I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters

* 8 years old*

The guild hall was rowdy as usual in the quaint town of Magnolia. Of course, the townspeople were used to this kind of behavior from the resident guild. But everyone, even the guild mates, could feel something big was going to happen that would change their lives forever, they just didn't know what. The master, Makarov, was leading a small boy who looked to be around eight, towards the guild. The boy was walking alongside the older man, excitedly gazing up at the place known as "Fairy Tail".

The doors swung open to reveal tons of mages drinking and messing around. Everyone instantly looked to the guild doors where their master stood and then all eyes looked at the young boy in surprise. There were quite a few things that stood out about this young child. One, he was wearing a scarf in the heat of midsummer, and two, he had spiky, pink hair that stuck out in all directions. Master Makarov let the kid explore and showed him around. He was introduced to many people, but two particularly stuck out to the child. One was a young red haired girl named Erza who wore armor and gave off a threatening aura, and the other was a young raven haired boy named Gray who seemed to put on a façade of confidence and superiority, not to mention a stripping habit. Eventually, Makarov asked, "So do you like the guild, Natsu?" The boy now known as Natsu smiled a genuine, huge smile and replied, "Yeah! It's awesome! I wanna join!" And from that moment on, the guild would never be the same. Natsu would change so many lives, especially a certain raven haired boy.

*Gray's pov*

Natsu and Gray lay panting next to each other by the riverbank. They had finally called a truce for one of their many infamous fights.

"How do you act so strong, Natsu? I know Igneel left you in the forest before you came here, but you're always happy." Gray whispered.

"I'm not strong, not yet anyways but I will be, and then I'm gonna find him, and ask him why he left me. I'm sad, but I have people like you now so I don't really need to act like anything." Natsu turned and smiled broadly at Gray, who turned away with a tint of pink to his cheeks.

"Whatever, I was just curious, so what the hell are ya smilin' for?" He grumbled while looking at anything but Natsu. Natsu chuckled and stood up. He reached a hand out and helped Gray to his feet.

"Nothing," Natsu replied, "Let's go back now Gray." Gray watched Natsu walk a little ahead of him. There was something different about the pink haired idiot than the others he talked to. All he knew was that he didn't want to lose Natsu like all the others in his past. He couldn't let Natsu get too close because everyone who did died, and he couldn't let that happen.

*12 years old*

Gray lurched awake screaming with wide eyes. The rain could be heard pounding on the roof. He glanced around nervously, taking in the room. Deliora wasn't here, it was a nightmare. Lightning flashed from outside his window. He took in huge gulps of air, trying to calm down. Thunder boomed then, making him jump. Then he heard a creak near his door. He grabbed his covers and hid, shaking with fear. The door creaked open and he could hear someone walk in. He put his hands together, ready to attack, when the covers were ripped off his bed. He screamed again and started the natural hand motions when a warm hand grabbed his wrist. He instantly calmed down and looked up into onyx eyes that were filled with concern. He could feel his eyes tear up just by seeing a familiar face. They weren't here, they couldn't get him.

"Gray? Are you okay?" Natsu whispered. He could feel the tears start falling and closed his eyes in an attempt to prevent them from escaping, but they refused to stop. Gray felt Natsu sit on the bed and hug him. A small voice reminded him to keep Natsu at a distance, so he attempted to shove the pinkette away from him, but Natsu just held on tighter.

"Natsu let me go. I'm fine. Just leave me alone." He whispered. He felt Natsu loosen his hold, and for a second he actually thought he convinced Natsu to stay away. But then he was gripped even tighter. He could feel Natsu shaking from frustration.

"Why? Why won't you let me help you? I know you're hurting and sad. Why are you so insistent on pushing me away?" Natsu angrily whispered. Gray turned and looked at Natsu with wide eyes. He wants to help? Natsu's eyes were shadowed by his bangs, but anyone could tell he was pissed. Natsu looked up at him and onyx met cerulean. Gray could tell Natsu was never going to give up just by the sheer determination in his eyes. That's when he realized that it was already too late. Gray sealed Natsu's fate that day by the river, because that's when he became his friend. No matter how hard Gray could try to distance himself, Natsu wouldn't stop caring.

