Hey. So. Yeah. I'm back.
I'm gonna start another fic about Gray and Lyon, it's gonna be called "We Were Brothers Once..." and idk how many chapters it's gonna be or when I'll release it. I also don't know if there'll be any ships and if I'll explore them. All I know is I drew the cover art for it myself and I'm really proud of it and excited to showcase it to you guys.
Alright so let's have ourselves a chapter.
-Juvia POV
I couldn't believe it. My magical ability had been stripped from me. Now, whenever I called upon my powerful water magic, I could sense its presence but it ignored my calling entirely. It was so frustrating. The magic felt so close, and yet I couldn't reach it.
And... I had been banished from Magnolia for life. If they caught me within the town's borders, I'd be either put to death or given a life sentence in prison. Seeing as I had no magic, I couldn't resist arrest. So yeah, there was no way in hell I'd be able to go back. Which meant the one thing I dreaded and feared more than anything else.
I'd never get to see my darling Gray again.
To me, that was more miserable and sickening and just horrible than a life sentence, or being put to death. I just couldn't live without him.
Even Gajeel, my best friend, thought I was some yandere psychopath because I couldn't stand a single day without being near Gray. There was something about that ice mage that I just had to have. Perhaps it was because he was the only one who could make my terrifying water magic into something beautiful by freezing it into delicate ice crystals. Perhaps it was the fact our magic was just generally compatible. Or perhaps it was the fact I could relate to him more than anyone I had ever met in my life.
Gray knew what it was like to live alone. To walk through life shunned by the world. To lose everything in a heartbeat. To never have anyone beside him that truly loved him. To be feared and hated because he had extremely powerful magic that could destroy the world when completely out of control.
...But Natsu beat me to him.
I hadn't known that the spunky pinkette was even remotely a part of the race to win Gray's heart. I always thought it was Lucy and Erza, maybe even Mirajane and Ultear. I had always despised Erza more than the other girls because she was always so affectionate with my Gray and that irked me because he seemed to like her affection and reciprocate it.
But as it turned out, Lucy had a crush on Natsu, and Erza was just the sweet elder sister. Of course, Ultear and Mirajane weren't even interested in Gray. I was the crazy one. I was wrong about all of them.
I knew it the moment Natsu and Gray walked into the guild holding hands. I knew it the moment I saw the way Gray and Natsu looked at each other. I knew it the moment I saw them share a quick kiss when they thought nobody was watching.
My only question was when had Natsu entered my list of love rivals? He had gone by completely undetected until it was too late.
I was so stupid. I hadn't even considered the possibility that a guy could be competing for Gray-sama's heart. I should've been more careful... Then this never would've happened and he'd be all mine right now. There would be no such thing as Natsu and Gray holding hands, sharing affectionate glances, and sneaking secret kisses.
These things were all I could think about as I walked away from Magnolia forever. I wasn't even sure where I was going. My plan was to just wander forever until I either died or found someplace to settle, whichever came first.
The countryside was absolutely beautiful this time of year. Everything was green and blossoming. Everything was bright and sunny and just lovely. But I was the only one in the entire world who couldn't enjoy it. Because the world had no color without Gray, and I'd never see him again. Looking around me, all I saw was a bunch of ugly, bland landscape, whereas anyone else would've seen flowers, singing birds, and gently rolling hillsides clad in green grass that shimmered, rippled and danced like a sea of emeralds.
I wish I could go back and do it all over. I should've killed Natsu. And nobody would know. He'd just disappear one day, and never be found. Gray would be heartbroken for awhile, sure, but he'd eventually move on and fall in love with me because I'd be there to ease his sorrow. I'd be there for him when he needed me most. And he'd fall for it. Dammit, I'm so fucking stupid...
Oh, that's another thing that had changed. The loss of my magic caused me to stop referring to myself in the third person. So now I was Juvia, and Juvia was me. I guess now I didn't need to talk like that. I was just me. Sad, lonely me. Not anything or anyone special.
I am beginning to regret my decisions. I was being selfish and cruel. I didn't mean to hurt him, I was just so angry that he refused to be mine... I couldn't stop myself.
I knew that was a miserable excuse, but... It was all I had to offer.
