Gray wrapped both arms around his last cardboard box and braced himself on shaky legs for the last flight of wooden stairs to his apartment. The sixth floor was far from his perfect idea of a place to live, but he figured that at least this way he would have a decent warning system if he learned to play nice with the neighbors. He absolutely refused to be taken by surprise again if that blue-haired woman with her hoard of custom made plush dolls and creepy bath towels ever managed to track him down and pay him a visit. He didn't want another cake or gift or invitation to date her or another break in. Never again.

A couple of years earlier, Gray had been on his way to work when he saw a blue-haired woman staring straight up at the sky and stepping off the sidewalk curve. He might not have paid it any mind, except for the fact that no sane person stares up at the sky when it's raining bullets with such a gloomy expression. She should have been shielding her eyes from the onslaught of water, or using the umbrella she had in her hand, or watching her surroundings to see if any cars were headed in her direction. Because she was so distracted, she paid no heed to the SUV heading her way at full speed. Gray made a quick decision that he would come to regret in the following months and reached out for her, snatching her back onto the safety of the sidewalk just as the pale driver sped by, still honking maniacally and swerving into another lane. His fast reaction caused her to overbalance and fall in his direction, making them both swerve and fall to the ground. The woman landed on her back, in a puddle that drenched any inch of her that the rain hadn't already reached and Gray landed over her in a flurry of limbs. When he asked if she was okay, she just stared at him with wide eyes and an awed expression. She had asked his name and he had told her, not thinking of the repercussions his choice would have in the near future. She thanked him and left. It had been a bizarre experience that he put aside pretty quickly. He realized his mistake a couple weeks later when he received an unstamped letter in his mail slot with several off guard pictures of him and the words, 'The moment I laid eyes on you, my rain stopped. My world shone in a different color. You are my light. Juvia.' He hadn't asked for the woman's name, so he didn't immediately connect the two occasions.

Three years, seventeen plush dolls, twelve envelopes full of creepy pictures, nine serenades, three break-ins, and a drug incident later he was finally granted a restraining order against one Juvia Lockser.

When that wasn't enough he sold all his furniture, packed his bags, and moved to the other coast of the country leaving strict warnings to his old friends that told them not to give any information to the crazy woman with blue hair. He even printed each of them a picture so that there would be no room for mistakes. If she went looking for him, she wouldn't find him. He wasn't one-hundred percent confident in that fact, but he liked to think that maybe she would become obsessed with someone else. Maybe Lyon. Lyon always said she was hot.

Not that it mattered to Gray because he is gay, but still.

Gray finally reached the top of the battered stairway and headed to his door for what felt like the millionth time in a single day and placed his last box on the floor when he reached it. He put the key into the knob and turned it until it clicked and he opened the door. He heaved an exhausted sigh and bent his knees, wrapping sore arms around the stupid box once more and placing it in the kitchen counter. He had rented a truck early in the morning and went to pick up his furniture from the store. Setting up tables and couches and bed rails was difficult enough to do solo, but then he still had to haul a mattress up six flights of stairs, along with the boxes of plates, silverware, glasses, the microwave, the new television, the blankets, towels, etc. Luckily, he had already put his clothes in order in the closet and bought everything he could possibly need for hygiene in the bathroom the previous day. He probably had more toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, towels, and toothbrushes than one man could realistically use in under six months, but Gray liked to feel prepared. He was also proud of having organized it all. When the terror of Juvia reached its worst, Gray barely kept enough toiletries and food to last about a week at a time, since he didn't want to leave much behind in case he ended up randomly crashing on a friend's couch in a panic. His new overstocked bathroom gave him a small feeling of confidence that maybe he could really make a home here. The people were nice, the neighbors didn't stare unnecessarily even though he had lost his shirt three times already and found it on varying flights of stairs, and the coffee place down the street was open 24 hours daily. He hadn't been around too long, but he was hopeful, unreasonably so for having been in town for less than three days. He didn't want to let himself get too attached in case Juvia and her 101 plush dolls swooped in and crushed his outlook.

Grimacing at the route his thoughts were taking, Gray pulled back his thick curtains to open the window in the living room. It was getting a bit stuffy in the place and he wasn't really accustomed to this level of heat. He was from the north and this temperature was about the same thing he had to deal with in summer. The difference being that here it was winter and he was sweating. The outside air hit his skin, making him sigh a bit in relief and note absently that once again, he had lost his shirt. He looked down at the couple walking on the sidewalk in front of his building wearing cardigans, scarves, and mittens. He shook his head in disbelief and tore his eyes away, feeling he might get heatstroke just looking at them. He walked over to his laptop in need of a distraction.

He also chose the building because the landlord was a wonderful generous old man who paid for the first month of WiFi. The fact that the complex was also named Fairy Tail and its tenants were apparently honorary 'fairies' was a quirk that Gray could deal with if it granted him these kinds of favors. While Gray had yet to set up the television, he had a laptop that was up and running and for that small miracle he was grateful. He was about to search for jobs available in the area, but he was tired and he didn't need the money all that urgently. He had plenty saved up from the the three years of terror he lived through in which he became a complete recluse to avoid Juvia and her endless tirade of, "Gray-Sama, I love you!" He shivered just remembering that high pitched squealing.

Giving in to the exhaustion of the day, Gray slouched on the couch with a blank computer screen on his lap and almost felt tired enough to fall asleep. Almost.

The problem is that between hunger and tiredness, hunger won out. He didn't have food on account of not buying anything yet. Thank the gods for nice considerate landlords who had refrigerators previously installed in the apartments, though, honestly.

Gray considered ordering in when he remembered Lyon was supposed to be in town tonight. He wasn't sure what time Lyon's flight was supposed to come in, but sent a quick text from his new phone to ask.

Hey, are you in town?

He figured that should be enough. Lyon generally took far too long to reply to texts and Gray had to wonder if contacting him meant he'd eventually have to get takeout after all. The reply he got was much faster than he expected from Lyon and brief too.

Yeah, miss me already, bro?

Gray might have missed his older brother a little, but he also missed his old apartment, his old job, his friends, his city. He missed all of the things that he had to leave behind because of Juvia so he didn't feel the need to admit anything to Lyon just yet.

As if. Come over with Pizza and drinks. I'll pay you back when you get here.

Gray and Lyon were both suckers for pizza. That was probably more due to the fact that neither of them really knew how to cook anything elaborate and ended up stocking their freezers with an excessive number of frozen pizzas. Anything that could be stored in the freezer and cooked easily was fair game with them. He wondered if Lyon would hole himself up in a hotel, ignore his messages, and just order room service. His stomach growled lowly and he found himself hoping otherwise. Surely he wouldn't say no to free pizza and drinks on account of laziness. The answer came within seconds.

Deal. Where are you?

400 N. Magic Boulevard, Magnolia. Apartment 6D.

This time the reply he got was short and came after a longer pause.

Got it.

Gray smiled. It was a good thing Lyon and he had each other's numbers memorized. He hadn't had much time to copy down his contacts when he chucked his phone into the lake, went home to pack, and caught the first cab he could to the nearest airport. He was still slightly afraid that by paying his flight with a credit card he might have given Juvia a clue as to his new location, but he had flown into the neighboring city so at least he thought she'd be looking in the wrong place for some time. He wasn't usually the type to make impulsive decisions about his life, but he'd been getting a little desperate and the police were usually quite charmed by Juvia who seemed like a completely normal human being with a harmless crush when other people were around. He had been taking a different way home in the vain hope of losing her when he'd passed the park and seen a small child gripping his mother's hand and throwing pennies as far as he could into the medium sized body of water. Gray had run to the edge of that water, held his phone for half a second before it sailed midair and landed in a new place just in time to see the sunrise over a beautiful dark ocean halfway across the world. Here, in his new apartment, with two floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and a thin one in his bedroom, he felt like he could finally look outside and enjoy the view without the gnawing feeling of being watched like a fish in the tank of a pet store or the suspicion that if he slid open a curtain, a pale face might be on the other side staring at him.

He set to plugging in his television to at least turn on since he hadn't contacted a satellite provider yet. He got the plug in system from his luggage and hooked his laptop to the television screen. Lyon always complained about watching movies on a little screen. Both of them were used to cold temperatures and having to huddle close together to view even something as minor as a video resulted in a brawl. They weren't known for being very tactile people. Personal space was a must. Just as he finished, he heard a knock at the door.

