A/N: Here's the next chapter, and a huge thanks to those who keep reviewing the story. Love you all! 3

Chapter Eighteen

When Gray was finished working in the armory, it was nearing four, so he decided to slack off with Lucy in the kitchens for a while. Or, he tried to, at least. Makarov caught him in the hallway and sent him off to work again, this time in the greenhouses. The greenhouses were just small glass boxes lined up on the roof of the hotel, the floor pulled up, the inside lined with plastic, and the holes filled up with dirt to make a natural garden bed.

It was quite ingenious, really, and Gray gave props to Makarov for thinking of it.

He made his way to the top floor and ducked into greenhouse A, where the cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots were housed. There were few people at work; Kagura was picking carrots from the dirt, her hair tied back in a red handkerchief, and across from her, Sherria was watering the tomatoes. That left Gray to the cucumbers, and he sighed and grabbed one of the baskets stacked against the wall, kneeling beside the trellis the plants were growing on.

The work was boring, but there was one good thing about working in the greenhouses, and that was the smell. The scents of the things growing were fresh and earthy, and the sun on the dirt gave off a strange sunshiney scent. Also, just the feeling of the repetitive motion of pick, twist, drop, twist, repeat was soothing, and the feeling of being productive was also soothing, in a way.

Before long, Gray's basket was filled, so he stood to bring it down to the kitchens for cleaning, preserving, and canning. The halls were mostly empty, save for the occasional soldier or gardener on their way to grab more water from the well. Gray sighed and pushed his way past the kitchen doors, dropping his basket off with Lucy before turning to head back out. He didn't have to do any more work in the greenhouse, so he figured he would find Natsu, grab a job, and go out. After all, he hadn't been out in a while, and he was itching for some action.

Around five, Natsu finally got done with his work In the infirmary. It had been a pretty busy day, with six cuts and one broken bone, so both he and Wendy were glad for the break. Wendy collapsed at her desk with a relieved sigh, and gave Natsu a smile. "You can go, if you want."

Natsu looked at the doorway guiltily. "Are you sure?"

Wendy nodded and rolled her eyes. "Go. But be back tomorrow at twelve. I need my assistant." She said the last part teasingly, and Natsu grinned at her on his way out, giving a small half-wave.

He wasn't sure what to do, and he contemplated heading to the kitchens to see if Lucy needed any help, but then he caught sight of Gray exiting the mission room with a paper in his hand. When he caught Natsu's eye, he pointed at Natsu, then the paper, then the floor in front of him. Natsu grinned and jogged over. "I got us a job," Gray said, showing Natsu the paper. "It's a tough one, too."

Natsu grinned. "You, me, killing zombies? Why, Gray, are you asking me out on a date?"

Gray rolled his eyes and walked past Natsu, tossing him his rifle. "Shut up. I grabbed your gun, I got mine; you better be ready to kill stuff."

About five minutes later they were out the gates and walking down the street. Natsu was flipping a pistol around his finger, his rifle strapped across his back and his eyes roaming the streets around them. Gray raised an eyebrow. "Tell me you have the safety on."

Natsu stopped spinning it to look at the gun's side. "Yep, it's on."

"The fact that you had to check worries me," Gray said, giving him an amused look. Natsu grinned and stepped closer, nudging Gray's shoulder with his own. "Oh, relax, Ice Princess. I was just messing with you."

"So you knew the safety was on?"

"Uh... yeah," Natsu said, blushing. "Totally. Yep."

Gray rolled his eyes but hit Natsu's shoulder back with his own. "You're gonna send me to an early grave, I have the feeling."

They walked on, and Gray stopped and pointed to the top of a tall building in the distance. "You think you could snipe something there"—he moved his finger to point at a building diagnol to the first one—"from there?"

Natsu made an amused sound. "From there? I could shoot anything in a ten mile radius."

Gray grinned. "Good. I want to see you in action."

They made their way through the street and up to the top of the building, and Gray watched as Natsu pulled his sniper riffle off his shoulder and set it up against the edge of the roof, screwing on the scope and laying himself out flat on his stomach. He squeezed one eye closed and lowered the other one to the scope. "The targets are in that building, right?" he asked, pointing. Gray nodded.

Natsu took a deep breath and maneuvered the gun so it was pointed in the right direction. "Okay, I see them." He took another deep breath, and waited for several seconds. Then, finally, he fired a single shot, and it whizzed through the air and the broken window. Gray squinted. He could faintly see a crumpled body, but there had been six Zs, and now only two stood. Surely he hadn't taken out four with a single shot?

Natsu looked back up at him. "There's two left, Wanna try your hand at sniping?"

Gray shrugged. "Sure. What do I have to do?"

"First of all, get down here."

Gray got on the ground and mirrored Natsu's position, military crawling forward until he was beside Natsu. Natsu pushed the gun along the roof so the scope was level with Gray's eye and scooted closer, so their sides were pressed together. "Okay, the first thing my uncle taught me was to remember to breathe. Your shot will be uneven if you don't breathe."

Gray nodded and took a deep breath. "Good, now close one eye, and focus the other on the target using the scope."

Letting his field of vision narrow to the single point the scope offered, Gray directed the scope to the zombie's forehead. "Now, whenever you're ready, press the trigger and let the gun do the work."