Gray... My dearest, most beloved, darling Gray... I hope someday you'll forgive me...
I turned my eyes forward to the emerald hills, an image of Gray's perfect face branded into my memory. I made a vow right then and there to myself that I would never allow myself to fall in love with anyone else, as a self-inflicted punishment for what I had done. I would go through life and die alone, even if I lived forever. Even if the water my flesh was made of preserved my body forever, I'd never look at anyone the way I looked at Gray.
He would remain as he was intended to: the only one for me.
-
Two months later...
Natsu POV
Gray and I were sparring for the first time in nearly a year. It had been long enough that everyone in the guild knew us to be a close couple and accepted us as such. Now, there was absolutely no shame whatsoever in holding hands in public, or showing each other affection in front of other people. Every single soul within the guild knew why we did it, and were okay with it.
I honestly hadn't expected them to be completely comfortable with us. I expected to be treated differently. As such, I really appreciated that they looked past our relationship and simply saw the normal me and Gray underneath. The two boys they all knew and loved.
And finally, we were back to sparring together.
This time, it was different but the same. Different because we no longer had any malice toward the other so we weren't trying to hurt each other. The same because we both had very competitive nature and we fought to win.
I honestly missed sparring with him. It felt so familiar and right that I was grinning from ear to ear throughout the entire match.
"Hah!" I laughed loudly as I learned back, dodging an icicle spear Gray had fired straight at my face. I gave him a cocky smile as I straightened out and assumed a ready stance. "You're gonna have to try harder than that to hit me, ice princess." I taunted.
"I wasn't trying to hit you, Mr. Burnt Toast!" Gray shot back, drawing his hands back to his right hip as a glowing, writhing ball of white and blue ice magic formed between them, swirling and making soft hissing, spitting noises. "If I had been trying, you'd be on the ground with a hole in your face!"
"Oh yeah?" I didn't hesitate and called upon my fire magic. It spread through my chest to my fingers within milliseconds, hot and fast as lightning. I thrust my hands forward and fired three fireballs at Gray, one after the other, each at a slightly different angle, giving him hopefully no room to dodge. "Beat that!"
The blazing red balls of fire magic screamed toward Gray, leaving tails of smoke in their wake, exploding on impact as they hit the wall where Gray used to be. He had somehow leaped out of the way at the last second, and now he was standing off to my left, arms folded, giving me a sly smirk.
"Consider yourself beaten." he said, as he undid the last button on his white shirt and shrugged out of it, letting the flimsy fabric fall to the floor. I was surprised he had made it this long without stripping, but hey, I wasn't complaining. I realized I had been staring at his bare chest for too long when he rolled his eyes, launching a few solid blue ice spears at me to wake me up. "You're such a pervert." he laughed teasingly.
I had to scramble out of the way to avoid getting impaled. Still, I couldn't stop the redness that sprang to my cheeks. He's so hot... We should spar more often just to get him out of his shirt. I allowed my eyes to quickly dart over his toned torso. His soft, pale skin had well-defined muscles, and his sleek midriff was lined with elegantly curved abs. I realized I was staring again and snapped out of it just in time to dodge the ice lance Gray swung at me. He was surprisingly fast and agile, like a snow leopard.
"Get your head in the game, ya big idiot!" he exclaimed, as the frozen lance passed centimeters from my face, barely missing me. I could feel the chilly wind on my face from the disturbance the sharp edge created in the air.
I snarled and retaliated by faking a fire dragon roar, only to recoil, dart behind him, and shoot more fireballs at his exposed back. "My head is in the game, jackass!" I shouted, firing off seven well-placed shots from my clenched fists.
"Hah! You're so predictable!" Gray jumped out of the way, managing to get about them feet in the air with some help from his magic. My fire attacks passed harmlessly underneath him, much to my outrage. "Nice try, but you should really stop wasting your magic energy on simple attacks like that. It takes more than a simple attack to beat me."
Suddenly a thick layer of ice spread across the floor beneath my feet as I charged at him. My foot immediately slipped forward and I crashed down on my back, landing with a heavy "omph!" and wincing in pain as the wind was driven out of my lungs. I began to gasp for breath and tried to get to my feet, but the ice underneath me made that impossible.
