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: The one and only enjoys literature.
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 Seventeen O.o.O
When Natsu was a baby, they dropped him. Someone must have dropped him and Gray betted a heck a lot of money on it because no one can be that dumb.
As soon as they reached Unit 8, Gray handed over Natsu's medicine to Loke, and answered some of Laxus's detailed questions about the weapon (again). From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Natsu chatting away with Loke, the very person who was assigned to monitor him.
Natsu pal, what's your problem? Why do you mess up so badly?
Is Ondrej Jeremiah of that much importance that Natsu keeps falling back to him? Jellal Fernandes saw the thin line between life and death-HECK, Gray almost did because of this guy. He's a freaking drug dealer, a freaking abductor—The question is, what's right about him? NOTHING.
Natsu, just nothing.
"I need tons of sleep." Because he nursed the stupid asshole the night before and didn't get a wink since then.
Erza's attitude showed that she had known about Natsu's misdeeds, therefore, she avoided the boy earlier.
"You alright?"
Gray was furious. He was far from being alright. "I can't understand. I'm trying to, but I can't."
Erza nodded, "He's too brash. He could've gotten you both in danger."
Gray thought, he's important, and that he was retrieving his lost throne in Natsu's heart and life, but what was he thinking? Those two almost got married. That has to say something about how close they once were and Gray wouldn't reach there. He was the friend, the best freaking friend.
The one that Natsu screwed—never mind, he screwed both of them.
As he settled in bed, he reached for his phone to check time, then it hit him. He doesn't have his phone.
Gray laughed forcefully.
He doesn't have his phone, his research, his freedom, his job.
He has lost a lot of shit for nothing because apparently; he cared too much about protecting Natsu's ass, but Natsu never shared the sentiment—it's about damn time Gray lets go. That's it! He'll let go of those pitiful feelings, this pitiful friendship, and after this dilemma ends, he's gonna reenact what happened in the past.
He will fucking turn around and leave Natsu's life for good.
Can he sleep? He took his clothes off, and with the softness of bed sheets under his bare skin, he listened to the pouring of rain, the crackling of the sky and heart.
He thought sleeping would be impossible, but really, it wasn't. With the amount of hours he was awake, plus the day's tension, it was easier for his body and mind to surrender to sleep and forget unpleasant things.
"—Lunch, hey!"
His head was groggy, and his brain buzzed. For a minute, he was only seven years old, in the middle of snow, back in the village he grew up in. The villagers there patted his head and provided him warmth. And it felt good. The minute was burden free, was innocent, kind and beautiful, and he wished it lasted.
When Natsu's face became clearer, the minute vanished and a negative pulse aroused in his chest.
Before Natsu could shake him again, Gray slapped his touch. With a creased face from sleeping, Gray asked gruffly, "What is it?"
The boy backed off and carried himself away from the bed.
"They brought lunch and said you need to be awake." Natsu's voice signaled his situation was worsening, "Hibiki's calling in sometime. They said it's important."
He reached out for his phone unconsciously, and FUCK, it pissed him off that he didn't have it. What was the fucking time? He needed to put on his fucking watch and ASAP.
The heavy pour turned to faint showers. Hasn't it stopped since last night?
He wore his pants, then headed to the bathroom to wash his face, and when he came out, Natsu stood in front of him. Gray moved, and Natsu blocked his way.
"We need to talk."
Oh no, we don't. And this time, Natsu's cuteness wasn't going to be enough. He needed to see the fucker suffering. With a firm resolve, Gray marched forward boldly, shoved Natsu so that the sick boy hit the wall. He wore his shirt while glaring.
"Gray!"
Gray sniffed and closed the zipper of his pants. He was heading downstairs, when Natsu was blocked his way a second time, and god knew how he wanted to strangle him to death.
