...it's been a very, very long time. Hopefully, you all have read the author's note I posted earlier. There's a lot of explanation for my absence in there. But I am back for the time being, so I hope this series hasn't been completely forgotten.

Here is Chapter 15

Title: Fire and Ice

Rating: M

Genre: Romance, Supernatural, Horror

Summary: They were opposites. Light and darkness, fire and ice. They were destined to tear each other apart, yet something else happened. They were drawn to each other eternally and nothing could separate them. This is the tale of the masters of fire and ice.

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster

Warnings: Gore, Masochism, Sadism, Implied Cannibalism, Psychological Problems

Relationships: Gray/Natsu

Author Notes: This is a new mini-series called War. I hope you enjoy it.

Part X-I: War

"War is not the only arena where peace is done to death. Wherever suffering is ignored, there will be the seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages." ~Aung San Suu Kyi

I stared at the bodies on the ground and the man covered in blood.

The man's eyes narrowed as he rose to his feet, a deep frown on his face. His pale, almost ethereal skin seemed to glow as he tilted his head to the side.

"You're late."

I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair. "Traffic was terrible on the way here. I'm sorry I couldn't get here on time."

He stared long and hard at me before shaking his head. "That's fine. Help me load these up to the truck. I can only carry things with one hand right now."

"Why? What happened to the other one?"

Endless obsidian eyes fixed on me in a piercing stare. "You know what happened, Natsu. Your idiot self had to worry me, so I had to rough them up a bit. I may have torn something in the process, but I'm not overly concerned about it."

Rolling my eyes, I approached my partner and knelt beside what remained of the nearest body. "Did you have to be so rough? You know we have to dispose of them afterward."

"I thought they'd kidnapped you. I was angry."

Scoffing, I stared at his broad, leather-covered back as he pulled a hatchet out of his backpack and began to work on dismembering the body closest to him. "You overreact way too much. If I had been kidnapped, I'd have killed them all in the car."

"And then we'd have even more of a mess to clean up."

I leaned against his body and dug my nails into his neck. "You know you like it."

"Hn." Gray elbowed my stomach in an attempt to push me away, but I pressed my weight harder into his body as I laid across his back. "Idiot. Get off of me."

"Mmm. No. I'm quite comfortable here."

Gray growled and arched his back, drawing the hatchet towards him and scattering blackened blood on his shirt. "I can't get what we need from this body if you're laying on top of me, Natsu."

"You'll find a way, I'm sure." I leaned close and dug my nails deeper into the scarred flesh of his neck, intentionally drawing blood and pressing close to lick it away.

His breath hitched at that moment, and he turned to give me a long, hard look. The blade in his hands stunk of rotten flesh and sour blood, but the spark of lust in his eyes was strong.

"What did I tell you," he murmured, slowly rising to his feet and advancing on me, "About interrupting me while I work?"

I smirked slyly, running my tongue over my exposed teeth. "You know you can get pounds of flesh for us elsewhere."

"You fool," the raven growled, his eyes two burning shards of obsidian. His aura flared out around him, declaring the venomous, monstrous strength of its mater to the world. "Nothing seems to get through that head of yours."

I tilted my head to the side and stuck my tongue out at him. "You know you like it."

With a sudden snarl, Gray surged forward and slammed me into the wall, the force behind the attack no doubt bruising my skin.

"You're asking for a world of trouble, little monster." He leaned close, pressing his weight into me and baring his teeth.

I squirmed in his iron grip, narrowing my eyes at him. "You'll be doing the same if you don't finish what you were doing."

Gray's eyes narrowed as he tilted his head and stared at me. "You're awfully mouthy today, aren't you?"

"I'm hungry. Hunger does things to a person, you know."

"We're going to eat soon. Just let me finish here, you impatient little dragon."

I rolled my eyes and pushed against the weight of his body, which was still looming on top of me. "Little dragon? Then what are you, if I'm a dragon?"

