2...

Egress.

A way out or exit.

The ceiling was stark white - almost blinding when Gray opened his eyes. A low buzz, followed by a rhythmic beeping drove small daggers behind his eyes. He groaned, unwittingly catching the attention of the woman sitting vigil by his bedside.

Ocean blue eyes, curls that cascaded like the waves of the sea, and pale skin that gleamed like porcelain. Only now the hair was tangled in messy knots, those deep eyes were partially closed, and her skin, under her eyelids was bruised with dark circles.

"Juvia..?" He winced over the harsh rasp in his voice, neglected from disuse. How long had he been out for?

Long enough by the looks of how haggard Juvia was.

Guilt surged in his heart, but it also lifted at the sight of her. She was a welcome sight to his sore eyes. Practically an angel coming from the dark clouds of smoke that had dropped heavy around him. He would have thought he were in heaven had Juvia not looked so upset.

The sound of him stirring had sent a bolt of electricity shooting through Juvia and she scrambled forward, nearly toppling off her chair.

Gray choked back a laugh, his shoulders shaking with mirth at her exuberance. At least he did until a sharp pain ran up his side, crashing him down to reality fast. It set in with blinding speed, and he bit back a groan of pain.

"Gray! Juvia was so worried," She fluttered over to his side. Tears welled in her eyes as fat drops fell from her lashes onto his cheek.

His heart thudded at the side, not even worried about the drops landing on his face, "H-Hey now. Don't cry, I'm fine!"

Juvia shook her head and grasped his hand tightly. Her protest was clear on her tongue by the way she gave him a firm glare, "Gray was not fine! He was in surgery for six hours. All they would tell Juvia was that there had been an accident!"

Gray's heart twisted guiltily at the sight of his girlfriend so upset. It was one of the many regrets of the job. Sometimes accidents happened. And for this to fall on Juvia's shoulders, the grief, the fear, and the uncertainty…

"What happened?" He asked.

Juvia brought him up to date quickly, her voice catching as she told him how she had received a call late at night when she was coming out of the shower. How his Captain, Redfox, she thought his name was, had grimly told her Gray had been caught in a building trying to save his partner but rescued.

Unfortunately, not without injury.

"It rained for a day straight afterwards," Juvia mumbled, her head bowing so long curls fell over her face, "Juvia didn't think she would see the sun again."

"I'm sorry, Juvia," He murmured, another fresh wave of guilt dragging through him. He set his hand on top of hers. Soothing his thumb over the skin over her skin, he let it move in a tiny circle, his hand squeezing her gently in his grasp. Her hand trembled under his, but eventually the shaking calmed, "It's okay, I'm here with you."

"They didn't let Juvia see if Gray was okay," Her eyes shone with a bit of interest, "Although… Juvia did not know she was Gray's emergency contact."

Gray's whole face flushed red at the revelation she had figured that detail out. Not that it was hard considering she had been called when Gray was pulled from the building. Still, he would endure her teasing if it meant a glitter of joy was returning to her eyes. His cheeks burned, his gaze sliding from her to peek out of the corners of his eyes.

"Well yeah, why wouldn't you be?" He mumbled.

Juvia dragged her chair next to his bed, her hand twined with his while her chin rested on top of her folded arms.

"The doctors told Juvia there was significant damage done to Gray's side, and he was very lucky to be alive," Her fingers curled into the bedsheets, fisting into the mattress before relaxing.

They fell into silence, both taking in the quiet as they thanked whatever higher force was listening that kept them together. Luck or stubbornness, Gray didn't care for the source. He was just happy he had another chance with Juvia.

Heat and flames had licked so close to his skin. The memory alone made his stomach churn with discomfort. He was certain seeing even the lick of a flame might make him nervous now. He guessed it was time to switch to an electric stove.

"Juvia will tell the doctors Gray is awake," She said quietly, a teary smile on her face. Her fingers, cool and delightful, skimmed over his forehead under his hair, and Gray tolerated the gentle caress. The touch was just as much for her as it was for him.