Next thing I knew, a sharp edge of frigid blue ice was pressed into my throat and Gray's absolutely stunning midnight blue eyes were inches from mine. He had won.
"Hah. Gotcha." he pretended to slit my throat with the icicle in his hand, much to my fury.
"H-Hey, no fair." I immediately began to complain, my pride thoroughly wounded. "You didn't even shout that you were making an ice floor! Aren't you supposed to announce a magic move before you make it so it actually works?"
"Heh. It seems I've mastered the art of silent magic." Gray chuckled and knelt down beside me, scooping me up into his arms and cuddling me close. "But it's extremely difficult and takes up a lot of magic energy, so I can only use it once or twice without completely exhausting myself. It is useful in fights, though. And the look on your face as you went down was priceless." he went on, much to my disdain.
"Hmph! In that case, you cheated!" I snapped curtly, even as I rested my head against his chest and slid my hand over his, twining our fingers together.
"Nope! Any sort of magic is allowed during sparring, as long as we don't kill each other with it." Gray reminded me, and I scoffed, even though I knew he was right.
"That's preposterous!" I exclaimed.
"The truth does often seem that way." Gray mumbled, combing his fingers through my hair. "But I still won, fair and square, whether you like it or not." he added.
"Don't make me sock you in the face. Because I can. And I will." I threatened, poking him in the chest with one finger. I hesitated, blushing again when I remembered his stunning lack of a shirt, before saying, "...but I'm willing to forgive you if you stay like this for the rest of the day."
"Would it make you happy?" he asked, brushing my hair out of the way so he could peer at me with those lovely, gorgeous blue eyes.
"Indubitably." I nodded eagerly.
"Hmm..." he thought about it for a second, then nodded ever so slightly. "Okay."
Erza had come in at some point, quiet as a mouse during hibernation season. "So who won?" she asked, and I glanced over Gray's bare shoulder at her.
"I did." Gray replied, proudly. "He was a bit distracted so I got the better of him. Only took ten minutes or so." now he was gloating.
I puffed out my chest like an angry hummingbird. "Alright, you bastard, no need to brag about it. She gets it, you won. Now stop rubbing it in or I'll blast your face off." I threatened.
"I highly doubt you'd do that to me. Besides, it's so cute when you get all flustered." the ice mage laughed softly, amused by my outrage. "If you keep talking to me like that, I'm gonna put my shirt on and deprive you of whatever the hell not wearing one is doing for you."
"Everything." I hissed. "It's doing everything for me."
This elicited an even louder laugh from him. "Haha... Okay. I suppose I'll leave it off, if it's really that important to you..."
"It is." I told him, using my business-y voice. "Because then I get to kiss you all over and your shirt can't stop me." I added, lowering my voice as I snuggled closer and pressed my lips to his collarbone. He shivered slightly and I grinned. "You're so sensitive it's adorable."
"I am not sensitive." now it was Gray's turned to get all flustered. "You just... Startled me, that's all."
"Uh-huh." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Then how come you seem to really like it when I do this?" I wrapped one hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down so I could press a kiss to the crook of his neck on the right side, where I knew an especially sensitive spot was located.
"H-Hey!" Gray blushed and tried to pull away. "Now you're the one who's cheating."
"I don't know what you're talking about..." I feigned innocence as I shifted in his lap and moved over to the other side of his neck. "What about this spot here? Looks pretty sensitive to me..." I hummed as I brushed my fingers across his skin, just beneath his jawline, before trailing my lips across it.
"Natsu." Gray tried to sound firm, but his voice was wavering. "C-Come on, you don't gotta tease me like that..."
"But it's fun." I grinned at him. "And you're too cute when you're all flustered. Win-win."
"Mmf." Gray said, as he buried his face in my hair to hide the redness in his face. "You're annoying and stupid... But I love you, Nat."
"I love you too, even though you're an ass sometimes." I replied, my thumb rubbing slow circles on his jaw. "It's probably best you stop forgetting that I know where all your sensitive spots are." I added, with a playful tone.
"Hmph. You're no fun." the ice mage huffed and pretended to pout. "We should get back to sparring before Gramps gets mad at us."
