Gray had always known that they were going to need to talk about what had happened, there was no way to ignore a fight of that magnitude or the fact that neither of them had been willing to stop. However, war and the effort to just stay alive had managed to bury the awkwardness for a while, and some part of the Ice Mage had naively hoped that the upwelling of joy and relief at their victory would wash away the stain.
And to some extent it had.
When the Dragonslayers had come tumbling back down to earth, Natsu had rushed to him without hesitation and hugged him close, warm and familiar and wonderfully alive. Gray was unashamed to admit that he had clung on, ignoring their audience and the knowing look on Erza’s face, and the whispered apology that hadn’t quite been hidden in Natsu’s jumbled explanation of what had happened with Acnologia. It had felt almost normal, and that feeling had lasted for as long as they were surrounded by the others, all the guilds and the locals milling together. Friends and family and people bound together by war laughing and crying and chatting, celebrations mixed with mourning and the growing realisation that they had survived but there was a lot of rebuilding to be done.
At some point, though they had wandered away from the others, even Happy staying behind although he had given Gray a pointed look before he’d waved them off. They’d walked through Hargeon, taking in the destruction that had been wrought. Neither spoke, but while the silence was full of words waiting to be said, it wasn’t uncomfortable, and Natsu had welcomed him when Gray had reached for his hand, ice and fire pressed together, the world settling a bit more as the Dragon-slayer’s fingers curled around his without hesitation.
“Natsu…” He hadn’t meant to be the first to break the silence, and he didn’t know what to say as his voice seemed too loud in the silence, even though it had crept out as little more than a whisper. He couldn’t miss the way that Natsu tensed, warm fingers pressing a little too hard around his hand. “Natsu…” He repeated, coming to a halt and tugging on their linked hands, spinning the Dragonslayer around so that they were facing one another, and now he couldn’t hide from the fact that the easy grin had disappeared from Natsu’s face. The Dragonslayer wasn’t quite frowning, but he looked unsettled, and he seemed to be avoiding Gray’s gaze and it took the Ice Mage a moment to realise it was the same expression that Natsu had always worn when he’d been caught causing mischief when they were younger and his heart plummeted as it dawned on him why.
Natsu was waiting to be blamed for what happened.
Do I blame him? Gray asked himself, hating that it was even a question that came to mind, but relieved when the answer came to him just as quickly. No. Sure, Natsu had made some stupid mistakes – like not telling him what was going on and going after Zeref on his own, but Gray couldn’t exactly claim that he had made the best decisions either. We’re both to blame if anyone is.
“Natsu,” he said, louder this time, steadier in himself as he squeezed Natsu’s hand refusing to continue until the Dragonslayer met his gaze. “I… I’m sorry.”
“But…” It was my fault…
“You weren’t to blame for this,” Gray interrupted him, hearing the unspoken words. Many people missed what Natsu didn’t say, but Gray had spent a lifetime learning to understand the idiot and he was glad of it now as the Dragonslayer blinked at him. “You’re an idiot, and you should have told me…so many things. But, it wasn’t your fault, or at least if it was then I’m just as much to blame.”
“But…”
“I could have stopped. I should have stopped. I know you!” I love you, Gray couldn’t bring himself to say it at that moment, not quite sure that he had the right anymore. “And yet…”
“I didn’t stop either,” Natsu said. “If Erza hadn’t stopped us, I’m not sure I would have and…”
“Me neither…” Gray whispered. He hadn’t wanted to say it, hadn’t wanted to admit it, but Natsu had said it first and as awful and awkward and painful as it was, Gray knew they needed to be honest this time.
“So…we’re both idiots?”
“We are,” Gray agreed, surprised by his own chuckle.
“And we’re both to blame, and not to blame?” Natsu sounded less certain this time, but he wasn’t looking away and Gray held his gaze as he nodded. It was either both of them, or neither of them. We really are a pair of idiots, aren’t we? Natsu was watching him intently, searching his expression for something and Gray let him, fighting the urge to flinch away and hide his thoughts and feelings away as he had so many times in the past. Not that it had ever stopped Natsu from being able to read him. “Then Gray…”
“Yeah?” He asked with some trepidation, not sure what to make of Natsu’s tone, for once unable to scramble the emotion in it.
“Would you please just kiss me?”
It took a moment for the words to register, and another for Gray to process them and realise that Natsu was waiting, watching him with a mix of hope and fear, and another emotion or rather a plea that made his heart clench painfully as he deciphered it.
Kiss me.
Forgive me.
Natsu wasn’t quite ready to accept his absolution, wasn’t quite able to believe that they could move past this. I know you. Had Natsu not heard the words hidden beneath that? Did he not know…? Gray moved without thinking, driven by longing and a need to banish that fear, that plea, as much for Natsu as for himself. The Dragonslayer met him halfway, wide-eyed and frozen with hope, and Gray kissed him. Soft and tender, and slow. Unspoken words given physical form, and he felt Natsu melt against him as they filled the space between them.
A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404
Gratsu Weekend 2022
Series: The Changing of the Seasons
Prompt(s): The full story will cover all the prompts
Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue, Gratsu & Stingue
AO3 | Next: Ch 2
Summary: Sometimes it's the simplest things that can lead to the biggest discoveries. A walk through the woods; something Natsu, Gray, Sting and Rogue had done often in the years they'd been friends. It was a time to relax and catch up, to let Sting and Natsu burn off some excess energy. But when they stumble into an area of the forest that boasts vegetation larger than anything they have ever encountered, they can't help but want to explore further. Especially when a strange magic seems to be inviting them in.
0-0
Chapter 1
The tavern was fairly quiet when Gray and Natsu walked in. Fellow travelers occupied a couple of tables, having a late lunch, planning the next leg of their journey, or simply enjoying a leisurely moment. Scanning the room, it didn't take long for them to spot Sting and Rogue waving at them. They were huddled together in a cosy booth in the back, curiosity all but written on their faces.
Gray was relieved to see four mugs of ale already on their table. He could definitely use a drink after the morning they’d just had. They plopped down across from their friends, and he took a few big gulps before even offering a greeting.
