Behind The Scenes ~ A Gratsu fanfic

Chapter 11

*cough cough* ignore the picture. Moving on...

And it was one of those moments when time just

Stopped.

And even if it lasted for a fraction of a second, you wanted it to stay in between, because you didn't want to deal with the unbearable truth. But, you eventually had to cope with what reality had in store for you.

And that's just how Natsu felt.

So he screamed.

And he kept on screaming like his life depended on it, his body couldn't take it. His knees could no longer support his weight and every fiber of his body shook.

With dolefulness

Grief

Ire

Despair

All the pent-up emotions came rushing from his vocal cords and out his mouth in the form of an anguished, piercing cry.

And he didn't stop, even as his throat started to sting.

His eyes were shut tightly with his face facing the floor, his hands gripping at his hair.

It was only when he got into a small coughing fit that he opened his eyes. He coughed into his elbow, his other hand clutching the top of his shirt. When he looked at the dirty floor again, there were

Drops of blood?

He touched his lips and looked at his hand.

Blood coated his fingers. Had he coughed it up?

"Natsu!"

Natsu redirected his gaze up to Erza, swaying slightly.

"Natsu..." she called out more softly. Her face took the form of concern. When she spotted the read substance that stained part of the floor and his mouth her eyes widened.

"Nats-"

And in a flash Asagi was on top of Natsu. Natsu fell hard on his back, blood flooding his mouth once more and streaming down the corners of his slightly agape lips from the sudden attack, onyx eyes wide and shining with new tears of fear.

No

He wouldn't cry anymore

Not here, n-not now

He wasn't weak... h-he wasn't-

"Natsu..."

Natsu kept his head down, arms crossed stubbornly. He didn't want to meet Gildarts face, ashamed of the tears that streamed down his face. Crying was a sign of weakness, which made him weak.

As if reading his thoughts, Gildarts sighed.

"Natsu, look at me."

And slowly, he looked up and met the grown man's eyes.

Gildarts smiled softly and let out a low chuckle. He took a hold of the 13 year old Natsu's shoulders in front of him and squeezed them in a comforting way.

"Natsu."

Natsu sniffed pitifully.

"Crying doesn't mean that you're weak. It's okay to cry sometimes. You've just been strong for far too long."

And with that, Gildarts pulled Natsu into an embrace, comforting him after another failed search for Igneel.

And the tears broke through.