Thank you all for the positive feed back and the favorites/follows!

For those wondering, I don't plan on having Gray or Natsu being ooc in this story. He was a little in the first chapter, I admit, but that was more for set up purposes so that the reader could catch a glimpse into the heart of the ice mage.

Any way, here we go! Chapter Two is under way!

Sacrifice: The Orb of Hastaka

Chapter Two: What Cannot Be Said

Gray pushed himself farther back into the cushions of the seat of the coach, eyes closed tight and mouth pulled down into a frown. His brows were furrowed tightly together, pinched in a mask of annoyance. Each time the sound of faint gagging reached him his lips would curl up in a building scowl. It was hard to believe the pink haired man sprawled out on the other coach cushion was really the same man that have saved their hides so many times. Natsu could take down people he had no business even fighting, yet a mere cart was his greatest and most successful enemy. The ice mage sighed, shoving a thin hand through his unruly raven locks.

"Just knock him out already!" Lucy finally huffed, turning her own bothered eyes towards him. "That noise he keeps making is starting to make me sick!"

One of Gray's pinched brows lifted as he seemed to ponder the request. It would make things a lot more peaceful and that horrid retching sound would stop. He leaned over, casting a glance out the window of their coach to catch the sight of the small village they were fast approaching.

"No." He finally answered. "We're almost there and I don't feel like carrying him around. He can suffer for a few more moments."

Natsu made a few belligerent gargling sounds and Gray was not sure whether they were thanks or curses. He supposed it did not matter either way as they were probably delivered in the same sarcastic manner. An insult in the guise of a compliment was still an insult. He waved a hand towards the sickly boy before resting an elbow on the door of the coach and nestling his chin in his palm. Truth be told, Gray was really not in the mood for the banter they usually had on a trip.

From the moment they had stepped off the train at the Onibus station he had had a sinking feeling, and the closer they came to the remote village of Trecklar, the worse it became. It was like a shadow had been following him, wrapping its darkness around him tighter and tighter. His subconscious was struggling for light and breath, trying to tell him something but he just could not hear it. What exactly was it that was rising his hackles in such an unnatural manner? There was danger coming, that much he knew. But what kind of danger?

Casting a glance out the window his eyes caught sight of something far in the distance. It was a large castle made of crumbling gray stone. Even from this distance he could see the thick vines that were clinging to it's walls. In the center was a splotch of purple. It looked like a banner but he could not tell what was on it. A guild hall? But that could not be right. If there was a guild this close to the village why would they have sent out for help from someone so far away.

That same dark feeling skittered over his flesh and he could not suppress the shiver that rattled him. It was not from cold, but from a strange sense of foreboding. He was usually not that perceptive to such intuition but at the moment he felt that if they kept going something very bad was going to happen. His pale blue orbs glanced back towards the sick Natsu. There was no reason to be surprised. Even a normal mission was turned into a massive headache when the dragon slayer was concerned. A sigh left his lips as he settled back, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. He should have done it before they left on the job. The pieces were starting to add up, making sense of the original confusion he felt when he first read the flier.

An ancient artifact that had been guarded by monks for years suddenly needed to be moved into the care of the Magic Counsel. However a small, yet reliable party was needed, not the large grandeur of the army the Counsel surely would have sent for the job. The pay was high, far higher then it should have been for such a task, a clear warning that despite how easy it sounded there was no way it was going to be a cake walk. And to top it all off there was now a strange castle that appeared to be some kind of keep or guild hall not to far outside of the village outskirts. If Gray had not thought it before, he surely realized now that they were walking into some trouble.

He was about to voice his thoughts when the coach jerked to a stop. They had arrived. With no grace what so ever, Natsu burst out of the confines of their ride to land on all fours on the dirt outside. An excited laugh left him, that same sound that struck Gray straight to the core and forced him to look away unless he wanted the others to catch him blushing. Why was it that every silly action by the dragon slayer seemed cute to him now?

"No more rocking!" Natsu hollered out, lowering his face to rub it in the dirt. Happy landed beside him and started mimicking the motions. "I say we walk back. I'm not sure I can take another ride in that bouncy torture house!"