He watched her leave, the graceful fluidity to her movements still intact even after standing vigil at his bedside for so long. She really was an amazing woman for having put up with him the way she did.

No sooner had she left, a new figure stepped into the room.

And it was one he had only seen a handful of times before.

Jellal Fernandez framed the doorframe, a steady presence. There was something about the man that reminded Gray every time of the wind blowing through the trees. He was flexible, but as elusive as something intangible.

Gray knew he used to run with Natsu and was engaged to Erza, but aside from that knew very little about the man. He ran a shelter for runaway teenagers, which made sense considering his past, but Gray wouldn't know why he would come to him now. Gray had more dealings with Erza in the past, barely having spoken a handful of words to him.

"If you're looking for Natsu's room, this isn't it," Gray blinked, confused.

"Excellent, because I wasn't looking for his room," Jellal replied calmly, stepping in and closing the door behind him, "I understand you and Natsu have been having a bit of issues while working together."

Before Gray could open his mouth to refute the statement, Jellal just lifted his hand. "Lucy might have let something slip."

"I see," Gray murmured. Although in truth, he really didn't. His rocky relationship with Natsu wasn't exactly a secret. Everyone in the precinct knew Gray would rather have Natsu strung up by his toes on the flagpole outside than lay a finger on his partner. But as Natsu had made it clear his relationship with Lucy wasn't going to change and the woman herself seemed to be in agreement.

Jellal seemed to take a shaky breath, the calm facade fracturing just a little as his gaze hardened and met Gray's with determination.

"I'm here to talk to you about Natsu, and what really happened that night seven years ago."

And just like that, it was as if all the air had pressed out of Gray's lungs in an instant. He sat in his hospital bed long after Jellal had excused himself and left. Emotions warred between cold fury and slow, dawning horror as he realized so many things about that night suddenly make sense.

The Salamander didn't make mistakes in his fires. He was too good for it.

He didn't make flash fires or throw an unpredictable chemical into the mix just to make something flashier.

The Salamander certainly didn't leave behind evidence either.

Natsu hadn't been the one responsible for Ultear's back. Her burns had been caused by another, the result of someone else trying to impress a pretty girl they liked. An accident gone wrong.

And the break of emotions caused something new to flow through him.

Exhaustion.

Juvia poked her head back into the room a moment later, and something strange flowed through him like water at the sight of her. A gentle smile drifted across her face and she flowed into the room, brushing curly hair from her face and over her shoulders.

Acceptance.

Gray was so tired of being frozen. Of feeling nothing but dark, cold anger. Sure, he could direct that fury towards Natsu. That had always been easy. Or he could redirect it to the more deserving target of Jellal.

But hating was too much effort.

He held his arms out to her, secretly delighting in the happy smile that seemed to take over her entire face. She flounced over to him, Juvia's arms wrapping around him and thawing him out in a way he hadn't felt in such a long time. Before bitter anger clouded him and he turned Natsu into the police for a crime he hadn't committed.

She was so warm.

"Hey, Juvia, you remember that box under my bed?" He asked her, his fingers curling around her arms, forehead resting on a slender shoulder.

"Yes?" She asked, and Gray thought he felt a smile press into his cheek.

"Will you bring it to me?" He asked, stomach flopping uncomfortably with what he was going to do.

She pulled away, looking him in the eye, a gentle smile on her face that was free of judgement. Her nimble fingers threaded through his hair, cradling her palm into the back of his his skull. She let out a quiet giggle and pulled away.

"Juvia will wash it too."

-::-

"Hey, I'm looking pretty good for a dead guy aren't I?" Natsu joked when he walked back into Lucy's hospital room. For the life of her, she could not understand how he was back on his feet so soon. Although he was wheeling his iv drip around and leaning on the stand like it was a crutch.

