Chapter 21: Flaming Sun

With all the fighting that broke out among the ship and all the trouble that the group has been facing, along with losing the Iris, the group needed a chance to get their stuff together so that they could get back on track. Blaming himself for losing the Iris and having been rattled up by all the fighting that took place outside of their mission, Kyousuke literally shut himself in his room alone for a while, needing time away from everyone, including Gajeel, which actually made him concerned. Gajeel and Sophia refused to talk to each other at all throughout the whole day and to sum it all up it was just a really negative day. The next day came back rather quickly and then it was morning.

Gajeel woke up in bed, sitting upright and staring directly across the room. The first thing he did upon waking up was that he focused on a picture of the Stealth Overdrive force. It was taken some time after Pantherlily made it back into the group, and with everyone that was needed to complete the group, Gajeel wanted to capture this moment and keep it on display. In the picture, Pantherlily was standing in the back in his battle form with his arms crossed and a nice smile, while Sophia was seen staring at Daniel with an expression on her face that was trying to either be a smile or a frown. Daniel was on the far right laughing extremely hard at her expression, probably having irritated her earlier while the picture was being taken; one can guess how hard he laughed when seeing the picture for himself. On the left was Gajeel with his usual grin, looking all happy yet devious at the same time (it's hard to not look like a trouble-maker when someone with a resting bitch face smiles) as he held an arm around Kyousuke and ruffled his hair. In return, Kyousuke was looking up at Gajeel with a look of pure bliss, being held by Gajeel in his arm. That was a look that he didn't get to see very often and he was glad that he caught it, even though Kyousuke didn't like his expression. To him, he thought he looked odd and even though he liked the picture, he did not like the way he looked in it.

Gajeel, shirtless, got up and walked over to the picture that was there and held it, staring at Kyousuke and himself on it specifically. He looked so happy in that picture, and having seen him become so emotionally distressed over the past few days made him feel concerned for him in a way he usually has never felt; he felt quite bad. With everything that had happened, he needed to get it all back on track. He set the picture down and prepared to get dressed, ready to head out.

"That kid doesn't realize how important he really is." Gajeel told himself, getting dressed and ready to head out. Within a few minutes, Gajeel got ready and headed out of his room, heading straight for Kyousuke's room first. Despite Kyousuke isolating himself from everyone the day before, Gajeel wanted to talk with him regardless. He went into his room to see if he was up or not. Surprisingly enough, when he went in to talk with him, he found out that he wasn't even in there. His bed was made, his stuff was organized, but he was absent. Gajeel looked in surprised, wondering where he could possibly be. "Huh…" he simply said, closing the door and heading out. Of course, Sophia was out there and the two couldn't help but instantly make eye-contact with one another, whether or not they wanted to. Daniel was on the couch playing some sort of video game as usual, and Sophia was making herself breakfast, being the first to break away from eye contact as she continued with what she was doing.

"Hey Gajeel." Daniel simply stated, earning no response as Gajeel continued on. Without saying a word to him, Sophia watched as Gajeel left the room as silent as can be, heading out as she watched. After he left, she focused back on her breakfast, now feeling some sort of remorse within her arise.

"Wow...maybe I did over-react. I was just worried about Kyousuke, but I guess I was being impulsive as usual. Gajeel didn't deserve that, but I probably did." Sophia thought to herself depressingly. She was so concerned for Kyousuke's being that she went to the first thing that she could blame for his predicament, acting on it without a second thought and not considering the consequences. Sophia didn't think of the possibility of them being in a situation where Gajeel truly couldn't stop him from doing something reckless. Upset, she continued to make her breakfast, soon finishing up and eating it as she sifted through what had happened. She wanted to make up for it, now feeling bad for what she had done.

