A/N - This is my first long Fairy Tail fic! It's pretty whumpy for both Natsu and Gray throughout. They are dating in this one, and it's shippy throughout as well.

Lahar and Doranbolt are also in this fic, although they don't heavily. My version of Lahar is alive, and he and Doranbolt are also together lol, not that it really comes up much in this fic. Erza also pops up as a character later.

I'm still kinda finishing up writing this, but it should be around 10-11 chapters. I can guarantee the entire thing will be finished and posted.

Title is from "Fair" by The Amazing Devil.


Gray twitched his fingers and closed them around the icicle that appeared in his hand, stabbing it into the uncomfortable bed until it began to melt. He dropped it onto the floor, hearing it shatter, and just left it there to join the puddle of water forming. Why should he care? It wasn't his room, anyway.

About a week ago, Gray had been expected at the offices of the Magic Council, responding to a summons that he'd received for public nudity. Gray had lost count of how many of these he'd received, but the Magic Council apparently hadn't, because this time he was ordered to report to the office of some low-level Council member. He wasn't expecting much more than a slap on the wrist, but it was annoying nonetheless, not to mention mortifying.

Still, Gray didn't want to get in any more trouble than he had to, on the off-chance they decided to throw him in a cell for a night or two to teach him a lesson. He'd duly shown up at the Magic Council headquarters on the appointed day and made his way to a man named Kolten's office, which was tucked far back in what Gray could only assume was the less desirable wing of the Council building.

In fairness, Gray probably should have known that something was wrong when he bumped into a tall man hurrying the opposite way, wearing a cloak and covered in blood. But Gray was a Fairy Tail wizard, which meant both that he was no stranger to blood-soaked individuals wandering around, and also that he didn't tend to judge people on their outward appearance. Besides, he was starting to get a little worried that he was actually in some amount of trouble for the streaking, and he wanted to get the visit with Kolten over with as soon as possible.

But when he'd walked into Kolten's office, the wizard was on the floor, with a knife in his chest and a pool of blood still spreading around him. Gray had done what he could, but he'd quickly realized the man was already dead when Gray had entered the room. By the time he'd tried to go after the guy he'd seen running the other way, it was too late, and he was gone.

Gray did, however, remember what he'd looked like. And when Lahar and his weird boyfriend Doranbolt showed up to investigate, he'd given them a full description. They'd had their differences in the past, mostly regarding Jellal, but this was a separate issue entirely, and Gray was fully prepared to help.

And then they caught the guy, who turned out to be a fairly well-known dark wizard, and all of a sudden Gray's possible reprimand for streaking had turned into an official court date as the star witness for a prosecution. Gray hadn't wanted to admit it, but that was more exposure to the law than he'd been bargaining for, and the prospect stressed him out.

Still, it was important. Gray had a civic duty to put the guy -Rinel - behind bars, and all the other stuff that Lahar had said to him. Which was all well and good, until somehow Jason had gotten ahold of the story and splashed Gray's face all over the front pages of Sorcerer's Weekly.

Stupid Jason. This was all his fault. If he'd just used some goddamn common sense, no one would have known Gray was even involved, and he could have just shown up to his court date, put the guy in jail, and that would have been that.

But, before Gray had even had time to see that there was a story about him, let alone what it might have contained, Lahar and Doranbolt were showing up at his house to tell him he was "in danger" and he needed to "come with them" and be put in "protective custody."

Lahar had said only Gray should come. It would be suspicious if Natsu came too. Gray thought that was stupid - who was going to be able to protect him better than a Dragon Slayer? But Gray supposed that if he was in danger, if Natsu was around him, then Natsu would be in danger too. So this was probably for the best, even though it was terrible, and Gray could just go without seeing Natsu for the rest of the week until his court date.

But he'd already been split up from Natsu for three days. And he hated it. He was so bored in this room - there was nothing to do except read the pile of books Lahar had brought him when they'd first moved him in, and Gray could only read for like ten minutes before it made him even more bored. He could make ice, but there wasn't enough room to make anything big, and he couldn't really train. Lahar and Doranbolt only came in to talk to him when they were bringing him meals, and while they were always happy to chat, they were so weird that Gray didn't always feel better after talking to them.

He was allowed to talk to Natsu as much as he wanted through his communication lacrima, but Natsu had ended up actually taking a job instead of moping around the guild all week, and so he wasn't always around. And anyways, Gray liked doing stuff with Natsu more than he liked just talking to him, and he missed being able to touch him so much it hurt.

