C is for Comfort
"Natsu? Look at me." The ice mage stared at the pinkette, who had turned his body away and was standing far away from him.
"Natsu!" He called again.
"NO!" The anger was radiating throughout the fire dragon slayer's body, and he raised his voice. Going against what Gray had just said, he quickly started to walk away before the ice mage could say something.
"Natsu, don't walk away from me!" The ice mage began to follow the hot headed teen down the hall of the guild. "Natsu!"
"Go away, ice-bastard!" The salamander cursed, as he tried to escape the ravenette. Why won't Gray leave him alone? Couldn't he understand that he didn't want him around!? He just wanted to be alone after all.
"Natsu, I'm just trying to help!" Gray was losing his patience.
He wasn't lying when he said he wanted to help the dragon slayer. Natsu had been acting very strange, since he walked in the guild, so Gray thought he'd try to say something to piss him off, so he could change the hot-headed teen's mood. But when Gray walked over to Natsu – who was sitting all alone, in the empty corner of the guild – he saw the brimming hot tears in the boy's eyes.
He tried to ignore them and say something to piss him off, but instead of saying something to "fire up" the dragon slayer, he said something more along the lines of: "Oi, you okay, squinty-eyes?"
Sure it wasn't as diplomatic, as he should of been, but it was kind of Gray's first time, confronting someone who looked like they'd just been crying; especially when that someone was Natsu. So it was the best the older teen could do, for a first attempt at it.
"I'm fine. I just wanna be alone, that's all..." Natsu turned his head away, trying to hide the gloomy look on his face, from his rival.
Although Natsu said he wanted to be alone, Gray didn't move a muscle. Instead he sighed and sat down across from the depressed looking teen. The pinkette glared at the ice mage from the corner of his eye. What the hell was he still doing here? He thought to himself.
Gray put his arms on the table and took a deep breathe before speaking to the hot-headed teen. "Look, I know you hate me, but if there's something wrong, just tell me. We're nakama, so you can trust me."
Natsu stared at the ice mage like as if he'd just asked for both his kidneys. Why was Gray suddenly acting like this? He thought to himself.
The ravenette reached his head out to grabbed Natsu's but just as his cold finger tips touched the younger male's hand, he moved it away, quickly, from Gray's reach and onto his lap.
"Natsu...?" He began to question, but was quickly cut off.
"I'm perfectly fine... Just want to be alone that's all." The pinkette spoke as calmly as he could, his eyes looking straight down at his feet.
"Natsu..." The ice mage tried again, but was cut off by Natsu's anger voice.
"I said I'm fine! Leave me alone, already!" The impatient and angry teen got up as he practically yelled at the older male, sitting in front of him. A few people, that were roaming close by Natsu and Gray, turned their attention to the two mages, when they heard Natsu raise his voice.
It wasn't an uncommon thing to hear Natsu's loud voice, in the guild, yet it startled the few bystanders who were curious to know what had just caused Natsu to lose his temper. When they saw the ice mage sitting across from the salamander, they were not very surprised that that was the reason the fire mage had raised his voice.
Gray noticed that the few guild mates, close by, had averted their attention towards him and Natsu, yet didn't look away from the pink haired mage in front of him. He wanted to know why Natsu was upset, and wanted to help cheer him up.
Anger and depression was written all over the pinkette's pained complexion. Without another word, the boy turned his body around and began to walk out of the guild. He couldn't stand another minute in here. No one understood what he was going through, and he wasn't going to let anyone stand by and see him like this; especially Gray!
Now back to the present; Natsu had his back turned to the ice mage. He continued to walk away with his head down, avoiding eye contact with anyone walking by.
"Natsu..."
Natsu froze at the sound of his name, but didn't dare to turn around. He knew very well who that icy voice belonged to.
"Natsu? Look at me." The ravenette stared at the younger male's back, from a slight distance, waiting for the boy to turn around and look him in the eye. "Natsu!"
"NO!" The salamander roared. He didn't want Gray to see him like this! He just wanted to go home and just lay in his bed, alone.
"Natsu, don't walk away from me!" Gray shouted back at him, just as the pinkette began to walk away, causing more people to stare at them. "Natsu!"
"Go away, ice-bastard!" The younger mage kept shouting as he made his way to the guild door and out on to the streets.
"Natsu, I'm just trying to help!" The ice mage called back, walking faster behind him. "Natsu, stop trying to run away!"
