12-21-2012... The Mayans ended their calendar on this day, and some fanatics theorize it was a prophecy that the world would also end. I hope not, because there are many stories I want to write, plus I'm flying to my hometown for Christmas on the 22nd. There are many people I wish to hug before the end of the world.

Disclaimer: The world can't end until Hiro Mashima finishes Fairy Tail. After that, then it's okay.

The Last Day on Earth

a Fairy Tail fanfic

by Rhov

The seaside town Team Natsu stopped in was in the midst of a festival. Lanterns burned, drums pounded, and the aroma of a dozen food vendors came over whiffs of smoke. Bonfires ringed with joyous dancers lit the night, while children chased one another wearing paper masks. Erza had somehow made her way atop one of the stages and pounded a rhythm on a massive drum with her scarlet hair pulled back in a whipping ponytail. Lucy danced with some cute local boy who could not stop staring at her bouncing chest. Happy was an oddity to these villagers, so they showered him in fish. The poor Exceed's belly had already grown twice its normal size, and he looked well content by all the attention. Natsu helped to restart one of the bonfires after he devoured the flames. Then he joined a drinking contest. He was still conscious, so he did not lose, but he also could barely walk.

Tipsy and flushed, the dragon slayer stumbled away to find a toilet, or at least a bush far away from the festival. He thought he found a nice copse of trees, but then he heard heated moans from a couple of young lovers. He giggled at their sexy sounds and politely moved away.

"Gotta pee, gotta pee!" he said, hurrying to find some other spot. He was ready to just piss against a wall.

Instead of trees, he found himself by the coast. He shrugged, walked out onto a creaking dock, unzipped his pants, and whipped out his "little dragon." He sighed loudly in relief and watched the moon reflecting on the ocean. He shook out the last drops, then put it away. He spun to leave, but almost fell over.

"Whoa, wouldn't do to fall into a pissy ocean," he laughed, steadying his feet before continuing along the dock.

He saw a faint glow in the darkness and looked over to some rocks on the edge of the coastline. He squinted in the dark. A normal person never would have made out a face from merely the embers of a cigarette, but Natsu saw just enough.

"Oi, stripper," he hailed.

Gray said nothing. He exhaled a stream of smoke and kept his eyes forward. Natsu stumbled his way over, climbed up on the mossy rocks, and flopped down beside the ice wizard.

"You're missing one helluva party," Natsu told him.

"Not interested," the raven-haired man muttered.

"Is something wrong? Did some girl dump you? Did you confess to Lucy and she turned you down?"

"It's got nothing to do with a girl, and I don't like Lucy that way."

"You just have the look of lost love."

Gray gagged out some cigarette smoke and shouted, "The look of what?" Natsu...flame-freaking-Salamander-Natsu...was talking about reading facial expressions?

"It's what Mira calls it. I don't really get it," Natsu admitted with a casual shrug, "but she points it out every time someone has a breakup. You have the same face."

Gray puffed hard on his stick in agitation. Was he so easy to read that even Natsu could see there was a problem? "I haven't dated anyone in ages, so there's no way I could lose what I don't have. Then again," he muttered pensively, "I suppose it's really easy to lose what you've never had."

Natsu suspiciously eyed him. "Are you drunk?"

Gray returned the caustic look. "Are your eyes really that squinty? What makes you think I'm drunk?"

"You're getting that Drunken Philosopher tone of voice that Macao and Wakaba get when they drink too much."

Gray scoffed softly. "I haven't had a drop tonight. You, on the other hand, smell like the bottom of Cana's beer barrel."

"So why don't you come to the party?" Natsu urged, tugging the ice wizard's white coat. "Come on, you're still totally dressed. That means something has got to be bugging you."

Gray pulled away sharply. "I just...need to think. It's an anniversary."

"Huh? Yours?" Natsu hummed and thought about it. "I thought you said you weren't dating."

"Idiot! Read the atmosphere." Gray growled softly and looked back out to the ocean. "It's the anniversary of Ur's sacrifice."

