The next couple of weeks had to the most challenging days that Gray had possibly ever faced, and granted he knew life after the whole ordeal with Jeremy was going to make their lives different but it was still-

Different.

It had been 2 days since Natsu came home from the hospital and the other little 'quirks' that Gray didn't know about began fleshing themselves out for him to finally see, at first angered Gray that he didn't know anything about them and he should have since he was his boyfriend and they lived together for three years but it also made the ravenette feel guilty that there wasn't anything he could do to help. It started small enough, where Natsu somehow during the night had managed with damaged limbs to curl up into a tight little ball under the comforter every morning shivering as if cold, his face barely visible his eyes shone bright with tears in the dark nest he made, wide and unfocused as he muttered simple sentences over and over again.

Like he was trying to convice himself of an obvious fact.

"I'm safe... I'm home... They can't get me... Gray promised... Gray promised..."

It broke Gray's heart on what it was he was looking at and what Natsu was trying to do and that his experiences did indeed somehow damage him, like they did 6 years ago, but like back then it didn't stop Gray as he would then try and coax Natsu out of his little ball out of his little nest, snapping the pinkette out of his trance who finally faced Gray with confusion before lighting up as Gray suggested he'd have something to eat and drink or just talk to him, the latter of which Natsu was hesitant to do so. While Gray respected that and allowed the pinkette to fight this at his own pace he still felt powerless that there was nothing he could do to help Natsu fight against his traumatic experiences like back then. He asked both Rogue and Freed on how to approach it, only to be given a rather sympathetic look and told the same he was told back then;

"The only way for him to heal and move in is if he talks about it," They said. "He needs to talk about it. But- Let him come to you. Don't stress him any further then he already is-"

That was before he found out about the nightmares.

Once the night began to settle in and after Freed helped Natsu bathe and change into is pjs, Gray helped Natsu up the stairs toward their shared bedroom and gently helped the pinkette onto the bed, tucking Natsu into their bed before changing into his own pajamas and lying down next to him, the pinkette to squirm toward Gray's chest and into his open arms, burying face into Gray's neck, pressing himself as close as possible to the dark haired male while the ravenette allowing the smaller male to get comfortable. Natsu would eventually would settle down, taking a deep breath and fall asleep, his gentle breathing soothing the frayed nerves Gray seemed to still have as he watched the peaceful face for a while longer before falling asleep himself.

"NO!"

Gray's eyes suddenly shot open into the darkness that was his and Natsu's bedroom, panic and alarm racing through his blood rapid fire. He grunted in discomfort when he felt something compressing itself hard on his chest, making breathing a bit of a challenge which caused him further alarm and made Gray attempt to push whatever it was off of him only to pause.

The object he was pushing at was rather warm and fleshy not cold and solid.

And it kept pushing back.

The sleep induced fog that was clouding his brain finally cleared, allowing Gray get a bearing of his surrounds, while adjusting his eyes in the dark until he found himself staring at a trembling pinkette. The poor boy looked absolutely terrified as his eyes were shut tight, tears seeping past the closed lids, clinging to his eyelashes before pouring down his cheeks as he pushed against Gray's chest weakly.

"No... No... Gray... Gray help me..."

Gray's eyes widen.

Natsu was having a nightmare and he had a good idea what it was about. "Natsu!"

Alarm bells rang in the inside of Gray's mind and he quickly pulled the smaller male back against him, ignoring the increased pressure and pain on his chest as he brought his hand up and began to gently shake the pinkette's shoulder and tenderly stroke his face. Trying to wake pinkette up.

"Natsu!"

Natsu was scared.

He woke up and found himself back in his prison room on top of a familiar queen sized plush bed supported by a dark mahogany board base, with a familiar soft blood red satin comforter with matching sheets underneath and large bundle of black pillows. The walls were familiar as well as they were painted black with dome lights clinging to the smooth surface, no windows, floor made of hardwood flooring, a dark polished table on each side of the bed, a matching wardrobe. Natsu began to hyperventilate, he was pretty sure he fell asleep in his own room next to Gray. He was sure!

