Natsu had been right to assume that Juvia would try to jump at Gray first thing after they arrived at the guild hall. He was lucky though that Gray indeed reacted in the same way like he had the last time. Only this time he didn't create an ice wall to fend her off, but instead stretched out his hands to grab Juvia's shoulders before she could hug him.
"Stop it, Juvia. I'm not in love with you and never will be."
"B-but how can Gray-sama know that? Maybe if Juvia tries harder—"
"There's someone else I'm in love with."
Juvia's eyes widened in shock, but she recovered quickly. "Who is it? Juvia can change herself so she looks more like the person you love. Is it Lucy? Juvia can dye her hair blonde, and she can start wearing slutty clothes—"
"Shut it! You can't ever be like another person! Just be yourself and I'm sure you'll find somebody who loves you just the way you are... Besides, you should apologize to Lucy."
Lucy's face was bright red, her eyes narrowed to slits, and if looks could kill, Juvia would be dead.
"Juvia doesn't apologize to somebody who's stealing her Gray-sama!"
"I'm not yours and nobody stole me!"
"But—"
Enough was enough. Natsu pushed himself between Gray and Juvia, and shoved her back, glowering at her.
"I believe he said no."
"Natsu-san? This is not your business, so please stay out of it."
At the same time, he felt a hand being put on his shoulder from behind, and then Gray said, "That's really not necessary, I can handle this by myself."
Natsu turned around sharply, glowering at Gray instead. "Oh yeah? Well, she obviously doesn't get it if you do this your way." And with that, he shoved Gray into the nearest wall, pressed his body firmly against Gray's, and took his mouth with ferocity. He noted with satisfaction that Juvia shrieked, but it didn't stop him from kissing Gray with even more passion. Gray brought his hands up to clutch weakly at Natsu's shoulders, and Natsu could tell that Gray's legs were about to give in, so he intensified the pressure against his body even more to keep him upright.
When Natsu pulled back, Gray's face was flushed, and there was a streak of saliva hanging from the corner of his mouth. Natsu smiled fondly, then wiped it away with the back of his hand, and turned towards Juvia again.
"Do you get it already? He doesn't belong to anybody, but he's chosen to be with me. And if you don't stop harassing him, I swear I'll take you on."
Juvia sank to the floor, an aghast expression on her face. "G-Gray-sama... That's not true, is it? Natsu-san just forced the kiss on Gray-sama, right?"
Natsu felt the urge to punch her right then and there, but Gray's arms coming around his chest and the weight of his head settling onto his shoulder calmed him down somewhat.
"Natsu would never do such a thing. I've been in love with him for nearly three years, and you're never gonna change that. Besides, if you truly loved me, you would want me to be happy. I'm happy now, so please give up."
To top his speech off, Gray craned his neck to rub his cheek against Natsu's. Natsu wanted to purr, but caught himself before a sound could escape.
Juvia's eyes welled up, and Natsu tried to bring himself to feel sympathy, but right then he just couldn't. It wasn't that he disliked Juvia as a person, but he very much disliked her attitude towards Gray. She was a strong woman who had earned his respect with her intelligence and bravery. She didn't hesitate to protect any member of Fairy Tail in a fight, and she was very loyal. However, he wouldn't have anymore qualms with putting her in her place when it came to Gray, now that he knew how Gray felt.
Craning his neck, Natsu pressed a quick kiss to Gray's cheek, and whispered, "Let's continue this later. I think I have some questions to answer right now."
Gajeel was trying to poke fun at the two of them, but Erza interrupted him, saying that he should focus on the upcoming mission.
It turned out that nobody could fully concentrate on the things that were important for their mission, so some questions were asked twice, but Natsu patiently answered every single one of them as best as he could.
When they finished talking, it was time for lunch.
Juvia had fled the guild a short while after Gray's and Natsu's public display of affection, and it wasn't after everybody was finished with their lunch that Natsu's nose caught her scent again. She was leaning against the half open entrance door from the outside, peeking inside only with one eye. She looked straight at Natsu, no hint of anger or hate in her eyes.
Natsu sighed, then got up to leave the guild hall for a bit to see what she was up to. Gray looked at him in confusion and got up as well, but Natsu shook his head and motioned him to sit down again, to wait for him.
As soon as Natsu had closed the entrance door, Juvia dropped to her knees and bowed her head so deeply that her face touched the ground.
