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An Omake to Fluff: In which Gray does NOT wet himself
Alternatively- Scales + 1
Gray understood that it had been a while since he'd last seen Natsu. The litany of new insulting names the ice mage had for him in his head served as an ample testament to that fact.
Something Gray didn't understand was the new expression captain matchstick had picked up. He must have learned it during the last year, because Gray knew he hadn't seen it before. The fact that this new face- consisting of perfect, calm facial features offset by being too rigid- appeared to be aimed at Gray only made it creepier.
Granted, Gray didn't know what to expect from the living furnace when he came down to Avatar's dungeon to let him out along with Lucy and Happy. Gratitude would've been too much to ask for and resentment seemed too subtle a concept for the burning brain-dead to grasp.
The devil slayer got a feel for what Natsu's new face meant on their way out of the base. They spotted one of the no-name low lives that hung about the place, and while Gray had opted to find a way past him, Natsu called to the guy.
"Yo," he said, ignoring Gray's urgent shushing. "You with these Avatar assholes?"
The unknown goon cried out about the prisoners having escaped. Gray swore, readying his ice magic before Natsu pointed him toward Lucy.
"Do me a favor for once, cold crotch," he said, a very fake smile masking whatever mayhem lurked behind it. "Take Luce and Happy with you toward the exit. I have something to take care of."
Gray almost protested before Natsu just about teleported to close the distance between them and the now yelling underling. The dragon slayer called over his shoulder at him to cover Lucy's ears. He advised Happy to do the same for himself. Gray turned his head away after staying to watch the first blow Natsu struck. He pushed Lucy down the right path in front of him while he kept his hands clamped over her ears. He couldn't hear any complaints the blond may have made over the various- and graphic- screams that followed the echoing crackle of flame.
After they got out of the building, they had to wait for the pink-haired firecracker to stroll into sight. The insane part was that he whistled while he approached, even as he hastily wiped blood from his hands on the back of his pants. Lucy asked if he was all right, to which he'd given his usual eyesore of a grin. They ran toward the point they had set to meet Erza.
"Was that really necessary," Gray asked, keeping his voice even while they ran. "That guy never even did much that I can remember."
Natsu just looked at him.
"Whatever you think I did," the fire freak replied. "I did 'cause he made the mistake of associatin' with people who hurt Lucy."
Gray stared hard at his rival's stupid face. When did he read enough to learn a word as big as 'associating'?
"Only reason I haven't put your ass between your ears where it belongs," Natsu said, turning away from him. "Is 'cause I promised Juvia I'd bring you back in one piece."
Gray sputtered, then scoffed. He wished he felt as cocky as he hoped he sounded.
A/N: Okay. I admit it. This bit didn't come from any reviews left. No, this one was part wanting to add something to Scales in the first thirty minutes after posting it, and very large part guilty pleasure playing around with BroTP DragBuster. (That's what I choose to call the BroTP from now on.) I appreciate this doesn't fall into the same category or genre as the rest of the stuff I've posted for this, but I'll be darned if I didn't make myself laugh reading it. Feel free to skip over it. If not, it's fairly easy to figure out where in Scales this belongs. If you have a review to post for Scales, put it either here or under... well, Scales. I'll respond to any of them in the next part.
If any part of this made you laugh, giggle, snort, or even smile... tell your family you love them. And then ask them to leave a review. Till next time!