It was strange how things changed.
After that somewhat out of character conversation with Natsu, Gray had started feeling differently. And the air wasn't as suffocating as before.
Yes, Gray still felt off, uncomfortable with Christmas. Sometimes going outside still had the effect of nails on a chalkboard to him and had him choking slightly but, he could endure it a bit more.
Every day he and Juvia would go to the coffeehouse and ask for news but they were still pretty incommunicado from the outside – and that despite teams Quatro Cerberus and Oración Seis, whatever those were, being working in turns. But the bad weather wasn't helping and so the town was pretty much its own world – with access to commodities, of course.
He and Juvia had tried the teahouse and gone to the supermarket – where some goods were not as fresh as they could be – and Gray had returned to the bookstore and bought a few books to busy himself with. Preparing for the videocall was also something that made Gray keep busy but, it didn't feel like work.
Going out and chatting to some of the townspeople he was starting to meet was making him feel comfortable.
It was a very weird realization for Gray.
There was only one downside to all of this. And that was Juvia.
Gray had finally started to notice how she sometimes would behave. The glances – they were more glares than anything – she threw, the seeming protective stance she had over Gray. And Gray was just having a good time. But whenever Juvia went to the bookstore she would be emanating some nearly murderous vibes towards the owners and that not only weirded Gray out but also embarrassed him.
'I'll have to talk to her,' Gray thought as he finished the book by a certain author called Goldmine, "Soul in the Wild". And that was some writing, it certainly stayed with you even after closing the book. Lunchtime was upon them and the videocall was in the early afternoon so time was of the essence.
They went to the restaurant and as soon as the waiter left them to go order the food, Gray looked intently at Juvia. She was tapping on the phone and when she raised her head, all her focus was concentrated on Gray.
It was uncomfortable, to say the least.
"Juvia."
"Yes, Gray-sama?"
"Do you need anything?" Gray asked.
"No," she said, tilting her head to the side in a slightly bird-like expression, "why? Does it look like Juvia needs something? Juvia is here to help Gray-sama."
"You were looking at me in a strange way?" was the failed attempt at pushing the conversation the way Gray wanted. "Like you were thinking about something or…?"
"No, Juvia was just checking if Gray-sama might need something more for the call later."
"I think I left one of my notebooks in the bookstore," Gray said and paid close attention to the flicker of a dark expression that went across her face. "Might need to go there to grab it. After coffee, of course."
"Gray-sama doesn't have to worry about that. Juvia will get it for Gray-sama. Juvia is here to help and give Gray-sama all she can."
And that, didn't sit too well with Gray. The food arrived and that broke the awkward atmosphere that had risen. Though things were still up in the air. Gray knew that this conversation wasn't over yet.
Silence reigned until they were out of the restaurant and walking to the coffeehouse. But then Juvia decided to break it.
"Gray-sama, Juvia wanted to say something." She started saying, slipping unsubtle glances his way – and it was in that moment that Gray knew with stupid clarity what she was going to say – and then looking down at her hands demurely. "Juvia doesn't know if this is…" she cleared her throat. "Juvia wants Gray-sama to know that she li-"
"Juvia, I'm going to stop you there." Gray said, opening the coffeehouse door and motioning at her to go inside. "I am touched but, I don't like you like that."
They were talking in low voices and walked to a table before heading to the counter. But the noise Juvia did when she bristled still took Gray by surprise.
"What does Gray-sama mean? Gray-sama has to like Juvia. She has been doing all she can to-"
"I'm sorry but I'm not interested in you like that." Gray shook his head as she threw the coat – that he had remembered to bring, for once – to the back of a chair.
"How can that be? Juvia doesn't understand."
"You can't understand feelings. It's not how it works." Gray said and took a cursory glance around the room, relieved that no-one seemed to be paying special attention to them though Natsu and Lisanna seemed to be looking their way.
"Juvia does not accept that!" she started raising her voice. Some heads started to turn.
