Sarah was having a good time watching Natsu make Lucy and Erza laugh. He was telling stories about the trouble the two used to get into when they first met. She could vividly remember every prank they played on unsuspecting townspeople including her sister.

She shifted a bit to focus her attention on the ice mage next to her. He looked lost in his thoughts but still his body language showed he was indeed paying attention to where Natsu was the entire time. Deciding to break up the silence between them she thought now would be a good time to subtly let him know that she knows something has happened between him and her Natsu baby.

"He really is amazing." Sarah said to Gray.

Gray looked up with a small smile on his face. "Yeah he is. It's absolutely insane that he went through any of the stuff he told me about earlier . But I am glad to know about it all. I don't want to trigger a bad memory and I want to help him if I can. Ya know?"

Sarah nodded her head. She knew the moment they returned that something more had happened than the two simply fighting about Natsu not finishing the job. She tried not to look too smug about him admitting they talked earlier.

"Natsu dear is important to so many people. He just downplays his roles in everyone's lives. Always has. I remember one year for my birthday I wanted to go camping, and when I found the cabin I wanted it only fit four people. That beautiful idiot convinced himself he wouldn't be included and planned on renting out the cabin next to it so he could be there. Would have spent a fortune if Amara hadn't figured out his plan!"

Gray chuckled and shook his head. He had no issue imagining Natsu getting so wound up he would be willing to rent an entire building for one person to sleep in. Natsu has always been so impulsive. Especially when it comes to his friends. Gray honestly couldn't remember a celebration happening that Natsu missed. He would come home from missions bruised and bloody but would skip a shower so he wouldn't miss a birthday or anniversary. Which is why Erza insists Natsu have a change of clothes at the guild as well as each of their houses.

"I am sad for the reasoning behind it but very happy that he came out this way. I'm not sure if that is selfish but I really don't care. It had been way too long since I had seen him and I genuinely have missed him." Sighing dramatically she continued, "Too bad he's off the market now. I sure will miss that dick too…" Sarah trailed off and gave Gray a knowing look.

To hell with being subtle.

Gray on the other hand was completely taken aback. How in the fuck did she know already? The two of them had showered before she found them and any love bites should have been played off as marks from them fighting. "What do you mean off the market? He's single…"

Before Gray could finish his blatant lie Sarah cut in "Oh you can't bullshit me. I could tell something changed the moment we saw you two! Besides, I have spent many evenings with Natsu. Combine that with your rather odd habit of stripping and I knew right off the bat. He sure does like to bite, doesn't he?"

He jolted back in his chair so fast he fell backwards and hit his head. Shit! That hurt. But what did she mean about bite marks? He could remember pinching and maybe some light nibbling but honestly could not remember being bitten at any point during either encounter. Quickly standing up and fixing his chair he was horrified to find that he had stripped off his shirt exposing his chest. Which was completely covered in bite marks. He ran his fingers over them and found that they didn't hurt but still tingled a little bit.

Sarah covered a laugh with a cough and handed the ice mage his shirt. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. But you may want to put that back on. His story is about to wrap up."

As if on cue the girls burst out laughing again and Natsu turned to face Gray and Sarah.

"Hey is everyone okay with fish for dinner again? I'm getting hungry."

"Of course you are Natsu baby. Give me a minute I think I have some vegetables in the garden that are ready to be picked."

A few hours later everyone had full bellies and were ready for bed. Sarah insisted they stay another night and head out in the morning to complete the job they initially set out to do. Happy had fallen asleep shortly after eating and she put him in the room Erza and Lucy had napped in earlier.

"Okay so sleeping arrangements. Thankfully this house belonged to a good friend of mine who used to have parties occasionally so I actually have room for everyone. So if Erza sleeps in the same room as earlier with Happy that takes care of them. I assume Natsu and Gray will want to- er I mean will be okay with sharing a bed. So that leaves Lucy. Would you prefer a cot or sleeping in my bed?" She winked and smiled sweetly at the blonde. "I don't bite."

Lucy's cheeks got a little warm but she quickly composed herself and said "Oh I don't mind sharing at all. Though I should warn you, I tend to snore a bit."

"Not a problem at all gorgeous. Adds to your character" she added with a wink. "Well now that's settled I am going to take a bath and go to bed myself. There's towels and extra blankets in each room. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to ask. Though Natsu has been here enough times to know where everything is as well. Goodnight all!"