Gray huffed and straightened to his full height, but not before pressing his lips against the side of my neck, dangerously close to the thick, sensitive scar. "You love to taunt me, don't you? You're a distraction."

I leaned against the wall and scratched at a thick scar on my arm. "Just finish already or I'll go mad with hunger."

He growled and nodded at my hand. "Stop scratching at that before it bleeds. Mavis, you're like a little kid."

I groaned and shifted my weight from one leg to the other. "Just finish already, would you?"

"Then eat this," the raven growled, throwing an arm he had severed from the corpse before him at me. I caught it midair, glaring at my partner in irritation.

"It's dirty! You messed it up!"

Gray narrowed his eyes and stuck his hand out. "Then give it back. I'll save it for later. We can't afford to have food go to waste, not right now."

I frowned and brought the arm close to my eyes, tilting it to the side. "You're not even going to eat this, are you? It's gonna go to waste."

"I can clean it later. And didn't I tell you to load the rest of the bodies?"

"I was about to do that."

"Sure you were. Give me the arm back, go do what I told you to do, and meet me by the truck."

When he finally stepped into the icy evening air, all was still and glazed with darkness.

The dark, sleek metal of his truck reflected the light of the risen moon, a deep and nearly sinister obsidian that gleamed white in the cold light that bathed it.

"Natsu?"

He paused in his steps, narrowing his eyes and focusing his hearing. His hands twitched, but he forced himself not to go for the handgun attached to his waist.

"Natsu. Answer me."

A faint shuffling sounded, followed by something that sounded like a muffled cough, almost alarmingly close. With a growl, Gray silently unhooked the handgun from his belt and clicked off the safety. Moving as quietly as he could, the raven-haired man crept around the bed of the looming truck.

A wave of irritated relief washed over him as the violent salmon hair of his partner appeared in his line of vision. But Gray's demeanor darkened as the sound of violent coughing met his ears, and with a sigh, he clicked the safety on and shoved the gun into the holster at his waist.

In front of Gray, Natsu was hunched over, his hands braced on his knees as he continued coughing violently.

"Natsu." The raven-haired man placed his hands on the pinkette's shoulders, running them up and down in an attempt to calm his partner down. "Breathe with me and calm down."

"Easy—for you—to say." Two watering emerald eyes fixed blearily on the raven-haired man, who was staring intently at him. Natsu moaned and trembled harshly, swaying on his feet.

"Come on." Gray kept his arms around the shaking man's shoulders, gently guiding him towards the looming truck. In the darkness, the metal beast seemed to leer at the two men.

"Let me...catch my breath," Natsu gasped, wincing as pain traveled through his body. His knees buckled as he began to cough again, dry and heaving hacks that shook his body.

Gray was silent before he slid off the pack he had on his shoulders, keeping his partner steady by leaning him against his body as he opened the main compartment and took out a water bottle. Unscrewing the cap, he held it out towards the trembling man's lips, ignoring the flare of pain that shot down his bad arm.

"Drink."

Natsu glared at the man, attempting to straighten to his normal height. "I'm not a child, Gray."

"Either you drink some water or I'll force it down your throat in the most painful way possible."

The pinkette remained silent as he took the bottle and drank, watching the raven with a defiant spark in his emerald eyes.

Gray huffed and moved to rest the pinkette against the body of the truck, slipping his hand into his jacket pocket and taking out the keys to unlock the vehicle. "Stay there for a minute. I'll put everything in and then help you get settled."

"Mmm-hmm." Natsu leaned heavily against the massive black metal body, shutting his eyes and running his hands over his throat.

Gray sighed and watched the pinkette for a few minutes before turning to head back into the house. After a brief moment, he came back out with a large and bulging black bag and his other backpack on his shoulder. There was a faint grimace on his face, and Natsu noticed the man favoring his bad arm.

"Quit staring at me and get in the truck," the raven growled, hefting the bag up with his knee to brace it on his chest as he threw it into the gaping darkness of the trunk.