"Well, she better." Gray shot back gruff way, walking towards the counter. She went after him, glowering at him.
"Hi, I want one of those red velvet cupcakes and a latte… just a plain one." He told Natsu.
"Juvia wants to know why, Gray-sama." She growled into Gray's ear and that made his patience snap.
"You want to know why I don't look at you that way?" he took a deep breath. "Fine! I'm gay, okay?" he said in an accusatory tone. "So, I've been much more interested in Natsu here than in you. Heck, we've been getting closer. And thanks for making me out him like this." He concluded sarcastically.
"Wha-wha-whaaaat!" Juvia nearly has a conniption on the spot before turning all her rage and fury towards the new target, Natsu.
The other nearly recoiled physically, thrown to the spotlight as he was in the blink of an eye.
"Yooou…" Juvia started saying.
"Hey, I…" Natsu was looking flabbergasted between Gray and Juvia, he even raised his hands in a placating manner. "I'm not-"
"Yoooooou!" Juvia screeched.
To say that Natsu was beyond surprised – or shocked, even – was not enough.
Heck, Natsu had noticed that Gray and Juvia had entered the coffeehouse but the air between them was charged, like a thundercloud, and he knew better than to get in the way of the people who came to get their coffee fix. Still, Natsu couldn't help himself from occasionally glancing to the table the pair had settled on. He even noticed that Lisanna, who was finishing the replacement of the dishes and silverware, just from the washing machine, she was also looking.
They exchanged a questioning glance, but shrugged in answer. They just had no clue about what was going on.
Only that it wasn't too good.
So, Gray made his order, trying to present a pleasant façade but Juvia was too close, aggressively in his personal space. And it was noticeable that Gray was uncomfortable. And then, Gray's temper emerged. Natsu was doing his best to tune the conversation out but he froze at what Gray suddenly said.
"Fine! I'm gay, okay?" Natsu raised his head because the scene was starting to unfold – and Gray's tone could slice a diamond in half. "So, I've been much more interested in Natsu here than in you. Heck, we've been getting closer. And thanks for making me out him like this."
Natsu was so shocked at this that the plate containing the red velvet muffin nearly fell to the ground, but was swiftly saved by Lisanna's steady hands. But Natsu paid it no mind. Because then Juvia turned to Natsu and the glare she threw at him was filled with hatred and it was so violent that Natsu nearly felt the physical impact of it.
"Yooou…" she said, the word dripping venom.
"Hey-" Natsu had to defend himself. But what the hell was happening?
"Yoooooou!" The screech had everyone grimacing. But the woman, she looked absolutely pissed and murderous – if looks killed, Natsu was sure he'd just be a puddle of goo on the floor for poor Lisanna to clean. Yet, Natsu's eye was drawn to Gray.
And Gray looked positively beseeching and apologetic. And something inside of Natsu told him to go along with this ludicrous scene.
"What about me?" he asked in his customary posture. "You don't have anything to do with whatever is going on between me and Gray."
He purposefully ignored the noises that were coming from Lisanna or from Lucy and Levy who had just gotten inside the shop, just in time to hear his tirade.
"So, does that mean-?" Juvia was deflating and seemed crushed.
"Yeah, me and Gray, we have a thing." Natsu said in a half-challenging, half-teasing tone. "D'you have a problem with that?" he asked her, crossing his arms in front of himself and arching an eyebrow.
There was a beat of silence before Juvia ran out the door and disappeared.
Natsu huffed a breath and looked at Gray. The other had been strangely quiet but now he seemed to be uncomfortable. Though, it probably was because Natsu's friends had started cooing at them, over them and Natsu decided it was time for a strategic exit.
"I'll be back later," he announced, already going round the counter and grabbing Gray's wrist. The two were out the door in the blink of an eye but Natsu had no doubts that at least Lucy would be going after them. She sometimes had this side where she was way too curious for her own good.