"NO! Go away!" The pinkette, rubbed his already red eyes as he walked even faster. He wanted to get away as fast as he could, so he wouldn't have to be near anyone he knew and, of course, Gray.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong!" The ravenette called back, speeding up his pace as well.
"J-just leave me alone, b-bastard!" Natsu tried hard not to sob as he spoke. He didn't want Gray to see him crying. He'd only start making fun of Natsu for crying, after all...right?
"I'm not leaving you alone when you look like you've been crying all night, flame-brain." The ice mage spoke a little calmer, but still yelled to make sure the pinkette heard what he had just said.
"Shit..." Natsu curse as felt the hot tears returning to his squinty, green eyes. Quickly, he closed his eyes, trying his best to hold back the emotions from flooding out, and began to run.. He had to get away before he really let loose, in front of Gray, which he really didn't want.
The ravenette quickly noticed the sudden change in speed and began to run after the dragon slayer. He wouldn't let Natsu get away that easily. "Natsu! Stop!"
The salamander didn't respond, instead he continued to run, run as fast as his tired feet could take him. He was exhausted from previous missions and his feet still ached from all the walking and fighting he and his team had done, but he had gotten quite use to all that. Yet, it still hurt when he ran and put too much pressure on the still healing bones and muscles in his legs.
Natsu bit his lip, trying to hold back the sobs, and made a careless move; turning into an alleyway, in hopes of losing Gray. But just as he ran into the narrow path, he realized there was no pathway out. He was trapped...
Tears finally slipped out from his eyes, and slowly slid down his cheek and onto the pavement below him. He looked down at his feet just as Gray entered the alleyway, huffing and puffing as he came to a halt.
"Finally... Now will you stop acting so strange and tell me what's- Oi! Natsu!?" The ravenette stood there in shock as Natsu suddenly fell to his knees and sobbed. Gray took a step forward, hesitating for a second, before proceeding towards Natsu's shaking body. "...Natsu?"
"G-Go away!" The sobbing teen choked. He despised himself for crying in front of his rival. He hated to show his weak side; especially in front of Gray.
"Hell no! I can't leave you when your sobbing like this!" Concern filled Gray's icy complexion. Clearly, he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
"W-why can't you j-just leave me a-alone?" He managed to speak through sobs.
Natsu sobbed, tears falling rapidly from him face onto the pavement below. He saw the ravenette's black shoes from the gaps between his pink hair. He wanted to just disappear, right now...
"Natsu, will you stop being a baby and look at me? I'm not going to laugh or hurt or do anything to you. I'm here to help you and make you feel better. Why won't you understand that?" Gray sighed, when he didn't get a response from the pinkette, then kneed down to Natsu's level, trying to see through the pink hair, hanging over his face. "Natsu..."
"You w-wouldn't understand. No one would!"
Gray grumbled at that. But refrained from saying something that could upset the dragon slayer, even more than he already was.
"Natsu, I'm just trying to help. And maybe I would understand." The ravenette ran a hand through his slightly oily hair. He hadn't had time to wash it this morning and after chasing Natsu down the street it had become very sweaty, along with the rest of his body. "Did someone hurt you?"
Natsu slightly nodded and murmured quietly through a sob. "...sorta."
"Physically?" Gray raised an eyebrow.
Natsu wasn't the type to cry over physical pain or violence in general. At times he'd be wrapped up in bandages and be travelling on crutches even. But the boy never felt pain to the point that he'd cry about.
NEVER!
It wasn't something Natsu would cry about.
To be honest, it was rare to see Natsu cry. At least to most, especially Gray. So it really was a shocker to see the boy like this.
The pinkette shook his head. "You won't understand! No one would, or ever will! J-just please, go away, Gray!"
Gray ignored the pinkette's upset words, and stayed put. "Does this have anything to do with Igneel?"
Natsu froze at the meer mention of Igneel. He stared at the ground with bloodshot eyes.
The ice mage finally understood why Natsu was upset, now. He was upset over the fact Igneel left him. He missed his guardian.
Gray placed a hand on the upset boy's shoulder, startling the pinkette; pushing Gray's hand off of him. "Go away!"
The ice mage sighed, a little hurt by the dragon slayer's reaction. "Natsu, it's been years since Igneel disappeared. I thought you'd be over it... Why are you upset about it now?"
