Author's Note: Whoa! Pumped this out in one day so there's probably a few mistakes. I apologize but I wanted to get this chapter out for this story before October hits. As usual I hope you enjoy the story and please leave a review. Just a small warning...This chapter may be mildly, and I do mean mildly, upsetting to some readers so proceed with caution.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Fairy Tail.
Gray woke to the feeling of cool indifference flowing through his veins, and, with a disgruntled sigh, rolled out of bed and strode into his bathroom. After taking care of business he hopped in the shower, leaving the tap on cold. Most people avoided cold showers, but Gray thrived on them. They made his magic seem closer, more powerful. He loved the feeling, especially after being oppressed by heat. He frowned as he realized lately he hasn't been able to avoid the heat.
Finally, he got out of the shower and toweled off before heading towards the sink. His reflection stared back at him and he was only mildly surprised to see his midnight blue eyes were a startling red, that the black marks that covered the right side of his body had spread a little higher up on his forehead. It really didn't bother him. He'd grown used to the marks.
He had just finished drying his hair when he heard a small, almost frightened voice, calling out for him from the bedroom. "Gray?" the person called, nervous.
Gray shot an annoyed glance towards the door before stomping into the bedroom and glaring down at Natsu, who looked afraid. "What do you want?" he asked gruffly, crossing his arms.
Natsu opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if imitating a fish, before finally managing to stammer out, "Gray, your eyes…"
Gray snorted, cutting him off. "What about them?" he asked crossing the room and opening his dresser.
Natsu didn't respond right away. Gray had gotten pants and a shirt on before the fire mage tried again. "Gray, I…"
"What?" Gray snapped whirling around to face Natsu, his eyes blazing. "What do you want? Spit it out, Natsu! I don't have all day."
Natsu flinched at his harsh words and curled his knees up to his chest. "Never mind," he whispered. Gray glared down at him for another minute before moving to his desk and starting the paperwork for the day. He grew more and more tense as he felt Natsu's stare burn into the back of his head, and he wasn't surprised when Natsu tried to speak again. "Gray, those marks…I think they're…"
"Fucking Christ!" Gray hissed slamming his pen down. "I am not putting up with this today." He pushed his chair back and began to storm towards the bedroom door.
"Where are you going?" Natsu asked, panicked.
"Out," Gray replied shortly. "And you better hope no one tries to get in here, because I'm not freezing the door shut."
"Gray, no, please, please!" Natsu begged. "Gray!" Gray ignored his cries and slammed the door shut behind him, and headed to the main section of the guild. After a while he found himself at the training room, and leaned against the doorframe to watch Jerome defeat Briar.
"I told you, you were no match for me," Jerome boasted to a scowling Briar.
"Oh, I don't know," Gray said stepping into the room. "I think she could beat you. She must just be having an off day." He winked at his female guild mate, who smiled appreciatively at him.
Jerome, however, glowered before putting on a fake smile. "Gray!" he greeted with a forced cheerfulness. "So great to see you out of your room. Did you finally tire of your pet?"
Gray smiled tightly. "I don't think I could ever tire of his screaming," he replied.
This time Jerome's smile was more genuine. "Ah, I know," he agreed. "He is a beautiful screamer, especially when you push his limits. He never liked when I fisted him much, but it's truly a sight to see your fist disappear in that glorious ass!"
"I don't think we share the same kinks," Gray said stiffly, but then flashed Jerome a wicked smile. "I find ice a much better tool for torture."
Jerome laughed. "You have a point there, my friend," he conceded. "But when it comes to ice you have the advantage." Gray nodded tersely, not liking the gleam in his guild mate's eyes. He knew him well enough to know it meant he was plotting something.
"How about we make a little wager?" Jerome suggested.
"Wager?" Gray questioned cautiously.
"Yes, for Natsu," Jerome replied. "We'll duel for him and whoever wins gets to keep the desirable fire mage."
"Jerome," Briar began warningly.
"No, it's alright," Gray said offering his right hand out to Jerome. "We have a deal."
"Excellent!" Jerome exclaimed shaking Gray's hand. He lifted his sword up. "I hope there won't be hard feelings between us when I take the fire mage back from you."
"I wouldn't worry about it, Jerome," Gray told him. "Because that's not going to happen. Ice-make Sword!" The two faced off and Gray met Jerome blow for blow. But Jerome's swordsmanship was not renowned for no reason. With one skillful thrust, he broke Gray's ice sword in two.
"Give up, Gray?" Jerome goaded.
"Not even close," Gray returned. "Ice Devil-Freeze!" Jerome barely managed to jump out of the way in time.
