"Holy shit, Natsu. They're here!"

Natsu had been thoroughly slumped into Gray's side, happy and warmed by Gray's body before the man in question began roughly shaking him awake. Natsu groaned and stretched out his back. His spine cracked out of its uncomfortable position. "Wh–"

Gray lightly smacked Natsu's cheek a few times to wake him up quicker. "Oi, ashes. Look!"

"Call me ashes again and I'll turn you into them."

"Ashes."

Natsu pushed up hard, knocking Gray flat on his back. He bounced back and settled into an athletic crouch, one which allowed him to pounce at a moment's notice. He held his arms loosely, one arm just above his right thigh and the other extended in front of his chest.

Gray reacted quickly. As a wizard, he needed to be very capable of recovering from a hit. He jumped up from the ground and flipped backwards to create a little space between him and Natsu. He landed solidly on his feet and matched Natsu's athletic stance, though more upright than him.

"That was unnecessarily dramatic." Natsu teased.

"What's wrong with showing off a little, dear?"

Natsu balked for a moment. "Dear?" He asked.

Gray smiled softly. "Is that okay?"

"Y-Yeah, it is."

"Good." Gray took advantage of the momentary distraction and struck a quick jab with his right fist. Natsu couldn't dodge, considering the fairly limited space on the dock, so he held up the arm that was previously extended in front of his chest to block it. The punch landed in the middle of his forearm, connecting harshly with the bony ridge. The force of the punch slammed Natsu down onto his ass, but considering he was already crouched low to the floor, it didn't hurt him too much.

Natsu seemed to be at a disadvantage but, like Gray, he was a trained wizard who knew how to recover from a mistake. Natsu used his core to force his lower body into the air. He then held himself up on his hands and, using as much strength as his thighs could muster, kicked both of his legs at Gray.

Gray tried to catch Natsu's feet, but the all-out attack clipped the heels of his palm and he missed the grab. Gray grunted in suppressed pain as the hit made the muscles in his hands spasm. Natsu pushed up off his own hands to continue the momentum of the kick. It passed Gray's arms but was stopped short of hitting his chest and truly damaging him. Gray staggered, but kept standing.

Natsu had lost all momentum and his legs were lying still in Gray's arms. Gray tried for the grab again and succeeded. He gripped Natsu's ankles as tight as he could, pressing them together. Gray heaved, dragging Natsu's entire body across the planks until his shoulder slammed into one of the poles that kept up the dock. He groaned, trying to grab onto the slippery pole the best he could. Gray strained once more, throwing Natsu as far as he could over the dock. Natsu's grip slipped from the pole and he was tossed a few feet into the air before splashing into the ocean water.

Natsu had less than a second to hold his breath before entirely submerging. The water was cold and the sudden temperature drop shocked his body enough that all of the air he had managed to hold onto was forced immediately out of his lungs. His chest sputtered and he took in a few gulps of water. It tasted salty, mostly, but had a secondary, more peculiar taste that he couldn't quite source. Natsu tried to open his eyes but the saltwater forced them shut again. It took approximately five seconds for Natsu to regain his bearings. He kicked his legs and swung his arms until his head broke the surface of the water.

Natsu coughed raucously as his lungs simultaneously expelled water and took in air. He continued to tread water as he wiped his eyes. When he opened them, he was facing the horizon. Natsu saw a large ship coming into the shore. It bore a gash on its side that made the ship just barely lopsided.

Gray followed Natsu's gaze. "That's what I was trying to show you."

"Is it the girls?" Natsu sputtered.

"I think so."

Natsu watched Gray absent-mindedly pull his shirt over his head. He dropped the cloth onto the deck before stretching the same hand out to Natsu. Natsu took it, but not to accept any help. He pulled hard, sending Gray tumbling into the water as well. He fell ungracefully, and he too remained underwater for a few seconds. Natsu saw a few bubbles rise to the surface just before Gray did.

"You asshole!" Gray coughed. "You almost dislocated my arm!"

"I've done much worse and received much less complaints."

Both boys were now treading water. The ripples coming from both of them hit each others' and formed a small wave. Gray coughed again.

"You're okay though, right?" Natsu asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm okay." Natsu paused, smiling to himself. "I don't think we've ever checked up on each other after a fight before."

Gray briefly racked his memory. "You're right, I don't think we have. At least from minor fights." He chuckled. "It's funny, dating doesn't stop us from beating each other up, it just makes us a bit nicer about it."

