Every Time We Touch

Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail

Author's Note: I hope you've appreciated the wait. Now deal with my strange mind.

Chapter 7

The next morning, Gray quietly ushered Happy out of the cabin with him, leaving Natsu—who was still fast asleep—alone.

"I need to look after him today. Do you mind spending time with Lucy?"

"Sure. But are you going to be with Natsu all day?" When the ice mage nodded, Happy grew concerned. "Don't do anything bad to him. It looks like he's gone through enough."

Gray couldn't agree more.

Natsu opened his eyes and immediately shut them. Why did it have to be so bright? Narrowing his eyes to slits, he gradually adjusted to the sunlight beaming into the cabin. Adjusting to its vibrancy, he looked around his environment and noticed that he was alone.

Figures, the dragon slayer thought to himself. I knew Gray didn't give a shit. Hurt by this thought, Natsu pushed the blankets off himself, preparing to rise from the bed when the cabin door slammed open.

"Get back into bed," Gray snapped, stepping into the cabin with numerous items in his arms. He shut the door with his foot and set everything on the table before storming over to the stunned dragon slayer. He then pushed Natsu back down into the bed and pulled the blankets back over him. "I'll have your breakfast ready for you in a minute."

Confused by the ice mage's behavior, Natsu sat up some with his back pressed against the pillows. He watched as Gray started putting things together and brought them toward him. Setting said things down on the nightstand, Gray sat on the couch next to him.

"I don't know how much Master or Porlyusica told you, but I need to stay near you at all times," started Gray.

"Why?" Natsu voiced.

Gray cursed the old man for letting him deal with this in his own. "Porlyusica said that your fire magic has gotten out of control and that you magic somehow connected to mine. It'll help keep you balanced. Or something like that."

Natsu's eyes widened. "I connected with you?" That's what this was?! "I'm so sorry, Gray! I didn't mean to! Honest!"

The ice mage was startled by Natsu's sudden apologetic tone. "It's okay," said Gray, unsure as to why Natsu seemed so anxious.

"No! It's not okay! You didn't get a chance to…" Natsu's voice trailed off. How could he have been so reckless? He knew this was coming! Igneel had warned him!

"I didn't get a chance to what?" Gray asked, looking uneasy when it looked like Natsu was going to cry. "It's okay. You can tell me."

Natsu finally looked straight into Gray's eyes and noticed the concern hidden in their depths. "I…I can't," he stuttered before a tear slid down his cheek.

At this, Gray panicked. "Hey! It's okay! You don't have to tell me anything right now. Let's just focus on getting you better. We can talk about all this later. Just let me…take care of you…please," he begged. And he wasn't someone known for his begging.

Natsu rubbed at his eyes and nodded. Gray then placed a tray filled with food in front of him. Natsu stared at the contents: an omelet with cheese, sausage, milk, and an orange.

"Let's start with you eating breakfast," the ice mage stated.

"Um…thanks…Gray," replied Natsu, looking back down at his food. When he made no move to start eating, Gray grabbed his fork and prepared to feed him. "Hey! I can feed myself!"

Gray let a small smile slip out that stunned Natsu for a moment. Setting down the fork, he said, "Then eat. All of it."

With Gray watching him like a hawk, that was pretty much all he could do. When he finished, the ice mage took the tray away and returned, sitting on the couch as he had done so before.

"You…don't have to stay right here, you know. I can take care of myself in bed at least," said Natsu solemnly.

"A lot of good that did you before," Gray retaliated. Shit, he thought. The last thing I want to do is start an argument. He's in no condition to—

"You got me there," replied the dragon slayer, an amused yet sad look on his face.

"What…happened?"

"When? Before…or after the fire?"

Gray paused. "Both?"

Natsu sighed. This was going to be a long story. "About two months ago, I came of age."

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I don't quite understand what that means. Coming of age?"

"Um, well, as Igneel put it, it's when dragons become adults."

"So you've just been a kid all this time?"

"Will you shut up and let me talk?"

"Sorry!"

"As I was saying," Natsu continued, "when dragons reach the age of adulthood, their body morphs into a fully grown dragon, complete with a full grown dragon's power. And normally other dragons are present to help the change complete successfully. They use their magic to maintain the increase of power of the full grown dragon so that their body can wield that power.

"If there are no other dragons present at the time the dragon comes of age, the dragon's magic power latches onto the closest magical power it senses as an equal to find balance…so that it doesn't go out of control. But once that connection is made, it can't be broken. And if the connection is stretched out too thin, the dragon's power goes out of control and harms the dragon."

