Gray was a little surprised that Natsu actually agreed to explore the city with him. He was even more surprised by the fact that Natsu changed outfits to go explore, going so far as to demand Gray do the same.
Natsu came out of the bathroom in a drastically different mood than before. He hummed a sweet tune that Gray dimly recognized, smiling. Gray looked at him briefly.
"You changed?" He asked. Natsu was no longer wearing his regular work clothes. Instead, he was wearing a black hoodie with white text down the sleeves and over the chest, a collection of silver necklaces, white track pants with red and black stripes down the sides, black sneakers, and, of course, his scarf.
"Yes, I did." He said, sticking his nose in the air indignantly. "I might not look like it, but I love fashion."
"I guess you usually are dressed pretty well, huh?" Gray thought aloud, realizing something he hadn't before.
"Of course I am. And you better get dressed, too. I'm not walking around town with some slob."
"Slob?" Gray scoffed. "You eat like a pig. More importantly, why the hell should I have to change? I didn't even bring nice clothes."
"That is the most bold-faced lie I've heard in a while. You bring, like, 6 pairs of clothes to every mission because of how often you lose them."
"I do not!"
"Your suitcase is in this goddamn room, it would be the easiest thing ever for me to prove you wrong." Natsu held his hand out towards Gray's luggage to emphasize his point.
Gray stuttered, realizing that Natsu got him pretty good with that one.
Natsu gave him a shit-eating grin. "Now, change. I'll decide if it's good enough."
Gray grumbled as he popped the lid on his suitcase, fumbling through his belongings and pulling out some clothes. He crumpled them against his chest, bringing them into the bathroom with him.
A few minutes later, Gray left the bathroom. He was wearing black jeans and a short-sleeved white button up shirt. He held his arms out with an annoyed glare, daring Natsu to fight him on his chosen outfit.
"Spin." Natsu ordered. Gray spun.
"It's not the worst thing I've ever seen." Natsu sighed arrogantly. "But also not the best. I wasn't going to do this at first, but I guess it's unavoidable. I'm choosing your outfit."
Gray groaned dramatically, childishly, sliding down the door frame until he reached the floor. Natsu ignored him. He dug through Gray's luggage, pulling out articles of clothing and examining them. This took roughly ten minutes for Natsu to do. Finally, he stood with a pile of clothes in his arms.
"Here." He said, throwing the clothes at Gray. Gray, not expecting it, fumbled the catch. Natsu laughed at him, only to be met with Gray's middle finger. He slammed the bathroom door behind him.
Minutes later, Gray came out, fully dressed. He had on loose army green cargo shorts, a boxy t-shirt; half white and half black, and black shoes. His sword pendant dangled over his shirt.
"I don't remember buying this shirt." Gray said simply, refusing to admit that he liked how he looked.
"It's mine." Natsu responded. "I'm trying to stop you from stripping in public because you'll feel bad for losing my shirt."
Gray realized he really would have to curb his stripping habit for the rest of the day. He suddenly regretted asking to explore.
"Besides," Natsu continued, unperturbed. "This isn't Magnolia. The people here don't know you. If they see a naked man running around, you will get in trouble."
Gray stepped further out of the bathroom with a huff. "Fine, fine, you're right." He cocked an eyebrow at him. "For once." He added.
"Whatever, stripper." Natsu laughed. "C'mon, let's go."
The pair left their hotel room, securely locking the door behind them. They quietly padded down the carpeted hallways of the hotel, out the atrium and into the soft breeze of the open street. The paved sidewalks were pretty busy in this area of town. Gray seemed to know where he was going, so Natsu just followed him.
It didn't take long. Gray swept around the back of the hotel, the smooth concrete they were walking on turning into a gravely footpath, small weeds growing between the rocks. Natsu was pretty confused as to where they were going. He tried to say something, but Gray completely and utterly ignored him, not even turning back to look at him. Natsu huffed and continued to quietly follow Gray, staring hard at his back.
