Surprise, surprise! here's another chapter ;) I was so into it for some reason and ended-up typing this chapter as well!
so here you go guys!
please do enjoy *grins*
Natsu woke in the hospital. He could tell he was in the hospital because there was so much beeping and because of the sickeningly antiseptic smell he unfortunately knew too well, and not to mention the white color that surrounded him from everywhere. With strained efforts he looked at his arm and saw a needle hooked to it with some strange fluid running through the tube that was attached to the needle. Natsu groaned softly before hearing a soft gasp.
"Natsu!"
Natsu turned his head with so much effort to the source of the voice. The sudden action made his ears buzz and it made him feel dizziness. He tried to lift his head up but it felt so heavy. He even tried to sit up but it hurt him too much and the fire mage does not have the strength to bear the pain. So he resigned to his fate and laid back on the huge fluffy pillow that was serving as some sort of leverage for his head. The sickly boy stared at the other person present in the room and that was sitting on a bench next to his hospital bed. That person was squeezing his hand tightly and seemed like he was straining to keep his tears from falling down on his cheeks. It somewhat made the dragon-slayer feel happy to know that someone out there was ready to cry for him, but at the same time, he felt sad the he was the reason that a melancholic expression was drawn on this person's face.
"G-Gray?" a croaked voice whispered.
Gray had a hard time getting his voice out. He could not describe the feeling that he had when he saw his friend's eyes opening slowly. He felt a huge sense of relief and was about to burst out crying when he saw his friend open his eyes, but he held himself, trying hard not to let the tears fall. When Natsu had lost consciousness, the ambulance had still not reached the mansion and because of that Gray took a fast and wise decision-he called his mother and urged her to come over. Ur had not questioned her son about the sudden call early in the morning and hurried over after Gajeel (who directed his attention to the ice mage when the latter took out his phone to call his mother) gave her their address-Gray failed to give it to her since the shock of the situation took its toll on him and he was not able to think straight anymore. Beside the ice mage, Wendy's cries got louder and she refused to let go of her brother's body even when Gajeel tried to tell her that they had to get Natsu downstairs for when Ur arrives. She was not the only one whose cries got frantic-under the door frame Sting fell on the floor and started sobbing while Rogue was full-out wailing and trying to wipe away the tears that cascaded down his cheeks but to no avail. Gray saw from the corner of his eyes Cobra moving away from where Laxus was standing to hold onto to his younger siblings in a comforting way. Meanwhile, Laxus rudely hanged-up the phone on the person who was on the other line after swearing profanities and joined Gray, Gajeel and Wendy next to Natsu who was white as a ghost. He tried to lift the pink head from the ice mage's arms but they found him holding tightly onto Gray's shirt. Seeing this, the dragon-slayers trusted the responsibility of lifting their brother downstairs and in the car to the raven head who felt kind of special because of it but was still scared to lose his friend.
"You idiot, you scared the shit out of me," spoke softly the ice mage.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," replied a softer voice.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. Also, how're you feeling, I should go and call the doctor shouldn't I?"
"Calm down Gray, my heart monitor or I don't know what will tell the doctors I woke-up, I bet they're on their way already," Natsu tenderly stared at the raven head and chuckled, "And yeah, I'd be lying if I said I'm fine, but don't tell my family please…," pleaded the fire mage while squeezing on the hand that was tucked in his.
"I won't if you don't lie about it to the doctor."
"Deal, thanks Gray," whispered softly the dragon-slayer.
At that, the door to Natsu's hospital room opened to reveal an old pink haired doctor who came in to check on her patient and kind of politely made Gray leave. He softly pecked the fire mage's forehead, smiled warmly and told him he would be waiting for the check-up to finish outside the room before doing what he was told.
It was the evening when the dragon-slayer's family came over to see how their fire mage was doing. Gray has not moved since after the check-up from his friend's side for even a second. The others' entrance in the room has not changed that-he refused to let go of his spot on the bench even when Wendy gave him puppy eyes. So as to not upset her more, he decided to make her sit on his lap and she did not complain about it.
Laxus was leaning on the wall facing his younger brother's bed and had his arms crossed. He was really happy to know that Natsu has awoken and watching the others express their relief about it made him even happier. The scene in front of him made warmth flood through his chest. The front half of Natsu's bed was lifted to an angle so that he can be lying in a somewhat sitting position. The bench on his left side was occupied by Gray who was holding Wendy and Rogue who found a spot next to his sister on the ice mage's lap some way or the other. On the right side of the bed stood Gajeel and Cobra-Sting latched at Natsu's neck as soon as they entered the room and he would not let go. Laxus must admit, if this was not a warm scene then what would be?
The lightening mage moved from the wall he was leaning on and went to detach Natsu from Sting's desperate clutches. When he succeeded in doing so he told the rest of them that he was going back home and taking the younger ones with him. He ruffled the pink strands of his brother, lifted Rogue from Gray's lap and left them after giving a proper goodbye.
"Ok, I know the hospital isn't the right place to talk about this but it's been bothering me since…Anyways, Laxus left so it's interrogation time," said Cobra in a half-amused, half-serious tone.