He opened and his expression of welcome and relief molded into one of confusion at the sight in front of him. A guy with fuzzy pink hair, olive green eyes, and tanned skin stood at his door with a pizza and a 1 Liter bottle of soda looking like Gray was the last thing he had expected to see behind the door he knocked on. That look drifted down over him and became one of pleasant surprise and Gray flushed as he took in his own lack of clothing. He wasn't the only one with heat rushing to his face, and he would have been scrambling for his jeans and shirt right about now if it wasn't his own apartment.

Natsu took in the sight before him. So it wasn't Laxus, which was a little fucking disappointing because Natsu really wanted Laxus to come back already. Freed might just take up Cana on her offer of unlimited scotch and Freed was on the edge of a mental breakdown already as it was without adding alcohol into the mix.

He was a little let down that it wasn't Laxus texting from a new phone number, but he didn't remain disappointed for long because the guy in front of him had pale alabaster skin, the kind that might glow in the moonlight, dark eyes that blurred the lines between black and blue, a chiselled jaw, blue-tinted black hair that spiked at perfect angles around his head to match his captivating eyes, and a toned body marked up in tattoos that made Natsu want to fall to his knees and drool. He was ogling the guy, but the man answered the door in nothing but boxers and Natsu felt absolutely no need to apologize.

This guy had writing in some other language around the base of his neck, the image of a woman in her early thirties on his left shoulder, roses cascading from her hair down his arm, an arm covered entirely in shaded black and white tattoos with only the roses red and dripping down colorless vines along the skin bleeding into a blue fire surrounding his left wrist. The vines were intertwined with other tattoos, a backdrop of a snowy forest on his upper arm, a black wolf standing protectively in front of a white wolf that appeared to be sleeping, a backdrop of Mount Everest in between the cavity of the vines on his forearm with ice rinks build into the hollows of the mountains with small tribal sketches of a skater in each one. On his left shoulder, the guy had a glass sphere of the earth with the oceans free and flowing but the continents frozen over, glaciers growing on desert lands, the reflection of the moon in the water of the black sea. There were tattoos of thin clouds overlapping the piece that connected to colorless lightning that stretched down his bicep over a backdrop of a city that looked flooded behind locked gates. His right forearm was blank, so Natsu assumed he would expand the piece into a full sleeve eventually, since it cut off at the elbow. His chest was mostly bare, but he did have an abstract symbol over his right side in navy blue that Natsu wanted to run his tongue over. He was staring for too damn long and oh look he has a tattoo peeking out from the rim of his boxers, holy shit-

Gray tried to form words, he really did, but he only opened and closed his mouth and generally gave the impression of a gaping moron. The guy seemed to be in a similar state.

The guy recovered first.

"You're not Laxus."

Gray didn't know who Laxus was or why this guy was at his door instead of Lyon, but he irrationally found himself wishing he was Laxus. He scolded himself for his inappropriate thoughts and forced himself to speak actual syllables.

"Are you a friend of Lyon's? Is he coming up after you? He didn't tell me he was bringing someone."

"What? No. I got a text from a number and I just assumed-"

He was pulling out his phone and realization hit Gray so quickly, he snatched the phone to scroll through the messages, cutting Pinky off. He pulled out his phone and looked at the number at the top of his own chain of messages and sure enough, he had used a seven in place of an eight at the end of the seven digits and his chain mirrored that of Pinky's. Speaking of Pinky, Gray looked up, the guy was hot. He was gorgeous in a rough, yet delicate way, as if he was innocent but trained that thin frame relentlessly and probably had stamina that could keep him going all night and-. Gray stopped that train of thought right there because if his eyes drifted any lower, he would be ogling a man he just met right at the entrance to his place and that wasn't the way to make a good first impression. Not that he was trying to make a good impression. Not at all. This was Gray's apartment. If anything, Pinky should be trying to impress him! He flushed at the thought. Or not. Gray was the one who got the number wrong anyway.

"Oh," Gray responded. He felt so awkward. Pinky was looking more sheepish by the second and Gray blurted out, "What's your name?"

Pinky blinked, then grinned. "Natsu." He shrugged a bit and continued, "I would shake your hand, but, umm."

He looked pointedly down at the pizza and soda in his hands and then back at Gray. Gray sprung into action, taking the pizza box and smiling slightly at Natsu. His smile was an awkward, half-shaped thing that he had lost practice with a couple of years back and one look at Natsu's confused expression made him regret trying.

"You can come in, since you're already here and all," Gray told him. He had to look away when Natsu absolutely beamed at him and placed the soda on the counter. Natsu's smile, unlike his, was a gorgeous flash of white with two sharp indents that made him resemble those hollywood actors in modern vampire movies who looked more like greek statues than real people. Except Natsu was tan, not pale, and had straight hair that flowed over his lashes and got rustled in the slight draft from the open window at just the right angle to give him a higher ethereal quality that Gray had to struggle not to stare at. He would not drool over a guy he just met. Absolutely not.

Natsu sits on the bar stool and Gray stands on the other side of the thin counter just in case Natsu does turn out to be a crazy person like Juvia and he ends up needing a second to plan an escape or find a weapon to beat him off. Juvia harmed his view of the world and people in general, but the one thing she didn't harm was his confidence. He's a bit paranoid about the idea that a stranger might want to latch onto his neck without so much as a hello. She did that once and the assumptions of his coworkers, jeers at his sex life or lack thereof, had caused him to throw up in a meeting with his boss because the marks on his neck had not been consensual and the fact that people saw them and assumed he'd be happy to have them made him physically sick. He got the feeling that Natsu wouldn't pose the same threat. Gray is gay and so long as Natsu made his intentions clear he can't imagine having a problem baring his neck to him. He could finally have some marks he would be proud of rather than disgusted by. He shook his head to clear away the thoughts of what those sharp canines might feel like against his skin.

"I, uh, didn't get your name," Natsu says with a cheeky grin, "I figured I should know whose place I'm in."

Gray hesitates, old stalkers coming to mind, but says, "Gray. My name's Gray." He feels a little sick saying his own name out loud these days and maybe it shows on his face because Natsu's smile dims a bit and Gray blushes slightly and turns away. He doesn't notice that his blush brings back Natsu's grin full force.

Gray gets two glasses out of the box on the counter and turns to Natsu.

"Out of curiosity, who is Laxus?" he asks as he hands him a glass.

Natsu is in the process of wolfing down a slice of pizza with speed that has Gray reaching for a slice before Natsu can finish the box on his own. This whole situation came about because he was hungry and he will fight for his slices of pizza if necessary.

When he finishes his slice Natsu replies, "Oh, Laxus is like my older brother. We all grew up in the same foster home and Laxus was the last one of us to get placed there. He took a while to warm up to everyone, but I made him come out of his shell by getting up in his face all the time. He didn't like me much at first, but," at this he leans in conspiratorially, "I think I'm his favorite now."

Gray nods along, thinking that that is an awful lot of personal information to give out to a stranger, the kind of information he'd always think twice about giving ever again since his name alone was enough of a giveaway for some woman to make a mess out of his existence.

Natsu just smiles brightly even though Gray didn't make a comment and goes on to say, "You were texting your brother?"

Warning bells ring in Gray's head as he narrows his eyes suspiciously and asks, "How did you know?"

Natsu doesn't hear the weariness in his voice and simply pulls out his phone again and shows him their text thread.

Hey, are you in town?

Yeah, miss me already, bro?

As if. Come over with Pizza and drinks. I'll pay you back when you get here.

"I called you 'bro' and you didn't seem to think that was weird, so I assume you didn't try to text your girlfriend."

Gray pales a little at the thought of having a relationship with a female, but recovers admirably and says, "Yeah, my brother Lyon was supposed to fly in tonight. I don't know if he got a hotel or decided to stay with a friend."

That was actually a lot more information than Gray intended to give, but Natsu hasn't given him a creepy silent stare yet, or called him his 'light,' so for now Gray thinks it's okay. Natsu did just reveal a lot more about his own brother and the apparent abundance of siblings he grew up with in his foster home, so talking a little bit about Lyon shouldn't be weird. At least he doesn't think so. Gray is so caught up in figuring out how much is socially acceptable and safe to reveal to the hot guy that you just met and invited into your apartment because you texted the wrong number and the first impression he got of you must be that of an idiot that he doesn't notice Natsu eyeing him up and down from behind the rim of his glass as he sips quietly for the first time since their little sit down began.