"J-Juvia is so sorry. Juvia has thought about it, and she's realized that her behavior was wrong. Juvia is sorry that she accused Natsu-san of forcing a kiss on Gray. Juvia wants Gray to be happy, a-and when Gray was hugging Natsu, he looked s-so happy... Juvia has never seen Gray smile like that. S-so... please, take good care of him."
She sat up and met Natsu's eyes. There were tears rolling down her cheeks, and this time Natsu felt truly sorry for her. He could only imagine how much it must hurt to lose the one you loved to somebody else.
"A-and please... accept my apology." She bowed deeply again. Natsu belatedly realized that she'd referred to herself in the first person. She was dead serious then.
"Get up."
Juvia looked up hesitantly, but when Natsu gave a small nod, she complied. Natsu stepped closer and pulled her into a hug. A surprised sound escaped Juvia's throat, but after the first shock she leaned her head against Natsu's shoulder, her hands coming up to clutch at Natsu's vest. A sob broke free from her throat, and Natsu patted her head, hoping it would comfort her a bit.
"I'm sure that if Gray had ended up with you, I wouldn't have been able to accept it. I had some plans in my head on how to drive a wedge between Gray and you if you ever were to end up as a couple. So, it's not my place to judge you. I'm just lucky that Gray chose me. And of course I'll take care of him."
The fabric on his shoulder was getting soaked, but he didn't mind. Juvia had just done the bravest and most selfless thing.
When her tears subsided a minute later, Juvia stepped back and bowed. She asked him to go back inside and send Lucy out so she could apologize to her as well for her rude comment earlier.
Natsu nodded and went inside without another word. He found Gray and Lucy standing at the front window, Lucy with a blush on her face, and Gray pouting at him.
"Lucy, please go to her, she wants to tell you something."
She nodded and made her way out, leaving him and Gray alone. Natsu closed the distance between them with a few quick steps, and then leaned against the window frame next to Gray, risking a look outside. Indeed, he could see the most part of Juvia and a glimpse of Lucy. They were too close to the façade to be seen completely from here. Gray had probably only seen his arms around her back.
"She apologized for her behavior earlier. She was crying."
"Yeah, I thought so. That's nice of her. I wouldn't have thought she'd apologize to you, but I guess it makes sense."
"Mhhh. She also asked me to take good care of you."
Gray turned his head and stared at Natsu in disbelief. "For real?"
Natsu just nodded, smiling at Gray. "And I promised her I would. So I have to give you lots of kisses and cuddles—mph!"
Natsu had leaned towards Gray with the intention of kissing him, but Gray bent backwards and pushed his flat hand over Natsu's mouth. He looked flustered.
"We're still in the guild hall, idiot!"
Gray used his hand to turn Natsu's head until he was facing their guild mates. Erza was flushed and covered Wendy's eyes. Happy and Carla weren't looking; they were busy with inspecting a fish. Levy, Jet and Droy were too caught up in a conversation to notice that something was going on. Gajeel rolled his eyes at them. Laxus was delivering some kind of solo theatre performance, glancing over to Gray and Natsu nervously, while Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen cheered him on, oblivious to what was happening behind their backs. Reedus was painting something in high speed while shooting them side glances every once in a while.
What the hell was he always painting? Natsu wanted to know, so he removed Gray's hand and dashed over to him. He jumped behind Reedus and captured his hands behind his back, not giving him enough time to cover the canvas or take it down. Natsu narrowed his eyes when he saw the painting, but forced himself to talk with a cheerful voice.
"Whoa! Reedus, are you selling that when it's finished? Can we buy it?"
No wonder that he had chosen to draw this in the edge of the guild hall, with his canvas facing the walls. It was a slightly erotic drawing of him and Gray, waist-up, caught up in a hot tongue kiss, both flushed, their hands entangled with each other's hair. They were both shirtless and sweating. The only thing that was still missing was the color of Natsu's hair.
Reedus was starting to smell of sweat, and Natsu could see that the skin of his neck was getting red. "Y-you're not... angry?"
"Nah, why? You're talented, and this is a hot drawing." He leaned closer to Reedus' ear, then spoke in a dangerously low voice, "So long as you're not planning on using that for your own pleasure, I don't mind. You'll sell it to us when it's finished, right?"
Reedus started to tremble.
From the corner of his eye, Natsu saw Gray approach. He stopped next to Reedus, took in the drawing, and then turned towards Reedus with a scary face.
