Sorry for the wait again. I'm terrible I know. But I survived exams!
Song: Without YouArtist: Becca
Chapter 6: First Make-Up
Sure enough, the tickets arrived in the mail within the next few days. There were four tickets, with a little note attached.
'I'll put on my best show for you. I have so much I need to say, but I'll say it when I see you. Why don't you bring Happy, Erza, and Lucy too? I can't wait to see you guys.
P.S. I've really missed you Natsu.
~Gray~'
Natsu read the letter over and over again. It wasn't a love letter, but it was in Gray's writing. To Natsu, that was like the same thing. Besides, Gray said he missed him. Does that mean… he forgives him?
He sure hoped so.
Natsu had regretted what he'd said from the moment he realized how important singing was to Gray. He couldn't stand to see him leave after all this time after he's finally with the person he was meant to be with.
Clutching the note and tickets in his hand, he ran off to the guild to tell Erza and the rest.
The boat ride was horrible. Natsu spent the whole time with his head over the edge throwing up into the poor ocean below. Happy made comments on how those poor tasty fish didn't deserve that. Natsu mumbled a complaint, but was cut off by the feeling of his stomach doing flips. The only thing that kept him from jumping overboard was the idea of getting to see Gray again after all this time.
After what seemed like forever, they finally made it to shore. Natsu recovered from his motion sickness in record time. He was just so excited to see Gray.
They all made their way to the recreational hall where Gray would be performing. The concert wouldn't start until the evening, and it was barely noon, so they had time to see their fellow guild mate before it started.
The entered the building, which took some time because of trying to fit Erza's luggage through the door, and saw the back of a familiar head of hair. He had lost his shirt, and had his arms crossed as he laughed with a boy with dark brown hair. The boy had a guitar strapped around his shoulder and every once in a while would absentmindedly strum a few cords. He was probably one of Gray's band mates, Natsu decided. He saw him casually drape an arm over Gray's shoulder and laugh. Natsu tried not to get jealous.
Instead, he took a deep breath and snuck up on Gray with a mischievous look. The brunette saw Natsu coming, but didn't point it out to Gray. Instead, he just kept chatting with Gray normally. Maybe this kid isn't so bad.
Natsu grabbed Gray's sides and had the satisfaction of watching the ice wizard jump about five feet in the air.
"What the hell?!" Gray shrieked. He turned around in a panic. "Natsu!"
Natsu and the brunette laughed until their sides hurt. At first Gray was angry, but looking at that laughing face made the anger go away and was replaced with the feeling of just wanting to embrace him. Gray approached Natsu, face serious to keep himself from crying.
"Gray?" Natsu asked. Maybe he shouldn't have surprised Gray. He looked really angry now.
"Thanks for coming." Gray mumbled and reached out and pulled Natsu into a hug. Natsu's eyes widened in surprise, but quickly recovered and brought his arms around Gray's waist. He could feel Gray's shoulders tremble ever so slightly.
Natsu smiled widely. "Thanks for inviting me!"
Lucy cleared her throat. The two boys froze and let go of each other. They got a little lost in the moment. They looked to see Lucy and the rest awkwardly shuffling their feet. Even Erza looked a little out of place. The only one who was unaffected was Gray's band mate with the guitar. He just smiled and laughed.
"So Gray, this is the guy that you won't shut up about?" He draped his arm just as casually over Natsu's shoulder as he had done to Gray earlier. Maybe this guy was just naturally clingy. "I'm Noah. Nice to meet'cha!" He smiled widely. He looked to be a few years younger than the rest of them, and on the short side. A happy little fellow.
"Jeez Noah. Don't hang all over him like that. And don't tell him unnecessary things." Gray grumbled.
Noah ignored Gray. "Wow Natsu! Your skin is burning up! Are you feeling alright man?"
"Yeah, this is normal. I'm a fire dragon slayer."
Noah's eyes sparkled in awe. "Wow that is so cool!" It was then that he noticed Happy. "What. Is. That?!"
Natsu looked over. "Oh that's Happy, my little buddy."
"Aye sir!" Happy called out, activating his magic and flying up in the air.
"He can fly! He can talk! That's so awesome!" He ran over to Happy. "Can I see your wings? How old are you? Could you always fly? Ah this is so exciting!"
Natsu smiled. "He seems energetic."
"Yeah, Noah's still a kid, but he's a good guy. I don't think he got out much when he was younger. You should have seen him when I showed him some of my ice-make magic. All he could do was tell me how cool I was and keep giving me requests." Gray shook his head and smiled at the memories.
Natsu thought he was going to be angrier about how Gray had things to smile about when he was gone, but he honestly was more relieved to see him again. Natsu realized now that he was also partially in the wrong for not being more supportive. Seeing now how happy it had made Gray filled the pinkette with an entirely different kind of warm feeling then what his magic gave him.
"So um…" Natsu's thoughts were cut-off by Gray, who was rubbing the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. "We still have a while until the concert and we're on break now. Do you want to go out for a bit? We could go get lunch?" He finished looking away.
Natsu was stunned. Gray was asking him out on a date. "S-Sure."
"Alright. Well," he turned to his guild mates and band mate. "We'll see you guys in a bit."
The streets had really filled up making it hard to get through. Somewhere in the distance he heard the sound of a guitar being strummed. That's when he noticed that the streets were crowded because they were gathering around a young musician and her band. They had set up a drum kit, keyboard, microphone and guitar all powered by magic to amplify the sound. They tried to weave by but Gray was stopped by the singing and the lyrics. He grabbed arm and held him still.
