Since Natsu's diagnosis, Gray had made a point of being there at the crack of dawn to help get Natsu to the guild. Natsu having resented that help, Gray made an effort not to be any more intrusive about this than he felt necessary. He wasn't above peeking his head in the door while Natsu made breakfast and shouting a reminder to warm up the tea he had restocked the night before, but he'd refrained from going in while Natsu slept and waking him up.

When he thought of it, Gray was sure that even when they shared a hotel, he hadn't watched Natsu sleep. Lucy was so defensive back then, getting short with him whenever he told Natsu he couldn't do this or that. He'd avoided going to Natsu's bed when they got up that morning, instead making Natsu's tea while the girls roused him.

Now, Natsu was in his bed, and there was no one else to wake him. Gray let the roset sleep in while he fried up bacon and brewed tea—and he didn't envy Natsu for needing to drink the stuff alongside bacon—but once breakfast was made and there was no sign of Natsu stirring, Gray went to get him up.

Standing in his doorway, seeing Natsu snuggled up in his sheets, Gray was struck by how sweet he looked. Since when was his sleeping face so innocent?

Gray shook his head. Natsu hadn't had half was much energy since Suraci's hit him. Obviously, that was why he looked so much less obnoxious now.

"Natsu?" Gray said. "Hey, wake up."

Natsu stirred, lifting his head slightly, then dropping it.

"No."

"What does that mean? This is non-negotiable. Time to get up."

"Five more minutes."

"In five minutes breakfast will be cold."

It took Natsu a moment to process the statement. Once he had, he sniffed the air and, catching the scent of bacon, pushed himself up.

"Do you need help getting to the table?"

"I don't know."

Gray stood back and let Natsu stand up on his own. Natsu took too steps blindly, stumbled over a shirt Gray forgot to pick up from two or three days ago, then progressed through the room more slowly, shuffling his feet and holding his hands out in front of him.

"Here, hold my hand," Gray said. "I won't hold you up if you don't want me to, but let me guide you. At least until you know your way around."

He held his hand out for Natsu. Natsu, similarly, held his own hand out for Gray. Gray stared at both hands, wondering why Natsu didn't just take his, before remembering that only one of them could see where both of their hands were.

Hopefully, Natsu didn't notice how long it took for Gray to take his hand. At least he couldn't see how mortified Gray was.

"Happy didn't eat all the bacon yet, did he?" Natsu asked as Gray guided his hand to the kitchen table.

Gray froze, realizing that he hadn't seen the cat since some time the day before. Happy had made himself so small for shame of helping Natsu into harm's way that Gray had overlooked him entirely. Had he been there for Porlyusica's assessment? He certainly hadn't been there when Gray carried Natsu home.

Oblivious to Gray's horror, Natsu felt along the table until his arm bumped against the back of a chair. He pulled the chair out, then glided his hand down the back until he found the seat, which he carefully planted his butt in.

His legs were trembling.

"How was that in terms of walking?" Gray asked, hoping to buy time while he tried to work out where Happy might be.

Natsu bit his lip, and turned away from Gray before admitting, "A lot."

"I made your tea. Give me a minute to pour it. That should help. We can work on therapy right away after breakfast." If Natsu didn't notice anything amiss, didn't panic, and didn't try to track Happy down.

Although what exactly Gray planned to do if Natsu remained oblivious, he didn't know. With his eyes covered, there wasn't a whole lot to occupy Natsu around Gray's apartment. Carrying Natsu around town while they searched for the little guy might have been a good way to spend the day. Going to the guild was out of the question, since everyone would be there looking for news on Natsu's condition.

Natsu settled the issue for Gray by saying, "Happy, I forgot to check. Is Gray clothed?"

Gray let the silence draw out just long enough for Natsu to realize something was off, then cleared his throat and said, "I am, and I can go over there and let you confirm it if you want."

"Where's Happy?"

"Don't know. We can track him down when you're done with breakfast."

Natsu froze.

"Or I can look for him now… I think it's more likely that he wanted a little time to himself than that he's in any danger," Gray said. "Happy can take care of himself. And besides, he felt bad after…"

Gray had the sense to cut himself off before he could say it, but Natsu still caught on.

"After I roped him into taking me on that job."

"Well, he won't feel any better if you don't take care of yourself worrying about him. Eat."

"It wasn't Happy's fault," Natsu said. "I told him we were only going to you guys' hotel."

"I'll keep that in mind. For now, focus on breakfast. We can track him down once you're fed."

"We can track him down now."

"Breakfast first. At least have your tea. I'm not taking you anywhere so soon after an attack if you can't do the bare minimum to look after yourself."