"I see you're quite enjoying us being a couple, huh. What exactly are you going to do with that if I may ask?"
Reedus' trembling intensified, as did his sweating, and Natsu was repulsed more and more by the scent of it, but he swallowed down a complaint.
"He'll be selling it to us once it's finished, right?"
"Y-y-you d-don't have t-to p-pay f-for it, I w-was actually p-planning on giving i-it to you a-as a present."
Gray smiled at Reedus broadly, but Natsu could tell that it was fake. "Is that so? That's very kind of you. When will it be finished?"
"G-g-give me f-five minutes m-more, please!"
"Alright. Please wrap or cover it once it's finished and take care that nobody sees it. We'll take it with us when we leave." And with that, he turned around and strode back to their table.
"You heard him."
"Y-yes!"
Natsu let go of his wrists and made for the guild's toilets. He needed to wash the sweat off his hands.
Gray and Natsu decided to leave the guild right after their guild mates left for the mission. Natsu asked Happy in a very roundabout way if he would mind staying at the guild or go back to their house alone. It took Happy several guesses to figure out what Natsu wanted from him, but when he finally understood, he smiled and teased that 'the two lovebirds wanted some time alone'. He said that he was willing to give them as much time as they wanted, if Natsu agreed to go on a fishing trip that would last several days. Natsu pouted, nodding towards Gray, but Happy assured him that it was okay if Gray wanted to come, too. So they agreed, and Happy flew off to talk with Mirajane, who accepted his company with a huge smile.
Reedus had rolled the finished drawing up and leaned it against the wall. Natsu fetched it, mumbling a "thank you" under his breath, and then left the guild hall together with Gray, their hands entwined.
They walked the first few minutes without speaking, but there was a question that had been nagging at Natsu for a while, so he broke the silence. "I didn't expect that everyone would believe me so easily. You didn't believe me at first... What changed your mind?"
Gray gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before answering, "You never easily admit a mistake, yet you said that it was your fault, that you were too weak to defeat an enemy. For me that was proof enough of your sincerity. And then you said that I gave my life to protect yours. You were so emotional about it, and that's not something I think you're capable of faking. Plus, I don't think you would have guessed that I was willing to do such a thing in the first place. You're also too loyal to lie about such an important matter. I'm sure the others thought the same thing. You're never good at lying, and I've been watching you for a long time, so I like to believe that I can tell when you lie."
Natsu was at a loss for an answer, so he went ahead with the next question. "And why did you stop arguing that we stay at home? You were worried about Lucy's and Erza's safety."
"Because I trust you. If somebody knows what to do, then it's you."
'Yeah, if only I knew what to do, myself. I have no idea if my decision was right. If it was a bad one, I'll never be able to forgive myself for yet another death...'
But it was no use doubting his decision. It was too late to take it back. All they could do was place their trust in their guild mates.
"Yeah. Let's hope my judgment was right..." Natsu let out a sigh, and then banished the negative thoughts. "What are we going to do in your flat? I've never been there before. I'm curious how you live."
"I-it's nothing special. We'll be there in a minute. And I thought first I'd show you my place, and then we can think about what to do. It's next to the forest, so we could find a nice place to train a bit, since we didn't go on that mission."
"Mhh, sounds good. Though I thought you had something else in mind when you proposed we go to your flat." Natsu wiggled his eyebrows at Gray, causing him to blush.
"Y-yeah, well, I wouldn't be against it, but I'm also not against going slow. Sex isn't all I want from you."
Natsu smiled brightly and bumped his shoulder playfully against Gray's. "Yeah. Let's take it slow."
Gray nudged back, and teased, "I bet you're gonna beg me for it soon, anyway."
"It can hardly be called begging if you're giving it readily."
"Well, who says I will?"
"You already offered."
"I can change my mind anytime."
"Yeah, of course, pervert."
Gray pulled his hand free, and a moment later he yanked Natsu close by the scarf, their faces only centimeters apart. "Who're you calling a pervert, stupid flame-brain?"
He'd taken off his shirt between removing his hand from Natsu's and yanking him, so Natsu brushed his free hand seductively over Gray's chest and abdomen, before letting it wander to Gray's back, stroking up and down, always stopping at his waistband.
It was very effective, seeing as Gray's angry expression was gone in a matter of seconds. Gray blushed, his heart rate picked up, and his breaths came irregularly. Looking down between them, Natsu noted contentedly that there was a bulge in Gray's pants.