Natsu hmms noncommittally in acknowledgement before asking a little too disinterestedly, "So, no girlfriend?" He looks pointedly at the tattoo of the pretty woman on his right shoulder. Natsu only has one tattoo. So far. It's of a dragon because before Igneel died in the fire he would read Natsu the legends of dragons each night before bed and Igneel promised Natsu he would always be safe because the dragon will always rise again. Natsu still gets a little emotional when he stops to think about those words because Igneel reached a point where he couldn't rise again and although Natsu will never blame him, he still feels a sting of pain whenever someone asks what the words engraved on the red dragon's spine mean since the words are japanese characters. He hasn't gotten another tattoo because he feels that tattoos should symbolize something important and he's never liked anything else enough to put on his body. The tattoos on Gray make him want more though. The work is gorgeous.

Gray shivers slightly as he reaches for another slice of pizza and an image of Juvia and her trays of little Gray-shaped cookies littering his old apartment to 'welcome him to their home,' pops into his head.

"God no," Gray answers vehemently. He sees the puzzled glance Natsu sends to his tattoo of Ur and explains, "Her name was Ur. She adopted me when my family was… when they passed away," Natsu catches the hesitation but doesn't comment on it, "She took me in and my brother before she got cancer. She passed away about three years ago." Almost right before my other nightmare began. I couldn't even visit her grave without being afraid that Juvia might be watching me, he thinks bitterly, only to pause and eye Natsu critically as he tries to assess the level of interest visible in green eyes. He notices that Natsu isn't eating like the world might end anymore and that he's leaning a little closer to Gray over the counter than he was previously and he decides to add the words, "I'm gay," and watch for a reaction from the corner of his eye as he walks around the counter toward his laptop.

He is not disappointed. Natsu chokes on his sip of pepsi and color rises a little on his cheeks as he says, "O-oh. Oh. That's good. Very good. I mean, not good. Wait, no, I mean, it's not bad. Definitely not bad! Just we have to face judgemental assholes so that's why it wouldn't be so good, but it's not bad. It's… interesting," is what he finally settles on and the word comes out high and strangled. He doesn't comment anymore on Ur or his other tattoos, probably realizing each of them has more meaning than Gray is comfortable revealing quite yet.

He's still trying to clear his throat awkwardly and Gray can't help laughing and laughing hard and Natsu just stares for a moment before giggling and soon enough they're both wheezing and it's clear that the soda was a bad idea until Gray has a thought that cuts off his chuckles abruptly and he stares at Natsu slack-jawed as he takes in the wide grin, the toned muscle under the tight black cut-off shirt and the V that leads down his hips sinfully into white jeans.

Natsu notices his staring and stops laughing, albeit with less speed, and asks, "Is something wrong?" He's fidgeting as he asks this, because Gray has a deep stare that could make anyone fidget and he's also not wearing many articles of clothing and Natsu isn't used to being the focus of a stare at that level of intensity.

Gray shakes his head, snaps his mouth shut, and takes another slice of pizza. Natsu gives him a questioning look and Gray mumbles out, "You said, 'we.'"

Natsu doesn't hear him. "What?"

Gray looks at him with an intense dark blue gaze and repeats, "You said, 'we.'"

Natsu doesn't follow. "We what?"

"You said, 'we have to face judgemental assholes,' not just me."

Natsu blushes about as bright as his hair, tugs at his scarf, and says, "Oh."

Gray looks into green eyes and then at pink lips before looking up again. Natsu's breath hitches a little as Gray leaves the laptop behind on the sofa, steps into his space and leans in. Gray really has no idea where all this bravado is coming from, maybe from being thousands of miles away from the woman who would threaten all of his dates, but he's about an inch away from sealing his lips against Natsu's when he asks, low and breathy, "Are you gay, Natsu?"

Natsu glances down at the arms on either side of him that grip the edge of the counter, at the space between their lips, and nods slightly in nervous anticipation. There's only an inch of air in between them and their breaths are mingling and it's stiflingly hot and Natsu is just repeating a mantra of 'do it, please, come on, close the space, close it' in his head.

Gray knows his face doesn't give away his emotions much, at least not often, but he's sure his face is on fire and his apartment is catching fir and maybe the building too or maybe the fire is emanating from Natsu because the confirmation that this tanned Greek sculpture with the bright smile is gay just made every inch between them swirl with heat and one word, one look away, will break this moment. Gray blinks. He's not supposed to give into moments this easily. They just met! Natsu probably thinks he's a creep, nearly nude and getting into his space when they just exchanged names. He takes a step back, smirking to cover his ridiculous overstep in boundaries and his newfound nervousness as he says, "I'll keep that in mind."

Gray walks over to his laptop leaving a gobsmacked Natsu sitting at the counter and asks nonchalantly, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

Natsu stares at Gray incredulously, but Gray isn't looking at him. No, I don't want to watch a movie. I want you to walk your sexy ass back over here and finish what was going to happen 10 seconds ago, you dick.

Gray is looking at his fucking computer screen and probably not at all affected and doesn't feel his heart thundering in his chest like Natsu does. Gray smirked at him and spoke in such a sexy fucking tone and left Natsu there to will his own problem away, the bastard! He'll keep that in mind, huh? Well, two can play at that game. Gray isn't the only one who can handle the cold. Natsu has a naturally high body temperature. Casually, he slips off his top, leaves it on the bar stool, plops down next to Gray and murmurs, "Sure, a movie."

Gray jumps a little out of his own skin when he feels the heat rolling off of Natsu in waves so closely to him and his face undoubtedly burns when he takes in all the newly exposed flesh, the toned expanse of skin and he shifts his eyes quickly back to the computer screen. He will not be a creep. He desperately wants to ask about the absence of a shirt, but he's only wearing boxers so he really is in no position to comment, not when his blush is stretching down his chest. He should be brave enough to ask why someone he just met stripped off his own shirt in his apartment. He should be. He isn't.

Gray's voice is a pitch too high when he asks, "What movie?" and Natsu knows he's riling him up when he sees that telltale blush spreading.

Natsu smirks, dark and wide and leans in to whisper, "Magic Mike."

Gray's eyes widen as his hands type in the words, shaking slightly. No. No way. They can't watch this movie. They really really can't. This movie is about male strippers. There are strippers in this movie. Men with abs taking off their clothes and dancing. Gray is gay. Natsu is gay and hot and half naked and Gray is hardly wearing anything and if he gets hard there's absolutely no way to hide it and yet his fingers are still flying over the keys as if they're trying to pull the movie onto the screen before Gray's mind can finish protesting. Gray can just hide his dick with his laptop, surely, but Natsu is already clicking play and pulling the laptop away to place it on the coffee table and the movie connects onto the big TV screen.

Gray is just about ready to die of embarrassment when the cold makes his nipples harden.

He jumps slightly when Natsu's arm wraps around his shoulder. He looks over at Natsu, wide-eyed, and Natsu smiles. "Sorry, you were shivering. Seemed cold and I'm pretty warm 'n 'stuff."

Natsu shrugs apologetically and turns his head back to watch the movie, but he looks entirely too pleased with himself and suddenly Gray feels an old spark of competitiveness that he hasn't since high school. Pinky wants to play? Oh, they're going to play.

Gray leans in under that protective arm and rests his head on Natsu's shoulder, his chest pressed into Natsu's side, one hardened nub grazing his rib. "Sorry, I guess I was colder than I thought. You're pretty warm." Take that you pizza-shoveling-slick-flirting-idiot!

Natsu blushes bright and looks away. Neither of them mentions that the window is wide open and they can just close it and no one will be cold anymore and that this closeness has entirely nothing to do with the very slight chill from outside. It's not even snowing yet, it's November and this is a flimsy excuse to be this touchy, but whoever mentions it loses this… whatever this is, and neither are willing to back down anymore.

Natsu swallows once, audibly and Gray smiles smugly until Natsu pulls him closer to his chest and says, "I'd love to warm you up." How about that you exhibitionist-stripper-who-keeps-his-windows-open-in-cold-weather-to-give-everyone-a-peep-show!

Gray feels like he walked right into that one and God, they're not even watching the movie. Seriously. This is a waste of electricity at this point. He knows it. Natsu knows it. If anyone looks into his window from the street they'll know it too because the warmth of Natsu's breath is making Gray shiver again and he didn't even have to look at the movie once to reach the state of rigid hardness in his boxers right now.