The bandages over his eyes were the only thing that kept Natsu from glaring daggers. As it was, he gave Gray's general direction a mighty scowl before grudgingly eating his bacon.

He stuffed what food was left into his mouth, and washed it down with large gulps of tea. Gray refrained from commenting on the bacon bits Natsu got all over the floor, silently tossing Natsu a wet rag to clean the grease from his fingers as he carried the dishes to the sink. Once the plate and mug were in place to be ignored for a few days before dish washing absolutely had to happen, and once Natsu was relatively clean, Gray wrapped an arm around Natsu's back and legs and lifted him from the table.

"I want to walk."

"You sure?"

"Yes. As far as I can."

Hesitantly, Gray set Natsu on his feet. He waited a moment to make sure the roset was steady, then said, "I'm not letting you walk until your legs give out. We're pacing ourselves, okay?"

Natsu grunted an affirmative, looking less than pleased. He, like Gray, must have foreseen that they would only get half way down the stairs after leaving his apartment before Natsu would have expended enough energy to make Gray feel the need to carry him.

On previous occasions where Natsu had to be carried, Gray made excuses for him. They might pretend he twisted something in a fight, or fell asleep after working hard, and Gray felt generous enough to help take him home. Now, with his eyes bandaged and high odds that Gray would carry him most places, it would be hard to pretend things were a-okay. Most of the town knew that something was wrong as it was, but some part of Natsu resented hearing people whisper affirmations to one another about his failing health as they walked by.

It used to be that he would only hear those remarks from behind. Now, with the bandages on, he could tell from the direction of their voice that people didn't wait until they were out of sight to comment.

"Gray," he ordered, "take note of everyone who's whispering."

"What for?"

"Payback."

"How?"

"I don't know. You work that out."

"I'm going to focus on looking for Happy instead, okay?"

Natsu grumbled at that, but rested his chin on Gray's shoulder and gave up on the subject. That he couldn't see any of the people whispering about him meant he also missed the dark looks Gray shot to anyone he caught discussing the sight of Natsu in his fallen state too openly.

They went first to Natsu's, and found evidence that Happy spent the night there but left since. If he was at the guild, Natsu felt, then they could wait. There would be people there to console him, and Natsu dreaded receiving any similar consolation from so many people at once. With no better ideas, they took to wandering around Magnolia, checking all the old places where Happy might have lingered.

Without prompting, at one of their stops, Gray purchased pretzels. He stuck one in his own mouth and the other in Natsu's, which more or less required Natsu take a bite before speaking.

"How long is it until lunch?"

"About an hour."

"We've been out that long?"

"Yeah."

"…You've been carrying me that long."

"It's not…" Gray stopped himself before he could dismiss the act. For him, it wasn't that hard to carry someone his own size for an extended period of time. For Natsu, a few months ago, it wouldn't have been hard either. Now, Natsu could hardly manage to move himself around.

Switching topics slightly, Gray instead said, "Do you want to try walking again? We can go a block or two."

"You're not going to panic about me overexerting myself?"

"I'll be right here. And you still need the exercise. You won't recover properly otherwise."

Natsu scoffed at the idea that what little ability he might reclaim counted as recovering, but let Gray slide him onto the street. He held onto Gray's arm from a moment while he steadied himself, then switched to holding Gray's hand.

"There are no stairs this time, so we should be able to go a little further before you need another break," Gray told him.

Natsu, rather than dignify that with a response, took another bite of his pretzel and let Gray quietly lead him down streets he couldn't see.

He'd heard Gray order two pretzels, and from smell and the occasionally muddle sound of Grays voice, could tell where the second had gone. Walking hand in hand while eating the same vendor food together, Natsu noticed, almost made it like the two of them were on a date. Except that he could only walk in frustratingly short spurts, and couldn't see anything, and Gray was more interested in finding Happy for him than showing him a good time.

It was stupid. Thinking of Gray that way was stupid. He was sick, and Gray was only being so kind to and protective of him because of that sickness. Even if Gray did like him back, it would be the furthest thing from appropriate to look for a deeper relationship anyway. Not when he'd just had another attack and depended on Gray's pity for everything. Probably never, if he remained so dependent on Gray.

So… never. Because he was never going to get better.

The thought made Natsu tense up, which didn't go unnoticed by Gray. The ice maker stopped walking to look back, which did go unnoticed by Natsu, who proceeded to walk right into Gray.

"Sorry. Should've told you I stopped. Is something the matter?"

"No. I'm fine."

"You're still saying that? Really?"

