Author's Note: Another short chapter. This was actually supposed to be much longer but it just felt done to me. I promise next chapter will be longer. And full of angst. Be warned. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, short as it may be, and please leave a review.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Fairy Tail.
After Natsu started talking again he didn't stop. Gray would spend hour after hour answering Natsu's questions while filing paperwork. They talked about most anything, and sometimes about nothing. They discussed old adventures and their childhood. One day they even analyzed their rivalry. Gray had admitted to Natsu that he'd been jealous of the way happiness came easy to him and his ability to learn new spells so quickly. Natsu had admitted to him that he'd felt pressured to grow stronger throughout the years because someone had told him he wasn't as good as Gray.
Gray had laughed more in the past few days than he had sine Fairy Tail's war against Tartaros. He was relieved, too, that Natsu was speaking again. He was even more relieved that Natsu was eating again. Gray didn't have to force him into eating any meals, and Natsu usually finished the entire plate. When Gray weighed him at the end of the week he was pleased to see that the fire mage had gained seven pounds.
Still, Natsu wasn't completely back to his old self. He still had nightmares, and at times would grow sullen and distant. He still wasn't using his magic. Gray kept a close eye on him, looking for any sign that something was off, but to him it just seemed Natsu didn't want to use it. He had tried talking to the flame-brain about it, but Natsu shut down the conversation any time he brought it up and Gray eventually backed off.
Natsu wasn't only touchy about using his magic, though. He outright refused to talk about Happy and Lucy. Even when they reminisced about past missions Natsu left those two out of the conversation. He also wouldn't listen to the reports Frank Kent sent. Gray didn't push Natsu to talk about them, unwilling to cause Natsu anymore stress. As it were, the reports had nothing to say in them. Frank Kent hadn't been able to locate them yet. The last report he'd read had actually warned him for bad news. The private investigator was concerned that his telepathy wasn't getting any new memories from Lucy or Happy, just things that had happened in the past. He told Gray to be concerned.
Gray had just opened another file to report when a quiet voice spoke from behind him. "Are you almost done, Gray?"
Gray looked over his shoulder and saw Natsu kneeling on the bed, already in his pajama pants. For whatever reason the sight made Gray's cock twitch in interest. He flushed and glanced away from Natsu thinking of anything else in an attempt to prevent an embarrassing situation. When he felt he was in control of himself he looked back at Natsu. "Almost," he answered him smiling. "Why? Are you tired?"
Natsu nodded his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
"No. Don't worry about it," Gray assured him, putting his paperwork aside. "It's nothing that can't wait until morning." Gray ditched his pants, he'd already lost his shirt at some point, and crawled into bed with Natsu. This was a new development of Natsu's. The flame-brain was not able to fall asleep unless Gray was right next to him. Gray didn't really mind too much. It was certainly better than what he had feared. He had expected Natsu, when he started feeling more like his old self, to be freaked out or embarrassed to be sharing a bed. He had half expected to wind up letting Natsu have the bed and sleeping on the floor. But that hadn't been the case. When he'd made the suggestion to Natsu once it was clear that the fire idiot was keeping his voice, Natsu had nearly panicked and begged Gray to stay in bed with him. Gray had gotten used to keeping Natsu comfortable by now. And except for some awkward mornings, it wasn't too bad. Gray had grown accustomed to the heat that radiated off Natsu to the point where it barely bothered him. All in all, they had a pretty comfortable arrangement.
"Good night, Gray," Natsu mumbled sleepily.
Gray smiled down at Natsu. "Good night, Natsu," he replied, and settled in for the night.
Gray blinked awake to a dark room. He stifled a groan and pushed himself onto his elbows, his head turning to look down at Natsu. The pinkette was rolling around, thrashing in his sleep. His face was a taut grimace. Gray sighed, knowing the fire mage was in the midst of a nightmare. It was a whimper that charged Gray into action. Gently, he carded his fingers through Natsu's hair while his other hand shook his shoulder lightly.
"Natsu," he said in a loud whisper. "Natsu, wake up."
Slowly, Natsu came around to consciousness. His olive green eyes opening reluctantly and staring dolefully up at Gray. "Sorry," he murmured.
Gray didn't stop running his hand through Natsu's hair, knowing the other boy liked the physical contact when he woke up from his nightmares. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Natsu shook his head frantically, like he did every time Gray asked that question, and pulled away from his reach. Gray normally backed off and soothed Natsu until he fell back to sleep. But tonight, he was filled with the need to know what Natsu was dreaming about. He had a slight idea. "You're nightmares…they're memories, right? You're reliving what they did to you."
Natsu shot him a terrified look. "Gray, don't…"
"I need to know what they did to you, Natsu," Gray said.
"You know what they did," Natsu replied quietly.
Gray nodded. "I want you to tell me everything you can," he went on as if Natsu had not responded. "It might make you feel better to get it all out." He didn't know why he was pushing the issue. Part of him thought maybe it would help Natsu move past this, but another part was hoping what actually happened wasn't as bad as he'd been imagining it.
