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Fight Me, Bite Me	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 39446 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
Chapter 26

Reconcile
Three days later, Gray once again sat in the doctor's office. He had gone through all sorts of tests that morning, and now he awaited the results. The doctor walked in with a much more pleasant smile than the first time. It was usually easy to see when a doctor had good or bad news.
"All tests returned clear, Mister Fullbuster," he declared cheerfully. "You did a good job taking the medication. In the future, realize that protection from the very beginning to the end of coitus is important to prevent STDs, and get tested after each new partner. A condom, dental dam, or latex glove only does so much toward preventing diseases from spreading."
"Thanks," Gray muttered, staring ahead sullenly.
The doctor watched his patient with a critical eye. He set aside the medical chart and took a seat. "You seem unsatisfied with the results."
"What? No! No, sorry, it's…" He sighed and slouched lower. "Something else is on my mind. It's just, I didn't do a good job. At all. I screwed up so much. It's like I didn't learn my lesson."
"An illness like this isn't necessarily meant to teach you a lesson. It can happen even with the most conscientious person."
"Yeah, but…" Gray slid his chin down to his hands. "I may have messed things up with someone I care for. I put him at risk."
"The pink-haired boy?" the doctor recalled. "He was in here a few days ago asking to be tested. He also seemed distraught, much like you. I'm not a priest, my job isn't to seek confessions, and while I did have to take a university course in psychology, I'm certainly not a therapist; however, he obviously needed to talk, so I listened. He said he was afraid he had messed up with you. He had done something, as he put it, damn stupid, and he knew he had badly upset you. He was scared you might push him away. I told him to go straight back to you and let you know he was clear. Did he tell you?"
Gray slammed his eyes shut against stinging heat. "Oh God. He did and … and I shoved him away from me."
"He seems to really love you. He cares enough to run straight here after putting himself at risk, not because he was scared for himself, as a normal person would be, but because he wanted to ease your conscience. He knew he did something dangerous, and he knew it upset you. I believe his words were, 'I'm too in love to think straight, and I keep messing up.'"
Hearing that from someone else made Gray blush. "That idiot," he muttered, feeling a tingle in his heart that he did not want to show to some doctor.
"He seems like such a sincere boy. It'd be a shame to blame him."
"I don't blame him," Gray said, raising his voice. "I'm the one who messed up, who let him be put in that situation. I had to keep him safe, so … so I … I pushed him away. For his own sake," he whispered sadly, "I told him to stay away from me."
"You did what you felt you had to do," the doctor said calmingly. "However, for Mister Dragneel, his worst fear came true. He made a mistake, and then he lost you."
"No!" Gray insisted. "I don't want to lose him. I just wanted him to be safe."
"Then you need to tell him that, and explain it clearly. I would bet that, in his mind, you just broke up with him, and of course he's going to think it's because of the mistake he made."
Gray saw the logic in that. Natsu would obviously blame himself, just like Gray was blaming himself. He had shouted at Natsu, after all. Then he told Natsu to stay away. He could see how, from Natsu's point of view, this would be like Gray broke up with him.
"Oh God," he whispered in anguish.
If the tables were turned, if Natsu had shouted at him and growled to stay away, Gray would be utterly devastated. That must be how Natsu was feeling now. Happy had even come to try and tell him that Natsu was depressed. Gray had ignored it, constantly telling himself it was for Natsu's own good.
The doctor rose and patted Gray on the back. "Go win him back."
Gray began to run out of the medical room.
"Sir, your pants!" the doctor chuckled.
Gray ran back in, dressed again—when had he stripped from his clothes?—and ran out of the doctor's office. He had no clue where to look for Natsu, but the best place to start was the guild.
He entered to see the usual bantering and chaos that was typical of Fairy Tail. Wizards clustered together, drinking and laughing. The Strauss family were laughing at the bar, while Mira chatted and fixed drinks. Cana was in the midst of telling Levy her fortune through tarot cards. Lucy looked on with chuckles and quick glances over to Gajeel when the Knight of Swords came up, and Cana contemplated just how to interpret that card. It was so obvious to Lucy!