“Should I even ask how it went?” Rogue raised an eyebrow.
“It was a disaster.” Gray waved his mug around and made explosion noises.
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Natsu, you almost set that lady’s dress on fire.”
Sting snorted into his own mug. "Almost?"
Gray sipped his ale, waiting for Natsu to retaliate by telling their friends about how he’d stripped his shirt not even five minutes into the interview, but he remained silent. And while Gray was grateful for the reprieve, it also plucked at his heartstrings. It wasn’t like him to let an opportunity like that pass.
“Maybe they’ll change their mind,” Sting said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he reached for the menu.
Gray seriously doubted that. "The interviewer made herself very clear when she said they didn't select same-sex couples for the adoption process."
“It's such a stupid rule!” Natsu complained. His raised voice and the sound his fists made as they slammed on the table were loud enough for a few other patrons to turn their heads, but they lost interest just as quickly. “It makes no sense! I even told her all about how I’d hatched Happy from an egg and raised him.”
“Please tell me you didn’t tell her about KemoKemo.” Rogue gave him a look that said he already knew what the answer was going to be.
“Of course I did!”
"Of course you did," Rogue sighed. "I'm sorry, and you're right. It's not fair that they only rejected you because you're both men. We could only wish a loving couple like you guys had taken us in back then."
It really wasn't fair. They’d be great parents if given half a chance. Gray knew it.
But that was the thing; no one was willing to. This interview had been their last stop on this road; an orphanage in a small town they’d never heard of before. They’d already gone everywhere else, and the answer had never changed.
"Should we go back and set her dress all the way on fire?" Sting joked, or at least that’s what Gray hoped.
“I don’t see how getting the Rune Knights on our ass will help our case. Let’s just drink.”
"Fair enough. I'll get us another round, then." Sting got up, clambering over Rogue's lap to get out of the booth, and giving Natsu a few shoulder pats as he passed him on the way to the bar.
“Sounds good to me.” Gray said, hurrying to finish his current drink. He turned to Natsu and asked, “Do you want to get some food?”
“Sure.” Natsu listed off what he wanted, but it was barely half of what he’d normally order.
Gray grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Hey, I know it didn’t go the way we’d hoped, but let’s try not to let it spoil our day, okay?”
Natsu nodded, resting his head on Gray’s shoulder for a moment. “I bet I can drink that ale faster than you.”
It was a half-hearted attempt, but Gray was quick to agree, knowing once they got going Natsu’s competitive streak would take over.
“You’re on.”
“Hey, hold on, I want in on that!” Sting returned, handing over drinks, and all three of them glanced at Rogue, waiting for him to give in to their combined pleas to join them.
"Last one to finish buys the next round," he said, “and no magic this time.”
They all toasted to seal the deal and started downing their ales as fast as they could.
0-0
“Where the hell are we?”
The resulting silence from the three dragon slayers was troubling, considering they’d been walking around for what felt like hours now.
They’d left the tavern early in the afternoon, determined to explore the woods that surrounded the town. It had seemed like a great idea at the time, but they’d all been completely plastered, so that wasn’t exactly surprising.
And now they were lost.
Gray searched for any landmark, even though he knew it was pointless. If those three had no clue where they were, what chance did he have? Everything looked pretty much the same to him. There was just green and more green everywhere his eyes could see.
He wasn’t too worried yet, but he’d feel much better knowing they would make it back to town in time to catch the last train home.
"At least it's not going to rain." Sting shrugged. "Let’s just keep walking. We’re bound to find something soon."
Gray was about to protest that this was a terrible idea when he saw how relieved Natsu seemed by Sting’s announcement. It was clear that he didn't want to go home just yet, and Gray knew exactly why.
He decided it couldn’t hurt to explore for a little longer.
Besides, it wasn’t like he was in any hurry to get home either. Not when he knew what was waiting for them. The minute they showed their faces in Magnolia, their friends would descend upon them full of well-intentioned questions that neither one of them was in any mood to answer.
"Hey, guys–" Rogue stopped walking and stared off into the distance. "Is it just me, or are the trees getting bigger over there?"
Gray followed his line of sight, but it was too far away for him to make the distinction. “I don’t see–”
“Oh, I think you're right!” Sting said, bouncing on his feet. “Let’s go check it out!” He immediately set off at a run with Natsu chasing after him.
“–Anything.”
“And off they go.” Rogue shook his head. “We might as well hurry and catch up before they do something stupid.”
Like he needed to be told that. As much as he appreciated Sting’s friendship with Natsu, it was a bit of a double-edged sword at times. Natsu lacked impulse control on his best days, but Gray could usually steer him back on course. Sting, however, was like the gunpowder to Natsu's fire and when they were together, there was no telling what might happen.
Gray ran beside Rogue, wondering what they would find when they caught up to their idiots. It didn’t take him long to notice what Rogue had mentioned. The grass became taller as they got closer. The trees certainly looked bigger than the ones they’d seen earlier, and there were a lot more of them. Plants and shrubs too, some of them bearing what looked like giant versions of common forest fruits. He stopped to examine one, hoping Sting and Natsu had been too excited to notice.
That thought hadn’t properly manifested itself yet when he heard Rogue yelling, “Don’t eat that!” to no avail. The sounds of slurping and munching, followed by delighted moans, were enough to let Gray know that ship had already sailed. Not that he was all that surprised, Natsu had yet to meet something he wouldn’t shove in his mouth given half a chance.
“But they’re so good!”
“You can’t just eat random berries,” Rogue protested. “You have no way of knowing if they’re poisonous or not.”
“Relax, they’re just blackberries,” Natsu grinned, juice dripping down his chin.
“Just blackberries? They’re big enough to pass for pine cones! Don’t you think that's–”
The rest of that argument ended as Sting shoved one into Rogue’s mouth. “Perfectly sized! You love these, right?”
Rogue grumbled but chewed nonetheless, going from angry to surprised in the blink of an eye. “Oh… They're amazing!”