But he just kept telling himself that Natsu was safe, and that was what really mattered. All he had to do was get through his court date, give his testimony, and then he could be back to his normal life.


Stupid train. Natsu hated trains. They were a little more bearable with Gray, sometimes. Gray could put his icy hands on the back of Natsu's neck, and rub his back, and stroke his hair. It didn't keep Natsu from getting nauseous, but at least it sometimes kept him from throwing up. And even if it didn't, at least Natsu wasn't quite as miserable when Gray was by his side.

But Gray wasn't. Gray was off being "protected" by Lahar and Doranbolt, even though Natsu was pretty sure Gray could take both of them on together with his eyes closed. The whole thing was stupid, and Natsu wished he was home with Gray rather than alone on this train, sick to his stomach and trapped in his seat by the overwhelming dizziness.

This was not Natsu's best plan. He'd meant to ask Happy to come, but Happy had gone on a job with Wendy and Carla, and Natsu didn't want to hang out with anyone else right now. He also hadn't wanted to waste the time to find them and ask them. He'd just wanted to get out of the house as soon as he could, and stop thinking quite so much about how badly he missed Gray.

But now, as a result of that, he was trapped on this stupid train, lying flat on the bench with no idea how he was going to even be able to get off. Every time the train began to slow, or accelerate, Natsu was hit with a fresh wave of nausea that had him either retching or struggling to contain himself until he could breathe again. He was too miserable to process much of anything that was going on, including important details like station names.

The train went over a bump, and Natsu groaned and twisted his head to the side, throwing up a little over the edge of the bench. He wanted to get up and clean it, or simply move away, but he wasn't even sure which way was up anymore. All he could do was lie there and pant for breath, hoping that he could regain some equilibrium at the next stop.

A pair of legs appeared within his field of vision, and Natsu braced himself for the typical stiffening and the gasp of disgust as the stranger hurried away from him. Instead, they paused, and Natsu flicked his eyes up to find a middle-aged, fairly clean cut man. He was wearing typical wizard garb, which for men his age tended to be a cloak over some kind of robes. Natsu couldn't see any sort of guild mark, but that wasn't too weird.

Maybe this guy could help Natsu off the train, or at least tell him what the next stop was. Natsu opened his mouth to ask the man for help, but was interrupted by another retch. Miserably, he closed his eyes and waited for the stranger to leave.

Instead, Natsu heard footsteps coming closer, pausing right beside his head. Natsu wrenched his eyes open, staring up at the man's pleasant smile and deep brown eyes. The guy looked nice enough, so why was the hair on the back of Natsu's neck beginning to stand up?

"Pink hair," the man mused aloud, quietly enough that the only other people in the car, a couple at the very front, probably couldn't hear him. "Scarf. Pointy teeth, Fairy Tail guild mark…. So you're Salamander, huh? Natsu Dragneel?"

Natsu's skin began to crawl, and he wanted to tell the man to leave him alone, or even call for help, but he couldn't get the words out past the nausea. The only thing that left his lips was a strangled moan.

"My name is Tony," the man continued, as if Natsu had responded. "And next week is a pretty important week to me. See, my partner might be going to jail. And we have some big plans, and they're going to be a lot harder to carry out if he's in jail."

Natsu panted weakly and tried to look like he was following what was happening. Really, he was mostly just trying not to vomit on this guy's shoes.

"Your boyfriend is the one who's trying to put my friend in jail. And I just don't want that to happen."

Natsu was kind of starting to put the pieces together now. "But he…killed someone," he finally managed. Then, he started gagging again, rather ruining whatever effect his words might have had.

"Yes. And supposedly, your boyfriend saw him do it. So if your boyfriend testifies, everyone will know, and then he'll be put behind bars. If your boyfriend doesn't testify, everyone will assume he was blackmailed."

"Yeah!" Natsu spat. "And Gray would…never do that anyways…he's…."

"I'm taking you hostage," Tony said. "I know about your motion sickness, and I can see it for myself. You're not going to be able to fight back. There is nothing you can do."

No. Natsu would not allow himself to be taken hostage. He would not be used to manipulate Gray. He…that…that couldn't be allowed. Natsu would never let that happen.

But Tony was right. Natsu tried to sit up, but his stomach gave a horrible lurch at the movement, and he threw up weakly onto the ground again. Natsu didn't know where this guy had gotten his intel, but he was right about one thing - Natsu was pretty much useless on trains.

