A/N: I'm really lazy so I didn't make the prices in jewels so they're just in US dollars cos that's where I live so.. yeah. Enjoy, anyway! :3
Gray woke up slowly, rolling out of bed blearily, not noticing the smaller figure nestled into his chest.
"Ah..!" Natsu looked up at the raven who had accidentally pushed him out of bed.
"Natsu…?" Gray still felt as if he could pass out at any moment as he noticed the pinkette sitting on the floor.
"Why are you on the floor?"
"Why do you think, Snowflake?" Natsu responded sarcastically as he stood up. He noticed the adorably confused look on Gray's face. He looks like a puppy! Kya~! Natsu thought before realizing that he had just squealed. Did I just…? Oh, my God. This man has gone too far. He swooped forward and captured Gray's slightly pouted lip with his own and wrapped his arms around the freshman, drawing him into a warm embrace.
"That was revenge." He said, pulling away with a thin trail of saliva connecting Gray's panting mouth with his own.
"Revenge for what? I didn't do anything." Gray countered, not wanting to admit, even to himself, that he wanted more of that heated kiss.
"For being so goddamn cute." Natsu replied, causing Gray's face to heat up quickly in embarrassment.
"I'm not cute." Gray pouted, turning away from Natsu with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Sure you are. Which is why I'm gonna take you on a date." Gray turned back towards his boyfriend in surprise.
"A-a date? Where..?" Gray asked, honestly intrigued where this idiot could take him.
"Hehe, you'll find out, won't you." Natsu answered, leaving Gray to wonder.
"But, before that, you have to go to class, so start getting ready." He said, turning towards their shared closet.
"What about you? Don't you have a class?" Gray questioned, feeling that it was unfair for him to have a class when Natsu didn't even though they were majoring in the same thing.
"Well, you see, Gray." He began, talking to Gray as if he were in kindergarten, "Since I am a sophomore and you are a mere freshman, we don't have the exact same classes." Gray felt like an idiot for forgetting about their years.
"Also, I finished my languages in high school, so I didn't have to take any at uni." Natsu explained, beginning to strip out of the boxers he had "borrowed" from Gray before thinking that he could tease Gray even more if he left them on and decided against taking them off.
"But, how do you even know my schedule?" Gray felt somewhat violated as even he forgot that he had to go to his Spanish class today. Are those mine?
"I may or may not have looked through it while you were sleeping." Natsu said, grabbing a random tank top and a pair of skinny jeans.
Gray realized that he should probably check, just in case Natsu was lying.
"Also, are those boxers mine?" Gray asked, indicating the blue snowflake patterned underwear that were still loosely holding on to Natsu's hips.
"Maybe..." Natsu replied with a smirk, turning back towards Gray as the raven bent down to search through the drawers for his schedule. Natsu walked over to his concentrated roommate, preparing for yet another prank.
He brushed his fingers lightly over Gray's ass, just enough to be noticed by the younger male.
"Natsu…" He began slowly, standing up straight and turning towards his roommate, "Why..?" He asked in an exasperated sigh.
Natsu merely responded with a stuck-out tongue and a light slap onto Gray's lower back, sending a jolt through his spine.
Gray turned back towards the drawers with a small sigh, kneeling instead of bending over so that the previous incident was not repeated. Once he had finally found the paper, he looked down the list until he found his Wednesday class. Ugh, Natsu was right. I do have Spanish today.
He checked the time for the class, 10:00, and compared it to the numbers emitted by their digital alarm clock, 10:00.
It took a moment for this information to sink in.
"Natsu!" Gray said in alarm, finally realizing that he was late. He all but ran for the closet, stripping out of his previous clothes with inhuman speed and grabbing whatever he could find in the closet before slipping it on.
He grabbed his Spanish supplies and ran out of the dorm, heading for the language building.
"Heh, that dork, not even noticing that he's wearing my clothes." Natsu smirked before grabbing his wallet, phone, and keys and leaving the dorm room, making sure to lock the room before walking out.
Why are these clothes so tight? Gray thought as he sprinted towards the language building. He looked down at what he had picked randomly, a glacial blue tank top that felt as if it could crush his insides if he allowed it to and a pair of black skinny jeans that he forgot to button and yet still stayed glued to his hips. These are Natsu's clothes, aren't they? He realized. Not that it even matters at this point. I'm already late.
As he walked into class, he tried his best to be as quiet as possible, but the building was old and the doors hadn't been replaced or oiled in years so there was a loud creaking noise akin to a pterodactyl in heat as he opened them.