"Let's go here." Natsu turned towards one of the places that his group of friends at least didn't dare to go and cause a ruckus. Cana's shop. It was the perfect place. No-one would go mess around the very exclusive wine shop in town. Not even the owner's friends. And even less when she was deep in inventory-mode. Whoever dared to bother her – with maybe the exception of Erza or Mira – was dead, unless there was a good reason.
"Cana, sorry to bother. I need one of your rooms for a while. I'll be silent." Natsu shouted as soon as they stepped into the store. Then Natsu just nearly dragged Gray into one of the small rooms that the building had, for some reason and the two sat in one of the comfy sofas. They were plush and a deep red colour, they did remind one of red wine – knowing Cana, that was the intention.
They sat and were silent for some awkward seconds. Just sitting and trying not to look at the other, much less in the eye.
"Soooooo…" Natsu drawled after what seemed like an hour. He waited until Gray looked at him. "What the fuck was that back there?"
"I'm so sorry." Gray's whole body seemed to emanate an apologetic feeling. "I… I had no idea that she was going to do that. And I didn't mean to implicate you in this thing."
"Well shit, that really went well." Natsu said sarcastically.
"She just…" Gray ran a hand through his hair, aggravated. "I had no idea she felt like that."
"You're kidding me, right? The way she hangs on every word, every action, every breath you take… it was… pretty noticeable." Natsu said, a weird expression in his face.
"To me she never seemed like that? I mean, she was – is? – a friend. And someone who works close to me but nothing more." Gray huffed and leaned back, visibly frazzled. "And all of this has great timing."
"How so?" Natsu asked, curious.
"Just some work thing. I mean, the call is still in…" Gray unlocked his phone to check the time. He got up with a jump. "Shit, the call's in half an hour." He started pacing.
"Okay, c'mere, sit down." Natsu stood and pushed Gray down onto one of the seats. "There's nothing much to be done about the Juvia situation. But you might want to compose yourself for that call. So, where are you going to have it?" Natsu placed his hand comfortingly over Gray's, which was resting in the armrest.
"All my stuff's in my room. So it's going to be there, for sure." Gray answered, still looking down at his phone screen.
"Hey, look at me." Natsu said in an authoritarian tone. "So, you're calming down, yeah? And that call is going to go well. But, we should still talk? Like, make it so that our stories match?"
"You're right." Gray regained his self-control and sat up. "So, how are we going to play this?"
"First of all, why did you say that?" Natsu asked, and he could admit that part of it was curiosity.
"What? That I'm gay?" Gray said with a snort. "It's evident, if I like men then there's no way for me to ever like her. Though, in reality I'm bi so… I just have no interest in her that way. It's not like you choose these things."
"You're so right." Natsu chimed in.
"But, I really am sorry for getting you into this mess. It's just that… you're one of the person's I've talked the most with…"
"Even if just to order a coffee…" Natsu teased.
"Heeey!" Gray mock-pouted. "It wasn't just that. We did have some conversations and that one on the clearing. Also, you're the kind of person I could fall for."
"Good to know that my charm is working." Was the quip. It just got an eye roll from Gray.
"Damn, I really wish I had a cigarette…" Gray muttered as he rubbed at his forehead. "Anyway," he said louder, "how do we do this? How and when did we start? Are we going to be boyfriends," and there Gray made air quotes, "for the rest of the time I'm here. How long until they said that the roads would be open again?"
"Hey, calm down a bit. That's a lot to unpack." Natsu raised his hands, motioning at Gray to calm himself. "Maybe we started on the day of the start of the celebrations, right, when we had our conversation, as you said," Natsu waved a hand vaguely. "We started talking and decided to give it a try?"
"Would your friends fall for that?" Gray asked.
"It possibly wouldn't surprise them too much," Natsu said with a nonchalant shrug.
"That seems to be quite a story…" Gray mused.
"Haha, it kind of is. But, we don't have time for it now." Natsu said. "So, how are we supposed to be acting now?"
"Huh, normal? I don't know."
