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Ice-Make: Software	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 4775 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter 12
Who's Watching Whom
Gray woke up to an unfamiliar alarm clock, and the sun was coming in from the wrong direction. He vaguely realized this was twice that he had woken up strangely, but it still took him a moment to realize what was wrong.
Or what was right, because he opened his eyes to see Natsu half-naked in bed with him.
Green eyes glittered sleepily at him. "Bonjour, chéri."
That was right! They were in Paris. "Bonjour."
Natsu traced Gray's cheek, unable to stop being amazed that he got to have such a handsome boyfriend in his bed.
"So, am I to play your husband starting now?"
Natsu blushed at being reminded of his request. "Idiot. We've been playing make-believe since last night."
"I must've missed the honeymoon."
Natsu leaned in close and whispered, "That comes later."
"Oh? Are we newlyweds then? Is that what you want?"
Natsu hummed at the idea and gave Gray a kiss. "I do," he whispered with a twinkle in his eyes.
Now Gray felt his cheeks burning up. However, Natsu chuckled and pulled back.
"I have a busy day. I want breakfast with you. This place has a great buffet."
"If that's what my darling wants." He stood up and stretched.
"I need a shower first." He paused and looked back at Gray with a slight regret in his face. "Also, I really am on a schedule. Sorry if I have to rush a little."
Gray chuckled. "You go first. I'll get my shower after you're off at work."
Natsu nodded and headed to the bathroom. Gray looked around the hotel room, really taking it all in now that it was morning.
He muttered, "Just wish I had a computer, even a laptop." He shrugged and pulled out his phone to read the news and social media.
Natsu glanced back at Gray reclining in bed with his phone, looking relaxed now. Good. This really was a crazy whim of his, but he was glad Gray put up with it.
They cleaned up, dressed, and went to the restaurant attached to the hotel to eat breakfast. There, they met up with Pierre Lécuyer, head of the Paris branch.
"Bonjour, Monsieur Dragneel, Monsieur Gray. It's a beautiful morning, no? May I sit with you during breakfast."
"Of course," Natsu said, waving him to follow. "Have you eaten? Order whatever you want."
"C'est gentil, mais j'ai déjà mangé. Peut-être un café. Je parlerai pendant quevous mangez." That's kind, but I've already eaten. Maybe a coffee. I will speak while you eat.
Natsu nodded and turned to Gray. "Is it okay if he joins us?"
Gray shrugged. "Hey, you're here on business. I'm just along for the ride."
From there on, Pierre slipped into French to discuss business since it was easier for him, and Natsu replied in kind with fluent ease. They went through the buffet line, got a table, and Gray ate silently, letting the two talk business. That was the whole purpose of this trip, after all. He did not want to get in Natsu's way, nor be a bother to the company.
When they were done eating, Natsu and Pierre were still in deep discussion, but Natsu put it on pause.
"Gray, let's go back to the room. I need to get into my suit, and then I need to hurry off."
"Is everything okay?"
"No," he said honestly, "but I'll make it better."
Pierre bowed to them. "I am sorry, Monsieur Gray. I ruined your breakfast."
"Oh, no, no! It's fine. This is a business trip, I don't want to get in Natsu's way."
Pierre chuckled and said to Natsu, "Votre petit amiest mignon et sympa." Your boyfriend is sweet and nice.
"Et romantique," Natsu added. "Et séduisant." And romantic. And attractive.
Pierre chuckled and turned to Gray. "Monsieur Dragneel is lucky to have a man like you by his side."
Gray's mouth dropped as his cheeks flushed. He had no idea what to say to a compliment like that. Just then, Natsu latched himself around Gray's arm.
"Yep! I'm the luckiest man in the world."
As if Gray could not blush more!
They returned to the room, and Gray watched Natsu get dressed in his suit. Even here, he opted for the scarf rather than a tie. He walked Natsu down to a boardroom in the hotel where he saw more men in suits, all of them addressing Natsu formally. Gray began to back off, feeling awkward. He was nothing more than a computer tech temp worker, gazing upon the elite world of corporate executives.
Just then, Natsu turned back to him with a sunny smile. "Feel free to explore the CNIT. I'll text you when we're done." He gave Gray a quick kiss on the cheek, and then it was like Natsu was swallowed up. The board room door shut, and Gray was left alone.