"You watched me walk away.
You couldn't make me stay.
You know it's what I need,
or I wouldn't be leaving."
Natsu widened his eyes. This was the conclusion he had come to. No matter what, he couldn't tear Gray away from this. It just hurt him to watch him go.
"The words you say to me,
Will sting me in my sleep,
If you decide that you can't wait and see."
The words that started this argument, "Why would I support something like this? I think it's a dumb idea. End of story", echoed in Natsu's mind. With the way Gray tightened his grip on Natsu's arm he knew that this is the way that Gray had been feeling. He hung his head a little in shame for doing that to Gray.
"You say you're helpless hanging on.
I didn't mean to make you sad.
Your tears are killing me but don't forget that,
Without you,
I don't want to miss how the way you kiss changes me.
It seems impossible.
Every time I go I want you to know,
That's it's you who keeps me hanging on.
I don't know how to give you up.
I'm holding onto you no matter what.
Everything I'll ever do,
Never means a thing without you."
Natsu froze as Gray's hand tightened even more. He looked at him in shock. Are these also Gray's feelings? Gray ever-so-slightly leaned against Natsu's shoulder and sighed shakily but contentedly, as if he were happy to have the dragonslayer here but afraid that he would disappear again. Natsu leaned back into Gray and turned his head to better inhale his sweet frosty scent.
"I know you have your doubts,
That we won't make it out,
But all that I can see,
Is how were made for each other."
From the very beginning there were things getting in the way of their relationship, ranging from their own feelings to the very nature of their magic, but at the moment, the only thing Gray and Natsu were focused with was how well their hands fit together. It turns out polar opposites only make the one more aware of the other.
"Distant tears and aggravation,
That won't stop the way I feel.
I could never give myself completely.
Without you,
I don't want to miss how the way you kiss changes me.
It seems impossible.
Every time I go I want you to know,
That's it's you who keeps me hanging on.
I don't know how to give you up.
I'm holding onto you no matter what.
Everything I'll ever do,
Never means a thing without you."
There has never been a time when they haven't driven each other crazy, and they were each well aware of that fact. It was until now though that they've realized that those feelings of aggravation just made their feelings of love stronger.
"Yeah I don't want to miss the way you give me bliss.
I'll leave my heart with you cause you know how to keep it safe.
You're the one I can't replace."
Within these past few months they really have missed the others touch and presence. Gray turned his head to give Natsu a light kiss on the cheek. The first one since before the fight so long ago. It was his way of saying that he could never give Natsu up.
"Without you,
I don't want to miss how the way you kiss changes me.
It seems impossible.
Every time I go I want you to know,
That's it's you who keeps me hanging on.
I don't know how to give you up.
I'm holding onto you no matter what.
Everything I'll ever do,
Never means a thing without you.
How the way you kiss changes me.
It seems impossible.
Every time I go I want you to know,
That's it's you who keeps me hanging on.
I don't know how to give you up.
I'm holding onto you no matter what.
Everything I'll ever do,
Never means a thing without you.
Without you.
Without you.
Without you."
The song ended and by the end of it Gray and Natsu stood in silence as the crowd cheered as they let the lyrics sink in. How could they have forgotten that without heat, cold has no meaning and vice versa? They weren't opposites, but complements to the other's completeness.
"I still love you Natsu." Gray mumbled before walking over to the band, handed them some cash and said, "If you want, you guys can come and play with us tonight at the recreational hall." And walked back to Natsu.
Natsu smiled warmly. "Yeah, I definitely love you too. Come on. We've got lots to talk about." And he linked arms with Gray and led him down the street.
They walked down the busy sidewalks until they found a simple fast-food restaurant. They weren't picky and they were hungry so they decided this was good enough. They ordered their food and grabbed a table. Some kids were running down the isles while their parents tried to catch them and make them sit down.
Gray decided to get straight to the point. He really wanted to be with Natsu, and the only way to do that is to be honest and talk things out with him. They needed to understand each other in ways they didn't know were important before. "So, I'm sorry for suddenly disappearing like that." He managed to choke out.
Natsu looked at him for a few moments, munching on a burger. "Gray, are you happy singing and performing?" Natsu asked suddenly.
"Well… yeah. I feel like I'm able to share something important with people and connect with them in ways I never could before." He looked down, unsure about how silly that sounded. He risked a quick glance and caught Natsu smiling and nodding thoughtfully.
"If that's the case then this is a good thing for you. And hey, it's partly my fault for not being as understanding as I should have been. What makes you so special to claim all the blame, huh?" He playfully punched Gray's shoulder from across the table. "Whatever makes you happy, makes me happy okay? Even if I seem jealous and intolerable, I'm still happy for you. So just… don't leave me next time, okay?" Natsu smiled sadly and a tear trailed down his cheek and landed on the table.
Gray's heart gave a painful squeeze. He reached across the table to dry Natsu's face, which made the tears run faster. "I'm sorry I caused you so much pain." Tears were now threatening him as well. "God I'm so sorry. I love you so much. Never forget that, no matter what happens."
Natsu sniffed and dried the rest of his tears. "Why don't we make a promise?" He held out his hand and lifted his pinky. "From now on, I'll try to be more understanding and you'll try to talk to me about whatever is making you unhappy, even if it's me that's the problem. No, especially if it's me that's the problem."
Gray reached across the table and grabbed Natsu's pinky with his own. "It's a promise."
More sexy times next chapter, so stay tuned for that! Don't forget to tell lil' old me how I did! ^_^