He's not sure if Natsu knows yet, but he doesn't think he wants him to. He wants to win. Then again, this doesn't feel like winning. Is the prize sex? Because if it isn't then he just wants to lose and go jack off in the privacy of his bathroom. Yet, if he loses and Natsu wants sex as a prize then maybe he should lose. How does he concede defeat? What is the fastest way to get some relief? He could just excuse himself to the bathroom and take care of it, but then he'd take a bit longer than usual and Natsu would know and Gray doesn't think he could physically make himself walk back out of that bathroom unless he was sure Natsu was gone and not likely to laugh.

His thoughts veer off when Natsu's thumb starts drawing circles across his hip, his fingers tracing over Gray's skin dangerously close to his boxers and then dragging lightly up to his waist only to repeat the process. Does he want sex? Is this some sort of signal? Because it's working and Gray wants sex and he has no idea what's going on in the movie at all. He never did. He thinks the only way the movie could actually get his attention at this point is if Natsu appeared naked on screen because if he compares the men there to the rosette, those men fall woefully short in appeal.

Gray nuzzles his face into the crook of Natsu's neck and whispers softly, "I'm still not warm enough." His breath is a bit cold that close to Natsu's skin and it sends pleasant shivers down his spine.

Natsu pulls back only enough to wrap his arms around Gray's waist and lay his own head on Gray's shoulder this time, letting his lips graze the hollow of Gray's neck.

"Still not enough?" he asks, pulling back to look into his eyes. That was a mistake. The hunger in that stare is palpable.

Gray's voice is thick and hoarse when he replies, "No."

Natsu outright straddles Gray, hips meeting hips slightly, making Gray buck up in surprise at the fact that Natsu is in a similar state as him. Natsu whimpers a little at the sudden contact and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, his eyes have something in them that wasn't there before, an almost frenzied look that tempts Gray to buck up into him again.

Natsu takes Gray's earlobe between his teeth, nibbling and sucking softly and whispers into it. "Still not enough?"

Gray is a little frustrated that Natsu's hips aren't aligned with his anymore and groans out his answer harshly. "Not. Even. Close." He's aware that he's panting out the words. He's aware that it's far too fast to be this worked up. He cannot for the life of him bring himself to care.

Natsu feels cold hands tracing their way up the sides of his thighs, skimming the edge of his ass but not quite reaching out to grab it and realigns his crotch with Gray's bringing their erections together, straining the fabric of flimsy boxers and old jeans, making a moan escape both their mouths.

"Close yet?"

Gray has come to the conclusion that Natsu is a fucking tease and that if he doesn't get some relief soon he's going to come in his boxers and that is just unacceptable. Not in his own damn apartment. He will not be sexually frustrated on his third day in town in his own damn apartment.

The, "No," that escapes his throat is more of a growl than an actual word and he distantly wonders if Natsu was able to make out the word as he lunges for that tan throat and sucks on it vigorously, teeth rolling the skin, tongue lapping out to sooth the pain, both hands stripping Natsu of his jeans and ready to tear apart his underwear-

Gray's brain short circuits as he pulls back with Natsu now laid back beneath him on the couch with his thighs wrapping around Gray's hips, blushing and wearing exactly zero pieces of clothing.

"You were going commando." It's not a question. He's not sure why he made it sound like one. He's too occupied taking in the view to think about it. There's a vibrant red dragon with thin patches of black scales every so often, brilliant stretched wings lit on fire, feeding the flames themselves, claws that look like they're digging into the skin of Natsu's hip, a tail that curls once around Natsu's thigh with a dagger on the end of it that seems halfway into his skin, black eyelids framing eyes that are empty and open to flames dancing within the dragon's head instead of irises and Gray traces over it with a fingernail in awe.

Natsu is trying to will away his blush and the tiny convulsions his hips are causing everytime Gray puts pressure against his tattooed skin away when he declares, "You were mostly naked when I got here!" It's a petulant, embarrassing response that he regrets the second he says it because it sounds so goddamn childish but it's true so he feels just the tiniest bit validated.

"It's my apartment." Gray says this with a straight face, but his cheeks still heat up because he invited a stranger into his apartment while wearing only his boxers because said stranger had pizza and he's seriously learned nothing in the past three years. It seems to be working out just fine this time though. This time the stranger is a hot gay man who brought him food and drinks and blushes beautifully. The man part is probably more important than the cute blush. Probably. He's never seen a woman blush with that level of intensity.

"The apartment you invited a stranger into just because he had pizza." Gray is sure Natsu reads minds. He's sure of it. If he does, then Gray is so screwed because he's been thinking embarrassing things for the majority of the visit. Still, he has a point to make.

"And because he looked really sexy." Natsu chokes on air and turns a lovely shade of crimson and Gray feels like he won something. One look down at the way that blush seems to be a full body affliction and the way Natsu's cock rises to the occasion tells Gray he has won something. His mouth is dry and dammit he is thirsty. Very thirsty.

Natsu is still trying to form some kind of response when Gray leans forward and lips collide against his. There's no time to adjust. There's no hesitation or tentative press of lips. It's all writhing tongues and clashing teeth and bitten lips and it's like drowning in the mouth of a stranger but there's no intention of getting to the surface. There's no trying to escape the haze. Both of them can only swim deeper into uncharted waters because this tastes so good, so hot, so right.

Where have you been all my life?

It's a scary thought that nearly makes their movements stutter, but they physically cannot stop anymore.

They're just about to pull back for air when Natsu feels that hardness rut forward against him and his eyes shoot open. When did Gray remove his underwear? Did he just rip it off? However it happened, Natsu lets his hand drift down cold skin, hard abs, and to the length he wants to touch, and decides as he grips it tight enough to make Gray unlatch his mouth and pant roughly, that he wholeheartedly approves. Underwear was not meant for men like Gray with thick cocks. This thing pulsing in his hand was meant to be on full display. It's hot and throbbing and not like the rest of Gray's soft cold skin at all and it's only for Natsu to see right now. Just for him and he's damn near salivating over it.

Natsu's thumb drifts feather light over Gray's slit and he's cursing and dammit it's been way too long because as Natsu spread precum over the head of Gray's cock and starts pumping his length slowly Gray thinks everything Natsu does feels like heaven and he loses what little restraint he had, diving down far enough for Natsu to lose his grip and for Gray to lav and suck at the dragon tattoo, tonguing every centimeter on tan hips, nibbling softly at Natsu's inner thighs, the place where the V line meets the very edge of a rock hard cock that he is not touching in the fucking slightest and Natsu is so close to face-fucking him it's not even funny.

"G-gray…" Natsu lets his voice trail off to bite at the back of his hand and Gray's hand comes up to rip it away from his mouth.

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no?'" Natsu asks, because Gray can't deny him a blowjob after teasing him and having his lips so close, Natsu is too desperate right now.

Gray glares at him, "No blocking your sounds. I want to hear you."

Natsu is too surprised to form an answer and without any further warning, Gray's mouth is around him, soft and warm and his tongue is brushing the underside of his cock, tracing the vein as he bobs his head back up and then sinks back down deep, taking everything in and making Natsu shout some garbled mix of japanese curse words, moans, and Gray's name. Gray lets his cock fall from his lips and Natsu is not proud of the damn keening noise that starts at the back of his throat, but Gray smirks and drags his tongue over Natsu's slit like it's leaking frosting.

Natsu's hands are both coursing through dark locks as he desperately tries to hold himself back. Fuck, it's been years since I got laid. Natsu really doesn't want to come this damn early, because Gray looks like a fallen angel and probably has sex all of the time and if Natsu comes in his mouth after getting blown for three minutes he's going to die of embarrassment.

He tugs at the strands between his fingers. "Gray, wait! N-not, ah, not y-yet-"

Gray pulls off immediately. "What? What's wrong?"

Natsu turns pink again and Gray thinks he better say what's wrong quickly because that blush is making Gray want him even more and he's not feeling particularly strong-willed in this moment.

"I-... 'm close," he mumbles.