Natsu barked out a laugh. "I'll never be able to stop beating you up." Natsu replied. "It's too fun."

"That would sound horrible coming from anyone else."

"Good thing I'm not anyone else."

Natsu stopped treading and swam towards the pier. He used his arms to pull half of his body out of the water. His shirt, drenched, dropped almost a gallon of water as it lifted from the ocean. The fabric stuck close to his body. He leveraged his foot against the pole of the dock to push himself the rest of the way. Natsu pulled his knees above the pier and sat on his heels. He could see his wet handprints on the wood.

Gray swam up next to the dock, but didn't pull himself up. He crossed his forearms on the wood and rested his head in them, the rest of his body still floating in the water.

Natsu set off some of his magic, just enough to evaporate the water in his clothes and hair. He looked over at the distant ship.

"When do you think they'll get here? Natsu asked, now with dried clothes and hair.

"It's hard to tell. The winds aren't too strong, and that's a big ship. It might take an hour or more."

"Another hour? We've already been waiting here forever!"

"Sorry, Natsu. I thought they'd be here sooner." Gray slid one of his arms out of their cross and casually placed his hand on the side of Natsu's thigh. His first two fingers delicately stroked the side stitching of Natsu's pants.

Gray continued, undisturbed. "It sounded like their excursion was only going to last about twenty-four hours. Obviously, something slowed them down. I imagine it has something to do with all that damage."

Natsu tried desperately to ignore the consistent caress. The fact that Gray was so casual about cuddles and sweet touches made his heart race. "What do you think happened?"

"They were trying to bait the monster, right? They probably succeeded."

"Oh, right… that makes sense." Natsu mumbled, hiding his face in his scarf. Gray watched this movement closely.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Gray whispered, stopping his hand.

"No, you're not."

"Then what's wrong?"

Natsu did not answer. Gray's expression turned sour.

"Natsu. I need you to be honest with me."

"I wasn't uncomfortable, really!"

"That's not…" Gray stopped himself. He finally pulled himself out of the water and onto the dock. He inched backwards on his ass until he was knee-to-knee, opposite to Natsu. Gray went for the direct approach.

"When I touch you, how does it make you feel?"

Natsu did not respond well to the direct approach. "I-I don't—" Natsu stuttered, trying not to meet Gray's eyes. Gray placed his left hand on Natsu's face, swiping his collarbone with his thumb.

Gray repeated himself. "How do you feel, Natsu?"

"I feel…" Natsu began, his eyebrows high on his head. Gray nodded almost imperceptibly, trying to encourage him. "I feel weird."

Gray's hand dropped from Natsu's face. "Weird?" He asked.

Natsu clarified. "Weird."

"That makes it sound like you don't want to be touched."

Natsu jumped, waving his hands in the air. "No, not at all! I've really liked it when you've touched me, it's just… weird."

"Can you explain it in a different way? I'm not getting it."

Natsu looked, wide-eyed, at Gray. "When you touch me, my skin gets hot. I get a little dizzy, my stomach churns, and I can feel my heartbeat in my entire body. But… I also feel ridiculously, insanely happy! The dizziness goes straight to my brain and… and I don't know! Something gets muddled and all these, at least, what should be bad feelings turn into something really good. It's weird!"

Gray stared into Natsu's face stoically. "You are so bad with words."

"Do you still not get it?"

"No, I totally get it now! But what was I supposed to think when you said it was weird and no more?" Gray ran a hand through his hair, holding his bangs on the top of his head for a moment. "Everyone feels like that when they're touched by someone they like."

"Everyone?"

"Well, not everyone, I guess. Most people do. I feel like that too."

"You do? Really?"

"Yes, Natsu, I do. You make me feel dizzy and wobbly, too."

Natsu blushed hard. He pressed his palm against his cheek, trying to both cool it down and cover his face. "You saying that just now made me feel dizzy and wobbly."

Gray chuckled quietly. "I can tell." Gray pulled Natsu's hand from his face. It dropped to his waist. Gray leaned forward and kissed Natsu. It wasn't a small peck, like this morning, but a full-bodied kiss like the night they had gotten together.

Natsu closed his eyes. This kiss wasn't spontaneous, like that night. It was now a recurring trend… a habit. Something they could willingly give and receive. Natsu activated his magic in his palms, drying the seawater on Gray wherever he touched. The temperature was lower than when Natsu dried himself, so it took much longer. At times, he'd bring his hands into Gray's hair, combing through the strands with his fingers and drying them at the same time.

