Warning: Mentions of self-hatred
Gray knew something bad had happened the moment the cry rang through his ears. He squats down and spreads both his hands apart of the floor.
"Ice Make: Floor." The spiral staircase freezes over. Lucy and Wendy squeal in shock behind him. Gray stands on the ice and begins sliding down like a pro surfer catching a wave. A few seconds go by before Gray's feet purchase the bottom of the stairwell. He blindly walks into a room.
"Pyro?" Gray asks cautiously.
"Is that you, Gray?" A shaky voice replies.
"What happened, Happy?" Gray asks, eyes refusing to adapt to the lighting.
"I-It's Natsu. He was hit by an arrow," Happy croaks. Gray's eyes widen in shock.
"Is he OK? Where are you guys? I can-" Two female squeals cut Gray off his worried questions. He looks back through the darkness and spots two silhouettes struggling to stand up.
"What happened to Natsu?" Wendy asks shyly.
Gray gulps. "He was hit by an arrow."
"Is he alright?" Lucy shouts with worry.
"I-I - he won't respond, Wendy, help him!" Happy pleads in agony.
"I-I'm coming!" Wendy lights a small green ball in her palm the room fills with a warm light. Gray looks back into the middle of the room. Natsu lays on the floor motionless. An arrow sticking out of his left shoulder with blood pouring out of his head. Lucy sobs. Wendy cautiously makes her way to the crying Happy and dying Natsu.
"Be careful, Wendy!" Carla shouts after her. Wendy stops beside the unconscious fire mage and bends down. Using the hand not lighting the place up, she pulls the arrow out. Gray internally grimaces at the sight. Blood starts to pour out of the wound like a waterfall. The green hue around the room brightens as Wendy begins the healing process.
Wendy informs the rest of the team after a while about Natsu's condition, "Natsu's wounds have stopped bleeding and have closed up, but he's still unconscious from the blood loss. He's not safe here."
Everyone looks to Gray. Confusion and the heat of the moment, he shouts, "what? Why are you all staring at me!?"
Lucy puts a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to have to take Natsu back to the hotel." She grins cheekily as she secretly knows about the crush Gray tries so desperately to burry and hide within the depths of the underworld. His cheeks erupt into red flames.
"No way am I taking this moron back to the hotel," Gray retorts.
"You're the only one who can carry him up the ice. Now go!" Lucy reasons with him.
"Argh!" Gray shouts and walks over to Natsu, picking him up bridal style. Natsu's head falls on Gray's chest. His heart stutters more than he thinks it ever has. Natsu feels warm within Gray's grip. His hair tickles his bare arms and chest. Gray has to force himself not to engross in the thoughts of his cute face.
Happy readies his wings and takes off, following the two opposing element wizards. Happy isn't letting out any more pained noises and his eyes aren't shedding water but they still hold the memories of it happening. Gray carefully climbs up the ice, holding Natsu close to his chest as Happy flies close by. Light seeps in from the outside world. Gray walks out of the stuffy stairwell and into the fresh air. He breathes in the fresh oxygen.
He walks down the natural path, the grass is covered in dew and the mud doses Gray's boots in another coating of mud. The lean wooden branches swing in the after-rain wind. Erza has stopped fighting the monster and the three boys bump into her. "What happened to Natsu?" She asks curiously.
"He was hit by an arrow. Wendy used her healing magic on him but he needs to rest from the blood loss," Happy says sadly.
"Oh. Are you sure Gray's the right person for this?" Erza wonders.
"Hey! I'm not a bad person!" Gray retorts.
"Anyway, take good care of him." Erza walks past them and towards the ruins.
Gray internally growls at Erza before continuing his walk through the forest. He tightens his grip protectively around the vulnerable male in his arms. Natsu breathing heavily into Gray's chest. Happy doesn't say anything all the way back to Frasherd Hotel. Happy takes out key 29 from Gray's pocket and unlocks the wooden door. Happy pushes it open and keeps it like that for Natsu and Gray. Just as Gray enters, Happy falls back and slams the door shut, locking the door from the outside.
"What are you doing!?" Gray shouts and pivots around.
"I'm going to find some fish, take care of Natsu for me," he says with a cheeky tone.
Gray groans. "This is just great." He walks towards the other male's messy bed and rests him gently on the covers. Gray clicks his tongue and walks into the bathroom. He grabs the handtowel off the rack and drowns it in water. He squeezes the water out and returns to the bedroom.
Gray kneels down beside Natsu's bed and grabs his left arm, drawing it closer to himself. He grips the towel harder and stares at the blood surrounding the new scar. It's dry and flaky but it annoys Gray beyond ends. He tightens his grip on Natsu's forearm out of rage and Natsu's face scrunches up. Gray loosens his grip and begins wiping away the dry blood, turning the white towel into a soft pink. Gray returns it to the sink in the bathroom.
He falls back onto his own bed and sighs. "What the hell, Pyro?" He whispers angrily. "Learn to be more careful, won't you?" He directs to the sleeping man. "I thought...I thought we were going to lose you." He sits on the edge of his bed, legs dangling off the edge between hugging Natsu and laying in bed but push the urges down. "You're such an idiot."
Gray stands up and walks to the kitchen area, grabbing a glass of water. He downs it quickly and a sigh relieving sound escapes his lips. He flicks his eyes back to the salmon haired boy and swears he saw his eyelids flicker. Gray slams the glass down and storms over to Natsu. "You're awake, aren't you?" He growls. The air-con drills in the background. "Oh, you're going to be like this now, aren't you?" Gray bites his tongue lightly, trying to stop himself from thinking about the thoughts that roamed his head. He snarls. "I know what'll get a reaction out of you." Gray's nails dig into the palms of his hands as he bends down, face inches from the others. He pushes a few strands of hair off Natsu's forehead and brings his lips close to it. His breath catches in his throat and he draws his hand away and bends down to his ear and whispers something so quietly that he couldn't even hear himself, the words he had wanted to say for as long as he could remember.
Immediately after, Gray stands up and walks into the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water. It dribbles down his chest, washing away the lingering heat from Natsu. Thoughts racing like a bullet train through his head. He grips the sides of the cheap bench and stares at the sink. He tightens his grip. I'm such an idiot! He thinks angrily to himself and pushes himself abruptly from the sink and grips his hair harshly in his hands before collapsing onto the ground.
Thoughts of the consequences of what he said, race through his head, along with the self-hatred. The thoughts make their way to his eyes. I could've just ruined a relationship. What's my problem? A shaky breath escapes through his lips as his emotion builds up behind his eyes. He pushes his tongue to the roof of his mouth and the tears stop feeling like they'll break their barriers. He wipes the tears away and stands back upwards, taking in a deep breath. "Control yourself, Gray. It'll be OK." Once again, he splashes his face with cold water.
YOU ARE READING
Time Bomb
Fanfiction"Don't do this, Gray!" Natsu pleads. "Please, Gray! You don't have to do this!" Erza shouts. ------ Everyone thought they knew all about Gray's past, but they were wrong. They never knew about Brazen, who brought him suffering, or how he has turned...