"So, are you going to tell me why you're scared?" Natsu gently asked. He reached out and wiped Gray's tears off his cheeks. Gray looked away and nodded while Natsu moved so they were looking eye to eye. He smiled encouragingly for Gray to speak.

"I had a nightmare. It was about a demon called Deliora. He was the demon who ruined my hometown and killed my parents. I was taken in by Ur and Lyon after they found me in the rubble. I had heard news of where Deliora was and went to take revenge, but Ur ended up saving me and Lyon, killing Deliora but dying in the process. In the dream, he was back, and Ur died for nothing. He was here in Magnolia and everyone in the guild was failing at trying to kill him, most of them dying as well. No one could beat him! Everyone died! Erza and the master! You even died! I was left all alone and he turned his gaze on me. And that's when I woke up," he cried. Natsu hugged him and reassured him that he'd be okay and that he would always protect him. Eventually Gray's crying subsided as he slowly started to drift back to sleep. Natsu tucked him back into his bed and got up to leave.

*Natsu's pov*

"Sweet dreams, Gray," he whispered. He turned and started to walk towards the door when he felt a tug on the back of his vest. He turned around and looked at the sleepy ice mage. He could see the fear in his eyes even as he drifted off.

"Stay with me… Please," Gray mumbled. Natsu nodded and climbed in next to Gray and pulled the covers up around them. Gray curled into Natsu's side and fell asleep almost instantly. Natsu watched him sleep peacefully before drifting off himself.

Natsu woke up and rubbed his tired eyes. He sighed and looked up.

"What the….? This is not my ceiling..." he muttered. Sunshine poured in through the window. He moved to get up and found that he couldn't. He glanced down and noticed that Gray was sleeping on his chest. That's when he remembered what had happened last night and how he got here. He lay back down and waited for the ice block to wake up. Soon the ice mage's eyes opened and looked at him. They made eye contact and Gray smiled, then shock spread across his face as he leapt completely away from him.

"Natsu?! What the hell are you doing here?!" he exclaimed as he blushed. Gray moved his hands to the all too familiar hand positions and Natsu paled, not wanting to fight this early. He raised his hands up in surrender before taking a deep breath.

"Gray. Listen to me, this isn't what it looks like, I swear. I-I-I didn't do anything, there was a scream and I knew it was you, so I came here and you were crying, so I tried to cheer you up after you told me your nightmare, but I failed and you still asked me to stay, so here I am," Natsu blurted out in a rush and then let out a sigh. Understanding dawned on the raven's face. He noticed Gray instantly relax and flop onto his back on the bed.

"What am I going to do about you now?" Gray muttered aloud. Natsu laughed and Gray couldn't help but admire it. Natsu leaned over so his face was above Gray's and smiled one of his infectious smiles, which soon had Gray smiling too.

"Nothing, you're going to accept that I will never leave you alone. We are friends after all, right?" He said as if it were obvious.

"I'm going to the guild. If you wanna come, better hurry and put some clothes on." He walked out and to his own room to change before heading out.

*Gray's pov*

The storm from last night had passed; he could hear birds chirping from outside. The sun was streaming in and he knew it was going to be a beautiful day. He stayed where he was for a minute or two, just thinking about how Natsu always seemed to be able to make him smile effortlessly. He jumped up and got dressed quickly to head to the guild with the pinkette. When he got down to the first floor of the guys' dormitory, he saw Natsu leaning against a pillar waiting with Happy. He walked up and shoved Natsu playfully. Natsu quickly regained his balance and started walking alongside him.

"Hey! Watch it, ice block! I may have to kick your ass like usual!" Natsu said, obviously teasing. He smiled while Gray just raised his eyebrow.