"That was a nice move," Jerome acknowledged. "But I still think I can beat you."
"We'll see," Gray said smiling as Jerome charged at him. He kept out of reach using his ice-make magic to create barriers and frustrate Jerome. Finally, Jerome charged him again and Gray made his final move. "Ice-make Floor!" Jerome lost his footing and crashed to the ground.
The sound of clapping filled the room. "Nicely done, Gray," Briar praised. "That was a battle smartly fought."
Gray smiled. "You have to be smart when fighting Jerome," he said. It was the one compliment he'd give his pompous guild mate. He was a skilled mage.
"Glad to hear you say so," Jerome growled.
"Don't be a sore loser, Jerome," Briar chided. "Gray won the fight fair and square."
"But the fire mage will go to waste under his hands," Jerome complained.
Gray stiffened. "You have no idea what goes on between us," he hissed.
"I know he used to be a comrade of yours," Jerome spat. "You expect us to believe you're actually hurting him? That you'd actually rape someone you once called a friend?"
"He doesn't mean anything to me anymore," Gray stated, and then snorted. "He never meant anything to me."
"Then why keep him all to yourself?" Jerome questioned. "If he means so little to you why bother keep him with you? Let someone else play with him for a while."
"Enough!" Briar shouted stepping in between the two mages. She turned to glare at Jerome. "You lost the wager, Jerome, so just accept the fact that Natsu will remain in Gray's hands." Jerome glared at her before turning on his heels and storming out of the room. When he'd disappeared from sight Briar turned to face Gray.
"I don't know what you're doing with the fire mage, but I know you'd never hurt him," Briar said.
"That's not true," Gray replied. "I've made him suffer…"
"You haven't," Briar cut him off harshly, but her expression was soft. "Under all that darkness you're steeped in you would never hurt a comrade, and that's what Natsu is to you. I know you don't think highly of us, but I saw you carrying the fire mage to your room the day you rescued him from the dungeon. You care about him."
Gray stared at her for a moment, thinking about denying it, but her words chased away the indifference he'd felt all morning. Her words shocked the darkness out of his system. If he liked any of his new guild mates, it was Briar. "Are you going to tell Jerome?" he asked softly.
"No, but you need to be careful," Briar cautioned him. "He knows you're just shielding Natsu. He's waiting for the right moment to strike, and when he does he'll take you both down." Gray shifted nervously on his feet. He'd been afraid of that. "You should get back to your fire mage. Before Jerome decides he's not going to honor his bet."
Gray startled at her words, remembering that in his darkened state that morning, he'd left Natsu unguarded. Any guild member could get to him, and Jerome wasn't the only person in the Avatar Guild who would like to have their fun with the dragon slayer. He took off quickly for his room praying that Natsu hadn't fled. If Natsu had left the room and was wandering the guild somewhere there was no way he'd find him before one of his guild members did. He had just turned the corner of his corridor when he saw Goumon walking towards him, away from his room.
"I was wondering where you were when I didn't find you in your room, Gray," Goumon greeted him, a sinister smile on his face. "I wanted to deliver your mail to you."
Gray frowned, trying to push down panic. "Yes, well I'm here now, so if you'll just give me my mail you can consider your job done," he said.
Goumon chuckled, not at all fooled. "I left your mail on your desk," he told him. "Right in the center so you won't miss it."
"It's not polite to enter other people's rooms without permission," Gray snapped, his fears confirmed. Goumon had been in his room, and if Natsu was still in there the sadistic mage wouldn't have left him alone.
"I was only trying to be helpful," Goumon stated not at all bothered by Gray's sharp words. "If you don't want people to enter your room perhaps you should learn to lock your door."
Gray gritted his teeth and waited until Goumon turned the corner before sprinting to his bedroom. "Natsu!" he cried bursting through his door and scouring the room for the fire mage. Natsu was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't on or under the bed, he wasn't curled up in a corner, he wasn't even hiding in the closet. He didn't answer any of the times Gray called his name. Gray was about to go on a desperate search through the guildhall when he heard a quiet whimper from the bathroom.
"Natsu!" Gray shouted sprinting for the bathroom. He came to an abrupt halt in the doorway. Natsu was curled in a ball in the tub, shaking so hard he looked like he was having a seizure. "Natsu, shit!" He raced to the tub and reached out to comfort Natsu, but the fire mage struggled out of his grip and burrowed against the opposite side of the tub in a desperate attempt to get away from him. "Natsu, what…" And the memory of the morning washed over him. Not only had he been short with Natsu this morning, which would have been damaging enough, but he left him exposed to his guild mates, and since Gray could already see purple bruise developing on Natsu's cheek he knew Goumon had messed with the fire mage.