Centre des nouvelles industries et technologies, or the Center of New Industries and Technologies, was better known as the CNIT. It was part convention center, part business school, part mall, and part hotel. For Gray, there were plenty of shops to glance through, but he was not really interested in shopping, not when he had no euros—seriously, he had not come prepared for this at all—and he did not speak the language to ask questions. Top brand clothing was of no interest to him, and although the electronics stores were interesting, he could get any of this back in Magnolia.
After roaming around, more interested in the architecture than the stores, he ventured outside, seeing again that massive thumb. It stuck out so much, almost grotesque in its detail, that it attracted him. He looked down at his own thumb, then at his whole hand.
That led to thinking about how rough his hand was. Natsu's hands, for how strong they were, felt so gentle when they touched him.
"Maybe some lotion," he muttered, but there was no way he could buy anything without the right currency.
Then his phone buzzed, and he saw a text from Natsu.
« Meeting done, meet me at the convention exit. »
He texted back simply "okay" since he was near the doors anyway. He went back into the air-conditioned coolness of the massive building, and soon he saw a group in business suits marching forward. Sticking out just like that bronze thumb was Natsu, with his pink hair and scarf. He looked like a child next to these men, many of them easily twice his age.
Natsu's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Gray, and a business-serious face turned childishly goofy. Natsu left the group and ran right up to his boyfriend, grabbing his hands.
"Are you okay to walk a bit? We've gotta head to the office. I wanna show you around."
Gray figured it was better than being alone in a strange country, and he liked the warmth of Natsu's hand. They walked a little behind the group, holding hands the whole way, with Freed and Laxus nearby yet keeping a respectful distance.
"Are you having fun?"
Gray shrugged. "It's an experience. I can't really buy anything without money."
"Oh!" Natsu pulled out his wallet and handed over a black card. "Buy anything you want. Well, don't go too crazy, but if you see a laptop or a watch or something, go ahead and buy it."
Gray sighed. Don't go too crazy, but he could buy a laptop? Natsu's idea of crazy was probably really far out there.
They strolled over to the tall buildings that made up this business area of Paris. They entered one, and Natsu excitedly pulled Gray along. They went through offices, with Natsu explaining what each area did. Like the building in Magnolia, this was set up with cubicles and board rooms. He saw computer techs, just like himself, working away at their keyboards. Gray was mildly amused that businessmen in France looked no different from those in Magnolia. He was not sure why he thought everyone would be more posh here.
After a tour of the office, which allowed a general check-in for Natsu of all departments, with swift chats to the different managers, they went out for lunch. Natsu dragged Gray away from the rest of the businessmen, although Laxus and Freed again followed. They went to a restaurant and got their own table, with Laxus dining close enough in case anything happened.
"This is a bit weird," Natsu muttered. "I mean, Freed coming with me is normal, but Laxus following everywhere … it's not normally like this."
"I figured he followed you all the time."
"No, normally only if we travel to a place that is potentially volatile. He rarely comes on my business trips. I wonder if there's a threat and Freed isn't telling me about it."
Gray recalled that Freed planned to propose to Laxus in Paris. That was why he insisted on bringing the bodyguard along with them. Since he was there, Laxus probably wanted to be of use, not sitting around the hotel. Dining at a nice restaurant like this might be part of Freed's plan for a romantic getaway.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
They ate a delicious meal that Gray was sure cost more than all his groceries for the week. Gray left to the restroom, but he paused by Freed and Laxus's table, leaning in to whisper to Freed.
"Hey, I know why you want Laxus around, but it's making Natsu a bit paranoid. I totally get why you want him around, but maybe have him back off when I'm around."
"Mr. Dragneel needs to be safe," Freed stated.
"I'll protect Natsu."
Gray had not meant for those words to come out as firmly as they did, so when he heard himself say that, he wanted to blush. Freed's tiny smirk was of no help to the heat in his face.
"All right. I'll give you two more privacy."
Gray patted his shoulder and left. In the restroom, he sighed and shook his head. Seriously! I'll protect Natsu. Just thinking about himself saying those words made him blush all over again.
He returned to the table, and Natsu grabbed his hand, like just those few minutes apart were immensely lonely. Gray smiled across the candlelit table at his adorable boyfriend.
Yes, he would protect Natsu.