"You're gonna kick my ass? I'd beg to differ, flame brain." By the time they got to the guild, they were on the verge of a full out brawl. A dark aura sent shivers down both of their spines. They turned simultaneously while subconsciously moving towards each other and saw their red headed friend standing there with a scary expression and hands on her hips.

"H-h-e-y, Erza. We um, we were just m-messing around so don't k-kill us," Gray stuttered out.

"Aye," Natsu hastily replied. Erza regarded the two suspiciously before her menacing aura dissipated.

"Well then, good morning to you two. As a warning, I will not hesitate to punish either of you if you misbehave." With that, she walked into the guild hall. They looked at each other and sighed in relief. For a twelve year old girl, she could be seriously scary.

"That was close. Well let's go!" Natsu said while walking into the guild as he followed close behind. Gray sat down near Erza and Natsu and knew that if they weren't here, Gray would never have been able to be this happy. Soon enough, Natsu had started a fight between almost every guild member. Natsu's eyes connected with Gray's, making them both smile until a stool smacked into Gray's head, causing him to scowl and join the brawl, stripping off his clothes without a second thought. Over all the noise, Cana could be heard yelling.

"Gray! You're clothes!" she reminded him, but the comment went unnoticed by the raven, who was smirking, already immersed into the fight. She smiled, letting the subject drop for now. Meanwhile, outside the guild hall, a shadowy figure watched and waited for the perfect moment, willing to be patient for years as long as he succeeded in getting what he wanted.

*present day ~ 18 years old*

Gray sat on a guild stool with a bored expression. He had left the dormitory a year or two ago when Natsu had decided to move out and get his own place with Happy. Now they lived in their own apartments, so they came to the guild at different times. Then there was always Lucy, who Natsu was with a lot because he was the one who brought her to join. They were all great friends, but he couldn't deny being a little sad that he couldn't be with Natsu as much as they used to be as kids. He let out a sigh of exasperation. All of a sudden, he was hugged tightly from behind.

"Oh god, don't tell me it's…" He thought to himself just as the person spoke.

"GRAY-SAMA! I just got back from a mission!" she said while still hugging him. He cringed internally, why of all times did Juvia have to show up now? Before he could reply, the guild hall doors were kicked open. His eyes immediately flew to the door, already having an idea of who it was. Sure enough, in walked the pinkette with Lucy and Happy in tow after completing a mission as well. Natsu was smiling broadly like usual while Lucy was complaining about him going overboard again. Natsu was going on about how it wasn't that bad while looking around the guild. Gray couldn't help but watch them. Juvia noticed him looking at them and immediately got a competitive gleam in her eye.

"Lucy is my love rival!" she muttered darkly. He didn't like Lucy like that; they were good friends, so he just ignored Juvia. Erza sat down next to him, pointing out how loud Natsu was, and Gray couldn't help but agree with a small smile. Natsu was still looking around, but when he looked in their direction, he immediately made his way over with Lucy on his tail.

"Hey ice block, Erza," Natsu said while smiling and plopping down at the table. Lucy waved and sat down as well. Gray looked at Natsu, he was smiling but it seemed like he was forcing it too much. At that moment, Natsu glanced over; their eyes met and concern was clearly present in the onyx orbs. He cocked his head slightly in a form of a question as Natsu leaned over towards him. Gray leaned over as well to hear what he was going to say. None of this little telepathic communication went unnoticed by Erza and Lucy, who shared a look of understanding.

"There's going to be a huge thunderstorm tonight you know," Natsu whispered hurriedly. Gray froze for a second but Natsu didn't seem done talking.

"Do you think you'll be okay? I mean, I know you can handle yourself, but still, it's supposed to get really bad." Natsu finished and looked him in the eyes, still worried.

