"You're telling me that we came all the way to Paris, and you don't want to go up the Eiffel Tower?"

They're three days into the trip before they make it to the famous landmark that Gray's been trying so hard to avoid. Natsu stands in front of him, hands on his hips, eyebrow raised in disbelief. Gray groans, tipping his head up and taking in the tower – all one thousand feet of it. A large crowd mills around the bottom, waiting for the elevator to take them up.

"You can go ahead," Gray grumbles, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I was gonna check out the catacombs, we can—"

"No way," Natsu argues, shaking his head. "You can't come to Paris and not go up the Eiffel Tower."

Before Gray can protest again, Natsu reaches out and grabs his hand, pulling him toward the lineup. Gray's stomach leaps at the contact – even through his fingerless gloves, Natsu's hands are warm.

"I'm not…" Gray protests feebly, but Natsu isn't listening.

Halfway up the elevator, Gray starts to feel dizzy. The lights below them spread across the city, and if he wasn't terrified, he might have found it pretty. Instead, he leans heavily against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Gray?"

"'m fine," Gray mumbles, letting out a shaky breath.

Natsu moves closer to him, blocking his view of the city. "God, I'm an idiot," Natsu says. "You're scared of heights."

"Just… a bit," Gray says, opening his eyes and trying to give Natsu a reassuring smile. "It's okay, I'm—I swear, I'm fine."

"Uhuh." Natsu reaches out and grabs Gray's hand, slipping his fingers between Gray's and squeezing hard. The sudden way Gray's stomach flips is almost enough to distract him from the vertigo. "We can go back down, I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's…"

The elevator pulls to a stop and the doors slide open, and Gray peeks around Natsu's shoulder at the soft tendrils of a brilliant sunset. Everyone else starts filing out around them, and Gray's eyes flick back to Natsu's regretful face.

"I'm sor—"

"C'mon," Gray interrupts. He takes a deep breath, then squeezes Natsu's hand and walks out of the elevator.

The observation deck is solid under his feet, but the wall is nothing more than thin bits of crisscrossed metal. The city sprawls out beneath them – houses and museums and millions of tiny lights. It's gorgeous and breathtaking, and absolutely terrifying.

"C'mon, we can go back down," Natsu says gently, tugging on Gray's hand. "I feel like an idiot."

Gray shakes his head, taking a tentative step forward. "Just… don't let go," he says, hoping Natsu doesn't catch the flush that crawls up the back of his neck. Natsu squeezes his hand reassuringly, moving slowly toward the edge of the observation deck.

The look of childlike wonder on Natsu's face is enough to distract Gray from his fear – as long as he keeps his eyes on Natsu and not on the very-far-away ground, he'll be fine.

Natsu's eyes are wide as he leans forward, gripping the metal with one hand as he peers down at the view. "It's gorgeous," he whispers.

So are you, Gray thinks, eyes trained on the smile that lights up Natsu's entire face. His hair is highlighted by the evening sun, nearly matching the soft pink clouds that drift through the sky.

Gray's only known Natsu for less than a week, and he's already the brightest thing in Gray's life.

"C'mere," Natsu says, and when Natsu turns to Gray with that brilliant smile, Gray's chest lights up, warm and content. "You've gotta see this. I'll hold onto you, promise."

"I…" Gray hesitates, but Natsu reaches out both hands, gripping Gray's forearms and tugging him forward gently. When Gray reaches the railing, Natsu wraps an arm around his waist.

"Oh," Gray says, looking down at the city while his heart slams against his chest. He's not sure if it's adrenaline or the smell of Natsu's shampoo that's making his heart skip like this. Probably both. "Wow."

Natsu's right – the view is gorgeous. Gray can see the river and the boats that run along the canal; the glass pyramid of the Louvre; the quaint street where they'd had breakfast at the café this morning. He can even see the bright colors of their hotel.

"See?" Natsu says, leaning closer and holding Gray tighter. "Worth it, right?"

Gray takes a deep breath as the last rays of sunlight dip below the horizon. Then he leans into Natsu and nods. "Yeah," he says softly. "Yeah, it is."


The rest of the week flies by in a whirlwind of shy smiles, tipsy flirting and sight-seeing. They work their way through the list that Gray had made before the trip – the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral. They even take a day trip to Versailles, and Gray falls asleep against Natsu on the way home, curled up with his head resting on Natsu's shoulder. Natsu cherishes that hour more than all the time they'd spent at the palace.

