A/N: Here's the third installment of Magic. Hope you enjoy it enough to review/alert/favorite. =) And, thank you to all of you who did these things already! It's because of you that makes me feel bad whenever I take too long to update, or I don't update something that's good enough.
Heh, anywho, enjoy!
Magic
Chapter 3
It was vulgar how much Natsu was enjoying himself. Gray couldn't help glaring as Natsu's hand cupped Lucy's behind, pushing her over a boulder that she had been having trouble with. It was no secret - at least to Gray - that Natsu had a "thing" for Lucy. He confessed to Gray not three days ago, just before they left for this mission. Back then, Gray didn't think anything of it. Go ahead, he had said, good luck!
After the dreams last night, however, Gray couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Natsu. He didn't enjoy being involuntarily distracted, especially when he had to focus on this mission. Every time Natsu turned toward him, Gray remembered the feel of Natsu's torso, the hard abs that could drive any woman crazy.
That's right…women! Natsu should be driving women crazy, not him. Gray was not a woman. No, Gray was a man, who was only attracted to beautiful women with nice bodies. Right, make this team interesting by hooking up with Erza, since Natsu had already called dibs on Lucy.
Watching the two girls walking close to each other, he was envious of Natsu. Conquering Erza would be no easy task, especially since she supposedly was already hooked up with Jellal, but those were just rumors. Taking a deep breath, he climbed over another boulder.
"When did we lose the trail?" Lucy asked, accepting assistance from Erza.
"We're still on the trail," Erza said, pausing only for a moment to look behind her. As the leader, she was turning back to make sure everyone was okay.
"There must have been a rock slide," said Happy, floating around Natsu's shoulder. "I see a clearing up ahead, so the rocks are almost conquered!"
"Easy for you to say, since you've got wings," Gray mumbled, bringing up the rear.
"Aye!" Happy squeaked, twirling in the air.
It was only a matter of time before they finally came upon the clearing. Gray had managed to keep his focus on just trying not to slip off the boulders, and not paying any attention to whatever Natsu might be doing to "help" Lucy; but as they stood together in the clearing - looking upon a quaint little barn they found - Gray noticed how close to Erza Lucy was standing. Maybe Natsu was being too helpful?
Natsu's giggling brought Gray back to the problem at hand. They finally reached the clearing where they saw a small barn. There was nothing else around it, nothing to indicate that it housed animals or people, but Erza was still on alert.
"This is it," Natsu said. "We found it. Let's go inside and kick the crap outta that jerk!"
"If anyone is in there," Erza scolded, keeping quiet, "then they might have already noticed our arrival."
"In other words," Gray muttered, "be quiet!" Especially since that giggle was a little cute. Guh, Gray, what are you thinking?
"But, isn't the house we're looking for on the top of the mountain?" Lucy whispered. "We're close, but not close enough to be considered the top."
Erza nodded and led the group in a quiet sneak up to the barn. They split into groups, Erza and Lucy in a group, and Natsu, Happy, and Gray in another group. Erza sent the boys to the back to make sure that no one could escape, if there was anyone in there to begin with.
Being so close to Natsu made Gray's stomach tingle, and he fought to push it away. All business now, no time to start questioning his inner chemistry and attraction to a man he had, until recently, despised.
The boys watched the back of the barn, though there was no door - that didn't mean someone couldn't blast their way out, or find some other discreet way of escaping.
The girls each took a side of the barn doors, opening only one of the double doors. Lucy opened the door so Erza faced the inside. If someone was inside, they'd meet up with her first, and they wouldn't like that very much.
Opening the door all they way, nothing happened. Erza placed a finger to her mouth, and Lucy crouched down, keeping as inconspicuous and silent as she possibly could while Erza stepped inside. Silence for a few moments, and then a tiny shriek. Lucy jumped up as a couple of birds flapped out of the barn in a frenzy. Lucy ran inside to find Erza on the floor, glaring at the escaping birds.
"Are you okay?" Lucy inquired.
"I'm fine, though I'm craving poultry for dinner," Erza answered. "It's okay, guys! It's clear." She stood up and accepted Lucy's help in dusting off hay and dirt from her clothes. She smiled her thanks to Lucy as the boys walked in.
"What happened?" Natsu asked, looking around. "Did I miss the fight? Where's the bad guy?"
"They flew off," Lucy said. "It's okay, it was just birds."
"The barn is empty," Erza said. "I think it's the perfect place to set up camp. We keep out of the cold and have cover in case something unfriendly shows up."
"Camp? But it's still light out." This from Gray, thankful to set his mind on something other than Natsu, even if that something was arguing with Erza. "We can still hike a few more hours before we need to settle down."
"I've given my reasons," Erza answered. She glanced up at Natsu who had climbed a ladder and was shuffling about in the hay on the loft. "Besides, when we come up to our enemy, we'll want to be refreshed. If we were to continue, we could meet up with our enemy unprepared. We need our rest."
