The young wizard sighed. The three months were up. Today was the day. The day he either proved the grumpy old woman wrong, or died trying. He just wished things were different. That things had worked out instead of.... all of... all of this. He heard familiar voices call out, making him crack a rarely seen smile, which displayed his impressively sharp canine teeth. They had been the one constant in all of this, and he was thankful for having such good friends by his side. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath, before answering their call.

      The wizard had been holed up in his house the past three months, working hard each and every day to get stronger, but it didn't seem to be working. The only time he felt any better was when he was in with his two precious mates, who had stayed by his side despite his.... current predicament. He made his way over to the top of the stairs, where he waited with apprehension for his girlfriend and boyfriend to help him. It didn't take them long, arriving at just the right time to stop him accidentally falling down the steep stairway.

    "Damnit ya Pyro, try to be a bit more careful, will you?" His dark haired boyfriend scolded gently. The other teen stayed silent, staring up at the raven haired boy's toned body, mentally drooling at the sight of his boyfriend in just his tight boxers. Even his guild mark was placed perfectly, on his right pectoral. The young man could have sworn his boyfriend was wearing clothes a few seconds ago... oh... there they were, halfway up the stairs. Had he even noticed he'd stripped again? Probably not.

    "Yeah, Natsu, be careful. We wouldn't be able to take it if you got hurt again." The soft, lilting voice of his second mate and girlfriend added, the blonde's deep chocolate irises shining with love and concern. Natsu didn't respond, he just sat there, in silence, his pink hair covering his face so his mates couldn't see his eyes, which were staring to tear up. The blonde, called Lucy, put a comforting hand on her dominant mate's shoulder, telling his she was there if and when he was ready to talk.

      "Gray.....Luce...." Natsu murmured almost inaudibly. Both wizards crouched down so they were face to face with the Fire Demon. Neither Mage spoke, but Natsu didn't need to hear them to know. He knew they were there for him, that they would love him no matter what, but he still couldn't live with his guilt. How could he?

     "I'm, so, so sorry. I.... I....." Natsu choked out, as terrified sobs burst from him, shaking his body with each new cry of anguish. Though the Fire Demon would not admit it, he was scared, terrified even, that his beautiful mates would abandon him. How they hadn't already he couldn't understand. He'd practically betrayed them, for heavens sake.

       Seemingly reading his mind, Gray reassured him somewhat. To be honest, the Ice make wizard wasn't used to comforting Natsu, hell, he was usually too busy either fighting the guy or making out with him(or worse, Not that the rest of Fairy Tail knew about the three of them yet...)

   "Listen, Pyro, We don't hold his death a...against you, and neither should you. It was an accident, ok? We were just lucky you managed to make it out of there. I'm glad you're still with us, ya Pyro. I can't think of a life without you anymore, neither of us can. Right Luce?" Gray's voice was soft, laced with sadness, but Natsu picked up on the underlying love too; His ears were sharper than he let on.

    "He's right Natsu, and I'm sure if you spoke to her, told her what happened, she'd forgive you too." Lucy added, standing up and scooping the silent boy into her arms. Gray retrieved his clothes from the stairway as he descended, leaving the passage clear, which allowed Lucy to carry Natsu down the stairs to a waiting chair. Neither wizard mentioned the Fire Dragon Slayer's unusual lack of enthusiasm and his continued near silence, understanding he needed to mourn their friend's death before he could move on.

(FLASHBACK TO 3 MONTHS BEFORE)

     "Get out of here, Natsu! Hurry!" The older man shouted, as he took another bone shattering attack from the guy they were currently fighting. The dark wizard was unusually strong, it seemed the more magic he was hit with, the stronger he got.

    "No, I'm not leaving you here. What about Ca...."

    "I said go. They need to be ready..... (I can't believe I'm sayin this) please Natsu."

