Gratsu Weekend 2020
Prompt: Sour
Pairing: Gray x Natsu
April 19, 2021
Natsu had been doing laundry when he heard the doorbell ring. He was wearing a pair of old sweatpants, but he deemed himself presentable enough to answer the door. Peering through the peephole, he immediately did a double-take, gripped as he was by a sense of déjà vu. Standing outside his door was Gray Fullbuster, holding a cardboard container from Magnolia Bean with four cups while next to him Aki held two bags that he recognized as coming from the coffee shop as well.
His heart raced as he was faced with the source of his ever-constant turmoil. He opened the door slowly, still not trusting that Gray was really outside.
"Hey," Gray greeted with a smile, "We're back!"
Natsu wanted to hug him. It had been so long since they'd seen each other, but it felt awkward since they'd never really done that often. So instead, he moved out of the way to let them in and grabbed the bags Aki offered him, noticing that he was still wearing the bracelet he had gifted him.
"Hi," Natsu finally managed, "When did you guys get back?"
"Yesterday afternoon," Gray announced, laughing as he noticed Aki and Atlas staring at each other for a full minute before flashing each other big smiles and hugging. Atlas grabbed on to his friend and dragged him into the playroom as if he'd never left.
He noticed Gray examining him with a smirk, "Laundry day?"
"Uhm yeah, it was a rough weekend," Natsu said simply, not wanting to go into any details. The anniversary of Lisanna's death had been the previous Friday. He'd taken the day off, knowing he'd be a mess the entire day, and he hadn't really been in the mood to deal with any chores the rest of the weekend.
"So are you ready?" Gray asked, walking into the breakfast nook and sitting down with his coffee. "We got hot cocoa for the kids and some cookies for Atlas, as well as other treats that you'll need to earn."
"You want to study now?" Natsu muttered in disbelief, thinking of all the things they needed to talk about.
"Of course, I bet you haven't touched your book since I left," Gray glanced at him with a knowing expression.
"I tried, it just wouldn't stick," Natsu complained.
"I knew it, you're lost without me," Gray sighed, "Alright then, I guess you'll have to catch me up on how you've been using up our time."
He opened up one of the bags and handed Natsu one of his favorite muffins. "Don't get used to it, you're going to have to go back to earning them on Wednesday."
"You could have called, you know," Natsu grumbled, biting into his muffin and frowning at his friend.
"I know, I'm sorry. I was swamped, and then by the time I had a moment to myself, you were already at work. I didn't want to have a two-minute conversation, so I kept waiting for a better time, but it never came."
"Rogue says you just suck at staying in touch," Natsu accused, scowling when Gray just laughed.
"That too," he admitted, "I thought about you a lot though," smiling before adding hurriedly, "uhm and the others too."
Natsu stared for a moment too long, Gray's words stirring something inside him, but he wasn't ready to show his hand yet, so he quickly changed the subject to something safer," How did it go? Did you get to beat up your ex?"
Gray laughed, "I wish. We were never alone together, Lyon and Siegrain's lawyer were usually present, and when my dad came up to see us, Gildarts tagged along and pretended to be my bodyguard the whole time he was there. It was great, I'm pretty sure Siegrain is terrified of him now!"
"What about the visitations? Lyon mentioned they didn't go well."
"They were awful, they took place at some child services agency so Lyon and I were able to sit in the next room and see everything through a one-way mirror. Siegrain tried to act all doting father but Aki wouldn't go near him. The first time he saw him he cried.
"I'm not sure if that means he remembered him or he just didn't like being away from me. After the third attempt, the child services agent suggested we put the visitations on hold and the judge agreed, at least until he had a better understanding of the abuse charges. We're going to have to go back a few more times before it's all over, but I was given permission to come home."
Gray moved to grab something from one of the bags, and Natsu noticed a flash of metal around his neck.
"You're wearing it!" Natsu exclaimed, feeling elated that Gray wore his present.
"What?" Gray looked down at his clothes and noticed where Natsu was looking. "Oh, yeah," he chuckled, "I only take it off to shower, between you and Cana, I feel rather protected."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each munching on their pastries. It wasn't long before Gray realized Natsu was acting strangely. He wouldn't look him in the eyes, and even as he ate his muffin, he was oddly quiet. Not sure how to handle it, he checked the hot cocoa to make sure it was cold enough for the boys to drink.
