Author Note:
Alert, Alert. Be hold, my mighty favorite character is about to be shown in this chapter!
Story Title: Magnolia's Shounen Ai
Rated: T (For now...)
Pairings: NatsuXGray
World: Anime World/Canon
Warning: Shonen AI/Yaoi. Language...
I don't own Fairy Tail.
O.o.O Magnolia's Shonen AI O.o.O
Chapter 8:
...THE MORNING
The sun rose up engulfing the little village in its warmth and golden rays after the long rainy night making the village looking like it fell out of heaven. Everything looked just spotless after the rain.
Gray found himself blinking forcefully because of the intensity of light that whacked his eyelids. He sure didn't want to wake up and he sure needed to drop by that 'Falling-apart' cheap reception and complain because who the hell creates a room full of windows and installs big fat zero curtains? It's unhealthy especially for people like him who resented mornings and all the 'Corny stuff' about sun and its light.
Back in his house he used to sleep until before afternoon and then show up in the guild sixty minutes later, taking his time to wake himself up. Gray was downright surprised that he remembered he was, where he was. It took more than blinking the eyes and gazing at the ceiling to get a feel of what was surrounding him back in his home.
Gray despised that Inn because it actually made him work out his mind that much in the morning and it also got him feeling a tremendous weight on his chest. Gray was surprised himself that he hated this place to the point that the totality of his body felt so suffocated.
He closed his eyes again, hoping that this feeling would go away after a while and that he was just groggy. So he waited for a reasonable amount of time to regain his full consciousness and nothing changed as he felt that he was completely pinned down to that creaking small bed and hey, he had to move his gracious ass at some point because some daredevil identified as 'Erza Scarlet' will move it if it took him long time enough to press on Erza'a thermometer of patience which wasn't very tolerating. It rose up fast enough to kill sometimes.
He groaned. He was gonna suck at that mission because it involved waking up early. He gathered the whole power he had in his body in 'mornings' which wasn't a big of a deal especially after sleeping for how long to get up and frankly, that weight pressing down on him made him slightly annoyed.
He raised his hand to his hair in irritation only to find it wrapped around something. So it was the pillow after all.
Funny, he thought that pillows were reasonably lighter than this and didn't think about the matter much because he was in a shitty place that didn't care whatsoever to human standards. No curtains, dripping water, tight bed, and downright heavy…. Warm…. Soft…. And tender pillows.
That was weird. No pillow in his 17/18 years of life had satisfied him that much, not to mention the teddy bear that Ur had bought for him once. Gray sighed and lifted himself up only to think that this Inn caused him hallucinations too because what are the chances of waking up finding a whole body on top, and a body that screamed 'Natsu Dragneel'?
Pfffffft. Bullshit.
Gray could do better than that if he just could wake himself up a little more because this was getting too cruel to be a joke. He wanted to rub his eyes to wake up only to find his hand linked with the other which made Gray blink for the unknown number of time in this weird bizarre morning.
He thought that human beings could not blush in the morning, or cannot feel that incredible warmth searing through their bodies that early, and boy he was wrong because he was showered by heat and that rarely happened. Not if he had a wet dream anyway.
Gray removed his hand from the other's slowly. The last thing he wanted was to wake the moron up because one, he didn't want any awkward situations happening, two he didn't tolerate yelling and shouting in the morning, and three, he wanted to watch him asleep for ten more minutes. Gray sighed at his idiocy, but shit like wanting to observe Natsu more in his sleep threw him over the top. He wanted to think that he'll be watching a lab rat sleeping and not like watching the face of his forbidden sinful desires lately, but he failed miserably, especially after wrapping both of his arms around the other and inhaling the shampoo scent from the hair.
Natsu looked content. He wasn't snoring like usual as his breaths came out steady. Only he was drooling on Gray's shirt, and Gray was generous enough not to commit a crime in the early morning. In fact, he frowned and for his own shock, he wiped that thin line of saliva from the corner of Natsu's mouth with his own thumb feeling incredibly uncomfortable in his lower areas as his fingers touched Natsu's lips. They weren't like what he had expected.
