Team Natsu goes on a job to take down a monster that only goes after virgins and Ace! Natsu comes out to his team
For day 3 of #ftlgbtales' event "when we take different paths" spooky tales short week! Prompt: "the legend said it only goes after virgins... so sucks for you I guess"
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Gray read through the job flier as he and his teammates sat around the campfire, or more accurately, sat around Natsu.
Natsu was sitting on his butt in the dirt, criss cross applesauce, with his arms folded over his chest and face set in a scowl. He was also on fire. The red gold flames licked at his skin, Natsu's eyes glaring and unfazed by the heat. Gray didn't know how his eyes didn't dry out, must be some fire dragon thing.
Erza was even roasting a marshmallow over his head. Natsu grumbled about it, but didn't voice any other opinions because you didn't say no to Erza when she wanted sweets.
Erza smiled at the fire mage. "Thank you for providing warmth Natsu. It's really nice of you."
"Yeah, thanks Natsu!" Gray and Lucy parroted, while Erza was actually sincere, they were just teasing their makeshift campfire.
Natsu flipped them the bird and Gray and Lucy snickered as they fist bumped, wearing twin grins.
"Remind me why I'm doing this?" Natsu demanded, throwing his hands up in the air and making the fire flash brighter, evidence of his annoyance.
"Because you love us?" Lucy suggested coyly.
Natsu was having none of it. "If that's the best you got this fire is about to go out."
She stuck her tongue out and him and he did the same.
"What? Can't go all night Natsu?" Gray challenged. The age old rivalry taking over.
He was always up for the chance to clash with Natsu. It was addicting, their fighting, the adrenaline high and the long winded feeling of never knowing who would win. They had met their match in each other.
Fire and ice, clashing for eternity. No winners, no losers. Just the ongoing fight. They would never be satisfied.
Natsu let himself be taunted, rising to his feet, full of fire and fury.
"NATSU!" Lucy exclaimed, yanking back her satchel. "Your going to burn my books!"
"And my fish!" Happy added, waving his meal around for emphasis.
He ignored them, stalking up to Gray. Natsu jabbed a finger at his chest, burning a hole through his shirt, for once actually on his body. "I'll go any time, any where, ice princess." He spat out the nickname like it was swill.
"Bring it on, flame brain." Gray smirked up at him, his finger twitched at his sides, eager for the fight.
The dragon slayer's mouth opened in a snarl, exposing fanged teeth, "Le-"
Whatever Natsu was about to say was cut off as Erza yanked him back by his ear. "No fighting!" Natsu struggled against her hold on ear, but it was no use against Titania's iron grip.
"Ooh Natsu's in trouble!" Happy sang.
She shot a look Gray's way. "That goes to you too, Fullbuster."
Scary. Gray held up his hands in surrender, a nervous, god awful smile on his face. "Yes ma'am."
"Ooh Gray's in trouble!" Happy repeated the call and Gray glared at the cat. Happy fled to hide his face in Lucy's chest wailing about how mean everyone was too him. Lucy just patted his head.
Erza nodded, having gotten the answer she wanted. She shoved Natsu to the ground. "Sit."
Natsu scowled but did as told, their shared childhood fear of Erza kicking in. He grumbled to himself, probably something that wasn't a compliment towards the red head.
"What was that?" Erza demanded, hearing his grumbles.
Natsu yelped. "N-nothing!"
Gray snickered. Enjoying that it was Natsu getting who was in trouble and not him. Even though it was Gray's taunts that had started it in the first place.
Natsu glared at him, and brought up a finger to pull down the skin at corner of his eye, droopy eyes, he mouthed.
Gray mimicked the gesture, but instead of pulling his skin down he pushed it up, slanty eyes.
"Your doing this because all the wood is wet from the recent rains." Erza told Natsu, her marshmallow stick back over his head.
"And because you want smores." Natsu eyed the marshmallow hovering above him, then he sniffed at the bag sitting in between the girls.
"Want a marshmallow?" Lucy asked, and Natsu nodded, opening his mouth, making a motion for her to toss it in.
Lucy underhanded the marshmallow, so it flew up into the air then fell down as gravity took hold, falling straight into Natsu's awaiting mouth.
