticed also seemed transfixed. He did smile a little at me, scooting a little closer to me, but not too close that it was obvious to those around us. He's cute when he looks like that, like a puppy after a treat.
After another minute the song died down as Blake fell once more into unconsciousness. Walter looked to Wendy, who darted over, blue light covering her hands as she began to heal Blake. Whilst she worked on her new patient Walter went over to the group. "I'm sure this has raised many questions among you, however may we please wait until we reconvene in the conference room?" he asked us. Ooba, Jura, Sting and Bob all nodded in agreement.
"Sure, just take as much time as you need and then inform me when you're ready" Makarov said "We'll wait for you in the main area downstairs". I looked to Natsu, who smiled broadly at me as we moved closer to the doorway, the masters and Wizard Saint leaving the room before us. I furrowed my brows.
"What's got you grinning like an idiot, flame brain?" I asked discreetly. He ran his hand up my back quickly.
"Just… remembering that night… it may sound weird that I'm smiling about it though" he said. I nodded.
"I don't seem to remember anything to smile about" I responded quietly. Natsu shook his head.
"Neither do I really. But it's just… I was thinking about when you found me" he replied. I looked at him with a slight smile.
"Are you talking about the whole 'you could have died' thing, or… the 'almost getting me covered' thing?" I whispered. Natsu smiled broader.
"The last one" he said. I nodded as Erza and Lucy joined us, all four of us walking out of the infirmary room.
"What were you two whispering about?" Lucy asked. Natsu directed his smiling face at her.
"Just… thinking about how powerful the guy must have been to do that to Blake, and how much fun it'll be to smash him to pieces" Natsu replied casually. Lucy rolled her eyes as Erza's face remained stoic.
"You shouldn't joke Natsu, they are powerful, and they will be difficult to defeat" the redhead said bluntly. Natsu pouted and looked at me to say something in defense against Erza. I shrugged, Natsu may be my boyfriend but there was no way in hell I'd back him up in an argument with the Queen of the Fairies. Seeing my intention Natsu sighed and walked ahead of us. I watched his back as he maintained a steady distance in front.
"Don't go in a bad mood just because Erza said for you to focus, stupid dragon" I said aloud. Natsu glared back at me before going back to his little sulk. Guess I'm in trouble… nothing I can't handle of course I thought before looking to Lucy and Erza.
"Do either of you having some spare jewel I could borrow to buy something to eat, I'll pay you back?" I asked them. Lucy shook her head.
"I barely have enough to pay rent and still have some spare change" the blonde celestial wizard said. Erza shook her head too.
"If you want to get something to eat you should have gotten something before the meeting" she said flatly, "Although… if you really are that desperate I could make you something up quickly using the guild's kitchens" she added, a slight smile on her features. I politely refused her offer, causing her to shrug. "Suit yourself" she said, before turning a corner and breaking off from the group. "I'm just going to go train outside until Walter is ready, come find me if he calls us in soon" she said. Lucy nodded and waved at her before falling back into step with me. When we arrived at the ground floor of the guild she darted off to where Levy was sitting with Gajeel and Cana whilst I went and found Natsu in a side booth.
"Sulking still?" I asked him. He looked up at me.
"You're a coward, not standing up to Erza, even for me" he said. I sighed.
"Do you think you'd have done the same for me?" I asked. Natsu pouted.
"That's not the point" he said. I laughed.
"Yeah, it kinda is, dragon princess" I replied.
"Shut it matchstick" he barked back. I ignored his comments and smiled, reaching under the table to prod his side.
"You stop sulking then" I responded. Natsu rested his chin on his arm, looking up at me with eyes of flame.
"Make me" he said. I smiled. He's already stopped, he can't stay mad for long anyways…
/
Natsu POV
The call was made over the banister by Walter some half-hour later. "Could all required wizards report to the conference room, whilst those few please come to Blake's room" he shouted before disappearing over again. Gray, who was laying down opposite me in the booth, looked over.