"I'll be fine, I'm sure. It's just a thunderstorm," he whispered to Natsu. He knew that the dragon slayer was talking about the nightmares he always had when thunderstorms would occur. Natsu used to come and stay with him whenever a nightmare occurred, but now they lived separately. He wasn't going to make Natsu watch over him, it was just a storm after all. So he smiled a small smile while still looking at Natsu to reassure him. Natsu slowly nodded in understanding before looking towards Lucy and Erza. They all talked together for awhile about Natsu and Lucy's mission, but then the sky darkened and the temperature started to lower. Gray felt a chill run down his spine and he got a bad feeling about tonight. He looked over at Natsu again only to find he was already watching him, in fact, all three of his friends were. They all seemed worried about him. He must have looked freaked out.

"Gray, are you sure you'll be okay? You look really scared," Lucy asked.

"I have a bad feeling that something's going to happen," he whispered to them. All of their eyes went wide. Erza put a hand on his shoulder.

"How do you know that, Gray?" she asked with gentle concern. He wasn't sure how to explain it to them.

"Well, ever since I was younger I had certain premonitions before something big happened. I never knew what but I just felt it before it actually occurred." Everyone was shocked; he had never told anyone ever since he found out about it. Natsu was the first to act and immediately their eyes met.

"Do you know anything else besides that something will happen?" Natsu held eye contact as Gray shook his head. Natsu ran a hand through his pink locks, frustrated.

"Okay, here's what I think we should do. Erza should go tell Gramps and then he can warn all the other guild mates. Everyone can stay in groups for more protection, like when Phantom Lord attacked. Meanwhile, the dragon slayers should stay on guard for anyone who seems or smells suspicious. We can even ask Freed to put up a barrier to keep people with bad intentions out of Magnolia, right?" Gray was actually impressed that Natsu came up with a concrete plan.

"That's a good plan, but Freed's barrier won't work against people already in the city, so everyone should still stay on guard." With that, Erza took off to go tell the master. Natsu sat down next to him.

"So do you know anything about this power?" He looked over at the pinkette and could see something in his eyes that he couldn't quite place. He shook is head, feeling useless.

"But you've known about it since before we met?" He could definitely feel something about Natsu that didn't make sense. He nodded swiftly, and then he understood. Natsu was angry; he had an edge to his voice that Gray rarely heard.

"So you had a premonition before Lisanna died? And before Phantom Lord attacked? And you didn't even tell us that something might happen?" Natsu's bangs covered his eyes, but his mouth was set in a grim line.

"Don't be mad, I didn't even know if it actually meant anything until after they occurred, after that I realized they must actually be connected. I never really believed before, it just sounds crazy!" Gray pleaded for Natsu to make eye contact. But regretted it when the dragon slayer looked at him. He saw so much pain in those eyes that his heart broke just seeing it.

"Don't worry Gray, I'm not mad. It's all in the past now anyways." He continued to look into Natsu's eyes, worried. Natsu suddenly grew distant and knowing him, he was thinking of ways he could have saved her. He was like this when she first passed away two years ago.

After being informed of the plan and groups, and once the barrier was set up, the guild dispersed. Gray, Natsu, Erza, and Lucy were going to stay at Lucy's, so that Natsu would be near the center of town to keep track of people that were potentially dangerous; he was one of the dragon slayers after all. They reached the apartment in no time. Erza immediately got into the shower, while the rest stayed in the main room.

*Natsu's pov*

He couldn't help dwelling on the fact that he could have saved her, he should have told her not to go. He should have- Gray's hand was resting on his shoulder, the chill instantly bringing the pinkette back to reality. Just as he started to realize where he was, a hand slapped him in the face. Lucy came into view and she had tears in her eyes. He could hear Erza singing in the shower.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" he turned to see Gray sitting there staring at him as well.

"You were thinking about things you can't control. I know that girl Lisanna was your friend, but she's gone, and she is and will be missed. On the other hand, we have a situation happening right now! You should be worrying about the people who you can still save if you just concentrated!" He put a hand to the stinging cheek and took in what she said to him.

