Every Time We Touch
Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail
Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with this story! Please review!
Chapter 8
Gripping the sink in his hands, Gray stared at himself in the mirror. What did he expect? It wasn't like things would get all happy-go-lucky just because he apologized. He'd seriously hurt Natsu emotionally during the time that he'd know him.
But…had he known what the dragon slayer was going through, he'd have never done what he did. He knew far too well what it was like to feel alone. Perhaps he should tell Natsu that. It might get the fire mage to open up, and they might be able to…bond.
However, it wasn't like Natsu was just going to disregard everything he'd done to him in the past. He'd only apologized to him about the job, not anything else. Giving the fire mage a sincere apology was more than likely the right way to start mending their relationship.
Wait…relationship? That sounded…odd.
"Gray!" Natsu's sudden scream startled him. What the hell was going on?
Natsu shrank back as far as he could as he stared down the raccoon sitting at the end of his bed. How long had the fucking bastard been under the damn bed? All the dragon slayer had done was reach down to pick up the pillow he'd knocked over and out scurried a raccoon. A fucking raccoon!
"What are you screaming for?" Gray asked as he reentered the main room of the cabin.
As soon as the ice mage made his reappearance, Natsu jumped from the bed and latched himself onto him. Pointing frantically at the bed, the other teen followed his gaze.
"Holy shit!" Gray hissed, placing his arms securely around Natsu as he made them back away from the curious mammal. Quickly leading the dragon slayer outside, he slammed the door to the cabin shut.
"Don't lock it in!" Natsu protested, shivering slightly from the drastic change in temperature.
Gray looked down at him, a surge of protectiveness overwhelming his senses. "Stay here."
"What're you gonna do?" the fire mage exclaimed. "You're not going after it, are you? What if it has rabies or something?"
Grabbing a large stick that was near the cabin, Gray turned back to face Natsu. "Are you concerned for my wellbeing?"
"Is there something wrong with me not wanting you to get hurt?"
"No. You just took me by surprise," the ice mage replied absently. He reached for the door, but was interrupted by Natsu.
"Be careful," he cautioned.
For some reason, those two words made him feel…strange, for lack of a better word. And he wasn't quite sure what it was. Oh, well. He'd figure that out later. Right now, he had a raccoon to deal with.
Natsu couldn't believe that Gray actually went back inside the cabin to face off against a raccoon. If he'd had a video lacrima, he surely would have recorded it. But he was—in actuality—too scared and too cold to care.
A few minutes of crashes and curses later, the raccoon bolted from the cabin and took off into the woods. Gray returned as well, holding a mangled stick which he threw off to the side.
"Are you okay? It didn't bite you or anything?" Natsu asked, inspecting the visible parts of Gray's body. The ice mage shook his head. "Why'd you use a stick and not magic to get rid of the raccoon?"
Gray paused and stared at him for a full minute before responding. He actually hadn't thought of it. "Whatever. It's all clear. You can go back inside now."
Taking a hesitant step forward, Natsu peeked into the cabin before moving all the way inside. But when something fell over and landed on the floor, the fire mage made to run for the door, only to crash into Gray.
Reaching out to steady him, the ice mage stared down at Natsu's quivering form. He placed his arms around the dragon slayer and pulled him into a gentle hug. He just stood there, embracing Natsu in order to provide him with the comfort and security he desperately needed. This close contact finalized his decision; he now knew where he wanted to go from here in this relationship. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
"For someone who acts so tough, you sure are jumpy," Gray chuckled.
His laughter startled Natsu at first. He'd never heard the ice mage being utterly amused before, but when he realized it was at his expense, the dragon slayer grew angry. Pushing Gray away from him, he crossed his arms. "Who asked you?" he spat.
What was the fire mage doing to him? Why did he enjoy seeing the pout on his face or the way his lip jutted out when he did so? Was he attracted to him? If so…had he always felt this way or was it something new entirely? Perhaps taking the time to actually talk and not fight would reveal more.
