Every Time We Touch

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

Author's Note: Hm. I'm realizing I've made Gray quite violent without any provocation. Oops?

Chapter 4

8:00 AM – Wake-Up

Gray nearly flew out of bed when he heard a very loud and annoying song blaring through the air. Was this supposed to be their fucking wake-up call? Covering his ears, he waited until the noise ceased before kicking off his blankets. As he peered around the room, he noticed that Happy was blearily waking up and that the flamebrain…was gone?

Upon closer inspection, the ice mage realized that the pillow and blankets that had been on the couch with the flamebrain were gone also. But his bag was still there. Curiosity getting the better of him, he reached down for the bag, only to have Happy snatch it away from him.

"Leave Natsu's stuff alone. It's not yours!" Happy exclaimed. "Natsu's a really nice person. You just need to get to know him."

"I don't want to get to know him. Flamebrain's a waste of my time," Gray replied curtly.

"If he's such a waste of your time, why do you keep picking on him?"

The ice mage was saved from answering when the sound of a door opening and shutting became apparent. So the flamebrain had been in the bathroom, had he?

"We need to be out there in time for announcements," Natsu started. "You might want to get dressed and make your beds."

"And why would I resort to making a bed?" Gray inquired haughtily.

"Because the camp coordinators will be inspecting the cabins while we're listening to announcements," the dragon slayer replied. "If the room isn't clean, we'll get in trouble."

"And you know this how?"

"I read the back of our schedule," Natsu answered bluntly before heading out the door, already fully dressed.

Gray's eye twitched. How dare the flamebrain make a fool of him!

8:30 AM – Gather Outside for Announcements

Makarov stared at the half-dozing guild members and smiled. "Good morning!" he greeted cheerfully. "I hope all of you had a good night's sleep. Today is our first official day of camp, which means you should have picked out your activities by now. If not, you can make the final arrangements over breakfast.

"I'll be passing out maps of the camp for all of you, too. We don't want anyone getting lost. There will be a camp coordinator at each location, so if there are any problems or questions, feel free to ask the person in charge. And with that, I wish all of you a good day."

Natsu sighed in relief. It was over and he could finally get some breakfast. To be honest, he didn't have much of an appetite, but he knew he had to eat something. He'd felt weird ever since last night. And this morning he'd woken up dizzy. The dizziness had gone away after awhile, but a headache soon took its place.

"Natsu, I'd like to speak to both you and Gray again before we head off for breakfast," called Makarov as he jogged over to him. When he reached the dragon slayer's side, they started walking toward Gray. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," Natsu lied through his teeth. "Maybe the motion sickness from the ride just hit me harder than usual."

Makarov didn't look convinced, but he let it slide for now since they'd reached the ice mage. "You two have looked over your schedule, correct?"

They both nodded in response.

"Good. I'll have you know that we're not letting you venture off alone. I know how you two react to each other far too well, so I'll be with you every step of the way. Consider me your chaperone for the time being."

Natsu mentally groaned. How long was he going to keep babbling?

"Oh! Sorry about that. Sometimes I just start rambling. Well, let's go to breakfast, shall we?"

8:45 AM – Breakfast

It was official. Their camp was going to be cheap when it came to food.

Natsu stared down at his tray, which held a bowl of cereal, some milk, and a banana. Well, it was better than nothing—and he knew that far too well.

The dragon slayer poured the milk over his cereal, pushed it around a bit with his spoon, and then ate some. It wasn't too bad. And taking that mouthful seemed to trigger his stomach; it growled.

Devouring his breakfast, he sat back in his seat, letting his eyes linger on Gray and Happy, who were still eating theirs. At least, Happy was eating. Gray just…prodded it.

"Gray, you're not going to eat for at least another three hours. Just eat it."

"Why don't you just shut your damn mouth?" the ice mage snapped, placing his spoon down next to his bowl. He crossed his arms and sat back in his seat.

Natsu sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

9:45 AM – Yoga

Gray glared as he was forced to stand—barefoot—on the yoga mat he'd been given by Makarov. There was no way in hell he was doing this. No way.

"All right, boys," started the man, "today we'll learn Downward-Facing Dog. And trust me. It'll help you to relax."

Relax, my ass, Natsu thought.

"First, you'll come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Set your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Spread your palms, index fingers parallel or slightly turned out, and turn your toes under.

"Exhale and lift your knees away from the floor. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Against this resistance, lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and from your inner ankles draw the inner legs up into the groins.

"Then with an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels onto or down toward the floor. Straighten your knees, but be sure not to lock them. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly. Narrow the front of the pelvis.

"Firm the outer arms and press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor. From these two points, lift along your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders. Firm your shoulder blades against your back then widen them and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the head between the upper arms; don't let it hang."

After Makarov demonstrated the pose, he motioned for Gray and Natsu to do the same.

Natsu relented. He wasn't in the mood to receive a lecture and he was tired of worrying about what Gray would say to him every two seconds. Making the best out of his current situation was all he could pretty much do. So he decided to do as Makarov instructed and did the Downward-Facing Dog.

"It just figures you would—"

"For someone who hates me so much, you sure do like trying to get my attention," the dragon slayer interrupted.

And for once in Gray's life, he was rendered speechless.

End Chapter