"Aki, Atlas," he called out, "Snack time."
Both boys came running in, chattering excitedly and climbing on the remaining two chairs carefully. Gray handed them their drinks as well as a giant chocolate chip cookie each. They gave him toothy smiles and dug in.
Natsu had remained in deep thought throughout the whole thing, and Gray began to get nervous. What could he be thinking about? This was Natsu, he usually burst out with whatever was on his mind regardless of whether it made sense or not.
Once the boys were done eating, they attempted to tell him about whatever they had been doing in the playroom as Gray walked them to the bathroom and helped them wash their hands.
On his way back to the breakfast nook, he noticed that Lisanna's shrine had fresh flowers and updated pictures of Natsu with the kids on it. He did some mental math and, with a pang, realized the anniversary of her death had just passed. That must be why he's acting so strange, he rationalized.
Gray wondered if he should try to talk to him about it. As much as he didn't want to hear about how happy Natsu had been with her, he wanted to be a good friend. When he returned, Natsu was muttering to himself.
"You okay over there?" Gray asked, "You've been kind of quiet for a while."
"Uhm," Natsu managed, glancing up at him before quickly looking away.
"I, uh, saw Lisanna's shrine. If you want to talk about it," Gray swallowed thickly, "I'd be glad to listen."
"Oh, God, please don't bring her up right now," Natsu winced, and for a moment, Gray thought Natsu looked guilty.
What the hell?
"Natsu?"
Natsu clenched his hands into fists, squeezing tightly before grunting with frustration, "Aaugh, I don't know how to do this!"
"Do what?", Gray sat across from him, wanting to give him some space, but his curiosity was increasing in leaps and bounds.
"Fine, here goes," Natsu finally looked up, but it was even more bewildering because he looked angry.
"While you were gone, I really missed you," Natsu confessed, and Gray was quick to reassure him.
"I really missed you too."
"No, you don't understand," Natsu groaned, pulling at his hair, "I've never done this before."
"How can I understand when I don't even know what the hell it is you're doing?!" Gray grumped, starting to get impatient, "Done what, what is this?"
"The cake, the present, my stomach, that damn ad, the way I worry, and that fucking dream," Natsu's eyes were pleading, "I've never, and it's not right. None of it makes any fucking sense!"
Gray blinked at him, trying to make sense out of the jumble of words, "You're not making any fucking sense, what in the hell are you talking about?"
"I, uh, I may have feelings for you," Natsu finally revealed, his entire face changing colors at the admission, but still managing to hold Gray's gaze all the same.
Gray tried to stop himself, knew it was a bad idea, but it was hopeless. He began to laugh heartily at the ridiculousness of Natsu's confession but stopped as soon as he recognized the honesty in Natsu's gaze, so he did something potentially dumber. He got up and walked around the table, pulling Natsu up from his chair and wrapping him up in a hug, which Natsu immediately began to fight.
"Hey!" Gray scolded, and when Natsu slowly relaxed into the embrace, he kissed his head gently before murmuring, "I like you too, dumbass, since like forever ago."
He could feel Natsu take a deep breath and then he heard, "You still don't understand, I don't get crushes on people, it takes a lot for me to feel this way. The only other time I've felt like this was with-"
"Lisanna," Gray finished for him, and Natsu nodded.
He knew this was a big deal for Natsu, and he wanted to be helpful, but he was finding it hard at the moment as he was currently floating somewhere around cloud nine. He'd almost resigned himself to the fact that Natsu would likely never return his interest, and to find out that he did, it was almost too good to be true. But he had been hoping for something like this for months, and he wasn't about to blow it in the first five minutes.
Gray gave him one last hug before releasing him. "I can't even begin to imagine what this must feel like for you," he declared, grabbing hold of both of Natsu's hands and brushing them gently with his thumbs.
Natsu wouldn't look at him, and Gray smiled, it was a little childish, but it was kind of cute. "Hey," he poked him in the side until Natsu looked up, and then he captured his gaze, "I'm scared too. I mean, I know what I'd like this to be, but I also know I'm more than likely going to screw up. So if it's okay with you, can we just take it slow for now?"