He looked down at himself and he nearly screamed.

He wore a large button-up shirt that had to be three sizes too big for him, the familiar horrid chain was wrapped around his ankle, his ankle he was pretty sure was in a cast and found to his horror, his arm wasn't in a cast either. He was completely healed!

Like he never escaped at all!

Hot tears brimmed in his eyes as the sound of a door opened, revealing Jeremy who was smirking down on him before yanking the pinkette to him before pressing his suddenly heavy body against the smaller male's making breathing a difficult task.

"NO!" Natsu cried, struggling against the body, pushing against it weakly, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Let's not be fussy," Jeremy sneered, a rather sickening grin on his face as his lust-filled eyes roamed up and down Natsu's small form, "I just wanna play with you... That's all."

"NO!" Natsu screamed. "GRAY! GRAY HELP ME!"

"Oh~ Are we calling for our boyfriend?" Jeremy mocked, straddling the boy's hips and grabbing Natsu by his hair causing the pinkette cry out in pain. "Well now, how about I share a little secret with you..."

He lifted Natsu's head up, waving a small scapel in Natsu's line of sight before lowering the blade closer and closer to his eye.

"He's dead," The smile growing darker as Natsu's eyes grew wide with fear. "He's not here to save you. He'll never save you. You are mine. Forever mine."

"NATSU!"

Natsu's eyes snapped open, cold sweat dripping down his face onto his neck while his heart raced a mile a minute from the fear and he breathed heavy. He blinked several times the distortion of sleep disappearing from his vision until he found himself facing a worried Gray Fullbuster, who stroked his face.

"Natsu? Natsu baby, are you okay?"

Memories of the four days Natsu was tormented and raped began flooding back into his mind; the pain he endured, the gruel he was forced to eat and how close he was to having his eye cut out of his skull. He shook in fear before burying his face into Gray's chest and allowing the dam to release the floodgates that was his emotions while Gray held him, rocked him and whispered soft words of comfort.

"I'm right here... I'm right here..."

"G-Gray... I-I had a n-nightmare!" Natsu whimpered, the fear evident in his voice. "I-I was back! At that hellhole! Jeremy was there and y-you were dead! He killed y-you! He said h-he killed you!"

"Oh baby," guilt ate at Gray's heartstrings. "Baby I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that I couldn't prevent this from happening. If could go back in time-"

"J-Just promise me something," Natsu spoke, halting Gray. "Promise me..."

"Anything," Gray whispered, holding the pinkette close tears stinging his own eyes, "Everything..."

"Don't leave me... Don't leave me..."

"I promise..." Gray whispered, placing a gentle kiss to Natsu's temple. "I will never leave you. Never..."

"Thank you... Thank you..."

A week had passed after Natsu's nightmare and things seemed to smoothed out and everything returned to normal... Or as normal as it was going to get with their household. The simplicity settled in the form of Natsu's inability to understand that walking on his stitches and 'not' broken ankle while they were still healing didn't qualify as 'resting' and his stubborn pride often got on the nerves of some, Gajeel mostly. The only one upside was that not only did Natsu finally get the stitches from his leg removed, he again, still remained safe and Jeremy was nowhere in sight though this didn't help Gray relax any.

Another one was when Gray came home from work each day there was always a different story to laugh and poke fun at, much to Natsu's annoyance and each and every one of them seemed to involve his babysitters.