With a huge grin, he looked back up into Gray's eyes. "I'm calling you a pervert, stripper." Admittedly Natsu was turned on as well, but that didn't lessen his victory. Gray let go of him and shot him a glare that was surely meant to come across as angry, but Natsu wasn't fooled.
When Gray walked away, Natsu picked his shirt up before following him, a triumphant smile on his face.
It turned out that Gray owned a flat in the attic floor of a building that looked to be more than a hundred years old. He'd made Natsu wait before the entrance to his flat, saying that he wanted to tidy up a bit. Natsu hadn't let the opportunity slip to poke fun at Gray, and as payback he slammed the door shut in Natsu's face.
A good ten minutes later, the door opened again, and Natsu slipped inside, the painting still in hand. Gray could've at least taken that from him, he thought sourly as he leaned it against the next wall. Gray's flat was small; it had only two rooms besides the bathroom. The living room and the kitchen were separated only by the kitchen counter. The flat was rather empty besides the furniture, but that was to be expected from someone who barely spent time at home. However, there were rectangular spots on the wallpaper where the color was more intense than everywhere else. There had been something that had protected the wallpaper from bleaching out. Was that why Gray had made him wait outside? Had he taken all the pictures down just now? Why? Were they that embarrassing? 'Maybe... Pictures of me?'
Without warning, Natsu closed the distance between them and pulled Gray into a tight hug. Gray let out a sound of surprise, but then he relaxed and wrapped his arms around Natsu.
"Were those... pictures of me?"
Gray stiffened, and that was all the answer Natsu needed.
"You don't need to hide them. You're not the only one who's keeping some. I have... pictures of you as well, although not out in the open because of Happy. I keep them in my drawer..."
Gray's grip tightened, and he let out a sigh. "Just look at us two clumsy idiots..."
Natsu closed his eyes, reveling in the closeness, the warmth, Gray's scent so close to his nose, and the warm feeling all of this triggered in him. "Yeah... I'm amazed we even got this far."
Instead of answering, Gray loosened the embrace and pushed their upper halves apart so that he could kiss Natsu. It was slow and tender, their teeth nibbling softly at each other's lips.
Natsu's legs threatened to give in after some seconds—or had it already been minutes?—so he pulled back just slightly to whisper against Gray's lips, "How about we lie down on your bed?"
Gray's eyes widened. "B-but I thought we were—"
"Just lying down, idiot. I don't want to end up on the floor, and my knees are getting really weak here."
"Oh, okay."
To Natsu's surprise, the bed was huge. The mattress was soft, and lying on it felt even more comfortable than lying in his own bed.
Gray admitted that he'd bought the bed about a year ago, and that he had had a normal sized bed before that. When Natsu asked him why, Gray blushed and tried to dodge the question. But Natsu kept pushing, until Gray finally admitted, "I know that you sometimes toss about in your sleep, and I wanted to provide for the unlikely possibility that we ended up as a couple and you'd want to sleep over. My last bed was too small for two, and I wouldn't want to make you sleep on the floor..." He buried his face deeper in the crook of Natsu's neck.
So Natsu wasn't the only one who'd planned ahead. When he thought about the supplies in his drawer that were waiting to be used—let alone the toy in another drawer—Natsu felt his face heat.
They just lay silently on the bed, entangled with each other, for a long while. Gray's breath evened out, and eventually he began snoring lightly. Natsu wanted to see Gray's sleeping face so badly, but he also didn't want to wake him up by moving. So he just wrapped his arms a bit tighter around Gray's torso and let sleep overtake him.
Gray was falling, endlessly falling, Natsu was right there, but he couldn't grab Gray's hand to catch him. He missed his hand no matter what he did. Once he thought he would make it, but Gray's hand just passed through his as if he was a ghost. Then there was blood. So much blood, and Gray wasn't falling anymore. Natsu wanted to scream his name, but nothing came out of his mouth. He was numb. He tried to help Gray, tried to put back the blood into his body, but it wasn't working. Gray's chest was sliced open, his heart bare, but still beating. Natsu wanted to close the wound, wanted to push his chest together again, but it didn't budge. There was a black hand descending from above, aiming for Gray's heart. Natsu wanted to scream, to shout 'leave him alone', but he didn't have a voice. He tried to fend off the hand, but it went right through him. It reached for Gray's heart, encompassed it, and—
"NATSU!" A slap to his face. Natsu shot up, hit his head to something hard, and fell right back into the mattress. His stomach felt as if it had been turned upside down.
