Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail…for now… ;)
Warnings: Yaoi, Language, Violence
"Finally, the moment I've been waiting for," He smiled broadly, "Are you ready to die Natsu Dragneel?"
The pinkette knocked his fists together and his green eyes narrowed dangerously,
"I'm not the one who's dying here asshole; that's going to be you."
Natsu dove forward with his fist pulled back and punched Zayn in the face. The brunette was pushed back with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Using the pad of his thumb, Zayn wiped the blood away and twirled the knife in his hand before attacking Natsu. The pinkette dodged to the right to avoid the blade from piercing his shoulder, but only barely. The pinkette hissed in pain from the scratch that appeared on his shoulder.
He didn't have much time to think because the blade came at him again and managed to slice the side of his neck. Natsu jumped onto his hands and kicked his legs up allowing his feet to kick Zayn in the chest and send him flying. The brunette's back slammed against a nearby wall and the blade was flung to the other side of the room. Natsu placed his hand on his neck and grimaced when he felt the warmness of his blood on his fingers. He knew without a doubt that it was going to scar.
"Not bad Dragneel," Zayn spat on the ground, "You actually have some fight in you unlike that whore of mine."
Natsu growled,
"Don't you dare call him that!"
Zayn pushed himself to his feet and slowly made his way over to the furious pinkette,
"You mean he didn't tell you? He didn't tell you how many times he just sat there and took whatever I had to offer without fighting back. Half the time he was there waiting for me to take him so it was only natural that I comply, don't you think?"
The pinkette ran at the brunette with his fist raised once,
"YOU LYING BASTARD! GRAY WOULD NEVER DO THAT WILLINGLY! YOU HURT HIM! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY HE COULDN'T TRUST ANYONE EVER AGAIN! YOU'RE THE REASON FOR HIS TEARS AND FOR THAT I'M GOING TO KILL YOU"
Zayn cackled as he put his hand in his back pocket and pulled out a gun. Even though there was gun pointing at him Natsu didn't stop going towards him. He was going to free Gray from his Hell; he was make sure Gray could smile again; after all Gray had a beautiful smile. The sound of Zayn's finger cocking the gun echoed around the room as Natsu continued to run at him, but he ignored it.
"Well Natsu Dragneel, it's time to say goodbye."
It was like everything was moving in slow motion; it was if Natsu could see the bullet rushing towards him inch by inch. He was prepared for the bullet to tear through his skin, but for some reason that didn't happen. Before he knew it, he was pushed out of the way and was sliding on the hardwood floor on his knees before he smacked against the wall. Natsu shook his head to clear the dizziness gathering in his head only for him to flinch at the blood running down his neck. The pinkette lifted his head and his eyes widened in disbelief and in fear; standing before him as white as a ghost was none other than the person who he was trying to save.
"Look who decided to man up and face me head to head," Zayn sneered, "I don't know if you've finally found your bravery or if you've come to the realization that no one would be able to save you."
Natsu stared as the raven's body seemed to sway on the spot before it started to fall to the ground like a domino that was pushed too hard. The pinkette dove forward and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's body before it collided with the floor. Completely ignoring the psychopath in the room, Natsu gently laid Gray on the ground and knelt by his head. The raven's deep blue eyes were hazy and his pupils were fully dilated, but he knew that it wasn't from the wound adorning Gray's side. He raised a shaky hand as he slowly ran his fingers through the blood that was draining sluggishly from the new wound on his forehead.
"G-Gray," His voice cracked, "Gray, can you hear me?"
The younger teen's mouth opened and closed soundlessly as blood started to leak out of the corner of his mouth,
"I-It's okay Gray," Natsu whispered, "You're going to be okay, but you have to stay awake for me."
The pinkette was aware of the tears that started to trail down his cheeks and blur his vision, but he just let them fall. He held onto the raven as tightly as he could as the deep blue eyes flickered between consciousness and unconsciousness. Natsu's breath quickened as he grasped each side of Gray's face firmly between his clammy hands,
"No, you have to stay awake," He pleaded as tears splashed against the raven's skin, "Y-You have to stay awake baby, I know it's hard, but you have to do this for me! Please!"