"I saved you from the raccoon, remember?" Gray taunted childishly.
"Yeah, I remember," Natsu grumbled. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now, you should probably get back into bed. You've had a rough few days and you need your rest."
Clambering back into the bed, Natsu pulled the covers back over himself and stared up at the ceiling looking bored. It somewhat deterred Gray that the fire mage had done what he'd said without protest. Taking a seat on the couch next to him, the ice mage propped his feet up on the edge of the bed.
"You're really staying with me?" Natsu asked, surprised. When Gray nodded, he continued. "Then can we do something? I'm bored."
"What would you like to do?"
"Can we talk?"
"Aren't we doing that already?"
"You know what I mean!" Natsu snapped.
Smirking, Gray decided to give into his request. "What would you like to talk about?"
"I don't know."
The ice mage glared at him. Of all things, he hadn't expected that. Whatever. He could do small talk. It was easy. "Why did you want to deal with all this alone?"
Apparently, that was the wrong question to ask, because Natsu's expression immediately became grim. Perhaps this wasn't a topic for small talk.
"Why do you want to know?" the dragon slayer asked quietly.
Sighing, Gray stared at him fully. "Because I might…personally know a thing or two about dealing with things alone. And I was wondering why you never sought help. Everyone at the guild cares about you a great deal."
"They haven't come to visit me, though, have they? It's like ever since we got here, they've been avoiding me. I don't know. Maybe they're too caught up in all the activities."
"Is that why you never told anyone? You thought we would avoid you? Or be too caught up in our own lives to pay you any mind?"
"I…guess so. I'm not sure. None of you ever asked why I wasn't going on any missions for two months."
Gray frowned.
"But Gramps knows now. So that's good…right?" Natsu asked unsurely.
"Right…and if you need any…help—with anything—you can…you can count on me," replied Gray unsurely. He knew this statement would change the course of their relationship, which had been practically founded on hate. But now, they'd found a common ground, and the ice mage was ready to explore it.
"Really?"
"Yes. I don't hate you like you think I do." At least I know that I don't hate you like I thought I did. It's something else.
"I think I might feel the same way," Natsu replied with a yawn.
Gray chuckled again. "Get some sleep. I'll be here if you need anything."
The fire mage snuggled down into the bed, a small smile on his face. He couldn't help it. Those words meant a lot to him and more. It let him fall asleep without the fear of anything bad happening to him.
Happy tried to stifle his laughter as he watched Gray try to wake Natsu up, which was turning out to be impossible. As soon as Gray had tried to shake the dragon slayer awake, Natsu had instantly grabbed the ice mage and latched onto him like he was some kind of giant teddy bear.
Gray grumbled as he tried to get out of the fire mage's tight grip. It was like he was glued to him or something.
"Natsu, wake up," he ground out. The dragon slayer didn't budge. "Flamebrain!"
"Huh?" Bleary eyes soon opened, and they widened when the person belonging to those eyes realized he was hugging Gray. "Oh! Sorry!" he exclaimed, releasing him and scrambling away.
"It's…fine," replied the ice mage. "I brought you some dinner. And after you've finished eating, you'll get dressed and we'll go."
"Go? Go where?"
"Master wants us all to do some stupid group activity. And this evening, it's sitting around a campfire and listening to stories," grumbled Gray.
"Um…okay. So, uh, what's for dinner?" the fire mage asked timidly, hoping Gray wouldn't lash out at him because of some event the master had planned.
Happy bounded over and placed a tray of food in front of him: steak teriyaki, rice, mixed vegetables, salad, and watermelon. Not bad. Digging into his food, Natsu watched as Gray started rummaging through his luggage.
A few minutes later, Natsu had finished eating—his appetite was back and he was hungry again—and Gray waltzed over to him and tossed something at him. It was a jacket.
"It's supposed to be cool this evening. When we leave, put this on. Master also informed me that you need to stay warm. Now that you've finished eating, go change and we'll get going."
