Gratsu Bingo 2019
Prompt: Age
Chapter 4
Gray's eyes remained closed as he listened intently, trying to figure out what had woken him. He was really thirsty, which wasn't all that surprising considering how much alcohol he'd had last night. He was about to get up when he heard the jingling of keys followed by the sound of the apartment door closing.
That was unexpected. Gray managed to get up without waking Natsu and hurried out to the living room, finding it empty. After checking around his small apartment, he quickly came to the conclusion that both Zeref and Lyon were gone. He didn't like that, not at all. Why would Lyon have left with Zeref? He wasn't the most trusting of people, and if Gray had doubts about Zeref, he was sure Lyon did too.
Gray scrambled back to his room, determined to follow the two men if only to ensure Lyon's safety. He gazed down at the beautiful sight of Natsu sleeping peacefully in his bed, wanting to reassure himself it was real. Grabbing the first set of clothes he found off the floor, he quickly put them on in the dark and after one last look at his bed and a pat to his pockets to make sure he had his keys he hastened out the door, stopping only to ensure the door closed soundlessly before sprinting down the four flights of stairs and out the door.
Zeref and Lyon weren't hard to spot, the sun wasn't quite out yet, and the streets were devoid of the usual clutter of pedestrians. The two men were engrossed in their conversation, making it a simple task for Gray to catch up and follow closely enough to listen.
I didn't use to believe in them either. I'm actually forty-four years old, but I haven't aged a day since I was twenty-nine. I've never told anyone this story before, but maybe it will help you understand why I have to leave.
Gray was dumbfounded, Zeref was planning on leaving Natsu?! He couldn't do that, it would break him all over again! Gray was about to give him a piece of his mind when he heard Zeref's next words, and they were nothing at all like what he'd expected.
Once, we were a perfect happy family. The woman in the picture was my wife, Sona. The child is Natsu, he was three years old in that picture. It's the last one we ever took as a family. They were really all I cared about, my whole world revolved around them.
He knew there was something suspicious about Zeref, but he could never have predicted this. Zeref was Natsu's father?! How was that even possible, and what about Igneel? How did he fit into all this? Gray swallowed his protests and listened with growing disbelief.
But I had other responsibilities, ones that I had been prepared for since my birth. My father was the Emperor of Alvarez, a vast country within the continent of Alakistasia, and I was to take his place when he died. I'd thought I had years before that happened, but my father fell ill, and before I knew it, I was the Emperor.
I had less time to spend with Sona and Natsu as I was forced to embrace my new responsibilities, but I still made sure to schedule time in my day to be with them. I couldn't imagine my life without them. Looking back, that might have appeared a weakness to those who would do me harm.
A neighboring country, Rivera, wanted me to sign a trade agreement that was unfavorable to Alvarez and I refused. My most trusted advisor, Igneel, warned me they might attempt to force the issue, but I didn't listen. I thought the matter ended with my refusal.
I returned from a function to find the palace overrun with intruders. I rushed to my living quarters as my guards reinforced the ones that were already fighting, while a smaller contingent of my personal guard followed me.
I'd never run so fast in my life, and Igneel matched me step for step, both of us cursing the distance between the palace entrance and the living quarters. As we neared, I called out to Sona and Natsu, but all I could hear was Natsu crying out for me. I should have realized at that point. Natsu wasn't a crier, he was tough even back then, and he sounded broken.
Nothing could've ever prepared me for the sight that greeted me inside my chamber. My wife had been disgraced, her body abused and bloodied from multiple stab wounds. She'd been left to die on our bed. Natsu, who was only three, sat by her side, gently nudging her and sobbing out for his Daddy.
There were several men still in the room, and they were making their way to Natsu. I had no way of knowing what their plan was. Perhaps they only meant to kidnap Natsu and force me to agree to their demands, but when I saw them point their weapons at my son, I became possessed by something ugly and dark.
To this day, I hold no memory of what I did to them. Igneel told me he tried to stop me, but when he couldn't, he took Natsu with him and left the room to keep him from seeing any more. I know Natsu saw something because he acted scared of me for a time, but we were all we had left, and we huddled together in our grief.
My pain soon turned to hatred, and I was consumed with only one thought. Destroying my enemies. Without meaning to, I left more and more of Natsu's care to Igneel.
The empire mourned for the loss of its Empress, and we went to war with Rivera. They soon learned what it meant to come against me, as they were brutally wiped out by the might of our armies. I thought this would bring me pleasure, but it did no such thing.