When Gray saw the return of Natsu's beaming smile, he knew he'd managed to say the right thing for once, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks," Natsu exhaled audibly, and Gray could almost see the tension leave his body.
"Uhm, would you maybe want to go out to dinner sometime, maybe Sunday night?"
"Yeah," Natsu replied shyly, "I think I'd like that."
"Okay! You don't need to do a thing," Gray assured him excitedly, "I'll take care of everything!"
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd gone on a date, but he was already determined to make it the best one ever.
"We should let you get back to your chores, but we'll be back on Wednesday to start working on Science," Gray reminded him before grabbing Aki and getting ready to go. He waved, shooting Natsu a grin that kept him smiling for the rest of the day.
0-0
Wednesday had been pleasant, Gray was still a despot when it came to the actual studying, and they'd had their usual round of bickering, but occasionally their hands would touch as they both reached for the same thing. Instead of shying away like they would have before they let them join for a few minutes before moving on and Natsu would feel a refreshing tingle, the likes of which he hadn't felt in so long.
It brought back the guilt, but he kept trying to see past it because he knew that Erza was right, even if he couldn't entirely accept it yet. Lisanna would have wanted him to live a full life. Some days he even believed it.
The rest of the week flew by, his busy schedule didn't really give him a lot of time to stress or be nervous. Gray had refused to provide him with any details besides what time to be ready. Now that the day was here, though, Natsu was very nervous. He'd never dated anyone but Lisanna, and he was worried about messing up.
Makarov had always taught him to open doors, give honest compliments, and pull chairs out. He had no idea what the appropriate etiquette was for these things between two guys. He considered looking it up, but he really needed to get ready. He'd spent all day with the kids, knowing he wasn't going to be with them for dinner or bedtime, so he only had about thirty minutes to shower, shave, and get dressed.
Erza had tried to convince him to take his ring off, but he didn't feel ready to do that yet, and he had a feeling Gray wouldn't mind. When the doorbell rang, he was as prepared as he was ever going to be. He walked towards the door, trying to control the butterflies that had suddenly taken residence in his stomach.
Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths before opening the door, he reminded himself that it was okay to enjoy Gray's company and to give this date a fair chance.
"You look nice," Gray complimented Natsu before grabbing his hand and leading him towards the car, opening the car door for him before making his way into the driver's seat.
Natsu looked down at what he had chosen to wear, a bright blue button-down shirt Erza had gotten him for Christmas along with some black jeans she had picked out for him and his black work shoes. He'd felt like a kid, but he'd also had no idea what to wear, so he'd been happy for the help. And now that Gray had complimented him on his appearance, he struggled to think of what to say back.
"So, uhm, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," Gray turned to him and smiled, "but I think you'll like it."
He started up the car, and soon they were chatting and listening to music. As they began one of their usual arguments over the radio, Natsu found that it didn't feel all that different from any of their other outings, and that soothed his nerves considerably.
When they arrived at their destination Natsu was thrilled to see the sign for 8-Island, a restaurant he'd always wanted to try but couldn't really afford.
"We're going to 8-Island?! How did you know?"
"I have to admit I had a little help," Gray chuckled as he parked the car, "After the initial excitement wore off I realized I had no idea where to take you, but Sting mentioned you've been wanting to come here."
Natsu got out of the car before Gray could open his door but allowed him to take his hand and lead him to the restaurant's entrance.
"I've actually never been here either, so it should be fun," Gray commented, looking at the restaurant's interior, or rather what you could see of it, seeing as there were quite a lot of people in the waiting area. "I didn't realize it would be this busy, though."
"Yeah, it's pretty popular, and I don't think they make reservations," Natsu explained.
"They don't, I called," Gray agreed, "But we can hang out at the bar while we wait."
Natsu nodded his approval and was about to speak when the hostess noticed them.
"Good evening and welcome to 8-Island!" she greeted them looking down at a color-coded chart of the restaurant's tables, "How many people in your party?"
"Just two," Gray answered smoothly, still holding on to Natsu's hand.