"Guess that means Blake's awake again" he said. I nodded.
"Yeah…" I said distractedly. Whilst the little sulk I had with Gray had been fun to wind the Ice mage up, I did already have something on my mind… well, two things. Blake smelled funny, not just because of his demon stuff but also… there was an animal-like scent coming from those wounds. And on top of all this we're going to start fighting these guys… I don't want Gray to get in a fight until I get to start my plan with him…
"You alright, Natsu?" Gray asked. I nodded.
"Just thinking about Blake, he smelled so strongly of blood before" I said, not really lying but not really telling Gray about my thoughts either. Gray nodded.
"Yeah, it was pretty bad" he agreed as we got up and began heading towards Blake's room.
"There was a funny smell too… I think it might be because of his magic" I added as we walked. Gray nodded.
"Well… I suppose he would smell funny if he's half demon or whatever" he said. I nodded, shifting a little closer to Gray and smiling.
"Although, you also smell a little funnier now with that new magic" I added. Gray looked at me.
"You're telling me that now?" he asked. I nodded.
"I didn't want to you before because I thought it might come off weird, but I feel I should have told you" I said. Gray sighed.
"Anything else you're not telling me?" he asked. Yes, but I need a bit more time before that.
"No, nothing at all" I said. Liar.
"'kay then" he said, before we turned the last corner to be met by the full group of wizards once again; Kagura, Jura, Ooba, Bob, Sting, Gramps, Lucy and Erza. As soon as we arrived Walter popped his head around the door.
"Come in then" he said. We all did, and were met this time with a slightly less blood ridden sight. The sheets seemed to have been cleaned or replaced, and Wendy was now nowhere to be seen. Blake lay awake on his bed, with Cyrus standing directly beside him. Blake was fiddling with a light pen in his hands. "Right, so before you ask, Blake is going to tell us what happened, and then we will go back to the group and we will answer any questions you have on his magic, agreed?" Walter said upfront. Everyone nodded, before Walter looked to Blake, who nodded also. At that signal he began to write.
INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE MEETING I WAS INSTEAD INSTRUCTED TO GO COLLECT SUPPLIES FROM OUR BASE. ON THE WAY THERE I SENSED A FOREBODING PRESENCE, NEARBY TO MAGNOLIA. DECIDING TO GO INVESTIGATE I WENT TO FIND A SCENE OF CARNAAGE, A MERCHANT CARAVAAN HAD BEEN ATTACKED AND ALL OF THE MEMBERS KILLED VISCIOUSLY. NO ONE SURVIVED.
He stopped for a moment as everyone finished reading what he wrote. After a couple of minutes he continued.
THERE WAS A BEAST LYING IN WAIT, HOWEVER.
Walter furrowed his brows. "So an animal did this to you?" he asked, obviously interested in what could have caused such injuries. Blake shook his head.
ITS ONE OF THE UNKNOWN TARGETS, I THINK. IT KEPT ON REPEATING 'NIGHTMARE' LIKE IT WAS RAVING MAD. IT HAD THE APPEARANCE OF A HUMAN, BUT WITH DEADLY CLAWS AND FANGS, AND IT COULD CHANGE IT'S APPEARANCE TO BECOME ALMOST INVISIBLE IN ITS SURROUNDINGS. I TRIED TO FIGHT IT INITIALLY, BUT IT WAS TOO FAST, SO I INSTEAD TRIED TO RUN, BUT IT CHASED ME, GIGGLING LIKE IT WAS A GAME.
Blake wrote with a more shaky hand.
I BARELY ESCAPED AT ALL, ONLY USING POTION 27 TO ESCAPE.
Cyrus read over the number carefully, his face clearly in thought. "That's… his Demon Dance concoction. It forces reality itself to warp around the splash zone. I take it you used this to move in space?" Cyrus analysed. Blake nodded.