"You shouldn't be walking around so soon!" Lucy chided, taking in the pale color to his cheeks and making room for him on her bed when he slipped inside, "You had a chunk taken out of your side!"

A dismissive hand waved in her direction as Natsu shuffled towards her and sat on the bed, a grimace gritting across his teeth. His hospital gown bunched up around his waist when he turned to adjust himself. Lucy's eyes fell across the slits in the back of the tied shirt, slits of tan muscle exposed and the faint gleam of his old burns flashing under the fabric.

"I'll live, the doc even said so," Natsu grinned at her, some of the color returning to his cheeks now that he was sitting again.

"Still, I'm surprised you made it out the way you did," a sigh burst from her chest and she ran nervous fingers through her messy hair. Really, she had been sitting in this hospital bed for a day now.

Luckily she had been able to manage to snag a shower between all the statements to the police and calls to her insurance company she had to make. She still felt like a gross monster, even after having washed all the soot and grime off her.

Something about the way all her worldly possessions went up in flame made Strawberry Street seem less important. Not when all those nice baubles burned to ash. Luckily her insurance company was rather straight forward and set her up with temporary lodging while they waited for the fire report to come back.

Who would have thought the one to gain insurance money after this whole scandal would be Lucy?

"Yeah, well Erza was the real lifesaver," Natsu admitted, shuffling towards Lucy on the bed until she scooted over enough to make room for him, "I thought Gray and I were goners, but she really high-tailed it and saved our butts."

Admitting Erza was the real hero of the story wasn't hard. Especially not when Lucy's frantic urges for help were answered by the fiery red head.

Returning with a bleeding Natsu hoisted over one shoulder in a fireman's carry and an unconscious Gray tucked under her other arm, she emerged from the wall of smoke like an avenging angel. Natsu had been muttering something about fairies, drawn into the guidelight bouncing around on Erza's bunker gear.

Within the bounds of her heavy jacket, even Happy's tiny body was tucked protectively away from the flames.

"Yeah, she lifted you like you were a sack of potatoes," Lucy looked at Natsu, who even in his silly hospital gown was all solid muscle that stood a head taller than her.

Not to mention Gray, who was even taller than Natsu and just as broad shouldered as him.

Natsu gave a terrified shudder at the memory, his face going pale as his head whipped around. It was almost as if he feared Erza would rappel down from the ceiling at any moment to drag him back into his room, screaming.

"I told you she was scary, but no. You didn't believe me," Natsu shook out his sleeves, laying a scattered feast of bagged and packaged foods onto the bed against Lucy's lap.

Surprised, but cautious since this was Natsu she was dealing with, Lucy picked up one of the packaged rolls to inspect it. The blue tissue paper looked familiar, having seen it many times in Gray's packed lunches. Cutesy little bubbles decorated the foil, and when Lucy turned it over, she saw a lipstick print of a kiss on the underside.

Rolling her eyes, she waved it at Natsu, "You stole this from Gray!"

"The lady visiting him brought enough food to feed an army!" he protested and clutched the armful of his pilfered goods close to his chest. Injured look and pout equipped, he grumbled around a mouthful of a home baked bagel, "What, it's not like he was going to eat all of it."

"Juvia, Gray's - uh - thing, person, gave him these!"

"Juvia? Oh, you mean that girl who was crying so much I thought she was made of water. I gotta say I'm impressed the frosty bastard could find someone crazy enough to put up with him," remarked Natsu, unrepentant in the way he snapped sharp teeth into another bite of his bagel, "Neither of them were in the room when I swung by to check on them. But there was plenty of food. Doubt they'll even notice it's gone."

He pushed his knee through the sheets, nudging a package of strawberry sweets onto her lap, encouraging her to take part of his petty crime. Really now? She was a detective.

She was supposed to be above such things.

But they did look good.

Rolling her eyes but unable to hide the spark of mischief that burned in retaliation, she plucked the bag up and tore it open.