Sona was still dead, her last moments filled with more pain than I could ever imagine, and I couldn't forgive myself for that. I wanted to bring her back to life. To see those beautiful green eyes smile at me again. To hear her say she forgave me for not being there.
Everyone I conferred with insisted it couldn't be done, but I wouldn't give up. It had become an obsession, and I was caught in its grasp.
Igneel begged me to think of Natsu, but I was too far gone. I had been a bit of a scholar before I had met Sona and I devoured text after text, looking for any way to bring her back. And I found one.
I brought her back to life for two glorious days, but in doing so, I cursed myself.
My activities caught the attention of Ankhseram, the God of Life and Death. He was furious that I had dared to interfere in his domain, and he appeared before us.
He took Sona away from me and placed her somewhere I would never be able to reach until I died, before cursing me to live until no more of my bloodline walked the Earth.
I didn't believe it at first. I tried many things to prove Ankhseram wrong, but no matter what I did, I couldn't die.
I had only one thing left to live for.
Natsu.
He was my pride and joy, my treasure, and once I accepted Sona was outside of my reach, I tried to be the best father I could.
He split his time between myself and Igneel, to whom I'd assigned the job of his protector. I worked hard to give my best to Alvarez and to Natsu, my pathetic attempt at an apology for all the destruction and misery I'd caused with my petty revenge.
And for about two years we managed to live happily. Until the day, I very publically survived when I should have died. That changed everything.
People outside of the palace began to fear me. There were murmurings of deals with devils around the time I was trying to bring Sona back. There was another attack on the castle, this time from my own people.
I didn't want any more blood on my hands, so I offered to surrender. I'd let them take me into custody, as long as they allowed Igneel to leave the palace with Natsu.
But they wouldn't agree to my terms, and so my personal guard fought to give Igneel time to escape. Once they were gone, I allowed myself to be taken.
I was imprisoned, and they performed all sorts of experiments on me, curious as to the limits of my demise. My cousin Acnologia took my place as Emperor, and he set about suppressing any support for my release.
For years I existed this way, my body in constant agony from their attempts to kill me. It mattered not, I didn't care about much of anything. Until one of my allies snuck the first letter from Igneel into my cell.
He'd included pictures of Natsu, and suddenly I was alive again. There weren't many details included in the letters, Igneel didn't want anyone to be able to find them after all, but it didn't matter. Seeing Natsu alive and happy was more than enough for me. I watched him grow in pictures, and every year, he looked more and more like my beautiful Sona.
I knew that Natsu's death before he had a chance to bear children would be the only thing to release me from this curse I had earned. But even so, I would happily live a dozen lifetimes to ensure his survival.
I'd wish him a dozen children if that's what made him happy. He'd already seen too much death and blood to last a lifetime, he deserved that much. I was thankful to have made a friend like Igneel, who was willing to take in my son as his own and give him everything I could not. But I received a final letter from Igneel telling me he'd been recognized and had to leave Natsu for fear our enemies would find him.
I didn't know what to do, I tried to escape several times, hoping to somehow find Natsu and protect him with my life, but I never made it that far. A few months later I heard rumors of a new prisoner and soon came to learn it was Igneel.
He'd hoped to unite my supporters and try to force my release, but he'd been captured as soon as he'd crossed the border of Alvarez.
We were able to speak a few times, and he gave me all the details I had lacked, including Natsu's location. We began to plot our escape, but he was executed before we had a chance to make our attempt.
That was too much for Gray, he felt a deep sense of sadness overtake him as he remembered the man who had always been like a father to him and Lyon. A man who was dead because of his devotion to this man. This man who took Natsu away from him for two years, and suddenly he'd had enough. He didn't want to listen to any more.
"Igneel is dead?" Gray grabbed Zeref by the collar of his shirt, stopping his forward movement before turning him around to face him, "How long?"
Zeref held Gray's gaze, "He was executed eight years ago."
"Where the hell did you come from?" Lyon peered at him in surprise, wondering how much of the conversation his brother had heard.
"You sonofabitch!" Gray punched Zeref's jaw as hard as he could manage, shaking his hand as he felt the pain work its way through his bones. "You've known Igneel was dead all this time and you didn't tell him?"
"Gray!" Lyon shouted, "This is Natsu's father."
"Igneel was his father," Gray insisted stubbornly. He was furious, all he could think of was the years Natsu spent tirelessly searching for Igneel, never once giving up hope that he would find him someday. This was going to destroy him.
Zeref rubbed his jaw, "He's right, Lyon. I don't deserve to be called his father, Igneel earned that right more than I ever did. Igneel loved Natsu, he always put Natsu's needs ahead of his own. I will not take that away from either of them."
