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“Holy,” Gray gasps, “fuck.”
Natsu smirks salaciously from between his legs. “Feel good, Snowflake?”
Gray glares at him, ready to throw an insult back, but Natsu brushes his fingers over Gray’s prostate and any venom in his words is lost. “Shut up.”
Natsu works another finger in, spreads them wide and curls each one until Gray’s hands are fisted in the sheets. Natsu twists his wrist and Gray squeezes his eyes shut and moans quietly.
“Such a pretty sound,” Natsu purrs.
Gray clenches around him. “Shut up,” he repeats halfheartedly.
“On one condition,” Natsu says. “Look at me.”
“Natsu-” Gray cuts off as air is knocked out of his lungs. Natsu is fucking his fingers into Gray harder, faster. “Christ, Natsu-”
“Gray, please.”
Gray bites into his lip and slowly opens his eyes. Natsu’s gaze softens, just a little and Gray’s chest tightens.
“That’s better,” he hums.
Gray opens his mouth to complain, the bastard said he'd stop talking, but Natsu curls his fingers just right, just enough, and all that Gray can manage is a strangled cry.
Natsu’s body temperature rises, his fingers are so hot inside Gray, so hot and fucking perfect his head is spinning. Natsu’s eyes are so intense on Gray’s he squirms, tightening rhythmically around Natsu’s fingers, gripping the sheets for dear life. Natsu lets out a small whine, cock leaking and straining against his stomach, and with one last brush against his prostate, Gray comes.
Natsu’s fingers only slow once Gray is limp against the bed. “That was so... so- fucking hell, Gray.”
Gray’s eyes slide shut. Natsu plants a kiss inside Gray’s knee, inside his wrist, his palm. He drizzles lube over his cock and brushes the tip against Gray’s opening. “How do you want it, Snowflake?”
Gray opens his eyes to the sound of his alarm, his mind fuzzy and his boxers ruined. “What the hell was that?”
Gray bails on the group's mission that day. He lies and tells them he’s sick. Guilt wrenches in his chest at everyone’s concern, but his eyes never leave Natsu. He looks the most worried of them all and it knots deep in his gut. While he can’t possibly face him after last night, he can’t stop staring, either. He’s grateful that no one can see who he’s looking at through the communication lacrima.
“Are you sure you don't want me to come give you a quick session before we leave?” Wendy asks.
Gray shakes his head. “I’ll be better by the time you guys get back.” He sighs. He sure hopes that's true. “Be safe, everyone.”
After half a dozen more wishes for him to feel better, Gray ends the call and crawls back into bed. He closes his eyes and wishes Natsu wasn’t burned into the back of his eyelids. He falls into a fretful sleep, echoes of Natsu calling his name leaving him aching and confused.
Gray avoids the guild hall as long as possible when the team gets home. He planned on popping in to say hi, browsing the job fliers and going home, but Lucy asked him to stay for a drink. No one on the team can say no when she uses the puppy eyes.
So here Gray is, squished between Erza and Natsu because Mira insists she needs a new picture of the three of them.
“Mira, why-” Gray tries again.
“Shush!” Mira waves her hand at him. “You three are one of the original best friend trios in this guild, I need to document you growing up together.”
“But-”
Mira glares, and Gray gets a terrifying glimpse of the devil she was when they were young. “You know, Bixlow didn't even complain this much when I got a photo of the Raijinshuu. I don’t know why you're being so fussy all of the sudden.”
“If you’d stop whining, we’d be done by now,” Natsu whispers in his ear. He slings his arm around Gray’s shoulders. “Shut up and smile.”
Gray’s stomach flips and he chokes down the urge to tell Natsu to fuck right off and gives Mira the smile she’s been trying to coax out of him for the last ten minutes.
Natsu turns his head, and Gray swears his eyes flit along his frame before landing on his mouth. “See? Wasn't so hard, now was it?” he asks quietly.
Gray’s throat goes dry watching Natsu's tongue peek out to wet his lips. “Would you take your stupid arm off of me?” he grumbles.
Natsu tries to scowl at him but it comes out as more of a pout. He mumbles something about going to the bathroom and pushes up from his seat.
Gray rolls his eyes and tosses back the rest of his drink.
“That was kinda mean, don't you think?” Lucy asks.
Gray’s brows furrow. “What are you talking about? That’s how I always speak to him.”
Erza shakes her head. “That may be true, but you never seem to truly mean it. And just now, well…”
Gray shifts. “He’s just being sensitive.”
Wendy watches Natsu slump down at Lisanna’s table. She hears bits of their conversation, it's nothing she doesn't know but she feels for him all the same. “I think it's more than that.”
“What is it, then?”
The girls share a look, a mixture of pity and slight exasperation. Gray gets the feeling he doesn't wanna know.
“Whatever. Tell him I'm sorry I hurt his feelings. I'm going home.”
Gray catches the pained expression on Natsu’s face and nearly kicks himself for not leaving sooner.
That's the last time he sees Natsu for a week.
Gray’s standing by the job board, eyes flicking from one flier to the next. He’s had enough of hiding out at his house. Time to go make some money.
Natsu steps up beside him. “Hey.”
The blood drains from Gray’s face. “Hey, I was just-”
“Leaving?” Natsu asks. “Same way you do every time I've tried to talk to you the last how many days?”
Gray blinks at him, trying to ignore the pang in his chest at Natsu’s crestfallen expression. “I don’t know what you're talking about.”
“Listen, I don't know why you're mad at me, if it was something I said or did that night we got back, but…”
Natsu closes his eyes and sucks in a deep breath. Gray takes a moment to really observe his profile; the way his lashes rest against his cheeks and the smatter of freckles that sit there, the slope of his nose, the set of his full lips. Warmth pools in Gray’s belly, and the thought he’s been ignoring, repressing for almost two weeks rears it’s head. He likes Natsu.