Before Natsu could even think about trying another way to fight back, Tony was roughly grabbing one of Natsu's wrists. Natsu struggled - more just to show he was unhappy than out of the hope of any result - but Tony clapped a metal cuff around Natsu's wrist. Instantly, Natsu felt all of his magic drain out of him. The cuffs must be enchanted with anti-magic, and now Natsu had no hope of getting free.

"That was even easier than I was led to believe," Tony said. "Now we just need to wait for the next stop."

Tony reached for Natsu's other wrist, and Natsu wanted to twist away but between the movement of the train and the unsettling feeling of having all of his magic wrenched away from him, there was nothing he could do. At this point, it was all he could manage just to stay conscious.

The other cuff snapped around Natsu's wrist, and that was it. Any hope Natsu had of fighting was gone now.

"H-help," Natsu managed. He'd wanted it to be a scream, but it came out as nothing more than a strangled croak.

"None of that," Tony said mildly, and shoved Natsu forward. His stomach lurched as he rolled on the seat, ending up face down. Any protests he might have had turned into a strangled whimper as Natsu tried his very best not to throw up. A large, heavy hand landed on his back, probably meant to look comforting to any passerby. Natsu shuddered.

"Here's what's going to happen," Tony continued. "In a few minutes, the train is going to stop. I'm going to pick you up and put you over my shoulder. If anyone asks, I'm just helping out my friend who gets sick on trains. You're probably going to be too sick to talk, but if I think you're going to say anything, I'll stuff a gag in your mouth before we leave. Got it?"

All Natsu could do was gasp, gulping against the bile rising in his throat. Despair crept up inside him like a physical thing, almost as powerful as the motion sickness, and Natsu was trapped with it.


Gray was still bored. He'd moved on from stabbing his bed with icicles to reading for a grand total of five minutes, and when that had gotten unbearable he'd left the room in search of something to eat.

Everything in the refrigerator had seemed vaguely unappetizing, in the sense that most of it was intended to be reheated, so Gray had pulled out everything labeled "Lahar" and was in the process of freezing it solid. If Lahar was such a powerful wizard, he could find a way to melt his own goddamn food.

Gray reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of cola, frowning at it as he tried to decide whether or not he wanted to risk an explosion by freezing it. Might as well. It wasn't his house, his fridge, or his cola.

"Ice make-"

Gray gasped, the cola falling from his nerveless fingers as a sudden, inexplicable wave of terror swept through him. His chest tightened, and Gray felt his breathing speed up. His stomach roiled, and Gray went to cover his mouth with his hand, nausea spiking. For a split second, he was completely sure he was going to vomit, right there in the middle of the kitchen.

What was going on? Was he having a panic attack? Was he poisoned? Had someone…?

The nausea subsided enough for Gray to register a pressure on his wrist. It almost felt like he was handcuffed, but when he looked down, the only thing around his wrist was a slim tattoo.

He had a second of complete confusion - how could he have gotten a tattoo without noticing, let alone one he didn't recognize? But then, he realized it was familiar. It was the same tattoo Meredy had put on him when she had linked Juvia's soul with his.

Someone had hit him with sensory link magic, and that's why he was feeling so ill. Whoever he was linked to - and he had a strong, sinking suspicion it must be Natsu - was feeling sick.

But who had linked him to Natsu? And why? Gray was confused, and he was just about to call out for Lahar and Doranbolt when he heard a voice in his head.

Gray! Gray!

There was no actual sound associated with the mental scream, so it didn't exactly sound like Natsu's voice. But the shout in his head felt like Natsu, and he was sure it was Natsu contacting him.

Gray felt suddenly sick again. Natsu sounded terrified.

Natsu? What's going on?

At the contact from Gray, Natsus's panicked screaming redoubled. Until, abruptly, it was cut off.

Gray felt a chill run through him. If he concentrated, he could split out Natsu's panic and fear from his own, and this terror was all his.

My name is Tony, another voice said. Don't tell anyone I'm talking to you, and just listen to what I have to say. I have Natsu, and if you contact anyone or make any indication that you're not following my exact instructions, I will hurt him. Do you understand?

Gray realized Tony was expecting an actual response. Gray swallowed hard, fighting to calm his racing heart. He couldn't let Natsu be hurt.

I understand.

I've linked you and Natsu. If I hurt him, you will be able to feel it. You will also be hurt, and you will know I am telling the truth. If I need to kill both of you, I have the means to do it. Do you understand?

I understand.

Gray's back hit cold metal, and he almost screamed before he realized he'd backed up against the refrigerator. His legs had started shaking almost too badly to stand.