"You're so pathetic." Gray muttered, rolling his eyes. As much as he loved the guy there was no getting around the fact that people did not come much stranger then Natsu. "Let's go. I want to talk to these monks and figure out what we're dealing with here."

"What'd you say to me, ice cube?" Natsu snapped, jumping up and falling right into a fighting stance.

Gray watched him, one brow twitching in irritation. It was moments like this that he wanted to curse his heart for the choices it had made. The blasted thing could have fallen for anyone; Juvia, Lucy, hell even Loke or Erza. But no, it had to pick the most wonderfully frustrating person he knew. One hand slapped against his forehead before he glared back at the dragon slayer.

"You heard me just fine, flame brain!" He returned the shout. "When are you going to get over that stupid motion sickness thing?"

The two ended up cheek to cheek in a heated stare down. Ice flashed against fire, nearly dousing each other out in a steaming mess. Though it did not show on his face, Gray lived for this. Not because he wanted to fight with the one that unknowingly held his heart but because it was in moments like this when he knew that he was the only one that Natsu saw. The dragon slayer's entire focus and passion was settled solely on him. It may have been in anger, but Gray would take that over nothing.

Just as the two were about to resort to blows, a set of hands grabbed them by the back of their shirts and yanked them apart. Two sets of furious eyes landed on Lucy who only returned it with a fiery look of her own. Gray let out a short 'tsk' and turned away, shoving both hands into his pockets. Leave it to Lucy to cut the moment short. He was finally starting to feel more like himself again, bathing in the familiar heat of Natsu's antics while on a job.

"If you two are finished, we have company." She muttered, turning her head to glance over her shoulder.

Gray and Natsu leaned over to see what she was talking about. Standing behind them was four men in long, dark maroon robes. Each ones' head was shaved completely bald. Around their necks hung a string a large, sky blue pearls. From those hung a pendent with the seal of their order. There was no doubt that they were the monks that they had been sent to help. Gray had to admit that he had not expected a welcoming party.

He frowned suddenly. Something was wrong. The monks all bore a strange expression, as though something weighed heavily on their shoulders. They should have been excited that the help they were willing to pay so much for had finally arrived. So why did they all look so glum? Gray glanced towards Lucy and Natsu and saw they shared the same confused expression that he did. So they too had noticed the strange behavior of the quartet that stood before them.

"Oi." He finally called out to them. "We're the wizards from Fairy Tail. You wanted us to haul something back to the Magic Counsel for you, right?"

The tallest and oldest of the monks stepped forward now, bowing his head low enough that they could look at the back of his skull. His entire frame trembled as if the action caused him a struggle. Though it was entirely possible it was just from the weight that necklace was likely pressing down on his neck. Beside Natsu, Happy floated in the air, returning the bow. Ah, what it must be like to be simple of mind.

"I am Elder Teaga." The man whispered softly. "We of the Trecklar Monks are glad that you have come wizards. However things have changed. Please accompany us to main hall so that we may speak of things in private."

Gray and Lucy swapped a curious glance. There was no that this could be good. These sort of things usually mean that things had gotten dangerous and they were about to be asked to ride into the eye of the storm in order to try and stop it. Normally the ice mage would not care but he still could not shake the dark feeling that was stalking him. He nodded towards them in a slow manner.

"Lead the way."

-H-A-S-T-A-K-A-

"The artifact is gone."

The words cut through the room they now sat in with a heavy slash. The three wizards could only sit back and blink. The artifact was gone? As in it had been sent away already? Gray leaned back with a low sigh. You'd think they would have had the decency to send word ahead that they were not heading for the same job. Though he supposed he could not blame them so long as they still had something to do and got paid for it.

"Seriously?" Lucy said in an exasperated voice, obviously thinking that it meant they would no longer be needed. "So we came all the way out here for nothing? Man...I'm never going to be able to pay my rent now!"

"Eh?" Natsu chimed in, eyes going wide as his features paled in a sudden thought. "We have to get back in that...rocking thing again?"