"Dude, I don't know what normal is for you. How you do relationships." Natsu looked at Gray with a "you're an idiot" kind of stare. But, at the same time, he was sitting sideways on the sofa, both his body and his attention on Gray.
"I don't do relationships in any special way." Gray said sarcastically. "I'm pretty low-key, I guess."
"Good, me too. No flaunting there. So we can just start hanging out a bit then. Now that the secret's out." Natsu said with a snort. "At least we will have an excuse to go out together and such. Show a little of PDA, but they won't think it weird that it's very discreet."
"I guess." Gray said with a shrug.
"It wouldn't hurt you to be a bit more enthusiastic…" Natsu pouted at Gray.
"Are you always this silly?" Gray asked, amused.
"I'm not silly." Natsu replied with a huff. He crossed his arms, closed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Gray.
"Sure, pink-hair…"
"So," Natsu looked at Gray and extended his hand, "do you think you can handle being my boyfriend for a couple of days?" he asked in a challenging tone.
"Bring it on!" Gray rose up to the challenge.
They shook hands.
And then Gray's phone beeped. An alarm he'd set to ring ten minutes before the call.
"Okay, time to go." Gray said, standing up.
"I'll accompany you. To wish you good luck." Natsu said with a wink.
"I'm going to regret this, right?" Gray asked in a long suffering tone.
"You'll be fine," Natsu said as he clapped him on the back. "Bye Cana. Talk to you later." He said as they exited.
It was time to get things going.
Something weird was going on. Lisanna knew.
It wasn't by chance that she was Natsu's best friend. The two of them went way back, since toddlers almost. So she knew her friend. And she knew that the scene between Juvia and Gray had taken Natsu by surprise, as it had Lisanna herself.
But Natsu's reaction had confused her. And had confused Levy and Lucy. And even later on, after texting her sister and Erza – well, posting the news in the group chat they were all in – everyone was surprised.
Natsu had been unpredictable – which, okay, that was how Natsu rolled and he could take most people by surprise with his wacky actions – and in a way that he didn't quite allow himself to be.
Lisanna had thought long and hard about her friend. He was pretty easy and simple to understand, wore his heart on his sleeve. But… but, there was this side of him that was a conundrum. Because, Natsu was pretty open and allowed himself to experiment and try different things, but there was a private side, a vulnerable side that only appeared in glimpses – seldom. Lisanna knew that only Igneel had been able to see that side and she was happy that her friend could let down all those walls sometimes. She had seen a glimpse of that vulnerable side once but it was not something she liked to think about. Natsu had been in too much pain over a person and she never wanted that to happen again. She only knew that one name and it filled her with anger – even though she knew nothing of the situation just… Zeref. That was a name that was taboo. And the girls had made the vow to protect their Natsu.
But, there was something odd about this Gray, this outsider.
Natsu seemed to pay attention to Gray.
He'd come back from his escape with Gray and he was smiling. He was amused. And not even the teasing from Lisanna was able to put a damper on his good mood. Natsu had given back as much as he got from Lisanna and Cobra. When Bob and Enno got there for their shifts, Natsu was humming and tapping away at his phone.
After saying their goodbyes, Lisanna nearly dragged Natsu from the store.
"Okay, spill." She all but demanded. Her hand was squeezing Natsu's arm possibly a bit too tight but Natsu didn't seem to be bothered.
"Spill what?" he asked with his innocent expression that the two of them had perfected together so long ago.
"Come on. Don't play dumb. What's the thing with you and the city boy, Gray?" she asked, brimming with impatience.
"That's what we call him?" Natsu said, still with the innocent shtick.
"I dunno. I guess that you call him boyfriend? Come on. Tell me!" she nearly whined.
Natsu just blushed. He didn't say anything but to Lisanna that was enough.
"You do call him boyfriend! Oh my god! Since when? How! What the hell?" she was going through a torrent of emotions and Natsu just kept his, slowly crumbling, poker face.