"Gray… let me-"
He clenched his fist and stomped forward, jabbed Natsu's chest, causing the boy to hit the jamb of the door. There was no use talking to Natsu. None whatsoever. He wasn't gonna waste his time, enough of that. There were other things in life that needed his attention.
The clock in the kitchen displayed 4:45PM.
"Looking friendly much?" Loke remarked, his mouth full of the sad sandwich as he saw the beautiful vibes coming out of Gray.
Gray prepared coffee while watching the rain and his stomach growled.
"Yeah, it's not stopping soon." Loke said, "Ah-listen. Laxus has sat with Natsu this afternoon and it's-"
Gray stopped Loke with his palm in Loke's personal space. He couldn't care less. If his friend sneaked around to speak with his boyfriend, then fine, he can do whatever the hell he wants because Natsu's not Gray's issue anymore.
He decided they are both strangers from that point onwards.
"Ooook…" Loke was startled, "So you don't wanna know."
Gray stirred the coffee in the cup and fixed his gaze on the window.
"There're sandwiches over there. It sucks, but that's the option we have at the moment. Hibiki's calling for a meeting in about half an hour. It's important."
Gray was famished, and in that situation, he'd eat paper and think it's delicious. Frankly, Hibiki Lates irked Gray with his vague orders and too-busy-to-explain anything nature. Gray wanted out of the Blue Pegasus military base, and out of this house-arrest business.
In half an hour, the limited living room was stuffed with the militants. Natsu and him sat on two dining chairs while waiting for Hibiki to communicate with Laxus's phone.
When did the place become so small?
Natsu's grilling stare's intent was to bring down Gray's silent treatment, but hell if it succeeded. The aroma of the coffee soothed him as he crossed one leg over the other and sipped from his cup while fixating his gaze on the portrait of the old man.
A minute later, Hibiki was on and Laxus stopped tapping his fingers on the coffee table.
"Apologies. Too much going on here."
Gray saw the look on Laxus's face and translated it because it replicated Gray's 'Oya? Aren't you too busy all the time to sound comprehensible?'. Major Laxus Dreyar was a seasoned jerk, but at that special moment, he shared a feeling with Gray, and that counts.
"The director and I were trying to put together a plan to deal with this crisis, and we thought of something. This wasn't so bad after all!"
Loke laughed, shaking his head.
"How on earth did you reach that conclusion?"
"Natsu, such a troublemaker you are. Fortunately, Ondrej should be lured to this base where the handcuffs are gonna be ready for him. It's convenient. We don't have to waste our resources searching or tracking him. Instead, we make it so he can track us. Risky, but the director is adamant."
Laxus nodded, "Otherwise he won't be himself. Always demanding."
"And?" Natsu was on his feet. Coughs rumbled in his chest because of the violent tone, "If you're thinking of using my help, th-think again!"
The eyes of the militants were on his trembling figure, but the Major's subtle glare held enough contempt and belittling.
"Kid. You flatter yourself." Laxus intertwined his hands and ignored Natsu's abrupt burst, "I assume you're already aware of who I want with me on this, general."
"Way ahead of you. Your teams are getting ready to meet with you. My girl included."
"I can work with that." Laxus nodded.
"Gray, I have something important to discuss with you."
It was Gray's turn to capture attention, Natsu's too. Fuck, he must have looked uncool wiping the coffee cream off his chin. And that fucking scene… an image of a high school student being called to the principal's office popped. What was the punishment again?
"Is Gray there?"
"… I hear you."
"What were you trying to achieve with the pressure magnificator?"
"…" Gray cleared his throat and the stares set on him nearly made him stutter. "Nothing-" He was that high school student that was caught in the hallway with a packet of cigarettes, or weed. Fuck, this was worse; this had his life at stake.
"-I'm not gonna imprison you, trust me."
Gray snorted, "You kinda already are."
"Just answer."