"And she scores!" Happy exclaimed like a sports announcer.
"Sssanks Lushhiii." Natsu said through a mouth full of marshmallow goop and Gray cringed, didn't anyone ever teach him not to talk with food in his mouth? Maybe it wasn't a part of dragon etiquette. Did dragons even have etiquette?
For a few minutes their was blissful silence, all of them comfortable in their places around the warmth of Natsu's fire.
Or at least it was blissful until Natsu decided to whine. "How much longer? I wanna punch something and since Gray's off the table..." Natsu gave him the stink eye. "...it's gotta be the monster."
One of the keys on Lucy's belt glowled with a silver light. "Horologium said another 30 minutes till midnight." Lucy informed them and Natsu groaned, flopping over and sending up a shower of sparks.
"The legend said it only goes after virgins... so sucks for you I guess." Gray teased, knowing how strongly Natsu believed in superstitions, almost religiously. He always jumped to defend them and hated anyone who criticized and called them make believe. After years of being laughed at for saying his dad was a dragon it was a built in reflex. It was his pressure point.
Gray didn't know if he believed in dragons, but he sure as hell believed in demons, another creature from myths.
Natsu flinched, but Gray wouldn't have noticed it if not for the way the fire briefly stuttered. Natsu might be able to control the way his emotions displayed on his face, but with magic... it was a different story. You can't trick magic.
Did the whole monster thing creep Natsu out that much? Gray had just been messing with him, like he always did. So why was Natsu looking like he'd just eaten a bad burrito?
Lucy quirked an eyebrow. "Who says I'm a virgin? This all sounds like a lot of bravado to me, Gray." The corner of her lips upturned to match the burning look in her eyes. Gray knew that look. It was the same one Natsu wore, when he was hungry a fight. He must be rubbing off on her.
"Wait," Erza, held her hand up in a, slow down gesture, "who'd you have sex with?"
"Why do I have to answer that? Why not Gray." Lucy protested as she tried to turn Erza's attention back to him.
Gray didn't budge so much as an inch. "Everyone knows it was Loke, and so should you. He is your spirit after all."
"Why am I not surprised." Lucy muttered and a certain key glowed gold at her hip. Then celestial mage started having what sounded like a one sided conversation with Loke. "Oh hush you, stop bragging. Everyone's seen Gray naked. You're not special." The keys glow died down, and Gray could imagine Loke sulking through his gate.
"So... who was it? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Erza punctuated each 'tell me' with a finger jab to Lucy's side, knowing how ticklish the blonde was.
Lucy squirmed away, laughing. "Haha stop it! Okay, hahaha, okay I'll tell you! It's was Canaaa-"
Gray took a long slow sip of from his canteen, he should've known. Tenrou island had changed something in Cana and he'd put it off as the reason being Gildarts, but he never stopped to think it might actually be Lucy as well.
"-aand Juvia," Lucy finished.
Gray choked. "Juvia?" So that's why she's been laying off him lately.
"At- haha, the same, t-time hah- WOULD YOU QUIT THAT!" Lucy yelled, smacking Erza's hands away.
Erza was so shocked that she let her hands be pushed away, her mouth dropped open and eyes wide as saucers. Gray probably had the same look on his face.
Well okay then, he thought, taking another sip of his canteen to mask the dumbstruck look on his face.
"WHAT?!" Erza shot to her feet, the marshmallow stick falling out her hand and into Natsu's hair.
"Aww, come on!" Natsu whined. The white mush slid through his hair, and dribbled down onto his forehead, leaving a sticky white trail. Gray stifled the reference he could be making, about another thing that was white and sticky. The conversation had certainty taken a turn, straight down the sex life road. Well, maybe not straight. Gray chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny ice pop?" Natsu demanded, the ferocity in his tone being demeaned by the fact that it looked like he'd been shitted on my a seagull. He was pointedly ignoring the bickering ladies behind him.
Gray gestured to his forehead. "You uh... got a lil' somethin' there."
Natsu crossed his arms and his face became blank, "Oh I didn't notice." The marshmallow filling slipped further down his forehead, running across his eyebrow.
