Chapter Two

The Outpost was a large, fifteen story hotel, surrounded by a tall electric fence topped with barbed wire. Natsu gave an appreciative whistle as they approached the gate, which swung open once Lucy flashed a small object at one of the guards. The gates closed again as soon as they were through, and Natsu glanced around at all the people walking around. Most of them were either in their teens or early twenties, and held a small arsenal of weapons.

"I brought Ice back!" Lucy yelled as they walked into the hotel's lobby.

Immediately a crowd was gathered around them, and Natsu felt slightly overwhelmed. Cries of, "Ice!" and, "Welcome back!" flooded Natsu's ears.

Someone pushed through the crowd, saying, "Make way, guys! Give them some space."

"Lyon," Gray said with a grin, clapping the boy on the back.

"Gray," Lyon said, smirking. "Had a little trouble on your job, did you?"

Gray shrugged. "Only a little."

Lyon laughed. "So," he said, looking to Natsu. "Who's this?"

"I'm Natsu," Natsu said before Gray could introduce him.

"Ah. But, let me guess..." Lyon squinted at him, looking him over. "You're Ten Thousand, right?"

Natsu sighed and nodded. "Let me guess: the pink hair?"

Lyon snorted. "Hardly. More like the scarf."

Natsu blinked, surprised. "The scarf..." he said slowly. He laughed a little. "That's a first. Well, anyway, I brought Ice back, so..."

Gray smiled. "Right. Come with me." Gray directed Natsu down the hallway, leaving Lyon and the rest behind. They headed towards the stairs, and hobbled up to the third floor. "My room's that one," Gray said, pointing. Natsu shuffled over and Gray pulled out a key, insetting it into the slot and pushing open the door.

After Gray was seated on the couch, Natsu looked around, surveying the room. It was a decent size, with a queen-sized bed, two chairs, a couch, a coffee table, a desk, a bathroom, a large cabinet, and two bookshelves that Gray had presumably drug up the stairs himself.

"Nice setup," Natsu said, fingering the spine of Treasure Island.

"Thanks," Gray said from the couch, where he was rolling up the leg of his jeans to check out his ankle.

"Let me help you," Natsu said, walking over and kneeling in front of Gray.

"You don't have to-" Gray tried to protest, but Natsu was already untying the laces of Gray's boot. He gently pulled it off, then the sock underneath. He winced when he caught sight of the ankle. It was swollen and a deep, purplish blue, speckled with red.

"How bad is it?" Gray asked, seeing Natsu's face pale.

"Um, you said you thought it was sprained?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I think it's broken," Natsu said, staring at Gray like he was an alien.

"Oh," Gray said, sighing. "What a pain."

"Jesus," Natsu muttered. "What are you?"

Gray shrugged. "I just have a high pain tolerance. Always have."

Natsu stood from his crouch, looking at him disbelievingly. "Yeah, I'll say. Is there some doctor here I can call?"

Gray nodded. "Sky. Well, her real name's Wendy. But yeah, she's the doctor here."

Natsu nodded. "Where is she?"

"In the infirmary on floor one, probably."

Natsu nodded and made for the door. "I'll get her for you."

"Wait!" Gray called, making Natsu jump. He turned, and Gray cleared his throat. "I'm, sorry- I just- Um, thanks. For earlier, I mean," he said awkwardly, running a hand through his hair.

Natsu shrugged and smiled. "No problem."

Gray watched him leave, his heart twitching like a butterfly. What was wrong with him?

When Natsu reached the first floor, the door to the infirmary was open, and Natsu saw a small girl of about thirteen with dark blue hair and light brown eyes helping a bandaged-up, red-headed girl drink a glass of water. "Uh, sorry to bother you," Natsu said when she was finished, "but I'm looking for, um, Sky. Do you know where she is?"

The blue-haired girl set down the glass and wiped her hands on her jeans. "That's me. What can I help you with?"

Natsu's eyes widened. "You're Wendy? The doctor?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. What did you need?"

Natsu swallowed back his shock and said, "Uh, Gr- Ice is hurt. I think his ankle might be broken."

"Oh, dear," Wendy said, looking worried. "I'll gather my things and be up at once."

Natsu nodded as she fetched a small kit from a nearby cabinet and started ahead of him towards the stairs. When they arrived, Natsu held open the door for Wendy, and they went over to where Gray sat on the couch, his foot propped up on the coffee table. He smiled at Wendy and gave a little wave. "Hey."

"Don't you 'Hey." me," Wendy said, glaring at him as she set down her kit. "This is your sixth injury in as many weeks. You need to be more careful!"

Gray grinned. "Careful? Me? You know me better than that, Wen."

The girl sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, turning to look at Natsu, "but I don't believe I caught your name."