He licked his lips, crossed his arms over his chest, appearing defensive, "I… thought it was a shame the device has poor control parameters. The more sophisticated the parameters are, the more force it produces… and I was struggling with the power generator and the customization of codes to automate the device launching, plus embedding extra features… and… that's… it…"
Laxus shifted and sent him a warning look to stop talking. Gray didn't have to comply, but he did. Something in that 'you gotta stop' stare froze him.
"Why were you struggling?"
"Because…" Laxus tousled his hair and removed his commanding gaze, so Gray resumed, "I can only manipulate binary numbers, but, hexadecimal numbers are… tricky and I can't go that far without help—or internet. More professional help than the internet."
"My director has figured your intentions from the data we received. And he wishes to provide you assistance. We're interested to see where that goes, and even better, in live application."
"General!" Laxus's tone escalated close to yelling, freaking the shit out of Gray and the others, "You know the repercussions. He goes far into that research, then be damned to live the rest of his life restricted! He's a kid!"
Hibiki wanted him to resume his work? A spark of joy kindled in his chest. That was the best thing that happened that day.
"Gray, what do you need?" Hibiki didn't answer to Laxus Dreyar who shared a frustrated look with Sergeant Sting.
Shit! Gray was grinning, and he couldn't stop!
"I need an expert when it comes to coding."
"Do you know someone good? Or shall we propose? If there's someone in mind, I'm sure the process would go faster and seamless."
"…." Gray thought hard, then shook his head, "There is. Sadly, it won't work."
"Hibiki. Are you listening to me?" All the parties flinched at the major's bang on the table.
"Tell me."
At that point, nothing stopped Gray from saving his work and getting back at the asshole major's face. Who knew that he'd get it back by the very government that confiscated it?
"The only person I know is a genius… but, it won't work."
"Tell me. Who?"
"Remember Gildarts Clive?"
It was like Gray had a machine gun and shot all the people in the room because they were all dead silent and cold. He looked for ways to exonerate himself from saying the name, then Natsu came into his field of vision, and it petrified his body as he stared at the phone on the coffee table.
"Just to be clear, I said it won't work… ok?"
His ex-managing director's name was a bomb. And his statement earned more attention than it should. Gray was going to reiterate the words won't. work. but Laxus yanked the phone closer, drawing in a breath before speaking.
"General, I can't allow a civilian to get hold of a deadly weapon and risk my team's safety. I'll pretend I didn't hear that name, so tell the director to reconsider his plans."
Hibiki made noises close to a groan, "Understood. I'm taking all your concerns to him. In the meantime, the three teams will head your way. I trust you will reorganize as you see fit."
Laxus cleared his throat.
"Assault, command, technical support. It's the way I go by."
"Great." Hibiki said.
"Who's gonna be the lead of the assault section?" Gajeel asked, excitement jumping in his eyes, as if already knowing the answer.
"—Who else?" Hibiki scoffed, "Bunch of kids needs to be under a bigger kid."
Gajeel Redfox shrugged Hibiki's comment. "They need discipline."
"I'm happy for you. Major, for which division will Erza Scarlet serve?"
The man in question steepled his hands and brought them to his mouth.
"Because of field experience and physical capability..." Erza flinched at his words, but he carried on after he gave her a stern look, "Assault."
Hibiki nodded. "All I ask is that my girl reports to me, she's not to be given orders. Gajeel, don't try, and even if you try, she won't listen to you. Major, overlooking is the key word, don't order her around, no matter what. You have a complaint, you come to me, you know the drill."
"Don't… impose stupid decisions, and I won't."
"Again, let her be."
"We'll see,"
"Regarding the pressure magnificator issue, I shall contact you soon."
The minute Hibiki ended the call, Laxus Dreyar stood and shot Gray a glare.
"You. We need to talk."
As the militants discussed the details of their mission, Gray and Major Laxus faced one another in the kitchen where they could be heard, but no one cared about their conversation. Natsu had questions for them about Ondrej, and the only person who bothered to answer him was Loke.