Outside, Gajeel came out of the door that lead into the base, seeing the sight of someone he wanted to see. He saw Kyousuke sitting on the hill, staring into the lake with his arms crossed over his knees. All he did was stare into the lake, nothing more, perhaps being caught up with everything that happened and being mentally cluttered. All the fighting, all the missions and failures he felt he had made, it hit him hard. To him, it felt like he was nothing more than a hindrance anymore, regardless of how they felt. Gajeel, seeing him sitting there, went up to him and sat down next to him, trying to talk with him over the whole ordeal.

"Hey." He simply said. Kyousuke didn't have a response to it. He could tell that something wasn't right, so Gajeel continued with the conversation regardless. "You've got a lot on your mind right now...huh?" He questioned calmly, staring at Kyousuke as the latter sighed in response. Kyousuke tilted his head back and let his arms hit the soft grass as he held himself up.

"Yeah, I do." Kyousuke simply stated. The two just sat there, staring into the lake as they thought about all of the things that have happened, a great many of which included the fighting and everything they went through during the missions. Kyousuke, surprisingly, continued the conversation. "All I ever feel like anymore is a failure." Kyousuke sighed out of frustration. Gajeel looked at him in surprise, listening as he went on. "Everything I've been doing...all I've been doing is messing up. I didn't even stand a chance against Midnight; he tossed me away like a useless tool. When fighting on the ship against Grock, I was foolish enough to let myself get caught and get sent on a conveyor belt to my death. When you were telling me to get the Iris, I didn't even listen to you and I nearly got myself killed in the process." Kyousuke explained. Gajeel stared at him with a serious expression on his face as Kyousuke started to falter, trying to refrain from breaking out again as he explained it further. "We would've gotten it if I wasn't so stupid! I've just been making mistakes!" Kyousuke shouted, trying to calm down and not let his emotions get the best of him. He didn't want to feel weak, he didn't want to feel like a failure, but with everything that had happened it felt like there was no reason for him. Gajeel continued to stare at him with that same expression, soon turning to the lake again and focusing on it and the reflection of the lake.

"Come on, don't be ridiculous." He said calmly, looking back at him as Kyousuke looked up at him with a hopeless expression. He was somewhat shocked as Gajeel continued, being given that kind of response. "If you were a failure, I would've kicked you out of this team already. Trust me, you think you're a failure? You were the one who saved Pantherlily, that cat's my best friend. You were the one who retrieved the Agape Stone when no one else I recruited could, you were the one who saved ME from my own rage against Midnight." Gajeel explained. Without a second thought, he pulled him into his arms and held him with a hand on his back and another on his head, holding him in as Kyousuke broke down into tears. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't hold his emotions back. "You're just an emotional disaster and that's the truth. It's my fault for expecting you to not worry about me when you cling on faster than I can blink." Gajeel explained to him as Kyousuke listened. He knew about his emotional breakdowns and knew that they always were there. But...being emotional isn't entirely a drawback.

"I just…" Kyousuke said, catching Gajeel's attention as he looked him right in the eyes, waiting for him to get it out. "I...love you. I love you...a lot. It scares me to death whenever I see you in pain and I wouldn't be able to bear it if something was to happen to you!" Kyousuke expressed. He was speaking the truth, and Gajeel looked at him with such an intense look in his eyes. It wasn't one of surprise, but one of enjoyment. He literally pulled Kyousuke back as he landed on the ground with Kyousuke in his arms, prompting Kyousuke to lay on his chest as Gajeel chuckled in response.

"I love you too kid...I really do." He said with a warm smile on his face, embracing Kyousuke as the latter lied on his chest and rested within his arms. It felt so strange to him, yet so appealing at the same time, the very idea of having felt lost this whole time, dealing with the dreadful fact of being isolated from everything, unknowingly having to deal with those who were under the delusion that he needed to be exterminated. Then, upon finding his partner, he becomes closer to him than anyone else to their own partner in his entire school. It would be accurate to say that Kyousuke finally did find his "home", and managed to find everything he was searching for his whole life. It was all right here, he just didn't know where it was before. "We're gonna have some fun tonight; we're doing something special for the team." Gajeel offered, prompting Kyousuke to look at him surprised. He felt so comfortable that it was like he could abandon his own bed for this kind of treatment.

