Natsu, after dragging his stuff up to the third floor, poked his head into all three master bedrooms, deciding which one he liked best. Truthfully, he could sleep in a different one every day, but he thought it would be annoying to have his personal items split between multiple bedrooms, so he would just choose one.

The rooms were pretty similar to each other, just in different colors. He chose the bedroom themed with white, gray, navy blue, and very small pops of a wine-ish magenta. Natsu dropped his bags and went on exploring. The bed was huge, maybe a California King or larger, and it sat right in the middle of the room. A little enclave above the head bedposts, adorned with dim but tasteful lights, allowed for some shelf space. A dresser, plus little lamps, sat on either side of the bed. A light—not quite a chandelier, but still ornate—hung over the foot of the bed. A small rectangular desk was off to one side. It seemed to be a makeup desk or something similar. It did not have a chair, which Natsu found strange. One large, circular rug tied the room together.

Natsu poked around a bit more. He found a walk-in closet, empty except for hangers, an ironing board and iron, and what appeared to be an ottoman in storage. It matched the theme of the room, so he dragged it out and placed it in front of the little desk.

Off to the side Natsu found the en-suite bathroom. An ornate sink and hand towels, a surprisingly decorated toilet, along with a separate bathtub and shower. The bathroom also had a linen closet, and he found a few fluffy towels stacked on the shelves.

He decided to start unpacking. He did not have nearly enough things to fill this entire space, but he imagined he would get more stuff as the year progressed. He pulled out his toiletries: hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, cologne, hair products, razor, and clippers; and devised a system in the many drawers and cabinets below and around the sink. He had also brought a towel of his own, so he put it into the linen closet, though he had full intentions of using those expensive towels already in there.

Natsu pulled out his clothes. He had not brought many, never wearing much besides his work clothes, but he dragged out a few shirts, pants, socks, and underwear to hang in the huge closet. It looked just as empty when Natsu finished as when he began.

He didn't have much else. A framed photo of him and his friends, a photo album, some knicknacks he threw onto the desk and nightstand, and a little notebook and pen that he tucked into a drawer. He double checked his pack for any items he missed but found nothing, so he zipped up his pack and placed it on a shelf in the closet.

Natsu kicked off his shoes and jumped into his new bed. He immediately relaxed into the foam, the mattress was obviously high quality.

'What is Happy doing right now?' Natsu thought to himself. Probably flying back home to Magnolia… or taking the train. Even flying alone, Natsu wasn't sure if Happy could make the trip relying on his magic only. Without him, Natsu didn't know what he was going to do. When he originally accepted the mission, it was under the pretense that he would get a year mostly alone with his closest friend. He accepted the new terms of the mission in Ruth's office for a mix of reasons. Partly spontaneity, but he really was excited to take this mission. He wanted his coming-of-age. Not that they didn't love him, but Fairy Tail did often make fun of him for a handful of reasons: his stupidity, recklessness, and childishness. It was deserved on his part, but he imagined coming back from this mission a little more grown-up. He reckoned he was about twenty years old (he did not know precisely how old he was; however he knows he is about the same age as Gray, and Gray calls himself twenty), but he certainly did not feel like it, and he was even more certainly not treated as such. Natsu really did not want to lose that opportunity.

Happy had probably recognized that desire in him. They were very close, after all. He had been so adamant that Natsu still take the mission, even with him gone. It had confused Natsu at first, but he supposed he understood after thinking it through a little more. What he could not understand at all was why Gray accepted Natsu as his partner! Gray did not have to fight for respect in the guild the same way Natsu had to. His insufferable cool-guy attitude had managed to ensnare all of their guildmates in some fashion. So, what stake does he have in taking this mission? The money was spectacular, sure, but Natsu knew Gray could earn that much in a year doing regular missions if he really wanted to. Did he also seek a year to grow? Natsu could not imagine that being the case. What could Gray ever seek to grow into? He was apathetic and not future-oriented in the slightest. Natsu did not understand. What the hell was he doing here?

"What the hell am I doing here?" Gray nearly yelled at himself in the desk mirror, hands braced upon the wood. Realizing that he probably looked stupid—despite nobody being around to see it—Gray stood straight and turned from the mirror. His room was remarkably similar to Natsu's, only coral seaside pink with plaster grecian meanders lining the trim. It was the first one he walked into, he hadn't bothered to check the others. He had also unpacked all of his things, though he had significantly more clothes than Natsu considering how often he lost them.

"Ugh!" Gray turned out of his room and stomped downstairs. He went in a random direction and found himself heading towards the library. It was huge, the bookshelves stretching to the ceiling. The few full top rows could only be accessed by ladder or through magical means, though most of the bookshelves were not filled to the top. Gray found a few reading nooks, chairs, sofas, and beanbags strewn about all over. He grabbed a random book and jumped onto a couch, swinging his legs over the armrest. He opened the book but did not read it; he just wanted an excuse to think a bit.