Gray unfolded his legs and pulled Natsu on top of him. Natsu sat on Gray's lap and wrapped his shins around Gray's midsection. Gray could feel Natsu's legs slightly shaking in excitement.

Their mouths were entirely open. Natsu, slightly above Gray in this position, bore down on him. He pulled Gray's head up with his hands and swirled his tongue around Gray's. If their mouths ever broke contact it was for less than a few seconds.

The rest of their bodies also moved to the tempo of the kisses. Gray's hands grabbed at anything they could find, pawing from Natsu's lower back to the crown of his head. His feet would twitch whenever he particularly enjoyed something. Natsu was rocking his body back and forth with every movement of the kiss. He would tense up into the air, then relax back down into Gray's lap. The constant motion riled both of them up, only resulting in them kissing harder and faster.

Gray dug his fingers into Natsu's shoulder blades, finally separating his mouth from Natsu's. He began to kiss along Natsu's face, dragging his lips from his nose, to his cheekbones, to his jaw. Gray was reminded of a little fact he had learned only yesterday. He alerted Natsu by poking his nose against Natsu's cheek.

"Remember this one?" He smirked. Natsu didn't respond, only waiting for the reveal.

Gray cupped the back of Natsu's head with his right hand. He tipped Natsu's head backwards to expose his neck before kissing the flat flesh under his jaw.

Natsu gasped audibly and clenched Gray's hair. "Christ, Gray!" He exclaimed, shocked. Gray laughed into Natsu's skin and kept kissing him. The hand on Natsu's head slid down, his thumb landing behind his ear. Gray rubbed the divot behind Natsu's ear in a slow circle. Natsu hummed happily, and Gray could feel the vibration from within his neck. Natsu continued to slightly bounce up and down, unable to control the small twitching of his leg muscles.

Natsu's mouth was now free to make noise, and he did precisely that. His breath came out heavily and was sometimes accompanied by a light whimper.

"Gray…" He sighed. "I love this."

Gray did not answer, but he tried to communicate his happiness with his actions. He gave one very slow kiss to Natsu's neck, holding it for multiple seconds while simultaneously throwing his free arm around Natsu's midsection and squeezing him. Natsu got the idea and continued to throw verbal praise at Gray. He talked about how happy he was, how good it felt, and how his body reacted to Gray's movements.

Gray's stomach was twisting. He tried to keep calm and give pleasure to Natsu, but Natsu's loud reactions were going straight to his head. Gray felt his heart pounding from his chest to his groin. His palms, pressed against Natsu's skin, began to sweat. He was sure Natsu could feel the sudden slickness and tried to discreetly wipe his hands on his pants before returning them to their positions. Gray had been with multiple other people in the past, but none had affected him quite this strongly, especially through only kissing.

Natsu tilted his head up and closed his eyes. He savored Gray's kisses for a few moments more. "Gray…" He mumbled. Natsu said this with the intention of getting his attention, but it sounded so similar to his other vocalizations that Gray thought nothing of it. Natsu grabbed Gray's face with one hand and just barely pushed him away. Gray pulled back immediately. "You've been doing a lot to me, both today and yesterday." Natsu said with a lilt to his voice that Gray found attractive. "So I want to do something to you."

Gray flushed. "I would like that, Natsu." He dropped his arms from around Natsu and allowed him to shift their positions.

Natsu gently pushed Gray onto his back. He placed his hands on either side of Gray's head and held himself over Gray. Natsu tried to crane his head down to peck Gray, but his neck could not stretch that far and he was forced to do a half push-up in order to close the distance. Natsu did not want to hold himself in an everlasting push-up just to make out, so he inched himself down and simply laid on top of Gray rather than holding himself above Gray. Their faces were now very close, and Natsu finally laid a simple peck to the tip of Gray's nose.

"Does it hurt to lay on the wood like this?" Natsu asked.

"It's not horrible." Gray answered. "I might need to shift a little every few minutes, but otherwise not bad."

Natsu nodded almost imperceptibly, pleased. "Okay, good. I wasn't sure." Natsu's hands were still above Gray's head, and he moved to place one on Gray's hair. "I want to make you feel good." He purred, trying to guide them back into the sexy mood.