YEAH. I HAD TO CRAWL TO THE GUILD HALL THOUGH, I MISSJUDGED THE TIMING AND APPEARED AT THE END OF THE STREET.
He wrote. Walter shook his head. "That was dangerous, that potion could have killed you" he scolded. Blake nodded, a look of apology on his face. Makarov mumbled something.
"Did it know where you were living or staying?" he asked. Blake shook his head.
NO.
"I don't believe there's a danger it'll come here" Walter said, "Although to be safe we should put a look out group together to keep an eye on things in and around the guild and town. That goes for your guilds too, just in case it tracks you all down as having connections to us" Walter added. Makarov nodded, before looking in the direction of me, Gray, Lucy and Erza.
"Will you four stay near the guild for the time being?" he asked. We all nodded, if what Blake said was true then that'd mean I'd get to fight that creature.
"I'll have Ichiya and those boys stay around our guild" Bob said.
"Jura and Lyon should be able to handle that thing" Ooba said, looking directly at Jura, who nodded.
"All of us in Mermaid Heel can handle ourselves… although I will keep a particular watch out for this creature, whatever it may be" Kagura said sharply.
"Me and Rogue will stay and keep an eye out anyways, plus Lector and Frosch can always help with that" Sting said confidently. Walter nodded.
"Good, you have all made a quick decision, that is why I believed you'd be best for this mission" Walter said, "Now… Blake, is there anything else to add?" he asked. The black haired wizard shook his head. "Fine. Then Cyrus will stay here to keep an eye on him, whilst we rejoin the wizards in the conference and I'll answer your questions" the dark-haired Requip mage said, taking charge and leading us all away from the infirmary room. As I left I smiled at Gray; at least now I'd have an excuse to spend time with him without going on a job. Although it would mean we'd both be charging head first into battle with these twelve powerful individuals.
And I still need to tell him about 'that' I thought solemnly.
/
Narrator POV
The wizards all left the conference hall some two hours later. After a long and complex explanation from Walter about Blake's magic, his situation in that he was not fully human nor yet a demon, as well as holding votes on various courses of action they should take, the wizards finally settled on a vote about joining the mission. The result of this vote was clear to all instantly; a one hundred percent agreement for assisting the Triplet Code.
After this result and a small thank-you speech from Walter the wizards all adjourned to go to their respective lodgings and discuss matters further. The next day they would all go back to their guilds and select a group of no more than six wizards to become part of their individual 'task forces' to assist in the finding and defeating of each of the twelve targets.
For the wizards of Fairy Tail this meant a confinement order from Makarov to remain in the vicinity of Magnolia at all times. Despite this order the wizards were not perturbed as this gave them a well-earned rest from work, although soon they'd be embroiled in a war between the Triplet Code and their mysterious adversaries. Contrary to expectations Natsu appeared quite happy to stay in Magnolia and the guild, although no one could figure out why. No one except a certain Ice wizard that is.
Now that the meeting was over, Gray and Natsu went out for another small meal, before they each left the other to their own devices, agreeing to meet up the following day.
/
Natsu POV, The following day
"But it's sooooo hot outside… come on" I moaned. Gray sighed, he was sitting in his underwear on his sofa.
"Natsu, I told you, it's too hot. I don't want to go out. Just stay here with me" Gray replied. I had come over to his apartment today. After sitting around his door a few days ago, and being stuck in that meeting yesterday, I felt like we could maybe actually do something today, however apparently I was wrong. The weather was perfect, sun shining brightly despite it being only Spring, and I had thought that me and Gray could do something outside, however the grumpy Ice Make wizard who met me at his door earlier this morning was less then interested.
"But it's borrrring inside, Graaaay" I whined. When Gray had invited me in again I had been so happy, however all he did was sit around, and he never wanted to go outside, so eventually I had made it my mission to be as annoying as possible to force him out.
