Gratsu Weekend 2020
Prompt: Laughter
Pairing: Gray x Natsu, Lyon & Gray
January 22, 2021
Gray was aware that Natsu was a handsome man. That exotic pink hair that Gray longed to run his fingers through to see if it really was as soft as it seemed. Those piercing green eyes that always seemed to try to delve deep into him until Gray was almost willing to surrender all his secrets. The gorgeous sun-kissed skin that covered the taut muscles of his fit body. Altogether it was a devastating combination, one that Gray was having more and more trouble fighting against.
However, none of those things drew him in as much as Natsu's laughter. It was loud, and sometimes obnoxious, but it was always genuine and free in ways that Gray had never been able to imitate.
It was that laughter that had Gray brimming with excitement as he followed Lyon through the doors of Crime Sorciere, knowing that Natsu would be working behind the bar that afternoon. He couldn't wait to have it ring through his ears again, making all his worries disappear like snow in the sun for just a brief moment.
Lyon made his way over to one of the many tables, greeting a few colleagues in passing and scanning the place absentmindedly as if he was looking for someone in particular. Gray shrugged it off, gesturing to a table that had a good view of the bar.
"Let's just sit here," he proposed casually, already pulling back one of the seats and hanging his coat over it, "I'll go get us some drinks."
He ignored the judgemental look Lyon gave him, shifting his attention to the bar and the person who was standing behind it. Natsu hadn't seen him yet, he'd been busy with customers when they'd arrived.
Gray heard Lyon call after him, letting him know he was going to order for them, as he approached the bar slowly, trying to delay the moment Natsu saw him so he could enjoy watching him for a little bit without being noticed. The moment Natsu saw him, his lips stretched into a welcoming smile, and his eyes lit up.
"Hey! Have you been here long?" Natsu asked.
"Nah, Lyon and I just got here, we're having a working lunch," Gray explained. He was about to give his order when he noticed Natsu already working on it, mixing together the drink that Lyon loved while getting him a draft beer.
"Don't just assume stuff, idiot, I might have been ordering something different this time," Gray complained half-heartedly, only to be regaled with one of Natsu's blinding smiles.
"You never do," Natsu winked, handing him the drinks before turning to his next customer, a woman with long blue hair and very fair skin who looked somewhat familiar to Gray although he couldn't place her.
"Hello there, Welcome to Crime Sorciere! What can I get for you?" Natsu recited in what Gray recognized as his work script.
He wanted to get one more comeback in before returning to Lyon, but he knew he had to wait for Natsu to take care of any customers first, and while it wasn't all that busy, it soon would be. Crime Sorciere was a popular lunch spot.
Gray was startled out of his thoughts by the woman's response, "Juvia would like a Naked Lady. Unless," the woman grabbed a cherry from the small container in front of her and popped it in her mouth suggestively, "You would like one instead?"
His gaze immediately went to Natsu, wanting to see how he reacted to such a brazen order, but he seemed to be taking it in stride for the moment. However, unlike when he made Lyon's drink, he went to a different section of the bar to prepare the woman's order.
Natsu soon returned with her drink, "Here you go, Miss," he offered her an uncomfortable smile and peered at Gray, "Shouldn't you be getting back to your table? Lyon's drink is going to get watered down."
Gray didn't sense any animosity in his tone, but it still felt like a dismissal of sorts, and so he headed back to his table feeling irritated by the whole thing. He inadvertently slammed Lyon's drink on the table a bit harder than necessary before sitting down, noticing their food had already arrived.
Lyon glanced at him curiously, grabbing a napkin, and wiping the table of the spilled contents.
"Things not go as you expected?"
Gray refused to answer, his mind replaying what had happened. Maybe Natsu just felt awkward, or perhaps he thought he'd get in trouble for chatting. Or maybe, his brain added helpfully, he didn't want to respond to her in front of you.
Once that thought had entered his brain, it refused to leave him alone. And even though he knew he should be listening to Lyon, who was patiently explaining yet another issue that had popped up with his divorce proceedings, he couldn't keep from glaring at that Juvia woman.
"Why is she touching his hand?" Gray growled, "No one needs to do that to order a fucking drink. And why isn't he telling her off?"
"I bet you'd like to do that," Lyon deadpanned before biting into his sandwich.
Gray gave him his absolutely most scathing glare at the comment, and Lyon put his sandwich down.
