Gray walked hand in hand with his sakura-haired boyfriend. They had just gotten back from a mission, and were greeted by hellos and people signing to Natsu.
*-Flashback: 9 years-*
A young boy, about 7, ran around aimlessly as he called out for his father.
"Igneel! Igneel!"
The boy then collapsed to his knees and proceeded to cry. A raven haired boy and a red-headed girl happened to round the corner just in time to see the boy. They both ran over to him and kneeled down. If it weren't for his hightened sense of smell, he wouldn't have known anyone was near him. He looked up and watched as the two mouthed words he couldn't understand. Then he realized they weren't mouthing words, they were probably talking.
"You have to tell us your name, or we can't help you." The girl said. But, unbeknownst to her, he didn't have a clue what she said. The two kids watched the boy wave his hands in front of his ears. Erza sat still for a minute before understanding.
"Gray, he can't hear." The ravenette, now known as Gray, stopped trying to question the boy and looked at the girl.
"What do you mean he can't hear, Erza?"
"He's probably deaf, you dummy."
She held a hand out to him with a smile. He wiped his eyes and hesitantly took it. The three of them walked to an apparent guild in the middle of Magnolia, called Fairy Tail. They walked in and everyone looked and were about to greet them, but stopped when they saw the pinkette trailing behind them; hand in hand with Erza. She walked to a little man, shorter than all three of the kids that stood in front of him, and explained everything to him, as Natsu shrunk under all of the attention he was getting.
"Does anyone here know sign language?" The man asked. A few people, including a little bluenette, raised their hands.
"Levy, are you fluent?"
They watched the little mop of cerulean nod before jumping up to the boy (Italics are for signing)
'Hi! My name's Levy! What's your name?'
'Natsu. What is this place?'
'This is our guild!'
'Who's the little man behind you?'
'That's our master, and the two that brought you here are Erza and Gray, Gray being the boy, and Erza the girl.'
'Oh, okay.'
'Do you know any magic?'
'Yep! I'm a fire dragon slayer. What magic do you do?'
'Script magic. I'll show you later, though.'
"Levy, does he do magic?"
She nodded.
"He's a fire dragon slayer!"
The older guild members gasped as the younger ones cheered at the thought of a new playmate.
"Ask him if he wants to join in, please, Levy."
She nodded once again, and asked him. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
'What color do you want your guild mark?'
'Red!'
'Okay, where at?'
'Right shoulder.'
Master stamped it on, and Levy signed 'Welcome to your new home'. He smiled, signing a thank you, and turned to Gray. He raised an eyebrow and tapped his shoulder. He turned and looked to where Natsu pointed.
"Crap!"
Even though Natsu had no idea what he said, he still laughed with the others.
*-Flashback ends-*
Natsu felt a squeeze from his left hand. He looked up at Gray and smiled, recieving a smile in return.
'Are you hungry at all?' Gray signed to him. He shook his head 'no' and laid with his head in Gray's lap. He felt the vibrations of Gray's chuckle, making him laugh, too. Gray's fingers combed through his hair and his other hand holding Natsu's. after about 20 minutes, he was almost asleep, but he felt a tap on his leg. He opened his eyes to see Wendy looking at him with excitement.
'What are you doing over there, Wend?'
'Look what I found! I thought you might like this mission!'
She showed him the paper, and he read over it; smiling after he read it all. He showed the paper to Gray, who nodded, and the same for Erza, Lucy, and, since he knew he was bored, Gajeel. They all went their seperate ways to pack. When they got to Gray's apartment, Natsu started to get really giddy. He bounced around as he packed, and hopped in place while Gray finished packing. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to meet his boyfriend's confused, yet smiling, face. Natsu smiled brightly, and Gray grabbed his hand, guiding him out of the apartment, and Natsu almost forgetting to lock the door on the way out. About 35 minutes later, they'd all met up in front of the guild doors.
"Ready to go?" Erza asked. Everyone, including Natsu, knew what she'd said, since she said it slow enough for him to read her lips. They walked to the train station and boarded the train to Oshibana Town. It would only take them a few hours to get there, so they'd be there by 7 a.m. But, they didn't mind, since the mission was going to be starting tomorrow at 5 p.m. What's the mission, you may ask? Well, the mission called for a few sign language interpreters. They said even if they couldn't hear, themselves, they would have a proctor for them to read off of and sign for the crowd. That's why they were all perfect for the job. They'd be stationed around the building for different things. It was around 2 a.m. when Natsu, Gajeel, and Gray were the only ones left awake. Gray tapped Natsu's shoulder with his hand, earning Natsu's full attention (he's laying in Gray's lap).
'Am I the only one still not tired?'