What Natsu intended to say in response was nothing more than a childish, stubborn 'yes', so it was probably for the best that he never got the chance to respond. Before he could draw in the air to speak, two thick arms wrapped around his chest tight and yanked him back, forcing him to let go of Gray's hand.

For a second, Natsu wondered if he was about to be abducted, then he recognized his assailant. Having been so fixated on Gray's scent and the pretzels, he'd never noticed the out-of-town slayers who snuck up behind them.

"Natsu!" Sting ruffled his hair. "Hey! You never came to visit, so we thought we'd see you!"

This time, Natsu had no idea how to respond at all. Was he supposed to have visited them? Should he make up a reason? Explain his situation? That might be a good idea. If Sting was looking for someone to have a playful match with, it might even be necessary. Although Sting and Rogue had made no comment on anything related to his health. Surely they'd heard rumors, after he'd been off active duty so long. Did Sting not see the bandages?

In the silence that followed, Natsu realized he'd hoped Gray might take over the conversation. Without being able to see Gray, he had no idea whether or not Gray was waiting for him to say something.

"This is the part where you explain yourself," Sting said.

"Explain himself? You're the one who jumped out of nowhere," Gray retorted.

Speaking up for the first time, Rogue said, "We were worried. Minerva heard he was terminally ill."

"He isn't."

"Oh." Sting released Natsu. "Dang, and we came all the way here, too. Took a train for nothing."

There was a thwack, followed almost immediately after by a yelp from Sting. Then Rogue said, "You make it sound like you're not relieved."

"Well, it's great that he isn't dying, but I thought this might be our last chance to see him before the end." Sting slung an arm over Natsu's shoulder. "So what's going on then? No one's heard any news of you trashing a town in weeks, and when I checked the reports, you were listed as inactive. And what's up with the head wrap?"

"Sting." Gray's voice was low and clipped, an obvious warning, and Natsu felt Sting shift back slightly in response.

Talking to someone who was still living according to the old normal was nice, even if a little part of Natsu shriveled up and died when he imagined trying to explain his situation to someone who didn't know. Not wanting Gray to chase the twin slayers off, Natsu said, "Gray, I was told Gramps released an official statement. I'd get if not every civilian heard it, but Sting's a guild master. Why wouldn't he have seen it?"

"Ah… Well… The old man might be dragging his feet a little with that."

"A little? He's had three months."

"Two and a week," Gray corrected, "And we didn't know for sure for the first month, and the last week's been kind of hectic."

"Hey, Natsu, I know you can't see, but I want to let you know we're still here," Sting said. "Mind including us in on this conversation?"

"It's not your business," Gray told him.

"I'm sick," Natsu said.

"Oh. That all?"

"Sting!" Rogue must have yanked the blond back, because Natsu felt the arm on his shoulder abruptly pull away. "Sorry about him. I hope you feel well enough to come back to work soon."

Or ever.

"Yeah. Thanks. It was nice seeing you guys again."

Sting's protest came out muffled, and Rogue spoke over him, saying, "Same to you. You take care, okay?"

-o-

"Rogue must have a lot of work to do, with Sting as guild master," Gray said over lunch. "I used to think Gramps gave Mira a lot of work the way he hit on younger girls, but Rogue looks like he works overtime keeping Sting in line. I wonder which of them actually handles the paperwork."

"I meant to ask, did Rogue cover Sting's mouth and drag him off?"

"Used his cape as a gag."

Natsu's laughed at that, which made Gray grin. The roset would have laughed harder if he'd actually seen it, but Gray was happy that the mental image was enough to put Natsu in good spirits.

The last thing Gray had expected was for another guild to show up, but in hindsight he didn't know why. Quite a few were on good terms with them, and with Natsu specifically. The longer they put off telling the magic community that Natsu was out of commission, the more likely people were to notice on their own that something was amiss, and to worry. But he was happy to see that Natsu didn't seem too affronted by the fact that anyone came to see him.

"I wonder what they told their guild when they got home," Gray said.

"They're still in town," Natsu told him. "I can smell 'em. They're probably not going to leave without stopping by Fairy Tail first."

His voice dropped at the end of that thought. Gray gave him a sympathetic smile, then remembered Natsu couldn't see, and patted his hand instead.

"It's fine. They would have run into someone who'd tell them about Suraci's sooner or later. We should get back to looking for Happy."

Naturally, the fact that Natsu claimed it was fine failed to coincide with the disappointed expression on his face. Calling it out would only result in more exasperated deflections, so Gray did his best to ignore the claim altogether and focused on the Happy search instead.

"I'm pretty sure we combed the whole town."