That mouth that fought with him every day with probably the worst insults ever was supposed to feel all dry and rough and not pleasant at all and most importantly….. Not to erect somebody. Then again, Gray wasn't that body. Nope.
The blue eyed boy took back his hand and almost slapped himself for wanting to do whatever he was thinking he wanted to do.
Gently, he laid Natsu on his back on the bed next to him and he kind of understood why he ended up in this position. Maybe because the bed was so freaking tight? That must be it.
Gray's permanent frown was evident as he supported himself on one elbow in a carefree fashion while watching the other next to him in another land. Gray wondered why suddenly he became interested in his probably best friend. He won't admit that though. He'd be a goner if he did, but yes, Natsu was probably the closest friend person he ever had. They practically grew up together with Erza so the three were just like a family in a sense and that's why Gray had no tiny bit of a romantic feeling towards Natsu and frankly he wasn't admitting that he had any now. He just thought of-well, sex.
Until this morning happened.
He wanted to punch himself as to how he wanted to justify his want for sex because he might actually like Natsu in a romantic way which was utterly stupid. He didn't like Natsu in a normal way and he wasn't about to picture himself with Natsu acting all lovey-dovey. As much as that hurt, Gray wished that he could do that, but reality was cruel. They fought naturally and if they were friends, they were complete opposits when it came to 'genetically-speaking' and flat-reality speaking.
So no. they can't be lovey-dovey as Gray described it. Even if it was a little bit, Gray imagined himself to be 'Lovey-Dovey' with Juvia. She was a girl after all. She adored him, she longed for him in every way possible, so he could show her a bit more of his soft side. He couldn't do that with Natsu. If he did, then Natsu will use this to make him end up in some hospital emergency ward. So it was dangerous.
Natsu didn't show it to him, so it's naturally that he doesn't either.
Their whole lives has been a competition so far. Who is the stronger? Who is the smarter? Who is the meaner? And he couldn't feel like blinking an eye being around Natsu at all. If it was Juvia then he'll be more relaxed and relieved for minutes at least before she could attack him. Sexually speaking.
He could naturally talk in his usual voice volume which was low with Juvia and not always yelling or shouting when he was with Natsu. There were many things he could do like normal-burden-free humans with Juvia rather than Natsu, and that was when he asked himself a very vital question. Why wasn't he attracted to Juvia the same way he's attracted to Natsu now? Even if it was for sex's sake? He could have used her for a one night stand if he wanted to and the girl wouldn't hate him for it and maybe they could've been lovers by now.
Gray didn't know how to answer his own question by normal words as he laid down right next to Natsu, watching the boy like he is some kind of a dreamer, it gave him all the comfort he needed. In fact, maybe it'd be more easier being with Natsu asleep rather than awake. His frown never faltered as he stared at Natsu wondering if he would like to do this with Juvia or Lucy or heck, even Erza. Why did he have to feel this way with Natsu of all people on God's green earth?
He felt like a stranger trapped in his own body while letting these feelings control him the past month since Lucy casted this curse on him.
At least he came up with a conclusion of this whole mind agonizing thinking. He could not love Natsu in any Romantic way and things would be awkward and out of the ordinary if he did. It's not like he could press some switch to cause a dramatic personality change-which made him unreasonably sad.
Natsu movement interrupted his wild barrage of thoughts as the boy hardly blinked his eye lashes (Like a sleeping fairy) in Gray's deep down thoughts and remained that way for maybe minutes before he notices Gray's very close presence.
Gray wanted to disappear before Natsu could be more conscious, but found himself being still in his position wishing to see as many sides as possible to Natsu's personality and probably the weakest which was ten times more violent than a normal human being.
But who could he blame? He was like that himself if not more.
Natsu looked into the boy's eyes confused for a while, but didn't really move and maybe that happened because Gray was very intimately close or because Natsu was gathering his power to punch him in the face.
Gray sweat dropped. Probably Natsu was doing the second, but after a whole five minutes of just staring at each other, Gray had doubted his hasty assumption. And those five minutes had supported the urge of kissing Natsu because that naïve expression was just too much to handle.