Gray's words enraged the dragon slayer; causing him to stand up and yell at the stunned ravenette. "You'd be upset too if you had no family! If everyone you thought loved you just abandoned you on this fucking planet, alone! You'll never fucking understand what I go through, every single day, knowing I have no one to call a family!"
The ice mage stood up slowly, staring at the enraged and tearful teen with a frown on his face.
When Natsu finally closed his mouth, Gray opened up his to speak himself. "Natsu, I understand what you're going through. I -"
The ice mage was cut-off by the pinkette's upset voice.
"NO YOU DON'T! Even if your family died a long time ago, you still had one and knew them. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO MY FUCKING BIRTH PARENTS ARE!" The pinkette choked on sobs, as he yelled.
Gray stood there, speechless as Natsu continued to spill all of the emotions that have been bottled up inside of him since the day Igneel left.
He never thought Natsu figured out that he wasn't actually Igneel's kid – seriously, he's human and Igneel's a dragon...He can't be your birth father, Natsu.
The pinkette continued to yell at the taller male in front of him; letting all of his emotions out. "You wouldn't understand the feeling of waking up one day in a strange forest, with nothing but trees and bushes around you. The feeling of walking around for days and days, calling out to anyone...anyone, to help you...Starving for days on end, because you're too young to find your own food...Barely sleeping because you're frightened of the dark, or being eaten by a monster while you sleep, and also, crying all night because you don't know where you or anyone is. All you want is to wake up from this horrid nightmare. To wake up and find yourself wrapped up in a warm blanket in your mother's arms."
Natsu swallowed hard as he said "mother." Fresh tears began to fall from his face, but he wasn't finished just yet.
"Every single night...EVERY SINGLE FUCKING NIGHT! I cried... I cried for my mother to come and rescue me. To take me home...Home, where it was safe and warm. But no matter how much I cried, tripped over a branch, or felt like I was going to die of starvation...She never came! I was really alone, with no one to love. No home. No food. And I knew I was going to fucking die. I'm only alive because Igneel saved me, and I believed he was the only one who loved me. But ALL that changed when he disappeared and abandoned me in the forest...just like my parents did. No one cares about me or loves me...I'M JUST A BURDEN TO EVERYONE!"
Gray stared at the boy in front of him as he fell apart. He was stunned; he didn't know how to respond to any of this. He wanted to calm Natsu down, and make him feel better. Show him that he was wrong. That people did love him, that he wasn't alone. That he, himself, cared for the pink haired mage.
"Natsu..." The ice mage spoke in a quiet, monotone voice.
"Just leave me alone, ice-bastard..." And with that, the dragon slayer turned on his heel, rubbing his teary eyes as he began to exit the alleyway. When suddenly, a strong hand grabbed him and spun him around into the coldness of the ice mage's body.
Natsu's teary red eyes widen as he stared up at the ice mage in shock. "W-what are you...!?"
"Shut up!"
The pinkette closed his mouth, surprised by the Gray's tone. Was the ice mage really that mad at Natsu? But then why did he pull Natsu into a tight hug? The dragon slayer didn't understand what to do other than keep his mouth shut, for once, and wait.
"Just, shut up, flame-brain!" Natsu felt something wet and cold touch his skin. Was Gray crying?
"Do you have ANY idea what you mean to us; the guild? Do you have ANY fucking idea what you mean to Happy, Lucy, Erza!? Goddamn it, even me, for crying out loud?" Gray pulled away and looked down at the shocked dragon slayer in front of him. His eyes were teary, as well. Although, his eyes showed how dead serious he was, as well.
Natsu was shocked to see the ice mage like this. He always wore a icy, dull look. Never had he seen Gray cry in front of him like this.
"I don't have a mother or father, either! Both of the died years ago because of Zeref's fucking creation. And Ul came along to be the closest thing I had as a family, a mother, but she died protecting me and Lyon! You think no one understands you; I DO! I may not know what it's like to be abandoned by the people you love, but hell, you have us! The guild, your friends...ME! You're not alone, Natsu! You have us. We're your family, and we love you, don't we? Happy cares for you. Lucy, Lisanna, Erza, all the girls care for you. Even Romeo, Gildarts, hell even Gramps and Laxus cares for you. And you're sitting here crying like a little baby thinking no one cares! If anyone, they all care about you the most. You're our favourite lil' bastard. Without you the guild is nothing! The days you're not there, it's fucking boring; I'll admit it. Do you not understand how important you are to us?"