"Mhmm…" Gray mumbled, very much allowing himself to be guided back into the sexy mood. "And how are you gonna do that?"

"Well, I can touch here—" Natsu slid his left hand from Gray's head down to his shoulder. "And here…" His fingertips grazed across Gray's collarbone and came to rest in the dip at the center of his clavicle. "Here…" They swept between Gray's pectorals. Natsu brought his mouth right over Gray's cheekbone. He brought his voice down low, soft, and sensual. "And finally, here…" Natsu's index finger circled Gray's nipple. After finishing an entire circle around, his finger paused just above the nub. He pressed hard.

Gray's breath hitched. Natsu noticed this. He tilted his head and met Gray's eyes.

"Did that feel good?"

"Yes!"

Natsu smiled. "Okay." He pressed his finger even deeper into Gray's chest. When he brought his finger up, a circular white mark was left on his skin. It quickly turned pink as blood rushed back into the area.

Natsu finally touched the actual nub of Gray's nipple. Gray brought his head up and pressed it against Natsu's. He kissed Natsu's jaw and urged him on. Natsu rubbed Gray's nipple in small circles. Unlike Natsu, Gray had a sensitive chest and reacted positively to his motions.

"God!" Gray exclaimed as Natsu trailed kisses down his pectoral. "I didn't know you could act like this!" Natsu giggled to himself but did not otherwise respond. He closed his mouth over Gray's nipple. The inside of Natsu's mouth ran especially warm, and Gray's skin ran especially cold. The contrast of temperature startled Gray and he gasped loudly. He, embarrassed, immediately covered his mouth with his hand as the gasp was not one of the sanitized sensual sounds he allowed himself to make, rather out of true shock and pleasure. After a moment, he removed his hand but kept his mouth tightly closed. Gray did not want to make any more embarrassing noises.

Natsu, puzzled at the sudden loss of sound, lifted his face from Gray's chest for a moment. "You wanted me to be direct with how I was feeling, right?" He asked.

Gray nodded, not wanting to open his mouth.

"Then… I really liked that."

Gray looked confused.

"Your voice." Natsu clarified. "Hearing you makes my stomach twist in the good way."

Gray flushed. "I thought it sounded kinda stupid."

"I thought I sounded kinda stupid when you were kissing me, too. But you seemed to like it so I kept doing it."

"I did like it."

"See?"

Gray stifled a laugh. Natsu's dumb logic worked out sometimes. "Okay." He quickly stroked back Natsu's hair. "Let's move on to a different part of my body, though."

"Was that not—"

"It was good, I just want something else now." Gray interrupted.

"Makes sense." Natsu sat up to look over Gray's body. He paused. "I'm… not sure what to do now."

Gray shifted a little, finding a more comfortable spot on the hard wood. "Do you want to explore my body the same way I explored yours yesterday? Y'know, the spine, chest, wrists, neck, and ear thing to see what I like."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Oh, right! Yeah, that sounds fun!" Natsu excitedly pulled Gray's torso upwards. Gray grunted at his brashness. He set Gray's head on his shoulder and pat Gray's hair. The position forced Gray's spine to show from his skin. Gray couldn't help but notice how differently they approached the same action. He chuckled to himself, amused by Natsu's constant hyperactivity.

Natsu, unaffected, placed one hand right above the waistband of Gray's pants. He rubbed the divot there in a small circle before slowly tracing his index finger up the ridge of the spine.

Gray hummed. "Hm, you were right last night. It's kinda ticklish."

"It really is." Natsu affirmed, desperately ignoring the urge to start flat-out tickling Gray.

"Alright." Gray pushed up from Natsu's shoulder. "What was next again?"

"Your chest, but we already kinda did that, so your wrists."

Gray fell back down onto his back. He lifted his left arm and offered it to Natsu. Natsu bent slightly and pressed a kiss to Gray's inner wrist. He looked up as he did so, watching how Gray reacted. He seemed unimpressed. Natsu straightened and now lightly gripped Gray's arm. He rubbed his thumb over the thin, blue veins. Gray's expression did not change.

"It doesn't feel like anything." Gray said, confirming Natsu's observations.

"Alright." Natsu said. He moved to the next target. "Lemme lay back down, I wanna kiss your neck."

Gray blushed at his bluntness, but ultimately allowed him to do exactly that. Natsu laid back down into his original position. His mouth was level with Gray's cheek, so he had to inch himself down until his face rested against the flat of Gray's neck.

