Welcome to chapter 2! So this should be the final installment in this very brief fanfiction. I'll write a third chapter should I be requested. So Nothing else to say but enjoy the angst in the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom.

DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!

Natsu was in pain. It wasn't physical, it wasn't something that you could put a Band-Aid on and kiss it all better. There wasn't anything in the world that could stop this pain, well that was false there was one thing, but it was nearly impossible to get.

Natsu had been chased from his bedside and forced to return to his house; to eat something and get some rest. Easier said than done. But Natsu had seen the reason in the words, torturing himself wasn't going to help Gray.

The Dragon slayer had left distraught and slightly lonely. Without thinking about it, his feet had taken him to his ice mage's home. Not that it mattered. They practically lived with each other so one's home was the other's. Somehow staying in the place that held so many memories and where Gray's scent was everywhere was comfortable.

So for the past few days Natsu had laid in the bed that had recently held two occupants more often than not. One part of the bed remained made and the other side was wrinkled from where Natsu had shifted positions, at least it was a sign that it was alive. He had the bare minimum of food and he couldn't rest. Every time he tried to sleep he would dream the same thing. That Gray had finished casting Iced Shell. The experience had been too close for comfort.

Gray was his mate that was irrefutable fact. It was something he didn't want to fight for once, he accepted that Gray would be the only one that he'd be happy with. Choosing a mate, for a dragon, it was an unconscious decision. Not even the dragon's understood their own process. There was just something that clicked when the mate was found. A true dragon could only have one mate at a time, but it could have multiple ones in its life-span if the mate died. A dragon slayer on the other hand lived long enough to only have one mate in their life.

That's partly the reason of why Natsu was taking it so hard. The other reasons, or the main ones, were that one it was his fault because he left Gray alone and the other one was because he couldn't see his life without Gray, even if they weren't mates.

Natsu shifted, so that he was in a neutral laying position. Looking around the room his eyes landed on the picture of his and Gray's first date. Natsu had felt bad at first because he had always thought that Gray would end up with Juvia, yes even he noticed the way too obvious feelings the water mage had for Gray. Of course before that could happen the whole "Gray's my mate thing" occurred. It was strange because once a dragon has its mate, its mate can't help but return the feelings. Now whether or not they admitted was a completely different thing. So Natsu had always felt like he had somehow pressured Gray into the relationship.

Though there hadn't been any pining or planning on Natsu's part they had somehow gotten over getting together with the least amount of fuss, randomly kissing someone in a brawl probably tended to do something like that. Natsu wasn't sure he'd only been in one relationship his entire life, and that was with Gray. He wasn't afraid to admit that he was an idiot when it came to dating.

Though the reason that Natsu felt like he had pressured Gray was because for the first week or two of their relationship Gray was cursing Natsu's existence. But eventually Gray had gotten over his resentment and everything had started to go smoothly. They'd been dating for over a year, so Natsu figured he was doing something right as they had very little relationship endangering arguments. Sure they still fought like cats and dogs but that was to be expected, they had been like that for even longer so it was no more of a habit.

But even if it had been the greatest year of Natsu's life, right now everything sucked. The dragon slayer made a noise of distress. His mind was centering in on his current predicament. Gray was currently in a coma, and been in one for two weeks, because despite the fact that he said he swore he wouldn't use Iced Shell ever again. He had, and nearly died because of it. If Natsu had been a second too late he would've lost Gray. Natsu shuddered.

For that Natsu could never forgive himself.

Everyone was worried about their resident ice mage and flame dragon slayer. Even those that didn't really know them were off their game the slightest bit. Wendy was working her hardest to help in Gray, while it had been proven that healing magic wasn't doing anything significant, and the ball was in Gray's court now.

Natsu hated it, people had been given him pitying looks when they had gone to visit Gray. Even Gajeel had been sympathetic towards him. Since Gajeel was a fellow dragon slayer he had a shade of an idea about how Natsu felt, even if the iron dragon slayer hadn't found his own yet.

Natsu inhaled sharply as he settled back down into the bed. He wanted the fresh scent of Gray in the room. He wanted to smell the emotion of Gray. The stagnant smell gave Natsu some comfort but it could only last for so long. The dragon slayer's stomach growled loudly. Alerting him that he should probably eat something.

He didn't have happy to remind him, the cat had decided that Natsu needed some time alone and went to stay with Lucy. Sliding his legs over the edge, he'd been comfortable too dammit, he stood up. His legs were asleep from disuse. He wobbled to the kitchen, using his nose to see if there was anything edible in the house or if he would have to go out to eat.

Unfortunately there wasn't a single fresh scrap of food. Natsu eyed the front door wondering if he had the motivation to actually go out there and buy something or if he would just wait until the last possible moment. Shutting the cabinet he decided that he would put all of his hope into the freezer in the corner of the room, opening it up he was met with a cool blast of air.

It felt like Gray.

Natsu's eyes widened. Gray wouldn't want him to be beating himself up over something like this. The pinkette looked towards the door once more. Then headed toward the bathroom, he figured that he could at least go to Lucy's, but the blonde probably wouldn't appreciate him showing up smelling and unkempt.