The two hung their heads in defeat, but Gray was not so quick to join them. Instead he leaned back in the chair, arms laying over his chest as he crossed his legs. He knew that if they were not still needed here the Monk's would have simply bid them a farewell while they were still at the coach. No, there was something more going on here. His lips pursed together in thought.

Elder Teaga had said the job had changed and that the artifact was gone. What he did not say was that they had no need for the wizards help. Which meant that even though the artifact was not here, neither was it where it was intended to go. He closed his eyes for a moment before he remembered the castle with what had seemed to be a banner hanging from it. A guild hall so close yet not asked for help, the high reward for a simple job, and the secrecy needed that the Magic Counsel's army could not provide; all the pieces finally fell together in his mind and made sense. His pale blue eyes slid open as he peered across the table at the Elder Monk.

"A Dark Guild." He murmured as if it were an after thought.

Elder Teaga's eyes went wide as he stared down the length of the oak table at the ice mage as though he did not understand his words. Both his large hands gripped tightly at the edge of the table. His body leaned forward as his black eyes could only gape at Gray.

"How did you know?" He asked in a quiet but shocked voice.

"I felt something was off about this from the moment I first read the job posting." He shrugged carelessly as he answered. "It just took me this long to gather all the pieces. I thought it seemed strange how much you would be willing to pay a guild to do work the Magic Counsel would have done for free. Then I saw that castle from the coach with the banner hanging out front. I knew that if you had an official guild that close there was no way you would outsource so far away. So they must be a Dark Guild that moved in recently which is why you wanted the artifact suddenly and quietly removed from a place that its rested for what I assume to be a long time."

Teaga only continued to sit in astonishment for a few moments. It was obvious that he had not expected any of them to put it together. Had it just been Natsu and Lucy on the job that would have been more likely, but Gray was always one to think a little more about what was going on around him. He would not call himself a genius by any stretch of the imagination, yet compared to his current teammates that might not be a totally inaccurate idea. Lucy had a fierce heart and would often run into situations that were too dangerous for her for the sake of a friend, and Natsu had a fiery loyalty and power that still continued to shock him, but neither were hard thinkers. Gray usually did not voice is own inner monologue though as Erza was usually around to speak it out loud and save him the trouble of trying to explain a plan to Natsu.

"Seriously?" Said Dragon Slayer piped up now, rising from his seat in excitement. His lips curled up into a feral smile as he raised a fist up, a bright flame flickering over the flesh. "Does that mean we actually get to kick some butt on this job? Alright!"

A low whine left Lucy as she sagged forward in her chair. "I just wanted an easy job for once!"

Gray cast an annoyed glance towards Natsu. He wanted to know what was really going on here. The picture was pretty much filled out for him now but he still wanted all the details that had been left out. But with the squealing noises Natsu kept making there was no way the Elder would be able to get a word in. Without thinking, Gray grabbed a plate up off the table and hurled it at the bouncing pinkette's head.

"Will you shut up, dragon breath!" He roared. "Let the man talk so we can find out what we are supposed to do!"

Natsu let out a strangled sound as the plate connected with the back of his head, sending him staggering. One hand came up to rub at the sore spot for a few moments before he whirled around, golden orbs glaring back with a fire. He slammed a hand down on the table and pointed a finger towards his attacker. Inside, Gray felt as though everything had been turned to liquid. Why did he keep hurting Natsu? At this rate he would never be able to ever speak the truth. Though did he want to? Ignorance he could handle, rejection would be another story.

Still he basked in the warmth of the gaze on him. Once more he had become the center of Natsu's universe. There was nothing else that mattered to the dragon slayer right now but himself. It may have been a false sense of belonging but the ice mage would take it. He would throw himself into the fire of that gaze and let it sear his flesh until their was nothing left but the exposed soul that longed for him. His heart beat faster as he glared back, his face its normal mask of annoyed anger despite the different type of inferno that roiled about inside him.

"What do you think we're supposed to do, ice cube?" Natsu shouted back. "Bad guys stole the artifact so we have to go beat them up and get it back! Oh yea, I'm getting fired up already!"

