The Red Dragon

Chapter 32

Once Happy had landed with Sting, Rogue, and Irene, the dragon slayers set about making camp, while Natsu flew off to do a quick sweep to ensure they were alone.

He reached out to Gray with his mind, hoping to find out what was going on with him, but the distance between them was still too great for him to get through. It was frustrating, but he buried his worries as best he could, knowing he couldn't afford the distraction.

By the time he returned to the camp, food was already cooking over the campfire, and everyone sat around it. Natsu landed and sat next to a rather sleepy looking Happy, not knowing what to expect from the long evening ahead of them.

It had been a long time since they'd all been together like this, and it made him feel nostalgic for those simpler times. During the war, the dragon slayers had remained separate from the dragons. So outside of Wendy, he'd mostly seen his friends when they went out on missions with him. He probably could have made more of an effort to seek them out, but there had always been the danger of the other dragons finding out what he was, along with the guilt he'd felt at hiding what was happening to him.

After the war, his frustration and pain at losing his human form, as well as his issues with Sting, had made him feel like he didn't belong with them any longer. So whenever Natsu was in Drak Aast, he'd made a point of keeping himself busy, rarely staying in the cave that was supposed to be his home.

He still loved his friends dearly, but being with them was yet another painful reminder of all the things he'd lost.

"This reminds me of when we left home with Atlas," Wendy said, warming her hands against the fire as the night air turned chilly. "I can't believe it took us all these years to return. Everyone must have been so worried."

"They were," Natsu agreed. "I told Atlas you were coming home, so I'm sure they'll have a party waiting for you when we arrive. You know Erza."

"I can't believe Lyon and Erza finally got together, that's so wonderful!"

"Yeah, they got married earlier this year." Natsu said, smiling as he remembered how happy Erza had seemed the last time he'd seen her.

He snuck a peek at Irene, curious to gage her reaction to Erza being mentioned when Wendy blindsided with a question he hadn't been expecting.

"What about you and Gray?"

Here we go...

"Uhm, yeah, we got married a couple of years ago, but there's-"

"I'm so happy for you!" Wendy squealed, interrupting the rest of his explanation in her excitement. "I always knew it would all work out. Does that mean you're living in town now?"

"No, Gray moved into the cave, actually. But as I was trying to-"

"He moved into the cave?" Wendy furrowed her brows. "But why? It's so hot in there, that's gotta be so uncomfortable for him."

"It is, but I didn't really fit in his apartment so-"

"Gray is living with you in the cave?" Rogue's eyes bored into him. "I don't understand. You said you took away his memories. And what about the dragons?"

"Took away his memories?" Gajeel asked, looking from Natsu to Rogue with a puzzled expression. "Why would Natsu do that?"

"It was all my fault." Sting said, and even though his voice trembled, he kept his gaze level as he continued. "You already know what I did, but it turned out even worse than I'd feared. When Acnologia attacked, Gray-"

"Do you want to know what happened or not?!" Natsu snapped, becoming more and more irritated by their constant interruptions.

He used the time it took them to respond with sheepish apologies to think about how much he wanted to share with them.