Home baked cookies in the shape of hearts. Lucy noticed Natsu's cringe of disgust over the idea of Gray getting these, but didn't remark on it as she picked up one of the adorable, white frosted treats.

Pink sprinkles too.

Quick as a dart, Natsu's fingers plucked the cookie from her hands and popped it into his own mouth.

"Hey!"

Crumbs littered around the corners of his mouth, evidence to his messy eating. Pearly white teeth gleamed in a cunning smile, framing his inviting mouth. It was a crucial moment where Lucy found herself sorely tempted to lean in to catch a few of the glittering, pink sprinkles clinging against his lips.

She stuffed a cookie into her mouth to keep it occupied with eating instead of other things.

"I thought prison cured you of your criminal ways," she grumbled. Watching Natsu's hand disappearing into the bag of cookies to pull out a handful of mashed hearts was almost as amusing as watching him hide from Erza. He didn't seem to mind the shape or the color.

Although she did wish he would eat a little cleaner. The pink sprinkles were collecting in number across his mouth, and it was filling her mind with nothing but the fascinating thought of tasting those smokey lips again.

"I might have picked up on a few new tricks here and there," Natsu admitted, his eyes shifting away. His smile didn't budge as he shoveled another handful of cookies into his mouth.

It was strange, but talking about his time in prison didn't seem to bother him as much as it had before.

A smile softened Lucy's face, snagging a cookie from his hand just before it fell into the bottomless pit that was his mouth. Ignoring the surprised and offended look on his face, Lucy nibbled on one side of it, a victorious smirk in place.

Canting her head playfully towards Natsu, she carefully bit into half of the cookie and chewed slowly. She swiped her tongue over her bottom lip, catching the sprinkles that had fallen loose and watched as Natsu's eyes zeroed in on the motion.

His tongue darted out, subconsciously repeating the same motion. Teeth caught across his lip and worried into his mouth until it left a red mark. Natsu didn't seem to notice, because he was staring at her with such intensity, she was certain the temperature of the room had spiked several degrees.

"Would any of those skills be...," She trailed off, shifting Natsu's plunder away towards the foot of the bed with a sweep of her arm. Her finger twitched into the fabric of his hospital gown, keeping him rooted in his spot. Her eyelids sank into a look of invitation, a quiet smile flashing over her face, "...useful?"

Natsu's adam's apple bobbed in his throat, the shift in the air between them noticeable enough for an electric spark of anticipation to shoot up Lucy's spine. She felt the ribbon of tension tighten between them.

It was the same cord that pulled taut between them the moment she stepped foot into that interrogation room. Winding tighter and tighter until it unravelled under the pressure built up between them.

"Detective, are you flirting with me?" The timber of Natsu's voice slid to something akin to a growl. That's not very professional."

Warm hands pressed into the pillows around Lucy's hips, the heat from Natsu drawing off him in a wave. Lucy's heart fluttered at the feeling of strong arms caging her in, his eyes boring into hers with a dark intensity that left her feeling exposed.

"Maybe I'm done with being professional," the breath escaped her, barely audible in the room of humming machines and quiet beeps. Though the flash of heat in Natsu's eyes told her his sharp ears had picked up the whisper.

Calloused hands rose to brush against her cheeks, tanned fingers sliding around the nape of her neck into her hair. She felt his thumb slowly circle against her jaw, her breath surrendering in her chest. It was trapped somewhere between her lungs and ribs, but she didn't care.

Because the cord finally snapped.

Natsu surged forward in one motion, his lips crushing against hers as desperation fueled his passion. Her fingers curled tight into Natsu's hospital gown, straining the thin strings that held it together as she yanked him closer.

His mouth molded against hers, sugary sweet like the cookies he had been eating; the everpresent twist of smoke that followed him lingered into the kiss. Her fingers traced across the curve of his throat, skimming over the tattoo branded on his neck and cradling the back of his head.

They had kissed many times before this. In ways that were both real and faked, for an audience or just their privacy. But the way they sought one another's mouths out this time was different. It felt like a new beginning. Like a first of many.

