A/N: Here's the next chapter. Remember to show your love by following, favoriting, and reviewing! I would love to hear your guy's opinions! (I love cupid Lyon XD)

Chapter Seven

Gray cringed and braced himself for the lecture to come as he entered the infirmary. Wendy was bent over Natsu, wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. She turned at the sound of his footsteps, and he cringed and said, "Ah, hey, Wen..."

The small blue-haired girl quickly dropped the cloth and ran over to him, squeezing him in a bone-crushing hug. "Gray! I'm so glad you're okay!" Surprised, Gray returned the hug, asking, "So... you're not going to kill me?"

She shoved him away, her eyes furious. "OF COURSE I AM! GRAY FULLBUSTER, HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY A DIRECT ORDER FROM YOUR DOCTOR! STUPID!" She hit him hard on the shoulder, glaring at him. Gray smiled nervously. "Promise I won't do it again."

Wendy sighed, visibly deflating. "Yeah, you say that every time." She turned and walked back to Natsu's side, picking up the discarded cloth and dropping it on the side-table before taking a seat at her desk. Gray cautiously walked over to sit in the chair at Natsu's bedside, his eyes sweeping over the boy's prone form. His chest rose and fell evenly, but his brow was spotted with sweat, and his cheeks were red. Gray gulped; took a deep breath. "Is he..."

"He'll be alright," Wendy assured, waving her hand dismissively. "He just needs to break his fever and he'll be fine. He will have a few scars, though..."

Gray's hands, which were hanging limply at his sides, curled into fists. Scars... He exhaled, letting his fists unclench. He needed to focus on Natsu right now; not his anger. He had plenty of time for that later. Natsu shuddered in his sleep, and Gray reached out a tentative hand and rested it against his forehead. "He's burning up," he told Wendy with a frown. The girl sighed. "I know. If I had an IV I'd give him some meds for the pain, but I don't, so until he wakes, I can't give him anything."

"Can't you give him a shot or something?" Gray asked, letting his hand fall back to his side. Wendy sighed again. "I would, but I'm all out. If someone would go on a med run for me, then it would be a different story."

"I'll go," Gray said immediately, and Wendy immediately shook her head. "Nope. No way am I letting you go out again. You're still recovering."

"C'mon, Wen!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "You need the meds, and I'll die of boredom just sitting around. And I want to help Natsu any way I can. I got him into this mess, after all..."

Wendy's eyes turned sad, and she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Gray, you know this wasn't your fault." Gray said nothing, his eyes trained on the floor. Wendy sighed in defeat. "If you really want to go, then..."

Gray's eyes brightened, and he scooped the girl up and spun her in a circle. "Yes! You're the best, Wen!"

She laughed and shoved him away. "Whatever. Go before I kick you out. Come back when you're ready and I'll give you a list."

Gray nodded and sprinted out of the room, headed towards his room to gather his equipment. Lyon met him halfway on the stairs, and when he learned of what Gray was planning, he immediately insisted on coming along. Gray was hesitant, considering he'd already gotten one person hurt, and didn't really want another one injured, but Lyon was too stubborn, and eventually Gray gave in.

They split at Gray's door, and Lyon scurried off to grab his own stuff while Gray ducked inside his apartment and started gathering his guns and pack. Through all the excitement he had forgotten about his leg, and Gray gritted his teeth as spikes of pain prickled under his skin. He shook them off and finished strapping his last gun across his back, slinging his pack over his shoulder and making his way towards the door. Lyon met him at the stairs, and they walked towards the infirmary together.

"I can hardly pronounce half the things on this list," Lyon said, squinting down at the paper in his hand as they walked down the street, towards the hospital they typically looted. Gray rolled his eyes and snatched the list, tucking it in his pack. "Focus on your surroundings, would you? Natsu needs this medicine, and I'd rather not be eaten alive by zombies today."

"Yeah, yeah," Lyon muttered, hoisting his gun. After several moments of silence, he asked, "You really like him, huh?" Gray frowned, his finger hovering over the trigger of his gun. "What? Who?"

"Natsu," Lyon said, cutting his eyes over to Gray to gauge his reaction. Gray stiffened, feeling his heart skip a beat and his face redden as an image of sakura-hair and a toothy grin flashed through his mind. "What? That hot-headed idiot? No way!" Why was Lyon asking weird things all of a sudden, anyway?