"Shit! That hurt!" somebody close to him shouted.
Natsu retched, there was another curse, and then he was being lifted and carried somewhere. The next thing he knew he was vomiting into a toilet, kneeling on a cold tiled floor. There was a hand on his shoulder, rubbing small circles on his skin. Another hand was wrapped around his chest, supporting his weight and preventing him from slumping against the toilet.
When he was done emptying his stomach, he sat back on his heels, and tried to get a grip on himself. His vision was spinning. He was covered in sweat. His head hurt. His throat was sore. He was trembling. And his stomach still felt like it was trying to dissolve itself. He retched once more, dryly. The stench was nearly unbearable, but then there was a tissue wiping his mouth, and the smell that flooded his nose then was so much better. It was Gray, naturally. He wasn't dead, he was right here, right behind him, taking care of him.
The toilet was flushed, and then Gray's face was before his, wearing an expression of deep concern. There was a round red spot on this forehead. He'd banged his head against Gray's then.
"So-sorry..."
"What do you apologize for? You had a nightmare. Apparently one of me. Of my death."
The images came rushing back, and another wave of nausea took over his body. Gray patted him on the shoulder to soothe him.
Just when his stomach had settled somewhat, Gray's doorbell rang.
"Ah, shit. Can I leave you alone for a moment?"
Natsu nodded.
"You won't pass out and hit your head or anything?"
He shook his head and tried to smile, but it felt weak and unconvincing. Nevertheless, Gray smiled back. He carefully leaned Natsu against the nearest wall before he left to answer the door.
Natsu's head was still spinning, but his sharp senses were starting to come back. He could hear an old lady ask Gray if he was okay, why he had been shouting so loudly. Gray answered that he'd taken a nap and had woken up from a nightmare. He ensured her that he was feeling well now, and that she didn't have to worry about him. The lady asked him to repeat that, since she couldn't hear so well anymore. Gray answered a bit louder, but she still requested him to speak louder, so he went for shouting at her that he was alright. She finally seemed satisfied, and wished him a good evening.
Gray came back to the bathroom a few seconds later. He kneeled down next to Natsu, looking a bit unsure of what to do next.
"Your clothes and your hair are completely soaked with sweat. I'd like to take a shower with you. I swear I won't do anything sexual. I'm just worried about you, so please let me take care of you."
"Okay... Thanks."
Natsu tried to get up by himself, but his knees were wobbly, and he would have fallen down if it hadn't been for Gray who caught him and supported his weight until Natsu was able to stand on his own. Just then Natsu noticed that Gray wasn't wearing anything beside his boxers. Well, not that it was unusual, but when had he taken off his clothes? When he'd still been sleeping? When he answered the door? On the way back to the bathroom? Why the hell was he even thinking about such things right now?
Gray was trying to peel Natsu from his clothes, so he could at least make it as easy as possible.
A minute later, they were both in the shower, warm water running down their bodies. Natsu felt a bit better, at least as far as his stomach was concerned.
When Gray massaged the shampoo into his hair, Natsu closed his eyes and let out a content sigh. Gray proceeded to massage his scalp even after all his hair was covered in shampoo. It was soothing, and it helped to calm down his spinning thoughts.
Natsu took a step forward, wrapped his arms around Gray, and rested his head against Gray's shoulder. Gray continued his massage until Natsu broke the embrace a few minutes later. They exchanged a few kisses during the shower, and another hug, but neither of them was aroused at any point.
When they toweled each other down, Natsu felt nearly as good as he had before falling asleep. His spirits were back, and he could smile again.
"What time is it?" Natsu asked while rubbing Gray's hair dry.
"Hmmm, dunno, around six?"
"So late already! That was a long nap..."
"Yeah, well, you slept that long." Muttering under his breath, he added, "and I couldn't bring myself to wake you up..."
"Oh? Did you watch me while I was sleeping?"
"M-maybe."
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Shut up."
"Make me."
Natsu had barely finished talking when Gray's mouth was pressed against his. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss. Gray's lips against his felt so right, like they belonged there. It felt like home, and Natsu never wanted to leave his home again.
The kiss was interrupted by a loud growl from Gray's stomach. They pulled back, stared at each other for a moment, and then grinned.