"Do you even know what the artifact looks like, you idiot?" Gray roared back, now on his feet as he leaned over the table to bring himself closer to Natsu. Cheek against cheek he entangled them in an angered dance that offered him the pleasure of the feeling of that warm flesh against his coldness. "Or did you just plan on carrying everything in the castle back with you?"

"And so what if I was? The job would still get done!"

"You don't even know what the artifact does! It could turn you into some kind of animal when you touch it!"

"Yeah right, like that would happen!"

"You're right because any animal is smarter than you!"

"What was that, you perverted icicle? You wanna take this outside?"

"Let's go!"

"Guys!" Lucy's shout finally stopped the duo's argument and still pressed together they turned to glare at her.

"What?" They shouted back at her in unison.

"Shouldn't we be listening to the Elder?" Lucy flinched back under the intense power of both their glares. The blonde knew they would never hurt her but that did not mean that the power of their combined glare was not frightening. She reached out and pulled Happy into her lap in case she needed to use the little furball as a shield.

"Ooo." Happy suddenly giggled, raising one paw to his mouth as he pointed at Natsu and Gray. "They're in looove!"

It was a normal taunt from the small blue creature, one that was often ignored. This time though it sent a jolt straight through Gray. It was a second time in two days that someone had some how managed to blurt out his secret. Even though Happy was only having a jest at their expense, the unknown truth behind those words hit way too close to home. Gray felt his heart seize up in his chest as the blood drained from his face, leaving it as white as his over coat.

To make matters worse, he felt Natsu shove him away with a loud laugh. His anger had suddenly been defused, though mood swings were not uncommon with the dragon slayer. Gray teetered backwards. He had not expected the push any more then he had expected the stab of pain that left him feeling hollowed out inside. His body slumped back down into his chair as his legs refused to hold him up any longer.

"Don't be weird, Happy." Lucy muttered, shoving the cat off her lap.

Gray only stared ahead blankly, out of touch with reality for the moment. That shove. The very idea of their being love between them had caused the dragon slayer to shove him away. Had the ice mage ever needed proof that he and Natsu could never be, there it was. The mention of emotion outside of hatred or anger and the pinkette could not break contact quick enough. Gray lowered his chin to let his bangs fall over his eyes and hide them from the other two. He did not want them to see the pain that simmered in the pale blue orbs as he fought against the wretched feeling of a pseudo-rejection.

Because of this position he did not see Natsu staring at him strangely. The fire dragon was all caught up in confusion again. One moment things were going along like normal and then next Gray was acting off again. He got into fights with the ice mage all the time and the man never seemed to get so depressed afterwords. That was always what Natsu liked about their relationship. They could fight like cats and dogs and yet still be friends. So why was it that recently Gray seemed to be avoiding confrontation with him? And even more so that when he did fall into a spat with Natsu he almost seemed to loose his spirit the moment it was over? The dragon slayer wanted to talk to him, but now was not the time.

"Sorry." Gray muttered after a few moments of his odd silence. His chin lifted finally and almost blank blue eyes appeared to look at Teaga. "Please explain what is really going on here."

The Elder was sitting stiffly in his chair, eyes open wide in shock still over the near fist fight between two of the wizards he meant to hire. The trio had to figure this was the first time they had actually dealt with wizards from an official guild. Lucy liked to say often that Fairy Tail was full of weirdos, but as far as Gray had seen most guilds were filled with less then sane members. The old man collected himself quickly enough though when he realized the argument had been defused and nodded slowly.

"This village had stood here for nearly 400 years." The Elder began. "It was named after the monk who started our order, Master Trecklar. At one time he was a brave and powerful wizard that led his own guild. They were a strong lot, much like your own Fairy Tail. They had earned the love of the villagers and made their home in the castle to the north. For the longest time they were happy. Until the demon showed up.

"It was a creature of great and horrid power, thought to be one of Zeref's own demons. It terrorized this village and because of its deadly magic no wizard, no matter how powerful could stop it."