As they left, Laxus and Freed joined up, but now Freed walked far behind, while Natsu and Gray strolled hand-in-hand. Gray felt awkward, walking so openly like this, but he supposed Natsu was right. In another country, he did not have to worry about other people discovering that he was dating his boss.
"I have to go back to meetings," Natsu muttered in apology. "I want you to do something. Go back to the hotel room. There's something waiting for you."
"When did you have time to buy me anything?"
Natsu just smiled. Of course, he probably had Freed purchase it. They went back to the office, and Natsu stopped in the foyer, turning to look at Gray and holding both of his hands.
"I really wish I could spend the whole day with you."
"This is a business trip," he said, knowing that the future of the company was more important than keeping him entertained for a few hours. "Get back to work, you slacker."
Natsu chuckled at the slight scolding. Gray watched as he, Freed, and Laxus all went into an elevator. Natsu gave him a cute little wave goodbye as the doors closed.
Gray sighed. Seriously, how did he end up with a boyfriend as adorable as this!
He walked back to the CNIT alone, enjoying the weather and the poetic sounds of French being spoken all around him. He rode up to his hotel room, entered, and found boxes on the table. The first one he opened contained two entire sets of clothing, even boxers, socks, and a pair of expensive-looking leather shoes.
"Great. More clothes that will barely fit in my closet," he muttered, although he loved the soft feel of the fabric. He could toss out his old clothes, most of which he had been wearing since college.
When he opened the next box, Gray froze.
"No fuckin' way," he whispered.
It was a laptop and a few USB flash drives, as well as a "hardware wallet" with a cord to plug it into his laptop to access the bitcoins stored out there on the web somewhere. Someone jotted down on a piece of paper, "The pin code is the day I hired you. Love Natsu." Gray had mentioned on the airplane that he would need all this to research Zeref on the dark web. When looking up about a cyberterrorist, you wanted a laptop and USB drives you could destroy, just in case the worst happened, and a way to pay for information.
Gray plugged in the hardware wallet. The pin code was the day Natsu hired him? He honestly forgot, so he pulled out his phone and found in his calendar his first day on the job.
Had he really known Natsu for that long? Sometimes it felt like they had just met, and sometimes it felt like they had known each other for a lifetime.
He inputted the pin and whistled as he saw how much was in there. With his phone already out, he sent a text to Natsu.
« Found your gift. Are you sure about this? »
It took a few minutes, so Gray began to start up the laptop, downloading everything he would need. Finally, his phone buzzed.
« Is it enough? Do you need anything else? »
« It's fine. That's a lot of bitcoins. »
« It's a matter of cyber security. The company has the budget for this. »
Of course, this was a serious matter, with the future of ICEMAKE and the entire company riding on beating this E.N.D. virus.
« I'll get to work. »
« Don't stress out over it too much. Text if you need anything more. I'm heading to a meeting, might not reply soon. »
Gray smiled to himself. Somehow, it really felt like the two of them were working together. He knew that was ridiculous, he was always working for Natsu, but now he was working with Natsu.
« Leave it to me. Let's fight together. »
He smiled at that, especially when Natsu sent a thumbs-up emoji followed by a heart. He downloaded TOR and other things he needed to explore the dark web safely.
It had been a while since his days wading through the underbelly of the internet, but Gray still knew a few places. He started off casually bringing up The Black Wizard. Of course, people knew who this hacker was, even if they did not know his name was actually Zeref Dragneel. A few leads took him deeper, slipping into less-legal areas, some coins exchanged, a dark journey through a side of the internet few people even knew existed.
Gray got sucked into the thrill of exploring and lost track of time until his phone buzzed. He ignored it at first, busy typing something, but it buzzed again. He yanked himself away from the laptop and realized he was stiff from sitting for hours. He checked his phone.
« Done with work. Heading back. »
Then a few minutes later he got, « Are you still in the hotel? Can you meet me there? »
Gray stretched. He really did feel stiff from all the sitting.
« I'm in the room. See you soon. »
Gray remembered what Natsu wanted, to have him waiting "at home" for him, like they were a married couple. It was just a role play for Natsu, but Gray felt slightly embarrassed that his boyfriend wanted something like this. Was that a dream of Natsu's, to get married and have a stay-at-home husband? Did he want a family? Maybe adopt a kid, like he had been adopted by Igneel?
Holy shit, why am I thinking about having a family? Stop it!
Still, it was a nice thought.