Natsu had nothing to complain about it with either Freed, Rogue, Laxus, Valerian or Lyon since Rogue and Valerian made him the most mouth-watering delicious meals and often let him do whatever he wanted as long as it didn't involve moving from his place of confinement while Freed used the time to study his classes since he was going back to school and Natsu, who was often stuck in the same room with him, was starting to pick up and speak random snippets from an ancient Latin class that Freed was taking and the green haired male heavily encouraged the pinkette to do so and the two oddly enough bonded over their ability to speak to each other privately in a different language and Natsu's odd sense of desire to learn more from the different language. Lyon was often, sometimes, a hit or miss but a majority of the time, Lyon was just downright boring making the poor pinkette read boring books or books the pinkette already read, whereas Laxus, the guy just stood guard at Natsu's and Gray's shared bedroom, keeping the pinkette trapped in there, neither letting anyone in or out until either Gray came home or Laxus switched shifts with someone else once they proved they were who they said they were. But when it came to Sting, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Erza and Evergreen those were different stories that had Gray, laughing earning him a weak punch in the gut by Natsu and constant claims of him being an 'icy, insensitive asshole' to his plight.

Apparently Evergreen and Erza took the term nursing a little too far though both women had different ideas on how to approach it.

For Evergreen it apparently meant cooking special meals, coddling him like any mother would when their child was home, sick in bed and even played 'nurse' every once in awhile to where she even went all her way to recreate the whole stereotypical 60's mother and nurse approach, while wearing her hair up and a matching 60's 'mother' dress to match the theme or a full blown nurse's uniform; To both Laxus's annoyance and Freed's amusement slash annoyance. Erza, on the hand, was a lot more exasperating to the pinkette then Gray could have liked to imagine. Erza, seemed more intent on getting Natsu to forgive her for her 'incompetence' and her attempt, despite that everyone even Natsu claiming it to be an accident, at running him over that she went her way out to make sure Natsu was comfortable and even scared off people who she considered 'disruptive' or 'too loud' to the point that Natsu found a whole new reason to fear the redhead and often begged Gray before he left to get someone else to babysit him or take the day off if it was her turn. At first, in started out innocent enough with her taking him to his favorite fast food chains for lunch for the first couple of times she babysat and often asked Natsu constantly, every half hour, if he wanted or needed anything he could just call her and if Natsu opened his mouth, whether it be to sneeze or cough, she was immediately at his side, on her knee bowing asking what it was he wanted, the pinkette thought it was cool at first but as it progressed and Erza began referring to herself as a lowly servant, it only began to scare poor Natsu and make him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Sting wasn't any better.

Though, thankfully, he was a lot more milder compared to Erza if Gray thought about it.

Gray, at first, assumed that Natsu was over exaggerating when he said that Sting was way too high strung and overbearing and would often laugh at it, earning him a weak punch to the jaw, until he came home early and saw exactly how 'overbearing' Sting was. Sting, like Erza, went all his way out to make sure that Natsu was comfortable either in his bed or chair, depending on where Natsu was placed prior to before Gray left, and like Erza, often asked every now and then if Natsu needed anything and wouldn't allow the pinkette to do anything or go anywhere out of the fear that something bad was waiting to happen to a point after Sting's constant fussing, Natsu finally snapped at the blonde and said hotly that he was being 'too much'. Sting had then proceeded to break down, much to Natsu's guilt and utter confusion and begged the pink haired boy to forgive his foolish and insecure older brother for not telling him about Jeremy's escape in the first place and to forgive his horrible behavior toward Natsu's wishes for privacy. To clear Natsu's confusion, Sting spilled the truth behind his words and Natsu, like Rogue, was angry at first and yelled at him with tears in his eyes asking him why he would lie to him, put him, Rogue and the rest of the world at risk, betraying his trust, not trusting him downright basically replaying the whole scene of Rogue and Sting's confrontation after Natsu was brought to the hospital but in the end, like Rogue, after he cooled down, the pinkette eventually forgave him, in a rather odd way by asking Sting to help him to the bathroom because he really needed to go so as not to have Gray or Rogue yell at him for getting up and walking to the bathroom down the hall by himself again.

Pantherlily and Gajeel, at least from Natsu's definition, were very ideals of 'mean' and 'evil' and Gray found it really hard at that moment not to laugh.

