Requests/Oneshots/Short Stories

Iced Shell Part 2

Two weeks later-

The guild quieted down almost instantly when Natsu walked through the huge double doors. Near the bar, Lucy leapt to her feet at his arrival, but sat back down again after catching a look from Mirajane. She followed Natsu's progress down the center aisle of the guild hall with her gaze, taking in the unusual slouch of Natsu's shoulders, the rumpled clothes, and dark circles under eyes reddened from crying. Natsu was a mess, and he looked it.

Natsu glanced around the guild hall tiredly, taking in the familiar faces as if seeing them for the first time in years. It was sort-of true-- he hadn't been back to the guild hall since he, Lucy, Erza, Leon and Leon's underlings had returned from that fateful mission. He could still remember the anguished cries that had filled the hall when Erza had summoned Gray's statue from the ether and placed it on the small dais where it now stood, surrounded by flowers and gifts from the other guild members. He still remembered how Lucy and Erza had run to Mira and Levy, hugging them as tightly as they could and sobbing into their shoulders. He still remembered how he'd slipped away out the back door and never returned, save for once, when everyone had gone, to say his goodbyes.

The other members came to him now, patting his shoulders or giving him encouraging messages, but he ignored them all, walking straight to the job board and taking a poster down without really looking at it. Natsu walked over to the bar, where Mira watched him with large, sad eyes, and set the paper down. Then he walked over to Gray's statue, taking in the way he light glinted off of it. Each individual hair was fully formed of ice. It was as though the ice had simply replaced Gray's body, creating every cell with the utmost precision and perfection. It was actually a bit creepy how lifelike it was, almost like Gray was standing there himself, just blue and cold. And made of ice, but Natsu knew what his thoughts were trying to say. He tore his eyes off the statue and walked out of the guild hall, calm as could be. He hadn't said a word the whole time he'd been inside the guild.

The job turned out to be a good choice. It kept him away from the guild hall and sad memories for another three weeks, plenty of time for him and the rest of the guild to start to recover from Gray's death. When he did return, Natsu wasn't quite his cheerful self, but then, he never would be again after the events of that mission. Maybe, after a long, long time he'd be nearly back to that point, but not after only five weeks.

Natsu approached the guild hall with a slight sense of apprehension. The townsfolk he'd passed on his way had seemed more subdued than they ought, and although he'd never admit it, Natsu was worried.

The doors of Fairy Tail burst open, making everyone inside jump. Lucy and Levy looked up from where they were poring over a rare book Levy'd found at a book sale on her last mission.

"Natsu!" Lucy called, forgetting all about the book. She jumped up and ran to the fire wizard, not noticing the expression on Natsu's face. He peeled her off of him with some difficulty, Lucy having twisted her arms around his neck.

"Natsu? What's wrong?" Lucy asked, an expression of concern painted across her delicate features. Natsu shook his head, as if clearing cobwebs from his mind.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Lucy. I just spaced out for a minute is all." Lucy narrowed her eyes skeptically, but stepped away and out of Natsu's personal space. 

"Well, tell me if you need anything. Mira's still a little out of it from-- you know." 

Natsu didn't know.

"From-- from the--the- oh come on Natsu don't make me say it!" A flash of realization hit Natsu in the face and he twisted said face into a scowl.

"Is it because of Gray?" Lucy gasped and looked around to see if anyone had heard him.

"Natsu, don't say his name! Everyone is still too shaken up to talk about him yet!" Natsu scowled, a tight knot of anger building in the pit of his stomach.

"Seriously?? You've got to be kidding me!" Natsu stepped forward towards the statue threateningly. Lucy tried to keep him from getting closer to it but he brushed her side, walking up the steps of the dais until he was standing face-to-face with the statue. 

"What kind of person do you think you are, Fullbuster?!" he growled angrily. "What kind of person keeps hurting people even after they've died? Knock it off and rest in PEACE!!"

As the last word left his mouth, Natsu suddenly drew back his flaming right fist and punched the statue as hard as he could. The guild went silent as steam filled the hall. As the mist cleared, Natsu blinked at the strange sensation on the knuckles of his right hand. He looked at where he'd hit the statue, expecting to see empty air, maybe a few chunks of ice on the floor. Instead, he saw the statue completely intact, save for a tiny piece of ice that had crumbled away from his punch, revealing-- was that skin? Natsu moved his hand away and looked closer. It WAS skin! He touched a finger to the small patch of skin and gasped in surprise. It was warm! 

Mind racing, Natsu did the only thing he could think of. 

Lucy coughed, waving mist away from her face. The mist was clearing out fast, allowing her to see Natsu just as he threw his arms around Gray's statue and set his entire body on fire. Lucy screamed in terror and grief.

"Natsu no! You'll melt the statue!" Natsu didn't respond, his flames burning even hotter than before. Lucy watched, stricken, as the ice of the statue started to glisten and evaporate.

Natsu felt the ice melting and a chill ran down his spine. Was he doing the right thing? Had he imagined the warmth he'd felt, and had that bit of exposed skin even really been there? Was he destroying his only reminder of the wizard he'd always pretended to hate? Soon, however, he felt the statue shift, the last remnants of ice evaporating as Gray fell into Natsu's arms, finally released from the position he'd frozen into. Natsu sagged to the floor under the weight that was suddenly thrust onto him, carefully positioning himself so that Gray's head didn't hit the floor. His eyes prickled, and he suddenly found himself struggling to hold back tears of happiness and worry. Even if Gray's body was intact, there was no reason that he would wake up. The guild members, recovering from the sudden explosion of mist, gradually left their seats and surrounded the two wizards on the dais. Natsu's heart was on the verge of breaking when Gray's eyes fluttered open and faintly, just barely audible over the sounds of the guild members came the wonderful sound of

"Natsu?"

The second the words left Gray's lips, Natsu's mouth was on his. Gasps rang out throughout the crowd of Fairies, but mostly all you could hear was the girls fangirling and making sounds of approval. When the two wizards finally pulled apart, Natsu was beaming through the tears running down his face and Gray was practically glowing. He didn't even try to hide his happiness as he sat up and wrapped his arms around Natsu's neck, pulling the pink-haired wizard into a hug.

"You scared me, Ice Princess." Natsu managed to choke out. Gray laughed and patted him on the back.

"I love you too, flame-for-brains."

_____________________________________the end____________________________________

Requests can now be sent through DMs or comments, but preferably DMs as there will be a greater chance of me actually seeing them. I hope you enjoyed Iced Shell and that I'll get another request soon, as this was actually pretty fun to write despite not being my ship. Have a great day and don't get too sick off of all that Halloween candy!