Natsu giggled and nodded, followed by a yawn. Gray stroked his hair and chuckled as he watched Natsu's eyes droop. Gajeel, laying in the seat next to them with Wendy on his stomach, chuckled along with Gray. He shifted and buried his face in Gray's shirt. Gray propped Natsu's head up a bit, using his knees, and had an arm around him. After about 10 minutes, seemingly seconds for them, Natsu was asleep. Even though he was deaf and asleep, both of the guys waited before saying anything.
"He's so weird." Gajeel stated simply. Gray laughed and nodded in silent agreement.
"You know, Gajeel, he's always saying how you help him behind the scenes with everything."
He blushed, unbeknownst to Gray.
"What do you mean?" He asked; feigning innocence.
"Especially these past few months... And you know exactly what I mean."
Gajeel laughed.
"Touché... But what do you expect, he's like my little brother."
"I know, all you dragon slayers seem to treat each other like family, from what I've seen... Except Sting and Rogue."
Gajeel laughed again, making Wendy shift from her original position.
"That made the new day better. What time is it anyways?"
Gray pulled out a communication lacrima and looked at the screen.
"It's 2:45 a.m."
"Wait, seriously? Doesn't seem like it."
"It does to me."
"Why don't you go to sleep then?"
"We'll be off the train in 5 hours, what's the point?"
"You got a point there. I'm sleeping though."
"Alright, I'll wake you when we're there."
After a few minutes, Gray was the only one awake. Around 4 a.m. Gray tapped Natsu's shoulder.
"I'm gonna get some coffee. I would have you sit up, but that's not a good idea."
Natsu chuckled and nodded.
"Will you get me a bottle of water?"
Gray nodded and ruffled his hair.
*-Time skip to 7 a.m. because I can :)-*
Gray had almost been asleep, but the train came to a stop and announced their stop. Erza and Lucy were awake, and Gray reached over to wake Gajeel. Natsu sat up next to Gray and rubbed his eyes, as he had only gotten 2 hours of sleep. He stayed awake with Gray becuase he didn't want him up by himself. As they exited the train, Wendy asked Gajeel to carry her, to which the older slayer gave in, and Natsu held onto Gray's arm with a grip.
"So, Erza, which inn are we staying in?"
"Oshibana Inn. How many rooms are we going to need?"
Gray looked around and quickly paired everyone up. Erza and Lucy in one, Gajeel and Wendy in another, and then Natsu and himself.
"3 rooms."
She nodded and they walked the rest of the way there. When Erza had given them their room keys, they dispersed. Natsu and Gray walked into their room, put their bags down, and laid on the bed; almost immediately falling asleep. But, not before Gray set an alarm for 4 p.m.
Natsu scooted closer to Gray, and he wrapped his arms around Natsu. Even though he couldn't hear, Natsu loved to feel the music vibrations from stereos and speakers, and always had a habit of humming them at random times. He wasn't bad, either. He remembered the vibrations from quite the number of songs, and that's how the two of them fell asleep.
*-Another time skip just because: 4 p.m.-*
The alarm went off from the bedside table, and Gray sighed as he turned over; smacking the old alarm clock that sat in its place. Natsu shifted with him, and now laid partially on top of him. Gray sighed and slowly moved him off and onto the side of the bed. Noticing he and Natsu were still in their clothes they wore on the overnight train ride, he decided just to wake Natsu and take a shower.
"Come on, Natsu, get up." He said to himself. His eyes opened and looked at Gray. He opened his arms and Gray laughed at his childish anticts. Picking hims up, he carried him into the bathroom and left him to get ready, as there was a knock on the door.
"Hey, Erza."
"Good, you're awake. Are you getting ready?"
"We're taking a shower now."
Erza chuckled and patted his shoulder.
"We leave in half an hour."
Gray nodded and closed the door, joining Natsu in the shower.
"Gray?" Natsu signed. Gray nodded for him to continue.
"Do you know where we're being placed in the building?"
"No, why?"
"Well, I mean, if you're not in there with me, how am I supposed to know what they're saying? What to translate?"
Gray put the shampoo into his hands and started to scrub the top of Natsu's head. After his head was soaped up, he rinsed the soap off and traded him spots; letting Natsu into the water.
"You worry too much. They have a prompter for you to read off of."
Natsu smiled and leaned his head into the water and Gray washed his own hair.
*-Time skip to after the mission because I can again-*
The mission had gone well, and they ended up getting a tip in their reward! But now they were on the train halfway home. Gray and Natsu had fallen asleep.; Natsu's head in his lap. Erza, Lucy, Gajeel, and Wendy smiled.
"They're so cute!" Lucy squealed. The others nodded in agreement and looked out their windows at the now rising sun.