Gray's POV
"Okay, I know I told you that talking to Natsu MIGHT take you to the actual mating process, but I just recently found out that chaos will erupt when you won't mate," I said to Lucy in between cabins, alone in a corridor.
"What?! Gray, where are you getting your information from?" she blushed and uttered in disbelief, "It's ridiculous."
"I know, I know, but you have to trust me. It is very important, okay?" I tried to convince her without telling the truly ridiculous story of future Natsu walking around 8 years ago. She struggled when answering carefully, eyes not meeting mine.
"Gray..... I do trust you, you know. But it sounds," she was looking for a word, " I don't know, impossible? For you to know that me and Natsu have to, umm, do IT or else it'll be a chaos."
She looked into my eyes and must've thought her words sounded selfish, 'cause she quickly added, "I mean, I know that Natsu is hurting, but it isn't that much of a chaos that he'll suffer again. Well, it is to him, but....."
"You don't understand, he is going to get you!" I shouted and she flinched as silence filled the room.
"I'm sorry. I, uhh," I weighed my options but decided to tell her, "8 years back Natsu from future appeared with a book and told me to give it to our Natsu, but that idiot never took interest in that book." I squeezed my fist together thinking about how stupid one person could be while Lucy wanted to ask about the time travelling part.
"And yesterday, when he came by my house and acted all weird, I thought that maybe it's tied with the book or something."
"Oh my god, you just now, after 8 years, thought you'd give it a go?" she asked all mad, "how stupid can you be? You should know that Natsu wouldn't read a book if his life depended on it."
"Hey, I'm not stupid," I defended myself quickly, "Natsu himself told me not to read it!"
"When ever have you listened to that dunce?" Well, that's a good point.
"Aanyways, I read it and there was a letter, written by Natsu, that I got a feeling that if he didn't mate this year his body would stake that if the mating force is strong enough he wouldn't put up with it and would finally mate. That means that he'd lose all control, possibly turn into E.N.D and rape you. But if he would put up with the season, he'd die because of the intensity it's creating." Okay, I might've told it to her too casually, because she was tearing up and trembling, not knowing where to put her hands. Just a moment ago she was fine, now I evoke a flood of overwhelming emotions. Understanding that both options were awful.
"Uhh, don't cry," I tried to calm her down awkwardly, "it can be avoided. He is doing everything in his power to keep himself from hurting you." That's true, every year he goes away and in the letter Natsu said that he even takes some kind of potion. That I haven't figured out yet, what kind of potion does he get from the dark guild? Is it the same dark guild that we are fighting against? It would make sense knowing that the dark guild in Natsu's letter would want to crush Fairy Tail.
"Look, you're not a virgin, are you?" She blushed again and looked down. Oh. "Well, it doesn't matter, because if you go to Natsu before he comes to you, he is still in his right mind." At least I hope so. Not that this moron would ever be in his right mind!
"And you can take it slowly, it can even be pleasant?" I offered, trying to make the topic light, as if trying to win her over. I was trying to win her over. She was just looking at me silently, not crying anymore, just thinking. "I mean, who else would you do it with anyway."
"Gray! I have plenty of options," she exclaimed and added after a pause, "But I guess if Natsu is sane, I could, umm, do it."
"Yes, of course you can," I don't even know why such relief washed over me but it sure did after hearing her agree to the deed. She was looking fine now, just unsure. I grabbed her by the shoulders gently and looked straight to her eyes remembering the other part of the mating.
"But remember, that he also has to mark you," I said seriously.
She cringed hard considering it and then said "EEW, he has to pee on me? Gross! Gray, I'm out!"
It was my time to exclaim now: "No! What are you thinking? He just has to bite you, duh." I should know, being with Natsu and Happy all the time is seriously hurting her intelligence.
She settled with an understanding "oh" and said in addition, "it'll be alright then."
"Yea and we're there too if he tries to hurt you," I said in an attempt to comfort her.
"Is that why you came?"
"Weell," I squeaked," in the letter he might've mentioned that the dark guild would be going after you, soo we came just in case, you know?"
"Gray! Wtf? We've been on this train for 4 hours, why are you so slow?" she accused me. I didn't even try to defend myself anymore, just raised my hand and scratched my head in discomfort.
"I don't know, I just didn't think of it before?"
But really, she is right. I could've looked at the book earlier, like a few years back, I wouldn't have to worry about images of Fairy Tails flag on fire and Natsu without a hand, covered in bandages thinking of killing babies spreading in my mind.
"Okay, but don't tell anyone that me and Natsu did it."
"Can't do, Gajeel and Levi already know," come to think about it, has Gajeel already mated? And how is he so unaffected by the season? "And I think Happy will tell Erza because he's so worried and then she'd ask us about it."