It's quiet, and Gray might not have heard him if he hadn't been this close, but it's clear to his ears and this bashful response just shot straight down to his cock. Jesus. This kid is going to make Gray lose all the blood in his body. Gray kisses Natsu, soft and light, and he licks at his bottom lip and Natsu opens up for him and his tongue drags slightly on the side of Natsu's and he feels the shiver that it brings down Natsu's body pressed against him. Natsu puts a hand on Gray's chest and pushes him a little. Gray looks at him in confusion until Natsu pushes Gray back on the couch so that Natsu can straddle him again and Natsu brings Gray's hands to his mouth and sucks in his index finger.

Gray is mesmerized as those lips wrap around his finger and pull back only to kiss the back of his hand and that's such a sweet innocent move that he feels his heart pounding away in his ribcage and Natsu starts sliding his tongue along the flames of his wrist, up the drops falling from red roses, up the colorless vines running up and down his arm and Natsu swirls his tongue more the higher up he gets, reaching the end of the vines, kissing the image of Ur on the forehead and it's so fucking touching and Gray's eyes are watering at the action and Natsu just takes his face in both hands, moving one hand to tangle itself in the hair at the base of his neck, looking into his eyes with green eyes full of sincerity and Gray leans in to kiss him one more time.

His lips press tentatively against Natsu's, it's so slow, so hazy, the kind of kiss that people have on their honeymoon when they promise to spend the rest of their lives together, the kind of kiss that people have when they know everything about each other and trust each other unconditionally to be there through one another's hardships, to weather the storm. This is the kind of kiss, half-shut eyes, desperate and caring expressions, soft touches and slightly parted lips, mingling breaths and quiet panting, that people describe with their soulmates, someone destined from another life. It's like they've known each other forever and that's insane and impossible, but it's perfect. This is not the kind of kiss they should be having three hours after they met.

It's the kind of kiss they're having anyway because neither of them was ever any good at following the rules.

"Gray?" Natsu asks, just a hair away from resealing his lips with Gray's.

"Yeah?"

"I want… I'd like it if you were the one to-... Umm."

Gray's irises are blown so wide that it's hard to distinguish between that and his eye color. "You want me to..?" he trails off, not even capable of saying it out loud.

Natsu nods, left hand still entwined in Gray's hair, his thumb from his free hand tracing the letters across Gray's neck to keep himself from fidgeting.

"Okay," Gray says, tone quiet as if the moment between them might break and shatter if he speaks one decibel too loud.

Gray bring his lips to the corner of Natsu jaw, to his cheek, to the corner of his lips, to kiss him lightly again, light yet insistent and Natsu feels Gray tongue softly prodding at his bottom lip and allows him access only to yelp unsteadily when Gray grabs at the underside of his thighs and brings their bodies flush against one another, picking him up and carrying him to the room, not once breaking away from his mouth.

Time isn't working for them the way it is for other people, every second seems like forever touching skin against skin, rubbing sweat against sweat, and yet the time is flying by faster than they can keep track of it. One minute feels like a mere second and it's not enough, and Gray is laying Natsu on his bed, forearms on either side of the rosette's head locking him in, giving Natsu the impressions of being surrounded by a inked cage of strong, shivering arms that relieve the heated pressure that's been on his chest since Igneel died.

Gray is cold and tastes like gingerbread and cinnamon and vanilla ice cream and the fire Natsu has felt burning away the veins of his heart for years is calming down, a steady sure beat that fills him with peace. This is the best he's felt in so long. He's pretty sure he's going to get addicted if he doesn't stop now. Actually, no, it might be too late for that already. He's never shown anyone the consideration he did to Gray and his tattoo of someone precious during sex. That's the kind of consideration you pay a serious lover. Whatever is here between them, it feels like it always has been, like it's filling a void that Natsu didn't know was there.

Gray brings one hand to Natsu's lips.

"I would use lube," he confesses in a whisper, "but I haven't done this in a long time and I don't have any."

It's dark in this room, but the curtain is slightly pulled back and the light falls in a line across one of Natsu's eyes and it sparkles in the moonlight and it takes Gray's breath away as Natsu takes in one finger, two fingers, three, and coats them in saliva, slowly, nervously.

Gray pulls his hand away, brings his middle finger to Natsu's entrance, rotating a circle around the rim. Natsu mewls quietly and it's torture waiting this long but Gray doesn't want to hurt Natsu. He presses in the first finger slowly and Natsu's breath is coming out harsh and fast and his eyes are closed, his head tilted back so that the moonlight draws a stripe across his throat that Gray drags his teeth across, sucking softly, marking him, and making Natsu moan as he works in a second finger.

Natsu's eyes are half-lidded and so full of need. "Gray… more."

Gray pulls the two fingers back a little then pushes then in deep, repeating the process multiple times, a little faster each time and using his other hands to hold Natsu's hands over his head so that he can't block the mewls and whimpers from escaping pretty pink lips.

He's still scissoring Natsu open when he reminds him, "I told you I want to hear you."

Natsu is panting, "Gray, I need it, I c-can't wait, want it, nnngh, Gray."

Gray brings his mouth down onto Natsu's erection again as he puts in the third finger and even as Natsu whines in pleasure, Gray still feels the wince that runs through his thighs at the intrusion. Gray works him inside slowly, humming around his member, loving the moans that Natsu releases as he comes apart beneath Gray's ministrations. He plunges his fingers deep and curls them upward and chuckles around the head of Natsu's cock as his hips jerk off the bed in an erratic involuntary thrust. Found it.

Gray lets the erection fall from his lips with a pop, it's leaking, and Gray's own cock isn't doing much better and neither of them are gonna last so he wants to make this good for Natsu. He rubs against that bundle of nerves mercilessly and Natsu is twitching and writhing on the bed like if this could escalate into a seizure any minute. Still, he's spreading his legs wider, making room for Gray and Gray's cock twitches at the beautiful sight before him.

"Gray! No- I don't, oh god, not like this, you, ah, need you."

Gray pulls out all three fingers out and the high pitched whine that Natsu gives challenges his level of restraint. He wants to hold out for Natsu. Other people asked a million questions about his tattoos or wouldn't drop the subject when he asked them to. There were guys who tried to make suggestions or that one guy who thought it would be sexy to make out with the tattoo of 'the hot chick on his arm.' Gray has never had someone who knew the significance of his tattoo show such tenderness with it, honor Ur by kissing her image on the forehead and not disrespecting her just because she was on Gray's skin. Natsu is something special.

Gray leans in to lick at the shell of Natsu's ear. "Tell me what you want, Natsu."

Natsu moans at the feeling of Gray's member against his thigh, leaking against tan skin.

"Need it, Gray," Natsu whispers.

Gray lines himself up with Natsu, but he's not pushing in yet.

"What do you need, Natsu?"

Natsu wraps his legs around Gray's waist and impales himself fast and deep and they both groan at the feeling, Natsu at the sudden fullness stretching his inner walls and Gray at the tight heat.

Natsu is panting loud and sucking in rapid breaths, but while Gray's heart is hammering away in his chest, Natsu's heart feels steadier than ever before as he whispers, "Needed you. With me. Inside me."

It's scary that Natsu feels like those words might apply in the morning too. That his heart arrhythmia has never been this calm, that his abnormally high body temperature might complement Gray's cool-to-the-touch skin, that they might just be good for each other. He's really hoping he's not alone in this feeling.

Gray feels his cheeks heating at Natsu's words because he understand why Natsu wanted him inside, Gray was dying to be inside too, but Natsu said he needed Gray with him and Gray doesn't want to get his hopes up if this is just a fling for Natsu. He should have asked beforehand but logic and common sense flew out the window the minute he saw Natsu. He's just hoping he's not the only one harboring this weird emotion in his chest.

Gray is still in deep and he waits for Natsu's breathing to even out a bit before he moves and Natsu jolts because Gray just brushed up against his prostate and Natsu's vision is blurring and Gray pulls out agonizingly slowly leaving just the tip in, then pushing back in and sweating with the effort to make this last longer, to not give in and wreck that inferno because it fucking burns inside of Natsu, but it burns so good.

"You're so hot inside, Natsu."

"S-sorry."

Gray shakes his head, sweat falling from his hair onto Natsu's chest.

"Don't apologize. F-fuck. So good."