"How's your stomach? Do you think you can eat?"
"Fine and yes."
"I don't have much food at home. How about we go out to eat?"
That sounded like... a date! Natsu nodded enthusiastically, and they got ready in no time at all. Natsu was wearing Gray's clothes, seeing as his were ruined. They fit astoundingly well. Only the waistband of Gray's jeans was a bit too wide for Natsu's liking, but that was fixed easily with a belt.
Natsu glanced at the clock before they left Gray's flat, surprised to see that it was already half past six.
They didn't let go of each other's hand after Gray locked the door to his flat. Not even when they reached the busy shopping district. Some people stopped to stare, some whispered to each other, and one girl shrieked and fainted when she saw them. They went over to her to offer their help, but her companion explained that such a thing always happened whenever she saw the Salamander of Fairy Tail, that she'd wake up eventually, and that they didn't need to worry. She shooed them away, saying that if Natsu was still there when her friend regained consciousness, she would faint yet again. Reluctantly, they got up and walked around the nearest corner.
They decided to eat at the next spot they passed. After another minute of walking hand in hand, they spotted a sign of a restaurant. They'd nearly reached it, when Gray stopped short in his tracks. Natsu turned around to ask him what was wrong, but when he found Gray staring at him in horror, he couldn't form words out of sheer panic that something was happening to Gray.
"That old lady earlier... She's not living right under me, but two stories under me. I needed to shout at her when she was standing in front of me. How the hell did she hear your scream? Okay, your scream was way louder, and I know the sound absorption in our house isn't that good, but still... How's that possible?"
Natsu's head spun. The previous time they'd been followed by somebody. Probably also the first time then. The third time a lady heard something she shouldn't have been able to hear. Had she been manipulated? Was somebody following them even now? Shit. Natsu had been too careless.
Without answering Gray, Natsu turned his head, scanning their surroundings. There were so many people on the street that it was difficult to tell whether somebody looked suspicious or not. Some stood around idly, waiting for something or somebody, but most were moving. Some shot the two of them side glances or even stared at them, but that wasn't suspicious, seeing as they were still holding hands.
Natsu closed his eyes and concentrated on the scents, but besides Gray's, he couldn't make out any specific scent in the mixture of what was probably over a hundred different ones.
"Natsu? Did you find something?"
He opened his eyes again, looked at Gray, and wanted to answer that no, he hadn't found anything, when he saw a hooded figure over Gray's shoulder, staring at them. He had a scarf pulled up over his nose and his hood pulled down so that the only thing that could be seen from his face were his eyes—dark green eyes.
As soon as the hooded figure noticed that Natsu was staring right back at him, he turned his head away, but he didn't move from his spot in between two shops that were separated by a back alley.
Natsu let out a low growl, then let go of Gray's hand and charged towards the man, ignoring the shouts and squeals from the people who jumped out of his way. The man avoided Natsu's fist in the last second, jumping aside so that Natsu crashed into the wall of the shop. The wall didn't break since he hadn't put all his strength in the attack. He wasn't going to risk the lives of innocent people.
"I'm not your enemy," the man said calmly, and Natsu recognized the voice at once. Jellal.
"Why are you following us? Do you have anything to do with this?" Natsu demanded.
Jellal pushed his hood off and his scarf down. His expression was grim, but honest. "I'm just following instructions from Ultear. She didn't explain what this is about, but was in a rush to send me away. She just said I must observe Gray and contact her immediately if something happens to him. She made it quite obvious that she'd rip my head off if I were to lose sight of him."
Ultear. A time mage. Yes, of course. She had turned back the time. Jellal had been following them, and after Gray's death he'd contacted Ultear and she'd turned time back to save him. But then why was Natsu the only one who could remember everything? And how did she know that something was going to happen?
Natsu was about to ask these questions, when another one came to his mind: Is Gray really safe now?
His eyes widened in horror, and he turned around in search for Gray. He was right there, right next to him, staring at the two of them in confusion and fear. He'd heard everything. He'd probably gotten to the same conclusion as Natsu. He was afraid to die.
Bubbles wasn't even close, nor was any other mage that could pose a threat to Gray's life. Yes, Jellal was there, but how likely was it that he'd attack Gray when he already helped to save his life twice? Natsu felt dizzy from all the questions and concerns nagging at him.
