Zeref didn't tell Natsu what the ring's purpose was. All he said was that it was something Gray wanted. The jar of cream he at least specified was to help Gray prevent stretch marks, but the ring was just 'something for Gray'. Natsu already dreaded paying Gray a visit after the barrage of people dragging him outdoors, because Mavis also had a letter for Gray that Natsu wasn't allowed to open. Gray wasn't violent with Natsu. If anything, he acted more defeated than aggressive, which was something to worry about. But depending on what the letter was about, Gray still might shoot the messenger.

He almost only delivered the cream, but for all he knew the letter was something good, and Gray asked for the ring. Besides, he would have to admit that he withheld gifts if he didn't bring them. After sneaking Gray that potion for two straight months, he couldn't do anything involving Gray anymore without making sure Gray was fully informed.

Mavis had the best interest of all of her children at heart, even if Zeref had been the most flippant about the baby in favor of Gray's agency. Natsu had to trust that they were safe.

It was noon, but Gray was asleep when Natsu let himself into the apartment. He put his collar on before anything else and tried not to think of the dehumanization inherent in it. He'd heard Gray mumbled once or twice about being a "meat-sack baby factory" to Natsu, so Natsu could be his dog until the baby was born.

"Gray?"

No response. He probably crawled back into bed once he was done throwing up again.

With a sigh, Natsu tossed Zeref and Mavis's gifts on the kitchen table and turned the stove on. Gray would be more likely to come out of his room if there were sweets waiting for him in the kitchen. Natsu even splurged on fudge to try and bribe him outside with.

Once milk was heated and chocolate melted in, Natsu threw Gray's bedroom door open. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!"

He was rewarded with a low moan, and the sight of Gray pulling the bedsheets over his head.

"Come on. You gotta get up. You and the baby need food."

"I had breakfast," Gray murmured.

"It stayed down?"

"Yes."

"Great! But it's lunchtime now. Come on, Gray. I made hot chocolate."

"Cheater," Gray mumbled, forcing himself upright. "Is hot chocolate all you know how to make?"

"I can make brownies too."

"What do I have to do for those?"

"They're not on the menu today."

Gray lay back down.

"I didn't make it, but I did buy fudge. But you only get that if you come outside with me."

Sighing, Gray pushed himself back up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I wondered when it would be your turn to drag me outside."

"I'm not dragging. I'm bribing. You get one half for going somewhere with me, but you only get the whole block if you come with me to the guild. It's been almost two weeks since the last time you came, and everyone knows you're not on a job. A lot of people are worried."

Lucy especially. Apparently Gray and been out to see her at a few particularly low points, and she'd deduced that he was under some mental stress and probably ought not to be left alone. The only reason she hadn't kicked his door down to make sure he was alright was because Natsu assured her that he, Jellal, and Lyon were regularly checking in. It had snowed nonstop for the past week since Juvia came back from a job too, having heard that her beloved Gray became a shut-in. Natsu had to have Mavis order Juvia to give Gray his space, knowing that she was prone to talking about the children she planned on having with him, and that Gray didn't want to talk about kids. It was only a matter of time before her willpower crumpled and she ran to see him anyway. As it was, her magic and mood already brought the rain, and it just happened that the rain crystalized on its way to earth.

But aside from those two, Erza fretted frequently about Gray, who she hadn't seen since before announcing her pregnancy. Levy wondered if his 'torn muscle' was a much worse injury than he'd first let on while Gajeel exacerbated the Juvia situation by musing about the chances that Gray might be working up the nerve to leave the guild. Several of the townsfolk, who had seen Gray head out of town with Zeref the other week, had been caught wondering if there had been an accident and Zeref hid the body. Romeo and Wendy had a running bet that Gray wasn't dead yet, but he was hiding a mistress and Juvia would kill him soon.

If Natsu heard his friends were worried, he would have jumped up to go reassure them. Gray gave Natsu a tried look, shoved himself to his feet, and lumbered into the kitchen before plopping down at the table.

"No fudge?" Natsu asked.

Gray thought about it. "Is anyone at the lake right now?"

"Probably. It's the best time of day for that."

"How about the woods?"

"No one wanders into the woods in winter."

Almost no one. Natsu could always keep warm, so he never worried about going in there as a place to clear his head, and he was unofficially the one the town relied on to find any less prepared and less fortunate fools who went in and never came back out. But Zeref had very bluntly told Natsu to make sure Gray had nothing in his apartment that looked like it could work as a noose, so Natsu saw no need to mention that.

Gray didn't challenge Natsu's assertion. He glanced over at the pot of hot chocolate on the stove and asked, "Do you think we could go out in the evening?"

"The cold wouldn't bother either of us."

"It won't damage my magic?"

The baby, he meant.

"That's a good question. We can strap you into coat. Or wrap a wool blanket around your stomach, if you don't want your whole body to overheat. And I can warm that area up if you feel it getting cold."