"What…. Is it?" Natsu said slowly with a hoarse voice, probably from sleeping.
"Nothing."
Natsu looked more confused with a hint of pink creeping up to his cheeks. "Then…. Why are you…. Looking at me?" Natsu's voice was still low, hoarse and surprisingly enough…. Pleasant. No yelling first thing in the morning like Gray was accustomed to in the guild. Strange.
"Why are YOU looking at me?"
"Uhhh…. Because you…. Were looking at me…. first. What is it?"
"I said nothing."
Natsu slightly frowned. "Is it another…. Useless hobby of yours? To watch people asleep….. Other than stripping?"
"What can I say? I'm full of surprises."
Natsu blinked several times before smiling, eyes sincerely closed happily and a weak chuckle escaped through his lips.
"Really now? What…. Other weird hobbies you might… have, and I don't know about?"
"Oh, why should I tell you?"
Gray had expected a punch in the face, but it never came.
"Well, it's okay if you didn't want to. Just stop staring at me sleeping 'cause it's weird."
Gray scowled. "Why? And most importantly, do you think I did it because I wanted to? Moron."
Natsu tried to look elsewhere, but it always ended up looking at Gray who was thinking that Natsu's behavior was slightly off this morning.
"I like to go…. Sightseeing. I like to eat German cuisine, believe it or not. I like snow. I like eating Ice-cream, green tea flavor and others I can't remember right now."
Natsu's cheeks slightly reddened and for a minute as he looked at the ceiling then again returned to being captivated by Gray's trademark frown.
"Tell me something that I don't KNOW, Gray."
It was one of those rare times that Natsu calls Gray by his own name, and Gray actually liked it. Moreover, he was surprised that Natsu knew all of these things about him and they stared at each other again.
"Ok…. Something I don't know myself, is that we can have this conversation without any accidents on the sidelines."
Natsu grunted. "That's not your hobby. You'd prefer picking up on me instead of talking to me."
"ME picking up on you? You are the one who does that! Who told you that I don't prefer talking to you instead?"
"You didn't have to say it. Actions are louder than words."
"Oh look at you. Being a smartass in the blissful morning."
"See? You think that I'm stupid."
"That's because you're one. No offense, it's in your genes."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Thanks, but for your information, you're dumber than you might actually imagine yourself to be."
"You-" Gray raised his fist to hit Natsu square in the face and the boy closed his eyes tightly, not even defending himself so Gray returned his fist to himself not wanting to take an advantage to Natsu being defensless although it was a golden opportunity.
"What's. Wrong. With you?" Gray asked.
Natsu creaked one eye open and sighed. "Nothing. I'm just tired going over this again and again with you."
Gray raised an eye-brow. "So what? Now you're tired of me? You want me to disappear?"
Natsu gave him a blank look. "I could never wish for that. You're my friend and I can't imagine a world without you annoying the shit out of me. it wouldn't be very nice, would it?"
"Are you being sarcastic?"
"Hell yeah."
"Good because you got me believing in your words for a second."
Natsu looked not very happy. "Why? Is it bad if I don't want you to disappear? Frankly I would prefer waking up in the damn morning being teased and bullied by you now, than waking up with no body by my side at all."
Gray's eyes widened for a moment and he remembered how Natsu was always honest in telling his feelings which indicated that Natsu meant every word of it.
Gray punched Natsu's head and playfully then snapped his fingers at Natsu's nose earning a groan.
"Enough with the chit-chat, I gotta go shower-oh, but before that, I wanna ask you a question."
Natsu rubbed his nose slowly while nodding.
"Why…. Are you avoiding me?"
Natsu stopped rubbing, his hand awkwardly on his nose as he avoided Gray's curious stare.
"I'm not avoiding you."
"You sure as hell are. What is it?"
"I told you. It's all in your imagination."
Gray knew that Natsu was lying, but he didn't have the strength to argue. And he wanted this morning to be remembered in his mental book of history as a peaceful one. Extremely rare and extremely precious.
