Ah yes, finally, another Gratsu fic!! I have a few announcements before we get this started, so pls don't skip this note, its important!!

1.) I will be writing another chapter of "His Suicide Note". After all the lovely reviews I got, how could I possibly stop? Thanks for the encouragement, Nina-Chan202 and Son Chiyu!

2.) I have a cool idea for a fic in which fairy tail wages war against a dark guild. I'm gonna start writing the first chapter as soon as I'm done with this one-shot, so it's on its way as you're reading this. It'll be really descriptive, filled to the brim with epic fight scenes, strategic plots and schemes, intense plot twists, unbearable suspense, and, of course, some Gratsu and Fraxus romance sprinkled in because you know I can't resist my two favorite ships XD. If you're interested in an absolutely epic war/angst/drama/romance fic, I'd definitely give this one a read when it comes out. I promise it'll be worth your time.

3.) Because of the developments in "His Suicide Note" I'm probably gonna end up writing a fic about what would happen if Laxus actually did die. It'll be set up in the same storyline as "His Suicide Note" so you'll probably see some similarities in style.

Alright that's all I have to say, except for the fact it feels so good to be back doing Gratsu fics! I never truly stopped, I just took a break while I explored my new OTP (Fraxus) and nearly died of too much fangirling in the process so I figured it was high time to get back to writing some good old-fashioned Gray x Natsu.

As always, thank you so much for being here and ENJOY THE CHAPTER!!!

-

I sighed and flopped down on the bed with a loud groan of exhaustion. I was so lonely. And tired. And sore. And everything bad.

My boyfriend and best friend, Gray, was still out on a job he had taken alone without telling me. Some part of me wondered if he was still mad at me, because he took it the day after we had a pretty intense argument. The argument itself was petty at first, but it slowly escalated until we were actually fighting.

The very next day, he wasn't at the guild and Mirajane told me she had given him permission to take a job by himself. She even relayed the description of the job to me, seeing as I was really worried about him.

It wasn't a difficult mission, and he'd be back within a day or two. So now I was worried about him, but for different reasons.

I knew he was really upset with me.

Why else would he just take off like that, even if it was just for a couple days?

I curled up under the thick, heavy white covers, shivering slightly. Strangely enough, I was colder without Gray, an ice mage who literally radiated coldness, than I was alone. Perhaps it was something about his presence that made me feel warm.

I sniffed the air, trying to find some of his scent. The blanket smelled very faintly like him, but the wintery fragrance was muddled and distorted by other scents, like mine and Happy's. It wasn't good enough. With a little huff of exasperation, I sat bolt upright and swung my legs over the end of the bed so I could stand up. Jaw set with determination, I marched over to the wardrobe Gray and I shared and rummaged around inside, searching for something.

Finally, I located one of his shirts. It was his red one, with dark blue sleeves. Tugging my own shirt off, I replaced it with his. Although it wasn't his favorite shirt in the world, he still wore it often enough that it smelled strongly like him.

It was a size or two too big for me, but I was practically basking in his familiar scent. The sharpness of a cold winter wind lashing out at everything that moved mixed with the sugary sweetness of peppermint. That's what he smelled like. That's also what this shirt smelled like.

Content, I went back to bed and curled up on my side, tucking the blanket around my waist.

Damn, I was so tired. And I missed my Gray. I wondered if he missed me. He probably did. At least I hoped so.

He'd better be home soon or else I'm gonna tear apart the continent looking for him, I swear to God.I thoughtto myself, as I slowly drifted off to sleep. Regardless of how mad at me he is, I refuse to let him avoid me for longer than two more days.

As I slept, I dreamed of what life would be like without Gray. I won't bore you with the details, but that's the first time I've ever compared life to death before, because life without Gray is hardly life at all.

-

I jolted awake with a start.

There was a sound, familiar, but alarming nonetheless because I wasn't expecting to hear it tonight.

The sound filled me with joy, my heart trying to spring right out of my chest.

It was the sound of the front door being unlocked. The only person who had a key to my house- no, our house- was Gray. He was home!

After debating with myself for a moment, I decided to pretend to be asleep and see what happened. It was my way of testing to see how mad at me he was, if at all. I had a feeling he'd be a little tense around me, he wasn't unforgiving but sometimes he took a little longer to recover from arguments, especially with me. Fighting with the one he loved always took so much out of him, practically sapping his strength and motivation away.

The door swung open with a familiar creak, and I heard soft rustling sounds as Gray came in and started loving around the house, putting his things away and getting settled back in to the familiar environment. My heart skipped a beat when his footsteps came into our room, but I kept my eyes closed. My back was facing the entrance, but I could still sense his eyes on me. There was more rustling, and only a moment later, I felt ice cold arms wrap around me from behind, crossing over my chest. Soft lips pressed a gentle kiss to the nape of my neck.

"Natsu." a painfully familiar voice whispered, right by my ear. "Honey, wake up. I'm home."

I cracked an eye open and twisted in his grasp to peer at him, feigning sleepiness. He didn't look mad at all. His pale skin and beautiful blue eyes, framed by silky black locks of hair, didn't seem angry or upset or anything. In fact, he even smiled a little when I locked eyes with him.

"Oh no." I grumbled, rolling over so I was facing him and burying my face in his chest. "Not you again..."