In no time, Juvia rushed forward like a tidal wave and attached herself to Gray's arm, knocking him to the side and almost off his feet. He tried to pull away, but she began to whine annoyingly loud.
"Gray-sama, you haven't be around in ages. Juvia was so lonely."
"Let go! I was sick, and you know that."
"Juvia knows. Juvia asked around and found Gray-sama's former girlfriends."
Gray felt the pit of his stomach drop. "Oh God, what did you do to them?" he cried out. This woman was dangerously obsessive.
"Juvia found the one who was also sick. She told Juvia she found out about her sickness a month ago but never told Gray-sama. She said she didn't remember your name. How can anyone forget Gray-sama's name? Gray-sama has the best name in the whole wide world."
Gray cringed as he realized he never caught that woman's name, either. It had been random, drunken, and ended by sunrise. "So, uh … what did you do to her?"
Juvia stared at him, blinking as if she did not understand the question. "Juvia got mad, shouted at her, slapped her face, and left."
"That's it?"
"Juvia realizes that was in the past. Gray-sama dumped her. She's no longer a love rival. If she were, Juvia would have trapped her in water until she passed out from lack of air."
Scary. Definitely, this was a scary woman. He and Natsu had to watch out with her when it was time to tell the whole guild about them.
Juvia suddenly rubbed her cheek against Gray's arm. "Gray-sama wouldn't do that to Juvia, right?"
"Stop that," he shouted, yanking away, and letting his shirt fall into her clutches.
Juvia dropped the shirt and grabbed around his waist instead. "Gray-sama will be loyal to Juvia, right?"
"Don't cling to me."
"Gray!"
At Erza's shout, Juvia let go, but not before Gray slid out of his trousers in hopes of escaping from her. If there was one woman Juvia feared and respected, it was Erza. She would not soon forget their fight on Tenrou Island, when she had felt the Titania's strength firsthand. Gray took the opportunity to pull away from Juvia and raced to Erza's table, sliding into a chair, now wearing only his boxers. Thankfully, the water woman did not follow him.
Erza placed her fork down onto her plate beside her half-eaten strawberry cake. "So, today's the day, right?"
"Huh?" he asked in confusion.
"The doctor."
"O-oh! Yeah. I just got back. Blood tests are clear."
"That's good, Gray." Erza looked over, and only then did Gray notice a brooding form with pink hair slouched in the corner. "Isn't that good, Natsu?"
Only a grunt answered her.
Happy left Natsu's side, trotted up to Gray, and swiped his claw across the ice wizard's bare leg.
"Ow!" Gray screamed. "What the hell was that for?"
Happy glared up with watery eyes. "For breaking his heart." Then he stormed away.
Gray watched the little Exceed leave in anger. Then he looked over to Erza speechlessly, mouth hanging open. Erza looked back at Gray, and her eyes held an order: cheer Natsu up or else! Gray sighed as he realized he had to make things better without being obvious to the rest of the guild. He shifted over a seat to be closer to Natsu. Still, the Dragon Slayer refused to look at him, slouched in a corner, hiding in the shadows, as he clutched a beer stein with two hands.
"Hey, flame-brain." Gray heard a grunt in reply. "Umm…" He looked around, but he saw a few others glancing at them. Apparently, other guild members were concerned about Natsu's foul mood. Lucy was watching, as well as Lisanna. Even Makarov had his eyes turned their way. Gray realized he really had to watch what he said. "Thanks for taking care of me last week."
Another dark grunt was all he got.
"I've been … um … wanting to … to thank you." Gray felt really awkward, like he was acting a part. He realized, that's precisely what he was doing. Acting! "I … I thought … Hey, are you even listening?" he snapped.
Natsu grumbled something, probably not even words, just growls.
"Idiot, I want to thank you!"