    "I... don't wanna abandon you......    ......I'll be back for you, ok? Just hang on. I'll be back, I promise!" Natsu promised his friend, before doing the one thing he hated above all else (save possibly pretending to hate Gray's guts). He turned tail, and fled. It hadn't taken him long to get back to the guild and rally a rescue party, but even the few precious minutes it had were too many for the Fire Wizard. He couldn't explain it, he couldn't tell them why, but halfway back to his friend, he just knew. Regardless, he picked up his pace, outdistancing even Jet as he raced to his friend's side.

     "NATSU!" The Dragon Slayer turned sharply, to see Two exceeds, Happy and Carla, carrying Gray and Lucy respectively. The two wizards dropped beside their friend (and secret mate), nodding silently as they raced alongside him. Lucy could tell, without needing to hear it, that Natsu had pushed himself too far again, but she wasn't here to reprimand him, she was here, like Gray, to help him.

      They arrive back at the Dark Wizard's lair, only to see the place burning, crumbling, falling to the ground. NO. THIS COULDN'T BE HAPPENING. Natsu thought, as he rushed into the inferno, eating as much fire as he could, but for the first time in his life, he couldn't stop the flames. Lucy and Gray felt useless, stood just beyond the reach of the inferno, unable to help their mate because of the scorching heat.

    "Natsu! I told you to get away! He's too powerful, even for me!" A weak, but authoritative voice cried out, as the Fire Wizard finally found his friend. Heavy beams hung around them, threatening to fall at any moment. The Dark Wizard was nowhere to be seen. Natsu coughed as a wave of smoke filled his lungs. This wasn't normal smoke, normal smoke couldn't hurt him, this must be Dark Magic.

     "I told you I'd be back for you. Now let's get outta here." Natsu smiled, offering a hand to the downed Crash Mage. He took it, almost surprised at the strength in the other's grip. Natsu pulled him to his feet, supporting their combined weight as they slowly staggered out of the inferno. They were nearly there, Natsu could see the way out just ahead of him. But there was a problem.

      A wall of fire blocked their path, and the Fire Mage was unable to consume the fire around him, it was burning his lungs, singing his skin. For the first time in his entire life, Natsu was feeling what it was like to get burnt by fire. But how? He could hear Gray call to him from beyond the blazing heat, telling him something that the roar of the flames drowned out. Roar.... roar of the flames... that was it! But could he do it? Was it even possible? The man leaning against his shoulder sensed the change in his much younger friend, and whispered two words, before passing out. Try it.

   Outside, the rest of the guild had arrived, barring Cana, Juvia, Wendy and Romeo, who could be seen in the distance hurrying towards their friends. The three stragglers (Cana had passed out drunk in the guild hall after a bout of drinking with her not so secret boyfriend Bacchus) were just in time to see the building crumble into a pile of fiercely burning rubble, Wendy flinching as she heard a sound above the crackling of the flames....

      (FLASHBACK ENDS)

   "Hey, Natsu?" Lucy asked her mate softly, saddened as the pinkette looked up despondently. His usually sparkling emerald eyes were dull and a fat scar ran across his right eye, making it appear as if his eye was only half open. A burn mark crept up his arm, starting on the back of his hand and finishing just below his guild mark.

    "Fancy going to the guild? I mean, Porlyusica can just as easily see you there, and you haven't been since the accident, everyone misses you ya know?" Gray finished, walking up to them with a tray of food. All of Natsu's favourites, barring the cup of fire. Ever since the... accident, Natsu hadn't used his magic, had actively avoided it almost. All it took was seeing Gray or Lucy cooking to send him into a full on panic, and neither mate could do or say anything to comfort him, except to remove the source of his fear.

     Natsu ate half-heartedly, scared to see Porlyusica again. The last time she was here, he'd learnt just how badly damaged both his mind and body had been by that weird fire. Being so terrified by her last prognosis, he had kept the truth from his mates, preferring to suffer in silence, so they wouldn't worry about him, not that they didn't worry about him already or anything...

