When it came time to take Natsu home, he acted as though those bitter remarks had never happened. Gray didn't know if Natsu was trying to move past it, if he was looking to get out of owning up to his actions, or if he had genuinely forgotten what he'd said. It didn't matter one way or the other. Before the diagnosis, they had fought often enough that Gray took no offense to threats of violence.

It was everything Natsu had said leading up to that threat that left Gray feeling unsettled.

Out of respect for Natsu and his desire to have some independence, Gray gave him a chance to walk home without support. For the first two blocks past the guild hall, Gray walked a few steps behind Natsu's side, letting Natsu try and prove to himself that he could still make the trip just fine, but making it easy to catch Natsu, should he fall.

Natsu hadn't fallen since the first time Gray found him on the ground, but more than once over the past several weeks, he'd started leaning on Gray for support during the trip home. It was only after he'd managed a week without needing to that Gray had decided Natsu was probably fine on his own.

Now, watching Natsu stumble, Gray realized he'd been hasty in saying that. Natsu was still sick. He was still quick to wear out. He might be doing better, but he was right, he wasn't in good condition yet. People who were in good condition were physically capable of walking home after work.

After two blocks, Natsu stumbled, and Gray reached out to catch him without waiting to see if the roset might be able to catch himself.

Natsu, it seemed, hadn't been any more confident in himself than Gray had been. He didn't protest the act. Gray bit his lip upon realizing that. Natsu needed reminders to take it easy while he still had energy. No one needed to point out to him that something was wrong.

"Are you alright?" Gray asked. "Do you still feel… um…" How did Natsu describe that feeling he got when he felt like he might trigger an attack? "Do you still feel strange?"

"A little," Natsu admitted.

"Should I carry you?"

Natsu looked around. Most of the civilians on the street walked by without paying them much heed, but a few stared. It had been over a month now since he'd caused destruction or other such trouble that he often did, and almost a month since his diagnosis. Plenty of time for people to notice something was off, and for word of what exactly that was to spread. He didn't want them talking about how his condition was so bad that he'd turned to Gray of all people for help. Hell, he didn't want to turn to Gray for help for no reasons other than that it meant getting help from Gray.

"I can manage." The feeling of something being wrong wasn't too strong. If he felt an attack coming on, he would give in to Gray, but until then he wanted to do whatever he could for himself.

His legs felt so tired though. In the end, he let Gray put one arm around him and help hold him up as they walked.

"I wasn't tired at all this morning," Natsu said. "I made it all the way to lunch without needing a break."

"Take one anyway," Gray told him. "It's because you pushed yourself that you're tired now."

"But I didn't need to rest."

"Yes you did. If you didn't need to rest, you would be fine to walk home on your own now. I know that pushing your limit is your thing, but with your condition, it's not a good idea. Go a little easier on yourself."

-o-

Natsu was still pouting when they got home, and yelled in protest when Gray tossed him onto the couch before looking to see if there was anything he could make for dinner.

"Gray!"

"Oh, good. You restocked. I was worried I'd have to run out and buy you groceries again."

"I can feed myself!"

He could. And Gray had noticed that either Natsu or Happy had thought to set up a chair by the kitchen counter in case Natsu couldn't stand any longer while cooking. But he'd already come all the way to Natsu's, and it seemed like a waste to leave so soon.

"Did you cook my lunch today?"

"No. Mira did." Natsu scowled, thinking it over. "I made the salad."

"Then I'll make something for you in return. And we'll call it even."

That something was a lot more than just a salad. He made a full meal, mixing what leftover meat and vegetables he found in the fridge in a stir fry. While this went on, Natsu rested on the couch, alternating between nodding off and, when Gray called out to remind him to stay awake, bickering with his house guest for the sake of something to do.

When Gray had finished preparing dinner he offered to bring a plate to Natsu, but the roset pushed himself up and retrieved his own meal.

"Don't force yourself."

"I'm walking five feet to pick up my own dinner."

"I thought ten feet was hard for you earlier."

Natsu scowled.

"Just saying."

Dropping back down onto the couch, Natsu stabbed at his stir fry with a fork and said, "No one's making you say anything about it."

"Well, what do you want me to do? You don't tell us anything about how you feel unless we twist your arm, and if today was anything to go by, you don't think to work within your limits unless we make you."

"I didn't have an attack," Natsu argued.

"The point isn't to avoid and attack! It's to recover! Which means you shouldn't overwork yourself period!"

Natsu grumbled, but looked away, unable to refute this one. He could argue that Gray wasn't the one stuck around the guild, sure, but that didn't diminish Gray's point. He was sick. He needed to take it easy. He got that. Really. It was just… hard. It was hard when everyone else was fine. When he showed up and they all went about business as normal and all his friends could still go off on jobs while he was stuck in town. Not even town. Walking to and from the guild had been tiring enough after the last attack that it was the only travel he'd done since.

When Natsu didn't argue with him further, Gray dished himself up a plate of stir-fry and made a mental note to buy Natsu groceries later to make up for eating food that Natsu had bought for himself. When he had the money for it. Having spent so much time watching over Natsu instead of working, he was hurting for cash.

Gray settled in leaning against Natsu's door, and only just took his first bite when Natsu asked, "Are you guys… do you have a job planned?"

"There's always the possibility that I'll show up tomorrow and Erza will tell me to go somewhere, but otherwise no. Why?"

"I want to go somewhere."

"We already told you no tagging along until—"

"Anywhere," Natsu insisted. "To the cathedral. Or out in the woods. Or you could help me break into Lucy's house. Happy buys all our groceries and I haven't even gone to the store in a month. It doesn't have to be part of a job yet. I just want to go somewhere."

Now it was Gray's turn to have no good protest. Natsu was right. Aside from the guild, he hadn't been able to go anywhere since his diagnosis. Particularly with Gray hovering over him whenever he stepped outside. Taking him on a job was far too risky for Gray's liking… but taking him around town sounded perfectly safe. There weren't many threats that could come at them in Magnolia, and an abundance of benches to stop at, should Natsu need a break.

Technically, Natsu was supposed to show up at the guild for work the next day, but realistically he wasn't needed. The arrangement was mostly an excuse to make Natsu feel like he was doing something, and to give him an allowance to keep himself fed without making it too obvious that he was a charity case. Gray could leave a note explaining the change of plans at the guild on his way home, if Mira and Makarov were gone when he returned.

"Yeah. Why not?" Gray said. "I'll come by tomorrow morning. We can go wherever you want around town."

Natsu grinned, and Gray felt a stab of guilt, realizing just how restrictive he'd been for Natsu to be so happy with the thought of walking around town.

"I'll hold you to that."

-x-

STA: Shorter chapter. Mostly setup for next one. I guess I could have included that at the end of the last chapter, but it…I don't know… It didn't feel like it fit. Anyway, I'm sure Porly will be thrilled when she shows up tomorrow and finds out Natsu didn't bother to stop by the guild.

Daygon Yuuki: I do have something I've been considering adding the two of them in for, although it could potentially be cut, still.

Deboo: Thank you seriously!

Anonymous Person: You think so? There isn't much yet with Natsu interacting with guild members outside of Gray and Mira, and I figured that while a month might not be enough time for everyone to fully adapt, it would be enough time for them to become familiar enough with the change for it to no longer be something they constantly fixate on. As for the BL thing, there are moments as the story progresses where the two are supposed to become more and more interested in one another romantically, but I don't think I'll ever make it too overwhelming. Given that the setup for the story is that Natsu is learning to cope with a degenerative disease, it feels weird when I let any character's focus stray too far from that detail.