@fuckyeahgratsu request for Anon

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong To Hiro Mashima

"L-leave him alone!" Natsu protested as he walked into the guild hall only to find Lucy hitting Gray, again. He was terrified, his legs literally shaking as he yelled at Lucy Ashley to release Gray but he stayed firm.

He was tired of her constant bullying. Raising his arms and forming his hands into fists, he placed them in front of his chest, thankful there wasn't a mirror to show him how pathetic he must look.

Gray looked over at him, his eyes widening as he shook his head solemnly. Lucy stopped what she was doing long enough to stare at Natsu, she didn't look intimidated in the least.

"What did you say to me?" Lucy enunciated every word, wanting to let Natsu know that she wasn't amused in the slightest. She let go of Gray and starting walking over to him.

"Y-you heard me," It took every ounce of courage he possessed to not turn around and run out of the guild, but he was determined to see this through.

What he wasn't counting on was his best friend running towards him, grabbing him by the arm and dragging both of them out of the guild before Lucy Ashley could reach him. Natsu had no idea how Gray could even run that fast considering how many clothes he was wearing.

They kept running, hearing Lucy scream after them and she must have thrown something at them because Natsu could feel something flying just to his right, but they didn't stop until they were both out of breath.

"What were you thinking?" Gray scolded, his breath coming in pants, his face covered in sweat. He studied Natsu intently and suddenly released his arm as if he'd just noticed he was still holding on to it.

"Aren't you tired of her shit?" Natsu asked, rubbing his arm where Gray had been dragging him, knowing he'd have a bruise before long, "What did you even do this time?"

Gray shrugged noncommittally and muttered something under his breath.

Natsu waited for his friend to repeat himself, but Gray remained quiet, eyes staring off into the distance.

"I have been a little bit," Natsu took a deep breath and tried to catch Gray's gaze, "Thinking that is."

That was one hell of an understatement, he'd been doing nothing else since the members of Earthland Fairy Tail had returned to their home, taking Lisanna with them. It's not like he had a hell of a lot else to do during the long drives required for the guild's supply runs. He was happy he at least got to continue driving, Levy had managed to redesign his car to not uses magic.

Gray turned to look at him, head tilted to the side and lips curled in a confused smile that Natsu found incredibly endearing. His chest felt tight as he looked away for a moment, fighting off the sudden flush of his cheeks that threatened to give his feelings away.

Gray noticed this and his brow furrowed a bit. Natsu wasn't sure what that meant, but Gray had saved him, or actually they'd saved each other, and for now, he wasn't about to let the futility of his feelings ruin that for him.

"What have you been thinking about?"

"I'm just," Natsu thought hard about what he wanted to say, he'd never tried to voice his feelings before and he wanted Gray to understand the changes that were happening within him, "I guess, I've been thinking about the other me, Earthland Natsu. How he's everything I'm not -- brave, confident, strong. And I keep thinking, even if he is from another world he is me, and I am him, you know?"

Gray bit his lip, distracting Natsu again, but it was often like this between them, Natsu had it bad. "I wouldn't say that, Natsu. I think what you just did would count as brave, well suicidal actually." Gray chuckled. "You do realize I can barely feel her through all my clothes, you didn't have to do that for me, you --."

"It doesn't make it right, someone needs to stand up to her, why not me?" Natsu interrupted, still furious about Lucy picking on Gray.

"You didn't let me finish, I still appreciated it," Gray said as he sat down, once again grabbing Natsu's arm and pulling him down to sit next to him. "Anyway, why don't you tell me more about what you've been thinking?"

Had Gray always been this grabby with him? Natsu shook the thought away and continued, "I mean I know I don't have any magic or know very much fighting, but even he must have started somewhere... Sometimes I just want to get in my car and just keep driving, see what else is out there, maybe try to be the man I want to be."

"You want to leave?" Gray's shoulders slumped, and his lower lip trembled, but he turned away and stared off into the distance once again before Natsu could see any more.

Natsu found himself blurting out, "You could come with me."

Natsu covered his mouth as soon as he said it but it was too late, he'd just given much more away than he'd intended, but perhaps it was for the best, wasn't it better to know?

"W-what?" Gray stammered, he found Natsu's eyes and searched them quickly, glancing away at whatever he found in them. His fingers moved to his coat as he fidgeted with the buttons nervously.

"Forget I said anything," Natsu felt like an anvil had landed on his chest making it hard to breathe, but he needed to pretend everything was okay. It was just as he'd suspected, Gray only had eyes for Juvia, it's how it had always been, and he was a fool for getting his hopes up. "I don't know what I was thinking --"

"I'd like to." Gray breathed shakily, and he grabbed Natsu's hand again.

"I-- I don't understand," Natsu sputtered, and he didn't. He was confused and hopeful, and that was a bad combination.

"I've been thinking too," Gray smiled, it was tentative but no less genuine, and Natsu had no idea what to think anymore because their eyes had connected and neither one was looking away. "I saw the way you looked at Earthland Gray and I-- I didn't like it."