Every student had their eyes trained on him as he made his way quickly to the back, sitting down in an empty row.
"Hey, that guy's pretty hot, isn't he?"
"Well, yeah, but look at how late he is. Definitely not the kind of guy you'd wanna date."
"He'd probably say he'll pick you up at seven and then not show up 'til eight thirty."
A few girls in the row ahead of him whispered amongst each other as the professor continued her lecture. He simply looked down at his paper and began taking notes, a light pink dusting his features. It's not my fault that idiot decided to wear me out. He thought, forgetting that he had chosen to play a new game instead of sleep.
Natsu ran down to the parking lot, dreading the moment he would have to drive. Reminding himself that it was for Gray's sake, he steeled himself and unlocked the red vehicle. As he sat down in the driver's seat, he realized that if he was going to drive Gray anywhere, he would have to reveal his motion sickness. He didn't know if he was ready for that and instead decided that their first date didn't have to be overly extravagant.
Before he began driving, he set up the blue-tooth connection between his phone and the car and began blasting his favorite rock music which both calmed him down and pumped him up, in the sense that it calmed his nausea to a certain extent, making him think that since he had overcome his motion sickness, mostly…, he could do anything. With this burst of confidence, he pulled out of the parking lot, swirls of dust flying up behind the tires.
His first stop was a local florist that was situated a little bit too far from the college to walk.
As he stepped in, his senses were overwhelmed with the sights and smells of countless bright flowers, their radiant colors almost blinding him. He sniffed slightly again, noticing the hint of freshly cut stems.
"Welcome, sir! Can I help you?" said the white-haired woman at the counter. She had a small crown of pink clovers around her head and looked young, despite her milky hair.
"Yeah." Natsu responded, making his way to the front, "I need a bouquet that smells like winter and pine trees and snow and has blue and white flowers and also red and orange and pink and has the-the… underlying? Scent of strawberry wine and cinnamon." He said quickly, gesturing his hands frantically, hoping she could understand. He needed this to be perfect. After all, first impressions were everything.
"That's pretty specific." She laughed, "Are you buying for a special girl?"
Natsu felt his face heat up. "Well, a guy." He mumbled quietly, unsure whether he should even tell anyone yet. He looked up to see her slightly amazed and somewhat understanding expression.
She wrote down his description and thought for a moment about how she could arrange it and which flowers to use.
"What's your price range?" She asked, needing to know before she could set up anything.
"Um, well, I'm a college student, so something under sixty dollars?" He didn't know how much bouquets could cost so he hoped that that would be enough and he would still have some left over for the rest of the date
"Alright, you can come pick up the bouquet in about an hour." She said, giving him a small smile.
"My name is Mirajane, by the way, so if I'm not the one at the counter just ask for that name."
"I'm Natsu. And thanks for the help with this. I don't know anything about making a bouquet and this absolutely has to be perfect." He responded, hoping that he didn't put too much pressure on her by saying so, but also needing Gray's bouquet to be amazing.
His next stop was at a local candle maker, where the employees actually made the candles that were sold. As he stepped in, he could smell the wax melting and the assorted smells of the freshly made candles.
"Hello, and welcome to the Raijinshu candle makers! How can we help you?" said a lean young man with flowing green hair.
"Freed!" Natsu responded immediately, recognizing him as Laxus' "secret" boyfriend.
"Oh, hi Natsu." Freed replied, "Why are you here?"
"I need candles, duh." Natsu said dramatically, "Preferably ones that smell like cinnamon?"
"Yeah, they're over here. But why do you need candles?" He said, showing Natsu the shelves of scented candles.
"Um, reasons…" He said innocently, looking away from Freed to find the candle he needed.
"Ooh, did Natsu finally find a girl?" said a teasing voice from behind the door to the candle making room.
It came from a tall man with a facial tattoo of a blocky figure and a three part dark blue mohawk.
"Well, not exactly. It's for a guy." He said, blushing as he searched for the candle that read cinnamon on the label.
"Did you and Sting get back together or is it that Gray guy that you brought in the other day?" Freed questioned.
"Um, Gray…" He replied, finally finding a large candle that was labeled with cinnamon, "I can't imagine what Rogue would do to me if I started dating Sting again." He laughed nervously, bringing the candle over to the counter.
As Freed rang it up, Natsu dug out his wallet and the money he would need to pay for it.
"So, Gray, huh? When did this happen?" Freed asked innocently, taking the ten dollars from Natsu and handing him the bagged candle.