"I don't usually feel the cold."

"I can check the temperature on your behalf. You want to go to the lake when it's less crowded?"

"Yeah. If I have to go out."

The goal was to get Gray outside, but Natsu had already seen to it that Gray had to do enough. "Going outside is an option."

"I want the fudge. Do I get the other half tomorrow if I go out again then?"

"Um… You shouldn't eat half of it in one day."

"It's okay. I'm eating for two, so I only get a fourth of it."

"That's still a lot of fudge to have in… It doesn't work like that!"

"Don't care," Gray said. "Is the hot chocolate ready?"

Grumbling, Natsu poured Gray a mug and turned the stove down so the milk would stay warm, but not boil over. "I looked up more healthy recipes. If you're going to eat so many sweets, then you need to eat better during meals. I can cook them whenever I don't have to go out on a job, and I'll leave you the instructions for easier, faster ones to make for yourself while I'm out of town. How does that sound for you?"

"That sounds like something a grandma would say, but I won't complain about someone cooking for me most days. At least as long as you don't put anything else in my food."

Score! Natsu had stuck primarily to scarcely snubbed meals like hamburgers or curry, but if Gray was going to have a healthy baby, then he needed a wider variety of meals. And he needed a lot of foods that would offset all the chocolate he was craving. If Gray hadn't been on board with that, then Natsu wasn't sure how to sell it. Telling Gray that he needed to eat healthy in order to ensure that the baby was healthy, Natsu suspected, would not be a good tactic. Since he didn't have to worry about that battle, he could let the jab at his past behavior go without comment.

He hadn't even bought more than a day's worth of vegetables, in case Gray rebelled against the new meal plan. Pleased with the easy success, Natsu turned to begin chopping cucumber, and had his back to Gray when asked, "What's this?"

Natsu looked back to see Gray inspecting the ring he'd left on the table.

"Gift from Zeref. Be careful putting it on. He wouldn't tell me what it was for."

"I think I know. Is this from him too?"

Gray had the letter torn open before Natsu could say no.

"Oh. It's The First."

His eyes scanned across the paper, bored frown deepening into a sour scowl as he moved down the page. When he was done, he tore the note in half.

"What did she have to say?" Natsu asked.

"Nothing."

"You're upset over nothing?"

Gray shoved his chair back and rose to feet, glaring. "It's none of your business why I'm upset!"

"Sorry." Natsu turned back to the cutting board. "But the ring is a good thing?"

"Assuming it works properly." Natsu heard footsteps moving away from him. "I need to check."

"It's not dangerous?"

"It's just a ring. When has a ring ever been dangerous?"

The bathroom door shut before Natsu could provide an answer, and seconds later he heard a whoop.

Natsu turned to go and see what had instantly lightened Gray's mood so much—not that it took a lot to radically alter Gray's mood as of late—and paused when he saw the two halves of the letter on the table. After a moment's hesitation, he snatched one half and skimmed it.

Keywords popped out. Pregnancy. Baby. Aunt. Excited. Miracle. Godmother. Congrats. Stupid. (That last one preceded 'Zeref', Natsu noticed.) Family.

There was no sound of Gray about to open the bathroom door. Natsu took the other half of the note and held them together to read the full thing.

Mavis knew. Zeref recruited her to make some charm that Gray requested—the ring, no doubt—and had informed her of the pregnancy to explain the need for the charm. He must have skimmed the detail of Gray not wanting to have the baby, because she dubbed herself the aunt and was excited to meet her new little niece or nephew who might be the half-sibling off any children she had. Her only concern was how Larcade might react to more family living in town with them while he was stuck in the Alvarez capitol.

The words "you have to keep it" were never explicitly stated, nor was there any allusion to the thwarted abortion. Zeref probably hadn't told her, and while that was in keeping with Gray's wish to be the one who told everyone about what Natsu did, Natsu imagined it must be frustrating to see someone sound so excited without even a note of sympathy for having been force into his situation. Even if she did hint that she knew he wouldn't have chosen to be pregnant, the overall implication was that his pregnancy was a good, happy thing. And that she fully expected the child to stay in the same town as her.

Natsu returned the letter halves to their place and moved back to the cutting board, biting back a smile. Gray could still give the baby up if he wanted. No one was tying him to a chair and stopping him. But a guild master who was attached to that baby and had no hand in its conception or continued existence would be harder for him to argue against than Natsu, were Natsu to put up a fight for the child. Even if Gray explained that he didn't want the baby to her and detailed why he didn't want Natsu to have it, she would insist on taking it herself. And she always said that she'd sooner turn to Natsu for help with any children she had than count on Zeref's disproven parenting skills.

It wasn't a guaranteed win for Natsu. Gray could still give the baby up, and Mavis might be respectful enough of his wishes to not let Natsu have heavy involvement with the child. But it was a huge step in the right direction. For him, at least. He could see why Gray might be upset with the knowledge that he now had Mavis to contend with, and he was supposed to support Gray.