"None of what you're saying makes a whit of sense," Gray narrowed his eyes, shrugging away from the confusion he felt at Zeref's story. He rubbed his temples, suddenly wishing he'd drunk that glass of water after all.
"I realize that this must seem like I'm making it up, but I assure you everything I've said is true, and that is why I have to go. I can't tell Natsu I'm his father, and I can't pretend to be his older brother forever. How long do you think I can hang around before Natsu realizes I don't age?"
"I won't pretend to understand any of this, but the fact remains, no one can live forever."
"I won't live forever, just until all my descendants have died."
"So if Natsu doesn't have kids you'll be able to die?"
"Yes, as soon as he does."
"So problem solved, Natsu and I won't have kids."
Zeref began to laugh, and once he started, he couldn't seem to stop.
"What's so fucking funny?"
"Nothing," Zeref said in between laughs, wiping a few tears away with his hand, "You're just very confident for someone who was rejected the only time he ever made a move."
"That was your fault, asshole," Gray retorted although he couldn't deny his confidence took a slight hit at Zeref's words. "Natsu and I will work it out, we belong together."
Gray was as sure of that as he was of the fact that Juvia was going to kill his brother in a few hours. "Lyon, go home, I can take it from here."
"There's really no point in me going to bed anymore, and Natsu is like a brother to me," Lyon reminded him, "I would like to see this through."
Zeref scrutinized Gray carefully, the intensity of his stare making the younger man nervous, although he tried to hide it. "I'm glad you were able to forgive him for leaving the way he did, it was something he was worried about. I am sure my leaving will hurt him for a short time, but having you by his side will more than make up for it."
'If you truly believe that then you weren't paying much attention during your time with him," Gray was becoming steadily more irritated by Zeref's dispassionate attitude," Were you able to give up on bringing back Sona?"
Gray waited for an answer, and although none came, Zeref's expression changed from dispassion to respect, and Gray used the opportunity to his advantage. "He is your son, if you leave him, he will never stop searching for you, and I will not watch him go through that again."
"He's right, Zeref," Lyon agreed, "I already told you that earlier. Natsu has been searching for his family for the last nine years. You need to give him closure and give him a chance to know you for who you really are."
"If there is one thing I learned in our time together, it's that Natsu is good. He deserves better than me, he always did. All I can offer him is pain," Zeref pointed out stubbornly.
"Listen here, he might deserve better than you, but you are what he has. So you're going to march your ass back to our apartment, and you're going to tell Natsu who you are, and you will tell him everything you know about Igneel," Gray demanded, "Then he can decide what he wants for once."
Lyon agreed with Gray, but he thought a kinder approach was warranted to get Zeref to agree. He believed that the bigger problem lay in Zeref feeling like he might be taking away Natsu's future.
"If you don't want to tell him about the condition of your curse, then don't tell him. We promise to keep your secret if that's what it takes to get you to stay." Lyon glared at his twin, daring him to refute his promise.
He squeezed Zeref's shoulder, "I can't imagine the pain you have been through, but if you want to ever be worthy of being his father, this is the best way. And you're wrong. There is still one thing you can give him, you can tell him about Sona."
"He's going to hate me," Zeref fretted, pulling out the locket again and staring at the picture encased within. He noticed Gray looking at it with curiosity and showed him as he had to Lyon.
Gray's breath hitched as he saw the image of Natsu as a child, and although his mind was trying to convince him that the image was doctored, he somehow knew that wasn't what this was. As much as he wanted to disbelieve Zeref's story, he could no longer deny it, and he felt a bit sorry for the man.
He held his hand out, willing Zeref to take it. Zeref stared at it, and with a loud sigh, he grabbed it.
"I'm going to regret this."
Lyon grabbed his other hand, and together, the three men walked back towards Gray and Lyon's apartment.
A/N: I had my daughter read this for clarity and she pointed out that the years/dates were confusing. Natsu was six when he and Igneel reached Magnolia, this is the age he, Gray and Lyon met. He was 11 when Igneel left him, 12 when Igneel was executed. Zeref wrote the letter right after Igneel died but it took six years to get to Natsu, passing through many hands until it reached Magnolia. He received the letter when he was 18 and he spent 2 years with Zeref making his current age 20. Also, she and my husband would like to note that my love for Brazilian steakhouses transcends my world-building, seeing as Brazil should not exist in this world. I love steak, sue me!
Uhm looks like maybe one more chapter, but don't quote me on that.