Great. Now all three of them were gorging on the damn things. What the hell was it with dragon slayers and food, anyway? Gray sighed, holding on to the faith that the fruits were indeed nothing more than oversized, regular fruits. He wasn’t looking forward to a repeat of the time he and Natsu had ended up sprouting mushrooms from their heads. Or anything even remotely similar.
Looking around for any suspicious fungi, a peculiar structure caught his eye. It was all closed up, overgrown like the rest of the area, but he could easily make out the shape of an arch among the lush vegetation. He pushed some twigs and vines aside, squinting his eyes to get a glimpse of what lay beyond, but all he saw was more greenery.
“What’cha looking at, Ice princess?” Natsu said, suddenly standing next to him and startling him out of his observation.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
Natsu pretended to look chastised, but he looked entirely too pleased with himself to pull it off.
“I was just wondering what’s on the other side of this arch.”
“Is that all?”
There was a sudden burst of heat as Natsu covered his fist in his flames and approached the vine.
“NO!” Gray shouted along with Sting and Rogue. He quickly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back and away from the vines.
“Are you stupid?”
“What? You wanted to see what was on the other side.”
“Yeah, but what do you think will happen if you set that thing on fire? In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of the woods.”
“I was just trying to help!” Natsu huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "In case you haven't noticed, this place is full of magic."
“What are you talking about? What magic?”
“Yeah, I noticed it too,” Sting backed him up. “It’s not very strong, but it’s all around us, even in those berries.”
“And you ate them?!” Gray facepalmed, lamenting their utter lack of common sense.
“Sure, why not? They were good.”
There wasn’t a sane one among the three. He strained his senses, but couldn’t detect the magic they were talking about, and that made him feel anxious, especially given how many berries he’d watched Natsu wolf down.
"Should we check it out?" Rogue tried to peep through the leaves like Gray had, with similar results.
“I think we should go back to town and take the train home,” Gray said. “We don’t know what this magic is, or even what’s waiting for us on the other side. What if it’s a dark guild hideout or something? We should let someone else handle it.”
“No one has been here for a long time,” Natsu pointed out, and the Twin Dragons nodded in agreement. “Besides, if a dark guild is involved, then we should definitely check it out.”
“Natsu’s right. It's our responsibility to make sure there’s nothing shady going on here.” Sting nodded, feigning seriousness, but it was plain to see he was vibrating with excitement.
“Oh, please, you just want to play around with Natsu some more.”
“Of course he does, and avoid his actual responsibilities while he's at it.” Rogue snorted. “I have to admit, though, I’m curious as well. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Gray continued trying to get them to see reason, but Sting and Natsu countered every point as Rogue looked on.
“Look,” Natsu said, interrupting another one of Gray's perfectly sensible arguments. “You can go home if you want to, but I’m gonna stay and check this out.”
“Natsu, will you just listen to me?!” Gray snapped, reaching the end of his patience.
“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Rogue sounded exasperated, and those were the last words Gray heard before the ground swallowed him and everything went pitch black.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
For Gratsu Weekend 2022, Prompt 1: Create/Destroy ( @fuckyeahgratsu )
Gotta give my brotp some love :)
When State Alchemist Gray Fullbuster gets transferred to a new town, he isn’t sure what to expect, but he is convinced it’ll be boring. Gray is quickly proven wrong when a national threat comes to Magnolia’s doorstep, revealing a series of alchemist-targeted violence and forcing Gray and Second Lieutenant Natsu Flame to flee from both their attackers and their own government. However, both of them are determined not to sit idly by—especially not when their families are in danger too.
Title: Memento Vivere
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen
Fandoms: Fairy Tail, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel & Igneel, Natsu Dragneel & Atlas Flame, Atlas Flame & Igneel, Gray Fullbuster & Lyon Vastia
Characters: Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel, Atlas Flame, Igneel (Fairy Tail), Gildarts Clive, Mirajane Strauss, Flare Corona, Lyon Vastia, Sherry Blendy, Chelia Blendy, Erza Scarlet, Kyouka (Fairy Tail), Seilah (Fairy Tail), Skiadrum (Fairy Tail), Mavis Vermillion
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Fullmetal Alchemist AU, Prosthesis, Alternate Universe - Military, Blood and Injury, Fugitives, Mystery, serial murders, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Character Death, Adoptive Parent, Friendship, Family, Road Trips, Minor Last Name Change, Prompt: Create/Destroy
Natsu was asleep. Gray wanted to say that was normal, and it almost was, because they were back in his flat with the Dragon-slayer snoring loudly, one foot hanging off the bed and begging to be tickled, although he was resisting the temptation for now. It almost felt like it had been before Tartaros. Before the year apart that had stretched onwards for an eternity, an aching void of trying to pretend to be something and someone he wasn’t, and trying to ignore the constant, gnawing presence of Natsu’s absence.
Almost.
He wasn’t entirely sure what had changed. Maybe it was the fact that even though Natsu seemed relaxed, he wasn’t sprawled across the entire bed like he used to, something that had led to Gray icing him to the bed more than once just to keep the idiot on his side. Instead, he was curled on his side, not quite hunched in on himself but close, a slight furrow between his eyes as though his sleep wasn’t as peaceful as it should have been in the safety of their home. Maybe it was Gray that had changed, and he was just reading too much into this, waiting with bated breath to see if this homecoming would last.
Gray looked at the Dragon-slayer once more, fingers twitching towards his boyfriend’s foot, itching to tickle it just to wake him, and see that sleepy grin and be reassured that the idiot was here. That they were okay. Instead, he ghosted a hand over messy pink hair, resisting the urge to touch, to kiss, to reassure himself that Natsu was home, and retreated to the living room, away from temptation.
He tried to distract himself. Tidying up the mess that announced Natsu’s presence, wondering for the umpteenth time why the Dragon-slayer couldn’t just put things back, ignoring the small voice that told him that he liked this proof that Natsu was here. He’d stuck some food in the oven, hoping for a lazy breakfast as there was no need for them to be at the guild early today, and he wanted time with Natsu that was just the two of them. And finally, he had retreated to the sofa where he could keep half an eye on the bedroom door and picked up a book that Levy had leant him, half-heartedly reading it to the distance rumble of the Dragon-slayer’s snoring.