He was not too keen on taking this job at first. Natsu had fought him almost the exact moment Gray had sat down to consider his options. He had not been given the time to consider where he wanted to be for the rest of the year. His swing decision was made upon realizing that a year away meant a year away from Natsu. So, upon realizing that Natsu was going to be with him, what kept him here? Gray did not know. The mission might've been fun, but he had completely ruined it for himself. Perhaps he could still get his year alone. Natsu had seemed just as keen to get away from him as he had been. That was a good sign—Natsu hadn't yet run into his room to beg for a fight. Gray refocused on his book and began reading.

It took about five days before Gray reconciled with the fact that he and Natsu could not ignore each other forever. There had been some food in storage when they had arrived there, but Gray was beginning to run out and he assumed Natsu was in a similar situation. There was only one credit card, and they would have to decide on a grocery list together.

Gray had been taking frequent trips into the servant's quarters to familiarize himself with the layout, so he knew of a two-way servant's intercom he could use to speak with Natsu without having to see him. It was a little desk with a microphone and an array of buttons to every room in the estate. Gray did not know what room Natsu would be in, so he simply clicked through every room in Natsu's wing until he got a response.

"Hello?" Gray repeated monotonously into the microphone.

"AH!" Natsu yelled in very genuine shock. He was in the gym, thankfully not holding anything heavy, but rather doing calisthenics. "What? What the hell was that?"

"Hey, Natsu,"

"Gray? Where are you?"

"I'm speaking through an intercom in the servant's quarters. How much food do you have?"

"Um, not much."

"I thought so. What do you want? I was gonna buy some."

"Oh, right, you have the card… I just want a ton of meat and potatoes, really. Rice, bread and, oh, salt! I'm very low on salt… I also wouldn't mind some—"

"—Okay, wait, I can't keep up. Just write down what you need and, I dunno, leave it in the common room before 11:30."

"Sure, I will."

"Okay." Gray clicked the button to end the call.

Natsu heard the soft background static of the intercom come to a sudden halt and assumed it was over. His first human interaction in five whole days: short, shockingly impersonal, and uneventful. He sat on a little workout bench and rubbed his face. The actual job hadn't even started yet, but he was already tired of it. Natsu, he quickly learned, did not do well alone. He had spent the first day wandering around his portion of the estate, the second sitting in his kitchen and staring out the large window, then the rest in the gym. He didn't have shit else to do, in his mind. He would wake up, eat, work out, eat, work out, eat, work out, then go to bed. It was mind-numbing. He had so earnestly believed that this mission would be a soul-search for him but that had so far been proven unsuccessful. Of course he wasn't going to sit down and contemplate his life, he was Natsu! Why had he been so convinced that he could handle being alone?

'Ugh, whatever! I just need to write that list, it's the only thing I can do about it right now,' Natsu thought. He had to hype himself up even more in order to get himself to stand up, walk to his room, gather some paper and a pen, and write the list. He did not know exactly what timeframe he was getting food to last him for, so he got a lot. Natsu could be pretty certain Gray would not buy him more food should he run out too quickly. He wrote down a lot of ingredients, spices, meats, vegetables, fruits, pasta, rice, breads, as well as quite a bit of snacks, frozen and ready-made meals.

Natsu checked the time. 11:24. It took a few minutes to travel through the humongous mansion, so Natsu had to leave at that very moment. He ran through the top floor towards the stairway where he jumped up and slid down the railing, figuring it faster than the escalator function. He did it often on the stairs to the second floor in the guild. When he was little he got in a lot of trouble for it, but nowadays both the second floor is free for all wizards and the guild has gotten very used to his antics, so he didn't get in trouble for it any more.

He hit the bottom of the stairs and kept running. He opened the door that separated his section of the house from the common room. It was 11:27. He sighed and caught his breath. He took a few steps forward and was just about to place his list in a visible spot on a table when the other door—Gray's door—creaked open.

Gray jumped a little when he saw Natsu. "Oh," he said, "really cutting it close, huh?"

"Heh, yeah," Natsu said awkwardly, "here." He walked up to Gray and handed off the list. Gray gave it a quick scan.

"Thanks. I should be back in an hour or so. I'll let you know."

"How?"

"The intercom."

"Ah, yeah, that… makes sense."

"Yep. I'll, uh, talk to you later."

"Bye."

Gray left the room. Natsu looked around. He found a sofa that looked comfortable and sat in it. He could not live an entire year based on short one-note conversations like that. He nervously squeezed his forearm with one hand. Natsu did not know what he was going to do.

Hey! Thanks for reading. Reviews and follows are all appreciated. Sorry this chapter is a bit short, it's all necessary setup for the next one, which will have a lot more going on!