Pantherlily or Lily, as many of his closest friends called him; Gray and Natsu included, was a army trainer which was one of the many main reasons Gray wanted him to help look after Natsu. His military experience and unique ability to see things most people couldn't. He was a tall young man in late 20's with a no nonsense attitude that didn't tolerate disobedience or arrogance, darkened skin with a body that roughly rivaling Gajeel in terms of muscular build but a bit more defined. He had dark hair that was in dreadlocks that he kept in a low ponytail, a well-trimmed mustache that was silver and narrow red eyes, similar to both Rogue and Gajeel but were more closer to Rogue's in appearance as they were softer and warmer despite the half-moon like scar running down across his left eye that he obtained according to some, while he was overseas. Natsu, at first, was glad to have Lily babysit him since it apparently to the pinkette, it meant that he was going to learn how to defend himself properly with just only one leg and one arm but that was quickly short-lived when Lily informed the pinkette in a rather serious tone that would have made Erza proud, that rather then learning how to further stress his body he should rather take and use the time that he was given to allow his damaged limbs to heal, leaving no room to argue.

Gajeel, on the other hand, according to the pinkette, was an asshole. Plain and simple.

All Gajeel seemed to do was tease and torment Natsu about his inability to do anything to stop him and that started an odd form of insult banter the minute the dark haired man stepped onto the thershold. Both men threw insults at each other ranging for the usual; 'trash', 'brat', 'asshole', 'twat', 'metal head', and 'prick' until one day it quickly got out of hand and there was nothing to laugh at.

Gray had come home early that evening after picking Rogue up, since the dark haired man was still a bit sore with Sting's behavior, to have both himself and Rogue walk in on the their usual name-calling yelling match that quickly turned into something more harsher and both men didn't seem to realize that they had company. And it seemed to have started because Gajeel was already having a bad day and Natsu's stubborn pride on excepting people's help wasn't helping him and out of anger, the dark haired male threw the pinkette bodily into his chair and that was what began the whole heart-wrenching scene.

"You're a fucking asshole, you know that right?"

"Well you ain't no saint either Pinky."

"I didn't say I was you fucking retard!" Natsu half-shouted half-screamed, thumping his good hand on the arm rest as he tried to lift himself into a sitting position. "What is your fucking problem?!"

"YOU! You're my fucking problem!" Gajeel half-shouted half-roared at the pinkette, who despite sitting really low in his chair, stood his ground. "Wanna know why?"

"Enlighten me! Why?"

"Because you ain't been nothing but trouble and I've had it up to here! I think you enjoy all this attention and special treatment you get when you fall victim to something!"

"You think I enjoy being 'babied'?"

"Yeah! I think you do!"

"Well guess what, Metal head! I don't!" Natsu screamed, trying to stand up only to flop back into his chair by his weight. He groaned in pain and annoyance. "You think I enjoy having things being done for me?!"

"Yeah! I think you do, you spoiled brat!"

"You fucking asshat!" Natsu screamed, red-faced. "You are such salty loser! Thank the Gods I'm not you!"

"And thank Gods I ain't you!" Gajeel screamed back, equally red-faced. "Thank Gods I ain't some feminine pretty faced sassy pinked haired little bitch who gets cornered in dark alleyways every other night or kidnapped like some dumb whore who can't fight their own battles!"

"You-" Hot tears appeared in Natsu's eyes. "You-! Th-That is not true!"

"Oh yes it!" Gajeel sneered. "Was he any good? That Jeremy guy? I heard that that Montoya fuck apparently was! I bet you actually enjoyed being kidnapped, tied up, beaten and forced to spread your legs and tak-"

"I did not!" Natsu's demeanor seemed to be crumbling. He was struggling hard to contain his tears. "I didn't!"

"Don't lie!" Gajeel stood up, temper completely taking control at that point. "And what's the fucking deal with your back? Huh?! What are you hiding? What are you so fucking afraid of? It's just a fucking scar!"