Gray had gone stiff in his seat in his seat at the mention of a demon. He had stood against and defeated one with Natsu and Erza yet the idea of them still needled at them. It always brought him rushing back towards his childhood and events he wished he could keep buried. He may have faced the events of his past but he by no means forgot them, nor would he forgive the idea that they had been his fault. His gaze turned back down towards the table. Another demon, wonderful.

"Demons?" Lucy squeaked, looking away. "We don't have to fight some big ugly freak do we?"

"No." The Elder shook his head slowly. "There is more to the tale. This demon had the ability to drain the magic from a person and use it against them. All he had to do was touch them to absorb it straight from their body. So many of the guild fell against it's might. Soon they were a mere shadow of what they had once been.

"Their Master had to come up with someway to stop the beast or it would roam the world draining magic from everything and leaving nothing but wastelands behind it. He knew he only had one true choice on how to do that."

Gray's hands curled into tight fists on his thighs. This story was just to hauntingly familiar and he knew what was coming up next. His eyes burned with the threat of tears as his own tale assaulted his mind with bitter memories. A creature born of hate with no desire but to spread sorrow, a beast of such strength that it was free to do as it wanted with no fear of one being strong enough to stop it. There was only one way to halt a demon like that.

"He sealed it away." He whispered, voice coming out thicker then he would have liked. "They couldn't kill it so they simply wrapped it up in the hopes that it would never hurt anyone again."

The Elder offered a soft, but sad smile. It was easy for the monk to see that this boy had faced similar devastation in the past. Teaga almost wished at the moment that it had been anyone else that had answered the job request other then this ice mage. He knew better then anyone else that the despair of the past could impair the present.

"That is correct, young one." The monk murmured. "Master Trecklar was able to find a substance that prevented the drain of magic from a person's body. Using this he created objects to prevent the demon from being to able feed off the remaining members of his guild and together they sealed the creature away in an orb made of the same substance. They named it after the beast that was trapped inside. The Orb of Hastaka.

"The orb was kept in this village and the remaining guild members became monks to protect it. They passed down their knowledge of magic in order to ensure that nothing ever got a hold of the artifact."

"So why move it now?" Lucy had to ask the question that was on the mind of all of them. If it had been safely in the monk's possession for 400 years what would cause them to need to move it so suddenly?

"It began to change." The monk sighed, one wrinkled hand moving to rub at the large pearls around his neck. "For over 300 years it laid dormant, nothing more then a jewel. But recently it started to act up again and began draining the magic from those that were nearby. We had to start wearing the barrier beads again." The monk tugged at the necklace. "These pearls are made with same protective magic as the orb used to seal away the demon so it prevents it from being able to feed off our magic.

"We feared this meant the demon had slowly been feeding off magic without us being aware and had been growing stronger in an attempt to break free of its shell. It was thought not to be a problem because we were the only ones near it, but around that same time we realized what was going the dark guild moved into the old guild hall. They call themselves Medusa's Eyes. We had seen some of them moving around the outskirts of the village and decided that it would be smarter to simply move the orb. It seemed its rising power was drawing attention. So we decided that the job that was started by our ancestors all those years ago was best handed off to another.

"That was when we sent out the job request to your guild. We wanted the move to be quiet and unknown so that Medusa would not follow you but keep floating around our village. However they must have sensed our plan because last night three of them attacked and made off with the orb."

The three wizards sat in silent contemplation over the story for a bit. Gray's jaw was clenched down tightly, his teeth grinding together. All this time these monks had sat on something so dangerous and yet they had refused to turn it over to those that might have actually been able to keep it hidden away. Why was it that man always presumed to think that they could control demons? Too many innocent people had forsaken their lives and the lives of others for that false honor. It was a burden he knew well because he shared it. But unlike this sect he had learned the true pain of that lesson and would never be foolish enough to fall prey to such pride again. He slammed both fists down on the table now, glaring hatefully at his curled fingers.

"You should have sent it away as soon as it was created." He growled, not sure they heard him because he had a hard time hearing himself. Though that could have been due to the blood that was rushing through his head in a cold fury. "There is always someone out there that wants the power of a demon, someone stronger than you. You endangered everyone by thinking that you could hide a demon's soul behind a meager force of prayer men!"

