When Natsu wakes up the next morning, it takes him a few minutes to figure out where he is. Instead of the Christmas lights he has hung around his apartment, sunshine pours through a window that takes up half the opposite wall. The bed is three times larger than normal, and when Natsu tries to roll over, there's an arm wrapped around his waist.
He looks down at the arm – dark brown skin and a leather bracelet around the wrist. Natsu frowns at it for a second before he remembers.
He's in Paris with Gray.
It takes Natsu's heart about 0.2 seconds to go from completely relaxed to something resembling a broken metronome. Gray's pressed up against his back, one arm under the pillow and the other wrapped tightly around Natsu's waist. His knee is tucked between Natsu's legs, and he's still fast asleep, breathing evenly.
Natsu holds as still as possible. If he moves, he'll break the moment, and he wants to stay like this for as long as he can. The contentment that settles in his chest next to his pounding heart is unfamiliar and so very welcome. It's been a long time since someone has held him like this.
Natsu lets out a soft, slow breath and relaxes back against Gray, hesitantly placing his hand over Gray's on his stomach. Part of him feels guilty – Gray doesn't know they're cuddling, and Natsu's not sure what he'd do if he did. Gray's hard to read, and Natsu tends to hope for too much.
Natsu's about to start overthinking everything when Gray makes the most adorable snuffling sound and nuzzles the back of Natsu's neck, pulling him closer and letting out a contented sigh. A shiver runs through Natsu and he brushes his fingers over the back of Gray's hand. Gray makes a happy sound, then yawns and mumbles something unintelligible as he starts to stir.
"Hey," Natsu says gently, wondering if he should quickly extricate himself from Gray's embrace before he wakes up for real. Gray grumbles something that sounds vaguely like morning, then yawns and presses his forehead to the back of Natsu's shoulder.
Gray is clearly not a morning person.
Natsu's just about to lift Gray's arm off him when Gray mumbles, "time issit?"
"No idea," Natsu says. "We're in Paris, remember?"
"Paris?" Gray's voice is suddenly a lot clearer, and suddenly the blissful morning moment is over. He pulls his arm away from Natsu and sits up, rubbing his face and looking around the room. When his gaze finally lands back on Natsu, his expression transforms from confused to mortified. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry," he says, pushing himself up off the bed and looking anywhere but at Natsu.
"It's okay," Natsu reassures him, sitting up and stretching. As comfortable as cuddling was, sleeping in his clothes has left him feeling grungy. "I think we both were pretty tired."
"I didn't mean to..." Gray starts again, but Natsu waves him off.
"You hungry?" he asks, changing the subject. Gray's still looking at the floor, but he nods, crossing his arms over his chest. "Good, 'cause I'm starving. Just lemme shower and we can go find somewhere to eat."
Gray doesn't say anything when Natsu grabs his clothes and heads into the bathroom, but as Natsu closes the door, he hears an embarrassed groan and a whisper of what the hell?
Gray spends the rest of the day feeling off-kilter. The embarrassed flush never seems to leave his cheeks, and every time he looks at Natsu, he feels like he's falling.
It turns to be just past noon by the time they leave the hotel, so they eat lunch at a little café where a breakfast of croissants and espresso make Gray feel a bit more human. But when Natsu's foot touches his under the table, Gray gets that feeling again like he can't quite breathe.
"So," Natsu says, brushing the last of the crumbs off his lap, "what's the plan for today?"
The question catches Gray off guard. He did have things planned, for when the trip was with Suki – romantic stuff like the Pont des Arts and the Champs-Élysées. There's a part of him that whispers, you could still do those things with Natsu.
"I…" Gray fiddles with the handle of his coffee cup. There's so much going on in his mind right now that it's hard to figure out what he wants to say. He can't decide whether he wants to hold Natsu's hand, or if they should go their separate ways for the day so Gray can figure out why the hell he suddenly feels like he's fourteen with a crush on the pretty girl in homeroom. "We can do whatever," he says eventually. "If you wanna—you don't have to hang out with me if you don't want to."
Natsu kicks Gray's shin gently under the table, and when Gray looks up, Natsu raises an eyebrow at him. "Do you really think I want to be alone in a place like this after yesterday?" he asks. Gray frowns, then realizes Natsu's referring to his anxiety attack on the Métro.
"Oh," he says. Natsu's foot is still touching his shin. "Sorry, I didn't…" He can't make a complete sentence and he bites the inside of his cheek in frustration.
The waitress appears next to their table and reaches out for their plates with a smile. "Avez-vous aimér?" she asks.
"Oui, c'était très bon," Natsu says, handing her his empty plate. "We actually just got here yesterday," he continues in French.
"Oh!" The woman smiles, looking between them. "Have you been to Le Marais?" Both of them shake their head and she gives them a conspiratorial smile that Gray doesn't quite understand. "You should go. I think you will enjoy it."
Le Marais turns out to be the gay district of Paris. Gray stares at the rainbow flag hanging in the window of the boutique store next to them, and the overwhelmed sensation in his chest returns full force. A couple walks past them – two young women, holding hands and laughing at each other – as Christmas music plays from the speakers near the storefront.