Even if Natsu wasn't his favorite person, he looked so uncomfortable that Gray felt the disgusting feeling of sympathy claw at his gut. Gray sighed, before stripping off his shirt and holding it out to Natsu. "Here. You can use it to wipe that... goop off."
Natsu looked at the offered shirt uncertainty, his eyes scanning it in a search for some ulterior motive. Gray wasn't exactly the kind of person to do nice things for others.
"It's gonna come off later anyways, so you might as well use it." He tried for logic, and it seemed to work because Natsu took the shirt, and used it to wipe at his face, mumbling a 'thanks' under his breath, as if voicing his gratitude any louder would cause an avalanche.
"Oh come one Erza!" Lucy put her hands on her hips, "Your just jealous I got to Juvia first."
"Yeah? Well I got Mirajane. Top that." Erza looked smug and with good reason, she's snagged one of fiore's top models. Actually having relations with the she devil, Mirajane was as much of legend as the monster they were supposed to be fighting.
"Wait," Natsu looked down at the ground, eyebrows set together and lips frowning. "So that time when you and Mira..." Natsu trailed off, looking up at Erza with accusing eyes. "You were not playing twister..." Red creeped across his cheeks to the tips of his ears, the color barely being masked by the flames surrounding him.
Erza made a face and clamped her lips shut in an effort to try and keep in her laughter.
"Twister?" Lucy repeated incredulously.
Erza's face puffed up and then she burst out laughing, unable to keep it in any longer. She eventually calmed down, laughter turning into hacking coughs and wheezes. "It was the best excuse we could come up with when Natsu walked in on us," she explained breathlessly as she turned to Natsu, "You're just realizing this now? That was back when we were 14!"
Natsu shifted uncomfortably, his cheeks darkening farther. "Um-uh..."
"Wow, you really are dense as a rock, huh?" Lucy shook her head, "boys."
"Oi! I'm not that bad." Gray argued, not wanting to be roped in with Natsu, of all people.
Erza was still laughing. "I couldn't believe Natsu actually fell for it. Twister! Yeah that's totally what we were doing while naked and in bed."
"Uh, you guys..." Happy tried to get their attention, but it was no use; his voice was drowned out by their laughter.
They laughed and laughed, clutching at their sides with tears in their eyes that blinded them to Natsu's discomfort.
"SHUT UP!!" Natsu screamed, a terrible raw sound that froze them to their very cores, unease rolling in the pits of their stomach, as his flames roared higher and higher, rising dangerously close to the treetops. Shit. If they didn't calm him down he was gonna start a forest fire.
"I'm not stupid okay! I'm not stupid... I-I'm not." The fire died out with the Natsu's cracking voice, leaving a red eyed, Natsu in its wake. His hands were clutching at the dirt, as his whole body trembled in an effort to keep his tears at bay.
Happy flew over to him, nuzzling into Natsu's chest. Natsu's arms wrapped around the exceed, holding him close as he rocked back and forth.
"Natsu, we don't think you're stupid." Lucy kneeled down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged the hand off, refusing to look her in the eyes.
"Yeah, you're of at least average intelligence." Gray joked and Lucy shot him the same look he'd grown to fear from Erza. The mark of feminine anger you did not want to mess with.
Erza cleared her throat. "I apologize for making you feel that way." She motioned at her face. "As repentance I'll let you get a free punch. Go on hit me."
"You don't understand," Natsu said, more to the ground than to his teammates, "You can't understand."
Happy looked up at him, big eyes worried. "What do you mean Natsu?"
"You can tell us," Lucy whispered, "None of us will laugh anymore, and we're sorry for laughing before; we were jerks."
"Yeah, total douches." Gray agreed rubbing the back of his neck.
Erza took a knee, leaving Gray the only one still standing. "We never meant to imply you were stupid. None of us believe that." the corner of her lips went up. "I for one know your a genius on the battlefield."
Natsu shook his head backs and forth, the movement nearly dislodging a stray tear. "It's not y'all calling me dumb that gets me, I-" he rubbed a hand threw his pink hair. "I'm used to that by now..."