He must’ve got more caught up in his reading than he’d intended, only shifting to turn off the oven, leaving the food to stay warm without burning, because he didn’t notice when the snoring stopped. He was nibbling his fingertip, trying to make sense of the page he was on when a noise in the doorway had him looking up with a hopeful smile, that blossomed into a smirk as he saw the sleep-befuddled Dragon-slayer holding onto the doorframe.
“Natsu…” He trailed off, studying Natsu. The Dragon-slayer was still in his boxers, which gave Gray a full view of the changes the last year had wrought, sharp eyes taking in scars that he had yet to commit to memory, some barely more than blemishes, others more prominent. How many times had he almost lost the idiot without knowing it? How many people and creatures had left their mark on his boyfriend? How many… his train of thought trailed off, and he blinked. “Is that my shirt?” He demanded, glancing down at himself, fairly sure that shirt – an off blue from a misadventure in the laundry with Natsu’s vest – was the one he had donned that morning, only now he was shirtless and he looked back up as Natsu laughed.
“You weren’t using it,” the Dragon-slayer pointed out, with the wide, sleepy grin that the Ice Mage had been hoping to see as he crossed to the sofa.
“I was…” Gray protested. “I just…”
“Don’t ever change Gray,” Natsu cut off his protest, leaning over the back of the sofa and kissing him, silencing him. Gray leaned into the kiss, letting his book fall aside. Something settled in his chest as the Dragon-slayer all but slumped over the back of the sofa, breaking the kiss and letting his head fall against Gray’s shoulder with a contented sigh.
Gratsu Weekend 2022
Series: The Changing of the Seasons
Prompt(s): The full story will cover all the prompts
Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue, Gratsu & Stingue
AO3 | Ch 1 | Prev: Ch 2
Chapter 3
The first thing Gray noticed as they entered the building filled him with dread. There were troops of huge mushrooms growing in patches along the ground, and all he could think about was how the damn things always made an appearance wherever weird shit was happening. He promised himself that if Natsu even looked at them with interest, he would personally throttle him.
Plants had crept in through the cracks in the walls and floorboards. Both these and the offending mushrooms shone with a golden glow, lighting up the dark space. And while that was spellbinding, it wasn't hard to guess what had gotten Sting so excited.
In the back of the room, illuminated by Sting’s light, stood an enormous statue covered in patches of glowing moss, but still easy to identify as having the shape of a dragon. Three of its legs perched atop a flowerbed pedestal, while the fourth–its front right talon–was raised in the air. Its feathery wings were slightly spread, while on its head, two antler-like branches sprouted leaves and budding flowers.
Well, that should distract Natsu from the mushrooms.
“Wow! You think that’s what it looked like?” Natsu stretched his hand out to touch the statue but held back at the last minute, opting to walk around it so he could admire it from every angle.
“There’s writing on the base,” Rogue announced, kneeling in front of the statue and squinting at whatever he saw there. "I can't read it, although the characters look vaguely familiar."
Squatting down next to him, Sting pored over the writing. "Yeah, I got nothing either."
It surprised Gray to see that the flower Sting held in his hand, the same one Rogue had picked earlier, now carried the same unmistakable glow as all the other plants in the room. He added that to his ever-growing list of reasons why you should never set foot in abandoned villages.
They were abandoned for a reason.
“Do you guys think that all this magic means the dragon’s soul is lingering here?”
“Could be,” Rogue answered, “But only Wendy could tell us for sure.”
"Aww, man, I wish she was here." Natsu crossed his arms in front of his chest with a pout, almost childlike in his disappointment, but he quickly recovered.
Gray, in fact, did not wish Wendy was with them. He loved her like a sister, but he couldn’t remember a single time when she had cast Milky Way and it had gone well for them. The last thing they needed was to communicate with the crazy dead dragon who made the jumboberries.
Meanwhile, Natsu faced the statue of that same dragon and addressed it with a smile. “Hello, Mister! My name is Natsu Dragneel. I am the son of Igneel.”
Are you seriously introducing yourself to a statue?!
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m introducing myself.” He bent at the waist, keeping his neck and back straight to show his respect.
Sting and Rogue glanced at each other and shrugged, soon following his example with their own introductions and bows.
“I doubt he’d be inside the statue.” Gray pointed out.
“It doesn’t matter. If he’s here at all, I’m sure he can hear us.”
Gray supposed that sounded reasonable enough and with the slayers still intent on the statue, he decided he might as well explore the rest of the room.
His gaze landed on a fallen table, and the remains of the items that had once been on it. A pair of candles lay on the floor, surrounded by shards of broken ceramics. Judging by the shapes he could make out, he guessed them to be plates, bowls, and he could even spot pieces of a sake set, reinforcing his belief that this had indeed been a shrine of some kind.
Carefully avoiding setting any of the plants ablaze, he held up his torch to one of the ivy littered walls. He could make out some indentations on the stone, and by touching a section with his fingers, he determined the patterns were too uniform for it to be a coincidence.
“Can one of you come here for a second? I think there’s something over here as well.”
Natsu came to see what he was talking about, and Gray handed him his torch. He molded another machete and used it to cut through the ivy so they could get a better look.
There was more of that writing on the wall and he grabbed the torch back from Natsu to study it more closely. He soon realized none of the characters looked even mildly familiar to him.
"I think we found something interesting," Rogue called out while helping Sting puzzle together pieces of stone that lay on the floor.
Natsu and Gray watched over their shoulders as they put the last chunk of the slab in place, revealing an image of two people embracing each other in some kind of pond or spring. The moon shone down on them, and stars floated all around. Strangely enough, even in the water.
"That's what that sound is?!" Sting jumped up, all but dragging an unsuspecting Rogue along with him on his way out of the room through a door in the back. Although calling it a door was a bit too optimistic.
Whatever they found there caused them to break out in loud noises of excitement versus protest, which was enough to spark Natsu's interest. He offered one last bow to the statue before handing Gray his torch and taking off after them, leaving Gray to sigh after him.
“Why are they always so damn excitable?”