He closed out the conversation he was having online, exited the dark web safely, and put the laptop away. He was stretching out his shoulders when there was a knock on the door. Gray froze. Natsu had a key. Why would he knock?
Was it something more sinister? He was digging into information about a cyberterrorist, after all. People vanished digging into things they shouldn't on the dark web.
Gray approached slowly and carefully opened the door. His shoulders loosened in relief as he saw Natsu standing there.
"I'm home," he said with a bashful smile, obviously titillated to role play like this.
Gray pulled the door open and gave him a kiss. "Welcome home, sweetie."
Down the hall, they heard Laxus burst into a laugh. Immediately, Freed hushed him. Natsu blushed and hurried in. Gray closed the door, but he shot Laxus an angry glare. Freed gave Gray an apologetic shrug, showing that he knew his boyfriend ruined a moment, but what could he do now?
Gray shut the door and saw that Natsu was humiliated.
"It's stupid," he whispered.
Gray walked over to him and gave him a gentle kiss. "It isn't stupid. Welcome home, sweetie."
Hearing those words made Natsu's face brighten up.
"How was your day at work?"
"Oh, not bad," Natsu said, sounding like he was half-acting again. "How about you?"
"I got some progress done, not much, but a start."
"Good, good." He stopped and nervously looked away. "Is … Is it weird, wanting to play like this?"
"Yes." Gray wanted to chuckle as Natsu looked dejected by the blunt honesty. He grabbed Natsu's chin and lifted it. "I like your version of weird."
He kissed him, deeply, warmly, soothing his insecurities. Natsu reached around him, sinking into the kiss, letting it grow deeper, loving the taste of Gray's mouth and the firmness of his arms as they wrapped around him.
Gray pulled back, adoring Natsu's love-struck smile. "What would you like for dinner, sweetie?"
Natsu giggled at hearing Gray call him that, obviously very happy to continue roleplaying. "I was thinking we could eat out."
"Good, because there's not much in the fridge."
They both laughed, realizing that playing house in a hotel was strange indeed.
They went out, now just the two of them. They had another amazing meal, gazing into each other's eyes, watching the way each other ate and sipped wine. Gray felt himself falling deeper and deeper in love, like every hour with Natsu was another step toward heaven-on-earth.
Then Natsu wanted a walk, just a little sightseeing, a strolled around La Defense at night. He clung onto Gray's arm, really making it obvious that they were together. For the first time, they could openly act like a dating couple without fear of someone from work seeing them. Natsu yanked Gray over to a fountain. He danced around it without a care, while Gray watched and laughed. He finally joined in, dancing together with the blue lights of the fountain glimmering in the night.
They spun around, laughing freely. Truly, who would imagine this crazy idiot was the CEO of an international company? Then they stopped, winded from laughter. Suddenly, Natsu grabbed Gray and kissed him.
"I honestly don't think I've ever been happier," he said with a flushed smile.
Gray combed his fingers through the pink hair lit up by wavering fountain lights. "Same here."
They kissed again, then laughed, both enjoying the freedom of being away from a place where people would judge them.
They walked back, and Natsu saw the laptop on the hotel desk.
"Oh! Do you like it? Do you need anything else?"
"It's a really good laptop. I don't need anything yet."
"So what's it like?" Natsu asked, looking eager to see Gray at work.
Gray shrugged. "You've been on a laptop before."
"I mean the … is it deep web?"
"Dark web. They get mixed up a lot. Deep web is simply anything that is hidden from the public: online banking, email, social media pages, web forums. If it's hidden behind a username and password, then it's on the deep web. Dark web has to be accessed with a special network, which provides anonymous access to the internet."
"What does it look like? Is it all secret and dark and cool?"
Gray was amused by Natsu's enthusiasm. He opened the laptop and tapped a few keys.
"It's not all dangerous and illegal stuff. Many people turn to it because in their country, free speech can get you killed. The privacy of the dark web means they can safely circumvent censorship and governmental firewalls. It's a way to protect political dissidents, and whistleblowers use it to anonymously warn about crimes."
Soon, Gray had the dark web pulled up. Natsu was not sure what he had been expecting. Maybe a sinister version of Facebook. Instead, the websites either looked normal or really sparse, like they had been designed in 1998.
"I checked in on a whistleblower site I used to visit a lot in college." He laughed casually as he showed the forum to Natsu, again looking like a simple, old web design. "There are a lot of government secrets out there, if you know where to look."