Natsu breathed out hard. Being in this position, pressing into Gray's entire body, wrapping their legs together, touching his nose to the sensual skin of his neck, turned him on more than he could have ever imagined. Gray closed his arms around Natsu. His large palms laid flat on his back. He pressed a kiss to the top of Natsu's head, urging him on. A shudder shook through Natsu's entire body.

"Natsu?" Gray whispered, confused on why he had stopped.

Natsu pressed himself down harder, into Gray. His eyebrows clenched and his legs pressed together momentarily. He grunted, low and in the back of his throat.

Gray asked again, "Natsu?"

The tension in Natsu's body released all at once, and he collapsed in Gray's arms.

"Natsu, are you okay?"

"Sorry." He panted. "I dunno what happened. I got that good-dizzy feeling again and it made my body… I don't know how to describe it. Surge, maybe?"

"Wait, did you…?" Gray trailed off.

"Did I what?"

"Uh…" Gray pushed Natsu up slightly and peeked down. "Oh, you didn't."

"I didn't what?"

"Nothing." He waved Natsu's question off. "You're probably just getting turned on, Natsu."

Natsu flushed. "That's a good way to put it."

"So, yes?"

"Yeah, I am. Is that… okay?"

Gray rolled his eyes. "Dude, I've been making out with you. Getting turned on is kinda the point."

"It just happened all at once! My body tightened and my—" He gestured at his groin rather than saying it aloud. "—suddenly felt… something." Natsu's face was bright pink. He truly did not expect his body to react the way it had.

"It's fine!" Gray insisted. "Honestly, I'm surprised you weren't feeling this earlier. I've been half-hard ever since you were sitting on my lap."

Natsu let out a garbled sound of shock. "Y-you've been…" His eyes flicked down, but he quickly looked away again.

"You're not? Even a little?"

Natsu shook his head. "No."

Gray hummed in mild curiosity. "Interesting." He moved on. "Well, weren't you gonna kiss my neck?"

Natsu nodded. He pecked just barely under Gray's adam's apple. His stomach tingled pleasantly in response. He began kissing a little harder, but every motion he made resulted in his body getting more and more turned on. Natsu couldn't take it. He separated.

"I'm sorry, Gray." He said. "I wanna stop."

"Don't be sorry."

"It feels really good, but—"

Gray interrupted him. "You don't have to explain if you don't wanna. It's okay to want to stop on a whim."

"That's not it." He sighed. "I'm enjoying myself, I mostly just don't want to be hiding an erection when the girls dock."

"Oh." Gray looked past Natsu, at the ship. It didn't look much closer at all, but Natsu did make a good point.

"...also, I wanna properly start dating before we go too far sexually." Natsu finished, his voice significantly diminished. "We only started out last night, y'know?"

Gray sat up and Natsu rolled off of him. He sat up next to Gray. Gray turned to look Natsu in the eye. "I understand, Natsu. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." He smiled. Natsu looked embarrassed, so Gray slid him into a one-armed hug. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

Natsu nodded slightly. "Okay." He gave Gray a final, solid kiss, which was warmly received.

Gray kept his arm wrapped around Natsu as the ship continued to sail into shore.

Lucy was leaning over some of the undamaged railing of the boat. She couldn't wait to set foot on solid ground, and land was in plain sight.

Happy sat dangerously on the railing beside her. She had already warned him about falling off, but he hadn't listened. She figured he could fly back up if needed. Speaking of, why didn't he just fly back to shore, now that the storm was gone and they had recovered their energy?

"Happy?" Lucy called, getting his attention. "Don't you want to fly back to Natsu now?"

Happy absentmindedly kicked his stubby legs in the air. "No. I want to hang out with you, Lucy!"

She smiled softly. "You're really sweet sometimes, cat."

Fati joined the pair, walking up from behind. She too leaned against the railing and stared out to land.

"No matter how much I love a sea trip," She began. "Coming back home is always the best part."

"How much longer do we have?" Lucy asked.

"An hour, maximum."

"I guess that's not too bad." Lucy sighed. She let the conversation stagnate for a short moment, letting the wind blow and the sea birds call. She spoke. "I'm gonna beat the shit out of the boys for missing this."

Fati laughed. "Erza might get to that before you."

Lucy considered what Erza might do to them. She shuddered. "Maybe I'll just leave them alone, actually."

Fati just laughed harder.