Sarah headed inside with Lucy and Erza on her heels all eager to bathe and get a good night's rest before leaving in the morning. Though if the girls were honest with themselves they really didn't want to leave Sarah behind. She seemed like such a sweet person and the thought of her being alone didn't sit right with either woman. Lucy's thoughts gave her an idea.

"Hey Erza I know you're probably ready for bed but Natsu mentioned a hot spring was not too far from here. Would you maybe want to have a nice soak before bed?"

Erza's face lit up and the two woman went to grab their things before heading in the direction Natsu had pointed in earlier. Sarah just shrugged and stepped into her bedroom to grab some night clothes.

After a good long bath Sarah went ahead and started setting up for the evening. Checking each room to make sure her guests would be comfortable. Once she was content she headed back for her room and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile with the boys.

Gray wasn't sure how the hell he missed getting bit so many times but he needed to make sure that no marks were visible. He didn't consider himself to be a slut per say but he definitely had more sex than the average person. The last thing he wanted was for one of his "regulars" to start asking questions about why he wasn't seeing them but still covered in sex marks.

"Hey wanna maybe take a stroll in the woods? It's a nice night and I need more time to digest all that food I just ate." Natsu said, looking at the sky.

"That sounds really nice actually." Gray cleared his throat and continued, "Can this be a time that I can ask questions?"

They started walking in the direction of the spring they went to earlier and Natsu nodded his head.

Gray decided to take some time to think. He didn't think he wanted to know anymore about Sarah. The whole thing was weird to him especially since they were sleeping in her house tonight. After walking for about fifteen minutes, the duo ended up in a small clearing. Steeling his resolve Gray smiled and said, "Could you maybe tell me how the three of you became an item?"

Natsu stopped walking and Gray immediately panicked. Fuck. Was that too much too soon? He said to ask whatever popped into my head! He immediately began to apologize. "I'm sorry. Was that not okay? I just thought it would be good to talk about the good times before we got into… ya know. The bad stuff."

Natsu unceremoniously plopped down on his butt and patted the ground next to him. The moment Gray sat down he had his arms wrapped around him. Pulling him in close and taking a deep sniff of the ice mages hair he said, "Any question you ask about them will be hard to a certain extent. They really put me through a lot. But I want you to know. I want you to know so you can decide if I am worth being with."

Gray wasn't sure what to say so he just leaned further into his warm companion and placed his hands over top of Natsu's. He exhaled gently and patiently waited for Natsu to answer his question. To be honest he wanted to yell at Natsu for even questioning if he was "worth" being with. He forced himself to remember that this was difficult for Natsu to even tell him about. Eventually Natsu began to talk.

"One night I decided to take Amara to a nice dinner. We had been seeing each other regularly for a few months and at this point I was becoming more and more curious about my sexuality. As I mentioned earlier I can smell lust on people pretty easily and the waiter we had that night was covered so thickly in it it was almost impossible to smell anything else. In a restaurant. Full of people. So clearly he saw something he wanted. Turned out it was me. He made eye contact with me the most and actually blushed at a few things I said to him. It made me think again about how curious I was. I mentioned it to her and she immediately said J would love to meet me. She told me that he didn't feel romantic attraction but he could be sexually attracted to men and had mentioned before that he would be interested in meeting me. So we set up a meeting."

Natsu shifted and held Gray more securely in his arms.

"We didn't want to meet at their home yet so we met at a cheesy love hotel that was way too heavily decorated in red and pink. I honestly hope by now someone has told them to dial it back. It's okay to be classy and still serve the purpose of casual sex meetings."

Gray couldnt help the cackle that came out of him at hearing that. Natsu saying something should be classy was absolutely hilarious to him and he doubled over holding his ribs laughing. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. I know it shouldn't be this funny but when we stayed in that resort you said the dolphin sheets were classy, so I can only imagine how you would design a love hotel!"

Natsu giggled a bit at the memory and smacked his boyfriend on the back. "Hey I didn't mean the print! I meant the fact that they were made of silk! I had never used silk sheets before it was new and they really were heaven to sleep in. Anyways if you're done laughing at me…"

Gray took a moment to wipe his eyes before positioning himself in Natsu's lap, reaching back to wrap himself up in his arms again he said, "Okay. I'm good, I promise. You can continue, you met at the classless love hotel.."

