Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima
Chapter 11: The Return of Magic
Natsu opened his eyes and looked at his ceiling. Sunlight had begun to filter through his window and he was feeling warm and cozy. He stretched and decided to get up and face the day. His eyes rested on the figure laying next to him on his hammock and he smiled fondly. He reached over and lovingly patted the figure on the head and when that didn't work started to rub its cute belly.
Happy opened his eyes slowly and blinked at him. "Is it time to get up already, Natsu?"
"It is for me. Gray and I are hiking up Mt. Hakobe today as part of our training. We want to get there early. You are welcome to come with us if you'd like.", Natsu offered. "Did you get home late last night?"
"Yeah. I think I'll go back to sleep if that's ok.", Happy said sleepily.
"That's fine. I'll be back later. Sleep well." , Natsu cuddled his buddy for a few minutes to help him settle back to sleep. He performed all his morning rituals and then exited his house quietly. He had agreed to meet Gray in front of the guild so that they could set off together.
He walked the distance to the guild in silence. He thought back to the previous night and the reactions they had received from some of their friends. He was still hurt by Erza and Lucy's rejection and he wondered if they would see them today. He still had to tell Erza he was quitting the team, although judging from her response she would not be too upset by his departure.
He was a little curious about Wendy and Gajeel's reactions. He could see Wendy being sad that he was not dating a girl but he was sure she would get over it eventually. Wendy was too kind to stay upset with him for long, especially if she knew he was happy. He had no clue what was going on with Gajeel, why would he have been glaring at Gray? Something Juvia related perhaps. Maybe he would make a point of talking to them about it later today. Come to think of it Happy had not looked particularly thrilled either. What was up with everyone? Why couldn't they just be happy for them?
His mind wandered to walking Gray home the previous night. It had felt nice to just walk in the cool night air, holding hands. They had told each other about their missions. Natsu had to agree with Gray that it sounded like he had been a jerk to the girls and probably owed them an apology. Gray congratulated Natsu on not destroying the town this time. They shared some of the worries that had plagued them while they were apart and felt silly for having them. All too soon they arrived at Gray's apartment. They spent way too long saying goodnight, making up for the days they were apart. Natsu's cheeks reddened as he remembered their good night antics and then he smiled. He could definitely get used to that.
A voice interrupted his thoughts, "Thinking about something good, Dragon Boy?"
Gray was leaning against the door of the still closed guild, one leg propped up against the door with his hands in his pockets.
Natsu looked at him and his face got even redder, "Nah, just thinking about a Pervy Popsicle I know."
"Anyone I know?", Gray smirked at him. He walked away from the building and headed towards the fire mage. He put his arms around him and kissed him good morning. Natsu leaned in to the kiss and gave a happy hum. He finally broke away and started walking.
"Well come on Slowpoke, we have a mountain to climb.", he started the long trek that would take them to Mt. Hakobe. Gray walked next to him and in no time they were talking animatedly and coming up with outrageous challenges for the climb ahead.
As soon as Happy woke up he flew straight to the guild. He hoped Carla or Lily were there, he needed someone to talk to. Happy was very angry with Gray. He just knew that the ice mage had done something to his Natsu and he could tell that Natsu was not aware of it. He flew into the guild and found Wendy and Carla sitting at the counter talking to Mira.
He slumped on the counter.
"Good morning Happy!", they all greeted warmly, "Where's Natsu?"
"He's off to Mt. Hakobe with that jerk.", Happy grumbled.
"Aww, Happy are you jealous of Gray? That's sweet!", Mira smiled at Happy, she gave the little Exceed a hug.
"I'm not jealous of him, he did something to Natsu.", he mumbled. How could he make them understand?
"What do you mean he did something to him?", Wendy asked carefully.
"I mean he did something to Natsu to make Natsu like him.", Happy said forlornly.
"Happy, Natsu is just growing up that's all. He's in love for the first time and he's going to want to spend a lot of time with Gray but that doesn't mean he doesn't have time for you.", Mira tried to cheer the little guy up, "You could do stuff with them. Did he invite you to go with them?"
