Gratsubingo 2019
Prompt: Free - Concern

Chapter 2

Gray had been looking forward to going home. He'd spent the whole day helping out with the construction of the new guild, listening with dismay to all the whispers of how he and Juvia had supposedly "shacked up" for six months. No matter how many times he'd tried to explain that's not what happened, no one had listened, too intent on the juicy gossip to care about his feelings.

He'd lost track of Natsu sometime during the day, and that saddened him. Things between them had most definitely not been the same since returning from his mission infiltrating the Avatar cult. The disappointment he'd seen on Natsu's face at seeing him in that place had almost made him forget that he wasn't there of his own volition.

It had been painful to tell Natsu and Lucy he didn't consider them friends anymore, but he'd had to do it so as not to jeopardize the mission. He'd explained his actions to them afterward, and although Lucy had accepted his apology, he could tell that something was still bothering Natsu about the whole situation.

They'd barely talked since and that hurt Gray more than he'd let on. The whole year they'd been apart Gray had thought of Natsu often. About how things might have been different if he'd dared to confess his feelings after the Grand Magic Games.

Would Natsu have stayed or would he have asked him along, instead of leaving like a thief in the night with only the briefest of notes to Lucy? Even that had hurt, Gray had known Natsu far longer than Lucy, yet the note had been written to her. Did that mean the dragon slayer was in love with her?

Gray always stopped his thoughts there, not willing to give up on the hope that his feelings might be returned. So instead he'd think of what Natsu might be up to in his absence. Sometimes he'd amuse himself, imagining the types of trouble Natsu might be getting into, but mostly he worried.

Tartaros had opened a lot of wounds in its wake, wounds they were all still slowly recovering from, but the dragon slayers had certainly had it the worst. And none worse than Natsu.

Sure, Gray had lost his father again, but he'd already mourned him once, and he'd chosen to look at the little time he'd gotten to spend with Silver as a gift, no matter how awful the circumstances around it had been.

But Natsu had lost Igneel, who had been his driving force since the day Gray had met him all those years ago. He'd found out his father had been hiding inside him all along and before he even had a chance to talk to him he'd witnessed Igneel brutally killed in front of him by the same dragon that had almost destroyed them at Tenrou.

Gray knew that had to be tearing him apart, and he'd wanted to ask Happy how Natsu was doing, but he was afraid of the answer, knowing that when it came to keeping strong feelings bottled up, Natsu could give him a run for his jewels. He wanted to help him, but he didn't know how to go about it.

So even though he was tired he walked around Magnolia, trying to come up with a way to talk to Natsu while taking in the subtle changes the city had undergone as it had once again been forced to rebuild.

He kept an eye out for Juvia, aware that she wanted to talk to him about his abrupt departure from the house they'd shared, but he'd been evading that particular conversation just as much as he'd been trying to initiate one with Natsu.

He didn't feel he owed her anything, she'd guilted him into letting her live with him, it wasn't something he would've chosen for himself. He'd wanted to be on his own, to grieve and to train in the new magic his father had passed on to him, but even training felt empty without Natsu there to push him.

Before he knew it, he'd reached the park and spotted Natsu sitting by himself underneath one of the large trees. He stopped in his tracks and bit his lip, but Natsu had already scented him. He looked up and gave Gray a hesitant smile even as he wiped at his eyes.

Gray decided to take that as an invitation and made his way over, his heart racing as he worried about how it would go. He sat down next to Natsu and remained quiet, taking in the beauty of the park and ignoring the racing of his heart as he wondered where this conversation would lead them .

Xxx

Lyon and his team had just entered the guild after a particularly difficult mission. They were tired but happy to have completed it successfully with minimal injuries, although Toby had managed to poison himself once again. Lyon looked for Ooba, their wizened guild master, wanting to report on their mission before heading home to a shower and bed.

He spotted her sitting at a table talking to a man with orange hair, and he began to feel uneasy. Ooba was smiling, which by itself was strange, but Lyon could swear his guild master was flirting with the much younger man. He stopped in his tracks, heartbeat quickening a bit as he hoped against hope that it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Isn't that the Celestial Spirit guy?" Yuka muttered, "What was his name?"

"Loke," Lyon replied, keeping his voice low and wondering if he could leave the guild before the man noticed him.

He would be lying if he said he hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about the night of the Orochi Fin attack. He'd convinced himself it had been a fluke, he was way too old to be having a sexuality crisis.

Lyon told himself the nascent attraction he'd felt towards the man was just interest at meeting a Celestial Spirit. But just being in the same room with the guy was making him feel jumpy, which wasn't normal for him.

Ooba took that moment to notice their arrival, her smile withering into her usual scowl as she addressed her mages.

"Well? How did it go?"

"It went just fine, " Lyon snapped, irritated that she would question them. "We were able to complete it without much trouble."

"Is that so?" Ooba studied Toby carefully, "Then why does Toby look like he's injured?"