"Alright, that's good, the current wait is ninety minutes, but there are a lot of big groups waiting so we might be able to get you seated sooner," she mumbled, "Can I have a name please?"
"Fullbuster," Gray informed her, and when she finally looked up, Natsu could pinpoint the second the girl recognized Gray. Her eyes widened comically, and her hand came up to cover her mouth.
"Oh my God, you're the guy outside my bus!"
"Excuse me?" Gray seemed incredibly confused by her outburst, but Natsu understood precisely what she meant having seen the ads plenty of times when he took the bus for his day shifts at Crime Sorciere.
"Yes, he is!" Natsu wasn't sure what possessed him to tell the girl she was right. Maybe it was the fact that he was proud of Gray's success or just the fact that he wasn't used to lying, but had he noticed that others were paying attention to their conversation, he might have kept his mouth shut.
"I knew it!" she squealed and immediately grabbed one of the restaurant's kids' menus, "Do you think I could have your autograph?"
Gray had tensed up from the attention, and Natsu could see that he was uncomfortable and wanted to say no, but he took one look at Natsu and, with an uncertain smile, agreed to the girl's request.
He scribbled his name on the menu, making a beeline for the bar as soon as the hostess handed him a buzzer.
"Are you okay?" Natsu asked, following close behind.
"Yeah, I just never really got used to that," Gray explained, "There's nothing special about me, except I have the stupid ability to look decent in pictures. Whatever, it's over," he shrugged the incident off, gesturing at the bar area, "So what do you think?"
Natsu looked around. It was a large space, with plenty of stools and high tables. A huge fish tank was built into the wall and it was full of colorful fish. Gray laughed as Natsu was instantly drawn to it.
"Look at these!" he exclaimed, "Atlas would flip out."
"Aki would too," Gray agreed, following Natsu over to the tank and laughing when he saw a fish that was the same color as Natsu's hair, "What are you doing in there?"
"Funny," Natsu retorted, sticking his tongue out, shocked when Gray grabbed it between his fingers.
"Now it's mine," he grinned, before letting go of it and wiping his hand on Natsu's hand.
"Gross!" Natsu complained, looking for a cocktail napkin to wipe his hand.
"Hey, it's your saliva, not mine," Gray shrugged, "Would you like something to drink? We could get an appetizer while we wait."
"Yeah, that sounds great," Natsu agreed heartily, eager to sample some of the food.
"So, is there any drink you would recommend for me to try, given what you know about me?" Gray's smile was flirty, and Natsu found himself responding in kind.
"Do you want me to give you a real recommendation, or do you want to hear a sexy drink name?"
Gray laughed, "Hmm, surprise me, I guess. Nothing too nuclear though, I'm driving us."
Natsu really liked that answer. "Let me think, uhm, you have a bit of a short temper," Natsu giggled when he saw Gray mouthing, "I have a bit of a short temper?"
"No? How about a Jack Frost? It's blue and kind of pretty, just like you," Natsu snickered.
"I am not pretty, I'll have you know," Gray protested causing Natsu to laugh harder.
"Well you're definitely not hard to look at, that's for sure," Natsu attempted to flirt, and while he appreciated the flush reflected on his date's face, he suddenly realized something that amused him.
"So, wait! You're fine with my saying you're blue but not with being considered attractive? Interesting."
"Whatever, just order the damn drink, I'll try it," Gray huffed, but he didn't really appear annoyed, and his cheeks still held a reddish tint.
Natsu ordered Gray a Jack Frost and himself a draft beer while Gray asked the bartender for an appetizer menu. As they waited for him to return, he asked, "So how did you end up becoming a bartender, you don't seem like you like to drink much."
Natsu snorted, "It's not that exactly, I don't mind it now and again, it's just I'm surrounded by drunk people a lot, so it's become a sort of turnoff. But in answer to your question, Makarov paid to send me to bartending school in Edolas so I could have a job while I trained with a mechanic. It's one of the better-paying jobs you can get if you don't have a high school diploma, mostly cause of tips."
"I'm kind of glad you didn't graduate high school," Gray said honestly.
"You mean cause it allows you to torture me?" Natsu groaned, "What about you? How did you go from Business Administration to modeling?"