He knew he should probably join the others and offer Rogue some backup, but he took a moment to admire the statue instead. The craftsmanship was beautiful, holding up to the passage of time and whatever had caused the destruction in the rest of the village. Natsu had been so excited to see it, and the smile he’d had when he’d introduced himself still lingered in Gray's mind.
There was one thing, though. The dragon's raised talon held an orb, but it had broken, its missing piece likely mixed in with the rest of the rubble. Gray put out the torches, laying the now frozen pieces of wood on the ground and, on a whim, he touched his hands to the stone and used his Ice Devil magic to mold a new orb around the old one's broken remnants.He smiled as he noticed how beautifully his ice reflected the golden glow of the moss.
“My name is Gray Fullbuster, son of Silver Fullbuster. Thank you for making Natsu happy. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude.”
He bowed and hurried outside, glad that none of the others had been there to see him.
0-0
Rogue had noticed it even before they'd entered the shrine. In the darkest corners of the woods, where the thick coverage of plants filtered out most of the light, and the shadows dominated, the flowers and buds had emanated a soft golden glow. Still, it hadn't prepared him for what they encountered as they stumbled out of the building, and the sun's last rays disappeared behind the mountains.
The vegetation was all covered in that same glow, making it look as if someone had strung fairy lights all across the forest. And in front of them was the source of the sound they'd heard–running water– in the form of a large, natural spring. Although it was just as magical as it was natural. Its water shimmered more intensely than anything else they had encountered, vibrant and bright and lighting up the area more than any of the plants did. It was truly one of the most breathtaking sights he’d ever laid his eyes on.
Next to him, Sting quietly dispelled his magic.
"Sting, no."
"Sting, yes!"
The dragon's magic was stronger here than anywhere else, making the air around them feel heavy and tingly. There was no doubt in Rogue's mind that the spring was the source, and even if it didn't feel malicious or dark, they still had no idea what its effects could be. But that didn't seem to be of any concern for Sting, as he’d already begun taking off his gloves.
He was going in.
"Don't–Put that back on!"
"Don't put that back on? I wasn't gonna, but okay, gotcha."
"You know what I meant!"
Natsu joined them, his expression equally full of excitement and fascination as Sting's, and at that point Rogue knew his chances of winning this battle had plummeted into the negatives. The only hope he had left was Gray. Maybe they could both grab an idiot and make a run for it. Except…
Wasn't it you who said to "let them have this?"
He could just hear the Ice Prick's voice in his head, dripping with amusement. Natsu's voice, however, wasn't in his imagination.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
"No, it's–Well, yeah, okay, it is, but–"
"Right?!" Sting agreed, slipping out of his vest. "And look, the water's warm too! I bet it feels great to soak in there."
Finally, Gray arrived as well, and if he hadn't felt the magic yet when they were inside the shrine, he definitely seemed to do so now. He stretched out his hand, almost as if wanting to touch it, but his fingers wrapped around nothing but empty air.
“You can’t seriously mean to go in there.” Rogue looked back and forth between the water, Sting, Natsu, and Gray. The latter looked on with a merry grin as Sting struggled his way out of his tight top, but appeared less amused by the sight of Natsu’s fingers tugging at the hem of his vest as if he were considering doing the same.
Come on, Frosty, help me out here…
“Why not? It’s perfectly safe,” Sting said, speaking with unwarranted certainty. “It was even on those fragments we found.”
That seemed to be enough to decide Natsu, as at that moment, his vest came off.
“Oh, come on, Natsu, not you too!” Rogue protested. “We still don’t know for sure what this magic does.”
“We already ate it,” Sting reminded him, kicking off a boot and undoing his belt in the same movement. “It was in those berries.”
“Yeah, but that was only a small amount. I know you can feel that. The water is practically vibrating with it.”
“Come on, Rogue. What's the worst that can happen? We grow a couple of inches?” Natsu flashed one of his wide grins. “I don’t know about you, but I wouldn't mind.”
"A couple of inches? You've seen the bugs." Rogue gestured around, surprised to realize there wasn't a single bug to be seen, and Sting took this unguarded moment to use his outstretched arm as a clothes rack to throw his pants over. "What if we–Sting, get your ass back into your pants!"
But Sting did no such thing, darting out of his reach before shedding his boxers and diving into the water in all his naked glory. And unsurprisingly, Natsu followed suit. Gray made a fruitless attempt to stop him by yelling out his name, which his boyfriend ignored completely, stripping out of his remaining clothing so fast Rogue thought he must've learned from Gray himself, and taking a running leap into the spring.
“Of course he did.” Gray muttered, throwing his arms up in the air.
There would be no coaxing Sting out of there now, of that Rogue was certain. And honestly, he'd seen this coming the second he’d laid eyes on the spring. Natsu rarely put much thought into the consequences of his actions, and what little consideration Sting had crumbled at the proximity of his childhood idol. They sure as hell weren't about to start now, not when there was a glowing fucking spring in front of them. How often did one see something like that?
"What did we even expect?" Rogue sighed and tossed the pants onto the pile of other discarded clothes. Honestly, he thanked his lucky stars that Sting at least wasn't trying to inhale the whole damn spring. It was glowing and full of dragon magic. He'd eaten things that were far less appealing.
He walked over to the edge of the water, watching as Natsu and Sting splashed each other and giggled like five-year-olds. Their bodies sparkled with droplets of water, transferring its glow to their skin and hair. They were having a blast chasing after a couple of massive glowing cichlids, and it reminded him once again of the reason he went along with the madness from the moment they'd suggested the drinking game.
As troublesome as it was to deal with sometimes, he also loved it when Sting released his inner child. And the reason they'd agreed to meet Natsu and Gray at the tavern in that dusty old town in the first place, aside from getting Sting to take a break from his work, was that they'd foreseen the outcome of that adoption interview.
He and Sting might not share their wish to start a family, but it still pained them to see Natsu and Gray fighting such an unfair battle. They'd agreed beforehand that if the worst happened, they'd do their best to brighten their friends' day, and Rogue had quickly realized how much they'd needed that. Especially Natsu, who was great at deflecting and hiding his emotions behind others, like his rightful anger, but whose devastation had still seeped through the cracks of his defense.