"What? It's the truth," Lyon shrugged, "Or are you still clinging to that platonic nonsense?"
"I—" Gray began to protest but knew Lyon was right. He had crossed from platonic into infatuation ages ago.
"Listen, I get it, he's a great guy, but even if he were into you as well, you're never going to get anywhere until we get through this divorce, so can you please focus?"
"I was listening," he protested, eyes already back at the bar. He watched Juvia sip her drink on one of the bar stools, continuing to chat with Natsu while twirling a lock of her long blue curls around her finger.
"Really?" Lyon crossed his arms in front of his chest, "So you're perfectly okay with the fact that we need to go to Crocus because Siegrain is demanding visitation rights?"
"HE WHAT?!" Gray hadn't meant to be so loud. Could feel everyone staring at him after his outburst. Still, he just couldn't believe that that sonofabitch, who had barely acknowledged Aki's existence most of the time, and who was being accused of child abuse, had the nerve to demand visitation rights.
The restaurant had grown quiet around them, magnifying Gray's self-consciousness and feeding his anxiety at the realization that the moment he had dreaded for so long had arrived. He looked up at Lyon in silent desperation.
"I'm sure it's just part of his lawyer's plan to make him look better in front of the judge," Lyon was quick to assure him.
Gray nodded, not trusting himself to say anything yet. He could feel his pulse race at the mere thought of Aki having to be alone with Siegrain. He covered his head with his hands, trying to control his breathing.
"Are you alright?"
Gray could hear the concern in Lyon's voice, but it sounded far away. He focused on his breathing some more only to feel something cold against his neck. He startled, moving away from it.
Figuring it was Lyon, he immediately bit into him, "What the hell, man?"
Except Lyon was still sitting across from him, and his drink glass was empty.
What the heck?
He looked behind him to see Natsu standing there, refills in hand. "Thought you needed to cool off some," Natsu grinned mischievously, handing Lyon his drink and placing Gray's on the table, but Gray could still detect the concern lurking in his eyes.
Natsu moved an empty chair from the table next to them and sat down, grabbing Gray's hand and squeezing it tightly before letting go.
"Don't you have work to get back to?" Gray muttered, not knowing how to respond to the fact that Natsu had obviously come to check on him after his embarrassing outburst.
"I'm on my break, figured I'd hang out with you guys for a bit," Natsu smiled, scratching the back of his neck as he added, "Besides a customer is making me feel uncomfortable. I'm hoping she'll get bored and move on to someone else. I even tried flashing my wedding ring, but it didn't seem to do anything."
"I'm sure Gray would be more than happy to help you with that," Lyon teased, quickly adding, "He's used to being on the receiving end of unwanted attention."
"Oh, cause he used to be a model?"
"No, he was like that in college too, must be his charming personality," Lyon snickered into his drink.
"It happens from time to time, " Natsu confided, "It was a guy last time, wouldn't take no for an answer."
"What did you do?" Gray asked, trying not to sound too interested, although he really wanted to know the answer.
Natsu played with his wedding band, "I told him the truth."
"The truth? What-" Gray tried to ask what that meant, but Lyon interrupted him with a question of his own.
"How did that work out for you?"
"Not well," Natsu laughed, "He waited for me outside the bar after closing and rather forcefully offered to help me forget all about it. So I kicked his ass and went home."
"Anyway, enough about me, what's going on with the Princess here?"
"Ugh, can you please not call me that?!" Gray gritted his teeth at the dreaded nickname, "Ever."
"Seriously though, are you okay?" This time there was no attempt to mask his concern, and Gray wasn't sure what the correct response was.
He had tried to keep Natsu out of the sordid details of his divorce as much as possible. Mostly because he didn't like to think about Siegrain or any of the bullshit surrounding his past relationship when he was with Natsu. He was his one haven in this whole mess, and Gray wasn't ready to change that, not yet.
"It's just stupid divorce stuff," Gray replied, trying to make it sound like it was no big deal and feeling like a jerk for underplaying the situation when Natsu was going out of his way to show that he cared. "We'll get it sorted out."
"I'm positive you will, from what I've heard around here, you're in great hands!" Natsu smiled, giving Lyon a quick nod and much to Gray's disappointment getting up from his seat again, "Well, I should go drain the dragon before my break runs out." Natsu gave Gray a few encouraging pats on the shoulder before making a beeline for the staff room.