Natsu rolled his eyes. Even if he were mad at the interruption he rarely heard Gray let loose laughing like that. He really had an amazing laugh. He looked down at the precious bundle in his arms and smiled. He was completely in love with this man. His smile brightened Natsu's days. He loved picking fights with him because not only was Gray a very talented fighter, he loved getting him riled up. An angry and sweaty Gray made for very tight boxers. He was private about his personal life and that made him kind of a mystery. He had this odd habit of blushing anytime he stripped in public and he always blamed it on the fact that he didn't know if his dick was out but really he's just shy. He really was just absolutely…

"..amazing." Gray looked up at him confused but Natsu just slightly blushed and continued with his story.

"Anyways. We met at the love hotel and J was really nice. He was funny and handsome and we hit it off right away. We spent the entire night talking and getting to know each other a bit more. Amara was there the entire time keeping our drinks filled and chiming in on different stories. It was an amazing first date. If you could call it that… whatever. I had to leave town and didn't see them again for probably two weeks. After that I was able to pop back in regularly for a few months, things were good. Then, one night, we uh, we had a movie night at their place and things uh… got a little more physical. We had shared kisses and passing touches but that night i was feeling bold and honestly, a bit tipsy. I was sitting on one end of the couch with Amara in the middle holding each of our hands when I got up and sat in J's lap. The man was huge. Easily over six feet tall. I just remember kissing him and his hands immediately grabbed my ass. Amara stood and came up behind me and started kissing my neck and…" Natsu tightened his grip on Gray just slightly. Gray gave a reassuring squeeze to his hand to prompt him to continue but also let him know it was okay. Natsu took a few more seconds but clearly got the message.

"That was the first night I had sex with J. Amara was there but she sat in this chair they had in the corner and watched. I didn't know it at the time but they actually um.. they uh.. fuck, I hate this part. They recorded it. They had a fucking camera set up and they recorded what was supposed to be a magical night for me. I really connected with them that night. I felt so safe.. and secure… and damn it I felt fucking loved."

Gray heard his voice crack and tried to turn around to see if he was crying but Natsu wouldn't let him.

"They made a big deal out of every meeting after that. Drinks, movies, and fancy dinners. We even went dancing a few times. Mostly at clubs but it was still the most I had ever done in a relationship. It all meant so much to me! ...J bought us rings. Just a small gold band for each of us to wear and remember our relationship. Polygamy isn't frowned upon but some people can be really judgey so we didn't want to be flashy. He got our initials etched onto it and I cherished that ring with my entire soul. So fucking stupid.."

"Natsu.. let me up." Gray said as softly as he could manage. Honestly he was having a hard time not crying with him. How could this relationship have gotten so bad? They took the time to get to know each other and didn't rush anything. They seemed to have a solid foundation so what went wrong?

Gray turned and pulled the fire dragon into his chest. Natsu tensed up and began crying even harder. Every sob broke Gray's heart more and more, but also solidified his hatred for Amara and J. How could anyone break this annoyingly cheerful man to this extent? He prayed he never saw them in person because he would definitely end up in prison. He lifted Natsu's head and wiped his tears. Whispering words of encouragement to him. Natsu eventually stopped crying and laid his head on Grays shoulder.

"I loved them. Equally. I thought we had a good thing ya know? We would always have so much fun. In and out of the bedroom. I thought they trusted me. But I was wrong. Amara knew that J had a possessive streak that could get dark but, she never thought he would lose it like he did. Do you remember the job we did with the lady who was obsessed with Lucy?"

Gray shuddered at the memory. The woman specifically requested their team and when they arrived it was a horror show. The lady was wearing an exact replica of Lucy's outfit, which was flattering. Kind of. But when they stepped into her house it was filled with Lucy stuff. Paintings, drawings, and bottles labeled Lucy's hair. So yeah, not a job they would be forgetting anytime soon.

"Well anyways, we actually all stayed in the town Amara and J lived in. We made plans to stay the night so I figured I would surprise them and stop by. You got angry because you felt like I was always sneaking off. We got into an argument in front of the store J was shopping in. He overheard you saying "you never have time for us anymore" and took it out of context. I made it to their house at the same time as J and I just remember thinking, 'wow I sure wouldn't wanna be the poor soul who made J that angry'. I didn't make it but a few steps into the door before he had me pinned against the wall and, he was screaming in my face. He accused me of cheating on them. He said he knew he shouldn't have trusted me. And much more than that but I don't want to repeat it all."