Natsu jolted at hearing that and swallowed hard. "Oh" was all he could whisper. The air suddenly felt a lot colder. "She's the one who died fighting Deliora, right?"

"She didn't die," Gray insisted. "She was turned to ice, and when Lyon melted Deliora, Ur went out into the ocean."

"Oh, I see. I... Oh shit!" Natsu cried out. He suddenly fell face first onto the rocks, bowing as low as he could get in such a precarious location. "I'm so sorry, Gray!"

The ice wizard raised an eyebrow and glanced over. "What's with you?"

"I took a leak in the ocean just now. I just pissed on your mentor. I'm so sorry! I'll never pee in the sea again."

"Sheesh, you're an idiot," Gray sighed.

"So, are you feeling gloomy because of the anniversary? I would've thought you'd get over it."

"Nah, I was just thinking," Gray mumbled. "Did she have anything left unfinished? Was there ever something she always wanted to do but never had the chance? She must have known when she came to rescue me, there was only one way to defeat Deliora. She probably knew it would mean her demise." He swallowed hard as he felt the heavy weight her sacrifice placed upon his own life. "What was running through her head? I mean, sometimes we go into fights knowing we might get injured, even killed, but...but what if you knew for certain? What if you knew without a doubt that your time was limited? What if...if it was me?" he said softly, gazing at the silvery waves. "What sorts of things do I want to do before I die?"

The dragon slayer squirmed a little in his seat. "Gray, are you not telling me something?"

"Hm?" Gray looked over in confusion.

Natsu tucked his chin down into the scarf. "Are...are you...dying?" he whispered faintly.

"What? No!" Gray yelled. "No, I'm not..."

"Because if you are..."

"I'm not..."

"Then there's something I always wanted to tell you."

Gray's mouth clamped shut. "Something...you...what is it?"

Natsu pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them. "I know we fight all the time, but..." While the dragon slayer considered his next words, Gray felt his heart almost stop, and each labored beat pounded so hard it shook his whole chest. "You...you're... Sheesh, how do I even say this?" Natsu mumbled. After another moment of thinking, he said, "You're the closest thing I have to a brother."

Gray's mouth dropped at that. Croaking gag noises came out, but he could make no distinct sound.

"But I don't think I want to consider you as a brother," Natsu decided.

That enraged Gray. "What, am I not good enough?"

Natsu looked over solidly at him. "No, you're too good. You're way more than a brother. I don't know what sort of title that would even be, but...more-than-a-brother, yeah," he decided. "I like you way more than that."

"Wait, whu-... Like? You like me? I thought you hated me."

"I do. And I like you. So I tend to think of it as something like sibling rivalry between brothers, only closer than a brother."

Gray sighed and dropped his head onto his knees. "You really are drunk."

"Yeah," Natsu laughed with honesty. "So if it was your last day on earth, I'd want to tell you that. Oh, and tell you that you should go see Wendy, because if you're dying then maybe she can heal you."

"I...am...not...dying!" the ice wizard emphasized.

"But that's only if it was your last day on earth," Natsu corrected. "If it was my last day, I'd want to find Igneel, give him a great big hug, and thank him for teaching me everything. Then I'd want to beat Gildarts in a fight."

"Idiot!" Gray mumbled. "You wouldn't be able to find Igneel in a single day, and you need a hundred more years before you're close to Gildarts' level."

"Well, that's two things I want to do before I die."

"I'm not talking about your bucket list. I mean if death was sneaking up on you, if there was no tomorrow. Isn't there anything you'd want to say to people? Maybe...maybe something you'd want to do with people, with the ones you love?"

"Sure, fight them so I can die a winner."

Gray threw his hands up in the air and gave up on the flame-brain. "Yeah, because dying a winner means everything, right?"

"Well," Natsu mumbled quietly. "There is one other thing I want to do before I die, but it's really stupid."

That piqued Gray's interest. "Oh? Tell me."

"Nah..."

"Come on. What could a flame-brain possibly want to do?"

Natsu turned his head to the side. "Promise not to laugh?"