"I didn't, I--," Natsu didn't like where this was going. Gray had caught him ogling Earthland Gray? Natsu's eyes darted around, desperately searching for an escape route. How could he tell Gray he'd been thinking about him the whole time, wondering if underneath all those clothes he looked the same. Personally, he preferred his sweet Gray to the always grumpy ice mage, no matter how hot the other one was.

"Don't bother to deny it," Gray made a sound that sounded almost like a growl as he glared at him with an intensity that Natsu had never seen before, and he couldn't even begin to interpret it.

"I'm sorry, it's just I'd never seen you without all your clothes on, and I couldn't help it," Natsu babbled on, increasingly more horrified with every traitorous word that came out of his mouth but he couldn't seem to stop, "He was hot, I mean you were hot, I mean-"

"You don't have to apologize Natsu," Gray spoke softly, his tone meant to be reassuring, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that betrayed his amusement at Natsu's discomfort. He soon turned serious and added, "Seeing the way you looked at him, it forced me to confront something I'd been avoiding for a while."

Natsu finally understood how the animals that would sometimes freeze in front of his car's headlights felt. There was so much fear, but at the same time, there was also this odd fascination that kept you from running away to safety. You just had to face it head on and hope for the best while wondering if this was how you would meet your end. Natsu found himself looking at Gray and wondering if his next words would be the ones to end him.

Had he discovered Natsu's feelings for him and been shocked when he saw them so obviously displayed? Gray had only ever had eyes for Juvia, it was quite possible that he'd be disgusted to learn Natsu had feelings for him. Natsu tried to prepare himself for the worst, already wondering if they'd be able to salvage their friendship after this.

Natsu's face must have reflected some of what he was thinking because Gray was watching him with a concerned expression. He grabbed both of Natsu's hands in his and locked his eyes with his, further reinforcing the feeling of being caught in headlights, "The truth is," Gray paused for a moment and let out a nervous cough before soldiering on, "I wanted you to look at me that way."

Natsu's mouth gaped open as he absorbed the words, it was difficult for him to believe, but after running them through his head several times, they still sounded the same, "Y-You did?"

"Yeah, surprised me too," Gray chuckled softly, and Natsu found he loved the sound, it was light and airy and he could listen to it all day.

"But what about Juvia?"

"What about her? I can like both men and women, dimwit. It's a thing." Gray grinned at him, willing him to believe.

"No, I know, that's not what I meant." Natsu was flustered, he wanted to take Gray at his word but there had never been any indication, and while he tried to be brave like his counterpart he was terrified of being hurt and losing the most important person in the world to him.

Still holding Natsu's hands in his own Gray held him in place, moving his face ever closer until finally pressing his lips against Natsu's, who immediately closed his eyes and nibbled gently on the soft lips he'd thought he'd never get a chance to taste.

Years of repressed feelings burst through Natsu as he bungled his way through his first kiss, worried it wouldn't be any good, but Gray didn't pull away, and after much fumbling they quickly got the hang of it, Gray letting go of his hands at some point to caress his cheek with his fingers. It was everything Natsu had hoped for, the joy that coursed through his body at Gray's touch unmistakeable. Much too soon for Natsu's liking the kiss ended, and Gray licked his lips slowly, smiling as he tasted Natsu on his lips.

Natsu was too flustered to really look at Gray, and he tried to disappear behind his bangs. Gray didn't push, just let him hide, but continued to give him gentle caresses as Natsu got himself together.

"We've always been there for each other, Natsu. You're the only one who's always accepted me just the way I am." Gray moved Natsu's bangs out of the way to gaze into his eyes as he confessed with a smile, "You're the one I want, Natsu, not her."

Natsu didn't know how to respond, as much as he'd hoped, he'd never expected this to happen. The whole thing felt like a dream he didn't want to wake from. His lips began to twitch before they stretched into a grin that was wider than any he'd ever managed before and that seemed to be enough for Gray.

"So let's do it, let's get into your car and go," Gray urged, looking back at the guild hall they'd just run away from. "Nothing is keeping us here."

It was true, they'd had some good times over the years, but most of those had involved each other. Natsu was sure the guild would miss them, but they'd also move on without them. The idea of just getting in the car and starting a new life somewhere with Gray was very appealing. It was sort of what he'd already been planning, although he'd thought he would be doing it alone. This was much better.

"Don't we need to get clothes or something?"

Gray looked down at himself and laughed, "I'm already packed."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, I've never been surer of anything in my life."

They remained where they were, watching the sunset in each other's arms while saying goodbye to the place they'd called home. By the time they'd gotten up, night had fallen, and the temperature had plummeted, leaving Natsu shivering as they walked to the car. Gray took one of his coats off and wrapped it around his lover, kissing the top of his head as he buttoned it up.

Natsu looked up, and they kissed again, less hesitant and more eager. They laced their fingers and walked to the car, not once looking back. They drove away into the night, excited about the new adventures that awaited them. Together at last.