Hiii theeere!

I know I did not update for soooo long, but I was just hell busy and I could not apologize enough for it T.T, gonna have some tie to write now, although not much since Im already preparing applications for college this month, but I will try to update more than once in 4 months :D :D

Anyhow!

Guest from - Aww thank you a loot! I still have mistakes in the grammar in the story, + im not really good on desribing the situation as many other writers all, but I always spend hours nagging my brain about thinking of new ways how to improve. Yes I do realize the waiting is long, I am sorry for that, but I got last year in high school and its true hell :D

Ladyfire-Azula - I think I read most of the stories you wrote, and really and truly enjoyed them. You are very good writer with - at least according to me- original ideas, which is appreciated. I dont read LucyxNatsu stories for example, just because they are all with the same - or nearly the same plot. Ya always surprise me tho :D Gray will not chill, we all know that, or at least not for a while. Natsu knows it was bad thing to say, but he will make up for it in the next chapter :)

Dank Dang - Awww, thank you 3

Deboo - Im trying my best here T.T

WhiteWolf - Uh...yea...the chapter is ready...after 4 months...*cough* *cough* So...yeah :D

Laxusdrayer2324 - Not yet :D

IndigoWolfie - of course they will, soon enough! :D

Writing bunny - I had something similar happen, it was not exactly the same speech, but it was near the tartarus arc, well I wanted to show it as flashback when Zervis starts getting real, so dont worry ;) (I tend to explain everything with flashbacks . is that bad? :D)

Titania1796 - Right T.T Poor Natsu

Wolves silver wind - things are going to get better soon :) Well...some of them :D

Fannafic - Aww, thank you for the compliments, it still is gonna be NatsuxGray story, but as I said, its main focus is not on their romance, its gonna show when the end of the story will come near :)

Shinigami Of The Elder Gods - Thanks a lot, I really am glad it inspired someone :) My concept of yaoi was never the real...you know...sexy and dangerous and whatever stuff, I like fluff, and the feelings, I like to write about the feelings the most :D So if someone expected lemon or some relationship actions, theres gonna be just like one kiss and thats it, otherwise its really mostly about feelings, so I dont think you need to be afraid. I tried to get beta once, but our progress was real slow, as I had many things needed to somehow polish, and he didnt have time for it anymore. I tried then to find someone who would beta GrayxNatsu story, but no one on the beta list likes this pairing so...eh :D

Ghost Lady Noah - Cause theyre the best duh...:D Well yea, nothing good for Gray, but for Gray the worst didnt come yet...MUAHAHAHHA

Angel Lightwolf - I literraly fell love on the first sight when I saw him pop up on the screen for the first time 3

Well...almost 1am in here, got tests tomorrow, so gn guys! I apologize if there are any mistakes, but I reread it quite a few times so I hope there are not.

Enjoy!

If you would ask him about why or how, he would say it does not matter. There was no real reason, nor he knew about how could it all get so wrong. The question, according to him, should be when.

When did this all start exactly?

"You two cause nothing but trouble!" shouted a little red haired girl, standing in front of two boys that guiltily sat on the ground, looking down in shame.

They refused to look at her, because they could imagine what expression she would wear, and had no desire to see it. They were both beaten up badly, not only from the fight they had few moments ago, but also the punishment of the girl's wrath.

Neither one of them wanted to hurt anybody, except the other boy of course. But how could they know that someone will try to stop them from their daily fights?

They could not look into Erza's eyes to see the rage, nor could they look into the eyes of Lisanna, because they know they will get drowned in their own regret.

But maybe it was all given from the start.

He knew he was enraged, and he knew the cause of it was betrayal. Which made him even more angry, because he was the one who betrayed them in first place, so this shouldn't have come as such a surprise. The feeling of cold still haunted his now healed chest, and he was still baffled about how did the hatred in Gray grew so much.

Still, the fact that he was the receiver of that hatred hurt, it hurt to the point of not being able to take it without consequences. He didn't want to fight. Not with his friends at least. The sore reason for all the commotion was for the war, and all the battles that would follow, to end after all.

The cold wind blew past him, making the leaves on the trees that surrounded them rustle, as if daring him to keep breaking the already cracked bond between the two once best friends, along with the cold rain, which was drenching them both, adding a sorrowful mood, almost like if it was lamenting the situation Natsu was in right now. He still didn't get when did this all start. Yes, he realized the reason for the ice mage's hatred for Deliora, but what did E.N.D. do to him? What did Zeref do to him?

Yes, Deliora was born from Zeref's magic, but that's like blaming a founder of magic for being evil, simply because magic could be used for evil as well. Same with Tower of Heaven, as far as Natsu knew, his brother had nothing to do with that, except writing the blueprints long time ago. And E.N.D.? Natsu was sealed away when he was a little kid. Except one case, he did not cause any harm in the past, so what made Gray hate him?