"Aren't there, like, dangerous places?"
"Well, yeah," Gray said with a shrug. "There are urban legends of places to watch snuff videos, but no one has ever confirmed that these exist, just something stupid for teens to brag about. It's got a fuck-ton of child porn, but it's also got communities of people who hunt down pedophiles and get them arrested. And you can buy just about anything: drugs, guns, bomb material, hire a hit man, get fake IDs, purchase people's entire personal information, buy stolen cars and credit cards—I admit, I bought a stolen card in college once, just to see if it was legit, used it for a weekend, hated myself afterward. That's why you use multiple layers of encryption and something like bitcoin that can't be traced back to you. "
Natsu frowned. "Gray, be honest. Are you going to get arrested for this?"
He chuckled. "I won't do anything really illegal. I admit, I'm digging into some groups that are questionable. I have to navigate cautiously. It's less that Interpol is going to burst in and arrest me, and more like someone who doesn't want me poking around will knock on the door." He muttered softly, "I seriously worried about that for a moment when you knocked just now."
Natsu looked more stern. "Then stop this. If it'll put you in danger—"
"It won't," he said firmly. "Trust me, Natsu. I'm better than that."
He still looked worried, but he nodded, deciding to trust in Gray's experience.
"Besides," he said, looking at the screen, "this is reminiscent. I used to do this for fun. Now, I'm doing it to save the company. It's … a nice feeling."
Natsu hugged around his shoulders and rested his chin on Gray's collar. "Fighting together?"
Gray blushed, remembering what he texted Natsu. "Yeah, I get to fight by your side now."
They gazed at each other, and like a innate flow of nature, their lips met. Gray caressed Natsu's cheek and listened to a soft hum. Suddenly, Natsu swung his leg around Gray's thighs and settled on his lap, straddling him. Gray grabbed and pulled him closer until he could feel the heat of Natsu's crotch on his, warming him up, and the way Natsu's body pressed up firmly against him made Gray want to moan. Natsu undulated on Gray's lap, teasing him, as their tongues met. Then Natsu bit Gray's lip hard. Gray yanked back with a gasp, his heart racing, his crotch burning for more.
"I should close out of this safely."
Natsu smirked at seeing his flustered expression. He moved off Gray's lap, stood up with a sensual stretch, and went toward the bed. His eyes smoldered as they gazed back. Gray cursed under his breath as just how sexy Natsu could be. He hurriedly closed out of the dark web.
What were they going to do tonight? Were they going to … finally…? Shit, did they have lube? He was pretty sure they didn't.
His fingers could not tap the keyboard fast enough, but he wanted to make sure he exited safely. After all, he would protect Natsu. Finally, he closed the laptop and turned, half hoping Natsu would be naked and ready for him. Instead, he had passed out on the bed, sleeping soundly, still in his suit.
"Are you serious?" Gray sighed. So much for his libido!
He wondered just how hard Natsu must be working. Whatever was going on, it sounded serious, and he had barely messaged him all day. He was probably in meeting after meeting, all to make sure his employees still had jobs. Carefully, Gray undid Natsu's shoes and slipped them off. Then he worked on the belt. At that, Natsu stirred.
"Oh, sorry," he mumbled. "Guess I was sleepy."
"It's fine," Gray whispered. "Let's get you undressed."
"If … if you wanna…"
Gray kissed his forehead. "You worked hard, sweetie. Time for bed."
Natsu blushed at hearing him talk like that. He managed to get his clothes off, with Gray helping where Natsu fumbled. Gray turned off all the lights except for a lamp by the table. Then he tucked the sheets up to Natsu's chin in and kissed his forehead.
"I'm gonna work a little bit more. Sweet dreams."
Natsu sighed with happiness and curled up in the blankets. Gray sat on the bed, stroking the pink hair until his boyfriend fell back to sleep. Then he walked over to the table and opened up the laptop.
"Let's see if I can find you, Black Wizard."

Today is my birthday. This is my gift to everyone. Thank you for being understanding about my unexpected hiatus. Life gets crazy, and living in Portland, with protests, secret federal troops, and tear gas ... let's just say, it's been a terrifying summer. Still, I really wanted to be able to give you all a little treat, because your enjoyment of my storytelling is the best birthday gift of all.
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