Fingers slid into the small hairs at the base of his neck, pink locks gripped between needy fingers. They breathed one another in, their feelings boiling over in one explosive kiss they had been fighting since Lucy's 'indiscretion.'

It was too close.

She had been too close on missing out on this.

They hadn't known one another for very long, but Lucy knew she never would have forgiven herself if she passed a man like Natsu up. The heat roared between them, and for a second Lucy almost thought the room was on fire. She gasped for breath, but his mouth followed hers, uninterested in letting her escape for air.

He invaded her senses as his heavy weight rocked forward, an arm finding its way around her waist. A grunt escaped the back of his throat, vibrating into Lucy's skin and sending a warm shiver burning through the tips of her fingers.

But much to her surprise, as Natsu settled forward, the frantic heat behind the kiss began to quiet down even if the desperation behind it didn't. His broad chest pressed into hers and the material of the hospital gown bunched around them, scratching at their chins. Discomfort went ignored when Natsu slowly lowered her against the bed.

Kisses turned soft and caressing, the fear of losing one another turning into something more reassuring, more needy. It was as if he was reassuring himself of something. By the way his fingers curled through locks of her hair, twisting entire pieces and letting them spring away in ringlets.

He pulled away enough, his lips just grazing hers. Fathomless eyes were open enough for Lucy to get lost in them. Making eye contact was a terrible idea, because whatever charming comment she thought to say to Natsu was consumed by the rawness in his gaze. She swallowed past the pit of emotion lodged in her throat.

A shudder of warmth raced up her spine as she realized he felt the same way.

Slow, his forehead came to press into hers. His hand, strong, steady, and warm, rested on the top of her head. Warm breath blew across her cheek, his eyes closing and a small smile refusing to budge from his face.

"Thank you for coming to save me," Lucy murmured, her hand sliding down from around his neck to rest across his collarbone.

The smile brightened on his face, but he made no move to back away from her. Having him so close was a comfort powerful enough to make her want to slide her arms around his middle and keep him. She was warm against him, and the slow, steady beat of their hearts let her know they were alive. They made it.

"How could I let my favorite detective go?" Natsu smirked into the air between them. Lucy smothered a laugh.

"I'm the only detective you like," Lucy protested, her fingertips drawing small circles into the back of his neck.

"Details," dismissed Natsu with a cocky grin. His eyes flashed with mischief and he slanted his mouth over hers. It seemed he wasn't interested in wasting even a second more of whatever time they had together.

Lucy's lips curled up into a smile, her hand finding a spot in his pink hair and tugging him closer. They came together again, savoring the quiet and gentle caresses between them. Natsu supported himself on his forearms, hovering over Lucy and peppering feather soft kisses all over her cheeks and nose.

It was perfect.

"Ugh, well that's disgusting," Gray's voice swore behind them, "Aren't you two supposed to be on bed rest?"

Almost perfect.

To Natsu's credit, he didn't spring off of Lucy as if she were made from explosives. Instead his eyes opened and she watched as they glared into a spot in the pillow next to her head, as if to say 'Yeah, this sounds about right.' She smothered a giggle at the expression on his face and waited for him to roll.

He lifted off of Lucy's frame and twisted onto his side on the tiny cot, an arm sliding around her waist to keep himself anchored.

"We're in a bed," Natsu protested, looking quite sullen at the frosty detective. Although Lucy noted, the sheer amount of anger and resentment between the two of them seemed to have strangely evaporated. What had happened since the last time they saw one another?

Shaking the thoughts away, she focused on her partner instead. Strangely enough he was looking awkward and a bit abashed hanging out by the doorframe of their room. It was almost as if he didn't know what to say, just standing there, "Gray, what are you doing here?"

"Uh," He stalled and jolted when a hand from the hallway pushed him forward and quickly disappeared. A feminine giggle sounded and Gray turned around to glare at whoever was standing behind him. Gray's cheeks burned red.