"You just don't understand!", tears filled Happy's eyes.
"Happy, why don't we go for a walk?. You can tell me what it is you think that Gray-san did, ok?", Wendy said kindly.
Happy sniffled and nodded. "Can we get some yummy fish?", he asked hopefully in a small voice.
"Of course, let's go!", Wendy and Carla led him outside. They stopped by the market to buy Happy some fish and then they found a quiet place to talk.
"Why don't you tell us what's bothering you?", Wendy and Carla waited patiently.
Happy took a deep breath, "Natsu and I went fishing about two weeks ago. We were having a really nice time and I asked him if he thought that...uhm...someone would accept my fish."
Wendy smiled a little at his awkwardness , she was pretty sure she knew who he was talking about.
"Anyway, he said that he wasn't the best person to ask because he didn't have anyone he wanted to give a fish to. Not even a little! Natsu wouldn't lie to me, so then why is he with Gray now? He said that he only gets one mate and that he wasn't in any hurry to find them. He said he wanted to make sure it was the right one and he wanted to make them happy. How could that have changed so quickly? Gray must have found out and wanted to play a trick on Natsu so he'd be alone forever. I hate him!", Happy was sobbing.
"Tomcat, you are beeing foolish!", Carla reprimanded Happy, "Gray would not do that to Natsu."
Wendy sighed. So she had been right, Natsu had not been interested in Gray before. She held the little Exceed and let him get his tears out. She was touched by his concern for Natsu's happiness.
"Happy, Carla is right. Gray-san would never play such a mean trick on Natsu-san. I know it's hard for you to understand. They may fight a lot but neither would purposefully hurt the other.", Wendy told him. She continued holding him until he had calmed down. They started talking about other things until they felt Happy had cheered up enough to return to the guild.
By the time they made it back more and more members were returning from missions. The place was starting to get lively. Happy looked around for Natsu but it seemed he had not returned yet. He flew around looking for someone to hang out with but Erza, Lucy, Natsu and the jerk were all absent. He wasn't sure where to go. He caught a glimpse of Lisanna and went to join her.
Wendy made her way to Gajeel and Levy and sat down. Carla and Lily flew up to the second floor.
"I just talked to Happy, Natsu-san had definitely not had any interest in Gray-san before that scent showed up.", she informed them quietly, "Levy-san have you had any luck finding anything in your books?"
Levy shook her head in frustration. "I'm sorry, I haven't found anything helpful yet but I will keep trying." She had looked in every book she could think of but honestly she did not even know what she was looking for. How on Earthland do you look for an overpowering scent in books?
Gajeel growled, "I can't believe the nerve of that Fullbuster, he knows full well what's on the line here."
"He can't help it Gajeel-san. He is as much a victim of this as Natsu-san.", Wendy pointed out.
"Maybe, but at the end of the day he can walk away, Salamander might not be able to.", Gajeel got up and ordered himself a drink.
"I'll try to talk to Natsu-san about it.", Wendy told Gajeel.
"Make sure he's alone when you do.", Gajeel warned Wendy.
A few minutes later the doors swung open loudly and in walked Natsu and Gray. They had returned from their mountain climb in good spirits but starving. They headed straight to the counter to order some food. They stood around talking to Cana, Macao and Wakaba while they waited. Before long they were joined by Juvia.
"Gray-sama, you're back! Juvia missed you so much.", Juvia immediately tried to put her arms around the ice mage. Natsu tensed up beside his boyfriend but otherwise let him handle the water mage. Gray was perfectly capable of handling his own battles. Gray easily dodged her advances and kept himself at a distance.
"Hey Juvia, welcome back.", he had learned to say as little as possible to the water mage. She was nice but she had an annoying habit of taking his words and creating ridiculous fantasies around them each more embarassing than the next. He turned back towards Natsu who was giving him an amused look. The ice mage grabbed his boyfriend's hand and led him towards a table. They were already discussing plans for that evening when Juvia returned.