     Once he'd finished eating, he looked up at Lucy and Gray's cautiously hopeful faces, mentally sighing in defeat. He smiled weakly at them, and, much to the utter shock of both the Celestial Mage and the Ice Demon Slayer, he did something he hadn't done since before the accident. He leaned forward, and, with much difficulty, he staggered to his feet. His legs shook with the effort, his whole back screamed in protest, but he did it. For a full three seconds, the crippled wizard stood alone, unaided, before collapsing back into his chair. The one thing Porlyusica had promised him he'd never do again, maybe, just maybe, if Gray and Lucy helped, just maybe he could prove her wrong....

   "Natsu! Why did you?" Lucy asked, unable to form the question properly. Gray was silent, looking at the fire Mage curiously. Normal wizards didn't heal that fast, but then, Natsu was far from normal, but still, three months. Normally, That would be scarily fast. But From what Gray could gather from living with Natsu and Lucy the past few months, Natsu should have healed by now. But he hadn't. Something was stopping him from recovering normally... not that normal was a word often used to describe anything that involved Natsu.

    "Because he's an idiot. Stupid pyro." Gray growled, the concern in his voice almost perfectly masked by faux anger, though neither Mage missed it. Natsu gave a soft, uncharacteristic smile, his teeth hidden behind sealed lips. He took one look around his home, and decided it was time to stop hiding from everyone at the guild. It didn't matter if he couldn't do much right now, his friends were probably worried sick about him. He just prayed Erza wouldn't try and hug him. He'd suffered enough head trauma for one life time, thank you very much.

     "Hey, Luce? Can you push me? Oi, snowflake, pass me my scarf will ya?" Natsu asked cheerfully, perfectly hiding his fear and emotions with an almost normal toothy grin. Gray and Lucy smile warmly at him, doing as he asked. Soon, they were out the door and on their way to Fairy Tail, Gray walking alongside Natsu, whilst Lucy pushed the wheelchair from behind.

    It wasn't long before someone recognised the trio in the street, running up to them excitedly, a huge grin on her face. Her parents were nowhere to be seen, though it wasn't unusual to see her on her own. Dark green hair, almost black, was hidden beneath a Stetson cowboy hat, and a neat little tasseled jacked covered her usual tee shirt. Little cowgirl boots and a pair of patterned leggings finished off her little cowgirl look, a pair of bright, mischievous eyes matching her cheeky smile.

       "Hey Asuka! What are you doing so far from the guild?" Natsu asked softly, smiling at the little girl. Asuka burst into an excited stream of words, which both Gray and Lucy failed to keep up with. Natsu however, nodded at the little girl and turned to Lucy. He told her to let go of the chair as he grabbed the wheel rims, smiling cheekily at Asuka.

     "Sure Asuka, I'll race you. And I bet two cartons of juice I beat you to the guild!" He declared confidently, turning to wink at Gray and Lucy. They both smiled, knowing Natsu was bound to let her win. Lucy started the count down, Asuka clapping her hands excitedly, not caring that her friend was in a wheelchair, after all, it was Natsu, he probably took on too many monsters again. Or maybe Gray had beaten him up too much.

     "Three.....two....one....GO!" Lucy shouted, smiling as Natsu pushed the chair forward, keeping pace with little Asuka with little effort. Gray and Lucy continued towards the guild, arm in arm, not caring who saw them. Natsu laughed happily with Asuka, as they arrived at the guildhall, a very worried Alzack and Bisca at the doors. Asuka immediately run to Natsu, as she'd been ahead of him. Bisca was about to give the cheeky girl a stern telling off, when her husband nudged her with his shoulder. She'd been so angry at Asuka for running off, the Sniper Requip Mage hadn't realised who her daughter's companion was. All she could do was stare in shock, as Natsu greeted them with his classic fanged grin.

    "Yo, you two. How've ya been?" Alzack opened and closed his mouth like Happy's favourite snack, whilst Bisca was passed out on the floor. Natsu turned his head carefully as two voices called to him. He laughed and pointed to Bisca.

    "Hopefully Erza does that, then I don't have to worry about her hugging me. I've been hit on the head enough." He comments jokingly, smiling as much as he could when Gray and Lucy burst out laughing. Gray's face fell suddenly, realising they'd overlooked something important.