"No Natsu" he complained. I was resting my head in his lap, using this position to tickle his sides, earning only a scowl and a small hit to the side of my head.
"But…" I started, giving up half way, it was pointless. Instead I decided to grin at Gray. "I thought you said we should do more stuff together?" I stated, raising my eyebrows. Gray looked down at me with a smile of his own.
"Yeah, I did. But I didn't say that had to be today, and if you keep annoying me I'll kick you outta here until we have to go check in with Walter at 1PM, flame brain" Gray retorted, tone sarcastic, but with an undertone of annoyance.
I rolled my eyes. "If we're gonna be inside can we at least do something more interesting than sitting around, I'm so bored!" I complained. Gray sighed again.
"Fine, what do you want to do?" he said, exasperated. I grinned widely.
"How about a little contest?" I offered. Gray raised his eyebrow in question.
"What type of contest?" he asked, from his voice he sounded suspicious. I giggled a little.
"Errr… what about Truth or Dare? Or how about we have some sort of test, like who can do the most push-ups?" I said. Gray shook his head, his hand resting itself in my hair.
"Not ever. You always make it impossible on dares and we've already done that other contest. I won, remember?" he smirked cockily.
I pouted. "Oh alright then… erm… how about we play chicken?" I said, eye's narrowing. This might get him interested… plus it was one of the things I wanted to do when I came over I thought a little too happily.
"Somehow I don't think we can play chicken, Natsu" he said amusedly. I furrowed my eye brows in question.
"Why? Too scared?" I mocked, making a few chicken noises. Gray shook his head.
"Not too scared" he said, before bending down and planting a sideways kiss to my lips, pulling away with a smile, "More like; been there done that" Gray stated. I laughed.
"Who said it was that kind of chicken?" I replied. Now Gray furrowed his brows, causing me to laugh and sit up, sitting cross legged so I could face him and keep close.
"What other kinds are there; I mean… you don't like vehicles so…" he seemed confused. I trailed a finger up his chest.
"How about… we see who can go the longest without peeking?" I laughed. Gray looked wide eyed at me, before looking away, a slight blush on his face. Adorable I thought.
"Y-you mean…" he was suddenly very quiet. I laughed louder.
"Yeah. I mean we both strip down and…" I trailed off, laughing too hard at Gray's increasingly red face. Gray shook his head.
"You can't really be serious Natsu" he stated. I nodded vigorously, leaning in close to his ear.
"Sure I am. Totally serious" I whispered, drawing back to enjoy the look Gray was putting on. It would be pretty funny if he agreed I thought amusedly. Teasing Gray into doing something like this had been my ultimate goal for today, although originally my plan had been for us to go to the bathhouse, where he'd have to strip, however as he seemed adamant on staying in this was a pretty good alternative. Plus, if I want my plant to work I need to get him to strip in front of me. Then I could tell just how comfortable he was before we moved onto the next 'step'… I thought, the plan I had been working on during my job away jumping to the forefront of my mind.
Gray looked me up and down once more. "Come on Natsu, knock it off. We can't do stuff like that when we haven't even…" he stopped his sentence without finishing. I smiled at him. Looks like he's said it, or at least thought it… maybe he would…
"When we haven't what, Gray?" I probed, voice becoming a little more serious; I wanted more information on just how comfortable Gray was with this before I got to this topic, however now that we were here there was no avoiding it. I really want to go the full distance with Gray, but I need to hear him agree to it first.
"You know what… Natsu…" he said, slightly embarrassed. I raised my eyebrow, pushing him for an answer.
"No I don't Gray" I stated bluntly. He looked up, eyes meeting mine with fierceness and annoyance. It was oddly exciting.
"We haven't had sex" he said angrily. I smiled once more, causing him to look away again.