A sob tore from his throat as the deep blue eyes were hidden behind blood coated alabaster lids. His hands shook uncontrollably as he ran his fingers through the raven hair that he loved so much and trailed down the prominent cheekbones over the shell pink lips and along the pale jugular. The pinkette was wrenched out of his movements by the sound of laughter reaching his ears. His head snapped up and his green eyes ignited like the nine circles of Hell as he glared at the cackling brown haired bastard who had his arms wrapped around his middle, failing to suppress the laughs that escaped him.
"Shut the fuck up!" Natsu roared, "I thought you loved him!"
The brunette stopped laughing and pretended to wipe tears from the corner of his eyes. Zayn straightened and crossed his arms over his chest nonchalantly as he regarded Natsu through hooded eyes.
"I did love him, but he was unfaithful and disobedient." The brunette shrugged, "All this happened because of you Natsu, you just don't want to admit it."
The pinkette slowly rose to his feet his eyes shadowed by his bangs,
"Shut up…"
"If you just left him alone and let him be consumed by his guilt he would still be alive right now." Zayn smirked, "It's because of you that Gray-chan decided he wanted to fight back and live. He has always belonged to me Natsu, so it was only fair that we make a competition for his hand, don't you think?"
Natsu took small steps towards Zayn; his movements seeming slow and robotic,
"Shut up…"
"Can't you live up to your mistakes Natsu Dragneel? Can you not live a full life with his blood on your hands? If only you had not interfered, if only you went on with your life, if only the Milkovich's didn't move to Magnolia, and if only Gray-chan didn't survive that fire; there are a lot of 'if onlys' Natsu, if there weren't any, this wouldn't be a game now would it?"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Natsu kicked out at Zayn's hands causing the gun to go flying across the room. Before Zayn could even react, the pinkette punched him in the face and sent him sprawling onto the ground. Natsu jumped onto him so that he straddled his waist causing Zayn's head to snap against the hardwood floor with a loud crack. Without hesitation, Natsu let his fists fly at his target; he didn't blink as blood started to coat his hands or when Zayn's breath weakened.
"His. Life. Is. NOT. A. GAME!" He screamed, "I'm going to kill you for what you did, do you hear me?! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
The next thing he knew a strong arm was wrapped around his waist and was pulling him off of Zayn's body. Natsu struggled against the arm and tried to get at his prey when a rough voice hissed into his ear darkly,
"STOP BEING A DUMBASS YOU FLAMER!"
The pinkette froze in his movements and stared at the person holding him to see that it was none other than Gajeel. The older raven was covered in blood and his breath was coming out in pants, but it was obvious that he would still be able to hold Natsu back if he wanted to. Natsu was about to calm down when his eyes landed on Gray's unresponsive body out of the corner of his eye. Ultear and Erza were leaning over him, but all Natsu could see was red.
"Let me go Gajeel," He growled, "I have to make him pay."
"You've done enough," The raven tightened his grip, "He wouldn't want you to do it."
Natsu stilled,
"What?"
Gajeel relaxed slightly and placed Natsu on the ground. The pinkette stared at him in confusion until a familiar raven haired girl walked over to him and placed a pale hand on his shoulder. Natsu glanced at Ultear with sad eyes when he saw the tears gathering in her brown. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug,
"I'm sorry Ultear," He whispered, "I'm sorry."
She smiled softly and hugged him back while rubbing a hand across his shoulder blades,
"Gray wouldn't want you to kill him Natsu; you know that, don't you?"
Natsu stepped back and looked her in the eyes,
"I know, b-but it's so hard 'cause he's, because he's…"
Ultear eyes widened and she shook her head back and forth frantically,
"He's still alive Natsu, believe me, he's still alive."
Natsu felt his mouth drop open and tears gather in his eyes once more at the thought of Gray being alive. He was faintly aware of Ultear telling him that the bullet only grazed his temple and that the over exertion of his side wound was what was killing him. The pinkette turned away from the two ravens and started to make his way towards Gray and Erza. Natsu could feel his legs going weak with relief and euphoria was starting to burn in his veins when the sound of four loud bangs entered his ears.
