015. Temperature

Natsu, Gray – Natsu comes down with a fever, and Gray finds himself assigned to play doctor.

"…Why am I doing this again?"

"Because you're the one with ice magic," Lucy replied, setting the bowl she had refilled with cold water on the table. "Happy and I couldn't get his fever down, so we decided to use you instead."

Holding a hand radiating chilly mist over Natsu's forehead, Gray gave the celestial spirit mage a flat look. "Don't treat me like some sort of ice machine. Look, couldn't this have waited until tomorrow? A fever's not going to kill him."

"It was really bad earlier," Lucy insisted, soaking a towel in the water. "I know you're tired from your job today and everything, but just put it with it for a while. For Happy's sake?"

"Don't let Natsu die, Gray!" Happy wailed, burying his face in Lucy's chest. "He can't die! Who'll go fishing with me?"

"A fever's not going to kill him," Gray repeated wearily, but he glanced down at the Dragon Slayer again. Natsu did look pretty bad, seemingly dead to the world with his eyes shut tightly. When Lucy had pulled him into Natsu's furnace of a house no thanks to the fever, he'd had to cover the walls with a layer of ice on all four sides just to bring the temperature down to something less ridiculous. Natsu himself had had a steaming towel on his head instead of a cold one, with sweat dripping profusely down his face and his breaths coming in quietly pained gasps. Even Gray had taken pity on the fire mage then. Natsu of all people having a fever would've been laughable if Lucy hadn't seemed so serious.

"Whew, it's still hot in here even with your ice, isn't it?" Wiping sweat from her own forehead, Lucy placed the fresh towel on Natsu's and stood up. "I'll go get some medicine. Watch Natsu until I get back, okay?"

"Huh?"

"Later!" And Lucy darted out the door with Happy at her heels while Gray stared dumbfounded at the empty space.

"What're you doing here…?"

Gray started at the mildly slurred sound, blinking open bleary eyes and reflexively said in a groggy voice, "Natsu?" Judging by the soreness in his neck, he'd apparently fallen asleep sitting up in the chair.

"I said, what're you doing here?" Natsu repeated, frowning in mild confusion. He seemed more alert now, patting the now lukewarm towel on his head. His gaze traveled from Gray to the iced walls, and he bolted upright. "The hell did you do to my-?! W-Whoa-" Natsu wobbled dangerously, rocking the hammock from side to side and nearly toppling onto the floor if not for Gray steadying him in time.

"Hey, watch it." He shoved Natsu slightly more gently than he usually would back onto the blankets. "Lucy dragged me over to keep your flaming head from burning your own place up." When Natsu only blinked hazily, Gray added, "You got a fever, idiot."

"Yeah right," Natsu scoffed, attempting to sit up once more. "I breathe fire. I don't get something stupid like a fever- What's that?"

"Apparently your body says otherwise," replied Gray dryly. "And what?" He followed Natsu's gaze to a small bottle and a note at his elbow, recognizing Lucy's neat handwriting almost immediately.

"You looked too tired for us to wake up, so I'll just leave this here. Give it to Natsu when he wakes up too. It's still pretty warm at Natsu's place, so Happy and I will be at the guild. Good luck!"

"Good luck? Good luck?" Gray seethed, scrunching the paper up in his hand. "Dammit, Lucy!"

"You're totally going to kill me!" Natsu yelped in alarm. "What was Lucy thinking, leaving you here?!"

Somehow, that pissed Gray off even more. "You saying I can't take care of someone with a fever properly?"

"Hell no! You can't even take care of Mira when you make her cry!"

"That's totally different!" Fed up, the ice mage snatched the bottle, popping the cork off. Natsu wrinkled his nose at the strong scent of medicine drifting his way. "You saw what Lucy said. You get to drink this."

Natsu narrowed his eyes, stubbornly clenching his jaw. "Make me."

"Don't be such a baby." Gray held the bottle out to Natsu irritably, but the Dragon Slayer turned away from it, making a face. "Can you be any more annoying?"

"Sure I can." Natsu stuck his tongue out childishly, and Gray took the opportunity to stuff the opening of the bottle into the other mage's mouth. "Mmmphk!"

"You're drinking it whether you like it or not," Gray said exasperatedly, keeping a tight grip on Natsu's head to prevent him from pulling away. "It's for your own good, jeez."

When the bottle emptied and Natsu looked sufficiently green, Gray set the bottle aside and examined Natsu's face closely. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

Natsu gagged a little. "Y-You can try it yourself next time," he choked out painfully, coughing. Gray rolled his eyes as he thumped the Dragon Slayer's back. "Bastard! When you get sick, see how you like having that crap stuffed down your throat!"

"Stop coughing on me! You're doing that on purpose!" Nevertheless, Gray forcibly pressed a cold hand against Natsu's forehead again, ignoring the protests. The fever had gone down significantly now, but still much warmer than even Natsu usually was. "Anyway, you're probably fine for now, which means I can finally go." He was about to pull away when he felt Natsu's hand on his wrist.

"…That feels good."

Gray blinked. "What?"

"That feels good," Natsu mumbled again reluctantly, looking up at Gray with a scowl. "Don't move."

"Try and stop me."

"Just a little longer. Please." Natsu practically spat the last word out, but the look of relief on his face was something the ice mage couldn't ignore.

Gray settled back into the chair with a sigh. "Fine. Just a little longer."

A/N: Uhh, better late than never? This was written as just friendship, but feel free to see it as something deeper if you're into that. Sorry for taking so long on your request, Fire Fairy! I hope it was what you were wanting. And to Lovely Story Writer, your request is up next.

…Updating this when I have so much other stuff to write? W-Well, even I need a break sometimes, aha.