"There's a few places outside of town. There's a pond in the woods where we'd fish, and this one spot just off the rode that we hid in whenever we wanted to ambush people coming home without the train. We didn't check everywhere."

They hadn't checked the guild either, which Gray was beginning to suspect might be where Happy went. Natsu had only taken a few bites of his food, and Gray had finished eating, so he rose to his feet and said, "You finish up here. I'll leave enough to pay for the food. I need to check something real quick."

"Oh." Natsu's face fell further. "Yeah. Okay."

Gray left enough to cover lunch and tip generously as well. It would be rude for Natsu to loiter in the café after he finished eating, but hopefully there was enough there for the staff to overlook it. The poor guy's eyes were bandaged up, so seeing that ought to be enough for them to get that Natsu ought not to get up and wander off on his own.

With a promise to be back soon, Gray left the café and made a b-line for the guild hall. Inside, he found the guild easily ten times livelier than the day before.

He did his best to make himself small, entering quietly and keeping near the wall so as not to attract attention. While things were still subdued in the wake of Natsu's last attack, a bit of the guild's spirit had returned. Cana was drinking in excess again and Erza was sober. That was a huge improvement from only a day ago. There was no fighting. None of the usual rowdiness. There was, however, enough conversation to the guild to possess a low din, and every so often you might hear somebody chuckle.

Most of the activity in the guild came from people crowding around Makarov, asking for this or that detail of Natsu's condition. Gray recalled being in that position himself after the second attack, and cringed. He couldn't fault them. They were all worried, just like he'd been. Just like he was. Knowing now what Natsu thought of everyone asking how bad he was, and how it felt to be in Makarov's shoes with people swarming you for news, Gray regretted having composed himself that way.

Makarov caught his eye and tipped his head slightly, and Gray shook his head. If Makarov wanted him to report later, he would, but if possible, he didn't want everyone looking to him for news. Especially not when he had only negatives to report.

It wasn't that Gray made it all the way to the stairs of the second floor unseen, but that most everyone was too absorbed in their own thoughts to pay him much heed, and those who weren't accepted Gray's gesture asking they keep quiet with a mute nod. He made it upstairs without being called on.

All his efforts to avoid drawing attention to himself proved to be for naught. From the second floor, Gray could indeed see Happy. The little cat sat at a table by the crowd of mages eager for news about Natsu, opposite the door.

With a sigh, Gray resigned himself to facing everyone's questions after all. At least there was some consolation to take in knowing that he'd spared Natsu the trouble.

In the spirit of not wanting to answer the crowd, Gray didn't go out of his way to announce his presence. Rather than call out to Happy, he came back downstairs and walked in the cat's direction, saying nothing until being spotted by Elfman, who's eyes lit up as Gray passed by.

"How's Natsu doing?"

All eyes went to him.

"Same as yesterday," Gray said, in the hopes that people would pick up on the fact that he wasn't interested in talking.

"I heard he had trouble with stairs."

"Could he really not see at all?"

"He's coming back, right?"

"Can he still work here?"

"Forget that. Can he still work at all?"

"I heard he could hardly handle any weight…"

"How's he taking it?"

Gray had to stop walking, shut is eyes, and take a deep breath, then said, "Natsu's managing. He's had some time to adjust to the idea that he's not… completely capable already, so he's managing better than I would have expected. He wasn't completely blind, and Porlyusica thinks she can at least fix his vision. Is Happy here?"

"Yes."

The answer took Gray by surprise. How not happy did Happy need to be to answer with something other than 'aye'?

"Hey. Natsu was worried about you."

"I couldn't find him last night," Happy said. "I went to help him home and he wasn't in the infirmary, and when I looked, he wasn't home either."

"He spent the night with me. Sorry. I thought someone would have told you," Gray said. "Want to come with me? We'll go back to him. He'd like to have you there."

"Yeah…"

Happy slid down from the table and plodded over to Gray, who picked him up and gave the rest of the guild a curt nod before turning and carrying the cat out. The two walked in silence to the diner where Gray had left Natsu, Gray mentally kicking himself along the way for not thinking to let Happy know what was going on. He couldn't imagine how sickeningly terrifying it must have been to have Natsu vanish so soon after his health degraded even further.

Lucky for him, he didn't need to try and imagine for long. When they stepped into the diner, Gray took one glance around the room, and saw that Natsu was no longer there.

-x-

STA: *dramatic music plays*

Anyway, Sting showed up. Sting and Lucy and kinda sorta Laxus all get some presence in this story, but Sting takes his sweet time coming up. Pity, because he's actually pretty important in moving the plot along.

Guest: I know not who you are, but thank you and you're welcome.

cool63343: Glad to hear it :)