"Oh that" I said, tone a little mocking. Gray didn't say anything further, so I raised my hand to his cheek, trying to get him to face me once more. When he finally did I spoke again. "I guess that's true, but…" As I spoke I suddenly found the words I wanted were not there. I just need to ask him if he would ever want to I thought, so why can't I say that? It's part of the plan after all…
"You guess so?" Gray said, both a statement and a question in his tone. I locked eyes with him briefly, taking a breath in.
"I guess it's true but… err… do you think you would… want to?" I stuttered out. Gray looked to me once more, a look of surprise taking his face again.
"Do you mean… are you asking me if I want to have sex with you?" he blurted out. I blushed and nodded, not looking away for fear of him rejecting me. If he rejected it, I would face him directly whilst he does so. "Oh well… I…" he smiled just as wide as I had done before, "I can't say I don't want to" he replied. I cocked my head.
"You really want to?" I asked, desperate to believe that Gray was actually agreeing with this. He nodded.
"Of course, flame brain, I wanted to for… for a little while now" he said. I beamed at him.
"Really! So it wasn't just me then?" Gray shook his head, however before I could say anything more a thought struck me and my face went colder again, "But I forgot, you're not a Dragon Slayer, you wouldn't want to do it with me" I said suddenly. Gray looked at me with a suspicious glance.
"I just said I did, fire breathing idiot" he said. I scowled at him. He won't understand unless I explain it.
"No, you don't. I just…" I breathed in another steadying breath, "I just think you wouldn't" I said. I still need to explain it, he doesn't understand yet how important that would be for a Dragon Slayer. The plan was just to see if he would want to have sex in the future but…
"Is this something to do with you being a Dragon Slayer then?" he asked. I nodded, but smiled a little broader. So he can guess that good, huh…
"Yeah, I'll have to kinda explain it to you later, but I need to get something first. I'm sorry for jumping this on you and then stopping like this" I apologised. I would need to show him my treasure before I could let him decide to go through with it.
Gray continued to give me a skeptics look. "Is it something special? Or is that just an excuse for you to put this off?" he asked me. I shook my head.
"It is sort of something special, but not really an excuse. I mean… I didn't mean we should do it right now, just if you… you know, wanted to in the future. But then I… I forgot to explain some stuff to you and…" I stammered off.
Gray shrugged. "I still want to do it, even if you're a Dragon Slayer, it doesn't matter to me" he said. I just nodded.
"Okay, but I just forgot when I was asking before" I said, "It's not that I don't want to either, just…" I trailed off again, it was hard to explain this without my treasure. If only he'd gone out with me I could've tested things at the baths and then showed him it. Stupid plans I thought, a little annoyed at how things had worked out.
"Don't worry about it Natsu, if you need to show me something beforehand then its fine with me. I guess you still have a few secrets, huh?" Gray said. He didn't sound nearly as annoyed or as bored as before, so I felt a little more reassured. I nodded, resuming my position with my head in his lap.
"Yeah" I said. Gray looked down at me for a moment, threading his hand through my hair. After a little moment of quiet I spoke up again. "Are you sure we can't go outside? It's so nice out and I really think we'd be better off going somewhere together"
Gray sighed loudly. "You really are hopeless. First you act all teasing, then you get all secretive, and now you're just plain annoying" he said. I smiled up at him, tickling his side like I had before, and earning another slight tap to the head.
"Yeah, I am, but I'm also your boyfriend and I can be all those things if I want to be" I replied. But I could also be something more… if he still agrees with it…
If he agrees to be my Mate.
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Gray POV
Natsu lay in silence for a while; it was an odd feeling. It wasn't that I didn't mind a bit of peace and quiet after the incessant whining I had suffered for the last hour or two, however it was just… odd. He had seemed so excited when he had talked about sex, yet as soon as that topic had come up he had gone really reserved, as if something was gnawing away at him. I trailed my fingers through his pink strands, my own thoughts shifting in numerous questions. Why would he need to show me something first? He said it was to do with Dragon Slayers but… what could he possibly need to do, he knows how much I like him so… It's just so weird I thought. I rested my head back, breathing in deeply; it had been a good twenty minutes since Natsu had last uttered a word and I was beginning to worry. "Natsu…" I said. No response. "Natsu" I repeated, slightly louder. He turned so he was lying on his back, staring straight up at me, dark eyes meeting my own.