"Gray…" Natsu said hesitantly.
"Only what you can tell me," Gray assured him, holding his hand out towards Natsu.
Slowly, Natsu grabbed onto and sidled closer to Gray so that their shoulders were almost touching. The fire mage wasn't looking at him, though. His gaze was transfixed on the opposite wall. "It didn't start right away," he told him. "I was captive for three weeks before it began."
"So after we moved to the new location," Gray muttered.
Natsu nodded his head. "Shortly after," he said. "I tried to escape in route. I think that's why it began. They wanted to teach me a lesson." Gray sucked in a breath but didn't say anything as Natsu continued. "It was just torture at first. That big guy…"
"Goumon," Gray supplied.
"Goumon," Natsu repeated the name, shivering slightly. "He came to my cell pulling along some table. It was full of weird devices. I didn't know what they were for, but he made sure I found out. He used to tell me what they were for before he used them on me." Natsu paused, gulping down a sob. "I used to think that was the worst thing that could ever be done to me. Especially, the whip, but I was wrong."
"You mean because he raped you?" Gray asked, but he knew the answer.
"He didn't start that," Natsu replied.
Gray whipped his head around to look at Natsu. "What do you mean he didn't start that?" he questioned.
Natsu squirmed under Gray's gaze but continued. "I mean, that he wasn't the one who raped me. Well, not the first one," he whispered.
"Who then?" Gray asked. Natsu bit his lip, and shook his head, his fists clenching and unclenching. Gray wasn't having it though. He needed to know. "Natsu, tell me."
"The blonde guy," Natsu murmured. "The good looking one…Jerome." Gray gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything as Natsu went on. "He came down one day while Goumon was torturing me. He said he wasn't doing it right. That pissed Goumon off. I thought I'd get lucky. That whey would start fighting and forget about me, but Jerome said he'd show Goumon how to torture me correctly. He unchained me from the wall and stripped off my pants and…"
"You don't have to tell me that part," Gray said suddenly not wanting to hear any details. He squeezed Natsu's hand that he was still holding to offer some comfort. "Not if you don't want to."
Natsu nodded his head, but then shook his head and took a deep breath. "I tried to use my magic on him," he whispered. "The chains were off so I could use it. I managed to burn him too, but then he put his sword to my throat and said if I didn't want to die to stop fighting him. So I let me rape me."
"Natsu," Gray murmured. "You didn't let…"
"It hurt," Natsu said cutting Gray off. "More than any torture device Goumon used on me. I thought he was going to split me in two." The fire mage sniffled. "When he was done he told Goumon to show him what he learned, and he raped me too. He only did it that one time though. He didn't like it."
Gray clenched his eyes shut but nodded. "I should have known it was Jerome who started it," he sighed, and opened his eyes to look at Natsu. "That wasn't the only time it happened though, was it?"
Natsu shook his head. "It was every day," he choked, eyes swimming with tears. "He raped me every day. The worst was when he brought that small girl. She'd make my stomach feel like I was on a train and then she'd…The only thing worse than having Jerome inside me was being forced to be inside her."
Gray pulled Natsu into his arms after that, and the fire mage immediately broke down. Gray felt disgust course through him. A deep loathing of his current guild mates seated deep within his core. He rubbed his hand soothingly over Natsu's back until the sobs quieted down. "If I had known what was going on," he whispered into Natsu's ear, "I would have taken you and left. I'm sorry I didn't come to check on you sooner."
Natsu's bloodshot eyes peered up at him. "Why did you come down to see me when you did?" he asked.
Gray leaned down and planted a kiss to Natsu's forehead. "Because I missed you," he replied. It wasn't the truth, but he realized now it wasn't a lie either. After all, in the weeks since he'd rescued the fire mage he'd done nothing but try and get him back to his old self. He realized now that his effort was because he missed hanging out with Natsu. Gray wanted his best friend back.
His reply made Natsu smile. "I missed you too," he yawned sleepily and nuzzled into Gray's neck. "By the way, you didn't have to kiss me."
Gray blushed. "Sorry," he mumbled. "It was just kind of an instinct."
"You've got weird instincts, ice princess," Natsu slurred.
"Yeah? Well, since you're gaga for dicks I think you're the princess, Flame-brain," Gray teased.
"Am not, Droopy Eyes," Natsu shot back before falling asleep shortly after. Gray kept an arm wrapped around his old friend and closed his own eyes, hoping to recapture sleep. His mind kept racing though. Yes, he had missed his best friend. He liked spending time with Natsu. But he couldn't ignore the fact that whenever Natsu touched him now he made his heart skip a beat, and a send a spark of desire straight to his dick. He thought about the kiss to Natsu's forehead just now and wondered if maybe his feelings had changed toward the fire mage. Despite his confusion, Gray managed to fall asleep.