"Agreed." I pecked his lips before standing up and hauling him up beside me.
"That won't be necessary." a sharp, smooth voice cut through the silence, causing me to jump a little.
I glanced up. A tall figure stood in the entrance to the gym, staring me down with dark eyes. He had silvery-white hair, a bit messy, combed off to one side of his face. Pale skin, toned muscle definition, a dark blue trenchcoat. His appearance was shockingly familiar. I knew this guy.
"Lyon?" Gray called out.
"It's good to see you again, Gray. Natsu." Lyon nodded to each of us in turn, his cold gaze making me want to shiver all over.
"Well, this is unexpected. Is everything okay?" Gray took a few steps forward to greet his senior. The two ice mages clasped each other's forearms in greeting for a moment. "You seem tense."
"Indeed. So observant." Lyon clicked his tongue and looked down at the floor, shaking his head. I frowned slightly. Lyon had always been Mr. Perfect, what with how smooth with the ladies he was. His looks and the way he carried himself definitely appealed to his female audience.
"What's going on?" Gray asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Nothing really. I just found out that Ur's daughter Ultear is coming to visit with Jellal, and I figured you'd want to know." the taller wizard explained, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture. "I know you and her have never gotten along well, all facts considered, so I wanted to give you a heads up. She did not seem happy with you the last time I talked to her. Or you, Natsu." Lyon threw me a sideways glance and I scoffed.
"Ultear can go suck a cow's d-" I started to exclaim, but I stopped when Gray shot me a warning look. I hesitated, then quickly corrected my statement, stuttering a bit. "Um, n-nevermind. What I mean to say is she has no right to come down here just to stir up trouble. So if she has beef with Gray and I, she's gonna have to leave it in the freezer for the time being."
"Natsu's right. If she's gonna be Fairy Tail's guest, I expect her to act like one." Gray agreed.
"Both of you have good points but you know how she is. She never listens to anyone, nor does she respect etiquette, regardless of what guild she's in. Hell, she barely respects her own guild's etiquette!" Lyon gave me an amused look, chuckling softly.
"Unfortunately so. And she looks so much like Ur it bugs me." Gray crossed his arms and frowned, turning and walking over to his discarded shirt on the floor.
"Hey!" I snapped, as he started putting it on. "You promised you'd leave that off for the day!"
Lyon burst out laughing at that, much to my chagrin. Gray just sighed and shook his head slightly, telling me not to press the issue. He seemed really troubled by the news his senior had brought in. Ultear was Ur's daughter. That much I understood. So seeing her would bring some uncomfortable memories back, memories of his old master and how she died. But the fact Ultear hated him would make things a lot more difficult than they had to be.
"Sorry, Natsu. Maybe another time." he offered me a halfhearted smile as he buttoned up his shirt and smoothed down the wrinkles in the white fabric.
"Oh... Okay..." feeling slightly crushed, I grabbed my black vest and put it on, rearranging my scarf so it wasn't hidden underneath the black leather. "Another time, then."
Gray seemed to notice how my shoulders slumped slightly. He came over and hugged me from behind, slipping his arms around my chest and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of my neck. "I'm sorry, sugarplum. I don't mean to disappoint you." he whispered, nuzzling his face into the nape of my neck.
"It's alright, Snowflake." I replied, tilting my head back so it was resting on his. "I understand what's going on."
I could sense his smile as he pulled away and glanced at Lyon. "So when is she gonna be here?"
"Tonight, dinnertime." Lyon replied. "You might wanna dress nice just so she doesn't have one more reason to insult you. You too, Natsu."
"Oh boy." I blanched at the thought of having to dress nice. "This is gonna be awful."
"I agree." Gray looped his arm through mine. "Asking Nat to dress nice is like asking a fish to sunbathe. But I'm sure he'll look great in a tuxedo. Right?" he elbowed me playfully and I groaned.
"Noooo..." I whined, tipping my head back and pretending to pout.
"Heh. Look how excited he is." Lyon remarked, sarcastically. "Oh, well. I'll see you guys tonight. Remember, wear something formal, don't say anything stupid, and agree with everything she says and you should be just fine." he waved goodbye as he turned and walked out of the room. "I'm gonna have to be there too, so you guys won't be suffering alone." the door closed behind him and silence fell around us.