"Gray..." Lucy whispered, pressing shaking fingers against her lips. The blonde could feel the furious despair rolling of their friend. She had to admit she had forgotten of the ice mage's own brush with sealed demons and those that strove after them.

"He's right." Natsu spoke up, his own tone soft. "You needlessly put the people around here at risk with the stubborn need to remain the watchers of the demon. You should have gotten rid of it the moment it was created and even more so when it started causing trouble instead of waiting for trouble to find it."

The monk at least have the decency to look chastised by their words. He hung his head, unable to make eye contact with the ones that he had been hoping to find help from. His weathered hands gripped each other tightly on top of the table.

"Does this mean you will not help us?" He asked.

"We'll do it." Natsu snapped at the man as if insulted. "We are Fairy Tail wizards and we always complete any job we take on."

Elder Teaga was relived to hear this. He nodded his head vigorously before lowering it to press against the table in a show of thanks.

"There are a few things we must prepare for you first." He whispered towards the trio. "We will have them ready for you first thing in the morning and you can set out to the castle. For the time being we have a small inn that is unused. You can stay there for the night. There is even a hot spring out the back that has the ability to restore and replenish body, mind, soul, and magic. Please relax there until then."

Gray pushed up from his seat without a word. His bangs still cast dark shadows across his face, hiding the twisting anger and depression that froze his soul as memories assaulted him. He was done speaking with this monk, with sitting here and acting as though none of this bothered him. Natsu was too close, his secret was rubbing against its confines in a desperate need to get out. And with the feeling of his weakened heart at the idea that someone out there was stumbling down the same path as Ur was making it harder to keep his normal cool about things. He turned away from the rest and stalked off, heading straight towards the inn they were to stay at.

That bath sounded good.

-H-A-S-T-A-K-A-

The steam rose up in gentle white curls against the dark black of the night sky. Grasshoppers sang soft tunes in harmony with the cicadas droning bass and the poppers trilling sopranos, twisting together into a symphony of nature. It was a soothing sound and Gray's head tilted back, resting on the stone behind him. The water lapped gently at his chest, not as hot as it had been when he had first stepped in. Then again Gray had never been one for the heat. A small touch of magic and the temperature dropped with a comfortable chill. Just the way it had been when he was a child.

A soft, sad smile tugged at the corners of his lips at the thought. Pale blue eyes finally slid open, looking up at the canvas of stars overhead. Each jewel sparkled back at him as though winking or laughing. He did not have the energy to return either sentiment. Too much had been laid on him in a short amount of time and he felt the mask cracking beneath the pressure. It took a lot out of him to hold back the memories sometimes, and this was one of those times.

How could it be that people were still foolish enough to mess with demons after all this time? The creatures had proved time and time again that there was no controlling them and that a victory against them always came at a deadly cost. They should have been sealed and tossed away in the deepest archives of the Magic Counsel, or better yet, destroyed. A sigh poured out of him.

"We're all idiots, aren't we Ur?" He murmured towards the stars. "You tried to tell me that and I didn't listen. I understand your frustrations now."

He let his eyes slipped closed again as he sank deeper into the water, now letting it lap up against his neck. Tomorrow he would have to go out and track down some demon orb to steal it back from a dark guild. One that he had never heard of before. Medusa's Eyes. He had to wonder what their true strength and power was. He could only hope they were a group of misfits that got lucky once. Otherwise this whole situation was going to be a lot harder then it would be worth.

A sudden whooping yell startled Gray out of this thoughts just as something large and pink launched its self into the water. A wave of water rippled out, splashing him in the face and knocking him back against the rock. He sputtered, wiping the water from his eyes and drawing in sharp gasps of breath to return the air that had fled him in shock. What the hell had that been? Pale blue eyes turned to the form of Natsu who now stood over him smirking.

Of course...

"Wow, this water is cold!" Natsu shuddered suddenly before leveling Gray with a suspicious glare. "You put ice cubes in here or something?"

