Author Notes:

Warnings: Swearing - Sexual themes/Content.

Genre, in depth: Male/Male Romance, also known as, Yaoi.

Story Cover Art: The Amazing Astrovique.

Beta Reader: enjoys literature. (Hawk-eye).

Disclaimer: Dear reader, I'm not the owner of Fairy Tail's characters. If they were mine, Gray and Natsu would be boyfriends.

O.o.O Chapter Five O.o.O

"-And he just so happens to be my kidnapper?!" Natsu panted, "He's the one… if he's the one then… Why are you keeping me here? What do you want with me?"

Gray Fullbuster, Hibiki Lates, and Jellal Fernandes were paralyzed. Their minds exerted so much effort to understand Natsu's statement.

"Come again?" But Hibiki Lates didn't understand.

Natsu clenched his jaw and jerked his body forward to break from the cuffs, "OH MY GOD! You're taking me for a fool!"

You know what? Gray didn't sleep for twenty straight hours, so maybe he heard wrong. No, it has to be wrong.

Right?

Before Gray could refute Natsu's bullshit, Hibiki and Jellal dragged him to the elevator, then to Hibiki's spaceship-like workshop.

The ambassador grabbed a five-wheeled-chair and flopped himself on it as Hibiki closed the room.

"Are we talking… about Gildarts Clive?"

The blonde answered his ambassador friend with a nod.

"Shit… that Gildarts?"

Holy shit… Gildarts Clive? That Gildarts Clive? Fuck, no. Hang on. Maybe it's one of those misunderstandings wherein Natsu thought it was Gildarts Clive, but maybe it isn't and the actual culprit's voice resembled Gildarts's.

"Hibiki-san… Is it a misunderstanding? Maybe it's a voice resemblance and-"

"-How long was your conversation with Gildarts?"

God, what if it is Gildarts Clive? Gray reported to him the name of the medical center in Narita where Natsu was attacked for the second time. So Natsu almost got kidnapped because of Gray? If no one denied that horse-shit, Gray should visit an asylum and get proper mental care.

"Gray."

"Sorry, what?"

The blonde sighed.

"I know this is insane, but I need you to focus, okay? How long was your conversation with Gildarts?"

"Ahhhh… two minutes? Five minutes, maximum. And he was on speaker mode."

"Shit." Hibiki and Jellal said in unison.

"Wh-what?"

"God!" Hibiki rubbed his hair as if he was pulling it out from the scalp and tossed his body on one of the five-wheeled chairs.

"Gray…" The ambassador stood, "Two minutes are enough to distinguish a person's accent, attitude. So… I'm afraid… your friend is telling the truth."

"If your friend is telling the truth, it means Gildarts has used me to get to him. He used me." Hibiki Lates pointed his finger towards his own chest and jabbed it, looking at Jellal, "He used me! WHY? Do you have the slightest idea how this complicates things at the headquarters? The director will open the gates of hell upon me!"

Oh hell no. Hell no. It's not Gildarts.

"He'll regret the day he decided to fool me." Hibiki said.

"Let's say it's that guy…" He removed his glasses and stared at the blonde, "Why? What's his problem?"

Jellal answered for the frustrated Hibiki, "There's a link. We know that he wants Ondrej Jeremiah's location, and your friend got caught in the crossfire. At least, that's how I see it."

"Probably." Hibiki's eyes tightened, "I need to figure out the nature of this connection. And… Gray, get me your phone. Now."

The blonde used his fingerprint to open the door, and Gray strode to do as he was told, passing by Natsu who jerked around in all directions to free himself from the post they cuffed him to.

Hypothetically, if Natsu was correct, and Gildarts Clive was the guy who attempted to kidnap him, then… where did Hibiki Lates fit in this scheme? What about the ambassador? Were they his accomplices? Were they stabbing him in the back?