"But…you're not a dragon," said Gray.

Natsu shrugged. "I am a dragon slayer. I have all the characteristics and powers of a dragon."

"But there were no dragons around when you came of age," Gray stated. "What about Gajeel…or Wendy? Couldn't they have helped you?"

"I wasn't around them at the time," Natsu said as he shook his head. "I was around you. Remember when we took that mission in the mountains with Erza and Lucy?"

"The one where we had to fight an ogre and it turned out there were twenty of them?" Boy had Erza given the guy who requested the mission an earful over that one.

Natsu nodded. "It happened then. I started…feeling funny. Like I had a fever. I didn't know what was going on at the time. We'd been split up, too, because we hadn't expected to encounter so many ogres. Erza, Lucy, and Happy went one way, and we went another. I remember…feeling hotter than normal and I think…maybe that's when I connected with you. You were the only one there and…I wish I'd realized what was going on before it was too late!"

"Natsu, it's not the end of the world. So your magic connected with mine. So what? As long as it keeps you safe, that's what matters, right?" interceded Gray.

The dragon slayer sighed. "You don't understand." Natsu seemed to be fighting with himself.

"Then make me understand," Gray pleaded. "I hate seeing you like this. I want to help you. I really do! But I can't if you don't tell me everything."

"You can't leave me anymore," said Natsu as tears stung his eyes, "or I'll die. Eventually, anyway. My life is literally in your hands. We're connected by our magic. We're stuck. You stay, I'm okay. You leave, I die. End of story."

"For…ever?" Gray asked quietly, realization dawning on him.

"Forever," Natsu whispered. "Or at least until you're sick of me."

Gray swallowed hard and looked at his…friend. "I would never get sick of you. If staying by your side is what it takes, then I'll stay by your side. Even if it is…forever."

"I really am sorry for all this, Gray."

Gray shook his head. This was a lot to take in. "You don't…need to be. It's not your fault. Can you…tell me what happened the day of the fire?"

Natsu leaned back in the bed and grimaced. "About two weeks ago, we had a fight like we normally do in the guild. But…I was just so mad that day that I used my magic in our fight. We hardly ever do that in the guild."

Gray remembered that fight. As soon as Natsu had hit him with his flaming fist, he left the guild. "What happened after you left our fight?"

"I went home," said Natsu. "And that's when everything went wrong. As soon as I went inside, my chest started to hurt and I could feel my temperature going up. Flames appeared around my body and spread so fast. I couldn't control it. Everything was burning! I was burning! It hurt so much! Fire's never hurt me before! But this time, I could feel it searing my skin!"

"Okay, okay. You don't need to think about the fire anymore," interrupted Gray when it seemed Natsu was reliving that moment. "What happened after that?"

"After that?" Natsu thought for a moment. "After that, I remember smelling smoke. I'd opened my eyes. I'm not sure if I'd passed out or what. But when I opened them, all I could see was the charred remains of our house. And I was covered in burns."

"Why didn't you ask anyone for help?" Gray couldn't understand why Natsu hadn't come to anyone.

"I was…afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Myself," said Natsu. "You have no idea what if feels like to have your control ripped away from you. I was afraid to use my magic after that. I felt that if I did, I would lose control again. I was afraid of hurting someone. I already hadn't gone on any missions outside of Magnolia for awhile because I didn't feel right. And losing control like that only confirmed that I shouldn't go on any missions that weren't nearby."

"That's why you'd taken the job at Magnolia Café," said Gray. "And I got you fired from that job."

"There aren't many jobs inside Magnolia that pay well. I was trying to survive off of what I could find at home."

"I'm…sorry I got you fired," Gray began slowly. "I didn't know what was going on."

"No one did. But don't get me wrong. I do blame you for getting me fired, but the rest of what happened wasn't your fault."

"I know that," Gray quipped. "What happened after you got fired?"

Natsu winced. "I lost control again. In the woods." He shivered at the memory. "I accidentally let my flames loose on you at the café and lost control sometime after. That's when I tried to reel in my magic as much as I could. But I guess that backfired."

"Had I known what was going on, I wouldn't have—" He stopped himself from continuing.

"Wouldn't have what?" the dragon slayer asked, perturbed.

"Forget it," Gray mumbled in response, rising to his feet.

Natsu watched him enter the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. What had that been all about? Leaning back against the headboard, the dragon slayer relaxed. He felt a bit relieved about telling the truth.

But would he regret it?

End Chapter