Those sharp eyes finally slid over to him. "So just say thank you and go. It wasn't a big deal."
"I was more thinking … um … taking you out for lunch or … or something." Natsu made no reply. Gray was really trying his hardest to act. He had thought a lot about how they should slowly come out to the guild, and they had agreed earlier that week that it had to start with Gray thanking Natsu the day he came back from the doctor. Gray whispered so no one but the Dragon Slayer could hear. "Hey, this is supposed to be where we pretend we're just starting to date."
Natsu glared straight ahead, avoiding his gaze, and whispered back, "I thought you didn't want me around, to stay the hell away from you."
Gray cringed as he realized that really was what he had told Natsu. "Look, we need to talk. At the very least, let's get out of here and talk somewhere private."
Natsu scowled fiercer, but suddenly his voice boomed out with forced friendliness. "Yeah! Lunch sounds good. You're buying!" he sneered.
"Well, yeah," Gray said, looking at him awkwardly. "It's my way of saying thanks for … for taking me in when I was sick … a-and all that."
"Fine." Natsu shoved himself up and glared hard into Gray's eyes. "Let's go."
It sounded more like a challenge to fight than two comrades leaving for lunch. Erza handed Gray his clothes, which he hurriedly put back on. Then the guild watched them as the two left. Most shrugged it off as just the two being idiots again, and they went back to their conversations.
Lucy had drifted away from Levy and stood near Erza now to watch her two teammates in their awkward moment. Erza shook her head at the two stubborn idiots. Really, someone had to straighten those two out if they wanted to get anywhere in this bizarre relationship.
"Well, if that isn't the most awkward asking out I've ever seen," the Titania sighed.
Lucy nodded. "They were getting along so well. Do you think something happened between them?"
Erza could not tell Lucy just why Natsu and Gray were getting along so well. That was still a secret, and she respected the two enough to keep quiet until they felt ready. Apparently, they needed some time to sort things out still. "Well," she replied cautiously, "Gray was sick."
"But they were living together, right? Or that's what I heard. There were lots of rumors going around. Most of them I heard from Mira."
"All I know is Natsu invited Gray over to help take care of him during the end of his treatment."
"I wonder why during the last part of it, when Gray was practically fine, and not during the first part when he was probably more sick."
Erza chuckled at Lucy's keen observation. The girl was close to figuring it out for herself. "It probably took Natsu that long to get the nerve to ask. And now Gray is asking Natsu to lunch." Lucy had to figure this out soon. She was smart, after all.
The pieces were falling into place for the Celestial Spirit wizard. "Do you really think this is a date?" she asked in surprise.
"More like a reconciliation," Erza realized.
Something definitely happened between the two. Natsu invited Gray to live with him, Gray left Natsu's house suddenly after only a few days, and Natsu had been depressed ever since then. Erza figured it out right away, although she did not ask for details. She realized there was a falling out between the two. That was all she needed to know for now.
"We'll probably find out more in a day or two," she muttered to herself. Relationships were complex enough, but between those two in particular, she was sure there was plenty of bumps lying on their road to happiness.

Outside, rather than going to a restaurant, Natsu led Gray to the river where they usually fought. It seemed like an appropriate place for them to duke out their differences. If they were going to argue and break up, it should be here, were the rivals fought all the time anyway.
"Look," Gray immediately snapped. "We're supposed to be convincing the guild." Natsu just stared silently at him. "Our plan! Remember? You took care of me, and I fell for you, and … and we're supposed to…" They had planned to use this day in particular to start easing the guild into thinking they had slowly fallen in love, yet that all went to hell when Gray left Natsu's house and pushed him away. "Natsu?"
He turned his back on Gray and folded his arms angrily. "You didn't want me around."
"Natsu, that…" Oh God, so that was his problem! "That was just when I was sick. I didn't mean that as something permanent. I just meant that you were too tempting, so I needed to distance myself. When you bit me and licked my blood…" Gray suddenly felt a surge of anger. "Do you realize how scared I was? I was just a few days away from being well, and you put yourself at risk like that. I was terrified, and I was mad at myself."