"Lisanna. Lis! Listen to me." Natsu placed both hands on her shoulders. He was looking at her seriously. "This is all very new and, well, it started at the beginning of the festivities."
"That was just a couple of days ago, though!" Lisanna exclaimed.
"Yeah. And so it's more of a reason to not spook the guy. You know, overbearing friends and all…" Natsu punctuated his words with a small shake to Lisanna's shoulders.
"I don't see what the problem is, it worked for Lucy and Levy." She said nonchalantly.
"Lucy and Levy are not the norm. So, please, please, please. Don't get in the way with this, okay?" he nearly begged.
"Natsu, you're so dumb. You know that we would never do something we think would harm you."
"You do know what they say about good intentions, right?" Natsu deadpanned.
"That's a good one. And, okay, I'll talk to the others and we are not going to meddle." She said with a disappointed huff.
"Good. Because, there's a lot you don't know. And, also," at that he paused and smirked, "I invited Gray to come to our dinner tonight so you better tell the others while I go get him to the hotel." He winked cheekily and left Lisanna. She just shook her head and started walking home.
Tonight they were going to decorate the Strauss abode. And, Lisanna couldn't help but think that it was going to be a very interesting night…
When Natsu knocked at their door, Lisanna went to open it and was faced with Natsu and Gray who looked slightly awkward and uncomfortable. But Lisanna had a plan – the group had a plan – so everything was going to go well.
"Welcome, Natsu, Gray." She said, waving them inside. The fact that they got inside as if they were getting into the lion's den – which wasn't too far from the truth – made her muffle a chuckle. "We were just starting, come along, come along."
"Thanks for having me here," Gray said, formally.
"Hey, nothing of that here. We're all friends here. Or, hope to be?" Lisanna said, noticing that Natsu had subtly held Gray's hand and that seemed to comfort the other slightly. "You don't need to be tense." She added while she led them to the living room. "Look who just got here," she said to the living room at large. All the eyes turned to the newcomers.
"Very smooth, Lis…" Natsu whisper-hissed to her ear.
She elbowed him on the side.
"Welcome." Mira was saying while standing and walking to greet the two. "Natsu, it's about time and, Gray, it's a pleasure to have you in my house. I know that you know my little sis and that one over there trying to choke on the food is my little brother, Elfman." The aforementioned raised his mug before chugging at its contents. "And you know my old friend, Erza, her pastries are amazing and we were just about to decide where to start."
"Food, of course." Natsu said to the room's general amusement.
The two sat on the sofa and Lisanna sat with them. She did hand out some appetizers as everyone knew Natsu wouldn't survive without some food right away – he was a bottomless pit!
Smalltalk was made, the tree and room were decorated. Gray started to relax a little bit, he was included in the conversations and his snark did surprise them but everyone rolled with it. At the end of the night, after everyone was beyond overstuffed with the food and drink, it already seemed as if Gray had been part of the group all along.
And, Lisanna had been in touch with Lucy and Levy and so she'd been telling them how the boys interacted. The suspicions about the weirdness and hastiness of the situation had them talking a lot. But the suspicion abated slightly at their behavior. They did seem to be closer, relaxed while in each other's space and Lisanna could see how much Natsu was enjoying himself. She was happy for him.
The evening went really well, and by the time their guests had left, she and Mira had a small chat – poor Elfman had gone to bed already as he needed to get up at ass o'clock – and Natsu was the main subject, of course.
Later, sitting on her comfortable armchair, Lisanna looked outside at the falling snow.
'I do hope it all goes well…' the wished to the falling snow.
The day had dragged on and on, or so it seemed to Natsu.
Fortunately his shift was almost over and he'd agreed to go meet Gray at the restaurant. Their front needed to be maintained and, Natsu couldn't lie to himself, he was enjoying himself actually.
They'd been acting close, holding hands, had shared a quick kiss near the bookstore before Natsu had had to run to work. It was going well, in his opinion.
