Chapter 8: Another Experience With Him

Gray's POV

As thunder crashes, rumbling the building, we see the door burst open, Lucy drenched, causing a few girls to scream as lightning flashes behind her, and my first thought is: Where's Natsu? I watch Loke bolt out of his chair, running to Lucy in concern, and I run up to her, worried about Natsu. "Lucy! Are you okay?" Loke asks worriedly, touching Lucy's cheek in concern, and she nods, shivering. "Where's Natsu?" I ask, trying not to sound anxious, and she says, "I-i'm not sure, I ran away after I... Talked to him for a bit." I glance in horror as a puddle forms behind Lucy, causing myself to sprint past her, bolting out the door.

Crap, I thought Natsu was with Lucy... After running a few yards, I create an ice platform, riding on it through the storm, squinting ahead. It's raining cats and dogs out here... He might get sick. I speed through the splintering wind at break-neck speed, looking around for Natsu, and see nothing. Maybe he went home or somethin- I see a figure running along the path, drenched, so I jet down towards it, realizing it was Natsu, and he looks up in surprise, causing him to sprint out of the way, panicking, but realizes it's me as I land, walking up to him in concern.

"G-gray!" He says over the loud thunder in confusion, and I ask him, worried, "What are you doing out here?" "What are you doing out here?" He asks, and I notice him shivering a bit, causing myself to bite my lip, resisting the temptation to grab him already and bring him to my house. "I saw that you weren't with Lucy when she came back so I decided to look for you," I say nonchantly, trying not to sound like I wasn't worried about him and he asks slowly, "Why...?" I grit my teeth, saying annoyed, "You don't need to know, just get to shelter or I'll take you with me." He blinks a few times, clearly confused about what I just said, so I grab him by his waist, creating another ice platform, and he squeaks, fidgeting nervously as I take off into the powerful, chilly winds.

"A-ah, w-what are you doing?!" He chokes out as we fly onto the platform, myself still holding him embarrassingly. "T-taking you to shelter since you wouldn't go yourself," I say quickly, staring ahead. "And, u-um, why are you hugging me-" I quickly push him off me, causing him to lose his balance, falling off the platform in surprise, but I catch him, saying, "This is better?" He grabs my arm with his other hand, pulling himself on, his face heated up in embarrassment as well, standing next to me as we fly through the storm in silence.

"So... W-when did you start caring about me-" "I don't care about you," I quickly cut him off, looking away, but he persists, still astonished about what I did, "Then why did you even take me with you?" Maybe I should've left him out there, this is a bit irritating. "F-forget it..." I drift off, looking away, wishing that he would close his mouth so I wouldn't have to guard my reasons from him. "S-sorry..." He looks down, shivering even more, causing myself to stare in surprise. He... Apologized? I shake the thought off as I see the roof of my house in the distance, causing myself to say, "We're heading down." We rocket downwards, causing Natsu to grab hold of the nearest thing which is me, blushing again, and we land at the door to my house, both drenched, Natsu shaking. Poor guy, he must be freezing. "Once we get in, we probably should dry off," I say, ignoring his stares, opening the door to reveal the inside of my house. I take off my soaked blue T-shirt and Natsu makes a sound, reminding myself to say, "Oh yeah, you should at least take off your vest." "O-okay..." He says in a small voice, and I snatch some towels from the bathroom, walking out and flush, seeing Natsu shirtless, causing myself to quickly look at something else, giving him a towel, saying, "Dry yourself off." I see his teeth chattering, realizing I had the house temperature turned down, causing myself to quickly switch on the heater, then open my pantry which contains food of all sorts, some seasonal. For instance, the hot chocolate.

5 minutes later...

"Come sit down," I tell him, finally setting 2 mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream, steam rising over it. "What is it?" He asks, pacing over to the table, and smells the scent, causing him to sit down, intrigued about figuring out what the "mysterious concoction I brewed up" was. "Hot chocolate, you don't know what that is?" I watch as he tilts his head, expression blank, causing myself to raise an eyebrow, but say, "Just try it." I blow on my drink, causing the steam to disappear, the whipped cream frozen, and I sip out of the straw, enjoying the cool, sweet taste in my mouth. "It's... Really good. Why does everything you make taste amazing?" He asks in a matter-of-factly way, looking up at me, causing myself to blink in surprise, taken aback about the comment he made. "Uh... You complimented me..." I point out, slowly taking another sip, and he asks bluntly, "What about it?" I stare at him like he's another planet, causing him to shrink a bit, realizing what he was saying, his cheeks pink. "I thought the mission was over," I slowly say, getting up to brew more, and he stammers, "I-it is, I didn't mean to-" "It's okay?" I ask, surprised at myself that I said that. This is getting awkward really fast...

I fill my mug again in silence, not knowing what else to say, when Natsu breaks the silence. "Uh, I know this is weird, but... Thanks." He looks down at his drink, forcing back a smile, causing myself to almost trip over myself as I walk to the table, and I manage to ask, "What did you say?" "You heard me!" He says, not wanting to say it again, and I exhale, leaving ice crystals on the table, and gulp down my drink, thinking about what he just said and how weirder the situation just got.

Natsu's POV

Maybe I shouldn't have said that... I look at the wall in embarrassment, avoiding his gaze. How did I get myself into this? First Gray snatches me and takes me to his house, then hospitalizes me, making this amazing tasting drink, and I compliment and thank him. What's going to happen next? "I have a question..." Gray asks me, drifting off, and I look up nervously, bracing for the worst, and he asks, "Why are you acting... Weird? Strangely nice?" "Same for you," I cross my arms, staring back at him, causing the ravenette to say, "I'm not answering, it's nothing you need to know!"

"Tell meee-"

"Are we going to start this again-"

"We can stop if you tell me."

"Seriously, no."

"Please?"

"No, I said no, no means no!"

"Pleeeease?"

"Nope."

"Come on! You know you wanna-"

"Shut up!"

"I won't shut up until you tell me."

"Fine!" Gray stops, clearly irritated, and says, "I took you in because you weren't with Lucy and water was literally entering the room! Is that enough?" I scowl, not convinced, arguing back, "I wasn't with Lucy because I wanted to be alone, but of course you come out of nowhere, treating me like a little kid." He opens his mouth to fight back, but closes it, sighing, saying, "You pretty much act like a little kid, and why would I let a guildie walk in a storm? In the middle of nowhere?" I look up, surprised, and say slowly, "I didn't know you cared..." He chokes out in response, "I-i don't care, just drop it." "I want to kn-" "Please..." He looks down, looking hurt, causing myself to stop in surprise, clamping my mouth shut. "Leave if you want, the storm's gone," He says expressionlessly, pointing out the window, which reveals a drizzle, the sky a bit lighter. He probably doesn't want me to keep persisting, so I guess I'll leave... But I still want to talk to him a bit more, to try and figure out what he's hiding from me... I get up, chewing on my lip, walking to the bathroom to get my vest, and after I shove the piece of clothing on, I walk past him, avoiding his stare, and say quietly, "Bye..." I open the door, not daring to look behind me, and shut the door, walking away in silence.