Natsu grumbled, "It sounded like you were mad at me."
"Maybe a part of me was," Gray admitted, "because that was really damn stupid! You could have gotten sick, and then it'd be two more weeks of hell."
"I know that, idiot. But I wasn't sick," he yelled.
"You could have been," Gray screamed back at him, but he forced his emotions to cool down. "You could've been," he whispered sadly. "Being apart from you … I'd rather spend just a few days away from you than two damn weeks unable to touch you."
Gray wanted to reach out and hold Natsu again. He missed that warmth and the firmness of his muscles. His whole body ached to feel that once again, but he pulled back his hand. Natsu was mad, and with good reason.
Heat seemed to pulse from Natsu as his emotions burned in his heart. He strained to keep things from flaring out, and his fists clenched to hold himself back. "I respect that you were just looking out for me," he said stiffly and formally. "Still…" He finally faced Gray with rage blazing in his eyes. "You did it in a really shitty way."
Gray dropped his head. Natsu had a point. Gray had screamed at him and fled to the bathroom, not thinking that the possibility of getting infected might be scary to Natsu. Then when Natsu had the sense to get tested immediately, Gray did not praise him. He just promptly pushed him away. Not once had he thought how scared Natsu might be. Not once had he considered how embarrassing it was for someone as well-known as the Fire Dragon Slayer to go to a clinic like that all alone—he recalled how ashamed he had been the first time he went for testing. Then, instead of being thankful that Natsu was well and holding onto his boyfriend during what was an emotional upheaval for them both, he had been cold, made it sound like he was breaking up with Natsu, and closed his door instead of running after him. Even when Happy tried to act as a go-between, he had ignored everything the cat said.
"I … I had to take the glove off myself, you know."
Gray's eyes widened. He had not even considered Natsu's issue with latex gloves. He had focused more on the fact that Natsu removed his own collar.
"You just ran off screaming." Natsu looked up with a tint of pink around his eyelids. "It was like … probably how you feel when something freaks me out and I say Red. Except, you didn't even need to say a safeword, because I knew I had messed up. I wasn't even thinking 'This could be bad for me.' I wanted to reassure you I was okay. I didn't taste anything bad in your blood, but I wanted to be sure, and I knew I needed to hurry if I wanted to make it to the clinic in time. It was really embarrassing to go in there, but I didn't even think twice. You said 'Now you'll need to get tested,' so I thought that if I went and got tested right away, you'd forgive me." He looked aside, but Gray heard stuffiness in his nose as he breathed in fast. "I don't know why I thought you might praise me after I screwed up and made you freak out like that. I really am just an idiot."
"Natsu…"
He shouted over Gray, "But you didn't have to say it that way."
Gray froze at the rage in the flame-laced shout. "What way?"
There was another snuffle, and he heard from the clench in Natsu's throat, he was crying, although he refused to turn around and face Gray. "'From now on, I don't want you around. Just stay the hell away from me.' That way!"
"I didn't mean…"
Natsu yelled over him again, "If you didn't mean it, then don't say it that way. You could have said 'for the next three days I don't want you around' or 'until my tests come back clear, stay away from me.' But no! You said 'from now on.' That's the sort of thing you say to someone when you're breaking up with them."
"You ran before I could clarify myself."
"Do you really think I'd stand there and sob on your doorstep? Of course I left! I can cry around my boyfriend, but not around someone who just broke my heart."
Gray had heard enough. He grabbed Natsu around the shoulders. When Natsu tried to wiggle away, Gray squeezed tighter. Holding him, Gray felt how Natsu's chest was shuddering as he tried to stop outright sobs.
"You're crying in front of me now," Gray pointed out.
"Am not!" he gnashed, but he hiccuped a sob.
Gray still held on, refusing to let go. He had let Natsu run off before. He was not about to make the same mistake again.