"None of your business!" Natsu replied, shaking. "None of your damned business!"

"It's my business since I'm babysitting your dumb ass!" Gajeel roared, grabbing Natsu by his only good arm by the upper part in a vice-like grip, lifting him up from the chair slightly. "You owe me that much, Pinky!"

"I owe you nothing, prick!" Natsu growled, no fire in his words. He looked afraid. "Let go of me..."

"No. Not til I get answers!"

"Please let go! You're hurting me!"

"Tell me then I'll let go! If not, say bye-bye arm!" He yanked at it earning him a pained squeal from the pink haired boy. "Spill-"

"Let me go!"

"Not unti- Argh!"

Natsu's canines briefly flashed before he sunk them into the flesh of Gajeel's hand, not enough to draw blood or leave any long lasting marks but to get the taller male to let go, which he did. He snatched his hand away from the pinkette's arm like it was burnt, causing said pinkette to fall back onto the chair, glaring weakly up at the dark haired man with tears shimmering in his large eyes. Gajeel glared hard at the boy.

"You cock-sucking little bed-bitch."

"You should have just le-"

SMACK

Time proceed to freeze in place as the sound bounced around the still air and Gray could feel his blood freeze briefly before it suddenly boiled to a temperature that could rival molten lava as Gajeel stood over Natsu, fist still held out breathing hard. He wanted nothing more then to storm up to Gajeel and beat the ever loving shit out of him, he could feel Rogue trembling next to him as anger radiated from him but something held them both back and he didn't know what it was or why it did what it did. Natsu sat there, wide eyed, head facing a different direction from the force of the punch, he shakily raised his hand and fingered his redden cheek, wincing before he finally looked up and fixed Gajeel with a look that was a mixture of horror and fear. Gajeel finally calmed down and blinked his eyes several times before he pulled his fist down and looked at it as though just realizing that it was there before he looked back to the now trembling pinkette and sucked in a startled breath.

He looked scared.

"Natsu," He breathed, eyes wide as slowly approached the pinkette. "Natsu- I didn't- It was an accident-"

He reached out almost hesitantly toward Natsu but the pinkette's eyes went wide and he let out a terrified cry as he tried move away from Gajeel, curling up into a tight ball.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please!" Natsu cried. "Please... No more... No more..."

"Natsu! I-I-I- I'm sorry!" Gajeel suddenly cried, looking positively alarmed. "I'm sorry! It was an accident! I didn't mean-"

"Mama... I want Mama..." Natsu's tears had finally made themselves known before he burying his face into his hands and knees. "P-Please... Let me go... Gray... Gray help me... Help me..."

"I'll get 'Mom' okay?" Gajeel said, holding his hands up to show the pinkette that he bared no ill will as he took a step back. "See? I'm getting Mom right now! Heck, I'm even getting Gray. See?"

"Gray... Gray... Help me... No more... No more..."

Gajeel quickly pulled out his cellphone as he continued to slowly walk backwards toward Gray and Rogue, tapping and sliding his fingers across the screen rapidly while looking up at Natsu every now and then, before he raised the phone up to his ear and finally turned around, stopping dead in his tracks phone held loosely in his hands before it fell with a clatter and he began shrinking under the furious gaze of Rogue Cheney-Eucliffe.

"Gray. Why don't you take Natsu up to your bedroom. Do what you can to calm and ease Natsu and wait there for me."

"What?" Gray blinked, surprised. "Why?"

"Gajeel and I need to step outside and have a word." Came Rogue's sugary reply as Gajeel trembled under his gaze. "Just do what I have asked and please do what Natsu asks."

"Aye."

"You. Outside. Now."

"Yes sir!"

Gray made his way over to his trembling lover as Gajeel did as he was told and dashed outside followed by a very calm yet very angry Rogue. Gray gently placed a cool hand on the boy's shoulder causing the pinkette to freeze and suck in a shaky breath.

"No more... No more..."

It broke Gray's heart.