"Yes, me again." he chuckled softly, combing his fingers through my hair. "Gotta problem with that?"

"Hmm. Maybe. I haven't decided yet." I mumbled, muffled by his shirt.

"Tch. You're still such a pain in the ass." Gray clicked his tongue and shook his head, pretending to be disappointed. But I knew better.

I hummed softly, pulling the collar of his shirt down so I could nuzzle his naturally cold skin, taking in as much of his wonderful scent as possible. "Why'd you leave without telling me? I was so worried, and if it weren't for Mirajane, I never would've known where you were." I kissed his collarbone before looking up at him, staring into those deep blue eyes I loved so much.

Gray sighed. I could hear his heart beating out a steady rhythm in his chest. "I know... I'm sorry. I should've at least let you know where I was going. I was just... Really upset. I needed some time to myself." he admit, holding me tighter, as if to convince himself I was still there.

"It's okay, you had every right to be upset. In fact, I'm surprised you're not still upset. I said some things I shouldn't have, and... Gosh, I made a fool of myself, acting like that. I'm sorry too, Snowflake, it won't happen again." I slipped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer, fingers tangling in the fabric of his shirt.

I vaguely remembered our argument. Gray had been trying to be reasonable, but I was being difficult, and eventually he gave up being reasonable and snapped at me. I immediately began mouthing off, being an absolute jerk, saying things without caring how much my words would hurt him. Although he wasn't exactly a perfect angel throughout the entire fight, I was definitely more in the wrong than he, and I felt really bad about it.

"It's okay. I can't stay mad at you for very long, you know." Gray buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply, bringing a smile to my lips. It seemed he liked my scent as much as I liked his.

"You weren't gone for very long, but... I really missed you, Gray." I murmured, closing my eyes and leaning my forehead against his chest, breathing deeply as he nudged me even closer, if that were possible at this point.

"And I you... Hey, wait a second. Is this my shirt?" Gray noticed what I was wearing for the first time and tugged lightly at the collar of the garment I was clad in.

"Hah... Maybe..." I sheepishly admit, blushing a little. "I missed you, and this shirt smells like you."

"Heh, you're so silly, Nat." the ice mage rolled his eyes and settled back down. "And even though you're clingy and annoying sometimes, I love you. A lot."

"I love you too. A lot." I replied, mimicking his matter-of-fact tone.

He chuckled at this and pecked my forehead, soft lips grazing my skin. I leaned against him and closed my eyes, mumbling, "But this doesn't change anything. After today, I'm gonna continue fighting you for big spoon. This is the one time I'll allow it."

"Hmm... Okay. But you're smaller than me though, so it makes more sense for me to be big spoon." Gray said, his voice adopting a lazy tone he only got when he was sleepy.

"But I'm the dominant one, even though I have to fight you for that too!" I immediately protested, pushing his shirt up so I could draw patterns on his chest with my fingertips. His skin was soft and smooth, stretching over his sleek body and corded muscles that rippled when he moved.

"You have to fight me for a lot of things." Gray remarked, yawning.

"Mainly because you're so damn stubborn, won't even let me cuddle you half the time..." I trailed off, grumbling to myself about it.

"Because I don't like being cuddled, I like to administer the cuddles." Gray huffed before burying his nose in my hair again, breathing deeply. "Like right now. I give the best cuddles, admit it."

"Meh. My ex is better." I said, just to tease him.

He made an absolutely adorable snarling noise and hit me over the head three times with a pillow before rolling over so his back was facing me, refusing to cuddle me anymore, making a huge show of ignoring me. I laughed and snaked my arms around him, pulling him close and peppering the back of his neck with soft kisses and nibbles (my way of asking for forgiveness for being such an asshole).

"No. You're mean." he tried to push me off, making more adorable growling noises.

"Yes I am, and I'm sorry. I was just playing." I replied, nuzzling my face into the side of his neck and wriggling a knee between his legs. "There. Now I'm administering the cuddles. Deal with it."

"Hmph. Mean." Gray insisted, but I could see the smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He did like being cuddled, he just wouldn't admit it.

I ran a hand up and down his arm, nudging him closer so I could hold him as securely as possible. I knew that this was his favorite part of being around me. He made me feel special, I made him feel safe. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever met, Snowflake."

"Am I?"

"I've never met a single person like you before. You're amazing."

"Love you." Gray mumbled, sliding his hand over mine, which was splayed across his stomach.

"I love you too, sweetheart." I sighed, absolutely content.

Now he was back from his job, and I could breathe in as much of his scent as I wanted. He was home, he was safe and okay. That was all that really mattered to me. As long as he was alright, I was alright too. Plus, he wasn't upset with me anymore. I still felt awful about the things I said to him in the heat of the moment, but he was willing to move past it, so I could too.

There was something so calming about him, about his pleasantly cool skin, about his gentle, soft voice, and about the wintery-peppermint scent he possessed. It quieted my often hectic thoughts and soothed my fears and anxieties away. This was one reason out of millions that I was in love with sweet, gentle Gray.

The end.

A/N: ah yes it's so good to be back writing Gratsu fics!!! Leave a review and tell me what you think of this cute little one-shot I wrote when I was bored lol. Love y'all, see you next time!

-UltimatexAdmin