A/N: Here's the next chapter, and after last time's cliffhanger, I'll try not to do that again, but I can't make any promises ;)

Chapter Nineteen

After Natsu's declaration, the guns were lowered, and Atlas was escorted to the dining room for some food. Gray followed after, still shell-shocked. Natsu had mentioned an uncle before, when they were on the roof. He'd said his uncle taught him how to shoot, and judging on how good Natsu was, Gray guessed this Atlas was a thousand times better.

They sat back down at their corner table and Gray studied Atlas carefully. He could see the resemblance between him and Natsu in the color of his eyes and his facial structure. In fact, there was little difference between them, except Atlas' hair was a dark maroon red, and he was much taller than Natsu, though equally as lanky. But seeing Natsu so happy was the best part of Atlas' arrival. His eyes were lit up, and he smiled and chatted freely with his uncle.

Gray rested his head in his hand and tuned in to their conversation.

"So how was it over in the east?" Natsu asked Atlas. "I heard it was pretty bad, in the beginning."

Atlas shrugged. "It wasn't as bad as other places. Along the way I ran into places with much worse conditions."

Natsu grinned. "I bet it wasn't too much for you. You're the best sniper in the world!"

"I wouldn't say the world,' Atlas said with a chuckle, ruffling Natsu's hair. "But thanks, kid. If I'm the best, you're second best."

"Well, I don't know," Natsu said with a smirk. "Maybe I've passed you up by now, old man. We haven't had a shoot-off in a while."

"You guys had shoot-offs?" Gray asked, raising an eyebrow.

Atlas looked up at him. "Oh, almost forgot. What's your name, kid?"

"Gray."

"Well, Gray, nice to meet you." He shook Gray's hand with a smile. "And yes, we did used to have shoot-offs. It scared the hell out of his dad, of course," he said, jerking a thumb at Natsu. A nostalgic smile crept over his face, and Gray wanted to reach out and squeeze his hand, but held back as his uncle wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Maybe we can arrange one, if you plan on backin' up your smack-talk, kid."

"Whenever, wherever," Natsu answered confidently, drawing a small smile from Gray. Natsu's antics really were adorable.

After dinner, Natsu took Atlas to his apartment, while Gray went to his. Natsu's apartment was still empty, save for a twin bed and an empty desk without a chair. "You can sleep here," Natsu said, gesturing at the bed. "I've been staying with... a friend."

Atlas grinned, setting his stuff on the desk. "Oh, I see. Get yourself a girlfriend while you were here, kid?"

Natsu snickered and looked to the side. "Yeah, not exactly."

Shrugging, Atlas collapsed on the bed with a sigh. "Man, it's been too long since I've slept in a bed. Maybe I should stick around here."

"You should," Natsu said, ducking back towards the door. "Anyway, breakfast is six to eight, lunch is eleven to twelve, and dinner is seven to nine."

Atlas waved him off. "I got it. See you tomorrow, kid."

Natsu smiled as he closed the door. "See you tomorrow, Uncle Atlas."

He started down the hallway and jogged down the stairs, heading for Gray's apartment. Outside, the rain was still coming down heavily, and Natsu wondered how long it would last. He stopped in front of Gray's door and knocked. I should really ask for a key.

Within a minute, Gray opened the door and gazed out at him. "You're not staying with your uncle?" he asked, stepping back to let Natsu through.

"Nope. I've only got a twin bed and no couch, so that leaves this," Natsu replied, collapsing back on the couch.

"Still sleeping on the couch?" Gray teased, sitting down beside him. Natsu kicked off his shoes and rested his feet on the coffee table. "Yep. I wouldn't want to move too fast."

Gray smiled at him. "You really are cute, Natsu."

"Shut up," Natsu said, kicking him. Gray moved closer and wrapped an arm around him. For a while they just sat there, and Natsu looked out the window and watched the rain. "How long do you think this'll keep up?" he asked. "Not that I mind, but it just seems weird. I haven't ever seen rain so heavy in a long time. And usually it's only this rough for a little, but it hasn't let up at all since it started. If anything, it's raining even harder now."