He leaped onto the ice mage, and slashed him mercilessly with the sword made from the raven-haired's own magic. Gray, whom was completely frozen on place just few moments before just barely managed to dodge, but the fire mage was able to scratch his arm.

It was just not fair.

The devil slayer was still recovering from his shock, which made his reactions slow, and Natsu seemed to use it to his advantage perfectly. No matter where Gray side stepped, the dragon slayer would be already one step ahead of him, creating more and more scratches as he continued to swing the ice sword around, aiming for, as Gray presumed, his vital spots.

When Natsu charged and aimed for his stomach, Gray jumped back, which was a huge mistake. With reactions equal to some wild animal, the fire mage jumped after him, boosting his speed by using his magic on his legs as a little rockets. Caught by surprise in the air, Gray had no chance to dodge the incoming blow, and he had no choice but to endure the pain as he felt his shoulder being completely pierced through, along with the fall that followed afterwards.

Once he could again register what was in front of him, he saw Natsu hovering above him, with very scary and dominating expression on his face, analyzing him with his eyes as if he was his prey.

"Don't you still get it?" he asked Gray in a way you would ask small kid about a simple question. "I am immortal, even if you pierce through my heart million times, the only one who can die in these fights…is you."

He left the sword buried in the ice mage's shoulder and walked away.

He was feeling cold, but whether it was from the rain or something else, he didn't question.

It was dark…and cold. On one sided he wanted to go home, an on the other not. He was not sure how he would be welcomed in the morning after Zeref figured out his quarrel with Mavis, but it felt lonely to spend his time wandering alone with rain pouring down on him.

He didn't even have energy anymore to dry himself off, or maybe he didn't care.

He sighed, because he realized that inside, he already started questioning himself and his choices. He missed his times in Fairy Tail, but he would not exchange what he has now for anything. He was a selfish person, because he wanted to laugh with his friends, have stupid fights with Gray about completely nothing, but he also wanted to spend time teasing Acnologia, he wanted to see the excitement in his brother's long dead eyes, watching him find the fun in living again. But he had to choose one, he couldn't have both, so he had to convince himself that this was the right choice, this was his choice, and even if it was wrong, there's no reason to think about what could have been, as well as there is no point in regrets. He had to move forward, and stop looking back.

Maybe unconsciously, but he noticed that he was going back, seeing the castle in distance, and the desire to go back home grew stronger.

But he felt like he didn't deserve to go inside.

Should he apologize to Mavis? Probably yes, but just the thought of him apologizing for spoken truth made him feel wrong. She probably sleeps now already anyway, and Zeref will get him for it either way, so there was really no reason to even try.

He used his fire for flying to the castle roof, so he would not be seen, he was not in the mood to confront anyone anymore, he wanted to be alone. It felt lonely, yes, he was not used to be alone, he was always surrounded by people, even in the worst times, but he felt like he might take out his rage, pain, and everything else he couldn't identify that he felt at the moment at the next person he will meet, so he wanted to avoid that situation as much as possible, he didn't need anymore arguments today. As he reached the roof's highest peak, he lied down on the cold and fragile roof tiles, watching the slowly moving grey clouds in the sky boringly, while still getting drenched by the continuous rain.

He closed his eyes while trying to ignore everything around him as his mind slowly faded into black, waiting patiently for the morning alone, in a place he hoped no one will disturb him at.

"What are you doing here all alone?" Acnologia came seemingly out of nowhere, moving to sit beside the fire mage.

There goes all hope of being alone, right down the drain…

He didn't answer him, trying to ignore the dragon's whole being.

"Hey, are you okay?" ex dragon king tried again to make the younger mage talk to him, this time even attempting to get him from his trance or sleep or whatever by shaking his shoulder, but he stiffened once he realized just how cold the other boy felt to his touch.

"You're cold" he stated

"So?" Natsu, already getting annoyed, decided to reply, aware that the dragon won't leave him alone unless he will get what he came for.

It really bugged Acnologia when the all-time hyperactive demon acted dejectedly like this, which seemed to happen a lot lately, and he probably knew the reason even without asking. "Don't give me that "so" crap! You're a fire mage! You're supposed to be warm!"

"So?"

If there was a way how to piss off Acnologia, surely Natsu must have been the only person on the world who could do it.

"Enough of this shit, you're coming with me back inside, I don't wanna hear any complains"

"You will hear them surely enough, because I refuse to go inside." The pink haired mage proclaimed stubbornly.

Acnologia sighed, knowing there had to be something wrong with the other, no normal person would just lie in middle of the rain. Well, this was Natsu he was talking about, there was nothing normal about the boy, but still…

"Is it because of the fight with Mavis?" he asked, already knowing the answer once he saw how Natsu suddenly tensed up once he heard the name.