Gray stopped. Natsu looked up, first at Gray, then at their surroundings. A wooden fence, semi-rotted and covered in patches of moss, separated them from the hotel's trail. An arch marked the entrance. Natsu could see beds of flowers, planted in an almost decorative or artsy way, lining the path. Gray now turned to look at Natsu.
"I was wondering…" Gray took a breath. "I was wondering if you wanted to walk the trail with me. I saw it from our window and thought it was pretty."
Natsu saw something that he couldn't quite decipher in Gray's expression. Something… different. Like his eyebrows were in a different position, or his lips were pressed slightly too firm. Natsu couldn't tell. He, instead, nodded, giving Gray a bright smile before taking a few steps to get side-by-side with him.
"This seems nice!" Natsu commented, trying to start a conversation as they went through the arch and onto the trail. "I actually really like flower farms. I went once, when I was younger. It was then that I realized that humans can't actually smell most flowers."
"You can? Most flowers, to me, just smell kinda plant-y. I mean, some have strong scents, like lavender or whatever. But most don't." Gray said, a polite questioning lilt in his voice.
"Nah, not for me. All flowers have a different scent. I've always loved spring, I could smell when different flowers bloomed. Then when I walked through the town, I would see them in people's planters."
"Sometimes I can't tell if your nose is a blessing or a curse."
"Both." Natsu chuckled. "Perfume hurts my nose so bad."
"Cana's perfume hurts mine, too." Gray joked. They both laughed, having spent more than enough time around her to be fully aware of some of her less-pleasant traits. Well, besides the obvious one.
They had reached the first flower bed. Both stopped for a moment, admiring Mother Nature's hard work. A nursery tree, young and thin, sat in the middle of the bed. Flowers had been delicately planted around it in a spiral pattern. Closer to the tree were tall allium flowers that held close to the trunk. Their stems were thin and straight, surprisingly able to hold the ball of purple flowers on its top without bending. The flowers got slightly shorter the further out on the spiral they were. Natsu wished Happy was here, so he could see the spiral from above.
The next bed was stranger. All of the flowers were approximately the same height, same shape, and were planted in apparently no particular order.
"They ran out of budget pretty quickly." Gray remarked.
Natsu shook his head, bending down to get closer to the flowers. "No, look! They're all petunias!"
"They all look…" Gray drifted off for a moment. "Huh. They all look both the same and pretty different at the same time. Also, that is not what I thought petunias looked like."
Natsu laughed at him. Gray took a split second to decide whether to be angry or just laugh along. He chose the latter.
"All petunias have five petals and grow in these little bushes. Their colors, though, can be very different depending on the type." Natsu said sweetly, clearly happy. "This one's my favorite." He pointed to a flower that was a deep, royal purple, freckled with white dots like the stars coming out at night.
"It's called the spotted blue petunia. Most people call it the night sky." Natsu continued, gently brushing his thumb against the velvety, almost soft, petal.
"It's purple." Gray said flatly, apt as ever.
"Those science people who name species are really dumb sometimes."
"Clearly. Also, says you." Gray surveyed the bed closer, really taking in what he saw. He couldn't count all of the different types of petunias. They were all different colors: from red, pink, white, yellow, to raw black. That wasn't even counting the ones with mixed colors. Some had both yellow and red in one bush; others were pink, but the edge of each petal was a wrinkled green; some were white but faded into purple as it reached the center; some were striped, outlined, spotted; hell, one type's petals weren't even flat like all the others, they were instead wrinkled and puffed like a pom-pom. If he was forced to find original names for all of these, all within the same species, he might make some dumb choices, too.
Natsu looked up at Gray, who had his hands on his knees, staring intently at one particular flower. Natsu chuckled to himself.
"Hey," He said, softly. "There's more to see. C'mon."
Gray jumped. "Oh, right. Sorry." He mumbled sheepishly.
"It's okay, man."
They continued. Natsu didn't recognize all of the flowers, of course, but when he did know one, he told Gray everything about it. He was surprised that Gray listened to his ramblings so well, and about such a niche thing. Even more so when Gray had a newfound appreciation for those flowers after learning about them; always bending down to inspect them a little closer.