"I have an idea of what you wanna talk about but why'd ya want to leave Laxus out of the discussion?" asked Gajeel.
"'Cause I'm sure he doesn't care about it as long as no harm's done!"
"The fuck?! You're against it?"
"Motherfucker! Don't tell me you don't care either?" exclaimed the poison dragon-slayer.
"Why should I? He's free to do what he wants! You have no right to prevent it from him!"
Cobra waved his hand towards Natsu, "I have every right to! He's my younger brother!"
"You suck!"
"I .suck!" hissed Cobra, "I care for my younger siblings' well-being!"
"If you were a great older brother, then you'd let him do what he wants!"
They continued to argue while Natsu stared at them confused until the wheels turned in his head and he remembered the last thing he uttered before sliding his eyes shut to reveal a dark world. A dust of pink made its way on his cheeks. He turned his head away from his brothers to hide his blush from them but then realized that on the other side there was the ice mage who was gazing at him intently. His blush darkened at this but unlike with his brothers, he did not avert his eyes from him.
Gray smiled warmly at the fire mage and used the hand that was not holding Wendy to ruffle the pink messy hair in a caring way. Wendy (who was staring at them) grinned and swung her legs.
"Cobra-nii, Gajeel-nii is right! It's not your place to make the choice, it's Natsu-nii's decision that counts!" reprimanded the air dragon-slayer.
Cobra stood frozen like an idiot for being told off by his younger sister who never went against his decisions. He suddenly felt betrayed. Next to him, Gajeel was smugly smirking at him and his eyebrow was raised.
Gray who was clearly lost asked Natsu and Wendy in a whisper, "Hey what's going on?"
The fire mage blushed even more if it was even possible and Wendy giggled before replying, "We're dragon-slayers right?" Gray nodded, "So here's the thing, our senses are enhanced, they're just like a real dragon's! And so that means that we can smell and hear things other mages can't!"
"Ooookaaay…And?"
"A~nd, before fainting, Natsu-nii told you something ve~ry~ cute right?"
Catching to what the blue haired girl was implying Gray's face turned a shade darker-just like Erza's hair. "S-So y-you mean, everyone heard it? Oh man! This is embarrassing!"
"No way! It's really cute if you ask me!"
"We~ndy~ stop talking to him as if I'm not here," whined Natsu while said girl chuckled.
They all turned around to face Cobra when he spoke again, "Ok! That's enough! As I said before I was nagged by the metal bastard, it's interrogation time!"
"Hum...they're right, I'm free to do whatever I want you know?" said the fire mage in a weak voice.
Cobra groaned, "FINE!" He pointed his finger at the ice mage, "But if you do anything, let me repeat that, if you do any-fucking-thing to him I'll bash your crane on the wall!"
Gajeel interjected, "That's a given but I don't think you need to worry about him thought…He doesn't seem like he's lying about his love…," he smirked then headed towards the door.
"How are you so sure about that?"
Gajeel sighed. "Aren't you a dragon-slayer? The smell you freak, the smell! And there's a hint of something else's smell," his smirk widened, "but I won't tell what it is, that's for you guys to discover on your own…" he told the pink and raven headed teens. They stared at him confusedly but he did not elaborate so they let it go.
Gajeel waved his hand and said, "Now then, I'm leaving as well, I have a date with Levy see ya guys."
"Ah wait Gajeel-nii I'm coming with you!" yelled Wendy.
"Then hurry up! I don't have all day!" they heard Gajeel say from the hallway.
Wendy jumped from Gray's lap and ran to the door. She stopped when she reached it and turned to face Cobra, "Gajeel-nii's right you know? Besides, Gray-nii's mommy drove at 7h30 in the morning to our house and brought us to the hospital without asking any questions! She even stayed in the hospital until Natsu-nii's condition got stable, not to mention that Gray-nii hasn't moved from this room since then! And that was yesterday!"
"Okay, okay! I got it, I ain't complaining about it anymore…," Cobra sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before his eyes widened and yelled, "Wait! What?! Gray-nii? Why?"
Wendy gave him an innocent smile, "Eh? But he's my brother-in-law now!" she grinned then placed her hands behind her back and skipped to join the iron dragon-slayer who was waiting for her and smirking at his sister's daring announcement.
The purple head' eyes were popping open and his mouth was wide open as well, he turned his head towards the other two who were present in the hospital room to find his younger brother blushing scarlet and the ice mage with a lighter shade of blush. He gave up, he had nothing to say anymore, with a gloomy voice he muttered, "Whatever…do whatever you want…" With these words, he followed the others out of the room leaving the blushing duo behind.
Gray was able to recover first and he sighed. "Man! That's the first time I've ever seen Wendy like that!"
Trying hard to make the pink dust subside from his face, Natsu replied, "That's because she's careful about what she says or does when she hangs-out with us."
"And you don't?"
"We all do…Even you at some point…I think Lucy and Loke are the only ones who act like themselves when they're with us…"
"Hmm…You might be right, but what makes you say that I'm not myself when I'm with the group?"