"No," Gray grinned. "Tell me anyway. Maybe it'll cheer me up."

Natsu twisted his hands together. "I want to...well, you know...I wanna try...kissing."

Gray waited for a few seconds, but the dragon slayer said nothing more. "Kissing...what?"

"Kissing!" Natsu snapped. "Just kissing. Sheesh!"

"You mean you've never been kissed? Ever?"

"Igneel used to give me a lick before bedtime."

"Ew..."

"But that probably doesn't count."

"Hell no! That's just gross. But...well..." Gray scratched the back of his neck. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that you've never been kissed, but I would've figured that someone along the way would have grabbed you and given you a smooch. Really? Nobody?" he asked, not sure he could believe that. "Didn't Lisanna or Erza ever give you a childhood kiss?"

Natsu hummed and rolled his eyes up as he thought back over the years. "I think Lisanna said she kissed me in my sleep once, but I wasn't awake so it doesn't count. I want to kiss someone, a really good kiss, something that makes fireworks go off and leaves my mouth tingly...that sort of kiss. It doesn't matter who it's with."

"Of course it matters!" Gray shouted in anger. "You can't have a kiss that awesome with just anyone. It has to be someone you really like."

Natsu pouted and stared out at the glittering ocean waves. "That doesn't leave too many people. Lucy, Erza, Cana, Lisanna, Mira, Elfman..."

"Elfman!" Gray bellowed. "But he's a guy."

"It's okay if I want to kiss guys too, right?"

Gray choked out a reply. "Well...I mean...yeah, I...I guess so. If you swing that way."

"Huh? Swing?"

"Well, that's what they call it: swinging both ways."

Natsu tried to consider that saying. "But when you swing, you always swing in two directions. Swinging makes me really sick, too."

"No," Gray growled. "I mean that's what people call it when you like both men and women."

"But that's normal, right?"

Gray gawked for a moment. "Seriously, what planet are you from?"

"A planet where it's normal to like people no matter if they're boys or girls. It's rather sexist if you just like girls."

"I...well...that is..." Gray scratched the side of his neck. "Hell, ya got me there. Still, it's not really...uh...common."

"It's not?" Natsu asked in confusion. "You mean people normally like just one gender?"

"Of course! Seriously, are you that clueless? Normally, guys like girls and girls like guys."

Natsu laughed and rocked in his seat. "Well that's just dumb!" Then he paused and considered it. "So I guess Elfman wouldn't want to kiss me."

"Of course he won't! Evergreen would kill you, anyway."

"So would you not want to kiss me either?"

Gray's face suddenly went bright red. "What the hell sort of question is that?"

"I'm trying to figure this out," Natsu said seriously. "If it's not common for guys to want to kiss other guys, then that really limits the number of people I can kiss. So what about you? Because to be honest, I don't know of any girls who I really want to kiss."

"But you want to kiss me?" Gray shouted in astonishment.

Natsu merely shrugged. "I'm not against the idea. Like I said, you're closer than a brother. Erza and Lucy are really close to me, but they're like sisters, and kissing your sister is just gross. Kissing someone who is closer than a brother, that's okay."

Gray shivered a little, and although the beach air was only a little cool, a chill ran over his skin. "I...I'm not particular, I guess."

"So see, it's common to like both boys and girls."

"No, it's not," Gray snapped. "That's how I know it's not, because I'm like that and I got teased a lot because of it."

"Well, people who tease you are sexist. It's normal to like everyone, or it should be."

Gray sighed and had a small smile despite himself. "You're a simpleminded fool, but you're honest." He decided to be a bit honest as well. "I...wouldn't mind. I'm not saying I necessarily want to kiss you right at this moment, but...well...maybe someday."

"Awesome!" Natsu grinned. "So if I ever know it's my last day on earth, you'll give me a kiss, right?"

"Maybe sooner, if you want," Gray mumbled.

"So what do you want to do before you die?" Natsu asked.

Gray gazed out toward the endless ocean, and a tiny smile lifted on his face. "I want to tell a certain someone how I feel about him."