"Um, well, technically we haven't gone on a real date, but we both agreed to become boyfriends so I'm setting up our first date while he's in class." Natsu responded
"Alright well, I'm gonna go set up the dating site." Natsu said, turning to walk out of the door, "Ugh, now I have to deal with motion sickness again…" He groaned, waving at Freed.
Freed chuckled quietly as he remembered the first time he had gotten into a car with Laxus. The poor blond was too embarrassed to turn on the classical music that would help calm his stomach so Freed was forced to drive. Eventually, Laxus told him how the classical music calmed him. Freed was understanding about the whole situation and since he knew how to play the violin, would often play calming music after a long trip until Laxus fell asleep.
"Bye, Natsu. I hope your date goes well!" Freed responded, waving back.
After he left, Natsu drove back to the flower shop, hoping that his bouquet would be ready.
When he reentered, he noticed that it wasn't Mirajane at the counter, but instead, a younger looking girl with shorter hair which still held the same shade of white.
"Hi, I'm Natsu, I ordered a bouquet from Mirajane a while ago." He said with a bright smile and an equally radiant tone.
"She's in the back right now if you want me to go get her." The white-haired girl responded.
"Yeah, that'd be great." He replied, silently thinking that he had seen her somewhere before.
"I'm Lisanna, by the way." She said, interrupting his thoughts as she headed to the back room.
Lisanna… Lisanna…
He looked up when he saw Mirajane walk up to the counter, an orange and blue bouquet in hand. It looked as if ice had begun to encase a raging fire and it's smell, oh, it's smell. Natsu couldn't get enough. It smelled like Gray and yet like himself. This was the smell he had been looking for. It had more meaning behind it than just a bouquet. It symbolized their union as boyfriends, and possibly, even more than that.
He stood there for a moment, eyes closed, taking in the wondrous scent. He wished he could stay there forever, simply floating in this deliciousness.
"Here's your bouquet, Natsu." Mirajane said, snapping him out of his reverie, "That'll be fifty dollars."
Natsu handed her the money and took the bouquet, the smell overwhelming him.
"Thanks so much, Mirajane. I don't know what I would have done without you." He responded, waving his goodbye as he walked out of the store.
"Didn't that guy look familiar, Mirajane?" Lisanna asked, wondering where exactly she had seen him before.
"Yeah, didn't you have a childhood friend called Natsu?" Mirajane wondered aloud.
Gray walked out with the group of students swarming to escape the classroom, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed in the large crowd.
Once he had made it back to his dorm, he realized that he had forgotten his key in the room. He tried to knock on the door, hoping that Natsu would be inside.
No response.
"Agh..." He grumbled, "Natsu! Are you in there?" He called out, still holding up the hope that Natsu was inside.
"Whatever, I'll just go get coffee while I wait." He decided, walking away from the room. The coffee shop was close enough that he could walk there and their drinks were always very well-made.
As he walked in, he was greeted with the bitter smell of freshly ground coffee beans and warm pastries.
He ordered himself an iced coffee and since he wasn't able to eat anything in his mad dash out of the dorm, he ordered a small slice of lemon cake as well. After he had finished eating, he thought about Natsu. Natsu, whose smile could brighten up his day, whose tears would ruin it, whose hands could work wonders in the kitchen.
His lips twitched in a small smile as he looked out of the window..
And saw Natsu walking towards a small parking lot with a bouquet of flowers in hand. He figured it would be best to leave Natsu to do the preparations as he saw fit.
Once Natsu had passed by, Gray walked out of the coffee shop and headed to the local arcade, hoping to kill time until Natsu went back to the dorm as he was the only one who still had the keys to their room.
Natsu was finally done with the preparations. He had spread out an old blanket onto the grass and placed the flowers in a vase to rest in the center. He had prepared a basket of assorted foods that he hoped Gray would like, mainly small sandwiches and fruit. The candle would have to wait until later.
Now all he had to get was Gray.
He went to the dorm and unlocked it but the only moving thing he could find was the fan lazily spinning in the corner.
He thought about it for a moment and realized that if Gray didn't immediately go back to the dorm, then he must not have his keys and sure enough, there was a lanyard with Gray's key card connected to it resting innocently on his desk. Natsu grabbed the card and a change of clothes for Gray as he knew the raven couldn't be too comfortable in his tighter clothes.
Gray focused intently on his game, wanting to get the new high score. He glanced down at the numbers flashing at the bottom of the screen. Almost there. Just a bit more…
But his character was blasted away just as he was getting to it. He looked at the leader board shining at him mockingly, the AAA blinking away impatiently before he entered GRY.