After a quick shower Natsu walked out of the apartment and started towards Lucy's. He was careful to stay off of the main streets, not wanting to run into any of the random guild members that might be out at this time of the night.

Natsu shrugged Lucy was used to him showing up a weird times of the night and he had faith that she wouldn't kick him out. But then again this was Lucy. He made good time over to Lucy's house, and this time he actually knocked on her door instead of jumping through the window.

He was just so tired.

Lucy opened the door rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She blinked once, and then again at the figure standing at her door.

"Natsu!" She cried happily. Her voice lowered. "Why are you here?"

"I was hungry and didn't have any food." Natsu says plainly.

Lucy looks the tiniest but annoyed but she says nothing, as she lets the fire mage into her home. The blue exceed was curled up on the couch. Happy slowly started to wake up as he heard voices and the lights get turned on.

"NATSU!" Happy cried.

Natsu smiled and pet the exceed on his head. Lucy had vanished into the kitchen but came back a few minutes later carrying bowls of instant ramen.

"You came over on such short notice, sorry I couldn't prepare anything better." The blonde mage shrugged and set the bowl down on the coffee table.

"It's fine."

Lucy nodded the two of them falling into a comfortable silence. Natsu could tell Lucy wanted to desperately ask him what was wrong but she was holding herself back out of courtesy. The pinkette was actually glad that he went to see the celestial spirit mage instead of going to the guild.

Finally the silence was too much for Natsu and there wasn't an excuse for it to continue as they both had finished their food.

"I miss him." Natsu blurted out.

Lucy tilted her head. "Gray?"

Natsu merely nodded.

"That's understandable. You're worried about him right? Even if Gray's capable you still worry, because you care." Lucy remarked casually.

The dragon slayer whined. "But it's my fault."

"No its not. You didn't know that Gray would consider casting that spell, and you were just trying to keep your mate safe." Lucy shrugged.

"Eh how did you know the last part?"

Lucy hummed and didn't answer the question. Natsu would have to get to the bottom of that one at a later time.

"So you know about it?"

"Not everything but I've got most of it." Lucy said. "I think regardless of what Erza and everyone else says you should be near Gray. It's the only way both of you are going to be able to recover fully. It's also the only way you won't go mad."

Natsu shook his head. "As much as I want to. Erza was pretty specific in what she would do to me if I went back without having taken care of myself."

"I'll take the bullet for you this time!" Lucy grinned.

"Seriously?"

"Of course. You've saved me a lot before. I'm just paying you back one. Now go!"

Natsu arrived at the hospital. As he had expected there had been no change in Gray. The mage was still unconscious, and in the same place he had been for the last two weeks. But being in the same room as a living breathing Gray, with his scent fresh. Of course it was weakened by the antiseptic smell, doctors, and visitors. But it was there and Natsu could confirm with his own eyes that Gray was still living.

Natsu smiled pathetically, he really was dependent on Gray for more things than one. Not that he would ever tell Gray that but he just knew that he wouldn't have gotten as strong as he did if he didn't have Gray to compete with. He wasn't sure that Gray relied on him as much, but he knew he gave something to the ice mage that no one else had. Natsu held that close to his heart.

It was their own secret that was obvious to each other, but to someone observing the pair they wouldn't have the slightest clue. It wasn't a certain way either eyes glistened, it was something that had somehow been spoken without either permission because they didn't know they had said it. Neither brought it up and they were completely fine with it.

Looking at Gray's peaceful face, Natsu was loathe to disturb his lover, the male always had a haunted look in his eyes, the dragon slayer always wanted to wash that look away. Protect Gray so that he would never again have to have that look in his eyes.

Natsu had vowed once that he would die for his family if there were no other ways, he would do it knowing the pain that it would cause but the knowledge that he had done everything in his power is what steeled his resolve to make the vow.

But when he and Gray had gotten together, something had changed. Natsu's feelings hadn't, he knew that if it came down to it he would still do it, but how he would accomplish it would be different. He had pictured standing in front of everyone and doing whatever it was that would save him. Now he would rather do it where it was only him and possibly the enemy. He couldn't and wouldn't put Gray through the pain of watching his loved ones die in front of him. Natsu also knew the change was partly because Gray would try to stop him.

He couldn't live knowing Gray had done something like that, he could barely stand it when Gray got a small cut on a mission. This…. It was killing him.

"Why?"

No answer.

"Do you realize how much this hurts?"

Again silence.

"Is this how you always feel when you do this? Because its fucking painful!"

A sob pierced the silence.

"Can you forgive me?"

Wind rustled the curtains.

"Gray, can you please wake up?"

The wind stopped.

Apparently time as well.

Natsu couldn't breathe when his gaze returned to Gray.

Cliffhanger!

I am the master of them! Not really. Hope you enjoy this small angst story and as I said I'll write a third chapter if prompted to!

It's really hard to write a depressed Natsu since he's such a happy go lucky nothing bothers me guy(too lazy to put in hyphens.)

Leave your thoughts in the reviews! Later! ~IF