They're rocking slowly, lightly, and Gray's cock keep dragging across Natsu's prostate in teasingly slow moves and Natsu moves his hips up to snap against Gray's and Gray grabs Natsu's cock and jacks him off frantically because he's not gonna last much longer than this and Natsu is rutting against him and Gray starts fucking Natsu in earnest, skin slapping against skin, bed creaking and shaking, both of them becoming less coordinated with every thrust that strikes Natsu deep and they're so, so close and Natsu is biting his lip enough for blood to rise out of the cut and Gray is slamming into him at a brutal pace until they're just a frenzy of limbs and biting and sucking and groaning so loudly and then Natsu is twitching violently and scratching at Gray's back hard, and Gray is biting at Natsu's neck at the junction where neck and shoulder meet and Natsu sees white as his eyes roll into the back of his head.

There's a thick stream of white that shoots out, coating Gray's abdomen and leaking with gravity right back onto Natsu's hips and Natsu's walls squeeze the life out of Gray, milking him for every drop he has and he puts both hands against the mattress on either side of Natsu's head, breathing in deep twice before he collapses on top of him, his head lying against Natsu's shoulder, breathing in Natsu's scent mingled with his own and the smell of sex in the room. Both of them are breathing harshly. Gray would offer Natsu a shower, but he isn't sure he can move right now.

Natsu is smiling, satiated, when Gray pulls out and he feels empty for a moment, but Gray just pulls him close.

"You probably want to shower, but I," he pauses to breathe, "I haven't had sex in a long time and I don't think I can get up." He laughs and he sounds winded, "And if you can walk after that, I'll owe you a prize."

Natsu chuckles because he already got the prize tonight and he doubts his thighs can move half a centimeter right now without collapsing on him. He closes his eyes. He wants to ask what this is. He wants to know if Gray will kick him out in the morning. He's too tired to deal with the disappointment he'll feel if that happens. He's not falling asleep. He's just resting his eyes for a minute. Just a minute…

Gray shoots a glance at the snoring man underneath him. He rolls off of him and watches the light from the window cast a strip on his face, highlighting pastel pink hair artfully. Natsu is smiling in his sleep and Gray feels himself smiling softly to match it.

Once he regains feeling in his legs, he goes to the bathroom to get tissues to clean himself and Natsu up a bit. He doesn't think he can stand long enough for a decent shower yet. He tucks Natsu in under the covers and climbs in next to him. He hopes the dragon marked man doesn't regret this come morning, because Gray might be falling for him. He lets his eyes close and feels the hypnotic pull of sleep lure him under.

The Morning After

Gray felt his vision blur slightly and blinked blearily, rubbing at his eyelids until it cleared up. His curtains are open. Why the hell are his curtains open? It's too bright for his eyes to handle this early. He stretches slightly and then-

He is wide awake and reliving the biting and groaning and thrusting of the previous night in his mind. There is a distinct lack of pink hair beside him.

Where is Natsu? Did he leave? Was it a mistake? Did he leave in the middle of the night like the typical one night stand in the movies? Gray doesn't do those. Never has. Is that all this was? Pizza, drinks, a fuck, and goodbye? God, he feels like such an idiot. You don't have sex on the first date! It wasn't even a freaking date. He had sex before the first date like a whore. Worse, at least whores get paid. What is he even thinking? There won't be a date because he put out for a damn pizza and a pepsi that he had offered to pay for in the first place.

Who knew he needed a stalker to keep him from being an absolute slut. Seriously, he feels so cheap. Why would Natsu think it was anything else? Of fucking course it was a one night stand. No feelings. Nothing. The attachment was all in his head, a figment of his overactive imagination, because he's been touch starved for so long and he's an idiot and he got all worked up when it was just one night and-

The shower is on. Why is the shower on? He's not in the bathroom, so-

Natsu is in the shower. Oh thank fuck. The relief that blossoms in his chest is palpable. He should not be this relieved, he really shouldn't, but he can't help it the guy is the perfect blend of cute and funny and sexy and sweet and that blush shouldn't be legal and Gray hadn't had sex in over three years and that was still the best sex he can remember having in his entire life.

Gray is trying to will away his morning wood, because god dammit, you just had sex last night, chill the hell out, when Natsu comes out of his bathroom wearing only one of Gray's new bath towels draped across his hips and water dripping down his chest, a cloud of steam dissipating behind him, pink locks brushed back flattened and still soaked enough to remain still, all lean muscle and taut tanned skin and Gray's erection is going nowhere.

Natsu doesn't notice the bulge beneath the sheet yet. As much as Gray would enjoy having a second go, he wants to make sure that this becomes dating rather than just sex because sex with Natsu is amazing but the glimpse of the personality he saw last night is something Gray wants to see more of, something he wants for himself. He never shared well. He also can't help but notice that Natsu is limping slightly, even though he hides it pretty well and, while that pleases Gray to no end and makes the flood of images flash before him again making it difficult to hide his state, now is not the time.

"I was hoping you wouldn't mind that I used your shower." His smile turns a bit nervous, tugging down at the edges and he looks more at the blank walls and the carpet than at Gray, bringing a hand up to play with the hair at the back of his head sheepishly. "I would go home, but you were sleeping and I- well- I, I wasn't sure if, I didn't know if you- I don't like one time things."

There's that blush again and Gray really needs a cold cold shower and Natsu is looking at him expectantly and- "Oh, I, uh, I thought you left."

Natsu face falls instantly and Gray realizes that could be taken in entirely the wrong way and backtracks. "Not that I want you to leave! I don't want you to leave." His face flames at the begging tone that came out but Natsu is smiling bright enough to outshine the sun and that might be worth the embarrassment.

Natsu is looking decidedly smug when he says, "You don't want me to leave, huh?"

No, I want you to stay forever and possibly move in because otherwise you might meet someone you prefer over me and I may develop homicidal tendencies. Not that Gray would try to force someone to date him; he's had enough unwanted attention to understand the kind of position that can put someone in, but Natsu and him already had sex and he hopes that counts for something.

"No," he admits.

Natsu's cheeks redden, but he grins in spite of it.

"Does that mean I can take you on a date?"

Gray is a little stunned and deliriously overjoyed over the prospect.

"Yes." That was probably said much too quickly, but the way Natsu looks at him, like he just handed him a newborn puppy with a bow and a chew toy, makes him a little warm inside. "Can it be a breakfast date? I don't have food here."

Natsu nods and reaches down for his clothes and stops to look at Gray. "Umm, I need to get dressed." His cheeks are tinged pink as he says this.

"Okay." Gray will not get up. The sheet is the only thing covering him and he's not ashamed to show off his assets but he's hard and this can get really awkward, really fast.

"Could you, uh, not look?" Natsu's blush is spreading and Gray shuts his eyes because he can't afford to get any harder right now. They are going to have breakfast and they are not going to have sex again right now. They are going on a date. A real one. A planned one with other people around that doesn't start with a stranger at his door while he's in his boxers alone. He still thinks that he was too eager to have sex with someone he just met, but in his defence, Natsu is ridiculously attractive, he was tired from moving in and therefore not in his best state of mind, and he cannot claim he regrets it. At all. Best sex of his life.

"Right." His eyes remain shut.

There's a rustling sound of Natsu trying to find his clothes and Gray is pretty sure they're not all in his room, actually they're probably all in the living room and his shirt might be in the kitchen, but he stays silent because he really doesn't want to bring attention to himself. He hears laughter and opens his eyes.

Natsu is bent over, fully dressed, laughing at him.

"What?"

"You just-" wheeze "I thought you-" giggles "would open your eyes once I'd left the room."

He's still giggling when he finishes speaking and Gray can't really be annoyed even if the laughing is at his expense.

Gray glares at him half-heartedly and wraps the sheet around himself and goes to the bathroom. Again, he congratulates himself on the fact that his bathroom is already organized and that he bought towels because if Natsu had walked out of that bathroom naked Gray is sure that a cold shower would not help in the slightest.

One cold shower later, Gray dries himself off and walks into his bedroom to change. Navy blue joggers. Black combat boots. A fitted white sleeveless shirt. His necklace. He walks back into the bathroom to look in the mirror. Should he try wearing eyeliner today? Would Natsu like that? Would it seem too desperate? Fuck it. He looks stunning with eyeliner and once he gets an idea he can't just toss it aside anyway so when he walks out of his room to see Natsu, Natsu is treated to the sight of dark blue eyes lined underneath with dark black that makes them even deeper than before and his heart stops for all of two seconds.

Gray smirks at him, picks up his keys, and heads out the door leaving Natsu to scramble to get up and follow him out. They're out in the hall and Gray is locking the door when Natsu finally speaks up.