"Natsu, why don't you go find Love Rival? Juvia would like to spend some time with her boyfriend.", Juvia said aggressively. She did not like being ignored by the ice-mage.
"I am not your boyfriend Juvia. I have told you that many times now. I am flattered that you think so highly of me, but I just don't see you that way.", Gray tried to be forceful. Not that it mattered, she never listened to him. "Natsu and I are having dinner, we're just waiting for our food."
"But he is being selfish, he has had you to himself all day! Juvia just wants to spend some time with her Gray-sama.", Juvia whined.
"That may well be but it doesn't change the fact that I am already having dinner with him.", Gray told her cooly. He was starting to get annoyed, why couldn't she just accept that he was not going to change his mind. Ever.
Mira finally came by with their food and they thanked her. As they went to sit at their table Mira said "I think you should talk to Happy. He was really upset this afternoon. I think he is jealous of you Gray!". She chuckled and went back to her counter. Cana had been watching the exchange and she was getting seriously fed up with the water mage's antics. She walked over to their table.
Juvia sat herself next to Gray. "Why would Happy be jealous of you, Gray-sama?", Juvia asked getting as close to the ice mage as he would allow. Cana sat down on the other side of Gray, drink in hand. She put her arm around Gray's shoulders, looked at Juvia and said excitedly "That's right, you weren't here for the big show last night!"
"Oh? What show was that?" Juvia tried to feign interest.
"Gray kissing Natsu. I'm sure you would have enjoyed it. I bet you if you ask nicely they might even do it again.", Cana winked at Juvia.
"Cana!", Gray hissed at her.
"What, it's the truth!", Cana gave Gray an innocent look, "I think you two make an excellent couple." Natsu was surprised by that and smiled at her gratefully. He glanced at Juvia, he had been willing to let Gray handle it but he was starting to lose his patience. Even though Juvia's behavior was nothing new, it now bothered him more than it used to.
"Gray-sama, tell me it's not true", Juvia pleaded.
"I'm sorry, Juvia I can't do that. Natsu and I are together.", Gray told her firmly.
"But you can't be! Juvia is the one who loves you. Juvia is the one who would do anything for you. All he does is hit you and make you angry.", Juvia cried desperately.
"Not anymore.", Gray said truthfully, "So we would really appreciate it if you would respect us and just let us enjoy our dinner date."
Juvia got up slowly and walked away disbelievingly. Part of her thought that it was some sort of involved prank they were playing on her. She headed towards where Gajeel was sitting. Gajeel would set her straight. Cana headed to the bar feeling quite satisfied with herself. Another drink was definitely in order.
Natsu and Gray finished the rest of their meal peacefully and decided to go home. Now that they had eaten they could feel how tired they were from their climb. They decided to skip training the following day and sleep in. They were walking hand in hand again when Juvia came up to Natsu, a furious expression on her face.
"You, how could you take him away from me.", she spat at Natsu.
"He was never yours, Juvia.", Natsu replied as calmly as he could. She was still part of his guild, he needed to keep himself in control.
Suddenly, she came at him all water and fury. Gray tried to get in front of him and cast and ICE MAKE SHIELD.
Natsu shoved him out of the way even as the shield was forming in front of him. "Idiot, I don't need you to protect me!"
His fists were on fire and he was ready to fight the water mage if that is what she really wanted. He readied an attack and... wait, his fists were on fire. He looked at them and grinned stupidly. He glanced at Gray doing the same thing next to him while looking at his shield. They forgot all about Juvia and immediately tried to punch each other. Once they were able to make contact they hugged each other happily and then ran over to hug Juvia, who looked angry and very confused.
Everyone in the guild was staring at them open mouthed and confused for the second night in a row. All their tiredness forgotten they ran outside insults, fists, and magics at the ready and had themselves a massive brawl for the first time in two weeks. They were back to normal.