The meeting was intense and lots of things struggled to penetrate his brain. He got the part about the pressure magnificator and him retrieving his research, which lifted his mood because the day kept progressing in the worst way.
"Don't grin stupidly when you're ignorant to what you dragged yourself into."
Gray leaned back on the counter and shrugged, "Look. No offense, but It's my research and-".
"You think you're doing a simple research? No. You're not. I don't think you understand, but I have just covered your ass by pulling you away from it and was processing the papers in a way that shows you never touched the damn thing."
"Make me understand! Because until now, I haven't seen that you're trying to help." That idiot Major won't rob him his joy of having his work back.
Laxus used a sharp tone, "I thought your brain was smart enough."
Gray shifted his weight on the other foot and caged a frustrated sigh. What did this guy want from him?
"Do you want to be followed everywhere? Do you want to be targeted by criminals? Your healthy civilian life will transform to paranoia and limitless stress. That's not all. You might be asked to give up your profession and work waiter, receptionist, other bullshit, why? Because today we have a director that understands the situation, but tomorrow, when he's gone, another one comes in and the council views you as a potential threat and ties up those skilled hands behind your back."
The heavy rain thumps amplified and echoed in Gray's ears.
"I'm not a villain, Gray."
Fuck, the guy has a valid point. Admittedly, Gray hasn't contemplated in depth about the matter.
"And Gildarts Clive?" The Major raised an eye-brow, "He got you battered with two severe shots. I've viewed the medical reports, you could've died."
Gray's neck stiffened.
"-Look. He asked, I answered, that's all. I'm against the idea, and it's NOT an idea, just a thought, and it was a fact, and I said it won't work."
"You don't know the General." Laxus pointed an accusing finger with irritation, "You're a kid. A thought for him is a possibility. You want to be in the same room with a criminal who shot you twice? Who kidnapped your friend?"
"-I-"
"-treasure your life. Look forward when this is all over, don't clip your own wings, no one does that. That thing isn't a toy. You wanna invent, you wanna be creative? Do it elsewhere, with something else. Keyword: not a weapon."
Gray was in a quandary. Laxus Dreyar… Someone who liked to exercise his authority and power? Or someone who's in control and has an excellent overview of the predicament?
"I'm gonna be on your side. I'll fight it, but pray to God they don't come with the wrong decision."
Laxus left him with a ton of things to reconsider. The problem was that Gray loved his research and work too much to care about the side-effects. It's not every day that he gets his hands on something that magnificent, but if his career ends because of it, then is it worth it?
'Shit.'
He observed the grey scenery outside and bit his lower lip. Now what? And Gildarts? Was Hibiki Lates mad enough to involve the guy?
'No fucking way. Forget it.'
"Gray."
A sweltering bubble aroused in Gray who puffed out his chest and dropped the coffee mug into the sink, walking out on Natsu who followed. The pink haired coughed and persisted.
"We need to talk."
'Too late for that.'
If it was up to Gray, he would leave the house, but because of the rain and the house-arrest, he couldn't prevent the boy from following him around. The chase ended in the foyer where Gray stood facing the entrance door.
"Gildarts Clive?"
How many people should ask him this question?
"After all what that monster did?!"
Gray put one hand on his waist and for the first time is the last few hours, an eye-contact was established with the person he didn't know anymore.
"Amazing. Super. So I can't bring in the guy who acted out of fear, but you can bring in the guy who's a criminal and a well-known narcotics businessman? The way you think is beyond me."
Natsu's throat choked a growl, and when he opened his mouth to speak, Gray didn't let him.
"Do you know the reason we're in this situation to begin with?"
"Wha-"
"-because of your boyfriend."
Natsu forced a chuckle, "-So you're-god this is amazing. You're not blaming that monster at all?"
"Ondrej, the guy YOU went to talk to behind my back, is where it all started, you try denying that. Try! I'm ready to punch you senseless."