Gray shrugged. "Dunno. But it's a good thing. Gets us lots of fresh water, right?"

"Right," Natsu amended. He rested his head on Gray's shoulder and let himself relax. He was happier than he ever had been, with his uncle there with him, walls protecting him, and Gray beside him. He yawned, finally letting fatigue overtake him, and closed his eyes. Gray's lips brushed the top of his head. "Goodnight, Natsu."

"Goodnight, Gray."

A clap of thunder jerked Natsu awake, and he sat there breathing heavily for a moment, his nightmare still fresh in his mind. There was a blanket covering him, and he could hear the rain pounding against the windows and the thunder booming outside. The sun was just beginning to rise, half-drowned by dark rain clouds.

Natsu pushed himself to a sitting position and ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his racing heart.

It couldn't have been more then five or six, too early to get up, but too late to go back to sleep. Not that he particularly wanted to go back to sleep, considering he'd only have another nightmare. In fact, ever since the nightmares started, there'd only been one night when he hadn't had them. He just wished he could sleep without exhausting himself. Even now, he felt fatigue hanging heavily over him like a blanket. Sleep was useless to him if his muscles were tensed every time he slept.

Natsu stood, meaning to go out and take a walk around the Outpost to clear his head, but his foot got caught in his blanket and he tripped and face-planted on the carpet. "Ow..."

"Natsu...?" Gray asked sleepily, and Natsu groaned and pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Yeah, I tripped," he said, unlooping his ankle with a sigh.

Gray pushed himself up with one hand and looked over at him. "Why are you up, anyway?"

Natsu pulled himself onto the couch. "I just woke up early, is all."

"It's still raining?" Gray asked, peering out the window. Natsu nodded. "Yeah. Weird, huh?"

Gray swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked over to the window, resting one hand on the sill and gazing out at the rain. "We can go downstairs, if you want. The rec room should be open."

"There's a rec room?" Natsu asked, surprised.

"Yep," Gray said with a grin. "C'mon, I'll show you."

The rec room was in the corner of the first floor, and it held three bookshelves, clumps of sofas and chairs, circled around tables spaced evenly around the room. There was a fireplace in the back of the room, but it was empty now, useless in the summer heat. There were shelves stacked with board-games in the corner, and even some beanbag chairs.

Gray spread his arms and turned around to grin at Natsu. "So, what do you think?"

Natsu's eyes were wide, and Gray found his awed expression adorable as he said, "Whoa. This place is awesome. The old man set this up?"

Gray nodded. "Yep. Since a lot of the Outpost's members are teens, Makarov put this place together for us."

"Cool," Natsu said, fingering a deck of cards. He looked back at Gray. "Wanna play?"

Gray smirked. "You're on, Ten."

They set up at a table and Gray raised an eyebrow. "What're we playing?"

Natsu shrugged. "What do you want to play?"

"Strip poker?" Gray suggested with a grin. Natsu rolled his eyes and smacked him on the shoulder. "Ha ha. Really, what do you know how to play?"

"Um, Garbage?" Gray said, shrugging. "Blackjack?"

Natsu grinned. "Blackjack."

"Oh, what!" Natsu groaned, leaning back in his chair. "You won again?!"

Gray held up his hands with a smirk. "Sorry, Natsu. I think you just have terrible luck."

"Natsu, Gray, I thought you two might be in here," Erza said, poking her head around the doorway. "It's time for breakfast."

"Thanks, Erza," Gray said, shuffling the cards before sticking them back in their cardboard box. "We're done, anyway."

"Not for long," Natsu said as they started walking towards the cafeteria. "I want a rematch."

"Sure thing, but I doubt your luck will change any time soon."

"Shut up," Natsu said with a scowl. "I'll get you next time for sure."

"You tell yourself that," Gray said with a smirk. They entered the cafeteria and sat down at an empty table. The rain was still beating heavily against the windows, and lightning streaked across the sky in bright white spurs of light, followed closely by loud claps of thunder. Gray chewed on an apple and watched the rain streaking down the glass, and the flashes of blurred light that lit up the room every few seconds.