So he didn't let himself smile, and didn't mention anything about custody or the letter when Gray stepped out of the bathroom.

All his mental schooling to not react to the letter was a waste of effort, though. Natsu took one look at Gray and almost immediately forgot about Mavis.

"Where did your stomach go?"

"It's still here." Gray scowled down at his one again sculpted torso and patted the air just in front of it. "I can feel it, and my clothes still curve around it. But the ring hides it from view. See?" He pulled the ring off, and his baby bump reappeared. When he slid it back on, the illusion of defined abs returned. "It's a good thing it will be warmer once this thing is bigger, because I'll have to go around topless once it's too large for baggy clothes. But for now clothes still hide it, and I can take my clothes off again, too!"

Gray had rarely removed his clothes since becoming pregnant, which was still more alarming to Natsu than any other behavioral shift Natsu saw. Staying inside as much as possible when you were usually social? Concerning, but not unheard of. Gray periodically became unsociable on the anniversary of a bad event, or after something unfortunate happened. He always bounced back. Defying your vary nature and not walking around nude? Highly alarming. Gray didn't like going around nude, yet never had the self-control to stop himself from stripping. His baby bump fears had overpowered one of his strongest compulsions.

But the ring made him feel better, and he was shirtless now. Natsu beamed at him, because Gray feeling better was a good thing. A very good thing that Natsu had waited almost a month to see. Hopefully, being able to hide his bump would help him better cope with the remaining six months. Hopefully, still being able to feel the child inside him or his stomach bumping up against stretched skin that was only hidden from sight and not from touch wouldn't depress Gray again.

Hopefully seeing how he would look again once his pregnancy was over would help Gray not to stress over the temporary changes over the next few months.

Except the scars. Come to think of it.

"There's cream to help with stretch marks on the table too," Natsu said. "Ring or no, you should put that on."

Gray opened the jar then and there and scooped a dab of cream onto his finger. Spreading it over his invisible bump. At first the sleek beige dot was plainly visible, then it turned into a translucent film as Gray spread it out, and then it was gone.

"I like your brother," Gray decided. "I take back every nasty thing I ever said about him."

A lot of the nasty things Gray said about Zeref over the years had to do with his creating the demon that killed his parents, and the demon that used his father's corpse as a slave. Natsu highly doubted that a ring and some cream made up for that, but a good mood was a good mood, and he wasn't about to shoot Gray's mood down.

"So we're on for skating tonight?"

"Sure. But you're handing me that fudge as soon as we reach the lake. I still need a jacket, don't I?"

Natsu smiled. "It wouldn't hurt."

"I guess not. Skating at dusk. That doesn't sound so bad."

-x-

STA:
Gray: When has a ring ever been dangerous?
Me: One ring to rule them all. One ring to find them. One ring to…

Anywho, sorry for the delay. Massive stupid essay due at midnight last night, and I spent the last two days fairly focused on that. (And also maybe feel a little burned out today. I don't even know where most of the day went. I just know I didn't have the energy to do anything with it.) The sad thing is that the chapter was already written. I just had to proofread one last time and do comment replies. If you knew how many chapters for this fic are written but not posted, you'd probably be disgusted in me. It was over 100,000 words by the end of August, although I haven't written nearly as much for this fic since. That's not counting author's note and reply stuff either. There's, like, a fuckton that I'm kinda just posting gradually because if I posted as I wrote, you'd get a massive dump in two weeks and then radio silence for three months. (Also gives me more time between when I wrote and when I proofread. Proofreading shit immediately after you just wrote it is terribly boring.)

Oh yeah. Larcade reference added last minute. I guess he's emperor now, since it turns out Zeref had an obvious successor. (I was kinda thinking originally that Invel could take over or whatever, but I don't recall ever specifying what the situation in this fic is with Alvarez since Zeref stepped down, beyond that they still pay for his toys.) I'm at the point in the writing of this fic where Gray's nearly due, although the story goes for a while beyond that point (which is kinda weird for me-I usually try to time these so the plot wraps up right around when they baby is due) so maybe I'll have him drop by to visit the kid that's either his cousin or his half brother. In either case, he's rather convenient as a character for adding to any further remarks Mavis makes about Zeref not being ideal father material.

Kori no Koibito: I feel like, in the absence of a mind-raping curse, someone who's lived for a few centuries has to have some life experience worth drawing from to dispense unsolicited advice.

Mistystarshine: I used to catch tadpoles when I was little, but I was a dumb kid who didn't know how to take care of things, so they never lived to be frogs. I don't think my parents would have let me keep on anyway. Anyway, Zeref... Originally he was supposed to be more of Natsu's ally, but he kind of ended up being someone that both of them could turn to? It was no where in the original plans, but I think he ended up working well in that role.

fanakatsuki: Male is my default for exactly that reason, but I write entirely too many stories like this to make the baby a boy every single time.