But it made little sense. If they were Gildarts's accomplices, Hibiki could have kidnapped Natsu from when he had set foot in Japan, and Jellal wouldn't have defended Natsu earlier, or attempted to get the paper necessary to exonerate his friend.

Unless… It was a twisted scheme that didn't correspond to normal logic.

Breathe in, breath out.

If Hibiki is an accomplice, what the fuck should he do? How is he supposed to get himself and Natsu out of this intact? Hibiki was strong enough to get what he wanted, and if he wanted them trapped in his safe house until he carries out his 'hypothetical twisted' plans, they would never escape.

That low, so low beep of Hibiki's fingerprint's acceptance tone has pulsed through Gray's cells, and overloaded his eardrums. Gravity tripled in force until it rooted his feet deeply to the floor. God, what if 'hypothetically' he was relinquishing the only mean of escape willingly, like a fucking fool? He has been doing that a lot.

Shit. His mom was right. He should have gotten a lawyer instead of relying on Hibiki because 'he seemed like a good guy'. A fucking third grader could've been less naïve.

"Gray."

Hibiki's voice was a serpent that slithered around Gray's left leg, all the way up to his torso, swirled towards his neck and squeezed.

"Give me the phone, please."

"Why?"

"Why? It's a long story and I need it now-"

"-Hibiki-san." The ambassador shook his head, and approached Gray, "What's wrong, Gray?"

"Everything's wrong." Gray retreated a step from the ambassador, "I don't know what on earth is happening, and that's wrong enough. Tell me, why do you need my phone?"

Hibiki opened his mouth, but the ambassador stopped him with his palm.

"We're as shocked and confused as you are, and I'm sure you're clever enough to understand that we wouldn't have waited that long, if we wanted to harm you. And… Hibiki-san wants to make sure Gildarts Clive isn't tracking you. Even if we're not sure it's him, we have to be cautious."

Are these people trustworthy?

"Gray!"

Hibiki didn't allow Jellal to interrupt him this time as he took out his gun from his leg holster.

Shit… shit, he knew it! He shouldn't have trusted them!

"Take it, but give me your phone, deal? This is serious! I need to disable the fucking GPS service and there's no time for your trust issues right now!"

Hibiki shoved the gun at Gray's chest and caught the phone so that Gray stood dumbfounded with a gun in his hands.

'Shit shit shit! It's A gun!'

Just to be clear, Gray had NEVER held a gun before. No, that's not it. He had never HAD to. His hands trembled from the weight of the deathly tool. It was warm from Hibiki's earlier shot, and he struggled against dropping the lethal metallic object.

Well, that's not fair! Even if he wanted to defend himself, he wouldn't know how to use the bloody thing! So yeah, he kept those amazing facts to himself to not come across as a wuss.

Hibiki hurried with the work on his phone, connecting it with one of his weird devices.

"Two minutes… shit… he could have traced it…"

Both have acted as if Gray wasn't holding a gun, the screen of Hibiki's PC intriguing them. Jellal Fernandes made disagreeing noises at Hibiki's statement, then said, "If he wanted to trace the call, hypothetically, he can't do it that fast."

Hibiki's eyes widened, "What If someone was helping him?"

"We'll freaking cross that bridge when we come to it. First, GPS service-disable or manipulate that shit."

Hibiki grunted, "Fuck me and sleep deprivation. I totally forgot about handling this phone since the very beginning."

"Do it now. Gray, did you tell him about your current location?"

"N-no. God no. He interrupted the call before I could."

"Perfect."

Gray's fears began to dissipate, but he didn't let guilt anywhere near him. He didn't know those guys, and he didn't want to risk Natsu's safety or his because he blindly trusted them from the beginning. He was suspicious, and it was only right.

"Guys, what about Natsu? What are we going to do?"

It was the least of their concerns, that's why his question hung in the air.