Fresh tears began to pour out of Natsu's emerald eyes. He just stared down at the ground as he hiccuped. He never actually thought about it that way. He always thought he was a burden to the guild; always causing trouble and destroying things. Ever since he was abandoned as a child, he always thought no one cared, or loved him. That he was no more than a piece of trash floating across the streets in the wind. He never actually understood that he was more than that, way more!
He hiccuped again, startling the ravenette. Gray sighed, wiping his own tears, and pulled the younger boy closer, embracing him in his arms and rubbing his back to make him feel better.
He took a deep breath and spoke in a much calmer tone. "I know, it's tough losing someone you love. Whether they left or died, but we can't turn back time and stop that from happening. We can only move on, and look to the future. We can't change our past, but we can make a better future. After all, everything is possible when you got your family back at the guild, right?"
Gray smiled down at the still crying dragon slayer in his arms.
"And, you'd think I'm crazy, but I've always liked you a lot. Not just as a friend, but maybe a little more...I care about you, Natsu."
Natsu stared up the ravenette, surprised at his sudden confession.
He didn't know how to respond. He was lost for words. He never would've imagined Gray, out of all people, would like him in that way – or like him in general.
"G-Gray..." The pinkette whispered softly.
Gray smiled, and wiped the tears from Natsu's face. He sighed, "It's okay if you don't return my feelings, but I just want you to know I care. And I always will, even if you piss me off and call me names.- "
The pinkette suddenly reached up and kissed the ravenette; catching him off guard.
Gray eyes widened, in shock. He couldn't figure out whether this was actually happen or if he was dreaming.
Natsu...Kissed him?
Natsu pulled away for air, huffing quietly, and wiped his eyes.
Gray stared, bewildered, as a smile finally resided on Natsu's formerly-pained face.
"Thank you, Gray." Natsu spoke softly, smile still plastered on his face. "Thanks, for everything."
Gray stared down in shock, then returned a smile as a lone tear fell from his eye. Blinking it away, the ice mage embraced the dragon slayer and kissed his cheek. "Anytime, cry-baby dragon."
"Shut up, Ice-princess." Natsu laughed lightly in Gray's bare chest.
Gray smirked, and pulled away. "Come on, let's get out of this alley way and go get some ice cream to cheer you up, ok?"
The pinkette face suddenly lit up at the mention of ice cream. "Okay!"
Gray laughed at the boy, making him pout.
"What's so funny, Ice-princess!?"
Gray shook his head laughing. "Nothing; other than you."
"Hey!-" Just as Natsu was about to protest, the ice mage kissed the boy on the lips, then pulled away; staring at the flustered boy in front of him. Gray chuckled lightly, making the pinkette angry. "B-bastard! Don't c-catch me off guard, l-like that."
Gray chuckled to himself. "No promises, but okay."
The pinkette punched the ice mage in the arm, causing him to yelp. "Bastard."
Gray sighed and rubbed his neck, awkwardly.
"Oi! Are you gonna spend all day here, or can we get going to the ice cream place? You kind of owe me some." Gray growled at the boy's bluntness, as Natsu returned the expression by sticking his tongue out.
"Idiot..." The ice mage mumbled under his breath, forgetting that Natsu probably could hear that with his dragon-like hearing.
"What was that, droopy-eyes!?" The pinkette raised an eyebrow, but Gray just shook his head, starting to walk out of the small alleyway.
"Let's get going before the ice cream seller decides to close his shop a lil' early, my little baby dragon." Gray smirked as he looked back.
"Don't call me that!" Natsu growled.
"Nah! I think I like that nickname for you, my little dragon." Gray laughed as he dodged Natsu's punch.
"BASTARD! When I get my hands on you..!" The pinkette turned to glare at the ice mage.
"That is if you can get me." This time it was Gray's turn to stick his tongue out at the Natsu, before he began to run towards the ice cream shop.
"Get back here, ice-bastard!" Natsu ran after the ice mage, as fast as he could.
Gray laughed as he ran. He didn't mind that Natsu was going to beat the crap out of him. He was glad that the dragon slayer was finally back to his normal self; hot-headed and losing his shit at Gray. It was better to have a pissed off fire dragon slayer, than a crying one; at least it was to Gray.
Gray laughed the whole time, and so did Natsu; glad to be excepted into Gray's family (life).