Natsu's mouth twisted into a pained smirk as he watched the pale man's movements. "Aren't you supposed to be helping me?"

The raven froze at that and sent a scathing glare towards his partner, but he acquiesced and slammed the trunk shut, moving towards the pinkette and slipping an arm around his waist. With a grunt, Gray opened the passenger side door and pulled up the smaller man while bracing their bodies with his other arm, shutting the door behind them.

Natsu huffed as they both sat there sharing the same seat, taking a silent pleasure in the strange coldness that was his partner. But then he noticed the way the raven was breathing and turned to look at him. Perspiration gleamed on his skin as he hunched over in his seat, running a hand over his chest.

"You need to rest, Gray. Your breathing is hoarse again."

The raven's dark eyes narrowed as he shifted uncomfortably. "I'll be fine. I need to take care of you first."

Rolling his eyes, Natsu poked the man in the side of the head and smirked at the irritated hiss. "Don't argue with me. You need to take care of yourself."

"Says the person who was hacking up a lung earlier." But the pale man tightened his grip on his partner and rested his chin on the bed of salmon hair. "Hn. You need to cut your hair."

Natsu huffed and rolled his eyes, sinking further down into the pale man's lap. "With what, the hatchet you use to dismember bodies? We didn't exactly stock up on barber supplies before the world went haywire."

Gray hissed out an unsteady breath and shifted in the seat, shutting his eyes. "Yeah, well. It wouldn't hurt to cut this mane before it gets too out of hand. I can't have you looking like a lion."

Natsu smirked up at the man and poked him in the side once more. "But I'd be your lion. Don't you want a beast for a pet?"

Obsidian eyes blazing, the raven lurched forward and had their positions switched, ignoring the pain in his hand and the uncomfortable tightness in his chest.

"You're really trying to mess with me, aren't you?" Gray growled, a manic light shining in the bottomless depths of his gaze. "Manipulate me into doing what you want, are you?"

Natsu's smirk widened into a feral grin and he leaned up so their noses were almost touching. "Manipulate you? Why, I would never."

"You're a liar. A complete and utter liar." Gray leaned even closer, the tips of their noses now touching. "Admit it."

"I didn't mean what I said." Natsu pushed at the raven until he moved, switching their positions. He nuzzled the pale man's cheek and stared him in the eye. "You know I didn't mean what I said. There's a bit of truth in my words, but you know I've always been a little bit of a compulsive liar."

Gray sighed and pulled the man closer, enough that their foreheads were touching. Natsu murmured something and tried to pull away, but the raven snarled and yanked him back, pressing their lips together. He kissed the pinkette in the darkness, where the world pared down to the strange icy cold-burning hot heat of the moment. His hand slid along the smaller man's side, fingers darting over the scar on his lower torso.

Natsu moaned into bloodless lips and shifted, pressing their bodies closer together as he straddled his partner's waist. Words were murmured—softly, then violently, with a feverish passion and longing and anger all rolled into one—between their barely parted lips. Gray memorized the other man's body—every inch, every centimeter, and every piece of it he could—all the way from the scars to the muscles and tendons to the way his skin felt rough yet smooth at the same time. He memorized as much as he could while they were cradled in darkness because he was, in all honesty, too anxious to see what might happen if they were exposed to the sun's rays.

In the darkness, it would only be them and that was more than enough.

With a deep, longing sigh, Natsu pulled back from the raven and rested their foreheads together once again. Their breathing was harsh and heavy in the confinement of the grumbling truck as they stared into each others' eyes, endless obsidian meeting gold-flecked emerald orbs.

"We need to get back."

The pinkette rolled his eyes and rested his head on the other man's broad chest, sharpened nails flitting over the man's sculpted torso. "Not right now. I'm fine right here."

Gray shuddered as burning lips trailed over the skin of his neck and collarbone, fisting his hand in bright salmon hair as his eyes fell shut. "Natsu...we shouldn't. The others will be wondering where we are."