"He's in no state to be released. I know what's cooking in his head right now and trust me, it's rotten. As soon as we free him, he's gonna cause trouble and I don't have the luxury of playing Tom and Jerry with him now." The blonde said as he tapped with immense intensity on his keyboard.

Jellal nodded, "He's shocked, and that won't do us good. You experienced that first hand, right?"

True. "So what? We can't leave him hanging in that room for eternity."

"Amigo, I'll leave this to you." The blond didn't appreciate the interruption.

The blue-haired boy nodded and dragged Gray away from where the blond worked.

"Gray-"

"First, I know I look like an asshole, but I'm going crazy here, and I'm not apologizing for that."

Jellal smiled that goddamn genuine smile of his, "You don't need to. I'd do the same thing if I were you, but on a bigger scale."

"I don't want him frightened, or worried. I almost got him killed twice because I trusted someone I shouldn't have… whatever I do… it's all going terribly wrong, what do I do?"

He was a powerless pussy who poured his guts out to a random stranger. It was time to give up that pride and admit he went off the intended course. He needed a freaking manual for this How to get Natsu out all of this alive-issue. Because Natsu was cuffed to some post like an animal, and Gray stood with no plan or clue.

"What are you saying? Listen, you can't blame yourself for this, alright? No one saw this coming, not even Hibiki-san." Jellal grabbed the cuff keys from Hibiki and handed them to Gray, "Talk to him, get him calm enough and he can go, otherwise, we can't afford to release him. Do you understand my point?"

Gray traced the silver keys in his palm with his thumb. Was it a wise idea to let Natsu go? What if he pulls stupid shit on them again? Shit, that asshole's punch put a dent on his stomach.

"I can't do this. He's probably thinking I'm a part of a plot against him."

"No, that's not true. Anyone with a good set of eyes will see he treats you differently. Take advantage of that for his sake."

Gray didn't know what to make out of Jellal's statement.

"I gotta go help Hibiki-san with his Gildarts-Ondrej connection. I don't mean to brag, but if we work together as always, nothing will stop us. We've exonerated your friend of a crime he didn't commit… and it's a matter of time before we get a hold of what's going on."

"Who… is this guy?"

"Pardon?"

"Gildarts Clive… who is he?"

"Hmmmmm." Jellal crossed his arms over his chest, "It's complicated. Let's postpone this conversation, ok?"

Fucker was injured, fresh out of treatment, but still, that didn't tone him down. Because Natsu is Natsu. Fucker was as stubborn as a bull, and the longer Gray stood there, the longer he resembled a Matador's freaking red cape.

When Gray's stomach complained from the pain, his white knuckles wished to slam itself against Natsu's cheekbones, so bad.

Tomato red splotched Natsu's face. Of course. Adding to his nail-scraps earlier, Natsu's wrists looked as if they were burned from the series of futile pull-ups to break the cuffs around his hands and feet. His veined biceps contracted, his feet and hands yanked, the pulse in his neck quickened, even his teeth were occupied with the chains as his body swayed left and right.

Natsu could hardly breathe, his chest rose and fell strongly, but he wouldn't quit, even in Gray's presence. In fact, he continued his relentless monkey movements and Gray was just another piece of furniture in the room.

Gray sighed.

"Can we talk, please?"

Natsu pulled himself up, pressurizing the chain, not giving Gray any importance, "Like I can stop you."

'Eh. Be the rational one…'

Gray asked, "Do you think I can hurt you? And be fucking careful how you answer that."

Natsu grunted. The clanking of the chains, his groans and pants the only sound filling the living room.

"Starting to believe so, yeah."

Motherfucker.

"This is brilliant." Bitterness laced Gray's tone, "Seriously? After the effort to keep you safe..."

"I didn't know restraining someone in cuffs is the new safe. Interesting. Is it something new in the Japanese culture that I'm not aware of yet? Update me." Natsu exhaled and raised his face to gather himself before he struggled against the chains again, his neck as red as his face.

Goddamn.