Lisanna had been trying to make Natsu talk but he was doing a good job at fending her off. Yet, the arms on the clock were not moving.
There was a small feeling of anticipation that just wouldn't go away, no matter how many times Natsu told himself to calm down, that he was being silly. It wasn't like him.
At last, the time came and Natsu nearly ran out of the coffeehouse.
Gray was already waiting for him with a small – near non-existent – smile.
"Took you long enough."
"It's not my fault that time dragged on. But let's go in? Food awaits!" Natsu said excitedly.
Gray let himself be dragged inside, laughing.
They ate, while talking and presenting their act. Natsu had noticed that Juvia was sitting at a table on a more secluded area of the restaurant. And she didn't seem happy. Actually, there was a small bit of murderous intent in her stare, Natsu could feel the way her stare pierced him.
"Hey, d'ya want to come to my house? I haven't introduced you to my cat yet." Natsu said with a chuckle.
It didn't take long for them to leave the restaurant and the stuffy atmosphere caused by Juvia. The briskness of the cold greeted them, right into their lungs. Holding hands, they walked to Natsu's house. It was a good night, no clouds, no expected snowfall in sight, a moon shining brightly and, all around them, the Christmas lights that added colour to the silvery white.
Getting inside, they were greeted by a cute little fur ball.
"Happy!" Natsu said, delighted, as he bent and got him into his arms. "Come on in Gray. I don't bite." He said with a wink. Happy was looking at Gray with big eyes and started sniffing curiously at the extended hand.
"Curious little thing," Gray said in some amusement.
"He's my best friend, I'll let you know." Natsu hugged the cat until it mewled a little and started squirming, finally escaping and disappearing into the shadows of the house. "But he can be a bit shy too."
"It's normal. I'm a strange person here. And it looks like you guys have already decorated your house, huh?" Gray stepped into the living room, taking in the now twinkling colours and everything.
"We did this one first. They didn't want to make me feel left behind, I guess…" Natsu threw his jacket onto the back of a chair and plopped on the sofa. "You can sit. Make yourself comfortable."
Gray nodded and started disrobing. He took everything out until he was bare chested and plopped on the other side of the sofa.
"Okay, looks like you took it a bit too literally…" Natsu quipped.
"Hey, you're the one who said that I could be comfortable. I'm comfortable without clothes." Gray replied, shrugging and letting his head fall back onto the sofa.
"I didn't know you had an exhibitionist streak." Natsu said among laughter.
"Deal with it." And Gray stuck his tongue out.
They kept talking, about their lives, their day, books, Levy and Lucy. At one point Happy jumped onto the space between them and curled against Gray's leg, starting to snore lightly.
Little by little they fell asleep, heads knocking together and waking them with a jolt.
"Oww," Natsu said rubbing his forehead. "Looks like we fell asleep."
"Yeah," Gray agreed yawning.
"Wanna stay here. There's no need to go to the hotel." Natsu offered, yawning himself.
"You think so? But I don't have my stuff here." Was the objection.
"I can spare you a toothbrush. And you probably sleep naked, with that exhibitionist thing…"
"Mmmm…" Gray frowned. "I don't think I like when you're right."
"As if." And Natsu petted Happy awake before standing and pulling Gray up. "C'mon. time to go to bed."
"Where's bed?"
"My bedroom, of course."
"You're kidding, right?" there was a note of surprise in Gray's voice.
"What? We're just going to sleep. Sheesh, dirty minded much?" Natsu said with an eye roll. "I promise that I'll keep my hands to myself, if that makes you feel better."
"I just thought…" Gray started.
"The other rooms don't have the beds made. And now I would rather sleep. So, come on. It'll be fine." Natsu yawned again.
"Stop doing that! I just keep yawning." Gray mock-grumbled.
"Serves you right. Now, c'mon. Bed awaits!" Natsu fist-pumped with the hand that wasn't holding Gray's.
So they went upstairs, quickly followed by Happy.
And slept.