It wasn't too long peaceful before Natsu directs his first punch in Gray's gut before he came out of the shower completely naked and wet, only Natsu confused Gray's intentions because the water was suddenly cut on Gray while showering so he was planning to go down complaining in the reception wearing absolutely nothing so he was glad that Natsu punched him and made him return to his senses before he could scare the people downstairs.
"Thanks." He said while dressing in just a jeans and it was uncomfortable because he was still wet and because there was still shampoo in his eyes which burnt and he begun sneezing now.
"Hey, take this." Natsu threw him a towel which the other accepted reluctantly and wiped his face then threw if on the bed heading for the reception slut followed slowly by Natsu who really didn't care.
When they got down, the woman at the reception was casually dressed with a cigarette in her mouth and somehow it irritated Gray, and she had the same pink hair as Natsu. Now he was surrounded by stupid people.
And the name on the tag was-
"Hotaru-san, right? I have a complain."
She flipped her newspaper giving him a brief look, then sighed irritated, "What is it Brat? Someone stole your shirt?"
"No. Someone cut the shower water on me."
"Oh no wonder you're this wet. I thought you and your lover here, had done some steamy stuff."
"….. WHAT?"
"Oh you didn't? too bad, my camera registered nothing then."
"YOU HID A CAMERA IN OUR ROOM? HOW-"
"No bastard I didn't. I was kidding."
"Listen woman. He's not my lover, and I NEED the water back!"
"You talk a lot in the morning you know that?" She huffed smoke out of the cigarette then continued, "Go to your room, it'll be there in five minutes."
Gray shook his head and stormed away leaving Natsu standing awkwardly in front of the lady who scanned him up and down making him slightly nervous.
"Hmm. You like that brat, don't you?"
Natsu laughed nervously which indicated nothing.
"I know you do, but if you have your reasons of not telling him, then fine, who am I to meddle?"
"Um, thanks? Do you know if the two other girls are awake?"
Hotaru held her newspaper and flipped through it again. "Yeah. They got up long time ago and went to that mission they were talking about after they had breakfast."
"Oh…." Natsu cursed. Why hadn't they wake them up?
"Get your bastard downstairs after five minutes to have breakfast or else you'll miss it."
"But…. You told him that you'll have the water return after five minutes."
"Oh…. I did?"
"Yeah."
She shrugged and released some smoke. "Fine smartass. Make it twenty."
"Uh…. Thanks again?"
"Don't mention it. I might actually like you better than that moron."
Natsu smiled and went to wait in the lounge missing Happy already and he wondered why didn't Lucy and Erza wake them up at the first place.
Well, he'll just have to wait for them to come back….. and have breakfast with Gray for the meantime.
God, what a weird morning.
….. Chapter Ends…..
Thanks for reading. Sorry, that might be somehow short, but with the free time I have, there is absolutely nothing I can do guys. If I disappeared for a while, please know that I'm struggling with all the university work.
Forgive me~~
And yes I also used Hotaru here. It might annoy you, but this character keeps just appearing in all of my fics, so bear with me the crazy obsession. Please?
Thanks again.
For my absolutely adorable reviewers:
zakky492
Well, I certainly can understand your curiosity about Natsu and Jesse. Yes, I'll be mentioning things about them so soon and hopefully it will be satisfying for you my dear and in this chapter, I hope you figured out who Natsu loved the most? Hehe, sorry I can't say more~~ and by the way, thanks for your review to my one shot. I really appreciate it and sorry for not replying right away.
AsDarknessSpreads
Thanks. I know your taste is precious to me. so I hope I did my best this chapter to at least bring one smile to your face. Thanks for taking interest in my stories lately, and also for your lovely reviews to 'Anonymous'. I hope I don't disappoint you any time soon ^^
Please enjoy.
theabridgedkuriboh
Oh yes. Hehe. Many people looked forward this chapter mainly because of how they wake up. I hope I didn't disappoint you at all. It wasn't all that fluffy, but what can I do? It's my weak point.
Please enjoy.
TheSlayerGirl
Thank you very much you are a very wonderful reviewer too ^^
EllieGymGirl
Thank you so much too. I hope you find this a good one too!