"Really? Like what?" Kyousuke wondered, looking up at Gajeel curiously. The dragon slayer could only give a grin in return, knowing exactly what to do for the whole team as he had something really cool to offer.

With that, the two eventually got up and got through the rest of the day, especially since they managed to settle their inner tension and release it in a healthy way. Kyousuke felt a lot better off and wasn't as reclusive as he was yesterday, being more positive and relaxed throughout the day as everything eventually was put back on track. Sophia managed to track Gajeel down and give him an apology for her incessant and rude behavior towards him, which he did accept, that is, not without some sort of payback. Oh man, Sophia was going to be sore the next day; he body-slammed her first and then pinned-her to the ground and tickled her so much she wet herself, something she continuously warned him about, even though he didn't care. He got his sweet revenge, and Sophia was so embarrassed that she literally stormed into her bedroom and got changed just because of that. Although, that would've came in handy for what was to come.

At the end of the day, at around 6:30, the group met up outside in the back of the base. They were surrounded by trees and a flat, dirt area where they had their own bonfire. Everyone, including Juvia, was sitting on barrels or the bench at the bonfire as they had beer and whiskey (Daniel's contribution), and they told stories, chatted, and did whatever. It wasn't much of an actual party thanks to there being so little people, but it was something. Sophia actually had an amazing idea; they should've gotten some chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers so they could all make s'mores. In fact, that's exactly what they did, and that's what they were doing as they hung out around the bonfire. Of course, with beer in the area, you couldn't possibly expect them not to get drunk, and surprisingly enough, this included Gajeel as well. Kyousuke refrained from drinking this time thanks to what happened to him before; he didn't want to deal with the horrible feeling of being hungover once again. This time the tables were turned, and Kyousuke had to deal with a drunk Gajeel, which admittedly was much worse than Kyousuke was himself. It basically made him much more vocal and less restrained, which included throwing stuff about and bantering with Sophia, who also got drunk off her mind. Sophia this time continued to pressure Gajeel about his relationship with Kyousuke, being all up in it and all, but since Gajeel was drunk this time around, he couldn't control what he was saying, nor did he care in the moment.

"Man...how have you not...kissed him yet? You must be frickin' crazy man…" Sophia slurred as she downed a bottle of beer. They both looked at each other like they were trying to stare each other down but were too drunk too, doing so as Kyousuke sat around drinking a soda, Juvia talked with Daniel about her relationship with Gray and Pantherlily just sat around and relaxed, both Kyousuke and Pantherlily watching Gajeel and Sophia go on as they said what was on their mind. Gajeel, sitting in his chair, put his drink on the bench and pointed at Sophia like he was going to lecture her on what was going on.

"Shut your mouth woman….I'm just getting started!" Gajeel shouted, drinking more beer before slamming it back down on the table and going about arguing again. "I don't know...why you are...asking me this crap, you know he loves me you shithead." Gajeel explained, watching as Sophia got all up in his face and started talking like she knew what was going on.

"What do you mean, well duh I know that he likes you, everyone knows that...I mean...come on now. I'm saying that you need to be a...uh...MAN, and actually make out ya know." She cackled about, suddenly laughing as Gajeel got up in her face and started yelling at her.

"Why don't you just can it, I know what I'm doing...got that? I'll prove it to your ass." Gajeel slurred as he reached out from the bench, going for Kyousuke sitting in a chair as Kyousuke turned and saw him. He grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the chair without a second thought, causing Kyousuke to spill his drink all over him and Gajeel and tip the chair over, earning a response that he wasn't aiming for.

"Ah, what the hell are you doing?!" Kyousuke shouted, irritated enough. He got up and walked away from him to clean off his clothes, earning an annoyed stare from Gajeel as he slowly turned back to Sophia and saw her laughing uncontrollably.