Natsu slowly glanced over to his teammate. "Someone you like, or someone you hate?"

The ice wizard chuckled softly. "Both."

Natsu pouted, then drew his lower lip in to bite on it, chewing nervously. "Hey Gray?"

The teen hummed with a distant look in his blue eyes.

"Do you know anything about this festival? It's called Saigo No Kyōen, The Last Feast. The villagers treat it as a New Year, but some old man at the pub was telling me that it's a celebration for what was foretold to be the last day the world will exist. They don't know which year the world will end, but they believe this is the last night. That's why they party so hard, eat so much, and why everyone's a bit wild. For them, this is the night to do everything they always wanted to do, yet always waited and put it off. It's the night to take insane chances, because none of them know if they'll wake up in the morning."

Gray glared over. "You're kidding me!"

"Hey, I'm not the type to make up something that crazy. So maybe it's the spirit of the festival that has you thinking about what your mentor thought during her last moments, and what you'd do before you die." Natsu sneaked a glance over. "So...how about we pretend it's our last night? If we're always putting off the things we want to do, one day there's going to be a morning when we don't wake up. Then, we'll be left with only regrets. That's what the old man said, anyway. I don't want to die regretting anything."

Gray nodded in agreement. "If it's our last night together...Natsu," he said quietly, but he found the words not wanting to leave his throat. Still, what if those villagers were right? If it really was his last day on earth, he would take the chance because even if he got rejected or laughed at, at least he could die happy that he said the words. "I...also like you more than a brother. No," he sighed, "that's not quite what I want to say."

He chewed on the inside of his lip, trying to think of the perfect words. Suddenly, something hot fell onto his hand. Gray looked down and saw Natsu's bronze fingers resting on top of his skin. The dragon slayer's thumb stroked his pale skin to help calm Gray's nervousness. The gesture gave the ice wizard courage to speak up.

"I like you, Natsu," he confessed softly, but his words this time were firm. "I'm not sure when it happened, and it's been bugging me a lot lately, but...well, at least you know now. I'm...I'm in love with you," he whispered in shame. "Shit, I'm probably gonna regret saying that." He looked aside in embarrassment, waiting for some cocky comment.

"Thank you for telling me, Gray."

The ice wizard sank a little. A thank you, not an acceptance and return of feelings. He instantly resigned himself to a rejection and was waiting for the inevitable "...but."

"Now for my last day's wish." Natsu grabbed Gray's chin and yanked his head over. Blue eyes opened huge as squinty green irises gazed at him. "Kiss me, Gray. You better make it good, too, since it's my first time."

Gray swallowed hard in shock, but then he got a little mischievous idea. "Even if I kissed you horribly, you'd never know the difference. I could give you the worst kiss in the world and you'd think it was fine."

Natsu's eyes glared. "I'm inexperienced, but I'm not stupid, you idiot stripper."

"Oh yeah?"

However, when Gray's lips met Natsu's, any ideas of totally ruining his first kiss hissed away like snow on a stovetop. Gray hummed at the warmth of the dragon slayer's fiery lips. They were softer than he had thought they would be, and for a man who breathed fire, the dragon slayer's lips were incredibly moist and supple. He could feel warm air from Natsu's nostrils blowing gently against his upper lip, tickling his face and making him smile.

Gray reached forward, and his fingers grasped into the soft pink hair. He felt Natsu give a small gasp, and Gray took it to his advantage. His tongue darted out, just a little, enough to show Natsu what more they could do if he was up to trying it. The dragon slayer was not about to act timid. He felt the moistness lick his upper lip, and he opened his mouth to invite Gray to try more.

"God, so hot," Gray mumbled, and he meant it on so many levels.

His tongue swirled around Natsu's, savoring the taste. He wanted more! He grabbed the dragon slayer around the back and pulled him closer. Gray wanted to feel and taste everything, and Natsu was offering himself up like a feast. He felt himself drool a little, but he did not pull back. Instead, Gray kept pressing forward, moving in. One knee hitched up and swung over, allowing him to climb onto Natsu's lap.