"What is it Gray?" he asked politely, "Did you change your mind about doing something?"
I looked down at him intently for a moment before deciding what to say now. I suppose a walk around town wouldn't be so bad I debated. "Er… well… I guess I wouldn't mind going for a walk or something" I said casually, not wanting to give the Dragon Slayer any chance to make a statement.
Natsu smiled. "Okay then, anywhere particular?" he asked. I thought about this for a moment, but then just shook my head. "Right, so should we just wander and see what to do next?" he added. I nodded and he sat up, eyes looking intently to me.
"Just let me get some clothes on first" I said. Natsu nodded.
"Yeah, I don't want to be walking around with a guy in his underwear… alone… people might get the wrong idea" he smirked. I punched him lightly on the arm.
"Shut up, pinkie. You know it wouldn't be the first time if I did, and I don't think many people in Magnolia would be that surprised to see me half naked" I retorted. Natsu shoved me a little, before I stood up.
"Just get changed already, you pervy stripper" he commented, "I know we're trying to be discrete so I figured you should get changed, that's all"
"That's why I said it" I said, rolling my eyes as I disappeared off to my bedroom to grab some clothes. When Natsu had showed up at my door this morning it had been pretty early and I hadn't even gotten ready, even if I would strip down later I usually at least start the day with clothes on, however Natsu hadn't given me any opportunity to get changed so I just sat around with him on my sofa, talking with him or debating whether to go outside. That was… until we talked about that topic… I reminded myself. As I got clothed I thought more about it and by the time I left my room I made a resolution; get Natsu to do whatever he needed to do, especially since I'd get to have some fun afterwards.
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We left my apartment about ten minutes later, after Natsu had suggested a few places we could go as we walked around town. I agreed to all but two, the bathhouse and his house in the woods. Natsu hadn't seemed fazed by my responses at first, however as we continued to walk about he became more and more insistent on us going to the baths. "No Natsu, it'll be hot in there and it's already hot as it is" I said, for the fourth time as we passed the baths. Natsu pouted.
"Buuuuut… we could get to have a bit more fun in there" Natsu replied. I shook my head, Natsu frowned and we continued walking down the street, retreating from the bathhouse as we continued along. "Oh, you're no fun" Natsu huffed childishly. I sighed.
"I just thought that after… our discussion earlier you might not want to" I said. Natsu cocked his head, but then looked at the ground and breathed out.
"Fine. I guess you have a point… but can we at least go to the west gate park?" Natsu asked. I nodded this time, scooting a little closer to the Dragon Slayer as we walked.
"Yeah, at least there we know some places where we can get some privacy" I whispered to him. He looked at me with a look of confusion.
"Why do we need pr-" Natsu started, being stopped only by a discrete smile from me.
"Because I want to show you something too" I whispered. This had Natsu's attention. Yeah I want to show him just how badly I want him to tell me his secret so we can move on I thought to myself. Now with a little more spring in his step Natsu bounded along after me.
"Alright then, let's go" he barked more excitedly. I walked after him with an increased pace and soon we came to the park, entering the grassy, slightly shaded, area of greenery, trees and plants. Natsu seemed to lead the way a little and after a little bit of ducking through a few tree areas we came to a secluded spot, surrounded by nothing but plants and with no other company than each other. As soon as we entered this area Natsu turned on the spot and grinned at me. "What did you want to show me?" he asked. I sighed, sometimes Natsu was such a child it was annoying.