He accepted his attraction to him shortly after that ridiculous dream, but feelings? That came out of left field. Sort of. Maybe. Gray sighs. He’s probably been subconsciously telling himself there’s no way. Yet here he is.
“Are you listening to me?” Natsu growls.
“Hmm?” Gray hums. Has Natsu always been this cute when he’s mad? Gray shakes his head. He is in so fucking deep.
Natsu huffs. “I said I was sorry.”
“But you didn't do anything,” Gray blurts.
Natsu’s eyebrows shoot up. “Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?”
Gray stares at the floor. Shit. Shit. Why did he open his mouth?
“Hey,” Natsu says. “Look at me.”
Gray chokes, and suddenly he’s back in his bed with Natsu between his thighs. Look at me. He squeezes his eyes shut.
“Gray, please.”
Gray’s face burns, images of Natsu naked, stretching him open playing in his mind over and over.
“Snowflake!”
Gray nearly groans. Natsu hasn't called him that in months, why now? Gray manages to meet Natsu's eyes and he’s fucking floored. He is in so damn deep.
“I- I've been in a bit of a funk. I'm- I'm sorry, I'll be better soon.”
Natsu cocks his head at him. “What-”
“I have to go.” Gray pushes past him and tears out of the guild hall.
Natsu considers chasing him, but in the end he doesn't bother. He feels rejected enough for the time being.
Gray runs. He runs past Natsu’s house, past his house, runs until his lungs burn and he’s sucking wind.
He stops outside a bar, stares at the door for a solid three seconds before muttering fuck it and walking inside.
He’s sitting in a booth for half a second before Cana slides into the seat across from him. “Hey, Gray what's-” She stops when she gets a good look at him. He’s a mess, and that's a rare state for him to be in. “What’s wrong?”
Gray shakes his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That's how I know you need to,” Cana says. “I’ll go grab you a drink, then you’re going to tell me everything.”
And Gray does. He skips the details of the dream, much to Cana’s disappointment, but once he’s finished, he feels fractionally better.
“Wait,” Cana says, taking a long sip of her drink. “You just realized you like Natsu? Hasn't it been like, 3 years since you've been in love with him?”
Gray scowls. “No,” he grumbles. “I’m pretty sure I'd know if I was in love with someone for that long.”
Cana snorts. “Riiight,” she drawls sarcastically. “You two are so dense.”
Gray stares at her for a moment. “What do you mean you two?”
Cana deadpans. “You just proved my point.” Gray continues to stare blankly. “For the love of Mavis. You don’t see the way Natsu looks at you, do you? Just like you don’t realize you've been looking at him the same way.”
“The way he-”
“At least he figured it out last year,” Cana continues as if Gray said nothing.
“Wait, Natsu likes me?”
Cana lets out a long, exasperated sigh. “You two, I swear. I need another drink before I deal with this.”
She’s gone before Gray can ask again. Before he can process any of it, his phone is vibrating in his pocket. Gray fishes it out and swears under his breath. It's Natsu.
I dont buy your shitty excuse. Tell me whats going on snowflake
“Fuck,” Gray grumbles.
“Oh?” Cana hums behind him. She sets her glass down on the table and snatches Gray’s phone out of his hand.
“Hey, what are you doing?!” Gray squawks, lunging for his phone.
Cana is always surprisingly nimble after Mavis knows how many drinks, and she dances out of his way, fingers tapping at his phone.
Gray chases her halfway across the bar, dread filling him at her cackles.
He manages to get his phone back despite Cana’s protests and barely gets into scolding her before his phone is lighting up again.
Really???
Gray looks up at Cana. “Oh, god. What did you say?”
Cana smiles at him. “You’ll thank me later!” She wisely disappears before Gray unlocks his phone.
He nearly drops the fucking thing when he sees what Cana wrote.
I know I've been acting weird but I like u too. Oh and I had a wet dream about u and I would love to show you what xkenmewfgke
“Cana!” Gray snarls.
Shit. What is he going to say? What can he say? That it isn't true? He hates lying to Natsu, and telling him he’s in a funk was bad enough.
His phone vibrates again and he looks at it before he can think better of it.
Meet me at your house. I'm already on my way
Gray crumples into the nearest chair. Natsu is going to kill him. Berate him. Kick his ass.
Gray pulls his phone back out and reads the messages again.
I know I’ve been acting weird but I like u too
Really???
Natsu knows Gray likes him. Natsu didn't say he doesn't like Gray back.
“Holy shit.”
Gray has never moved so fast in his life. He sprints home, passing a very satisfied looking Cana on his way.
He’s sweaty and out of breath by the time he gets to his apartment building’s elevator. He tries vehemently to calm himself on his way to the third floor, but the moment he’s at his door he can’t move any farther.
Natsu is on the other side, waiting for him to come home so they can… what? Gray can’t think about that right now. He’ll turn right back around and leave.
The door opens and Natsu is in front of him. “Haven’t you kept me waiting long enough?”
“I- you-” Gray flounders.
Natsu smiles, shakes his head and pulls Gray forward. He kisses him, slow and soft, fingers tangling in Gray’s hair when Gray slots their bodies together.
Gray’s breathing is laboured again when they break apart. He nuzzles Natsu's hair. “That was… better than I thought it would be.”
Natsu nips at his neck. “Screw you.” Gray can feel Natsu smiling against his skin. “Speaking of which, don't you have something to show me?”
Gray holds Natsu tighter. Maybe he will thank Cana someday.