"I'm sorry I had to push you away. Believe me, I didn't want to. I…" Gray felt a flush on his cheeks. He wanted to stop talking right now before he lost control of his emotions, but although Gray hated to lose that sense of control, he also knew he had to make this better. "I liked living with you," he said softly. "I wouldn't mind trying that more."
"Sheesh," he grumbled. "I don't know, Gray."
"Natsu…"
"That hurt!" he growled. "Maybe you just said it wrong, but … being p-pushed away like th-that…" Tears streamed down his face, and he quickly wiped them with his scarf. "Dammit, I don't wanna cry!" He took a while to steady his breath, and Gray waited, still hugging him from behind. "It … hurt," Natsu confessed. "I thought you broke up with me. Even when I realized that maybe you were doing this just until you got well, all I could imagine was that some day you would get bored of me, and you'd say those same words. You wouldn't want me around anymore, and you'd tell me to stay away from you. I … I don't think I could handle something like that. I don't … w-want to … b-be away … from you." Tears choked him up, and Natsu roughly wiped his eyes. "Dammit!" he sobbed, mad at being so weak in front of Gray, of all people.
Gray kissed the back of Natsu's neck and rested his head on the scarf, letting Natsu cry without doing more than holding him securely. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to this."
"Used to what?" he asked sullenly.
"Romance. Feeling … this strongly about someone. It's all new and … and a little scary. A lot scary," he muttered in admittance. "I can kick the ass of a dark wizard and face a demon of Zeref, but I have no idea how to protect my own boyfriend without screwing up. I don't know what to do, and I feel … not in control. When I thought you might get sick because of me … you're right, I freaked out. I just flipped. I didn't know what to do besides keep you away from me. I was so mad at myself, it just bubbled over. I wasn't thinking. I was too scared for your safety to stop and think about how you felt. I'm sorry I screwed up." He kissed the back of Natsu's neck again. "Please, let me make it up to you."
"How?" Natsu grumbled.
"Anything you want."
Natsu pouted as he thought about it. "You were supposed to have dinner with me that night."
Gray blinked in surprise. "Okay. Pick where you want to eat. Doesn't matter what price."
"Your place. Your cooking. I want you to cook for me."
Gray smiled and nuzzled into the scarf. "Sure. And after dinner?" he asked with salacious amusement.
"No sex."
That startled Gray.
"I'm still mad. It'll just be angry sex, and I don't want that. So I'm punishing you with no sex until I'm not mad anymore."
"Ouch…"
"You have to cuddle me without seducing me," Natsu insisted. "If you're bad at romance, then I'll have to train you."
"And you're the romance expert, huh?"
"I'm more romantic than you are, you kinky bitch-in-heat."
Gray teased, "Train me, sensei."
"Shut up. I'm still mad at you."
"Should I buy you flowers as well?"
"Screw flowers! If you wanna buy me something so badly, buy me a new fishing pole."
Gray chuckled and squeezed Natsu happily. "Pick anything you want. I'll buy you anything. My way of saying I'm sorry."
"Buy Happy a fish, too. You also made him upset."
"Yeah, I know. He scratched my leg."
"He said he'd scratch you if you ever broke my heart."
"I'll keep that in mind for next time."
Natsu glared at him caustically. "Next time? Do you mean the next time you wanna break up with me?"
"No, idiot. Next time I'm an asshole and think about doing something damn stupid. Knowing I'd face Happy's killer claws is good incentive not to do something dumb." Gray chuckled, amused and overjoyed that Natsu was so determined not to lose him again, despite Gray being insensitive and leaving the situation hanging for so many days. He kissed Natsu's ear. "So, if I want to make you happy, I have to make Happy happy, is that it?"
"We come as a pair. Don't forget that."
"I won't." Gray glanced around. They were quite alone here by the river, and he had gotten hard just holding this hot, firm body once again. "Natsu?" He rolled his hips slightly against Natsu's back side to show the trouble.
"No. I'm mad at you."
"I'm fine with angry sex."