Gray's stomach clench, how often had they joked about how dense Natsu was, not even taking a moment to consider he might actually care, or that he would take each little quip to heart until he didn't care anymore. God, Gray felt like was gonna be sick. How could they do that to him? A member of their guild, their family.
Lucy hesitated a moment, probably thinking the same thoughts as Gray, but she eventually gathered up the courage to ask, "T-then what is bothering you?
He still refused to look at them, his neck, face, and ears flushing red, his knuckles flushing white as he held Happy tighter. "Sex. I-I don't like it," Natsu's voice didn't raise above a whisper as he curled in on himself, "I know people always say guys are supposed to be obsessed with it, b-but I never really think about it. Like, at all."
Gray's stomach dropped like a stone as he realized what had started Natsu's freak out. It had been his virgin comment. It was his fault Natsu felt this way.
Natsu kept his head bowed as he asked, voice nearly inaudible, "I-is there something wrong with me?"
"Nothing is wrong with you!" Gray snapped, "Nothing!" he would punch the idea out of Natsu's head if he had too.
He'd heard that phrase too many times, all of the Fairy Tail mages had. They were labeled as crazy on a good day, hell it was like a compliment compared to the other slurs that were thrown their way.
"It's called being asexual," Lucy explained, "it means you have a preference for no sex. It's just like me liking guys and girls because I'm bisexual, or Erza being a lesbian-"
"A sword lesbian." Erza cut in.
"A sword lesbian." Lucy amended with an eye roll. "The point is that there's nothing wrong with not liking sex, just like there's nothing wrong with like the same or opposite sex."
"We don't care." Gray finally took a knee, placing a hand on Natsu's shoulder, in what he hoped was a gesture of comfort and solidarity. "We don't care that you don't like sex. The only thing we care about is you," Gray resisted the urge to cringe. Jesus Christ, he sounded sappy. He needed to say something that sounded less like it was from a chick flick. "Your still my rival. No matter what. I'm never gonna stop trying to beat you to a pulp."
"Aye!" Happy cheered.
Natsu finally looked up at them, revealing the tears that were flowing down his face uncontrollably. "T-thank you." He choked out, sniffling slightly.
"Aww come here!" Erza grabbed Natsu, pulling his face right into her boobs. Lucy and Gray laughed, and joined the hug, encircling their arms around their, now known, asexual friend.
They stood there for a while, heads buried in each other's warmth, their arms strong and steady.
"Uh guys?" Natsu tried to pull away, but the arms around him only tightened, not willing to let him go just yet.
"Stop trying to move, just let us hug you." Lucy ordered.
"Yeah." Gray agreed, and gave Natsu a little squeeze for emphasis. Bastard, was gonna let himself be hugged or else.
Erza pulled him closer. "There is no escape."
"But-"
Then they heard it. SCRREEEEEAAAHHHH!!
Gray, Lucy, and Erza jumped apart at the ear splitting cry, releasing Natsu, who's hands flew to cover his ears.
"What the hell was was that?" Gray demanded, looking wildly around for the sound's source. Erza summoned a wing-hilted sword and Lucy's hands drifted towards her keys.
Natsu huffed and puffed. "That's what I was trying to tell you, but nooo you weren't listening, you were to busy being the hug police."
"What is it Natsu?" Happy asked, he was trembling, but he bravely brandished his fish up in the air, mimicking Erza's sword stance.
"I smelled it." Natsu pointed at the horizons where birds had suddenly taken to the sky. The ground began to shake in rhythm with the, thump thump thump, that echoed around the area like the footsteps of a giant. "The monster's here."
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A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUNNN!! Ooh sense of foreboding~ hehe. I'm thinking of extending this and making a part 2 but knowing me it probably won't happen lol.
I hope I did ace representation justice with Natsu! Unfortunately those who identify as ace are ignored and that's not okay. ACE PPL ARE VALID!!!
I'm sorry for using the twister meme with Mirza (no I'm not). And with Lucy having a three some with Cana and Juvia I'm not saying that's was bisexuality is. I just fell in love with gaysquared's idea of those three dating bc I can never decide what ship I like better Luvia? Lucana? Juvanna? I'm torn. I love them all. So why not just mash them together lol
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to let me know what you thought of this fic or leave a request for what I should write about next with the ft chars!