On instinct he turned only to see Ultear standing in front of him with her arms out wide; before he could contemplate what was happening, she was falling backwards and searing pain started to blossom in his own body. He heard Erza and Gajeel calling their names, but they sounded so far away. Natsu glanced down at himself and smiled faintly as he saw the masses of red exploding over the front of his body. He lifted his head so that he was looking forward once more as he fell to the ground. Zayn was on his feet, blood pouring down his abused face, with a victorious smirk lighting up his visage. He barely registered the gun he was holding when another bang erupted in the room and Zayn went sprawling on his back.
Natsu shot forward with sweat rolling down his face and his hands automatically reaching out beside him. His breathing hastened when nothing but a cold sheet wrapped around his fingers causing him to dive out of bed. Without grabbing a t-shirt, Natsu ran out of his room as if the devil was on his heels and down the grand staircase that led to the foyer. He ran past the front door and into his large kitchen where he found Lyon leaning against the counter with his crutches propped beside him. The silverette's head popped up at his arrival and his brow knitted together in confusion,
"Idiot, are you alright?"
Natsu tried to catch his breath as his eyes scanned the room in search of what he was missing. Everywhere he looked there was no sign of him; was there a chance that he had tried to sacrifice himself again? Did Zayn actually die or did he somehow survive and take Gray away from him again. He wasn't even aware that he had started to hyperventilate until a pair of hands latched onto his shoulders and shook him. Motion sickness started to take over immediately causing him to latch onto the arms on his shoulder to stop his movement. When his mind finally cleared, Natsu found himself looking into a pair of concerned onyx eyes.
"Natsu," Lyon flinched as if he were in pain, "Are you alright?"
The pinkette blinked a couple times before nodding slightly. He glanced around the room once more and found that Lyon's crutches were still propped up against the counter whereas the silverette himself was in the entry way of the kitchen standing in front of Natsu. His eyes widened as he pulled the silverette's arm over his shoulder and led him over to the kitchen table so that he could sit in a chair.
"Are you stupid?!" Natsu demanded, "My dad said that you can't move without your crutches yet!"
Lyon scowled and rolled his eyes,
"I wouldn't have had to disobey his orders if someone wasn't having a panic attack all the way across the room now would I?"
Natsu felt his cheeks burn in shame as he turned away from the inquiring onyx eyes of the teen standing beside him. When the pair reached the table, Natsu hooked his foot under the closest chair leg and pulled it out so that he could lower the older teen into it. Natsu bent forward so that he could slid the silverette into the chair carefully; as he was about to pull away a sharp pain laced his skull causing him to curse and rub the sore spot soothingly.
"What the hell Lyon!"
Lyon's eyes narrowed as he shifted uncomfortably in the chair,
"You're still dreaming about it aren't you."
The pinkette froze and turned away from the burning onyx boring into his very soul. He knew that the silverette was stating rather than asking; but he didn't want to show his weakness to Lyon. He was supposed to be the strong one; Gray still needed him to be strong, but it was so hard sometimes.
"Natsu…" Lyon sighed, "I know you haven't fully recovered…"
The pinkette clenched his hands at his sides and continued to look away,
"I'm fine; it's been a year after all."
Silence spread between them; one avoiding confrontation while the other wanted to get everything sorted. Natsu ran his hands through his hair and turned to run back upstairs to get dressed and search for his significant other when Lyon's stoic voice broke through his defences causing him to freeze in his tracks.
"I don't blame you for her death Natsu and neither does Gray."
Natsu turned towards the silverette, his eyes burning with suppressed tears. He walked over to Lyon and kneeled in front of him before placing his hands on the older teen's knees. He felt the silverette tense under his touch, but the muscles slowly relaxed underneath his fingers. Lyon gripped Natsu's hands and pulled him off his knees. The pinkette waited for Lyon to speak once more as the silence once again consumed them.
"Ul died because she wanted to save you; she wanted Gray to be happy and she knew that the only way for him to achieve that happiness would be if you had the chance to live. Gray needed you, hell, he still needs you Natsu but now, you need him too. Every time you wake up from that dream, you are always looking for Gray because you need him. You love him Natsu and he loves you and I trust you to take care of him."
The pinkette glanced up at him as the words left the silverette's mouth. After everything that has happened to them, after all that they've lost, Lyon was going to trust him to protect Gray. Even though he was the one who failed to protect Gray in the first place, Lyon was willing to entrust his only living family's life to him. Natsu felt a smile twitch at the corner of his lips for the first time in a long time.