One day Natsu even braves the catacombs. The excited look on Gray's face when he mentions the underground tunnels is enough for Natsu to attempt to ignore his claustrophobia and drag himself down there with Gray. Being surrounded by skulls and femurs is terrifying, but it's an excuse to hold Gray's hand, which Natsu gladly takes.

"It wasn't as bad as I expected," he says later when they're curled up on the hotel bed after a couple of beers. "Just… dark. And full of dead people."

When he shudders and Gray responds with a tipsy giggle, Natsu feels bright and warm. Gray's laugh is his new favorite sound, and he'll do anything to hear it.

"I still feel bad," Gray insists, shaking his head and leaning back against the pile of pillows they've shoved against the headboard. Natsu's lying on his back, squinting at Gray upside-down.

"I owed you after the Eiffel Tower," Natsu says. "We're even now."

Gray snorts as Natsu shuffles out of his jeans, kicking them to the end of the bed. Moving this way puts his head against Gray's thigh, and when Gray's fingers find their way into Natsu's hair, Natsu sighs happily.

Natsu still hasn't bought a new brush, and he doesn't plan to.

"You wanna go to la Place de la Bastille tomorrow?" Gray asks as he slowly untangles the knots in Natsu's hair. He starts with one hand, the other still holding his drink, but eventually sets the bottle down on the nightstand and nudges Natsu closer.

"What's that?" Natsu asks, shifting until his head is completely resting on Gray's thigh. Gray is warm and still smells like crisp snow, and it takes everything Natsu has not to turn onto his side and pull Gray toward him.

"It's where the column is," Gray explains. When he slips into French, something happy bubbles low in Natsu's stomach. "La colonne de Juilett – en commémoration des Trois Glorieuses…"


Natsu tips his head and hums quietly as Gray tells him about the French Revolution. Most of Gray's friends aren't into history like he is, and they tend to tune him out when he gets into it like this. But Gray can tell that even with his eyes closed, Natsu is listening intently.

As Gray talks, he keeps combing his fingers through Natsu's hair. He hasn't braided hair since Cana was little, but muscle memory kicks in and he starts to twist pieces of Natsu's hair into loose plaits before brushing it out and starting over. At one point his finger slips behind Natsu's ear and Natsu sighs happily, tipping his head to the side. His tattoo starts there – a green leaf with a small purple flower beside it. Gray touches it carefully, then trails his fingers down across the tattoo until his hand reaches Natsu's shoulder.

Natsu shifts against Gray's leg, and part of Gray wants to trace the lines further, run his fingertips across Natsu's collarbone, brush against the hollow of his throat. They're so close and Natsu is so warm against him, and Gray wants so badly to keep touching.

Something holds him back, though, and he brings his hands back to Natsu's hair instead.


When they wake up the next morning, the pillows are pushed away, and Gray's arm is wrapped around Natsu's waist again. There's a soft, quiet moment where they're both wide awake and completely aware of themselves, but Gray still doesn't move his arm away. They just breathe together, warm skin against warm skin, until Natsu shifts onto his back and Gray sits up quickly, mumbling something before heading to the washroom.

Gray doesn't say anything about it later – neither of them do. They don't mention the handholding, or the way Gray's fingers feel in Natsu's hair, or how Natsu's foot is always hooked around Gray's ankle under their table in restaurants. There are times when Gray's tempted – when Natsu's eyes are bright and they're huddled against each other on the Métro, or when Natsu's laughing with his head thrown back and his nose scrunched up.

Gray doesn't, though. There's a shy uncertainty in the way he cares for Natsu, and he's wary of the way Natsu makes it hard to breathe. He's never felt like this before – not even with Suki, who Gray had thought he was going to marry at one point. Every minute with Natsu is like being at the top of the Eiffel Tower all over again, thrilling and brilliant and absolutely terrifying.

And Gray won't do anything to break that.


Gray:

Lyon:

Lyon: Is that the Eiffel tower?

Lyon: You hate heights! What the hell are you doing up there?

Gray: It's not really that bad.

Lyon: Bitch, you wouldn't even come up the gondola with us in Jasper last year, don't tell me the EIFFEL TOWER is 'not really that bad.'

Gray:

Gray: I couldn't come to Paris and not go up here. The view is really nice!

Lyon: Is the view the city, or that guy's ass?

Gray scowls, looking back at the photo he'd sent Lyon. Natsu's in it, leaning against the railing and staring down at the lights flickering across Paris. He's smiling, cheeks pink from the cold, chin tucked into his scarf.

It's Gray's favorite picture.