"Y… you look good."

"Just good?"

"Hot." It slips out and Natsu knows he probably should have said great or handsome or something that didn't make him blush more than Gray. You already had sex, complimenting him isn't that big of a deal!

"I look hot?" Well, there's no taking it back now. It's already out there.

"Sexy." It's Gray's turn to blush. Hard. And he feels ridiculous for it because they already had sex. This isn't a big deal. Except Gray hasn't dated anyone in three years and for him it kind of might be a big deal because his heart stutters when Natsu blushes or smiles or moves one centimeter closer to him and it hasn't even been twenty-four hours and he's already in too deep to back out.

"Hey do you mind if we stop by my place so I can change clothes?" Gray is a little bit suspicious because Natsu sounds a little too happy about the prospect of simply changing clothes but he agrees. Which is why he's entirely confused when Natsu goes away from the stairwell on the fifth floor of the building and heads to and apartment door labelled 5A.

"What are you doing?"

Natsu glances at his expression. "What? Oh!" He smiles sheepishly. "I live here. Did I not say that?"

Gray isn't sure what he's feeling, overwhelmed, giddy, nervous, like he just won the fucking lottery because his potential boyfriend lives in the same building, but-

"So you thought Laxus was on the sixth floor?" It doesn't seem plausible and he really doesn't want to doubt Natsu because he likes him a lot, but if this becomes another Juvia situation he thinks he might just go live under a bridge somewhere.

Natsu just opens the door. "Well, yeah. I mean, a lot of us moved here straight from home because of the rent. Laxus is the only one that left 'cause a lot of us were pretty mad about what he pulled on Freed, but he said he was coming back to the city and I just thought-" Natsu hesitates, and Gray has calmed down enough to nod encouragingly, "Freed really misses Laxus. I mean, Freed was the first person here we made friends with and he really loves Laxus and Laxus is an idiot thinking that Freed should date some rich asshole who can provide for him as if Freed can't take care of himself." By the end of his rant Natsu looks unbearably frustrated with this Laxus, and Gray can't help wondering how many times this Freed guy called Natsu asking about Laxus, sounding hopeful and miserable. Gray feels his heart melt a little at Natsu caring this much about his friends. Even Gray is hoping that Laxus will return if it makes Natsu look less irritated. He feels like he's violating people's privacy, but despite himself he's curious.

"What exactly did Laxus pull on Freed?" It can't have been that bad if Freed is still hung up on him or if Natsu is still hoping Laxus will come back.

At this Natsu scowls before he takes a deep breath, like some zen practice for relaxation and calm, and continues. "The thing is," he starts as he heads into his room and opens a drawer, "Laxus isn't exactly gay."

Gray can see this is going to be a very dramatic discussion. Whatever Laxus did probably is that bad if it has to do with denying his relationship because he's still a closet case. "What do you mean 'not gay?' He was dating the other guy, wasn't he?"

Another deep breath from the rosette as he pulls off his shirt and puts on a fitted and faded pastel green henley shirt and pulls out some ripped blue skinny jeans.

"They didn't technically date. Technically." Natsu blushes a bit as he changes his jeans, but Gray is looking away so Natsu goes on. "Laxus doesn't find men attractive. The only guy he ever looked at twice is Freed."

Gray gets it. He's heard of it. People who get shocks to their sexuality much later in life than they expected and can't handle it. He's sure that will never happen to him with a woman, but he supposes some people have their exceptions. He stays silent and Natsu goes on as he pulls on some pink socks and white Timberlands with black soles.

"Laxus got the place across the hall from Freed and they became friends. Freed fell for him pretty hard, but Laxus was straight so Freed respected it. Kept quiet. Kept his distance, kind of. One time I called him and he was crying because Laxus brought Mira to his place and the whole floor could hear them." Natsu pulls his scarf back on. He's pretty much done getting dressed and now he's just sitting on his bed talking, silently asking Gray to sit by him by patting the bed as he tells him about his friends.

"Sounds painful." Natsu nods.

"At one of Cana's parties, some guy from The Sabertooth Complex was giving Freed a little too much attention and Laxus was so drunk he took Freed back to his place. When he woke up the next day he apologized to Freed for having sex with him. Said that it was an honest mistake and joked that with Freed having long hair and all, he could be mistaken for a girl."

Gray would be beyond offended if Natsu had apologized for having sex with him, but probably more hurt than anything else. However, long hair, does not a girl make. So, this Laxus screwed up pretty bad, but still, not that bad. He probably didn't know the guy was in love with him.

Natsu looks angry at this point in the story and Gray reaches out for his hand. Natsu smiles softly before his lips return to their grimace, though it is less pronounced than before.

"Freed just took it in stride. He didn't want to make it weird and lose Laxus completely, even if it meant calling me and crying when I brought him coffee." He shakes his head. "But after that, I guess Laxus realized that his feelings for Freed weren't friendly. He got drunk a lot more and it was almost a weekly thing, him waking up next to Freed, Freed calling me an hour later choking back tears." Okay, Gray realizes it isn't just bad, it's cruel. Natsu is still going on though and how much worse can it get? "I set Freed up with my other brother, Rogue, but Rogue is just silently pining for Sting and that didn't work and Laxus got pissed at me for it and tried to fight me in the lobby and I was so angry I yelled out that if… if he could just go fuck Freed properly without kicking him out the morning after he wouldn't have to be throwing a jealous fit like a kid when someone else plays with their toys." Natsu looks regretful and Gray squeezes his hand because he probably would've done something similar.

"People don't always mean to say the things they do when they're mad."

Natsu shakes his head.

"Freed was humiliated and Laxus, the bastard, moved out when he saw Freed crying for the first time. He's called me since then, to talk about his feelings for Freed, to apologize, to try to make sense of what he wants, but he told me that Freed is from a good family and us kids we're just… we're just foster kids. He thinks he's not good enough for him. I finally got Laxus to agree to move back and he was in a hotel a couple days ago, just drove into town, and I was in the next town over a couple days ago, so when I got a text I thought-"

"That he was back."

Natsu looks at his feet when he mumbles, "Yeah."

"He'll be back. You don't go to the same person every time you get drunk unless there's real feelings involved."

Natsu is silent for a while, then he leans in to kiss Gray's cheek and Gray flushes in surprise. It's Natsu's way of silently thanking him for being positive about Laxus since Natsu is too protective of Freed by now to not have doubts.

"We can go to the coffee shop down the street for breakfast if you want. They have good waffles, I promise."

"What if I'm allergic to waffles?"

Natsu looks like that's the worst thing that can happen to anyone in the world ever and Gray laughs and hurries to assure him, "I'm not allergic to waffles."

The exaggerated look of relief that graces Natsu's features makes Gray laugh harder.

"That was mean," he replies with a pout as he pulls Gray by the hand to the front door and locks it behind them.

Gray can't help the small smile that stretches across his face. He's smiled more in the past twelve hours than he had in the previous three years. It makes him smile wider, the realisation that he's still capable of smiling at all making him giddy.

They're in the lobby when Natsu grabs Gray's hand and everyone is staring and there's a huge wave of congratulations. Natsu is grinning widely and looking at Gray every few seconds with a look that's about five percent apologetic and ninety-five percent possessive, like he's claiming Gray right here in front of the growing mass of tenants and he's sure that he just heard some big muscular guy say the development is manly and he was sending a picture to a group chat. More people are coming down the stairs and some blonde girl that might be in her late teens is squealing that Natsu finally found someone and that she just has to write about this. Some girl who is swaying like she's drunk, and who the hell gets drunk this early in the morning, is yelling that Natsu scored a real hottie and that he is welcome to come to her parties anytime and she's pretty much leering at them. Some guy with far too many piercings is answering his phone and telling whoever is on the line that The Salamander finally got some when Gray feels like he'll spontaneously combust from not having enough space in his head for all of the blood rushing to his face and he hauls Natsu through the horde of tenants to the outside and runs to the cafe, Natsu following behind him.

He's the tiniest bit out of breath when they get there but they did get across that block in about five seconds flat.

Natsu is still smiling like the cat that got the cream and Gray wants to wipe that smug look off his face so he leans in to kiss him. He's panting slightly and that has the effect of making it a wet messy kiss that's more twining tongues and intermingling breaths than anything else and it looks entirely too pornographic for a kiss in front of a coffee shop where a couple of children are staring at them with wide eyes and pink faces from behind the glass window.