When Gray's eyes widened in horror a moment later, and his hands came up to clutch at the fabric over his heart, Natsu's mind went blank. Gray's mouth opened wide, as if he wanted to scream, but nothing came out. He collapsed onto the floor.
Gray's heart wasn't beating anymore. Either that, or Natsu's ears weren't functioning any longer. He dropped to the floor next to Gray, and pushed a shaky hand against the pulse point at Gray's throat. Nothing. The pulse point at his wrists. Nothing. No breathing either. Dead. Gray was dead.
A feral scream broke free from Natsu's throat. He performed chest compressions for god knew how long, his mind reeling. Somewhere along the line he started screaming at Gray to cut the crap, to open his eyes, to smile at him, to tell him that he's fine, 'anything, just open your eyes already—'
"Natsu. It's been ten minutes. You'd need an electric shock to restart his heart, and even then his brain would probably be too damaged already. Let go."
'No, no, no, NO! Gray's a mage. If I just revive him, he can be healed. He can be his old self again. He'll be fine—'
Strong arms pulled him away from Gray, and Natsu didn't have the energy to struggle. His face was pushed against a chest. It wasn't Gray's. It felt so wrong.
"You've done everything you can. Please leave the rest to Ultear. She'll turn back time. You'll get him back."
Unable to answer, Natsu remained motionless, his head pressed against Jellal's chest, his body lying on the cold tar. He felt empty, lifeless.
"Ultear said that she could leave only your memories. When I told her that you've seen me, she asked me to tell you something. It's up to you alone to save his life, since even she won't be able to remember anything. She said you can contact her over my communication lacrima whenever you want. Just call for me and tell me you know I'm there, and ask for it. She said you'll probably want to write a diary. She could manipulate a diary so that what you wrote won't vanish even though the time is turned back."
So Gray could be saved. Natsu sat up, and stared at Jellal.
"Did Ultear say how he can be saved?"
"No. That's your task. To find out how you can save him."
'My task... His life depends on me... On me alone... Leave it to me, Gray. I'll save you. I swear by my own life that I'll find a way.'
The first step towards his goal: More information.
"How did she know that Gray would die?"
"I don't know..."
"How much time do I have after Gray died? Will it always be the same?"
"I... don't know?"
"What time is it?"
Instead of answering, Jellal pointed over Natsu's shoulder. A crowd had gathered around them. Natsu hadn't noticed them at all until this point.
A bit louder, he asked towards the crowd, "What time is it?"
The whispers grew louder, Natsu caught scraps like 'is he okay?' and 'his friend just died, how can he think about the time now?' and 'isn't that Fairy Tail's Salamander?' and 'who's that boy lying on the floor?'. He was close to shouting at them to shut the fuck up and tell him the time, when a male voice said, "It's 7:15 now."
Natsu nodded thankfully in the general direction of the crowd.
Obviously somebody had called a healer, since a woman unknown to Natsu was pushing herself between the crowds, then dropped to her knees before Gray, her hands glowing where she touched his chest. She shook her head. Natsu grit his teeth, but fought down any thoughts that weren't about gathering information. He turned back to Jellal.
"Is there anything else you can tell me? Like, how did you follow us without being noticed, or where are your hiding spots? And since when are you following us?"
"I've been following Gray since about six in the morning, when he left for the guild. He doesn't have enhanced senses, so hiding from him isn't that difficult. You, however, should have noticed me, but I guess you were... um–" he averted his eyes and scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed– "distracted by other things."
Natsu felt his face heat. He nodded curtly, urging Jellal to continue.
"As for my hiding spots... Mostly I've been sitting in some bush or tree, observing you through windows when you were inside. When you moved to Gray's bathroom, I couldn't see you clearly anymore due to the frosted glass. So I sent that old lady to check on you."
The rest of what Jellal had to say was vague. He didn't know where Ultear got her information from, or whether she knew anything about the circumstances. He knew where Ultear was, but he refused to tell Natsu, afraid that he'd do something stupid when the pressure became too much and Natsu grew desperate. And he was right about that, Natsu reluctantly admitted. He was the type to do careless and stupid things when extremely emotional. What if he decided one day that it wasn't worth the torture anymore and would try to stop Ultear from turning back time? He could easily imagine that the emotional pain would eventually become too much to bear if he needed too long to figure out a solution. The mere thought of seeing Gray die even one more time was enough to turn his stomach over once again.
When dizziness overcame Natsu, he welcomed it all too happily. He'd see Gray again soon.