Gray's about to text Lyon and tell him to fuck the hell off when someone appears behind him, covering his eyes and laughing. It's Natsu, of course, and Gray nearly melts back against him, catching himself at the last minute and grabbing Natsu's wrists instead.

"Whatcha doin'?" Natsu asks, peeking over Gray's shoulder at his phone. Gray quickly closes the message window and shoves the phone back into his pocket.

"Texting my brother," he says quickly, turning around. "He…" Gray trails off as he stares at Natsu, who looks… gorgeous. He's wearing a dark blue button-down under a black sports jacket, open at the collar to show off the tattoo running up the side of his neck. He's changed out of his ripped jeans and into darker pants that are much more fitted and has traded his combat boots for dress shoes. He's even sort of tamed his wild hair.

"Told you I can clean up," Natsu says, grinning and bopping Gray on the nose.

Gray can't stop staring. "Are you wearing eyeliner?" he asks eventually. It's the stupidest question he could have asked, but Natsu doesn't seem to mind.

"Yep."

It looks amazing on him – his eyes are even brighter green when they're rimmed with black, and Gray's fairly certain he's wearing lip gloss, too.

Fuck, Gray thinks. I'm so screwed.

"You look pretty good too," Natsu says, reaching out and brushing something off the collar of Gray's sweater. Natsu's fingers brush his neck and Gray bites back the undignified sound that tries to escape him. "Think we're presentable enough for Christmas Eve dinner at Ciel de Paris?"


Ciel de Paris is the most romantic restaurant Gray has ever been to. Everything is sleek and modern – mood lights on the ceiling, a long, curved bar in the center, and tables lining the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the Eiffel Tower.

Everything on the menu is wildly unfamiliar – they both raise eyebrows at each other as they read over items like déclinaison de foie gras and l'excellence ïodée. Eventually Gray orders them both a glass of wine and something called torteaux Saint Jacques as a starter and hopes for the best.

"You doing okay?" Natsu nudges Gray's foot under the table and Gray blinks, realizing he's been staring again. Natsu's eyes are bright as he stares at Gray over the rim of his wine glass, then tips his head to the window. They're sitting right next to it, and Gray's been trying his best to not think about the almost seven-hundred-foot drop to the ground below.

"Yeah," he says, keeping his hand steady enough to take another sip of his wine. He's not as scared as he'd been when they were up the Eiffel Tower, and he's not sure if it's the alcohol making him brave, or the fact that he's sitting across from the most gorgeous person he's ever been on a date with.

Is this a date? God, he wants it to be.

"Hey." Natsu reaches across the table slowly and takes Gray's hand in his, squeezing gently. "Don't look out there. Look at me."

I can definitely do that, Gray thinks as he nods.

"It's not that bad," he says, trying to keep his voice steady. "I'm… okay."

"Why the hell you made reservations at a seven-hundred-foot-tall restaurant when you're terrified of heights is beyond me," Natsu teases. "This girl must've been pretty special."

There's something in Natsu's voice that Gray can't quite place. He sets down his wine glass, then shakes his head.

"I thought she was," he says, staring down at the tattooed dragon that curls across Natsu's hand and over his index finger. "But, uh…" He looks back up at Natsu, who's still gazing at Gray over his wine glass, expression uncertain. "I'm glad I'm with you," Gray says in a rush, putting more emphasis on the 'you' than is strictly necessary.

Natsu looks surprised, then bites his lip and looks down at their hands, slowly running his thumb over Gray's knuckles.

"Me too," he says softly. "Best Christmas I've had in… well, ever."

Gray swallows, feeling heat creep up to his cheeks as they stare at each other, still holding hands.

The appearance of the waiter with their food breaks the moment, and Gray lets go of Natsu's hand reluctantly while they both inspect the dish in front of them. Natsu frowns at it, then looks up at Gray and raises his eyebrow.

"This is probably going to make me sound like the most uncultured person in the world," Natsu says, picking up his fork and poking at the food, "but I have no idea what this is."

Gray's about to reply that he doesn't either when Natsu scoops up a bit of what looks like fish eggs and raises and eyebrow at it suspiciously. Then he grins at Gray and holds out the fork for him. A hot flush immediately creeps up the back of Gray's neck at the intimate gesture, but he sets his wine glass down and leans forward, taking the bite. He's pretty sure Natsu's cheeks are pink, too.

"How is it?" Natsu asks, and Gray isn't talking about the food when he answers, "Amazing."

It's only been seven days and Gray's never kissed a boy, but Gray's one hundred percent certain he's in love.