Lyon smirked, turning away. "Sure. Of course."

Gray narrowed his eyes and huffed in irritation. "If you've got somethin' to say, say it."

His brother's smirk widened. "I didn't say anything."

Annoyed, Gray raised his gun and shrugged his shoulders to loosen the tension. Why was he talking about Natsu all of a sudden? "We'll continue this later. The hospital's right up there."

When they were safely inside the hospital, Gray pulled out Wendy's list and they started searching for the meds on the list. It didn't take long to find almost all of them, save for a few basic things that had been looted quickly, like Tylenol and Advil. Their packs were now heavy with meds, needles, and other odds and ends, and they started back towards the Outpost.

Gray huffed, wiping sweat off his brow. Lyon rolled his eyes. "Tired already?" Gray shot him a dark look. Couldn't he leave him alone for a damn minute? "I'm the one who has to carry all the IV bags, so unless you'd like to switch packs, shut it."

"Fine," Lyon said, holding up his hands in surrender. "And just so you know, this whole Natsu business isn't over."

Gray stumbled, nearly tripping and face-planting on the road. "Wh-why're you bringing that up again?!"

"No reason."

No reason my ass, Gray thought, righting himself and glaring at Lyon's back as they continued walking. What is he trying to do, anyway?

When the reached the Outpost, their first stop was the infirmary. Wendy was like a child on Christmas Day when they opened their bags and spread out all the medicine across an empty bed, and her gleeful smile made Gray's mood lighten up a little.

"Thank you both so much!" she exclaimed, her eyes still sparkling looking at all the goods spread across the sheets.

Lyon ruffled her hair. "No problem, kiddo. Use them wisely."

"I will!"

With that Lyon was off, but Gray decided to stay and help Wendy put away all the meds. When everything was in its place, Wendy pulled out an IV bag and cleaned the needle at the end of the tube. "Drag that stand over, will you?" she asked, pointing at a tall metal rack in the corner. Gray nodded and wheeled it over, and Wendy slung the bag on it. She pulled one of Natsu's arms free of the blanket and poked around for a vein. When she'd found one, she cleaned the skin over it and gently inserted the needle, flicking the bag a few times to get it going.

"All done," she said, sitting back with a smile. "He should be better within a few days, thanks to you."

Gray smiled, seeing the relief already written across Natsu's face. "I'm just glad I could help."

"Yeah..." Wendy stretched her arms above her head and blinked, rubbing her eyes. "Tired?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded. "But I"—she paused to yawn—"I can't leave him here alone."

Gray smiled, pushing Wendy towards the door. "Go sleep. I'll watch him."

"But," she protested weakly, "what if more patients come in?"

"Wen," Gray said, giving her another push. "Go."

She sighed. "Okay, okay. But if anything happens, just come get me!" And she was off. Gray sighed and sat down in the chair beside Natsu's bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. Now that he was relaxed, his leg had started hurting again, and he sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. He turned his eyes to Natsu, and he studied his face quietly. The sweat on his brow had lessened, and he appeared much calmer now.

Luckily his face was the one thing they'd left alone. His tan skin was smooth across his sharp cheekbones, and sweeps of his sakura hair had fallen in front of his closed eyes. Gray reached out and brushed it back without thinking. He startled at how soft it was, and he swept his fingers through it again, just to make sure he hadn't imagined the feeling.

Natsu sighed in his sleep; a soft exhale that made Gray jump and quickly yank his hand away. He watched him cautiously, noticing the faint fluttering of his eyelashes as he turned his head to the side, sighing again in his sleep. "I wonder what he's dreaming about," Gray whispered to himself, settling back in his chair and resting his chin on his palm. His mind flashed back to what Lyon had said earlier. You really like him, huh?

Gray shook his head and closed his eyes, leaning his head forward. Why am I thinking about that all of a sudden? I mean, it's not true... is it? He let his head fall forward onto the bed, and he rested his head on his arms and sighed. I don't like... I don't... like... Natsu... I like... Natsu...? I like Natsu...? He fell asleep with those words in his ears, but he still couldn't decide if they were true or not.