"I'm not. I already don't trust my instincts when I'm happy and in love. If I'm angry, I'm afraid I really will lash out and kill you."
"What if I completely tie you up?"
"I don't want to. It'd be like raping me."
"You really don't want to?" Gray nudged.
Natsu glared back around his shoulder. "I'm mad, Gray."
"So take it out on me. You only get violent when you're overly aroused. So tie me up. Torture me. Make me desperate and deny me. Get all your anger out."
"I don't want to do that, okay?" Natsu shouted. "It'd be like I'm forcing you."
"Natsu, I'm desperate here!"
"It's all about sex for you, isn't it?" he sneered.
"I haven't felt your hands and mouth on me in two weeks. At least I could touch you, but the only time I felt you touch me was through my clothes or with a glove."
Natsu stepped away scowling. "You suck at making up. Now I'm even more angry."
Gray reached out to his hand. "Please…"
"No!" Natsu was seething hard, really furious. Suddenly, he yanked away and walked a few steps downriver, until he could no longer feel the chill that radiated off the ice wizard. "It's one of my issues, okay? That man was angry a lot, especially near the end. When he was angry, I got beaten worse. When he was angry … what he did … it hurt. Bad. I don't want to be like him. I won't do that to you when I'm angry. What's that term you used?" He tried to think back through a fog of rage. "Hard limit. That's a hard limit. No angry sex."
Just hearing the past pain in Natsu's trembling voice killed any erection Gray had. He walked up and embraced the Dragon Slayer from behind again. "I'm sorry. You're just addictive."
"You're addicted to sex, not me," Natsu snapped. "If you were addicted to me, you'd respect my boundaries. You wouldn't try to force me to do things I don't want. You wouldn't keep pushing this matter just because you're horny."
"Am I even able to romance you when you're angry?"
Natsu laughed wryly. "Who knows?"
"Tell me how to start. I don't want to wait until dinner. I want to start right now in making this better."
"First, stop warming up your horny cock on my ass."
Gray pulled back. "Okay."
"Now … kiss me," Natsu whispered, looking longingly at Gray's lips. "Kiss me like you mean it, like it's the first time you've ever kissed me."
It was like the Fire Dragon Slayer was melting his icy heart all over again. Gray knew they had leaped into this relationship with no preparation, no expectations, just raw sex and starving need. This was his chance to do things right, to start over and make Natsu know just how precious he had become. He grabbed Natsu's chin and tilted it up. Gray stared straight into those squinty eyes and saw the anticipation glowing in them.
"Like it's our first kiss?" He gazed over Natsu's face and down to his waiting mouth. He watched as the Dragon Slayer flicked his tongue out for a small lick in preparation. "I kissed you all wrong the first time. This is how I should have done it. It's what you deserve." He leaned forward slowly, and he watched as Natsu's eyelids drifted down. With his mouth fluttering against the waiting lips, Gray whispered, "My beloved."
Natsu eyes went wide at the breathy words, embarrassed to hear them and shocked at how much tenderness filled the endearing term. A second later, the cold and slightly chapped lips pressed against his. It was a gentle kiss, not one of passion, but trepidation and hope. Gray was pouring forth his hope at winning back Natsu's love, and that emotion flowed through his kiss.
As their lips lingered, Gray's fingers slid off Natsu's chin, up his jaw line, and to the back of his neck. He pulled Natsu just a little closer, cupping the base of his head. Then his other arm snaked around and wrapped around the warm waist. Natsu felt as if he could lean back into that embrace and Gray would hold him up, cradled in his chilly hands.
Natsu parted his lips and readied his tongue, anticipating more. However, with a tiny pop of separating mouths, Gray leaned back up. He smiled at seeing the disappointment in Natsu's confused eyes.
"Like a first kiss," he whispered. "You don't get that sort of kiss until later."
Natsu chuckled silently, realizing he got precisely what he had asked for: a simple kiss, the sort exchanged between two people discovering love for the first time. His head dropped forward and thonked against Gray's bare chest.