We both shivered at the thought of Erza beating the info out of us. Until now we had told her that the 'urgent' thing I couldn't go to the mission is somehow linked to Natsu and we have to find him asap. And that we think he might be in Igneels cave that just happened to be in the same direction as the dark guild.
"Yeah, I'll talk to Happy when he wakes up," she said and turned to get in to the cabin as if everything would be fine, but I saw her hand shaking a little before pulling the door open.
Lucy's POV
Happy had been sleeping on my lap for an hour, after the talk with Gray, before he woke up.
"Hey, Happy," I addressed him as he yawned," did you have a good nap?"
He stretched and mumbled a sleepy "uhuh" to which I chuckled. "Come on, let's go outside."
He said "aye" and we rose up.
"Why are yall going outside so often? Are you talking behind my back?" asked Erza and gave us all a scare.
"No, why'd you think that?" I answered not very smoothly. "I'm just feeling a little lightheaded because of the wagon shifting from side to side all the time and wanted to get some air."
"Hmm, you know, I was wandering if you and Natsu would have a child...." I sweatdropped. Kyaa! What kind of things is she wondering about in her spare time?? "Would they also get motion sick?"
She looked at me as if I knew the answer but I was to busy blushing to actually think of an answer.
"How should I know? It's not like we have a kid," I shot and left the cabin with utmost speed.
"So Lushee, did you want to talk with me?" asked the blue hairball hovering over my shoulder when I slammed the cabin door shut.
"Yeah, I did," I tried to calm down. "I know you've been very worried for Natsu and I wanted to say that I know about the mating season and I am going to act on it this year."
Happy's eyebrows rose up in surprise, "you knew?"
"Then why'd you let Natsu suffer like that?" I don't know. How have I never noticed that he was suffering like that?
"I'm sorry, Happy. I don't want him to suffer, I'm going to end it." Now that I think about it, my virginity is such a low price compared to the fact that Natsu could die if he didn't mate.
In three hours we got off the train having calculated that we could get to the cave faster if we wouldn't ride to the final stop like Erza's team was.
The village that the train stopped in was small and we couldn't find a hotel to stay at. It was getting late too and we were tired from the trip. Levi and Gajeel were bickering about whether we should ask someone for help or we should just get some sleep on the ground. Finally, we decided to sleep outside, although the rocky scenery didn't protect us from the cold one bit and there wasn't much of anything to cover us with or to make fire with. A Natsu would be useful now.
Luckily, a man saw us looking for a place to stay. He said that he doesn't have room in the house but he can let us in the barn because it would mean certain death if we were to be sleeping under the starry sky tonight. When we asked why, the man said mysteriously, " We are humble people. In the hands of the mountains moody winds and caprises. For that we know not to anger the gods, but somehow we have still done it. Every year about this time, the mountains tighten the reins and sends us a warning."
"You can't see it right now, in the morning you can, but there, between the two mountains of Tiquaraqua, far away is a towerlike cliff, in it is the Sequri cave. If you climb there, the whole village is seen and much more. But no one can go there because once, not so long ago, there lived a fire dragon. It was a friendly dragon and never gave us worry, sometimes even helped us. It's obvious if I think about it now, but back then we didn't think much of him. He disappeared and left the mountains alone in peace. But then one year, about this time a year, he appeared again. We saw nothing but an enormous fire sphere. He came here and burned half of the village down to ashes."
"Another year, there is a rare meadow in the mountains to where we sent our animal herds to, but one year the fire sphere appeared again, so hot that it burned the animals alive, taking more than half of our winters supplies with. We survived the winter thanks to our neighbour villages' help but it was a close call. After it we began to see a pattern: every year, about now, the Fire King comes back and chastises us for how faulty we've been. Some years the Fire King is merciful, other times it burns and skins us from all we've worked so hard for."
A low thunder-like rumbling was echoing against the ridges. And something, like a golden eye, flashed between the huge mountains in starry night. The man shrieked in terror and shoved us into the barn.
"Please, do stay here for the night. The Fire King will reward us if you've been kind. I hope your kind won't bring troubles with you. Just know that he is a just judge for your soul and if you're a good bunch, you'll stay untouched. Now rest, you must be tired." Said the helpful man lastly and closed the door.
"That Fire King sounds an awful lot like a certain someone I know," stated Gajeel while pulling an iron nail out of the wall to eat it.
"Gajeel!" hissed Levi.
"What! I was hungry," defended Gajeel like it was normal to deconstruct nice peoples' barns to separate the iron nails. For food.
"Let's just get some rest," said Gray for once, not going to fight with the other Fairy Tail morons.
"Very mature," mocked Gajeel but still lay down beside Levi leaving a reasonable distance between them.
The low rumble resounded again. Natsu, I'm coming.