"Come on," the emerald-eyed man whined, wriggling on the larger man's lap. "Gray, you just murdered an entire gang. And don't lie to me when I say it took a toll on you." He leaned closer and pressed their bodies together, his lips ghosting over pale, icy skin. "And my condition doesn't make things easier, you know. We need to rest."

"Natsu, you need to—to stop," Gray panted as those unnaturally hot lips moved lower on his body, pressing burning kisses through dark fabric. "I can't—we can't do this right now. Natsu, I swear, if these bodies make my car smell bad, you're going to pay for it."

The pinkette growled and dug his nails into his partner's skin, eliciting a deep groan. "With what? More bodies? Or do you want me to raid an abandoned convenience store for the cheapest air freshener I can find?"

Eyes snapping open, the raven jerked forward with a grimace, his breath catching in his throat.

"Gray." Natsu frowned when the man didn't answer him immediately, scooting back on his lap and placing his hands on the man's shoulders. "Gray, what's going on? Talk to me."

"I'm fine," the taller man growled, shoving the pinkette off of him with pain twisting his features. "I'm...I'm fine." He glanced away and stared out of the window at the darkness surrounding them. "I don't mean to worry you. I'm sorry."

Eyes wide and all but glowing in the moonlight, Natsu bared his teeth and glared at the man. "What are you talking about? You don't have anything to apologize for. You know we both—"

They froze as the shrill cry of a cell phone tore through the tense and sudden silence.

Letting out a furious snarl, Gray reached into his back pocket and slipped out the phone, putting the call on speaker and holding it out between himself and the pinkette. "This had better be good, Seith."

"Good? When have I ever given you good news? I'm more like a bringer of semi-good news, don't ya know?"

"Talk or I'll hang up. I'm not in the mood."

The man on the other end of the line laughed wildly before speaking in a hoarse whisper. "You're late giving your report. The Master's gonna be really angry, to say the least. I suggest you get back as soon as you can."

Gray twitched as he felt the pinkette's mouth return to his neck, feeling a wave of uncharacteristic heat wash over him. Forcing himself to keep his breathing at a normal rate even as a hot, wet tongue passed over his scars, he all but glared at the phone and growled out a response. "What else?"

"As observant as ever, I see. The storage unit on Berkely was raided. A lot of our teams stationed there were executed. You know what that means."

Obsidian eyes met green as the pale man snarled deeply. "I'm on my way. Contain the scene. We don't want any others thinking they can do whatever they want."

"I'm not your servant, ice boy. You'd best remember that. I'll relay the message, though, if it means I won't be a fried man." The phone beeped as the Seith man hung up.

"Damn it, Natsu. Stop," Gray groaned as the pinkette rocked his hips against his own, the fist he had in his vibrant salmon hair threatening to pull out a handful of hair. "Stop it. We have to go."

Natsu growled against Gray's chest, which was now exposed to the cool night air. "Don't wanna. You're mine, Gray. Ain't nothin' gonna change that."

"I know that, you hotheaded fool." The raven drew himself up and forced the pinkette to move, sliding over into the driver's seat. "You'd better behave. You know how they are."

The pinkette frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not promising anything. They're all stupid, anyway. And you know I don't like stupidity."

"You must not look in the mirror often." Gray didn't meet those wide emerald eyes as he took the truck out of park and pulled out of the now-abandoned house's driveway. The headlights were the only source of light in the otherwise pitch black road.

"You can be really rude sometimes. I hope you know that."

Gray chuckled and shook his head. "So can you."

Natsu couldn't refrain from grinning as he leaned back his seat and closed his eyes. "Just shut up and drive."

"As you wish, my lady."

"Shut up."

I really like this installment. Like, a lot—so this may become a full-fledged story. No promises, though.

The next installment is almost finished, so I hope to have that up soon.

If you haven't already, please read the Author's Note I posted about a month ago. It explains why I was gone for so long.

Please review and don't feel afraid to leave constructive criticism, comments, suggestions, or ideas!