YolandaStargazer
S-s-s-sensei? *Blushes!*
Oh, knock it off, you will make me extra confident and I still have a long way to go, but I appreciate that, really. I figured out that you like the funny aspect of the story, so I hope this one had something stored for you.
Loved your review.
The Metallic Blue Otaku
I also prefer LevixGajeel. I can't see her with anyone else really. so I hoped that answered your question~~
Thanks for your review. Enjoy~~
darkhuntressxir
Yeah well Gray is just too stubborn, but all for the best hehe. Thank you for your review dear~~
Enjoy~
AznAkatsuki
Oh. Hey stop apologizing for not reviewing and I told you that I don't mind. Everyone has their own busy world so I'm just happy you're following. And I hope you enjoy this one~~
BohemianRebel
Gray's reaction. God. Everyone wanted to see it hehe. I just hope the result wasn't disappointing…. I tend to make people excited and then blowing it. *Cries*, I hope you like it though.
And sorry for last chapter. I know it was somehow short, but It's because of my busy lifestyle. God helps me.
CsillaDream
Oh wow, thank you so much. If the update was a day earlier, I wouldn't have heard from you and that's sad. I'm glad I'm able to change that hehe. Well, I don't mind you not reviewing and I told you that before~~~ I wish you enjoy this. It's just my dream for every one of my lovely reviewers.
titaniacherry
Hahaha, ok I'll keep it innocent until some point. But hey, even if it changed to M because of Language, you'll still read the same thing don't worry. I just realized that my writing style could be categorized as M. you don't have to worry about any major changes.
Thanks for reviewing again. It was very nice. Enjoy~
Guest
It. Is. Not. Annoying at all. Thank you very much for reviewing all of my fairy Tail fanfics. You brought smiles to my face every time you did, and I wish you continue doing so! It makes me happy. I can't express my appreciation for you and your lovely words enough.
Please enjoy~~
extremebookworm
Oh I'm not the best believe me! I'm climbing the long stairs to be there yet, but you made me blush nonetheless. I'm so happy that I'm having you following with my stories and nothing makes me joyful more.
Thank you thank you thank you~~
And enjoy~
QueenOfRussiaa
Type faster? *Cries!*
Hehehe, thanks for your lovely words. I know reviewing could be a bother sometimes, because you don't know what to write and stuff, but an opinion, or a favorite scene you like should do the trick, however, I'm happy also with just knowing that you are following the story with me. I'm also happy because I took your wonderful compliment…. You don't know how much it means to me.
Glad to be satisfying you so far~~~ *Blushes!*
Hehehe, enjoy~
Mrs. Soul Evans
Yes Indeed. They are so stupid. Hehe, thanks for the honest review of your opinion. It made me giggle. And there you go, the next chapter!
Enjoy~
Daiki-chan
Hahaha, thanks. I'm glad you were able to visualize the talk with levy. Sometimes I feel just irritated because I can't really visualize things when I'm reading whatever story, so it means a lot to me that you did. All this talk about you in bed made me want to sleep right away.
Thanks for that~~
Enjoy dear~~
grayXnatsuFT
My god, you are just spoiling me too much with Your reviews. You are also shower me with compliments and praises which I just read amazed. And blush? And giggle? And feel excited every time to reply to your review. Hehe, first of all, you are not strange. second….. I find Laxus as capable, strong, a very important member of the guild and the series won't be the same with out him and the rest of his group, but…. I don't find him like… attractive in the face. He might be in the body yes *Winks* but not in the face. He looks like a bulky man hehe. When he was younger yeah with no doubt. I just meant that Jesse looks attractive physically and looks wise. I don't know…. I guess that's my opinion. I'm just weird sometimes.
Hahaha, well, this chapter was really required by all of my reviewers including you. Apparently it didn't make them distant as you thought, but did I bring them together? I don't know. Figure it out~~
The most important thing is that I didn't make you disappointed. And that It was capable of feeding your curiousity…. And in getting you out of the hospital…. My god I feel horrible for my late updating…. And I wish you are okay now. *Hugs!* please be okay, I don't want to kill you with my fanfics!
Nooooo!
…. Just tell me that you are alright.