"So... Ultear, huh?" I glanced at Gray.
"She's nothing like Ur. I'm just gonna warn you right now that Ultear's a bit of a hardcore sociopath. It's kinda sad, knowing that she's the last living remnant of Ur, and she's a total bitch." Gray shook his head in disappointment. "But I guess I can't judge too much. Losing Ur must've been extremely hard on Ultear."
"Yeah. I know I was a bit sociopathic for awhile after Igneel took off and left me to fend for myself." I nodded sympathetically. "But after meeting you, Gramps and Erza, I returned to my old self. I guess she never found a second family like you and I did."
"Unfortunately, she did, but she fell in with all the wrong people and ended up becoming more hateful and cold than she was to begin with." He explained, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't know what's worse, seeing how she acted after losing Ur or seeing how she is now after years and years working with uncharted dark guilds and some really bad people."
"Probably the latter. Grief eventually goes away. Past sins do not." I started off for the door, rubbing my palms together, face flushed with annoyance at the prospect of how miserable tonight would be.
"I still say you'll look adorable in a tux." Gray called out from behind me.
"Shut up, ice bastard!"
-
Gray POV
"Ughhhhh!"
I smiled as I listened to Natsu complain about how much he hated wearing nice clothes.
Getting him to wear them had been the difficult part, I could handle all his grumbling about it. He simply refused to wear a tuxedo so I relented a bit and instead had him wear the nice black dress pants, shoes and tie, but I allowed him to borrow one of my white button-up shirts to go under the tie, rather than making him wear a full tux. He still looked adorable all dressed up.
"I hate this." Natsu said, for perhaps the twentieth time. "Just how strict is this lady anyway??"
"Ultear's never been one to settle for anything less than absolute perfection. That's how strict she is." I told him, chuckling softly.
We were walking to the guild together. Now, I wasn't nearly as stubborn as Natsu, so I was totally okay with wearing a tux. But he didn't want me to, so we ended up in matching outfits, which pleased him immensely. Matching kinda helped him get over the fact he was wearing a tie.
"This thing is stupid. Why do guys even bother wearing these ridiculous neck-traps?" Natsu tugged at the black tie around his neck, glaring at the flimsy fabric like he wanted to viciously mutilate it. He probably did, I thought to myself.
"Dunno. Maybe because it looks nice and professional." I rumpled his hair lovingly. He reminded me of a six year old sometimes.
"FUCK BEING PROFESSIONAL!!!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed, scaring the bejeezes out of me.
I jumped a little, startled, than burst out laughing. "Oh my god, Natsu, no! No! You can't say things like that in front of Ultear or else she's gonna kill me!" I laughed, almost hysterically.
Natsu folded his arms and turned up his chin defiantly. "I don't care. I don't want to wear this shit. It's annoying and I hate it. That's that."
"Too bad. You're wearing it. And then when we get home, you can take it off." I promised.
"So you won't make me wear it any longer than I have to, right?" the pinkette gave me a childishly hopeful stare, honey-colored eyes sparkling with youthful energy.
"Right." I nodded.
He stared me down for a moment before pulling me close and pecking my cheek. "Okay. I can live with that. Thanks, Snowflake."
I blushed a little as his soft lips grazed my skin. "Y-You're welcome, my love..." I don't know why, but I always started stammering when he kissed me. I think he noticed too, because he smoothed his thumb over my chin and gave me a concerned look.
"You don't have to stammer, you know. It's just me. And it makes me worry when you sound so nervous." he slid his hand up to caress my cheek.
"I-I'm not nervous." I insisted, leaning into his warm touch. "I just don't know what to do with myself when you kiss me. Makes me feel weak in the knees, that's all..."
"Aww. You're too cute, you know." Natsu tipped my head forward so he could get to my lips. I tried my hardest not to blush, but it was futile. Warmth had already spread through my face before I could start trying to resist it. "And I love that about you. Just like I love how you taste." he suddenly slid his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, into an extremely heated, open-mouthed kiss.