"Guess she was onto me," Natsu says, nudging Gray's shoulder. When Gray looks back at him, Natsu gestures to the rainbow pin on his bag and laughs. Gray can see something else in Natsu's expression, but he's not quite sure what it is. "You okay?" Natsu asks.
"Yeah," Gray says, shaking his head and pulling his coat closer around him. It's chilly, and tiny flakes of snow are beginning to drift down around them. Natsu's cheeks are pink from the cold, and his eyes are bright with excitement.
"C'mon," he says, grabbing Gray's arm and pulling him down the street.
They spend the better part of the afternoon wandering in and out of stores that sell everything from designer jeans to antique lamps. Natsu's enthusiasm is contagious, and by the time they stop for dinner, Gray's feeling a lot less flustered.
The restaurant is a cozy placed called L'Aller Retour, and when the waiter offers up wine with their meal, they both raise their eyebrows at each other, then grin and shrug – why not?
After a couple of glasses, Gray's feeling warm and bubbly and brave.
"… so the other tattoo artist ended up holding my hand 'cause it hurt like a bitch," Natsu says, tipping his wine glass toward Gray. He gestures vaguely to his hip and Gray feels himself blush.
"That's… it's a sensitive spot," he says, cheeks tingling as his mind slips to an image of him running his fingers over Natsu's tattoos. Or his tongue. Maybe both.
"Yeah," Natsu says, and when he licks a stray drop of wine off his lower lip, Gray realizes he's staring.
"Shit," he says softly, then shakes his head. "Sorry, I'm a bit…"
Natsu laughs, and his foot brushes Gray's leg under the table again. "'s okay," he says, downing the last of his wine and waving for the waiter. "Me too."
By the time they get back to the hotel it's nearly midnight, and they're both still tipsy. Natsu trips over himself trying to kick his shoes off, and when Gray grabs his arm to pull him upright, he dissolves into a fit of laughter.
"Sorry," he giggles, grabbing Gray's shoulder. He tugs off his jacket and tosses it on the bed, then pulls off his sweater too. Then he turns back to Gray and raises an eyebrow.
"What?" Gray asks, sitting down on the bed and shrugging off his own jacket.
"I said I'd show you the rest," Natsu says, and Gray's mind blanks out for a few seconds before Natsu clarifies, "tattoos. The rest of my tattoos."
"Oh," Gray says, because it's the only word he can get out around the tightness in his throat. He nods, and Natsu gives him an unreadable look before grabbing the hem of his shirt and tugging it over his head.
The tattoos on Natsu's hips dip down under his jeans, and curl around his ribs to the middle of his back. He's wearing a binder over his chest, but above it, an intricate set of flowers are inked across his collarbone. They continue up both sides of his neck and behind his ears, and two colorful dragons wind down both of his arms.
The tattoos are gorgeous, and so is Natsu, and before Gray can stop himself, he says it out loud.
Natsu looks surprised, then gives Gray a shy smile. "Thanks," he says. A yawn appears to catch him off guard and he stretches, back arching as he brings his hands up over his head. Gray knows he should look away, but instead he traces the muscles in Natsu's back with his eyes, wishing it were his fingertips instead.
Maybe it could be. Part of him is tempted to reach out, to touch Natsu, to see what it's like to kiss a boy because he never has but now, he really, really wants to. But he holds himself back because they've only just met, and if Gray fucks this up, they're stuck with each other for three weeks and things could get awkward.
"I'll be right back," Natsu says, tossing a quick glance at Gray before heading to the bathroom.
As soon as Natsu closes the door, Gray shakes his head to try and clear the tipsy fog from his mind. He pushes himself up the bed, shoving the pile of pillows around into something comfortable before yawning and laying back into it. He's warm and content, and by the time Natsu comes back, he's nearly asleep.
"You should get changed," Natsu comments, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He's wearing boxers and a baggy t-shirt now, and his hair is down around his shoulders instead of pulled back into a ponytail. "You're gonna regret sleeping in jeans again."
Gray grumbles, but eventually undoes his jeans and kicks them onto the floor, then turns onto his side and tucks his arm under the pillow. He had been planning on putting pillows between them tonight, so he didn't embarrass himself by waking up wrapped around Natsu again, but when Natsu flops down onto the bed, Gray can't bring himself to put a barrier between them.
"I forgot my brush," Natsu says, rolling to face Gray and running his fingers through his hair. They catch on a knot and he tugs at it, making a face. "It's gonna be a mess tomorrow."
The tipsy buzz still flowing through Gray's mind makes him brave enough to reach out and touch Natsu's hair. Natsu looks surprised, then gives Gray a soft smile and shifts closer.
"'Okay?" Gray asks quietly, combing his fingers through Natsu's hair. He gently untangles it, then tucks it behind Natsu's ear. He's pretty sure he's crossing a line right now, but Natsu doesn't seem to mind.
"Yeah," Natsu says sleepily, curling up so his knees are just touching Gray's and his hands are tucked under the pillow. "'s nice."
"Okay," Gray says as Natsu yawns and makes a soft, contented sound.
Natsu falls asleep quickly, but Gray stays awake, combing his fingers through Natsu's hair and matching his breathing to the rise and fall of Natsu's chest.
French Translations
Avez-vous aimér? - Did you enjoy it?
Oui, c'était très bon = Yes, it was really good