"I'm Natsu."

"Well, Natsu, would you mind assisting me?"

"Uh, sure," Natsu said nervously, moving to stand beside her. "What do I have to do?"

"I just need you to hold him down. I have to pop the bone back in place."

"I'll be fi- AOI!" Gray's protest turned into a yowl as Wendy moved his ankle. She gave him an expectant look, and he sighed and settled back. "Fine. Hold away."

Natsu did as Wendy instructed, placing one hand on Gray's chest and the other on his arm.

"Okay, get ready," Wendy warned, and Gray nodded and gripped the couch's armrest tightly. Slowly, she began moving Gray's ankle to the left and up. He immediately flinched, and his nails dug into the couch. As Wendy moved up further, he thrashed wildly.

"Keep him still!" Wendy yelled, trying to keep his ankle still.

"I'm trying!" Natsu yelled back.

"Well try harder! I don't care what you have to do, just keep him still!"

Natsu growled through his teeth and leaped onto the couch, straddling Gray and pinning his arms to his sides. "Keep still," he hissed. "What happened to that high pain tolerance, huh?"

Gray looked up at him, his navy eyes brimming with irritation. "Shut. The. Hell. Up," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Then keep still," Natsu hissed back, narrowing his eyes.

Eventually Gray gave up, nodded, and stopped struggling, and Wendy sighed and continued. Natsu remained seated on Gray's chest, keeping the other boy still.

"Okay," Wendy said slowly. "It's time for the painful part."

"That wasn't the painful part?!" Gray asked, horrified.

"Just stay completely still," Wendy said, avoiding the question.

Gray squeezed his eyes shut. "Um," he said after a second, "you have no idea how much I don't want to ask this, but could I... hold your hand?"

Natsu smirked. "Go right on ahead, Ice Princess. I won't judge."

Gray's hand fumbled for Natsu's, and he took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

As soon as Wendy's hands started to move, sweat broke out on Gray's forehead, and with all the pressure on his hand, Natsu thought he might end up with a few broken bones.

"Done," Wendy said after a while, pulling away.

Gray took a second to relax, and he opened his eyes, still clutching Natsu's hand. Their eyes met, and for a second the world froze around them. Wendy broke the moment by saying, "Thank you for helping, Natsu."

"No problem," Natsu said, finally sliding off Gray's chest. Their hands slipped away from each other, and Natsu found himself missing the coolness of Gray's palm, while Gray missed the warmth of Natsu's. Natsu brushed a hand over his clothes, straightening them. "Well. How do you feel?"

Gray shifted to a sitting position, groaning. "Shitty."

Natsu smiled a little. "That's to be expected."

"Yes," Wendy agreed, packing up her tools. "And you, Gray, I'm prescribing you six weeks of bed-rest, you got that? No hunting, no moving, no anything."

"But-" Gray started to protest.

"No buts!" Wendy said, glaring at him. "If you don't obey, I'll have to re-break your ankle."

Gray held up his hands, his eyes wide. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whatever you say, Wen."

Wendy smiled, back to her sweet, innocent self. "Good. I'll be in the infirmary if you need anything."

When she was gone, Natsu raised his eyebrows. "Well, she was... interesting."

"That's one way to put it," Gray said irritably, struggling to right himself. "God, this hurts."

Natsu sighed. "Let me help you. Geez, you're stubborn." He helped Gray sit fully upright. "There."

"Thanks," Gray said, taking a deep breath. "I'm just... not used to staying still."

Natsu snorted. "Yeah, I can tell. But I suppose I can help you for a while."

Gray raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Oh?"

Natsu smirked and plopped down on the couch, resting an arm on the back, behind Gray's head. "Well, you're getting me a spot here, right? I figure that might take a while, so I'll just stay here until then."

Gray looked at him. A slow smile spread across his face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

Natsu nodded, folding his hands behind his head. "Sounds about right."

"Hey, since you're staying here, would you mind helping me to the bed?"

"Sure," Natsu said, standing and reaching for Gray's arm. The boys shuffled over to the bed, and Natsu attempted to dump Gray down as gently as possibly. However, his foot slipped on a rug, and he fell on top of Gray. Their eyes met, and Natsu felt his heart stop, his breath catching in his throat. Gray's eyes were wide, and Natsu found himself admiring the deep blue color.

"Uh, sorry," Natsu breathed, pushing himself up and running a hand through his hair, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Um, it's okay," Gray said, glancing away, his cheeks slightly red.

Natsu turned away and walked past the couch to look out a nearby window, trying to calm himself down. The Zs were starting to creep back onto the streets with the coming night. Natsu brushed a hand through his hair, his mind flashing back to how close Gray's lips had been; pale pink and slightly parted.

What was going on in his head?