You're going to testify at the trial. You're the prosecution's star witness. And when they point at my partner and ask if he's the person you saw that day, you're going to say no. We have plans, and once I get Rinel back, you get Natsu. Do you understand?

Gray felt another spike of nausea, this one entirely his own. If he did what this Tony guy was asking of him, he'd essentially be letting a murderer go free. And clearly, there was some bigger picture here that Gray wasn't understanding, maybe something even worse than murder. Obeying this man's instructions was unthinkable. It went against everything he believed in, and part of Gray couldn't believe he was even considering it.

But if he didn't, Natsu was at stake. And that was even more unthinkable.

Do you understand?

The words were still entirely telepathic, but that didn't make them any less terrifying.

I understand.

If you stop doing what I ask, or if I think you're going to betray me in any way, I'll kill Natsu. The sensory link means you die too. It's easiest to have you lie on the stand, but no testimony is better than honest testimony. Do you understand?

Gray shuddered, miserably, against the refrigerator door. This was a nightmare. With every passing second, Gray half-expected to wake up, safe in bed, with Natsu's overly warm arms around him, telling him it had all been a horrible dream. But he didn't wake up, and he could still feel Natsu's nausea sitting in his stomach and Tony's voice echoing in his head.

I understand.

Good. This will go much smoother if you're a good little wizard, and you do exactly what I say. Both you and your boyfriend can make it through this if you listen to me. Natsu, go ahead and tell him that.

Tony's voice faded out, and a much more welcome and familiar voice took its place. Natsu sounded shaky, and scared, but he was there.

G-Gray? I'm s-sorry, I was on the train, there was nothing I could do….

Gray felt a sudden, intense rush of anger that momentarily supplanted the feeling of Natsu's terror. Tony had kidnapped Natsu from the train? When he couldn't even move, and Gray hadn't been there to help? With an effort, Gray shoved the anger down, to be dealt with later. Right now, he had to focus on Natsu.

Natsu, are you okay? Did he hurt you?

Oh, I hadn't hurt him yet.

Gray was so relieved he could have started crying. Gray would do whatever Tony wanted, he would follow all of his instructions, he would lie on the stand in front of everyone he knew, if that was all it would take to get Natsu back unharmed. He would not let Natsu be hurt. He would….

There was a horrible snapping sound. Blinding pain exploded through Gray's body, so intense that for a moment, he wasn't able to place where it was coming from. Before Gray was really aware of what was happening, he was on the ground. Gray saw stars, his vision dipping wildly in and out in a way that made him worry he would be sick.

Slowly, slowly, Gray gathered the strength to look down at his leg. Based on the radiating pain he was experiencing, he was sure it should be visibly disfigured, his foot twisted at a horrible angle and blood everywhere. But of course, everything looked completely normal.

Because it wasn't his leg that had been hurt. It was Natsu's.

Gray realized he was panting for breath. And then, he realized he was about two seconds away from screaming. Lahar and Doranbolt were on the bottom floor of the house. He would be lucky if they hadn't heard him fall, but they would definitely hear if he started yelling.

Gray had the presence of mind to shove his hand in his mouth and clamp down. The pain ratched up another level, and Gray sunk his teeth into his own hand, not sure how else he would be able to keep from screaming. He vaguely registered the taste of blood, but it somehow didn't feel like it mattered.

Another wave of nausea crashed through Gray, and Gray couldn't tell if it was his own or if it was from Natsu. As much pain as Gray was in, things must be infinitely worse for Natsu, Gray didn't even want to think about what his leg must look like now, he couldn't let himself picture it, couldn't let himself imagine the agony on Natsu's face….

Gray wasn't sure how much time passed. He was still in so much pain it was hard to breathe around it, but things were starting to feel distant and fuzzy around the edges. He knew Natsu was probably starting to go into shock. It was scary, but at the same time it seemed to help slightly, and he found his breathing slowly returning to a more normal equilibrium.

He realized the telepathic connection was still open - he could hear Natsu whimpering faintly.

Natsu? It was difficult for Gray to form thoughts, but he knew he had to. Natsu, are you okay?

There was no reply, just the harsh pants of Natsu's labored breathing, with the occasional soft moan. Each broken sound from the other end made Gray's heart twist, and he felt the nausea rise again in the back of his throat. He closed his eyes, swallowing hard and sending out another silent plea across the connection.

Natsu, please. Can you hear me? Please talk to me. Are…are you okay? Please….