Author's Note: This chapter is shorter than my other's since it's more of a filler. It was actually supposed to be art of the last chapter, but I was worried it was too long. However, I realized I should have kept it in so I wrote it up and it's standing as its own chapter. I hope you enjoy the bonus chapter and please leave a review.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Fairy Tail.
Natsu had gone back to giving Gray the silent treatment. This time Gray didn't try to pull the flame-brain out of himself, knowing he would talk when he wanted to. So for the past four days he'd done nothing but paperwork, a tedious task. Tomorrow he'd have to find something else to do so he wouldn't be driven mad, but in the current moment he was focused on filing Jerome's last mission. He was so focused on the paperwork that when Natsu finally did speak he nearly tumbled out of the chair.
"How did you get stuck doing paper work?" Natsu asked. Gray managed to catch himself and turn to stare at the fire mage, but couldn't get the words out to answer his question. Natsu must have mistook his silence for misunderstanding because he pressed on with the issue. "I mean, shouldn't that be your guild master's job. Gramps always did Fairy Tail's paperwork. How did you get stuck doing it here?" Still, Gray couldn't get the air of his throat to form a sentence. His mouth just kept opening and closing like a fish out of water. He watched as Natsu's face twisted into an expression of annoyance. "Hey Ice Princess, did you freeze your brain or something? Answer the question."
The use of the old insult shook Gray out of his stupor and he bit back a smile as he answered. "Master Arlock spends most of his day praying," Gray replied continuing to stare at Natsu. "He doesn't have the time for paperwork."
"And you're the only one in this damn guild that's capable of doing it?" Natsu asked.
"I do the paperwork to remain in favor," Gray told him. "And doing the paperwork gets me privileges. Like being able to keep you up here."
He thought would send Natsu right back into silence, but to his surprise the fire mage continued questioning him. "What's up with your hair?" Natsu questioned.
"What about it?" Gray asked confused.
"It's an odd look for you," Natsu replied. "It kinda makes you look like a douchebag."
Gray's eye twitched. "Did you start talking again just to insult me?" he snapped.
"No," Natsu replied seriously before a large smile lit up his face. "But if my questions are annoying you I can consider it a bonus."
"Che," Gray scoffed standing up from his desk chair and plopping down on the bed next to Natsu. His scowl dropped at seeing the happy look on the flame-brain's face and he felt a small smile of his own grace his lips. "Fire away then."
"Don't have to ask me twice," Natsu said. "You're an idiot Gray! Joining a dark guild just to get revenge. You should have gone to someone in the guild for help. Fairy Tail would have supported you."
"I wanted to leave you all out of it," Gray replied. "And the guild disbanded, you ash for brains."
Natsu suddenly looked sad again. "Yeah, I found that out already," he murmured sadly. "I was looking forward to seeing you all again after a year apart, and Lucy told me Makarov disbanded the guild." Silence filled the room for a second.
"That must have been a nasty shock," Gray finally said.
Natsu nodded. "If I had known the guild was going to disband…" he cut off the sentence staring morosely ahead.
Gray laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," he said shaking Natsu out of his reverie. "You couldn't possibly have known that. We were all surprised."
"Why didn't you all stay together?" Natsu asked.
"Well, that was the plan at first," Gray told him. "But it didn't work the way it does when you're in a guild. Everyone eventually started going their own way."
"And your own way led you to a dark guild?" Natsu replied. "That was the first thing you thought to do?"
"My first thought was to go after you," Gray cried.
Natsu stared at him shocked. "What?" he exclaimed.
Gray nodded his head. "I thought someone should tell you Fairy Tail had disbanded," Gray said. "And I thought maybe you could help me find E.N.D. But Lucy said you didn't want anyone to go after you. She said you wanted to be alone."
Natsu hung his head. "She was mad at me when I came back," he sighed. "I think she took my leaving for training as abandonment."
"She had feelings for you, Natsu," Gray replied. "I think you leaving broke her heart."
"Yeah, well I'm not the only one guilty of breaking someone's heart," Natsu said.
Gray gave him a puzzled look. "Care to add more to that?" he asked.
Natsu gave him a hard look. "Juvia," Natsu replied. "You lived with Juvia for a few months before joining this guild, didn't you?"
"How did you know that?" Gray asked surprised.
"She told us," Natsu answered. "When we found her she told us you'd lived together for half a year, and…"
"Who's we?" Gray interrupted.
Natsu rolled his eyes. "Me, Luce, Happy, Wendy, and Carla," he replied.
"Wendy and Carla were with you too?" Gray questioned. "Why didn't they come with you to find me?"
"Because Wendy was trying to cure, Juvia," Natsu responded. "She's sick thanks to you. How could you do that to her, Gray? You know how she feels about you."