Natsu stood up and stretched out his muscles. Taking a few steps to pick a flower and play with the petals. "I obviously was in shock. I mean here I was trying to surprise the loves of my life and I'm being accused of cheating. I don't cheat. I know what the difference is in a consensual relationship with multiple people and then being a dick. He told me what he saw and no matter how many times I explained it he wouldn't believe me. So after that it was tense between us. We didn't break up but I could tell he truly didn't trust me. So I did what most people do. I tried. I tried to show him I was serious. I was trustworthy. We had discussed fire play before. It makes sense right? I'm a fire dragon. I told them I wasn't comfortable with it because I feel like I run on instinct when it comes to fire. But he kept pushing and fucking pushing me so eventually I gave in. I remember setting up the scene. I remember re establishing safe words and then it's almost like a half memory. I can see their faces. They're happy.. smiling. Sharing a, pleasure I can't feel, but it's obvious on their faces. I remember feeling overwhelmed with love and lust and this desire, the need to protect! I have to protect them! What if someone hurts them?! I CAN'T LET THEM HURT THEM!"

Natsu didn't realize he was slowly burning hotter and hotter until he heard Gray gasp and turned to see that the hems of his pants were burnt. Natsu immediately ran over apologizing. "Are you okay? Shit I'm sorry. I should have warned you…"

"Natsu it's not the first time you've been upset around me. I know when to back away and when to speak up. Don't worry about me." He smiles softly and made a show of putting a little ice on his slightly singed leg. "See? I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."

"It's getting really late. We should probably head back to Sarah's and get some sleep."

Gray was startled to have the conversation end so abruptly but he decided it was probably best to calm Natsu down before they headed back. He stood up and as slowly and quietly as possible made his way to his boyfriend. "Thank you for sharing with me. I know this can't be easy for you to tell me. Some memories you relive more deeply than others when you talk about them. But I'm grateful that you're sharing this side of yourself with me." He took Natsu's hands in his and gingerly kissed the top of each one.

Natsu blushed and tried to yank his hands back but Gray was faster to pull him into a quick kiss.

"Oh and you're not stupid. You can be very idiotic and quick to act in situations without fearing the consequences but that makes you one of the bravest people I know. But when it comes to people you care about, hell sometimes even strangers, you're so kind. You think of how everyone is feeling and you're fast to try and cheer someone up. You always donate to every single cause that asks even though you struggle month to month. You're amazing Natsu. Don't forget that."

Gray turned towards Sarah's and reached for Natsu's hand. "Let's go back."

Natsu blushed and silently grabbed his hand and they began the short walk back to where they would be sleeping tonight. No words were shared between the two but their thoughts were going crazy.

Gray was sad and extremely angry at the thought that anyone had hurt his rival/lover. Then to make matters worse it had been happening and Gray had absolutely no idea. He had possibly been the catalyst that ended their relationship. How could he have been so clueless? He couldn't even pinpoint the timeline based off of if Natsu was sad or not because he just brushed off any behavior he didn't see a reason for. He just assumed Natsu was being childish or, maybe didn't eat enough. When they left that job Natsu was quiet but he assumed he just felt guilty for leaving them and was smug that he "won the argument". He would have never guessed that Natsu had fallen in love with and subsequently lost two people at the exact same moment. He couldn't imagine that kind of heartbreak. He vowed right then and there to help Natsu in whatever way he could.

Natsu on the other hand was keeping his sadness under control because he was so happy at Grays reaction. He didn't run! He fully expected Gray to say this was too much for him to handle and run for the hills! He couldn't believe that not only did he stay but he was currently holding his hand after saying what was possibly the most romantic thing he had ever said to anyone ever! Okay that's probably stretching it but it was the sweetest thing Gray had ever said to him. Realistically for a relationship this was a lot of trauma to release on someone. But Natsu felt it was okay. They had been friends for so long, so really he felt like he was just talking to Gray. His friend. His rival and partner.

The fact that Gray didn't run had him in such a good mood he didn't even realize when they made it into the house. He wasn't aware that Gray had let go of his hand and was now rummaging through his bag for his sleeping mask. He never saw Gray pull back the covers after adding a second comforter for himself. He did, however, see the moment Gray began to strip off his shirt.

The End