The dragon slayer's eyes opened wide at feeling the weight on his legs and the hardness that pressed against his lower stomach. Gray's spiky hair was silhouetted by the moon and silvery ocean. Suddenly, Natsu did not care about anything else, only feeling those soft lips, tasting that winterfresh mouth, and grabbing Gray closer.

"More," Natsu moaned hotly.

Gray hissed at hearing him beg and feeling how it made his whole body tense up. This was just supposed to be a kiss, but it was quickly becoming more. Gray threw off his coat and shirt, letting it flutter to the sandy shoreline. Natsu's vest was already open. Their muscular torsos rubbed against one another, hot body versus cool skin, burning hands meeting icy yet gentle touches. Gray's fingers slid up the hills and vales of Natsu's stomach, up to his chest, palming over his nipples. A cry of shock shuddered out, and Natsu bit on his lip to keep himself quiet.

"You said you wanted more," Gray teased. "Or do you want me to stop?"

"No," Natsu said fast, and he snatched Gray's raven hair to yank him in for more kisses. "Don't stop yet."

Gray smirked into the kiss, and his fingers ran over Natsu's nipples again. He felt the dragon slayer tensing at just that, incredibly sensitive in that area. Yearning to hear more sensual sounds, Gray flicked Natsu's nipples, then pinched them.

"Ahn!" Natsu shouted, and he quickly covered his mouth in shock at the erotic noise.

It was music to Gray's ears, and he wanted to find more places that made Natsu flinch and groan. His nails caressed around the small ears, but that did little. Then he lightly caressed under the scaly scarf. At the touch, Natsu gasped loudly. His hips bucked with instinct, and he clutched Gray closer

"Oh God!"

Gray leaned up and smiled victoriously. "Found it."

"Asshole," Natsu sighed, but he could not say anything more.

Gray dived in, burrowed into the scarf, and licked Natsu on the neck. Natsu hissed at the wet heat gliding over his skin. It made him squirm, wanting to break away, wanting more...so much more!

Gray moved with aching slowness, rubbing his bulge up against Natsu's, frotting against his pants. Gray felt the stiffness rising up, lengthy hardness eager to be freed, and the ice wizard could barely hold himself back. The dragon slayer felt burning hot even while clothed, and Gray could only imagine how fiery he would be naked.

Then Gray's tongue felt the rougher texture of the scar on Natsu's neck. The pink-haired man thrashed under him when he reached that area. However, the ice wizard did not want to hurt the scar. He only licked it, and that was enough to make Natsu buck up against him. Gray went just below the scar and latched on hard, sucking on the skin. At the same time, his fingers tweaked Natsu's nipples, and Gray thrust hard against Natsu, rolling his hips, frotting up and down that hot length.

"Oh fuck!" Natsu cried out. "Shit! Oh God! No! No, Gray, don't. Stop it! Stop!"

Gray leaned back and looked down in worry. Natsu's face was tense, his teeth gritted, and his brow squeezed tight. "Did that hurt?"

A tear came to Natsu's eye. "Dammit." He suddenly flopped back and laid against the ocean rocks panting hard. "Holy...goddammit, Gray."

The ice wizard flinched with guilt. "I'm really sorry. I thought it might not hurt if it was below the scar."

"No, not hurting." He left out a long sigh. "Shit! That felt so goddamn good, I...I just...came," he confessed in shame.

"You...you came?" Gray looked down and saw a moist spot spreading on the dragon slayer's pants. "Oh," he mumbled, stunned and unsure what he could say. Apologizing seemed weird, and Natsu looked too embarrassed to bother teasing him.

"Fuckin' Gray! I didn't pack a change of pants."

"I'll buy you a new pair," he offered. "I'll take responsibility."

Natsu's face turned bright red. "Don't say it like that!"

"No, I just mean...well, it's my fault. I didn't realize..."

"Oh, shut up already!" Natsu pushed Gray away and held out the loose fabric. "Shit, I have to wash this out before we get back to the hotel."