Who knew that I'd be standing in the street making out with Natsu at sunset? I thought to myself ruefully as I completely succumbed to the kiss.
"Nat..." I whispered, completely muffled by his mouth.
He didn't respond, I think it's because he was too busy trying to get me all excited so I'd decide we could turn around and go home for something a bit more exciting than this dinner with Ultear. Oh. So that's what this is. A ploy to escape dinner and wearing something nice in public.
"Natsu." I said again, managing to pull away enough to talk legibly.
"What's wrong, baby? You don't like this?" Natsu looked hurt as he ran his hands down my chest. I realized he had unbuttoned my shirt at some point, it was now hanging loosely off my shoulders.
"Shush, you. I was enjoying it quite a bit until I realized you're just trying to escape dinner in a really creative way. I admire your intelligence but we're gonna show up. Lyon expects us to. Gramps expects us to. Erza prolly does too." I told him, straightening his tie and running my hand across his shoulder, smoothing down his shirt.
"Fine." Natsu rolled his eyes at me and huffed. "But only if we get to continue when we get home tonight. I'm in the mood." he added, with a slightly more seductive tone.
"Alright." I agreed, pecking his forehead. "Do I get to top this time?" I asked, hopefully.
"Absolutely not." he pulled away from me, laughing. "Sorry babe, but that's my spot. Never giving it up. And you can't make me!"
"Is that a challenge?"
-
When we got to Fairy Tail, Ultear was already there, much to my chagrin. I really wasn't looking forward to seeing her again. I didn't like her, she hated me. It was a mutual understanding.
She was tall, around Natsu's height, with long, perfectly straight black hair reaching down to her waist, bangs cut across her forehead. She wore a pale blue kimono with black and purple Sakura blossoms sewn in random places all the way up the fabric. She had lightly tanned skin and cold brown eyes. I frowned the moment I saw her.
We locked eyes the moment I stepped in the door, and I froze, silently praying she wouldn't recognize me.
But then her lips- painted red with lipstick- parted and she said, "Gray. Gray Fullbuster. You actually showed up."
"Of course. I'm not as irresponsible and rude as you think I am, Ultear." I said her name with just a hint of venom in my voice, implying how unhappy I was to see her.
Ultear chuckled softly, but the laugh never reached her eyes. "Seems you haven't changed a bit."
I pretended I didn't hear her. "Come on, Nat, let's find somewhere to sit." I quickly located a flash of bright red hair that could only be Erza and hurried over to her, dragging Natsu by the hand.
I could hear Ultear scoffing when she realized I was holding hands with a guy, but I refused to let her get to me. That would only mean everything bad for the rest of the night, and I didn't want to ruin it for myself like an idiot. I had slightly more dignity than that.
Natsu and I sat across from Erza and Wendy at a table, chattering away like only old friends can. Despite the fact I could occasionally feel Ultear's cold eyes burning into me a few times, everything was turning out to be a lot better than I thought it would be. I honestly thought tonight would be absolutely miserable because of her, but, as always, my friends were the cure to that ailment.
Suddenly in the middle of the conversation, Erza decided to get up and introduce Wendy to Ultear. I found it strange that the redhead thought Ur's sociopathic daughter was someone sweet, innocent little Wendy should meet, but oh well. To each their own, I guess.
"Eh. That happened." Natsu remarked, resting his head on my shoulder as his hand slid up underneath the table to rest on my thigh.
I immediately tensed up as an image of Juvia's snarling face appeared in my mind, but I pushed it back and instead rested my head on top of his, ignoring the anxiety and nerves coursing through my veins.
It's just Natsu. We've been together for almost a year now. He should be allowed to touch you there without you freaking out about it. I told myself.
But the pinkette had noticed my reaction to his touch, and he knew exactly why.
"It's okay, Gray. It's just me." he murmured, not unkindly. "I'm always gentle. Don't worry. It's alright." he ran his hand up and down, caressing my leg. I almost jerked away when I realized what he was doing because it stirred up a shit ton of uncomfortable memories, but I continued to fight them off, trying my hardest to enjoy the affection he was giving me.
"I-I'm... I'm fine..." I tried to insist, but my voice wavered and nearly died.