"Second place, again…" He mumbled quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets before walking out of the arcade.
As he walked out, he saw Natsu running towards him, holding his key card.
"Gray!" He called out. "You left your key card in the dorm!" He continued, handing Gray the card.
"Really?" He responded sarcastically, shoving the card in his pocket, "That's why I'm out here playing video games instead of in the dorm."
"You're in a bad mood." Natsu observed, "What happened?"
Gray grumbled an incoherent response and walked towards the coffee shop. He didn't want to be angry. He just was.
It's just that I haven't slept a lot in a while and a lot has happened today. He reasoned to himself. He wanted to make up for his attitude by getting Natsu a coffee.
"Natsu!" He called out as he turned around, hoping to find the pinkette following him. Fortunately, he was right behind him, following like a lost puppy.
"I'll pay for whatever drink you want since you've been working hard for the date all day and haven't eaten anything." He said stonily, not allowing his voice to waver despite how much he wanted it to.
Natsu looked up at the raven with large eyes, surprised that he would do something so nice.
"I'll just have a normal hot coffee with some sugar and that's all." Natsu said to the barista waiting at the counter. Natsu thought for a moment and realized that with Gray's current mood, he would probably want to go back to the dorm.
"And it's to-go." He added.
"Right away, sir." She responded with a slightly seductive tone to her voice. As she was making the coffee, she turned away and unbuttoned her shirt by one, allowing her bust to be seen clearly.
"Here you are.. What's your name?" She asked innocently, leaning over the counter, making her breasts seem much larger. Gray felt jealousy and mild rage begin to well up inside him at the thought of this woman trying to flirt with Natsu.
"Natsu." He quipped, not realizing what she was doing.
"Natsu...,"She began, rolling the name in her mouth. "What do you say you and I go get some food after my shift?"
This was too much for Gray. He whipped Natsu around to face him before diving onto his lips, making the connection.
Natsu felt amazing. Gray was finally starting to fulfill his role in their relationship. It was a short-lived high, however, as Gray pulled away, hissed a muffled "Mine", and grabbed Natsu's coffee before storming out of the shop with him. There were whispers permeating the air as they left, most of them bad. Gray ducked as he sensed an empty cup being thrown at them as he walked out onto the street, bringing Natsu down with him so that he could avoid getting hit.
"Gray..." Natsu tried as they were walking through the courtyard to their dorm. Gray began to walk faster.
"Let's just go on that date and forget about this whole flirting incident. Yeah?" Natsu proposed, hoping to cheer Gray up.
"Yeah, sure, why not." Gray responded quietly, forcing a smile as he turned around, "Lead the way."
Natsu began walking towards a small hill near the university.
The trickling of a small river could be heard as they walked over the hill. Gray noticed a large blanket spread out on the grass. On it, there was a large basket and a small vase of flowers, the same flowers Gray had seen Natsu carrying.
"Oh, and here," Natsu began, holding out a navy blue sweatshirt and a pair of lose sweatpants. "I figured that you couldn't be very comfortable in my clothes so I got you some of your own."
"And where am I supposed to change, heat for brains?" Gray felt proud that he finally managed to make up a good insult for Natsu, but it didn't feel quite right.
"Well, no one's out here and you're wearing boxers, right?" Natsu reasoned.
"Um… heh." Gray laughed nervously, realizing that he was not, in fact wearing anything underneath the jeans.
"You're not, are you?" Natsu sighed, hoping to use this response as a cover for his excitement at getting to see Gray naked again.
"Okay..," Natsu began, thinking about how best to go about this. "How about I hold up the sweatshirt as you change into the pants." This would grant him the best view of Gray changing.
"That's fine, Natsu. I'll just go behind a tree or something." Natsu's disappointment was visible in his slumped shoulders and small frown.
Gray took the clothes and went behind the largest tree he could find.
He breathed a sigh of relief after changing, finally able to wear something comfortable.
"Natsu, what should I do with your clothes?" He called out before looking down at the picnic scene before him.
But Natsu wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Natsu?" He yelled, worried that something might have happened to the pinkette.
"Where are you?!" He walked towards the trees, hoping that this was just another one of his pranks. He's gonna jump out and scare me any second now. He thought, trying to reassure himself. Right…?
A/N: I'll try to update by February but no promises since I'm also planning on updating my Ereri fic by then. There'll also probs be some sort of Valentine's day special to accompany that. It'll be posted as a separate one-shot like the Christmas one was. That's pretty much it. Thanks for reading! :3