Natsu rubbed his tired face and both his hands were air-chopping.
"I needed answers. We were close for almost two years—fuck! Imagine after years of friendship, people come to me and claim you're a fucking drug dealer... I'll need some answers from you no matter what, ok? I can't leave it! Imagine a relationship and marriage is involved! I'll doubt them even if they have all the proof in the world! I—I needed to know for myself! I give my friends that much credit!"
The pink haired boy's excuse ticked him off. Natsu was a sucker when friends and family were involved. No one puts so much faith in the people close to them more than Natsu does, which led this time to too many complications.
"These stupid phones we've got have international calls ban. I had to do it from one phone they have. First… it was my best friend, father… then it was my lover. I'm so betrayed. I needed Ondrej to deny it so I'd keep what's left of my sanity. All of my trust… the people close to me has failed me again and again-"
"-I was different-"
"-how the hell was I supposed to know you were different? How? You put yourself in my shoes and tell me! I can't read brains, I wish I could! But no, I was left to think you hated my guts, and there was no worse feeling than that. You brought me to the bottom of the bottom." Natsu's breath hitched as he conveyed his point.
Why must all the wrong people have valid points that damn day? Logically, Natsu was correct, but Gray remained in a state of madness. Ondrej's name stuck a dagger and sunk it further in his bleeding chest. When 'lover' was mentioned, his hands itched to press on Natsu's neck and-to sum up, lots of homicidal ideas.
His eyes targeted the ceiling while a bubble of negative emotions arose and pressed onto his throat.
"I'm sorry. I know how your… research is valuable to you."
Natsu's eyes were dead as he explained his behavior. They died even when he fumed, and Gray has recognized that look. It was a dreadful sign, and he wondered how he failed to notice them because they were dying gradually since they came to the Pegasus military base.
How dense was he? Did he expect no side effects on his friend with each revelation? Without fractures in Natsu's soul? Hell, no one wants to be Natsu, because the current Natsu doesn't know what or who to trust. He continues to lose his faith in the people around him and is a walking hollow shell.
The current Natsu needs to be rescued and healed before he shatters into pieces. And Gray didn't trust himself to be the person who does it. He 'betrayed' Natsu once.
"You think my research is the only thing I care about?"
Natsu muffled a cough and breathed, "Umm-"
"What else do I need to know?" Gray's tone was far from kind. "What else have you done besides calling the guy and causing this nuisance?"
"… what-"
"I need to know. You can't continue doing this. I keep hearing about your misdeeds from other people and it's pushing on every nerve… tell me everything, and I mean everything. Come clean to me, alright? No more surprises, because I hate all of them so far. So just give it all at once, I swear I won't commit murder, yet."
"-I could punch you right now."
"Now."
"Nothing! And that was two days ago or something."
"You told me you took something from Gajeel's office that was confiscated. What was that?"
His statement ruffled his friend's feathers and got his muscles tensed.
"That was…" Natsu coughed, and stammered, "That was nothing… It's personal."
"-Like a vibrator-personal?"
"-N-No-"
"-Like a dildo-personal?"
"-Fuck-"
"-Nothing's personal at this point. You're gonna show me, or I'll go report you myself."
A baffled expression showed up on Natsu, "You will do what?"
"You heard me."
"You jerk!" Natsu's palms pushed Gray's chest with all the power he could master, "What's wrong with you?!"
"I'm paranoid." Gray tripped back a step and yelled, "Guess whose fault that is?!"
"I told you there's nothing!"
"Oh, I believe you."
"I don't have to prove anything to you!" Natsu's shoulders trembled.
"Should I go tell the Major about this? I'm sure you'll be questioned thoroughly and nicely. And in the end, he'll make you sign on relinquishing all your rights as a human being."
Natsu attempted to speak, but Gray gave him a look that says, 'Don't. fucking. Mess. With. me.'
"Don't." Gray threatened, "Not today."