He noticed Gray stiffen and waved his arms to show he didn't have to answer, but Gray took a deep breath instead, "It's okay, I don't tend to talk about this stuff, but if we're going to do this thing I want you to be able to get to know me better."
Natsu gave him an encouraging smile, grabbing his hand in his and lacing their fingers together, enjoying the way Gray smiled shyly in response, unlike his usual gruff demeanor.
"I went to college on a hockey scholarship, it's how I met Lyon actually. He was the captain of our team," Gray began, "but then junior year, I had a nasty collision with a player from another team, and I messed up my knee."
Natsu winced at his words imagining how painful that must have been.
"I needed surgery, which kept me from playing the rest of the year, and I lost my scholarship. I'd met this talent scout, Siegrain Fernandes, during Spring Break, and he'd offered me an interview at a modeling agency, but I'd just laughed it off. So he left me his card in case I changed my mind. With no other good way to pay for school, I decided to give it a try, so I called him up. Bad decision number one," Gray grimaced in recollection.
"Wait, Siegrain, as in your ex?" Natsu asked, and Gray nodded. He was about to add something else when they heard someone clear their throat behind them.
"Excuse me, Mr. Fernandes?" A young girl asked, looking somewhat nervous. Natsu saw the slight flinch in Gray's shoulders at being called by that name, his ex's surname that he was still legally bearing and known for, but the girl didn't notice. "Could I please get my picture taken with you?"
"Uhm, sure," Gray replied, posing with the girl so she could take a selfie. He spoke with her for a few minutes and then waved her off, but at no point did he seem like he was getting rid of her. Natsu was impressed.
"Thank you so much!" the girl squealed, running off and Natsu could hear her going on about how nice Gray was to anyone who would listen immediately followed by a showing of the picture.
Their drinks arrived, and while they had decided on some spicy fried calamari, they never got a chance to order it as the bar began to fill up with people, all moving towards Gray.
"You've got to be kidding me?!" Gray muttered under his breath. He looked at Natsu with a face that screamed Help Me.
Natsu didn't know what to do, he was a bartender, not a bouncer, but he was starting to get irritated. He'd been having fun flirting, and it had felt like they'd started to let their walls down a little, and now their mood was being spoiled by people who didn't seem to realize that they were interrupting their evening.
With a sigh, he recognized there was really only one thing they could do, so he turned to the bartender, who seemed to understand their predicament. "Is there any chance you can show us the employee entrance?"
"What?! No!" Gray protested, "You wanted to come here, and I wanted to bring you. We can get them to leave!"
Natsu grabbed him by the arm and pulled him behind him, following the bartender who had opened the latch door for them to allow them access behind the bar. They went out a back exit, which put them near Gray's car.
"Damn it!"
"It's okay, we'll come back another time. It's my fault anyway, " Natsu reminded him, "I should have kept my mouth shut."
"No this happens sometimes, I just didn't think it would happen here," Gray fumed. "I still want to take you out to dinner, though."
"It's fine," Natsu assured him, "We could always get take out and eat it at home."
Gray looked horrified, "We are not starting our relationship like that! What kind of story is that to tell our kids?"
Before Natsu could answer, Gray had already pulled out his phone, looking through it until he brought an app up.
"What are you doing?" Natsu peered at the screen curiously.
"Looking to see what restaurant can sit us soon," Gray mumbled as he entered information and slid and swiped along.
"Got it!" Gray started up the car and drove them to whatever destination the phone had suggested.
They arrived at a restaurant that Natsu definitely felt underdressed for, but Gray didn't seem overly concerned. They were seated almost immediately, and none of the other guests nor the staff seemed to make a big deal out of Gray's presence. But when Natsu reached for the menu, he saw to his dismay that not only did he not understand a single word on it, everyone there was eating with what appeared to be sticks. If he hadn't felt out of place before, he certainly would once he'd try to direct food into his mouth. Regular cutlery was challenging enough at times.
Gray reached out for his hand and squeezed it, giving a reassuring smile. "It'll be fun," he said, attempting to be encouraging, but Natsu didn't feel as confident, and although he was happy to be spending time with Gray, he couldn't help but think that the experience had added a sour note to an otherwise pleasant evening.