"I wanted to show you one thing, alright, just one" I replied, gesturing for the Fire mage to sit with me on the grass, which he did so readily. Once he was sat, I moved to sit opposite him, legs crossed. Natsu watched me intently, waiting for me to speak again. I took a breath in and formulated what I was going to say next carefully. If I don't say this right Natsu might get a bit annoyed or a bit afraid and not want to tell me his secret, I thought.
"Uh… Gray?" Natsu said after a moment, "Do you actually have something to show me? Or was that just a trick?"
"It wasn't a trick but… I don't have something physical to show you" I replied. This caused Natsu's face to twist in confusion.
"What do you mean 'not physical', do you or don't you have something, Gray?" Natsu asked, both confused and impatient. I took another, deeper breath before speaking again.
"It means that it isn't something you can touch" I started, causing yet more confusion to form on Natsu's features. "B-but before you ask what it is, I just want to say something" I added. Natsu nodded and smiled at me, obviously willing to put up with anything if just to learn something about me. "Well… you know how strongly I feel about you Natsu, and I have done for most of the time I've known you. What I wanted to show you was that no matter what happens I don't think these feelings will ever go away and I just… I just wanted to show you that you can tell me anything. No matter what it is I don't think it will ever change this, okay?" I said, voice growing increasingly shaky. Natsu went quiet after I finished, vision going a little dimmer to show me that he was thinking about something. I wanted to press him for a response, however I stayed motionless. Eventually Natsu made a move.
"Gray… I've felt the same about you for probably as long as you have about me, but…" he looked down to the grass for a moment before speaking again, "There was always something that stopped me from ever telling you any of this" he said, voice growing hesitant. I furrowed my brows, moving my arm to rest my hand on Natsu's shoulder.
"Natsu… I know we've only been together a week, and we haven't really spent that much time together… but I really want to be with you in more ways than one. If telling me this thing, whatever it is, would allow us to have an even stronger bond then I… want to see it" I said. Natsu met my gaze and our eyes locked.
"Are you really sure about that?" he asked flatly. I nodded.
"Yeah" I replied. Natsu sighed and moved his arms behind him so he was sitting looking up at the sky.
"It's really hard to explain, and Igneel only told me a little bit about it but I think I understand what's going on" Natsu said. I looked at him quizzically, however from his new position I doubt he saw this. "But you know how Dragon Slayer's have advanced senses, like smell, or even hearing?" he phrased this as if it wasn't already common knowledge, especially in our guild with three of them.
"Yeah, sure… but what does that have to do with us?" I asked Natsu, who muttered something inaudible before speaking again.
"Well… our senses aren't the only thing enhanced because of our magic. Dragons normally pick only one other Dragon to have sex with" he said, sitting up to look directly at me once more, "That is their mate" he added, serious tone in his voice that sounded almost foreign to him; it struck something deep inside of me.
"Mate…" I breathed, realisation making its own slow march through my consciousness. "You mean that… you can only have sex with…" I pieced it together.
Natsu nodded, his gaze sweeping away to avoid my own. "We can only have it with one. I wanted to see how you felt about sex, that was my plan, but then… you seemed so willing that I felt like…" Natsu stopped. I felt suddenly very sorry for him, realising only now that Natsu had avoided facing me with his feelings for all this time because he did know how to tell me about this. And now he has…
"Natsu…" I said, drawing the Dragon Slayer's attention back to me, "I don't care if you don't want to mate yet, that's your choice, but can you please tell me just one thing?" I asked. Natsu cocked his head, wanting me to ask him this. "Why did you think me learning this would stop me from wanting to be with you?"
The pink haired man seemed stunned. He's cute when he's confused, but he's hot when he's all adorable like that I thought with a smile. Natsu saw me smile and then returned it.
"I guess I'm an idiot. I wanted to tell you before the meeting, but then… I just didn't find the right time, what with Blake's injuries and stuff…" he said, with a little laugh. I nodded to him.
"Yeah, you are, you shoulda told me sooner" I replied.
Chapter 12 End
Next Chapter; My feelings