"You're threatening me? First, you say that monster is innocent, and now you're threatening me? Why don't you shoot me?!"
"I would. They confiscated our weapons." Confidence dripped with each word that made Natsu speechless for seconds.
"Guys. Enough. Are you reenacting high school days or something?"
Gray's pulse sped faster and Loke's interception to their brawl fueled the heat burning in his gut. Fighting with Natsu is a prime part of their relationship, so stay the hell out of it.
"Back off." Gray warned the blonde.
"Yeah, Loke. Hand over your gun to Gray then back off and let's see how he shoots."
Gray walked into Natsu's personal space, glaring down on him, "So now, getting the truth out, means shooting you? I'm glad you admitted it."
"I fucking told you there's nothing!"
There was a chanting in Gray's head 'He's sick. He's very sick.', and it prevented him from responding to Natsu's physical violence earlier. This time though, no, no, no. When Natsu slammed on his chest again, a fuse burned in his brain. Anyways, he needed to beat Natsu up the minute he heard about his sneaking, so FUCK it.
Their hands clutched at each other's arms as they tried to reach for a punch. Natsu twirled fast, and tugged Gray's arm over his shoulder with a vice's grip, pushing Gray's entire weight forward to tumble him. Because Gray's weight was no joke, and Natsu wasn't at his best, several heavy pants broke before the boy growled and pushed forward anyway.
"GUYS!"
None paid attention to the blonde, and Gray couldn't let himself be pulled forward and tumble like a sack of potatoes so he used the rear neck choke on Natsu as a counter to the boy's evil intention.
"Bastard!" Gray yelled over, "I've had enough of your bullshit!"
Natsu's hold on his arm resembled a clamp as his face burst with red. He wrestled his way out of Gray's grip on his neck as he retreated fast to slam Gray's back on the entrance door. His back jerked from the slight pain, and with a growl, Natsu used the full strength of his elbow on Gray's torso.
It hurt as if he had a broken rib, but he couldn't stay in pain for a long time—and before Natsu uses the pain-feeling seconds for his advantage and come back, Loke grabbed the pink haired's arm and shoved him off of Gray, then stood in the middle.
Coughing and swallowing because of Gray's earlier neck choke, Natsu was out of breath, "Out-of-umph! Back off!"
Loke stopped Natsu's advance with his hold, but he wasn't rough, "Calm down, that's-"
Gray launched again at Natsu, and Loke was in the middle, stopping each from reaching out and eye-gouging each other.
A weight of ten tons toppled on his, Loke's, and Natsu's head.
"Fools!" Erza shouted, "You call yourselves friends?! And you're choosing to fight in the middle of a crisis?!"
An indent formed on the top of his head that he-swear to god-resembled a flat-fish. The extension of her punch reached his eyes that bugged out and radiated in his face bones. FUCK, FUCK. Never mess with female ex-militants. That's why Eve and Ren advised against relationships with militants-fuck, that was a hell of a friendly advice.
The three guys crouched on the floor, wincing and holding their heads with both hands.
"Why me?!" Tears welled up in Loke's eyes.
"You weren't serious about stopping them!"
Big almighty Sergeant Loke dared not to argue and settled for groaning. When he did, her glare intensified at the people who fought.
"I can't believe that you're lifelong friends. If I witness a charade like this once again!" Her aura was demonic and red.
"Y-yes Ma'am."
That was Natsu.
Shit. Next time, he won't judge the book by its cover. He thought she was cute few days back.
"Y-Yes… Ma'am." Gray repeated.
When she walked away, they all breathed.
"Fuck. Natsu..." Loke wrapped an arm around his 'life-long friend', "Sit. Come on, inside, sit."
Gray rubbed his flat-fish head as his friend disappeared with Loke in the living room. When he reviewed their fight earlier, he was thankful they didn't break valuable items in Hibiki's unit, and meh, could've been worse. If Loke hadn't interfered, they would've gone to the next level.