Eventually, after walking, stopping, and chatting for a little less than a mile, they reached the final flower bed. It was absolutely extravagant. The flowers surrounded a small man-made pond. A tiny, arched wooden bridge allowed them to look over the water. A bucket with a maroon 'chain of hearts' plant hung from the railing, the plant drooping to nearly touch the water.
A little white dogwood tree, its flowers in full bloom, sat on the edge of the pond, its gangly roots reaching halfway into the water. The white flowers were large, and the petals that had fallen off were floating in the pond. Thin shoots of green sprang from the banks, as if reaching towards the sky. Wild ginger blanketed the area around the base of the tree, thriving off of the small shade provided.
Every single flower from all of the previous beds was represented here. They were organized in little clusters, each group seamlessly fading into the next. Gray smiled as he saw the 'starry night' petunia. He pointed it out to Natsu, who also smiled, but not at the plant.
"I'm really glad, Gray." He said, still smiling.
Gray was in a really good mood. "About what?" He chuckled.
"I don't know." Natsu hummed. "This was just fun."
"There's still more to do. We barely got a mile away from the hotel."
Natsu, apparently, had completely forgotten. "Oh my god, you're right! I was seriously over here getting sad that we'd have to go back into that damned hotel room for the rest of the day." He pumped his fists into the air happily. "So, where are we going next?"
"I don't know, I thought maybe we could shop or get some food." Gray proposed.
"Food sounds good."
"Considering the dangerous look in your eye, we're shopping first. I don't wanna deal with the restaurant's complaints and then go out on the town after."
"Asshole." Natsu smiled evilly. "If you're gonna go shopping, maybe find my shirt so we don't get indecent exposure complaints, too."
Gray looked down, realizing that he totally lost Natsu's shirt. He cursed before running back, retracing his steps. Natsu just laughed. That shirt didn't fit him properly, anyway. He didn't care about losing it.
Natsu was able to awe over the plants while Gray was out searching. It felt nice. The breeze brought sweet scents to him, relaxing him and slowing his body down.
'Me and Gray really have been spending a lot of time alone together lately…' Natsu thought to himself, bracing his hands against the small bridge. 'He's not so bad, I guess. He's still an idiot and I could still take him in a fight, but… maybe we can be friends. Not sometimes, but all the time. He's been really sweet to me.'
Natsu paused, realizing his own thoughts. 'God, if anyone heard me say this sappy shit I'd never hear the end of it.'
He shook his head violently, as if the motion would clear his thoughts and remove whatever teasing his hypothetical would result in. He now looked up at the clear, blue sky. No clouds in sight. That last storm was pretty loud, he was glad there wasn't going to be another one tonight. A small breeze ruffled Natsu's hair, billowing his shirt to the side. Maybe he could come back here, to Calla, on vacation sometime. It was pretty, and the spring blossoms really took the cake.
Gray returned to the bridge, panting slightly. He held the shirt tightly in one hand. He tipped his head back, hands on his sides, taking a moment to catch his breath.
"I found it." He said as a greeting.
"Shall I congratulate you?" Natsu responded snarkily.
Gray thumped his chest and cleared his throat to dispel the last of his weariness. "Shut up and let's go." He said, pushing past Natsu and slipping the shirt on simultaneously.
Natsu laughed and thought to himself. 'Yeah, we can totally be friends."
The pair walked past the final flower bed. The trail had curved in a U shape, so the exit was fairly close to the entrance, just on the other side of the hotel. Natsu was almost sad to go. He wasn't sure the rest of the town would compare.
Gray stopped suddenly. "It just occurred to me that I have no clue where any shopping centers are."
"Fuck, you're right." Natsu mumbled, crossing his arms in deliberation. "Uh, could we ask one of the hotel staff? I'm sure they're used to tourists."
Gray sighed out of his nose. "Yeah, I guess we have to."
They entered the hotel, but didn't stay for long. They asked the receptionist at the desk where some shopping centers were located. The receptionist kindly drew a simple map on a scrap piece of paper, knowing all too well that verbal directions alone wouldn't cut it. They thanked them, taking the map.