"Your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"Yes ice princess, your eyes."
"What about them stupid flame brain?"
"They never show happiness, it's like they're stuck in a grieving stage…"
Gray gasped for air and stared wide-eyed at the pink head before slowly leaning towards the mattress to cross his arms on it and rest his head on them. He then laughed loudly for a while. After calming down, he raised his head from its spot and smiled at his friend, "You're amazing Natsu you know that?"
Natsu was taken-aback by how his friend's voice was expressing so much love and admiration, "A-Amazing?"
The devil-slayer gave him a soft smile and placed his hand on a tanned one-intertwining their fingers in the process, "Yes, amazing, adorable, admirable and many more. Another thing, before I forget to mention it, I just wanted you to know that I lied back then in the schoolyard…"
The fire dragon-slayer was on the verge of tears, "What did you lie about?"
"I said that I thought I love you yeah?"
"That's true," Natsu's voice was quiet and shaky.
"But that's not true…" Gray stood up and let go of his friend's hand, he positioned himself so that he had a knee pressing on the mattress while his other leg was on the floor and his upper body was leaning making his face stand only inches away from Natsu's.
"Does that mean you don't love me…," whispered Natsu with a hint of sadness.
"No…," replied the raven head with an equally soft voice and he was very slowly bending towards the other teen whose eyes were shining with many emotions. Gray slid a finger on the pink head's lips-gently touching them. It then made its way up Natsu's cheek to his temple.
"I don't think I love you," whispered the devil-slayer as he began to stroke pink locks of hair. He continued to lean in until their lips met. Natsu's lips were really soft-it was softer than a rose's petal.
The fire mage was taken by surprise, he was stunned, but for some reason it did not bother him when Gray placed his lips on his. They might have been cold but the contrast it created with his usual heat made it feel very good. Not only that, but it made him have a warm tingly feeling in his chest that he has never felt before. His pulse was beating fast, his heart was throbbing, it was as if he was about to suffocate, yet he still wanted this feeling to linger. Is this what they call love? He thought.
Gray broke the kiss and stared fondly at the boy in front of him-a blush smeared itself on his face, "I don't think I love you Natsu," he repeated.
"Then why did you just do this?" asked Natsu with an agonized expression.
Gray caressed the other boys cheek and pecked his forehead for the umpteenth time, "That's because I definitely love you."
The dragon-slayer stared at him with expressive emerald green eyes, "I-I…"
The ice mage smiled and stroked his thumb on the space under the fire mage's left eye, "Shh…Natsu, you don't need to say anything," he whispered softly.
"I-I...C-Can you repeat that?" demanded Natsu with a shaky voice.
"I love you," whispered again Gray.
"Again."
"I love you."
"Again"
"I love you."
"Again."
"Natsu what's wrong?"
"Please, a-agai-," the pink head's voice was strangled.
"Natsu I'll say it to you as many times as you want me to so why are you crying?" he whipped the tears that were leaking from the green eyes that he has always loved. "I love you so don't cry ok?"
Natsu was unable of stopping his tears from falling and outright started sobbing, feeling a sudden and intense sense of relief, of happiness and of weightlessness. Saying that he was extremely happy was an understatement. With his weakened arms, he clumsily hugged the raven head and continued sobbing while resting his head on the crook of Gray's neck-whose smile was really bright. "G-Gray, I-I t-think I-I love you too," Natsu's voice cracked at the last part.
The raven head chuckled, "Thanks, it makes me happy to know that," he tightened his hold around the fire mage's form. He gave him some time to calm down and then asked, "So? Does that make us boyfriends now? Actually wait, the real question is would you like to be my boyfriend?"
Natsu laughed and squeezed his hold on Gray's neck before releasing and resting his forehead on the others, "Sure Gray Fullbuster, I'd like to be your boyfriend, but are you sure you'd want to be mine? I have heart problems, I'm a dragon-slayer, I don't have parents, I'm not perfect and I-" A finger fell on his lips, "I already know all that and I don't care. So what if you have a disease? It'll just give me an opportunity to take care of you. So what if you're a dragon-slayer? That makes it much cooler and I'm a devil-slayer myself. So what if you have no parents? Technically speaking, I don't either and besides, it would give me the chance to baby you more! And nobody's perfect," he took a deep breath, "I'm not perfect, Lucy's not perfect, Loke's not perfect, heck, even Erza's not perfect and that's what makes us much more interesting! Finally, I love you and will never, you hear me, never leave you alone. No matter what happens in the future! Even if I discover something weird, or whatever, about your past, or you discover something about mine, or if an unexpected event occurs, or a weird ex slash nag-gy girls pops out of nowhere, or, I don't know, we surprisingly discover that you can get pregnant," this got a laugh out of the pink head's mouth which made the ice mage smile fondly, "anyways, my point is I would never leave you even if you want me to! So remember you're stuck with me forever!" he grinned.
"And you're stuck with me forever," Natsu gave him a watery smile that transformed into a grin when Gray leaned in for another kiss.
Hope you guys liked it! please do give me your opinion by reviewing :)