"It's okay," Gray whispered. "It's okay. It's only me."

"Gray..?"

Natsu slowly uncurled himself from his little ball and turned, his golden eyes focusing upon the inky haired male. He uncurled himself even more and with some difficulty, managed to sit himself upright, holding his arm out, making a grabbing motion with his hand which Gray moved forward and pulled his pinkette up onto his feet and into a tight hug just as Natsu burst into tears.

"You're here!" He cried. "I'm home... I'm home..."

"Yes. You're home," Gray whispered as he and Natsu nuzzled noses. "You're safe. You're safe..."

They stood there for a while as Gray gently rocked Natsu side to side, whispering words of comfort into his ear as Natsu trembled, sobbing and hiccuped in his arms. After awhile, Natsu calmed down and pulled himself back slightly, rubbing his eyes and chuckling weakly.

"S-sorry about that."

"It's fine," Gray assured placing a gentle kiss on Natsu's forehead. "It's okay. What happened?"

"I- I don't know," Natsu admitted softly. "Gajeel and I just got into our normal name-calling and then- and then-"

He gulped.

"And then I saw myself back there," his grip on Gray's body tightened, his eyes wide. "Back there. With them. They were beating me- Slapping me- Torturing me-"

"Hey hey hey," Gray soothed, keeping his burning blood in check. "I'm here now. I'm here. They're never going to touch you again. Never. I promise."

"Thank you." Natsu breathed, sharing a kiss with Gray. "Thank you for being here. Here for me."

"I will always be here. Always here for you," Gray whispered as he started moving backward, Natsu following him. "Let's get you to the bathroom. Rogue said it was time for him to check your wounds."

"Oh," Natsu whispered as he pulled away and bit his lip. "Bath day. I forgot about that."

That was another thing that bothered Gray other then he couldn't capture Natsu's tormentor and that was he couldn't help but feel like he held no importance or role in Natsu's well-being or healing. He was his boyfriend after all. When it came to dressing and or bathing Natsu, many found it easier, some like Laxus and Lily, to just call down either Freed or Rogue to deal with him, making Gray more curious and hurt as to why he wasn't being told as to what or why Natsu was so desperate in his attempts into hiding his body from his own lover. He slowly helped the pinkette out of the living room and up the stairs and into their bedroom. He gently placed the trembling pinkette onto their king-sized bed, facing away from the door rubbing his arms softly and smiling warmly at him.

"I'm going to leave you to your privacy, okay?" Gray whispered, cupping Natsu's cheek gently. "Rogue will come up in a minute to help you."

Natsu nodded.

"If you need me, I'll be right outside our room near the stairs."

Another nod.

"Just give me a yell if you need anything... Okay?"

Another nod.

Gray smiled warmly before he leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss onto those soft petal pink lips. "I love you."

Natsu smiled and returned the kiss. "I love you too."

Gray smiled, patting Natsu gently on the leg before he stood up and made his way to the door while Natsu watched him as he walked out the door, leaving it ajar as he continued to make his way to the stairs. He paused. He slowly looked back toward their shared room as the sound of Natsu's soft struggling echoed in the silent hall, he bit his lip and quietly crept back to the door and peeked back into their room through the cracked door and couldn't help but flush, drool slightly and become slightly aroused at the scene of his pinkette trying and failing at stripping his shirt off.

Gods, Gray felt like he was a overly hormonal teenage boy getting his first peek into a girl's locker room.

He blinked as Natsu grunted in annoyance and in frustration before the pinkette finally pulled his shirt off and threw it aside. Gray's breath got caught in his throat at the sight that awaited him and he felt tears stinging his eyes.

So this is why-

This was why Natsu was trying to hide his body from everyone even from his own lover. On his lower back, peeking out from graying loose bandages in large ugly dark pink scars that melded together, that had to have been made from a large carving knife was the one word that Gray never hoped to see;

WHORE

This was a rather trying chapter

;A;