"Do you know where Gray is?"
FTFTFTFT
The rays of the sun were trying to break through the cloudy sky though it seemed that the attempt was futile. The snow was still falling gracefully and decorating each tombstone that stood in its path. The wind was harsh and bitter, but he couldn't bring himself to care in the slightest. He buried his face in the loose scarf that adorned his neck and stared intently at the names on the gravestones placed in front of him. Despite the sadness that welled up inside him at the sight, he couldn't help but smile. Even though his mother and sister were no longer with him and his brother, they could be reunited with Saul again. Gray leaned forward and placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the two tombstones that helped him get over everything that happened to him.
Even though a thick layer of snow was beginning to cover the ground, Gray found himself lowering to his knees. He slowly traced his fingers along each letter of their names and thought of everything they've done. Ultear and Ur were by his side through it all; even when he was pushing them away. They fought to pull him back from his darkness and seal it away although he didn't want to let them. Ur tried to hold the family together; she did everything in her power to keep them all safe until the very day she died. Gray felt the familiar moisture poke at the corner of his eyes, but he knew they were happy as well as sad. Although a part of him would always blame himself for her death, a larger part knew that given the chance she would've done the same thing all over again.
The one thing he regretted was that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye; not to his mother and not to his sister. Sure, he said goodbye to Ur before he went to Zayn, but he was expecting her to live and for himself to die. If he had the chance, he would go back and say a proper goodbye; a goodbye that told her just how much her life changed his…how much her life changed that of everyone around her. And then, there was Ultear; he didn't even know that she died until a month after it happened. Of course he couldn't do anything about being in acoma for that month, but it's just the thought. He never got the chance to say thank you to her for saving the love of his life. Because of her, Natsu was still by his side and he knew that the pinkette blamed himself for it.
The raven knew better of course; he knew why Ultear saved him…it was the same reason why Reina Dragneel wanted him to survive. They needed each other in their lives in order to be completely happy. If either of them were to lose the other, it was obvious what would happen to both of them. He wasn't too sure about Natsu, but he knew exactly what he would've done if the pinkette had died that day. He knew that Reina believed the same thing just as strongly…
It's funny…
He'd didn't actually know if what happened with Reina in the hallway happened or not. He hasn't said anything about it to anyone; he could just picture the look on Lyon's face if he told him that he spoke to Natsu's dead mother. He couldn't even tell Natsu because he didn't want to pull up negative emotions for the pinkette; a sad expression just didn't belong on that tanned face. Gray definitely wanted to believe that Reina Dragneel still watched over her son and that she never truly left him or his father behind. He wanted to believe that the brown hair woman allowed Natsu to stay by his side. He knew that sounded selfish, but he couldn't help himself…
"Gray!"
Before he could even respond to the shout, a pair of warm arms wrapped around his lower chest and pulled him backwards. The raven tried to in vain to suppress the squeal from escaping his lips as he fell onto his butt with his back resting against a firm torso. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was; he knew this scent and presence just as much as he knew his own. He melted into the embrace and nuzzled his head against the underside of Natsu's tanned chin.
"Way to scare the shit out of me asshole."
Natsu's chuckle reverberated through the pinkette's chest and along his back as he pressed his lips against the raven's temple. Gray raised an eyebrow slightly when he felt Natsu's arms shaking as he held him. The raven wiggled out of the older teen's firm grip and turned so that he was now straddling his hips. He gazed into Natsu's green eyes and immediately found the normally well concealed fear lingering in them. Gray sighed sadly and ran his fingers through Natsu's rose coloured locks comfortingly,
"You had the dream again, didn't you."
Natsu's eyes widened at the statement before another quiet chuckle escaped his lips,
"Funny, Lyon said the same thing."
Gray's eyes saddened as his boyfriend leaned forward and rested his head on the raven's chest. He continued to run his fingers through Natsu's hair as the pinkette counted his heartbeats. The older teen had developed that habit shortly after they were released from the hospital. Gray would be lying if he said that he didn't do it too; often when he is trying to go to sleep at night, he needs to have Natsu's heart right under his ear or else he wouldn't be able to sleep. It used to be worse than that too; he used to sneak into Lyon's room in the middle of the night and place his hand on his older brother's chest to make sure he was breathing.