"This rain is some serious shit," Lyon said next to Gray's ear, making him jump. He spun around angrily and gave his brother a harsh glare. "You scared the hell out of me, Lyon!" he said, shoving him. Lyon rolled his eyes and sat down beside Gray, taking a bite of the pear he held. "Don't be a pansy, Gray."

"I'm not!" Gray took a deep breath to avoid shooting Lyon in the skull and took another bite of apple. "It's just rain, Lyon. It's not the end of the world."

'No, you're right. That already happened," Lyon said with a smirk.

Just then, Atlas walked in, and the whole room fell silent. "Who's he?" Lyon asked, raising an eyebrow. Gray was about to answer when Natsu stood up and waved at him. "Atlas! Over here!"

Everyone's eyes locked on to Natsu as Atlas walked over and sat down next to them, and Lyon shot a questioning glance at Gray, a hand resting on his strapped gun. Gray rolled his eyes. "Lyon, this is Natsu's uncle, Atlas. Atlas, this is my brother, Lyon."

Lyon shook Atlas' hand, but Gray could see the distrust in his eyes. The room was still silent, and Gray glanced around at everyone staring at them. Atlas picked up an apple and started eating, and slowly the old buzz of the cafeteria came back as the side conversations started up again. For a while they just ate in silence, the rain coming down heavily outside, and thunder shaking the walls of the Outpost.

"So, you kids got jobs around here, right?" Atlas asked, glancing around at all three of them.

It was Gray who answered. "Yeah, we do. You'll have to talk to Makarov first, though."

Atlas shrugged. "Fine by me. In fact, I'll go now, if one of you can point me in the right direction."

"Down the hall to the right three doors," Gray said. Atlas stood, gave a wave around, and walked out.

Lyon immediately asked, "Okay, wait, that's Natsu's uncle?"

"Yep," Gray sighed out. "Although, I hardly know anything about him."

Natsu shrugged. "There's not much to tell. I hung out with him a lot when I was a kid. He's the one that taught me how to snipe. He used to be in the military, way back when. Had a kill count of five hundred."

"That's... impossible," Gray said.

"That's awesome," Lyon said at the same time.

Natsu sighed. "Yep. Pretty awesome."

After breakfast, they were on their way back to Gray's apartment when Atlas snagged them both by the collar. "Hey, kid," he said to Natsu, "how would you like to have that shoot-out. Your friend can come too."

Natsu grinned. "You're on, old man."

Atlas took them to a rooftop a block from the Outpost, and they lay themselves out across the edge of the slick roof, the rain pouring down around them. The building across from them was awash with Zs, shambling past the windows with their limpy, dragging walk. They were even lined up on the roof of the building, trapped behind a chain-link fence lining the circumference of the roof.

Natsu and Atlas set up their sniper rifles and Gray stood back and watched them with his arms crossed.

"Whoever shoots the most wins," Atlas said, locking his scope in place. "You better still have that sharp eye, kid."

"You'll see, won't you?" Natsu asked, securing his own scope.

"I guess I will. We'll start shooting on three. One." Natsu closed one eye and lowered his eye to the scope. "Two." He took a deep breath and set his sights on the first zombie. "Thr—" Atlas was cut off by a myriad of shots, and he looked over at Natsu and smacked him on the shoulder. "I said three, kid, no two and a half!"

"That wasn't me!" Natsu protested, rubbing his shoulder and glaring at his uncle.

"Then who—"

Gray hit the ground and crawled up beside Natsu. "Let me see your scope." Natsu scooted aside and Gray pressed his eye to the lens, peering through it. Beside him, Atlas did the same. Gray's eye found a pair of legs, and he swept the scope up, his breath leaving him when he saw the face.

"Who is that?" Atlas asked beside him, and Gray took a deep breath. "It's Zeref. He's... alive."

A/N: Oops. My fingers slipped. :)