"Shhh. Don't say that. I can tell when you aren't." Natsu gave me a worried look. "If it's too much, just tell me to stop and I will." he added, as his fingers trailed along the inside of my thigh, making me shiver just a little.
I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth of his palm on my leg, blocking out the memories of Juvia and what she had done to me. It was almost too much, and finally I slid my hand over Natsu's and squeezed twice, whispering, "I'm sorry... I can't do it right now..."
Natsu immediately withdrew his hand and pulled me closer, planting a series of soft, gentle kisses on my forehead and cheeks. "Okay. Thank you for telling me. I love you."
"I-I think I made it a bit longer than last time." I said, referring to the last time he had touched my leg. "And this time I didn't have a panic attack."
"Good! See, we're making progress and you're getting better. I'm so proud of you, you're so strong. It must be painful, living with all these dark memories and things that trigger panic attacks. But you're holding on. And you're gonna be okay." He smiled and nudged me closer until my head was resting in his lap and his gentle fingers were combing through my hair.
I let out a soft sigh of contentment and felt all the tension going out of my body. I completely relaxed, melting into his embrace. With his warmth surrounding me, I just felt safe and loved.
"Thank you, Natsu. I'm not sure what I'd do without you." I mumbled, feeling extremely sleepy. "You're worth everything to me, and then some."
"Shush. Don't make me blush." Natsu chuckled softly, continuing to play with my hair.
Suddenly there was a soft rustling of silk. "Hah. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd find Gray in love with a male. Especially this particular one, of all people." Ultear's cold voice scoffed.
I waved a hand dismissively. "I guess that's just who I am. It's not like you've ever found anyone better, and there's not a single person alive who's better than Natsu, so good luck with that."
She bristled slightly. "You've no right to talk to me that way."
"And you've no right to barge in here and make fun of me. How many times have I told you that if you're gonna blame me for what happened to Ur, keep it to your damn self." I rolled over so my face was pressed into Natsu's leg. "Your passive aggressiveness and snippy comments really get on my nerves, you know."
"I'll have you know that I've every right in the world to blame a guilty man for his crimes. You are the reason my mother is dead, Gray Fullbuster, and I'll never forgive you for it, even if I live to see the light of a thousand years from now!" she snapped, drawing herself up to her full height.
"Hey. Don't talk to my Gray like that. Ur's death wasn't even remotely his fault." Natsu said softly, twisting to look up at the raven-haired girl. "You're a guest of Fairy Tail. Please act like a polite, well-mannered guest, or I'll have to ask you to leave."
"And who do you think you are to talk to me like that, Salamander?" Ultear turned her withering glare to the pinkette, and I slowly sat up. "Do you know who I am? You're just a peasant, I am Ur's heir."
"Actually I'm a dragon slayer, heir to the great fire dragon Igneel." Natsu blinked, using his most matter-of-fact voice. "Get it right."
"Calm down, Nat." I put my hand on his arm as if to steady him. "Don't waste your breath on her, she's not worth it."
Ultear huffed as she turned and strode away with what dignity she had left. "We will continue this another time, Fullbuster. And don't think your little dragon slayer pet is safe either. I will make both of your lives miserable. Good luck sleeping tonight." she spat, much like a snake spitting venom.
I rolled my eyes. "God, I'm so sick of her shit." I muttered.
"I'm sorry, miss, who are you again?" Natsu called after her, much to my amusement.
Who cares if she wants to try and make our lives hell? She doesn't have the power to do that. Besides, we're under the protection of Fairy Tail. She can't do shit.
To be continued...
Alright so basically yay. That's the end of that. I hope y'all don't mind but I stopped doing good review responses for the time being. For one, I'm too emotionally drained to do that right now, and for two, I feel like I'll mess something up or make someone mad one of these days so I'd just rather avoid any sort of trouble and keep my mouth shut.
However if there's a review directly asking a question, I'll answer it in the next chapter like normal. That's the only condition in which I'll respond to reviews. Also if I see a review that I really wanna respond to, I'll do it. Those are my terms and conditions. Or you can put "pls reply" at the end of the review. I always read my reviews so I'll see it.
I love you guys, see you next chapter!!!
-UltimatexAdmin