"He injured himself," Yuka informed her, "Again."

"Toby, how many times have I told you to be careful? I'm going to spin you!" Ooba yelled as she moved her index finger in a circular motion, Toby's body rotating in mid-air as he moaned piteously.

Lyon had been so fixated on what was going on with his team that he'd failed to notice Loke getting up from his chair and coming to stand next to him.

"Hey there," Loke greeted him, making no effort to hide the fact that he was admiring Lyon. "I was looking for you."

Lyon could feel himself getting flustered as a result of Loke's ardent gaze. He willed ice into his veins, refusing to give the Celestial Spirit the reaction he was so obviously after.

"I hope you weren't waiting for long?" Lyon replied politely, and he was pleased to see the Celestial Spirit deflate a bit at his aloofness, that was until he countered with a grin that went through Lyon like a bolt of lightning.

The poor ice mage thought he'd seen stars sparkle around Loke. This time he wasn't able to hold the flush from adorning his cheeks as the room became unbearably warm.

"I could wait an eternity for someone like you," Loke grabbed Lyon's hand and kissed it. As much as Lyon wanted to protest, to say he wasn't a woman and he didn't like to be touched so freely he was so outside of his comfort zone, his brain didn't seem capable of reacting as it usually would.

"You don't know anything about me!" Lyon wrestled his hand out of the Celestial Mage's grip, wiping it on his pants leg.

"A misfortune I would love to rectify," Loke winked and just like last time it affected Loke in ways he didn't understand.

What the hell was happening to him? Why did this guy stir him up like this? Ugh! One thing was for sure he didn't like it at all. Lyon didn't like losing control, he preferred his world to be ordered, and Loke was a distraction he was beginning to resent, and he'd only met him twice.

Why was he putting up with it again? His brain helpfully reminded him that he was doing this for a good reason. Gray. They were trying to get Gray together with Natsu.

"So does your visit mean you have news?" Lyon asked with interest, now that he had Gray on his mind he used him as a shield against Loke's charm.

"How about we go for a walk, I've heard the gardens are beautiful this time of year?" Loke suggested, looking around the guildhall with obvious distaste.

"Here is just fine," Lyon was determined to stay, he had no desire to be alone with Loke. He was starting to look at this as a battle, and he could already tell he'd need the home advantage.

Loke just shrugged and took a seat at the nearest table. He made a gesture to one of the servers and ordered them some food and drink.

"I can order for myself, you know," Lyon muttered wryly.

"You looked tired, I thought you might enjoy being taken care of for a bit," Loke smiled innocently, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

"Look, I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm only in this for Gray," Lyon made sure to imbue his voice with as much of his element as he was able, but Loke only laughed.

"Are you sure you and Gray aren't related by blood?"

Lyon arched an eyebrow, but Loke didn't expand on his comment. "There's nothing wrong with having some fun as part of a job is there?" Loke asked, but he backed off.

"I came to offer you news of Gray, but I don't think you're going to like it much."

"What do you mean, is he alright?" Lyon immediately tensed up, as much as he'd been asking around he hadn't been able to find any news.

"Well good news first, Fairy Tail has reformed with Erza as their Master," Loke informed the Lamia Scale wizard.

"Erza?" Lyon scratched his chin as he gave the matter some thought. He would have expected Laxus to take over as guild master, Erza was a somewhat scary thought. As capable as the requip mage was, she was volatile. Then again, they all were.

Loke nodded, "They're still rebuilding the guildhall, and most everyone is back, but Makarov is still missing.

"What about Gray?" Their food arrived, and Lyon had to admit everything Lyon had ordered looked incredible, he made no comment though, knowing it would only encourage Loke.

Loke studied him for a moment, and Lyon was instantly worried, he had the look of a man that was trying to figure out how to best phrase something. "He is alright?"

"He joined a dark cult called Avatar."

"HE DID WHAT?!" Lyon shrieked at the top of his lungs, causing everyone in the guild to stop what they were doing and look over at him with concern.

Lyon stood up from the table, grabbing Loke by the arm and dragging him outside.

"Avatar, that mess everyone's been talking about?" He hissed, "Gray was a part of that?"

When Loke nodded, Lyon was almost blinded by the rage, "That goddamned idiot, what the hell was he thinking?"

Loke tried to talk, but Lyon was in no condition to listen to anything he had to say, having already made a hasty decision and walking away.

"Lyon, wait!" Loke chased after him, his initial enjoyment at seeing this side of the cold mage turning to worry as he witnessed the fury that was fueling him. "Where are you going?"

"Magnolia," Lyon grunted as he walked ever faster.

"Shit!" Loke winced, not sure who was going to kill him first, Lucy for having shown up at Lamia Scale without discussing it with her first or Gray for bringing Lyon's rage upon him."

He ran after Lyon, hoping that he could calm him down during the train ride.

A/N: I'd had part of this written for a while but Gratsu Bingo inspired me to finish it. Not sure when it will next update...