"You don't need to worry Natsu," Gray whispered as he buried his nose into the pinkette's hair, "It's over now…"
"Is it?" Natsu whispered, "Is it really over?"
The raven had to fight back a flinch at the statement and he thought he hid it fairly well until Natsu's head lifted and he was drowning in his green pools,
"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have said that."
Silence surrounded them for a few moments before Gray sighed and leaned his forehead against Natsu's in a sense of defeat. The pinkette immediately wrapped his arms around the raven and inhaled the pine-like scent that followed the raven everywhere. Gray hesitantly untangled one of Natsu's arms from around his waist and quietly played with the knuckles and the long appendages. He memorized every single callous and every single scar like he has done over a thousand times before he slowly brought Natsu's hand to rest on his face.
"No, you're right," The raven laughed sadly, "Even though Zayn is gone, he managed to leave scars both physical and mental. He touched us in ways that will be hard to erase Natsu and it's going to be a long time before that touch is gone…"
The pinkette opened his mouth to speak, but Gray placed a finger across his lips and signalled for him to be quiet and let him finish. Natsu nodded his head imperceptibly and waited for the raven to continue speaking; his fingers running along the burns that marred Gray's face before pausing at the deep scar that marred the raven's temple. Gray gazed into Natsu's eyes and leaned in the pinkette's warm touch gently causing the pinkette's eyes to widen slightly.
"Even though his touch will linger Natsu, it will eventually fade. I know that you would never hurt me like he did and I know you would never betray me. You made me feel strong; you showed me that everything I went through with that bastard made me who I am today. You saved me, not only from him, but from myself as well.
"You taught me that, everyone who died did not die because of me, but for me. They died because they loved me and they would rather see me happy than six feet under. Of course if I had a say in the matter, I would rather them be alive and me die, but that's not what happened. Even though I can't see them anymore or hold them, I know that they loved me.
"It's because of you that I can finally walk with my head held high and it's because of you that I found the will to live. Because you loved me when I hated myself I found the strength to fight back and love again. Because you loved me, I was able to bind my life to you."
Gray hadn't realized that his head lowered until he felt Natsu's hand under his chin slowly raising it. The raven's tears slowly raced down his cheeks when he saw the matching waterfalls dancing across the tanned skin. The hand that was under his chin moved so that it gripped the back of his head and pulled him forward until their lips touched. Warmth exploded all over his body as the very essence of Natsu's being enraptured his very soul and surrounded him in love and security. He immediately opened his mouth when Natsu ran his tongue against his lips and allowed their tongues to meet.
After what felt like eternity, the two finally separated but they didn't go too far from each other. Natsu rested his forehead against the raven's and ran his hands across the plains of Gray's face, down his jugular, over his shoulders and down his sides. Gray played with the pink hairs at the base of Natsu's neck as the pinkette placed a soft kiss on the raven's nose.
"I love you," The pinkette whispered, "So much…"
The raven chuckled and pressed his lips to the corner of his boyfriends jaw,
"And I love you because you were stubborn enough to save me."
TBC
Okay, so I decided to do an epilogue for my epilogue because I wanna do a glimpse of everyone's reactions to the death of Ultear and I'm gonna do a long awaited for consensual lemon for Gray and Natsu! (my first one!) I hope to post it soon; I was gonna include it with this, but I felt that this was just a filler chapter before the very end (plus I couldn't give this up just yet :P) I hope this chapter didn't disappoint too much… it was kind of difficult to write and probably kind of boring (which is why im doing an epilogue for my epilogue lmao) Waiting on your reviews :)
-sktrgrl
PS. FAIRY TAIL ANIME COMES BACK IN APRIL! OMFG! MY LONG AWAITED REMATCH BETWEEN GRAY AND RUFUS SHALL BE ANIMATED SOON GAH! NOT ONLY THAT BUT THE DREADFUL CH 334 AS WELL! AND I THOUGHT THE MANGA WAS DEPRESSION…SEEING IT LIVE WILL BE TEN TIMES WORSE! SHALL RESTOCK ON MY SUPPLY OF TISSUES!