"It's not here," Natsu announced. "There's no pretty pokey thing up here."
"No kidding," Gray mumbled. "The needle is up at the top with that bastard we're here to kill, or apprehend, or whatever. Don't you pay attention to anything?"
"You asking for an ass kicking?" Natsu popped his head over the edge of the loft, glaring. "If you wanna go, let's step outside."
Sighing, Gray shook his head. "Let's just get dinner set up."
"Good idea," Erza said. "You boys go and find food while Lucy and I get things together here." She pushed Gray out of the barn. "Hurry Natsu! And don't forget firewood."
When the boys and Happy were out, she closed the barn door. Gray figured that it was a good idea to close it, but she seemed a little hurried to get rid of them. It was understandable that the girls would want some private time, probably to gossip about something nonsensical - for example Natsu's constant attentions to Lucy. What would they say about that?
Eh, who cared? That was girl talk, so he couldn't be bothered by it. What he was bothered by was always being with Natsu. He was terrified by how he could suddenly be this attracted to someone in less than twenty-four hours. He was even more terrified that that someone was a guy. He'd never even thought of another man as attractive before. He'd never admit that a man was handsome, or good-looking, or anything. To suddenly have dreams about Natsu, and then think that he had a sexy body was a complete change in too little of time.
He couldn't handle this. He sent Natsu off to look for food on his own, so Gray didn't have to be alone with him. Gray the proceeded to search for any sticks to be used as firewood.
Just get through this, he kept telling himself. Just pay attention to the task at hand, then you can drive yourself crazy trying to sort this new problem out. He couldn't help but relive the dream he had the previous night. It was so real that if he wanted to fret over it, he might actually conclude that it was real. Hell, Natsu was so drunk last night that it was possible.
But he knew it didn't really happen, even though the feel of Natsu underneath him felt so real. No, it wasn't real, it was just a dream! Just a dream. No matter how drunk either of them got last night, there was no way they'd do that. Natsu was one hundred percent straight, and so was Gray! That's right, Gray was straight. He liked women. There was just some feminine qualities to Natsu that Gray only started noticing recently, and that was what made him so attracted to him.
Pink hair for one. Pink was the epitome of girl colors, so it was only natural to assume Natsu was a girly man.
Okay, so the pink hair was the only feminine quality Gray could think of for the moment, but he was sure, if given enough time, he'd be able to think up other qualities that Gray was attracted to in a woman that Natsu had.
By the time Natsu returned with a few dead small animals and fish, Gray had set up the firewood in a neat little pile. He didn't want to waste time trying to start a fire manually, since Natsu could just point his finger at the pile and it would burst into flames.
The two of them sat around the fire and cooked the meat, each saying only a few words here and there for small talk, both wondering what was taking the girls so long. Gray could only imagine the ferocity of the gossiping they were exchanging.
"What do you think they're talking about in there?" Natsu asked, giving Happy a small fish that had finished cooking.
"Probably you," Gray said, leaning back. "I know there's no way Lucy didn't notice your help today."
"That's all it was! I swear!"
"Yeah, help, just a bit of fingering on the side, right? I know she didn't not notice you playing with her ass."
"Eh, I couldn't help it." Natsu put a hand behind his head and laughed.
Gray laughed with him, though he wasn't as cheerful as Natsu seemed to be. He knew, by now, that he wouldn't be able to act completely cheerful when talking about Natsu and Lucy's budding relationship. He wanted to be happy for them, he needed himself to be happy for them, but he just couldn't gather up the full excitement that a best friend would have for his friend's happy relationship.
Sighing, Gray stood up. Food was just about done, so he announced he was going to get the girls. As he was nearing the barn door, he was saved the trouble of interrupting the girls - they opened the door and made their way to the fire pit. Gray leaned against the wall of the barn and looked on the group as they began eating. He watched as Natsu was overly attentive to Lucy again.
Sighing, he couldn't help but wish Natsu paid that much attention to him. Sure they were best friends, by the constant insistent Erza gave them, and Natsu would give him more attention than the average Joe, but not as much as he was giving Lucy in that moment. He was jealous, and he hated that he felt that way so suddenly.
It was a bad feeling, especially when they were getting ready for some epic battle that was sure to happen the next day, over a sewing needle no less. He needed to fully prepared for anything, and he couldn't do that if he was fussing over this strange feeling over Natsu.
The only logical explanation he could come with was to wait. They would get through this job, get paid, then go home. When they were safely back in Magnolia, then Gray would bring up the issue. It was the only thing he could think of that would put his mind back in the game. Natsu might hate him later, but that was later he had to worry about. As long as Natsu didn't know Gray's true feelings for the time being, they'd all be able to do this without casualties.
With a nod, he locked the problem away, promising himself to bring it back to light once this was over. He pushed off the barn and joined his friends, all having a good time until bed, and then the real work would begin.