"Shut the hell up!" Gajeel shouted, still being drunk and unable to control himself. Sophia just continued to laugh, eventually becoming soaked herself as Gajeel took her drink and threw it on her. She looked down on herself in shock as Gajeel looked at her and chuckled with a devious grin, only to see Sophia grab his drink and throw it all over him. In response, he took his cup and tossed it at her, prompting her to swing at him and miss entirely as Gajeel in return broke the table in half. Everyone's attention was focused on the two of them as they tried to fight each other but failed miserably. Sophia eventually tripped over backwards and fell on her back in the grass as Gajeel instantly turned away and drunkenly walked off. Sophia couldn't help but start squirming on the ground as everyone just stood there and watched her squirm.

"Hey! Someone...get me up! Get me up!" She shouted to no avail. The three others were just staring at her, unsure of what to do as she kept yelling out for someone to pick her up. Daniel just started laughing, able to get away with it for once thanks to her being so drunk. Pantherlily just watched and slightly shook his head in both slight amusement and disappointment, and of course Juvia just went on about her and Gray regardless of what was going on around her.

Gajeel, on the other hand, tried walking out to where Kyousuke headed off in the attempt to find him. He was so drunk that he couldn't walk straight and was wobbling from side to side, trying his best to at the least hold himself up; it would be bad enough for him to get caught in the same situation Sophia just got caught up in. Luckily for him, Kyousuke came back to him instead, seeing him trying his best to walk to him despite how drunk he was.

"Hey...you...get over here." Gajeel told Kyousuke, who sighed and went to help out his drunken lover. Gajeel almost tripped over himself walking to him but thankfully Kyousuke was there to help him out. Kyousuke held him up as Gajeel put an arm around him and let Kyousuke carry him, which wasn't an easy task. Gajeel only made it harder for him as Kyousuke also had to deal with him flailing his arms about as he yelled since he was so drunk. To make things easy, Kyousuke just carried Gajeel over to the lake as Gajeel blabbered about stuff.

"That Sophia better…keep her fat mouth shut! How many…times do I gotta tell her…the same thing? Where's my guitar…I'll teach her a thing or…two about keeping quiet."

"Man, you are drunk as hell. How did you let yourself get to this point?" Kyousuke questioned him as Gajeel completely ignored it. Now, thinking of teaching Sophia a "lesson", he wanted to go get his guitar and try to play it in his drunken state.

"You know what...kid, let me down. I wanna get my guitar." Gajeel told him as Kyousuke ultimately refused.

"Hell no, you can't even walk properly."

"Put me down kid….I'm not playing...around." He told Kyousuke again, who refused. There was no way Kyousuke was going to just let Gajeel wonder about and roam the area as drunk as he was. However, he should've expected that Gajeel wasn't the type to just talk. Gajeel, getting irritated, purposely tripped him so Kyousuke would slip and let him go, but instead it made Kyousuke slip backwards and land on Gajeel as the two hit the hillside next to the lake.

"Augh! What are you doing?!" Kyousuke shouted out of frustration, trying to scramble his way back up in order to get Gajeel back to his feet. However, he was stopped when Gajeel pulled him back up from the hillside as he lied down on the ground. The way he held him was kind of like the way a child would hold a stuffed animal, having one arm across Kyousuke's chest as he relaxed his other arm to his side. As drunk as he was, he had quickly forgotten about teaching Sophia a lesson and held Kyousuke as he drifted off to sleep.

"Don't move, just lie down and relax kid." He told him, holding him as he let himself drift off to sleep. Kyousuke looked up at him in surprise as Gajeel passed out; even though he was drunk he still clearly cared about him and that's what made him feel warm on the inside. A drunk mind speaks a sober heart as one always says. With that warmness settling inside of him and that feeling of being embraced, it didn't take much for him to pass out as well and drift off into a deep sleep, the two of them being left out to sleep on the hillside as the others left them and later on went inside. They didn't want to ruin their "moment" so to speak.