"You assaulted me, you threatened us with a gun. Be thankful we didn't torture you."

"Yaay."

"Natsu-"

"Gray." Finally, Natsu locked eyes with him. No matter how much Natsu's pride and hostility tried disguising his fear, those green eyes were honest, they reflected that fear like a clear mirror. They also shredded Gray piece by piece.

"You're not my number one emergency contact. My dad is. He's the one he should be with me now, not you, alright? Second, you were talking to that monster. Third, you disappeared from my life long ago, why show up now? And look at me, is this how you're keeping-"

"-I know how this sounds like! I know. You have every right to react this way, but I'm telling you, I didn't know the guy was a psycho. Hell, we're not even sure it's him. I wish I had ignored that fucking call in the first place! Better a hundred times than this!"

"You…" Natsu's shoulders quacked, "How dare you…? You're conspiring against me?! I thought what happened back then was bad, but this… it's like I never knew you a single day! What the fuck do you have against me?!"

"Idiot!" Gray bruised his vocal cords from that yell, "You're not listening! If the blond and I wanted you dead, you'd be dead yesterday! He wouldn't have bothered to get you out of the hospital and no one in the force knows anything about it. He would've killed you after he'd gotten the info about your boyfriend!"

Natsu gritted his teeth, "Who knows what you twisted people want!"

If Gray talked with a wall, it would've listened.

'Calm down… don't murder him yet.'

Natsu jerked his hands from the cuffs that his whole body shook, red marks that would turn to blue and green painted his wrists.

"Natsu." It pained him a whole lot to see the boy's hatred directed towards him, "I'm not gonna hurt you nor do I want to. Please, don't think like that for a second, ok? I don't know what's going on… and I can't do without your trust."

The pink haired boy's chest heaved with pants.

"You weren't there…" Natsu gaze lowered to the ground, "My bones… they hurt all over, I ran out of air, my lungs still hurt… I saw my life flash before my eyes in a millisecond twice... don't you dare ask for my trust when you have betrayed it once."

Gray clenched his fist around the silver keys, those words slapping him.

'I have never betrayed you. Never.'

"Cool. Then stay there forever. Gonna sleep. Too bad, you could've joined me."

Gray thought Natsu's fear was a thin stream, and boy was he wrong. It was a violent waterfall. Gray left him cuffed for his own good… was it? All the logic and common sense urged Gray not to doubt Hibiki and the ambassador, but then, common sense never said Gildarts Clive was an abductor...

He needed sleep, he needed it like he needed breathing. The bed felt so good underneath his fatigued body.

A knock startled him.

"Yeah?"

"I take it didn't go well?" The ambassador questioned.

Gray hugged the fluffy pillow to his chest, "Yup. Here, don't need'em." He threw the keys in Jellal's direction and laid his head back, "Can't be helped."

"But… did you try your best?"

"Yup."

"That's strange."

"My voice isn't reaching him… nothing can be done."

To Be Continued...

Next Chapter Release: In 10-20days.

WOOF Natsu! Great job bro.

Special thanks to: Kori no Koibito (YEZZ MY GURLFRIEND, ZE plot IZ weird. Keep reading on, lots of crazy coming), deboome (Hehe, I'm glad you're saying 'tension', that means you're feeling it, and that's exactly what I want! There will be lots of it coming, and when it does, hopefully you'll like it!), MinaKushi4LIFE (You're the first person to say 'tension' and you made me really happy, like I could do something in my life the right way! Writing romance is always so hectic... but I'm glad you could feel it!), JChrista (I'm always so happy when someone is so pumped up for reading my... 'stuff', that's just... the ultimate feeling of happiness, thank you for your lovely feelings! I hope this chapter has succeeded in pulling you away from reality again... and sayonara... going to site after tomorrow...)

Thank you ALL for reading. Feel free to share any comment, or advice. I'd love that.

Alright, till next time!

Looooooove,

Flame-Belt