    "How're we gonna get you down the steps? I mean, I can't exactly carry you right now, and Lucy certainly isn't fast enough to dodge any tables that come flying our way with you in her arms." The ice devil slayer told his mate, the frown deepening when Natsu smiled.

    "You don't need to carry me, all you two have to do is get my chair inside. I can smell someone who can help." Natsu grinned, as he raised his voice to a deafening level.

    "HAPPY!" It was a word Natsu knew well, and nearly every time he shouted it, it was answered with.....

    "Aye sir!" Yep, there it was, the familiar reply, as always. He knew he could rely on his little buddy.

    "Wait.... who just? This better not be one of you're sick jokes Gajeel!" The exceed said loudly to himself, as he flew outside in the direction of the voice. He could have sworn he'd heard.....

    "Hey little buddy!" The fire dragon slayer greeted, running a hand through the little cats's soft fur. Happy purred contentedly, tears of joy streaming over his furry blue face. He hadn't been allowed near Natsu since the accident, and had been worrying himself sick about the Dragon Slayer. Sure, the little exceed had tried to see Natsu, but Gray had chased him from the house every time, getting more aggressive with each attempted visit. Happy nuzzled his head into Natsu's hand, deep purrs vibrating through him.

    "N...Natsu..... I've been so worried!" The little cat wailed; "G...Gray wouldn't let... let me....*hic* see you!" He finished, his tears slowing until he could cry no more. Natsu glanced at Gray, making a small, angry sound in the back of his throat, but didn't comment.

    "Hey Happy? Can you fly me into the guild? Gray and Lucy are gonna carry my chair down the steps....." Natsu asked his furry friend, smiling gently. The exceed grinned happily, dry tear marks on his face.

   "Aye sir!" He cheered, picking Natsu up like before, lifting the young man from his chair with practiced ease. Happy had often picked Natsu up from the ground during a battle, so the Dragon slayer being sat down wasn't an issue, but it felt weird to the cat, picking up his best friend, knowing the poor guy couldn't stand on his own anymore.

     Lucy folded the wheelchair and picked it up, following Gray into the guild hall. As usual, levy greeted her cheerfully, the smile fading when the script Mage saw the empty chair. Out of the guild members, only levy, Wendy and master Makarov knew about Natsu's condition. Everyone else had been told that Natsu was simply on leave for a while, on one of his training trips. Levy tilted her head, not daring to ask the question out loud.

      Lucy gave a soft, watery smile, taking a neat sidestep as a table flew towards her. A few seconds later, Elfman could be heard screaming in the background as Gray used an ice devil attack on him for daring to throw the table. Both young lady's giggled, the same thought going through their heads. 'He's acting like Erza when she's on.....'

     "Levy, look up, if you want an answer." Lucy smiles, unfolding the wheelchair. No one else has noticed her yet, because Mira and Lisanna, along with everyone else, were trying and failing to pull Gray and Elfman apart. Levy looked up to see a smiling blue exceed carrying a grinning pink haired Dragon Slayer. Happy greeted the bookworm cheerfully, Natsu just grinning wider, as the exceed lowered the young man into Lucy's waiting arms. The celestial wizard then placed her mate into his wheelchair, just in time for a random bar stool to hit them off balance, flinging the chair to it's side, Natsu sprawling across the floor, Lucy hung over the upturned wheelchair.

     Natsu let out an involuntary scream of pain, unable to move because of his stupid legs. Lucy's aura darkened to pitch black, as the whole guild turned silent, staring at Natsu suddenly. It took several moments for them to register the sight before them. When they did, Juvia went extremely pale. She'd seen the way love-rival and her darling Gray acted towards the Dragon slayer, and she was scared. Was it her fault the pinkette on the floor was scraming in pain? Had she hurt him?

     "Natsu!" Gray cried, rushing to his mates side, kneeling beside the other wizard, turning to glare death at Juvia. The water Mage shrunk into her clothes, trying to avoid her darling's terrifying glare. The ice Devil Slayer gently ran a hand through the Dragon slayer's hair, whispering inaudible things to him as the rest of the guild looked on. Most of the onlookers were shocked at how gentle and caring the ice make wizard was being to his rival, and those that weren't shocked, were hiding secret grins, knowing what the ice wizard felt for the dragon slayer. (The latter party included all the other dragon slayers, Makarov, the exceeds, and lastly Mira, who knows everything like that.)