Lucy's jaw almost dropped at the sight.

Never in all of her time having been partnered up with Gray, had she ever known him to get embarrassed like that. At his side he was holding a plain paper bag, his grip on it tight and unbreakable. Then, as if something was leaving him, Gray's shoulders sagged and he walked over to the bed and dropped the bag directly on a confused Natsu's face.

Natsu's body jerked in a motion of outrage, which caused him to roll off the bed and fall flat on his ass. It deflated his anger in favor of how he was now curled over himself and trying not to whine over stretching his stitches.

"That's what you get for being such a spazz," Lucy murmured in amusement once she saw he was okay and none of his injuries had broken open. She watched him curiously as he straightened himself up and flashed Lucy with a puppy-like pout.

His attention turned towards the bag instead and he peeked inside it, wondering what was so important Gray would come over to give it to him.

Lucy watched as Natsu's entire body went rigid.

A shaking hand dipped into the bag and he withdrew a long coil of white fabric, an odd, scaled design patterned into the cloth itself. It looked old and well-worn, but made out of a durable kind of wool that was both comfortable and soft.

It was a simple scarf.

But apparently to Natsu, it was the world.

"My dad's scarf," He breathed, his thumb rubbing into the fabric, his grip on it too tight. He stared at it as if he had never expected to see it again. That it was something beyond precious, "You had it?"

Gray grunted and turned his head to glare out the window next to the bed. It seemed like he was uncomfortable with answering, but Natsu's insistent gaze was unwavering.

"The night you were taken away, I found it outside of the wreckage. The police didn't know what it was, but I saw it," He rubbed a hand through dark hair, "I guess you dropped it when you went back into the building and didn't realize."

Natsu swallowed hard, his hands lifting to slide the scarf around his shoulders. Lucy couldn't help but notice that it seemed to belong draped around his neck. Like it was part of him.

"You kept it?" Natsu stared at Gray, his expression a mix of emotions, "For seven years?"

"I thought about throwing it away," admitted Gray, ignoring the outrage that made Natsu's mouth drop open. He continued, cutting Natsu off before he could go on a hard tirade, "Every time I saw it, it reminded me of that night."

Natsu fell silent, and Lucy's eyes went between the two men, feeling as if she was a part of a conversation she had no reason to listen in on. However, chained as she was to a hospital bed, there was no where for her to go but right where she was.

"But it doesn't matter anymore does it?" Gray just shrugged and turned to go, seeming as if he had said his fill. His hand rested on the doorframe, his eyes straight ahead down the hallway. His expression was blocked from view, but the weight behind his voice was clear enough for Lucy to pick up on.

"This time, hold onto what's precious to you," Gray said quietly. And the solemn air he held around himself told Lucy they weren't talking about Natsu's scarf anymore, "Don't lose it again."

Green eyes flashed over towards Lucy, Natsu rising up to stare at the man's retreating back. It was as if something heavy and shrouded in darkness had finally lifted. The air was breathable, the smoke from the bitter flames of anger clearing.

A wry smile worked across Natsu's lips and he laughed quietly, a sound Lucy was happy to hear.

"Thanks, Frostbite," He grinned, but his attention had moved towards Lucy. Her heart flipped in her chest, "I won't."

Gray just snorted and closed the door. It closed with a finality that made Lucy hopeful for the future. Those thoughts were punctuated by Natsu clambering back into bed with her, his arms wrapping around her to drag her up against his chest.

Next chapter is the last one guys! It's been a really fun ride! You have me for one more chapter, and then you get all THREE of us in a tag team epilogue that will shake your pants off.

OH AND GUYS GUYS GUYS! WE GOT FANART! spoopy-pringloo dot tumblr dot com/post/130515873593/are-requests-still-open-if-so-im-really-craving

IT IS BEAUTIFUL! THANK YOU SPOOPY-PRINGLOO!

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