Gray closed his eyes and sighed. "I didn't mean for her to get sick," he said he then chuckled darkly. "I didn't mean for us to live together either. She followed me when I left Magnolia and I didn't want to tell her to get lost. I know how she feels about me, but I've never returned those feelings. And besides, you're one to talk. You left Lucy, too."
"To train!" Natsu cried. "I was always going to come back! And how is me leaving Lucy the same as you leaving Juvia?"
"Lucy likes you!" Gray exclaimed. "Man, I thought you two were dating actually. You spent all of your time together."
"Lucy's like my sister," Natsu replied. "I've never felt any romantic love for Lucy. Besides I'm not into girls. I like…"
Gray stared at Natsu in shock. "What did you say?" he asked.
Natsu blushed the same color as his hair and looked anywhere but at Gray. "Just forget I said anything," he muttered.
Gray wasn't having that though. He grabbed Natsu by his shoulders and forced him to look at him. "Natsu, are you gay?" he asked seriously.
Natsu's cheeks burned even redder. "Just let it go alright?" he snapped. "I didn't mean to say anything."
"Why are you making such a big deal out of this? Just answer the question. Are you gay?" Gray asked pushing Natsu down on the mattress and pinning him so he couldn't escape. It was a bad idea. Immediately, he saw panic rise up in Natsu's eyes and then the fire mage began to thrash underneath his trying to get away. Gray immediately sat up.
"Hey! It's okay, Natsu!" Gray cried. "I wasn't going to hurt you."
Natsu slowly calmed down and sat back up. "S'Okay," he murmured softly. They sat in silence for a while. Finally, Natsu broke it. "Yeah, I'm gay alright? You got a problem with it?"
"No," Gray told him. "I mean, I'd be pretty hypocritical if I did. I like both genders so…"
"You can like both?" Natsu asked.
Gray rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Natsu, you can like both," he said. "It's called being bisexual."
"Oh," Natsu replied resting his chin on his knees. "I think I only like guys. Girls just don't do it for me."
"That's fine," Gray told him. "How come you never told me about this before?"
"Well, a lot of people don't like gays, right?" Natsu replied. "I mean, one time these guys caught me checking some guy out and they attacked me."
"What?" Gray cried.
"Hey, don't worry," Natsu said. "I beat the ever loving snot out of them, but that also made me realize I couldn't tell everyone. If I did and Gramps didn't like it he could've kicked me out." Gray bonked Natsu lightly on the head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"For being an idiot!" Gray cried. "Gramps, wouldn't have kicked you out for being gay, and no one else would've had a problem with it either. We were your family."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Natsu admitted rubbing his head.
"You're damn right I'm right," Gray replied, and then smiled wickedly. "So if you're into guys then who did you have a crush on in Fairy Tail?"
"None of your business, Popsicle!" Natsu cried.
"Oh, c'mon, you can tell me. Was it Laxus? Gildarts?" Gray asked, but Natsu shook his head at both names. "Loke? Everyone has a crush on Loke. I did when he first showed up at the guild."
"No, I didn't have a thing for Loke," Natsu replied. "And really? You had the hots for him?"
"So what if I did?" Gray questioned. "It's not like I had a thing for Elfman or…" He cut himself off as Natsu blushed scarlet at Elfman's name. Gray's jaw dropped open. "No way! Elfman?! You had a thing for Elfman?!"
"Shut up!" Natsu snapped. "It was like two years ago, anyway. I'm over it."
"Yeah, but…Oh man, I wouldn't want him topping me. Ouch," Gray laughed.
Natsu glared at him. "What makes you think he'd be the seme?" he asked.
Gray raised his eyebrows. "Oh? You wanted to top?" he teased.
"Shut up!" Natsu cried, his eyes suddenly filling with tears. "I never wanted to be the bottom. Bottoming…hurts."
Gray suddenly grew solemn as Natsu's words sunk in. He watched in growing concern as Natsu's lips began to quiver. "Natsu, what you've experienced…it…"
"It hurts!" Natsu repeated.
Gray shook his head. "I know they hurt you, but bottoming doesn't have to mean horrific pain," he told him. "If it's consensual and the person bottoming is prepped properly then it really doesn't hurt that bad. It's more uncomfortable than anything. It's…" He cut off as he saw a tear run down Natsu's cheek. "Natsu." Sighing, Gray pulled Natsu so the fire mage's back was leaning against his chest. Gray wrapped his arms around Natsu's torso and rested his chin on the flame-brain's shoulder and let Natsu cry. He held him like that until the pinkette had cried himself to sleep. Gray eased out from under him and turned off all the lights before climbing back in beside Natsu. He wrapped an arm around his old friend's waist and pulled him in tight against him. One day he hoped Natsu would get past his trauma and want to try sex again. Gray refused to wonder about just why he wanted that outcome. Instead, he just pressed up closer to the fire mage and let the heat radiating off his friend lull him to sleep.