Taekwondo, their old best friend from high school days.
Erza, Sergeant Loke, and Sergeant Sting observed Natsu with intense silence. His nose and ears matched his hair's pinkish color, his lungs strived to breathe without obstruction, but the couple of coughs blocked the way.
Not his problem. He explained earlier that Natsu needed a doctor, and they took his words, crumbled it, and to the trash it went. If he dies, it's their responsibility, not his.
'He has been always your responsibility before anyone else's.'
He tried hard shoving the sound in the back of his head, but he was already thinking of how to shove Natsu in the Jeep outside and run away from the house-arrest to see a doctor and consequences be damned.
"Back to work." The Major ordered and tapped on his keyboard.
"But, Major-"
Heavy knocks interrupted Sergeant Sting's beginning of a protest. The Militants questioned with their eyes the identity of the visitor, grabbing their hand guns as if it is a second nature to humans.
"Backup teams." Laxus resumed typing, "Question is, which one?"
Loke took the initiative to let the back-up team in.
"Sergeant."
"We thought you were the nasty guys." Loke faked a relieved expression.
"Nasty guys? Last I checked, they don't knock."
"Guys … come on. There was this awkward silence and then you guys startled the shit of us."
"You can't be startled yet. We have a surprise. Where's the Major?"
"Boss!" Loke called, "She's asking for you."
The Major headed for the entrance where two female officers and one bulky male stood. The three of them bowed and saluted the Major with a straight posture.
"Come in." Laxus ushered them inside.
"Will do… but ah… he's with us. We thought we should warn you first." The female with the snowy white hair rubbed the back of her head.
"Him?" Laxus questioned.
The bulky tanned male cleared the view by moving and revealed a 180 centimeters plus guy.
Gray's previous injuries in his leg and shoulder reopened holes that pounded pain throughout his body.
'You gotta be shitting…'
The pitter-patter of raindrops on the paving, the two steps leading up to their unit, and on the shoulders of that demon deafened Gray's ears that filtered anything else out. Goddamn. His organs shut down one by one after a thick layer of cold engulfed them and his feet super glued themselves to the ground, seizing his movement, much like what his lungs has done for his breath.
"Oh God… No God… No... God…"
Natsu swung as he stood, his face whitened. Without doubt, he was having a mini-heart attack. At that point, the situation concerned Gray because fuck, he has been working for that man for about three years, but in reality, he knew (blank) about him.
Laxus pointed the gun's hard hole to the man's forehead.
"What is he doing out?"
"Oi Oi!" The criminal raised both of his hands, "They didn't say I was gonna be slain here!"
"Shut up." Laxus' finger struggled not to shoot.
"Don't be like that…" The man provoked indirectly, "Gray wanted my help. Right?"
Gildarts Clive, a man who endangers other's lives and an impeccable businessman, with a fortune for a technical background.
No, Gray fancied not meeting him.
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter Release: Next week, Wednesday 13th May.
GUYS, apologies for the late update. Work has been a lot more hectic and frustrating lately. I'm (Hopefully) trying to commit to updating more often, and my beta reader is the most amazing guy. He's always there, and his work impresses me every time, thanks bro.
Aside from that, Readers all around the world, stay safe, stay home. I know staying home isn't as simple as it sounds since it affects families in an unprecedented way, but what's the alternative? Hopefully this disaster ends soon.
Special thanks to: deboome (Aye... all of the readers I believe hehe. But hopefully the explanation counts?), JO (I know. I know. This chapter cleared it up? Have fun!), mdelpin (OMG! You can't believe how busy I'm. I have so much work that I'm literally not breathing. We've just finalized our submission a week ago, and the after effects are still there... hopefully, i can get back on track, watch the stuff i wanna watch, read the stories i wanna read, etc. I hope you're staying safe in this difficult time...).
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Alright, till next time!
Looooooove,
Flame-Belt