"Don't ever break up with me again," Natsu demanded.
"I didn't break up with you, idiot."
"Then don't ever let me think that."
"It's your fault."
"Even Happy thought you meant you were breaking up with me."
"By the time he showed up, I figured I had screwed up beyond repair."
"Well, don't ever break up with me."
Gray hugged Natsu and kissed the top of his head. "You know I can't promise that, no more than you can honestly promise not to leave me. I don't want to end up lying to you."
Natsu frowned, but he guessed that was true. They were just dating. As much as he hated to think about it, he could not claim Gray as a life-mate yet.
Gray rested his chin on Natsu's shoulder and whispered into his ear. "But I don't want to lose you. I want you to be mine. I want to be claimed by you. Bitten, scratched, whatever way you want to do it. I want you to mark me as yours."
Natsu rose up and gazed solidly at Gray. "You pushed me away."
"But…"
"Which means," Natsu cut in sharply, "I have to drag you back. You asked last time, so this time it's my turn. Gray, will you be my boyfriend?"
Gray's mouth dropped. Tears welled into his eyes, but he blinked them away. "Y-yeah." He suddenly grabbed Natsu into a crushing hug.
"Hey! That hurts, bastard," Natsu cried out.
"Too bad. I … I lo-…"
Gray's face tensed up. He wanted to say it. He wanted to say those three words. Especially now, after Natsu asked him out. However, flashes of bloody memories passed through his mind. The bloodcurdling screams of his neighbors, high-pitched shrieks of his school friends, his mother's frantic cries as she begged Gray to run away and live.… Their screams and the crimson stain of their blood on the snow blinded him and deafened his ears until he could not bring himself to speak.
Everyone he had ever said I love you to…
Suddenly, a fist pounded the top of his head. Gray leaped away and rubbed out the hit. "Hey, bastard!"
"Stop making faces like that," Natsu scolded. "I just asked you out, so don't look like you have a brain freeze."
"You know why!"
"I know," Natsu nodded, "and I wonder how many goddamn times I have to say this before it sinks into your ice-hard head. Don't tell me you love me; show me! Sheesh, you'd think the first twenty times would be enough for even a retarded stripper like you."
Gray still scowled as he rubbed his head, but he realized Natsu was right. Never had he asked Gray to try and get over that issue. Natsu understood about hangups, and Gray realized that having a fear of saying I love you paled in comparison to the problems Natsu had.
"Hey," Gray mumbled. "Promise me something. Punch me the next time I do something stupid like that."
"Like what? You do a lot of stupid things."
"Like pushing you away just because I think it's a smart idea."
"I screwed up, so you were mad at me."
"I was mad at myself more." Gray kissed Natsu's forehead again, then rested his brow against the top of the pink hair. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine."
"No, it's not. I made you cry."
"Who said I was crying!"
"Shut up. You're a crybaby. I knew you were crying."
"Who the hell are you calling a crybaby, you blubbering toddler."
"Quiet. Just … just let me hold you quietly for a while." He hugged Natsu closer.
"Can we sit at least?" grumbled Natsu, hiding his blushing cheeks.
Gray found some dry sand along the riverbank and sat there. Natsu settled between Gray's legs and leaned back against the icy chest. Gray wrapped his arms around the hot shoulders and squeezed his boyfriend close. They sat together, Natsu resting between Gray's knees, and watched a family of mallards swim by.
"Hey, look at that." Natsu pointed to the ducks. "Those two have green heads."
"So?"
"That means they're both male. Two daddies raising the babies. Isn't that neat?"
Gray glanced down at the Dragon Slayer sidled between his thighs. Two males, raising a family. If it could happen in the animal kingdom, it could happen between two wizards. He said nothing for now, not wanting to push his luck. He just kissed the top of Natsu's head and kept quiet, watching the two emerald-headed mallards floating along with their group of fuzzy ducklings.

End of Chapter 26
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Fight Me, Bite Me