Most hand-drawn maps end up being pretty confusing, and this one was no exception. After about 10 minutes, the two were hopelessly lost. However, they were not the type to give up so easily. They redoubled their efforts, having to backtrack multiple times and pay keen attention to landmarks. Eventually, they made it. A square plaza, a fountain in its center and shops outlining the square sat in front of them. Many people walked through the plaza, coming in and out of shops or sitting on various benches.
"So… what first?" Natsu asked, looking at some of the shop names.
"How about that?" Gray pointed at what looked to be an antique store. Natsu matched his gaze.
"Yeah, that looks interesting!" Natsu skipped forward, towards the store. Gray couldn't help but laugh at his cutely childish behavior.
The outside of the shop was simple, reading 'Shirley's Antiques' on a wooden sign. The door creaked as it opened.
The inside smelled of wood and old people. The store was arranged almost like an actual person's living room, except all of the items had price tags. A floral chair sat in the corner, carefully carved tables, covered in embroidered table runners and lace doilies, held a multiplicity of trinkets, from pastel statuettes to old books to fine china. Tall dressers, pressed against the wall, held even more.
Natsu gasped. He had never been in a store quite like this. He immediately walked forward, inspecting all of the unique objects that were crammed literally anywhere they could fit. Gray looked around, intrigued by some glass bird sculptures on a dresser.
"Oh my god, Gray!" Natsu squealed, getting his attention. Gray looked up to see Natsu halfway out of a door he hadn't even realized was there. "Look, there's even more!" Natsu grabbed Gray's arm, pulling him along. Natsu was right. There was more. So much more.
The second room was decorated like a child's bedroom, complete with an antique bed frame and children's toys. Items had been crammed into every inch of this room, too. Another door led them out of this room, and into another, then another, and another.
The layout of the building was utterly out of their understanding. At one point, they were brought back to the first room with no idea how they got back there. In total, they both counted 6 rooms, each with their own unique theme. Each room was so impossibly crammed with so much stuff that Natsu thought he could be here for a whole day and still not have seen everything.
Gray and Natsu stepped into the kitchen-themed room, shocked to find an old woman already in it. Her back was bent from age, leaning on a cane to support herself. Her spare, gray hair was cut short, making her large earrings all the more noticeable. She smiled at them, hobbling forward.
"Have you boys been enjoying my store? See anything you like?" She greeted them.
"Ma'am, I love the whole thing!" Natsu began excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I mean, there's just so much stuff everywhere! It's like an art exhibit or something!"
"Why, thank you, young man!" She laughed amicably.
"There is one thing I'd like to buy, ma'am, if I may." Gray interrupted as politely as possible. "It's just in the other room. Natsu, you can keep looking around."
"Huh? Oh, uh, okay." Natsu mumbled, puzzled. The old woman slowly followed Gray out of the room, the door noisily closing behind them. Natsu busied himself in the room, looking at an antique kitchen set, questioning both why anyone would use antique pots, and also why Gray seemed to ditch him.
It took only five minutes for Gray to do what he needed to. He returned, a paper bag in his hand.
"Where's that lady?" Natsu asked, putting down what he was looking at and smiling at Gray's arrival.
"Dunno." Gray replied shortly with a demeaningly casual shrug. "You done yet?"
Natsu scrunched his nose slightly, miffed. "What's with the sudden attitude change, frost breath? I thought you liked this place."
"It's nothing." He turned on his heel, heading back where he just came from. "I'll be waiting outside." He closed the door before Natsu had the chance to respond.
'What the fuck?' Natsu thought, annoyed. 'One second he's being all sweet, walking me through a damn flower path, then the next second he's back to treating me like nothing more than a rival! Who the hell does he think he is?' Natsu crossed his arms, staring furiously at the closed door, as if that would make Gray come back in and apologize.
'Screw him. I'm gonna make him wait a long-ass time. Until he apologizes." Natsu decided this with a firm nod, resigning himself to this antique store until Gray had a change of heart. They were friends now, after all. Natsu wanted to be treated properly if they were going to be friends. That started with an apology.