He stripped out of the pants right there on the beach and washed them in the ocean. Gray could barely help but stare. He wanted to grab Natsu right away, but he had already caused him too much trouble for one night. Gray looked as Natsu held up his pants to the moonlight, then lit up his body to dry the clothes off. The ice wizard smiled a little, feeling smug that he had made Natsu cum just from kissing.

"I didn't even touch you there..."

"I said shut up," Natsu snapped. "Goddammit, this is embarrassing enough without you making fun of me. What sort of idiot cums from just getting kissed? Dammit, I can't even face you now."

Gray squirmed a little, fighting the temptation to pounce on Natsu while his pants were off. "You...did you really liked it that much?"

"Hell yes! But don't do it again. Not while I'm dressed, at least." He tugged his pants back on. "Better!"

"How about when we get home?"

"Huh?" Natsu blushed a little and hid his face down into the scarf. "I...I guess...at home, it'd be okay."

"That is, if tonight isn't our last night," Gray added in playfully.

"Damn, I hope not," Natsu sighed. He climbed back up onto the rocks and sat beside Gray, leaning against his arm a little bit. "Now I have something else I want to do before I die."

"What, get laid?" Gray smirked slyly.

"No. Well, maybe that too," he admitted bashfully. "Hey Gray, before the world ends, can we...you know...go on a date, or...or something?"

The question floored Gray, and his mouth dropped wordlessly. The dragon slayer pouted at the astonished face.

"If you don't want to..."

"No!" Gray shouted way too loudly. He cleared the hitch out of his throat. "No, I mean...yes. I mean...sheesh, I'm acting dumb now," he growled. "I want to...a date, I mean," he clarified. He gave himself a moment to gather his thoughts, yet when he looked down at the pink-haired man, there was only one thing he wanted to say. "Natsu, do you want to be my boyfriend?"

The dragon slayer chuckled softly. "Jerk. You have the worst timing. Is that also something you always wanted to ask before the end of the world?"

"Honestly, I thought Hell itself would freeze over before I'd get the nerve to ask. So, do you wanna?"

"Of course," Natsu smiled brightly. "I like you a lot Gray. I want to kiss you more and...and do things together." His squinty eyes narrowed mischievously. "One of these days, I'm gonna make you come in your pants."

"Don't bet on it," Gray laughed, and he began to lean in with loose, eager lips.

Suddenly, something exploded. It made both of them leap, ready for a fight, but then the sky lit up in sparks of red and blue.

"Fireworks," Natsu said in awe. "How cool! Pretty."

Gray looked at his childishly delighted face. Seeing Natsu so happy made him warm inside, as only the dragon slayer could make him feel. "Well, you said you wanted a kiss that would make fireworks go off and leave your mouth tingly."

"I guess I did say that," he laughed. "And your kisses are so cold, my mouth is definitely tingling."

Gray glared over at him. "Are you saying I'm a cold kisser?"

"Quit being so insecure, droopy eyes. I'm saying you're as refreshing as ice tea in summertime."

"Good, because kissing you is like drinking hot buttered rum in winter. Especially with how much rum I taste in your mouth." Gray realized something. "You're drunk."

"No shit! Are you just now figuring that out?" laughed Natsu.

"No, I mean...is this something you really want, or something you're agreeing to because of the alcohol? Are you even going to remember all of this in the morning?"

"I sure hope so," Natsu frowned. "If not, just kiss me again. I'll remember then, because that was the sort of first kiss I want to remember until my last day on earth."

Gray smiled, and Natsu's face beamed brightly. Then Gray leaned forward, and as the fireworks burst overhead, the two boys enjoyed another sweet kiss.

The End

A/N: 最後の饗宴 Saigo No Kyōen, The Last Feast. I would love a holiday like this. As a kid we had Día de los Muertos which sometimes took on a similar feel, but without the fatalistic viewpoint of "we may die tomorrow so let's go crazy today."

Tell me, what would you do if it was your last day on earth? Be it silly or serious, I'm curious.