Propmt: I swear it won't happen again.
There were things that everyone like to say about Fairy Tail's Salamander, and many of them were true.
He's unnecessarily destructive.
He's stupidly brave.
He's utterly terrifying.
He's truly powerful.
He's absolutely fearless.
Only those close enough to him to know him knew that one of those was complete and total bullshit. Only those who'd been there when he couldn't keep up the facade and broke knew the one true fear that he held close to him.
Natsu Dragneel was mortified at the thought of being abandoned.
When he had first joined Fairy Tail, he was paralyzed by the thought of his new Nakama disappearing the same way Igneel did, so he developed a habit. He would "leave" the guild after the first few people did and watch his guildmates from either above, or by following, to make sure they'd made it home.
Mira was always the last to leave, usually after kicking Cana out, so it was anywhere from just after midnight to four in the morning.
Natsu didn't leave until he knew they made it home, and often time it led to some strange situations.
His sleep deprived mind never wanted to go all the way to his house, so it was rare he made it back there. He usually made himself at home in the nearest house that belonged to one of his Nakama.
When he had to drag Cana home, which happened about once every week and a half, Lucy's house was the closest. The celestial mage seemed to have put two and two together, so Natsu didn't figure she minded all that much.
However, when he followed Mira on he night walk, which changed routes every night, there was no telling who's house he'd crash at.
About a year into joining Fairy Tail, he'd accidentally picked Laxus's house. Needless to say he was immediately electrocuted and asked what the hell he was doing. After an embarrassing explanation and a surprising amount of sympathy from the lightning slayer, he was allowed to leave.
He also once made the mistake of cuddling Erza, only to realize that she like to cuddle just as much. That night felt so much like when the other slayers used to curl into his literal heater of a body that he almost cried.
Erza didn't say anything to him that morning except "Boys aren't supposed to be in Fairy Hills, Natsu." It was said kindly, and Natsu knew that she knew.
It's only happened twice since.
He's actually crashed at the Strauss household a few times as well, but Natsu was an early riser no matter how late he stayed up. They were not.
He was gone before they ever knew.
Sometimes his tired mind would purposely take him to someone's house, and those were the unusual occurrences caused by his second habit: people watching.
He knew everyone's mannerisms to such an exactness that he could tell you precisely what was bothering anyone at any given time. He could tell you why someone seemed just a little more chipper than usual, or if someone had cried three hours ago and the most likely reason the did without there ever being any evidence of it remaining.
He could also see behind even the most perfect facades, like the one belonging to the guild's resident ice mage.
Gray had always been an enigma to Natsu. They were rivals, but Natsu couldn't stand to see him hurting. He hated it when even the slightest sliver of pain appeared in the beautiful navy eyes of his rival.
When he drug Gray on the mission to Galuna Island, he nearly cried at the amount of pain that made itself know. It's intensity ripped at Natsu's very core, and he was so angry at himself for putting Gray through it that it took him far too long to realize it had actually done some good.
Gray smiled more frequently after all of it, and that was what made the slayer forgive himself.
More often than not, Natsu's mind drew him towards Gray, and that terrified him. He's never curled up with Gray. He refuses to. It would destroy the fragile friendship they had.
So instead he sat on the roof and listened.
He listened to the ice mage have nightmares and could never do anything about it, and it hurt.
Magnolia was beautiful during the autumn. The trees were streaked with beautiful colors and the breezes were all light, as if the wind wanted to caress you instead of freeze you like the frigid winter gusts that were on their way. Many liked to walk through the serene forest once it had warmed up, but at dawn and just after, it was deserted.
About an hour after the sun had risen, a pink blur disturbed the peace.
"I fucked up," Natsu couldn't think of anything else as he ran away from the source of his turmoil, "I fucked up. I fucked up. I fucked up. I fucked up. I fucked up."
Natsu had made the mistake of giving in.
Gray had obviously been having a bad day. He was running into things, messing up sparring matches, and he had hardly eaten anything.
And Natsu gave in.
He had fucking cuddled with Gray, and instead of apologizing, he'd screamed "I swear it won't happen again," then ran off like a fucking coward.
A string of flustered curses escaped his lips as made his way back to his house, and another more violent string slipped out when the ground beneath him turned to ice.
Gray was not a morning person, and therefore was not prepared to run nearly three miles just after daybreak. He had his hands on his knees as is rugged breathing filled the air," How. The hell. are you so fast?" He had to grasp for breath for a minute longer, allowing Natsu to see just how far he'd run in under a few minutes.
The pinkette refused to look at his friend, truly believing that he was in the wrong, so he did the only thing he could. He apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." He still wouldn't look at the ice mage.
Gray walked over to him and smacked the back of his head hard enough to send him skidding across the ice and into a tree. "You're such a worry-wart." He muttered. "You've literally done that to everyone in Fairy Tail. I'm more surprised that it took this long." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, attempting to figure out how to tell the panicked mage that he honestly didn't care. As much as he liked the cold, Natsu's warmth wasn't unwelcome. A mumble drew his eyes back to Natsu's face, "Sorry, I missed that."
Natsu flushed, "I said it wasn't the first time." He started twidling his thumbs around each other while watching them intently, "I normally just sit on your roof though, " He trailed off guiltily.
"I wish you had slept with me before now." Gray shoved the thought into the back of his mind. "Get your head out of the gutter, Gray."
"It's not that big of a deal Natsu." The angle that the sun rays were hitting him at blinded him to the pinkett's reaction. "Even if you don't want to admit why you do some of the weird things you do, we've all figured it out." He walked over to the dragon slayer and pulled him to his feet, effectively blocking the sun from reaching the shorter boy. Natsu was looking at him like he'd lost his mind.
The pinkette made a startled noise when Gray began to pull him back in the direction he'd run from, "So you are dragging me off somewhere to murder me in secret."
The sleepy ice mage let out a bark of laughter, "No, I'm dragging you back to my house. It's so early. No sane person should be awake right now."
Natsu tilted his head in confusion. "Why would he be dragging me back to his house? That doesn't make any sense." After a few minutes of confusion, "He voiced his concerns.
"You're warm." The honesty in his voice startle Natsu for a moment. "It's nice."
Once Gray's house was in sight, the raven didn't hesitate to pull Natsu in and upstairs. Gray had let go once the duo had reached his bedroom door. "You're not going to freak out and run away again are you," He joked.
Natsu flushed as he shook his head no. Gray yanked him inside and onto the bed, and Natsu finally noticed the mound of blankets. He shuffled awkwardly while trying to figure out how to position himself to avoid skin contact.
"I normally end up kicking them all off, but it's nice at first." Before he could avoid it, his back was pulled flush against Gray's chest, and Gray's head was buried in Natsu's hair. "Goodnight, Natsu."
"It's after dawn," Natsu muttered.
"Goodnight, Natsu." He repeated.
"It's after seven, lazy snowman."
"Go back to fucking sleep, and be my personal heater, fire-breath." After a few minutes, Gray fell back asleep and pulled Natsu closer.
Natsu sighed contentedly, and muttered, "Goognight, Gray," before drifting off himself.
Words: 1,597
Hi guys! This one was a little rushed. I'm hoping to get at least two out a week, but I'm an AP student and the workload is hell. As always, constructive criticism is welcome, and if you find a typo, don't hesitate to point it out.
Reviews are my 90% motivation.
Love you guys!
-Jinx