"I like it cool." Gray scowled back at him, once more lowering himself until the water rippled around his chin while he spoke. "Deal with it, you pyro."

Gray was not sure how he was suppose to handle this. Here he was, stark naked in the bath, something that normally did not bother him in the least. Yet before him stood a naked Natsu with that cheesy grin tugging his lips upwards to revealed his stubby fangs. It was nearly too much, like a dream come true yet twisted into a nightmare. His pale blue eyes could only watch as the sparkling tear drops cascaded down the toned muscles of the dragon slayer's abs. As a strange heat rushed through him to rest in his stomach he lowered his orbs to let his hair hide them again.

"Let's add some warmth to this!" Natsu called out and suddenly the water around him began to grow warmer.

Gray shifted in discomfort as the temperature outside began to rise to match his internal warmth. He did not have it in him at the moment to yell at the dragon slayer for ruining his nice cool bath. Instead he started to wade back towards the edge, planning on getting out and getting away from this situation before it got out of hand. Just as his hand was about to grip the stone edge, he felt a grip on his shoulder and was whirled around to face the curious eyes of Natsu.

"Do you hate me, Gray?" The dragon slayer asked in a serious tone, his face a mask of confusion and hurt that tore at Gray's very being.

"W-why would you ask me something like that?" The ice mage tried to struggle out of the pinkette's hold as his mind screamed at him to run. He could not handle this line of questioning at all.

"Cause usually when we fight you at least still look at me afterwords!" Natsu yelled out. "Now if we're not fighting you hardly look at me. Not only that but you don't even seem to put your all into the fights anymore. Its like you don't want to be around me at all. What's going on with you, man?"

Gray's eyes had gone wide as panic clawed its way through him. He had not figured Natsu would be that perceptive towards things. His chin lowered again, turning his gaze away from the dragon slayer as though he could not bare to look at him. He knew he needed to answer the guy, but his mind was whirling to quickly to focus on anything. It was not like he could just come out and say it was because he loved the guy and being near him with out being able to be with him was torment and the only way he could get through it was to block the man out.

"Nothing is going on with me." He almost growled the words out as his frustration built. "I was just trying to enjoy some peace and quiet for once. So just leave me alone."

"No!"

Gray was jolted by Natsu's shout but even more so by the strong fingers that gripped his chin and forced him to look upwards. A strangled sound of desperation left the ice mage's lips as he tried to pull his head away quickly. But it was too late, the pinkette had seen the tears that had been welling up in his eyes. Natsu's fingers tightened on his chin, his own orbs becoming larger in shock. Of all the things the fire mage had expected to see in his rivals gaze tears was not one of them. He could only look on in stunned silence.

The raven haired boy did find the energy to move though. He wrenched himself out of Natsu's grip with a watery cry and tried to crawl out of the bath again. The situation just kept getting worse and worse. His heart was hammering in its confines, bouncing about his chest as though it wanted to escape. Damn Natsu! Damn that dragon slayer for caring so much in all the wrong ways. He was almost free again when Natsu finally came to life once more and moved after him.

"Gray!" He called out, one hand snapping out to grab the ice mage's wrist. "Stop trying to run away and just tell me. You know you can tell me anything!"

"No I can't!" Gray suddenly screamed, turning sharply and before he knew what he was doing he drove a fist hard into Natsu's stomach.

The dragon slayer was thrown backwards with a grunt of surprise. His body crashed into the water, sending up waves of it. Tiny droplets caught the light of the moon and shimmered as they spread out in an arch. Natsu snarled as he pushed up into a sitting position ready to lay into the ice mage. He froze though when he saw the look on Gray's face. Tears were now flowing freely down the man's cheeks as he stood hunched over. His arms hung almost uselessly at his sides as his chest rose and fell and heaving pants.

"Somethings just aren't that easy to say." Gray murmured before he turned and climbed out of the baths.

Natsu could only sit there in the warm water and watch him walk away.

-And the next chapter is done, ended up a lot longer then I thought it would. Set up is complete and in the next chapter we get to some action and more angst/drama.

Let me know what you think! I'm eagerly awaiting your reviews!