"You know about it?"

"I have the same ears as you, I hear a lot of things going around in this castle"

"I see" The fire mage did not bother with more answers than that, seemingly getting back into his trance earlier, closing his eyes and trying to ignore Acnologia yet again.

Well, he wouldn't have that now, no one ignores the Apocalypse dragon. Plus, seeing the other so depressed lying out in the rain, feeling too guilty to even go back to the warmth the inside of castle offered, did not really add to the ex-dragon king's mood. Natsu obviously didn't want to move on his own, so the only option left was to use force.

Which Acnologia was good at, let's not create any illusions here of him being a good guy.

He grasped the dragon slayer's shoulders and ignored the immediate resistance he got, dragging Natsu all over the roof.

"Hey, cut it out! Let me go!" Natsu tried to reach out behind him and get rid of Acnologia, however once he turned his head around and saw the pitiful expression on his face, he couldn't find words or strength to defend himself with.

"Natsu…" he started with a voice filled with such determination, worry and…care? The fire mage never heard him use that tone, and experiencing it for the first time took him by surprise. "…you're freezing cold, staying out in the rain with your clothes torn and don't think for even a minute that I can't smell that scent of your own blood just because rain washed it away. You've had another fight with Gray, haven't you?"

He wanted to protest but stopped himself before he uttered even half of a word, knowing there was no point in lying to the dragon, as he probably figured it out already. He looked away instead, he didn't want to see the worry, he didn't want to see the kindness or care.

He wanted none of it, because getting used to it was what led to his downfall.

Yes, Natsu admitted he was defenseless against Fairy Tail, because of the kindness he knew the guild for. No matter how much threatening words he may have said, or how much of an act he can put up, even if they all decide he is evil and try to kill him, he would not be able to truly hurt them. The only problem was… running away won't work for long, one day he will get caught, they will find out it was all just a bluff, and won't hesitate to use it against him, and he is not sure what will happen on that day.

Kind people were scary, because you are not able to fight back the kindness with hatred or force.

Acnologia sighed once he noticed Natsu's reaction. The boy was trying to blame himself even for the impossible things, shouldering it all himself, keeping it in, probably thinking he would bother someone if he mentioned something.

"Idiot, we're here for you, all of us. You can always share your worries." He whispered gently to Natsu, not sure if he could say such words out loud. "There's no one who would chase you down just because you said what you had on your mind, even if Zeref probably won't like it, but we're talking about his girlfriend here, of course he won't like anyone saying something hurtful to her, even if it is truth. More importantly, this was about something Zeref blames himself for more than anyone else, and refuses to let go of it. Honestly when someone starts to observe the behavior of you two, you are so similar it's astounding. So, please, stop acting like a kicked puppy and come back inside with me. Alright?"

Silence was what followed, but Acnologia was patient, he waited for Natsu to sort it all out. Even if the other would still refuse, he will not budge, he will not give up on this. It was his responsibility to stay by this boy's side, when no one could hear his silent whimpering that he held deep inside. The guy lost everything he was building for many years. His guild –his family-, his "father", that Acnologia himself killed, and yet he saw nor hatred nor desire for revenge in Natsu's eyes. Natsu did not complain, or blame anyone, nor he kept grudges it seemed.

Whether it was true or not, the dragon did not know, but he will surely did not see any signs, and he will try his best to support this naïve, stupid, and mostly oblivious boy, as he was the one who gave him something he didn't have for 400 years. In just a second, Acnologia acquired home, and he was surrounded by nice people he could even call friends now.

All because of Natsu sparing him in their fight and reaching out to him, instead of craving vengeance for Igneel's death.

He was broke out of his line of thoughts once he saw Natsu nodding and starting to get up, ready to go back inside. Acnologia smiled and ruffled the pink's hair softly, proud he is still able to accept help of someone else, while already moving to walk in front.

Because, in reality, being drenched to the bone with cold wind blowing, was not a good feeling. He wasn't even a damn fire mage to keep himself warm, so as soon he was assured Natsu was following after him, he hurriedly kept fastening his pace, wanting to get to the nearest fireplace already.

Natsu smirked behind him, already completely dry because of his magic, but he decided to let Acnologia suffer a little bit more. He interrupted his moment to himself, after all, he will not let that go easily.

When they got inside, ignoring the overgrown lizard's grumbling about being the only one wet, they both decided to go back to their rooms and get some rest. Acnologia wishing for the warmth of blankets, while Natsu suddenly felt exhausted after all the night's and morning's events.

But the demon couldn't help himself but to say thank you, as he passed Acnologia in the long hallway.

See ya in like...one or two weeks...I will see how long its gonna take me write the chapter for the other story...Thanks all for your patience and hanging in there waiting for the update! Love ya all!

Btw...Next Chapter: OPERATION ZERVIS