The next day, it was sunrise and it was about at least 7:30 in the morning. The sun was shining brightly as it rose from its own deep sleep, casting a beautiful flaming orange across the sky as it lit the whole place up and awakened everything from the deep sleep the moon put everything in. It wasn't long before Kyousuke woke up and found himself still there, getting a nice, fresh view of the sun as he slowly sat himself up and realized that it was morning. In doing so, Gajeel also woke up and sat up as well, prompting Kyousuke to turn and look back at him. Gajeel put a hand on his head in slight pain, the pain probably from getting drunk the night before.

"Ugh...I'm gonna be feeling that all day." Gajeel uttered, managing to remember exactly what happened. He had quite a sharp memory and this was one way of proving it. Seeing Kyousuke, he looked up and noticed that Kyousuke was just sitting there looking at him, eventually turning towards the Sun and observing it. Kyousuke watched how the sun's power coated the sky in a beautiful flaming orange, covering the world in a beautiful sheet that resembled the awakening of another beautiful part of the story.

"Do you ever think about how the sun just coats the sky in this bright, powerful color that awakens us all?" Kyousuke questioned, Gajeel listening as Kyousuke continued on with his sentiment. "It's the life source we all need; when the sky becomes soaked within this flaming orange, life is instilled into everything that was put into suspended animation by the moon's power. It gives us an essential component of what we need to survive." Kyousuke explained calmly. Gajeel felt a bit moved by this and, after hearing this, put his arms on Kyousuke's shoulders and pulled him back slightly. He moved up closer as he too stared into the sky's beauty seen in the morning.

"You wanna know what else it is?" Gajeel asked him curiously, prompting Kyousuke to sit still and listen carefully as Gajeel moved in real close, whispering into his ear something important. "It's also how I feel about you." He admitted, prompting Kyousuke to question him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"If the sun is supposed to keep the earth warm, then how do you feel when I move in closer to you?" Gajeel questioned, instilling much shock and surprise into Kyousuke as he widened his eyes. His cheeks absorbed the color of the sky as Gajeel pulled him around to where they were staring each other in the eyes, Kyousuke letting his weight fall into the arms of the one he truly desires as he stares him in the face. Just being held by him already filled him up with that warmth that Gajeel described, enough to let him close his eyes and drift away into a heavenly experience.

With nothing short of an actual smile put on the leader's face, Kyousuke soon found himself being pulled up to him without hesitation. The amount of pressure he felt coursing through him increased substantially with every single millisecond he endured whilst being pulled up, his own shock being too slow to catch up with him as the two only got closer and closer. Kyousuke couldn't help but follow Gajeel's lead, but with what he knew was going to happen he let himself be pulled by Gajeel and didn't resist. Within just a second, the two became bound together and were never closer as they felt the most intense surge of pure passion for one another, it skyrocketing between them. They felt like they truly belonged with one another; it was this very moment, they kissed for the first time. With it lasting at least ten seconds, the two slowly pulled apart as the former held the latter still, the latter looking at him with the most intensely passionate look in his eyes. The look he had resembled his animalistic self being tamed, held in the safety of the one who was holding him. Gajeel looked back at Kyousuke with a passion just as powerful as Kyousuke's own. He smiled in response as he fully realized how truly vulnerable Kyousuke was in his hands, realizing how important he truly was and how Kyousuke's feelings weren't just one-sided. Without another second passing, Kyousuke went forward and lied in Gajeel's chest as he put a hand on his head and held him in, his other arm supporting him. It was within these arms that Kyousuke felt truly safe, unable to be touched by harm. The two held one another and remained there for the time being, embracing one another as this was a moment to never be forgotten. It was at this moment that the two of them truly realized that they couldn't be separated, and that this level of passion for one another couldn't be found elsewhere.