Natsu doesn't complain though. Natsu just pulls back with a groan and opens the door to let Gray inside the shop. Gray's cheeks heat up slightly at the gesture because he's not a girl and he glares at Natsu, but his glare doesn't have any heat behind it because Natsu is smiling softly at him with a look of… tenderness and it pulls at something warm in Gray's chest that makes his blush more pronounced than it was a few seconds before.

They're still holding hands.

Natsu is headed for the end of the small line to the cashier when he stops abruptly and asks, "Freed?"

A tall lean man in a faded red henley shirt that is at least twice his size and he is absolutely drowning in and thick white sweatpants cinched at his waist that are tucked into his burgundy UGG boots with bows lining the back of them is sitting alone at the corner booth with bags under his eyes, two empty cups of coffee, a latte in his hands, and what can only be described as a small mountain of sweet desserts, looking generally miserable. Gray takes in the sight of the man that he now knows way too much personal information about. The man is by no means unattractive. The guy could probably win modeling competitions against either gender, he just looks exhausted. And has green hair. Somehow the red outfit doesn't clash with the light shade and it softens his tired look a little since, even as obviously depressed as he is, he still took the time to at least match his shirt to his shoes and wear decent looking sweats.

Freed looks at their hands, and Gray braces himself for another congratulatory outburst, but Freed only nods at him tiredly in greeting and tells Natsu, "I ran out of coffee in the apartment."

Natsu's confused expression morphs into one of concern and soon enough they're sitting at the booth with Freed with Natsu telling him, "You can't stay locked in your apartment forever, Freed! You need to eat, you look like you've lost ten pounds in the last week alone and you never wear comfortable clothes outside or- or eat this many sweets in a day." He grabs a muffin and takes a bite out of it as he says this and Gray rolls his eyes. "When's the last time you had any actual sleep?"

Yeah, this guy is definitely rich. Only rich people struggle with the idea of wearing anything comfortable in public. Freed is listening to Natsu, looking guilty but silently sipping on his latte and staring out the window in a small show of defiance like if he's saying I know I'm miserable can we stop declaring it so loudly, please. Gray tugs at Natsu's sleeve and Natsu turns to look at him, only to follow Gray's irritated line of sight and see people hurrying to look away as he glares at them with an icy cold stare.

Natsu is about two seconds from telling off everyone in the place when Freed's latte drops onto the floor making a huge mess. Natsu opens his mouth to ask what happened when, at that moment, the bell at the front door signalling the entrance of a customer rings and Natsu and Gray turn to see blond hair and then-

"Laxus."

Freed whispers it with trembling lips and watery eyes like a desperate prayer. His eyes are locked on Laxus, unblinking as if he fears Laxus might disappear again if he looks away for half a second. His hands are clutching at the dangling sleeves that cover them from view because he's restraining himself from just rushing at the blonde man and Gray can see him shaking with the effort to remain in place and a part of him feels a tiny bit of rage for the hulking idiot in the doorway for hurting the green-haired guy this bad.

Gray is also slightly concerned because Natsu's hand is gripping his tighter and tighter by the second and he may fracture a bone at this rate, but he squeezes back because one glance at Natsu makes him proud that the rosette hasn't launched himself at Laxus ready to punch his face in because Natsu is the one who always saw Freed cry and he can't imagine what that must have been like.

Laxus doesn't appear to even notice Natsu or the man he's holding hands with. His gaze is locked on Freed's. There's a dead silence in the store in which people hold their breath, feeling the tension in the air, waiting for some kind of confrontation, but Laxus takes one step forward, then another, and then he's rushing towards Freed and wrapping his arms around him and saying, "I'm sorry, Freed. I'm so fucking sorry," as he hides his face in Freed's shoulder.

Freed is frozen in shock for all of five painful seconds before he moves to hug Laxus back, even as he fails to understand. Freed is clutching at the back fabric of Laxus' shirt, but he's still upset and angry and he says, "I looked everywhere for you."

It isn't until he hears the raw tone of his voice that he realizes there's tears streaming down his face and that it's hard to form words or be angry when he's so damn relieved that Laxus is here again, that he can see him again and that Laxus doesn't hate him. Natsu can only be so reassuring and it's difficult to believe the man you love isn't disgusted with you when he refuses to fucking pick up the phone, is that so hard?

Freed knows he sounds broken and fragile and he hopes Laxus doesn't hear it, but of course he does because no one ever read him as easily as Laxus could and his voice right now is a dead giveaway.

Laxus hears Freed's voice catch and pulls his head up to kiss him like he needs to feel his lips against his own more than he needs to breathe and Freed loses himself in Laxus because Laxus is like electricity incarnate, beautiful, dangerous, and something you can't imagine living without once you've had it.

He's dazed, light-headed when Laxus pulls away and says, "I fucking love you."

Freed is too choked up with years of emotions to answer, but he still tries and a small sob escapes his throat with his efforts and Laxus kisses him again before saying, "Shh, it's okay. You don't have to say it. I heard the messages."

The messages. Right. The ones where Freed let Cana smuggle him some whiskey when Natsu was out and got too drunk to remember that Laxus left because of Freed's feelings in the first place and calling him to leave love confessions in his voice mail was a stupid idea. Except, Laxus is here and telling him he fucking loves him and it's too much to process in a public goddamn area.

Freed wraps his arms tightly around Laxus' neck, breathing him in with closed eyes because he really fucking missed him and he will fight anyone who tries to separate him from his thunder god.

The moment is broken by a loud "whoop!" courtesy of Natsu who is still holding Gray's hand and seems to need to prove that they too can make out in a cafe full of people which earns him a punch to the shoulder from Gray, which he returns and it escalates into a brawl that gets them kicked out of the store before either of them get the chance to order breakfast.

Outside, Gray blames Natsu.

"You're the one who punched me!" Natsu protests.

"You wanted to make out in front of all those strangers!"

"You kissed me before we went inside like if we were still in bed!"

Gray blushes at the reminder but yells, "You shouldn't kiss people because you want to show off!"

"Me? Show off? You're the one who took off his shirt in a cafe, you exhibitionist!"

Gray looks down at his body, now fully displaying his upper body for the world to see.

"Dammit!" Gray didn't mean to. He really didn't. "Look that wasn't on purpose."

Natsu blinks a couple times before the statement fully sinks in. "So… it's like… some stripping habit?"

"It's not stripping, idiot!" Ur used to take him and Lyon to the mountains, full of snow, to hike. He and Lyon got used to the cold weather and going back to town afterward always resulted in a need to shed excess clothing in the heat. This city has even more sun than he got back there and Gray doesn't know how much worse his habit can get.

"It's taking off your clothes," Natsu deadpanned.

"Yeah, but-" Gray pauses to rearrange his thoughts. "The weather is just a lot hotter than I'm used to, okay?"

Natsu just smirks because he's wearing a freaking scarf and can deal with the weather just fine, but then he leans in and kisses Gray, just a quick peck and declares, "I can kiss my boyfriend whenever I want."

His boyfriend. Natsu's boyfriend. It has not been a full day since they met. Still, Gray has already become familiar with the story of Natsu's brother and his friend Freed. Most, if not all, of the people in the building now see him as Natsu's boyfriend. They already had sex which he cannot sanely complain about in any way, and Natsu has a fucking ethereal smile so why the hell not? It hasn't been a full day and he's already infatuated with him. He hasn't told him too much about himself, but they live in the same building and there'll be time for that later on and based on the way Natsu looked after Freed and talked to Laxus even through his anger, he knows Natsu will understand his past, especially coming from a foster home. They have some things in common that make Gray a lot more hopeful than he would be starting off with anyone else. And Gray told him about Ur so much earlier than he would have ever felt comfortable telling anyone new.

Gray pulls Natsu flush against him and kisses him, a kiss that is slow and gentle and soft and lingers.

"Then I can kiss my boyfriend whenever I want, too."

Natsu just nods dazedly, still staring at Gray's lips, silently demanding more.

The people in the cafe probably can't decide which couple they should be staring at more, the behemoth of a blonde man and his green-haired partner as they embrace each other desperately or the pink-haired guy outside kissing a shirtless tattooed man in the middle of the sidewalk.

Neither pair notices their stares anymore. They're each in their own little worlds.