"Maybe you shouldn't have slapped him," Gray suggested, "I mean he seemed-"

"No it's fine. She's right. I have people that are important to me in danger that I should be worrying about." He looked up with a new determined expression. Lucy looked smug while Gray still stared. All of a sudden, he sensed something off. He could feel Gray staring at him and starting to freak out when the ice mage noticed Natsu was focused.

"Natsu, what's happening? Do you sense something?" Gray asked hurriedly. Immediately, Lucy stopped messing around, growing serious. Natsu's eyes narrowed dangerously as he moved towards the door. He locked it and headed into the kitchen to lock the windows. He had locked the last one and was about to go back and lock the ones in the other room when he heard a thud come from the direction he was headed in.

"Gray? Lucy?" he called out but got no answer. He walked into the other room cautiously and instantly saw Lucy being held by a figure in a dark hooded robe. She was gagged and her arms were bound but she was still struggling against her captor, eyes filled with fear. He then noticed another figure dragging Gray to the window Natsu hadn't locked yet with a hand over his mouth. Gray jerked away and managed to say a warning, but it was little too late.

"Natsu! Look out!" was all he heard before his vision went black.

*Gray's pov*

He struggled against his captor as he saw Natsu hit the ground with a thud. The hooded man signaled the others to follow him out. The one holding Lucy shoved her to the ground violently, and stepped on her head, grinding it into the floor. The man passed by Natsu and picked him up by his hair then slammed his head into the wall, making a dent. He dropped Natsu and his body slid to the ground, slumped over. Gray struggled even more, seeing how they were treating his friends.

"Stop messing around, he's out cold, let's go. We got what we came here for," he heard his captor said, obviously in charge. The other man nodded and followed him out, but not before spitting on both of the weakened mages and knocking over some furniture. He could see Lucy crying with blood dripping from a wound on her head. He reached out to her as his captor knocked him out cold.

*Erza's pov*

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her wet body. She then wrapped another towel around her head and left the bathroom.

"Whoa. What happened? Did Natsu and Gray get into another one of their brawls?" She glanced around taking in the disaster, wondering where everyone was when her eyes immediately landed on Lucy, who was squirming towards her. Her eyes narrowed and took in Natsu slumped against the wall with blood streaming down his face. She knelt next to Lucy and untied her.

"Lucy, what happened and where is Gray?" Lucy hugged Erza tightly while sobbing.

"It was so horrible! They came through the window and grabbed me and Gray, and then Natsu came in and they knocked him out with a metal baseball bat! They threw me to the floor and grinded my head into the ground, and then they slammed Natsu's head into the wall! I-it left a dent… then they spit on us and took Gray away!" She cried. Erza set her on her bed and went to check on Natsu. He was bleeding profusely from somewhere on his head. She called the master informing him of the situation and told him to get Porlyusica, and grabbed up Natsu and Lucy, trekking to the guild.

*Gray's pov*

He woke up in a dark cell all alone. He instantly panicked and his breathing became irregular. He jerked his hands but found he was chained to the wall and floor with cuffs that prevented his magic from flowing. Shit, what did he get dragged into? He then heard an eerily familiar voice that he couldn't quite place.

"Rise and shine, Gray," the voice mocked. "Tell me, where is it?"

"Where is what? Who are you?" Gray could barely see anything in the cold cell, not that the cold bothered him. He tried to think about where he had heard the voice before but he just couldn't remember. The voice broke his concentration and spoke again.

"You don't remember me? I'll admit that hurts a little, but not as much as you lying straight to my face. I know you know where it is." He heard a threatening undertone to that sarcastic comment. Even if he wanted to tell this guy where whatever he was looking for was, he couldn't. He didn't even have the slightest clue as to what this idiot was going on about.

"Look, I seriously have no idea what you're talking about," he spat out.

"I guess it can't be helped. We will just have to force it out of you then." The voice cackled as he heard approaching footsteps.