Sting was easily entertained, and nearly fifteen years of friendship plus seven more of dating had taught Rogue all the ins and outs on how to get the job done. But his work stress couldn't compare to what it would be like to come home to hopeful faces and questions; to shared disappointment and the start of a period of grieving a lost dream.
So Rogue had taken that agreement seriously, which had ultimately led them to this situation. And despite the worries that continued to plague his mind, he couldn't say he regretted it.
Natsu cheered, and looking behind him, Rogue saw Gray shrugging off the rest of his clothes, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend when he jumped in.
“You too, huh?” Rogue frowned, even as he knew he was likely to follow soon himself.
“Like I’m going to let Natsu get taller than me.” Gray huffed, barely moving out of the way of a combined splash attack.
"Of course. It’s always a competition with you two. I don't know why I asked."
Rogue took one last look at the spring, following Gray's movements as he swam over to Natsu. The water was shallow along the edges, providing places to sit, but it got deeper towards the middle. It was warm too, judging by the vapor that rose from its surface. Aside from the obvious glow and the overwhelming pressure of magic, it looked extremely tempting. And even the magic seemed to coax him in.
Sting waded over to where Rogue stood and rested his arms on a rocky ledge. "The water's nice," he needled in a voice Rogue recognized all too well, completing his innocent act by fluttering his lashes. "But it would be even nicer with you in it."
Not that it helped seal the deal, of course. Rogue had already decided he was going in. Sting looking utterly ethereal in that golden glow had absolutely nothing to do with it. Nope, it was the thought that, should the man suddenly turn into a giant, there'd have to be someone his size to stop him from doing anything too stupid, and Rogue doubted that someone would be Natsu. Or Gray, for that matter.
"Fine," he said, untying his obi and shrugging off his yukata. "Could you at least be less obvious about staring at me while I undress?"
"Nah."
Gray snorted. “Is that what I look like when you pull that shit on me?”
“Pretty much,” Natsu laughed, wrapping his arms around him. “Then again, you usually strip before I even ask.”
“You know I can’t help that,” Gray protested, tugging at the arms around his middle. Natsu loosened them so Gray could turn around and face him, and Gray did so, leaning in slowly, moving ever closer to Natsu’s lips. But as soon as Natsu closed his eyes in anticipation of a kiss, Gray dunked him.
“You jerk!” Natsu resurfaced, sputtering water and immediately attempting to retaliate, even as Gray held him off with a smirk.
“They never change.” Rogue shook his head, huffing a soft laugh as he took off the last of his clothing, gathering it all and draping it neatly over a rock. He pulled out his hair tie, letting his hair fall down to his back, ruffling a hand through it as he sat down on the ledge and allowed Sting to pull him into the water.
“Oh, hey, Rogue. You finally made it in.” Natsu greeted, and he and Gray agreed on a truce so they could join them on the ledge.
Rogue nodded, pressing his lips together in a long-suffering smile, but soon gave up on pretending. "It is nice," he agreed, cupping water in his hand and watching it sparkle as it dripped down. "Really pretty as well."
“I still can’t get over how everything just glows. It’s incredible.” There was awe in Sting’s voice, and Rogue couldn’t help but agree. It was certainly something he’d never forget.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything like this.” Gray said, and Rogue glanced over at him, thinking he was talking to all of them.
But Gray only had eyes for Natsu.
“Remember that spring Warrod took us to once? It was kind of like this one.” Gray drew his arms behind Natsu’s neck, sliding him into his chest and smiling as Natsu’s hands moved to his hips. “There were mountains all around too, and we soaked with Happy until the girls got there. I was amazed you could stay quiet for that long.”
Natsu rolled his eyes at him, but there was a ghost of a smile playing on his lips as he bumped their foreheads together. “That’s probably ‘cause you’re so boring.”
“Am I now?” Gray smirked in response. “I guess I’ll just have to change your mind about that.”
They kissed, both appearing to relax for the first time that day, which relieved Rogue but also made him feel like he was intruding. He averted his gaze to give them some privacy, and he didn't object when Sting grabbed his hands and led him away.
“Wow, look at you, reading the room and all that,” Rogue teased, following him past some tall rocks and into a cove, far enough away for the sound of trickling water to drown out their friends’ flirty whispers.
“Maybe I just wanted you all to myself,” Sting retorted, eyes lighting up with mischief. “Besides, if we can’t hear them, they can’t hear us. And now they can't see us either.”
Rogue knew where he was going with this, and had the circumstances been different, he probably would’ve suggested they save it for when they got home. But after spending all day fussing about others, he was ready to unwind.
They were in the most beautiful place they’d ever encountered, surrounded by so much life that the air buzzed with it. He wondered if it was possible for him to absorb it through his skin or something, because he couldn’t remember ever feeling this alive before. Everything seemed brighter. The water was warm and tingling at his skin, and when Sting reached out to run his hand across the small of his back, Rogue felt his thoughts evaporate.
He pulled Sting closer, inhaling his scent as he whispered in his ear, “Oh? Did you have something in mind?”
“You could say that,” Sting chuckled, breathing the words into his neck before tilting his head up for a kiss.
And as Rogue met him halfway, in the split second before closing his eyes, he saw the moon rising in the now dark and star littered sky above them.
Gratsu Weekend 2022
Series: The Changing of the Seasons
Prompt(s): The full story will cover all the prompts
Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Sting x Rogue, Gratsu & Stingue
AO3 | Prev: Ch 1 | Next: Ch 3
Chapter 2
Gray's senses went haywire as he was pulled along in a direction he couldn't figure out. He thought the others were with him, but he wasn’t sure–didn't even know for certain whether his eyes were open or shut until the darkness cleared and he felt solid mass beneath his feet again.
"What the hell?!"
“What?” Rogue looked at him deadpan. "You're both impossibly stubborn. Someone had to do something before we lost daylight."
“Never do that again without warning me first.”
“You get used to it,” Sting shrugged and began walking, “Just be glad he didn’t drop you.”
“Wait, what happens if he drops you?” Gray wondered, thinking of how strange he’d felt while enveloped by Rogue’s magic, but Sting only chuckled in response.