The fire mage stared down at the jacket, running his hands over it delicately as he rose from the bed. Tossing it over his arm, Natsu reached for his bag and headed into the bathroom. He cleaned himself up and changed into a fresh set of clothes before slipping the jacket on. It was warm, comfortable, and even smelled like Gray. And that brought a smile to his face.
His eyes widened. Wait! He was smiling because it smelled like Gray? Apparently, he was a lot sicker than he'd thought! Brushing away such ideas, he came out of the bathroom, where Gray and Happy had been waiting for him.
"Let's go," said Happy as he rushed toward the door. The two teens followed him, yet a little more slowly.
As soon as they stepped outside, Natsu immediately wanted to go back in. It was freezing out here! Wasn't it supposed to be spring?
"Are you all right? You're shaking," observed the ice mage.
"It's cold! Aren't you cold?" Natsu replied.
"No. I'm an ice mage, remember?" He paused. "Wait right here."
Gray went back into the cabin. A couple minutes later, he returned holding a pair of blankets.
"What—"
"When we get to the campfire, you can wrap these around yourself if you're still cold. And we'll make sure to get you a spot closer to the fire."
Natsu nodded, trying to stop his teeth from chattering. They quickly made their way to the so-called campfire, and the dragon slayer was relieved to see that they were the first ones to arrive. The only other person there was Master Makarov.
"Hey, Natsu. How are you feeling?" started the man.
"I'm okay. Just kind of cold right now," the fire mage answered as he seated himself near the fire. He sighed when he felt his body start to warm. But when the wind blew, he started shaking again. He was starting to feel like a fucking leaf!
Suddenly, Natsu found a blanket being placed over his lap, covering his legs. Then another one found its way over his shoulders, covering his upper body. The dragon slayer watched Gray sit down next to him, with Happy seating himself on his other side. It cut down the wind chill considerably, and for that, he was grateful.
"Thanks," Natsu whispered, taking comfort in the warmth he was now feeling. It was enough to make him drowsy.
"Natsu, where have you been?"
Scratch that. He was wide awake now. The others had arrived. And that had been Erza speaking.
Gray narrowed his eyes at everyone. "He's been sick," the ice mage retorted, interrupting whatever Natsu had been about to say.
Lucy gasped. "Really, Natsu? That's why you've been gone today?"
"If you were so worried about him, then why didn't you look for him?" Gray retaliated. It was unnerving Natsu slightly. Just what was the ice mage trying to do?
"But we had activities to do, so we didn't have time to—"
"You didn't have enough time during breakfast to ask where he was? Didn't have time during your lunch and free time to go search for him? It doesn't really seem like any of you were worried at all," Gray continued.
Lucy started getting tears in his eyes, which only angered Erza. "There's no need to be so harsh," she stated.
"Yeah. We care!" added Lucy, a tad heatedly.
"Guys, cut it out!" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs. Ooh, that was a bad idea. It made him dizzy. Even though his appetite was back, he wasn't up to snuff yet.
Natsu felt Gray steady him as his head swam. When the dizziness faded, he looked back up at the others. "It's fine. Everything's fine," he mumbled, focusing on the fire instead of them.
He heard them sigh and retreat, gathering in different spots around the fire as the rest of their class showed up. Why had he exploded like that at them? Did them not finding out what was going on bug him that much?
"Now that everyone's here, let's get started!" Master Makarov exclaimed excitedly as he sat on the other side of the fire so he could look at everyone. "And this evening will be a night to remember. Because it's ghost story time!"
Natsu mentally groaned. Sure, he liked the idea of creepy things, but experiencing them was another thing entirely. However, knowing their master's happy-go-lucky attitude, his story couldn't be that scary. Right?
"This tale happened a long time ago. According to legend, there's an abandoned shrine somewhere in the depths of these woods where a couple was killed, destined to never reunite. They wander this very land, hoping to reunite with each other one day. But alas, it was never meant to be. Now, let us begin our story."
End Chapter