Gray let out a pained noise and leaned his forehead against the lip of the bathtub. "I'm so sorry, Natsu," he said. "I…the marks, they…they fill me with so much darkness sometimes I can't control it. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Neither spoke for a while, until suddenly, "Gray?"
Gray looked up to see Natsu staring at him. "Natsu," he murmured reaching a hand out to him, but pausing, remembering the fire mage pulling away from his touch before. Natsu seemed to understand his hesitancy and placed his shaking hand over the ice mage's, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles soothingly. It was all the encouragement Gray needed. He stood up and climbed into the tub alongside Natsu, shifting the fire mage until he was pressed against his own chest. He wrapped his arms around Natsu's torso and pressed gentle kisses to Natsu's hair and neck.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispered over and over again. Natsu just nodded, leaning back against him, his hand never letting go of Gray's. Finally, though Gray's attention shifted back to the bruise developing on Natsu's cheek. He sincerely doubted Goumon had struck the fire mage one blow and left.
"Where else did he touch you, Natsu?" Gray asked. He felt Natsu stiffened in his arms, and the pink haired head shook back and forth frantically. "Natsu? Did he…did he rape you?" The fire mage didn't answer, just trembled violently against him. Gray sighed and slid a hand down to the waistband of Natsu's pants and began to tug them down.
"No, Gray, please! He didn't! He didn't!" Natsu cried trying to squirm away from Gray's hands.
"Okay, okay!" Gray said pulling Natsu back against him, and shifting his hands up to the fire mage's chest. "It's okay. I believe you, but I have to know what he did do."
"N-nothing really," Natsu stuttered. "Just banged me up a little. It's just bruises."
Gray nodded. "Can I see them?" he asked softly his fingers trailing down to the hem of Natsu's t-shirt. He waited for Natsu's consent, and after a minute the fire mage nodded his head. Gray peeled the shirt off of him, and sucked in a breath when he saw the deep, black bruises covering his back. "This is more than just a little banged up, Natsu? Did he beat you?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Natsu wailed.
"You're sorry?" Gray cried in shocked dismay. "For what?"
"I'm pathetic! I'm so weak," Natsu blubbered, barely able to breathe as loud sobs wracked his body.
"Natsu, no," Gray sighed and cradled the dragon slayer. "You're one of the strongest people I know." His words didn't stop Natsu's crying though, so he just rocked the fire mage gently until he ran out of tears and slumped back against him. Gray shifted and lifted Natsu into his arms as he climbed out of the tub. He carried the fire mage to the bedroom and laid him face down on the bed and straddled Natsu's back, his ass resting right over Natsu's.
"Gray?" Natsu questioned tensely.
"Relax," Gray soothed, rubbing at Natsu's shoulder, being careful not to put any pressure on his bruises. "I'm just giving you a massage."
"You better not fuck around with my bruises, Ice Bastard," Natsu grumbled.
Gray chuckled. "Don't tempt me," he said and went to work on Natsu's back, rubbing out the kinks and the stiffness. Soon Natsu was mush under him, and to Gray's amusement, and a little to his excitement, the fire mage began to moan like a bitch in heat. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Shut up," Natsu groaned, and then smiled. "Although I have to admit, it looks like you're actually good for something other than making ice cubes."
"Flame-brain," Gray snorted.
"Ice-princess," Natsu retorted. Gray smirked and cooled the temperature of his palm before pressing it gently down over a bruise. He expected the fire mage to flinch away from his touch, but to his shock Natsu moaned in such debauchery his dick shot up, rearing to go.
"Shit!" he muttered praying Natsu didn't notice. He couldn't imagine how Natsu would react if he felt his hardened member pressing against is ass. He tried to shift his position, but that just made the situation work.
"Do that again, Gray," Natsu ordered.
"What?" Gray asked dumbly.
"Whatever you just did to make your hands cold," Natsu said. "It made the bruise feel so much better. Do it again."
Gray rolled his eyes. "You're bossy," he told the fire mage, but rubbed his cold hands over the bruise again. At least this time he was expecting the moan. He kept it up until Natsu had fallen asleep and his hard on had decided to go away, since he obviously wasn't going to take care of it. Feeling sleepy himself he climbed off Natsu and rolled onto his side pulling Natsu's back against his chest. If the coolness of his skin soothed the ache from his bruises he didn't mind putting up with the heat radiating from the fire mage. Actually, he was beginning to find it comforting.