Not wanting to be upstaged, Gray waited for one zombie to shuffle behind the other, so their heads lined up. Releasing his breath, Gray pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and Gray saw the bullet rip through the skull of one Z, and then the other, downing them both.

"Aw, yeah," he said with a grin, looking over at Natsu. "I got them both!"

Natsu laughed. "Good job. You're actually pretty good."

"Maybe I just have a good teacher," Gray said with a smile, and then they were kissing, up on a rooftop fifteen stories up, surrounded by a desolate landscape crawling with the living dead.

When they got back, towing the loot they got from the cleared building, it was dinnertime, so they dropped all their stuff off in Gray's apartment before heading back downstairs. The dining hall was full of people, and as soon as they got their food, they sat down at a vacant table in the corner.

"You know," Gray said, "I think this is the first time we've really eaten together."

Natsu frowned. "Yeah, I guess it is." He took a bite of the apple he held and sighed. "Man, I'm tired..."

Gray frowned. "Why? Did you not get enough sleep?"

"No, I'm fine," Natsu said quickly, looking away. Gray narrowed his eyes, but didn't press him.

They continued eating, and Natsu's eyes wandered the cafeteria. Gray watched his irises flash golden as the light caught them, seeming to coalesce and shine for a second before they flashed back to their typical olive green. Gray was transfixed by them. He still wasn't entirely sure if they were all one color. The longer he looked at Natsu, the deeper he fell in love with him.

Natsu finished his food and sat back with a sigh, focusing his eyes back on Gray. His eyes really were a lovely shade of blue; like a deep cloudless sky, only darker. Maybe like ocean waves at night. And his hair. God, he couldn't even start on his hair. It was so black it made him think of a starless night sky, and it swept across his forehead in spikes and peaks.

That was when he knew for sure that he really had fallen for Gray.

Natsu smiled to himself and glanced out the window.

The sky was dusted with dark gray clouds, and it looked like it would start raining at any second. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, confirming Natsu's suspicions. A moment after the first thunder clap, the skies opened up and the rains poured free from the sky, streaking down the windows in fat drops. Natsu found the rain soothing, and he closed his eyes to listen to the sound of the rain against the windows, and the claps of thunder that shook the room every other second.

He opened his eyes and looked out the window again, tracing the raindrops with his eyes. Something beyond caught his eye, though, and he squinted out the window, standing slightly. A man was walking towards the gate, the peaked hood of a long black coat covering his head and a gun strapped across his back. Natsu stood all the way up now, a spike of fear flitting through him. "Gray, there's someone at the gate."

Gray stood up beside him and peered out the window, his face growing pale when he too caught sight of the man outside the gate. He ducked out from the table and made a beeline for the door, and Natsu followed behind helplessly. Makarov met them at the doors and they pushed out into the rain, their clothes immediately becoming soaked through. Natsu pulled the hood of his sweatshirt above his head and slightly over his eyes, shivering.

At the gate, Makarov stopped and peered through at the strange man. "State your business," he called out, and the man tilted his head up slightly, his face still hidden behind the peaked hood of his coat. "I seek temporary shelter," the man called. 'And this is the Outpost, is it not? Aren't all hunters allowed here?"

"Normally that's true," Makarov said. "But we've had... special circumstances these past few weeks. But we will allow you entrance, if you hand over your weapons first."

"Of course," the stranger said, pulling his rifle over his shoulder. Natsu's eyes narrowed at the weapon. It looked familiar somehow, and paired with the man's voice... Natsu kept getting the feeling that he knew the guy.

The stranger passed his gun through the gates, and Makarov snatched it and stepped back. "Open the gates, but keep your guns ready."

The men manning the gates pulled them open, and Gray, Makarov, and the rest held wary fingers over the triggers of their guns. The gates were closed behind him, and the stranger was searched for concealed weapons. He was clean, so Makarov led him towards the door, and Natsu followed, along with Gray. When they were inside, Makarov handed the man's gun to Gray and turned around to face him. "Sorry, but I don't suppose you would mind taking that hood off and showing us your face?"

"Of course," the man said, reaching for his hood. When he flipped it back, Natsu gasped. "Uncle Atlas?"

"Natsu?" Atlas asked, and Natsu pulled back his hood with a grin. "Natsu!"

They embraced, and Natsu hugged his uncle tightly. "Thank the gods you survived," Atlas said, pulling back with a grin of his own and clapping Natsu on the shoulder. "Igneel, is he...?"

Natsu's smile faded, and he looked away, shaking his head and swallowing back his sadness. Atlas' onyx eyes turned sad. "Ah, that's a shame. Although, my brother never was the tough type..."

Natsu looked back up at Atlas and the grin crept back onto his face. He hugged his uncle again, burying his face in his shoulder. "I missed you, Uncle Atlas."

Atlas laughed. "It's been too long, hasn't it? Although I wish we could've had our reunion under different circumstances."

'Oh, that reminds me," Natsu said, pulling back. "How did you get here, anyway? You live pretty far away, and with no working cars..."

"Ah, that's why it took me so long to get here," Atlas said with a wry smile. "I walked."

"Okay, I hate to interrupt this family reunion," Gray broke in, "but this is your uncle?"

"Yep," Natsu said, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his uncle, who was about two heads taller. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my uncle, Atlas Dragneel."

A/N: Ooh, developments! XD (Sorry for any typos, guys. I'm writing on my new laptop right now, and I'm still getting used to the keyboard.)