“You two keep arguing over stupid shit, and you just might find out,” Rogue muttered under his breath.
“I heard that, you know. I’m not scared of you,” Gray provoked, ignoring Sting as he violently shook his head and gestured stop signals.
“Well, what are you scared of, then?” Natsu asked, staring deep into his eyes. “Cause the Gray Fullbuster I know would never run away from an adventure.”
As much as Gray hated to admit it, Natsu was right. On a normal day, he’d be one of the first to throw caution to the wind if a situation like this came up. He’d leave it to Erza to be the voice of reason. But she wasn’t here, and Rogue, who Gray could usually count on to be sensible, had defected to the side of chaos.
Something didn’t feel right. He just couldn’t figure out what it was and until he did, he had no choice but to surrender to their madness.
“Who said I’m scared of anything?” Gray plastered a smile on his face and reached for Natsu’s hand. “What should we explore first?”
Natsu studied him, and though he didn’t look entirely convinced by his sudden change of heart, he grinned up at him. “That’s more like it, Ice Princess!”
He let Natsu pull him along, listening as he pointed out all the things he saw while keeping an eye out for any sign of trouble.
They walked around, finding various structures, which, judging by the building style, had once been houses. They were in different states of disrepair, crooked and claimed by nature. Wherever the original residents had gone, it was obvious no one had lived here in quite a while.
“It’s kinda like that village from that time,” Natsu said, “Remember, Gray? The one with the mushrooms?”
"Mushrooms?" Sting joined in on the conversation.
“Yeah, the villagers had messed with dark magic and turned into monsters,” Natsu explained, unable to contain his laughter when he added, “Gray looked like an idiot with mushrooms growing on his head.”
“You had them too, you dimwit!”
Gray tried to sound annoyed, but it was funny and a little reassuring because they had gotten out of that one in one piece. It was a nice memory, too. An adventure shared with Gramps after the first team job they ever did together. Oh, how he wished the old man was here now to offer his counsel. It had been a long time since he’d felt so out of his depth.
“I wonder what happened here,” Rogue mused, looking into a house of which an entire wall had crumbled. Not that there was a lot to see, as part of the roof had collapsed, leaving the interior covered in rubble.
"Well, whatever it was, I don't feel any dark magic," Sting shrugged, stopping to admire a bush with enormous flowers. "If anything, it's the opposite. This place is full of life."
“It is,” Rogue agreed, frowning as he looked at Gray. “Doesn't it seem loud to you?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it.”
The woods had been mostly quiet when they were walking around before. Gray had assumed that most of the creatures had gone into hiding at the approaching sound of a certain duo of loud dragon slayers. But as they walked through the abandoned village, he didn't need a dragon slayer's hearing to notice that there was a lot more sound than earlier. Birds calling out, rodents scampering about, what had to be an army of crickets chirping and… what was that weird buzzing?
"Holy shit!" Sting turned around, proudly revealing a butterfly that was at least twice as big as the largest one Gray had ever seen, perched on his hand. It was a magnificent sight until it fluttered off and came right at him.
Gray jumped out of the way, his hands instinctively ruffling through his hair in case the thing had decided to nest there.
"So it's not just the plants that are bigger," Rogue concluded calmly, plucking a beetle that was roughly the size of a small bunny out of the tall grass and turning it around in his hands.
"Yeah no shit!"
"Hey, Gray, what do you think this is?" Natsu asked, sounding curious, and Gray never considered he might be up to anything when he peered to see what he’d found. He’d barely registered that the creature Natsu held in his hands had to be the biggest grasshopper he’d ever seen in his life, when suddenly it was on him as his fucker of a boyfriend threw it at him.
“Get it off! Get it off me!” Gray shrieked, desperately flailing his arms in an attempt to fend it off.
Once he was sure that the bug had jumped off into the bushes, he calmed down enough for his temper to flare at the sound of Natsu and Sting laughing at him.
“You asshole! You know how much I hate those things!”
“It was just a grasshopper, Ice Block,” Natsu said, a stupid smirk still on his face. “It wasn’t gonna hurt you.”
Gray felt a familiar irritation rising inside him. He'd already put up with being shanghaied to this place against his will. Did Natsu have to go out of his way to make him more miserable than he already was?
“Guys,” Sting interrupted, “Maybe this isn’t the time to—”
“Oh yeah? And how were you so sure of that?” Gray challenged, stomping towards Natsu and getting in his face. They stood so close their foreheads almost touched. "It was bigger than Happy!"
“Guys–”
Natsu, never one to back down from a fight no matter how stupid–and even Gray would admit this one was pretty stupid–inched closer. “It was a joke, Ice Prick. Lighten up a little!”
A joke? How was that even funny? That was it! If Natsu wanted a fight, Gray would give him one, right before he dragged his ass back to Bumblefuck and tossed him onto the first available train home. He balled his fist, getting ready to connect with the one Natsu was about to throw at him–
“GUYS!”
There was a bright light, and then he couldn’t move.
Why couldn’t he move?!
"Thank you!" Rogue sighed loudly and planted a grateful smooch on Sting's cheek.
“Goddamnit, Sting! I was gonna win that!” Natsu roared, his body radiating a warm orange light as he ramped up his temperature to burn off a glowing white magic circle on his stomach.
“Oh, for sure,” Sting grinned–that fucking ass kisser!–and dispelled his magic.
Now that Gray could move again, he looked down to where he felt a pleasant breeze on his body. There was a huge hole ripped right through his shirt, right where he assumed Sting’s stigmata mark had been before.
“You ruined my shirt, you bastard!”
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that,” Sting chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “But, like, you were gonna lose it sooner or later, anyway.”
Gray wanted to retort something, but begrudgingly admitted that was a fair point.
“So what I was trying to say when you were busy going at each other’s throats again–” Sting pointed at something in the distance, a structure larger than any of the ones they’d come across so far. “See that?”
“More importantly, do you feel that?” Rogue asked.
“You’re not funny.” Gray shuddered, his brief encounter with the monster grasshopper still making his skin crawl.