        Natsu felt Gray's hand caress his face and hair, a soft, soothing feeling almost blotted out by the pain in his back. Earlier, when he's forced himself to his feet, the pain had been bearable, a sharp ache at best. The jolt from the barstool hitting him had caused that sharp ache to morph into mind numbing, bone shattering, excruciating pain that shot through his back. It was almost as painful as when the accident happened. All the teen could do was cry out softly, his whole body shaking under the pain.

      "I know I hate his guts for not saving dad, but can't you do something? He doesn't deserve this!" A voice yelled out, the owner finishing her drink in one swift motion, before turning to Wendy angrily. The sky dragon slayer bites her lip nervously. Ever since Natsu had unlocked his Demon curses and Etherious form, her healing magic had been practically useless on him. She couldn't even cast her troia spell on him anymore, because it had the opposite effect to what it was supposed to do.

         "Her magic won't help him this time, Cana." Lucy answered, saving the youngest dragon slayers from having to explain. "Not even Porlyusica could heal him. She couldn't even ease his pain!" She told the cards Mage, her voice soft and hard to hear. Lucy looked at Natsu with concern. Like Gray, she knew this wasn't just because of the barstool Juvia had thrown. The damned idiot pushed his body too far that morning by forcing himself to stand up, and then he'd raced Asuka to the guild, now this. To be quite frank, she was surprised Natsu had made it this far, with his reckless habit of pushing himself too far.

           "Gyyaaaaaaaaaa! Ahhhhh, hah, hah, ah, GYAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa............."Natsu screamed again, trying to move himself into a slightly less painful position, but failing to do so without the proper use of his legs. Gray continued to caress Natsu's pained face with one hand, gently sliding his left hand behind the fire mages head, before slowly, carefully, cautiously, moving his left hand lower to support Natsu's back, treating the manoeuvre the same way someone would handle a delicate, easy to break bone China vase. By this point, the pain was getting too much for Natsu, whose voice had dulled down to quiet whispering whimpers. The only reason Natsu was still conscious was so he wouldn't scare his friends too much. The sheer force of his will was then only thing keeping him remotely in control.

            Gray could see Natsu was struggling, he could hear it in his breath, see it in each shaky whimper of pain. It was killing Gray to see Natsu in such a terrible state, but all he could do was try and make him more comfortable. The ice make wizard removed his right hand from Natsu's face, sliding it around the other slayer as carefully as possible, until Gray had enough grip to lift him. He turned his head suddenly, making several guild members jump back at the unnervingly fierce look in the mage's eyes. His eyes locked onto Juvia, who began shaking with fright. She'd learnt first hand what a formidable foe Her darling Gray could be, and to be quite frank, didn't exactly fancy betting on her chances of surviving the next 24 hours right now...

         "Juvia." Gray's voice was strangely gentle, a stark contrast to his facial expression. "Can you do me a favour? When I lift Natsu, put a water lock underneath him, so he can float on it. Please?" Juvia didn't understand why Gray had asked her to do it, but she complied anyway, trusting him, despite knowing he was probably going to kill her later for doing this to Natsu. Even if it had been an accident.

        A few moments later, Natsu was floating on the surface of the water lock, still murmuring in pain, but resting in a more comfortable position. Gray put his right hand back up to Natsu's face, caressing him soothingly, bending slightly to whisper inaudibly into the Fire mage's ear. Natsu wasn't really aware of anything anymore. The pain was so bad, he'd gone into a semi-conscious state, not fully awake, but not exactly asleep either. For some reason, the pain was easing up, but maybe it was because he was adjusting to the agony and not noticing it so much.

     Natsu was dully aware of Gray caressing his face, which suddenly brought back a terrible flood of horrific memories from the accident. This sudden remembrance was what finally threw the Fire Dragon Slayer into unconscious, scarring, haunting dream-memories.