Gray could feel the weight of Lyon's stare on him, and he met his gaze, trying to figure out what it meant.
"What?"
"I don't get you. Natsu was right here, asking you what was wrong, and you just blew him off." Lyon shook his head in disbelief. "What are you so afraid of?"
"I- I don't want him to think less of me," Gray admitted, pushing his plate as far away from himself as he could manage. No longer in any mood to eat.
"Gray," Lyon sighed, "This is exactly what I was afraid of."
"What are you talking about?"
"Just forget it."
"No, I don't want to forget it, and while we're at it, why did you interrupt me earlier? I wanted to hear his answer."
Gray had barely finished that sentence when Lyon lost his patience and countered," No, you didn't. Because it wasn't going to be what you wanted to hear. The men and women I represent sometimes take their rings off before the divorce is even filed for, yet he's still wearing his nine months after his wife died. What do you think that means, Gray?"
Gray could only stare at his friend, knowing he was right but also not wanting to hear it said out loud.
"I interrupted you because I figured you wouldn't want him to see your face when he told you he wasn't ready to let go yet. Because once he did, he would certainly know how you feel about him."
Gray opened his mouth to defend himself, but there wasn't much he could say, and Lyon didn't give him a chance anyway.
"And you-" he gestured towards Gray and went on with his lecture. "You're no better. You've already constructed this fantasy in your mind. Made him a part of your future without knowing how he feels about you. Without even sharing any of your past with him. The truth is, and I'm saying this as a friend, he's not the only one who's not ready to move on."
And there it was, the truth Gray hadn't been willing to face. He'd let himself get so caught up in the euphoria he felt whenever he was with Natsu, that he'd used that as an escape without stopping to think about the reality of their situation. He was in the middle of a hostile divorce, and Natsu was still grieving the death of his beloved wife. As Lyon had pointed out, Gray had built castles in the sky, placing Natsu in his vision of the future, when they were both still grounded by the past.
Lyon started getting his things together, "We should move back to my office to discuss our options with this visitation thing. Do you want to box the rest of our food?"
Gray nodded listlessly, knowing that even though he wasn't hungry now, he probably would be later, and there wasn't much near Lyon's office. He got up and put his coat on, sneaking a quick glance at the bar. The Juvia woman was still there, but she seemed to have toned it down with her flirting attempts and was now just conversing with Natsu pleasantly.
"You ready?" Lyon asked, and Gray nodded as his friend grabbed their plates and headed to the bar.
"Hey, Natsu, you think you could get us some to-go boxes and our bill?" Lyon asked as he placed their food on the bar top.
"Yeah, sure," Natsu replied, moving over to the computer and selecting their table. Once the receipt printed out, he placed it in front of Lyon and moved away to find some boxes.
"Lyon?"
Gray was surprised to see Juvia seemed to know his friend, but what was even more astounding was Lyon's reaction to the blunette. He looked thrilled to see her, which was atypical for the usually stoic man.
"Juvia? Is that really you? It's been years!" Lyon went on enthusiastically, and Gray tuned him out, content to tease him about it at a later time, when he wasn't feeling quite so defeated.
Natsu soon returned with two containers, and he and Gray put the food in. Gray wanted to say something, feeling guilt at keeping him out after Lyon's words.
"Listen, about earlier," he began, but Natsu waved him off.
"You don't have to tell me anything you're not comfortable sharing, I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's not that," Gray struggled to find a way to explain himself, but he couldn't find the words he wanted.
Natsu's laughter once again rang loud and honest, startling Gray out of his word impairment. He nudged him to look at Lyon, "Looks like I had nothing to worry about after all, huh?"
The two were exchanging business cards seemingly getting on quite well together, and it wasn't long before they heard Lyon asking her out for drinks later that evening.
"I guess not," Gray agreed, curious as to how the two knew each other, making a note to ask Lyon later. He got his wallet out and handed Natsu enough jewels to cover their tab and leave a tip.
He really wanted to say something to fill in the awkward moment as they waited for Lyon to be done, but he also knew it wasn't the time or the place. Siegrain was making a play on Aki, and that had to come first. Natsu's first test date was coming up soon, and they needed to focus on that as well.
But as soon as they got through those two hurdles, Gray promised himself he would sit Natsu down and tell him everything he'd been holding back, save his feelings. At least, until he felt Natsu was ready to hear them.