“No, I’m serious. Whatever this magic is, it’s gotten stronger the more we walk in that direction.”
“It does feel stronger,” Natsu agreed, already gearing up to go investigate.
Gray grabbed on to Natsu’s vest before he could run off half-cocked like he always did. “Hold on a minute there, hot stuff. What exactly is it you guys feel?”
“It’s like it’s pulsing inside me.”
“You mean it’s drawing you in?”
“It’s not calling to me or anything, if that’s what you’re asking. Although it does kind of feel familiar somehow.”
Rogue tilted his head as he thought over what Natsu had just said. “You’re right, it does. I wonder what that means.” He caught up with Sting, who had made a few investigative steps forward. “Do you get that sense too, Sting?”
“Yeah, it reminds me of…” He stopped to look at Rogue, who met his gaze with similar shock.
"Dragons?"
“Do you think there’s a dragon here?!”
Natsu was already way more excited than Gray would have liked and unfortunately for him, in his shock, he’d loosened his hold on the vest. He was off and on his way before Gray could offer more than a token of protest.
He was about to go after him when he felt Rogue’s hand on his shoulder. “Let them.”
"But–"
“They’ll be fine. The dragons are all gone, remember? Natsu knows that better than anyone. We both know what he’s doing.”
Yeah, he knew. Natsu was avoiding having to deal with something he didn’t want to think about, which was something he’d always excelled at. He didn’t really know the meaning of the words giving up, and he had a very hard time accepting defeat. He always had. It was why their current situation was so hard on him.
Still, Gray couldn’t help but smile at the excitement he’d seen on his face right before he took off. It reminded him of all the times Natsu had gone off looking for Igneel. No matter how many disappointments he’d encountered along the way, he’d continued to search year after year with that same fire in his eyes.
“It's nice to see them enjoying themselves, isn't it?” Rogue smiled along fondly as they watched their boyfriends wade through the jungled landscape, marveling at all the things they saw on their way. "Sting's been stressing out over some council thing all week, and Natsu seemed really down earlier. We should let them have this for now."
Rogue was right. And the truth was, nothing they’d encountered so far had screamed danger. Well, except for that fucking grasshopper, but even it hadn’t tried to attack him.
Maybe he’d been working himself up over nothing after all.
“So that's why you've turned into an enabler, huh? Because you were most definitely not acting like yourself back there.”
“It seemed harmless enough," Rogue said, picking one of the flowers Sting had been looking at before. "And I have to admit, I am pretty curious. Why is everything so big in this place? What does dragon magic have to do with it, and what's it doing all the way out here?”
"Guess there's only one way to find out." Gray glanced down at the flower, thinking it seemed so brightly colored it was almost like it glowed, and in doing so, he noticed the tattered remains of his shirt.
He took it off. “I guess there’s no sense in holding on to this.”
“Honestly, I was shocked you kept it on for as long as you did.” Rogue shrugged, nudging him to follow the other two.
Gray glanced behind them, trying to determine how far they were from the “entrance”, but between the tall grass and the bushes, there was no way to tell. And as the thick vegetation growing all around them blocked out what little daylight still illuminated their surroundings, it would only get harder to find their way back. He found a low-hanging branch to drape his shirt over, thinking it could serve as a landmark for later, and followed Rogue forward.
Natsu hadn’t gotten very far, his progress impeded by the grass, which was now almost as tall as their heads. He and Sting stood waiting, and Gray could tell by the way Natsu was just about bouncing on the balls of his feet that he wasn’t happy about it. Fire covered his arms in a thin coat of flickering flames, but to his credit, he hadn’t tried to burn through the brush. Still, his posture screamed impatience at having to wait for the others.
Gray called on his magic and molded a machete out of ice. “Here, let me,” he said, swinging his arm and clearing the way.
Natsu glanced at him in honest surprise. “You’re not going to try to stop me?”
Gray shook his head with a smile. “Don’t get me wrong, I still think you’re being reckless, but it’s obvious this is important to you, so it’s important to me too.”
“I–” Natsu opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the words he wanted to say, and suddenly he wrapped his arms around Gray, enveloping him in one of his fiery hugs.
“Careful!” Gray scolded, dispelling the machete and returning the embrace.
“Thanks, Gray,” Natsu whispered in his ear.
“Come on.” Rogue offered Sting the flower and grabbed his hand, tugging him along as he gestured at the structure that loomed ahead of them. “Take your time. We'll be just ahead.”
“Yeah, okay.” Gray watched as he stopped an impatient Sting from lasering through the plants and used his shadows to slash out a path for them instead.
Now that he and Natsu were connecting again, Gray felt at peace and he suddenly realized how much they’d both needed this. He held on tighter, wanting the moment to last a little longer after everything they’d already been through that day.
But the sun was setting, and they needed to make use of the remaining daylight to get as much information as they could.
“Let’s go track down this dragon of yours,” Gray said, giving one last squeeze before letting go.
“I wonder what it was doing all the way out here.” Natsu said, looking pensive.
“Maybe it really liked flowers. Is that a thing?”
Natsu chuckled, “Sure, why not? Dragons like all sorts of strange stuff.”
“True, they liked you.”
“Hey!”
Gray was too busy snickering at Natsu’s outraged expression to block his punch. His shoulder throbbed, but he didn’t care. It was an ache he was all too familiar with, given their preferred methods of communication.
They followed the path Sting and Rogue had made, continuing to taunt and tease each other along the way. Before long, they stood in front of the entrance to what Gray thought might be a shrine.
Although it seemed in better condition than most of the other buildings they’d encountered, parts of the roof had caved in and it smelled like rotted wood. Had the circumstances been different, Gray would have avoided entering it, but Sting and Rogue were nowhere to be seen and he could see a faint outline of light coming from within the ruins.
“Looks like Sting entered glow mode.”
Natsu snorted and set about scavenging through the debris, settling on two pieces of wood that looked to still be in good shape. He fashioned them into torches with his magic and handed one to Gray while holding on to the other one.
"Whooaah!" Sting's voice echoed through the building, spurring Natsu to rush inside.
Gray followed close behind, curious and admittedly worried about what they might find.
