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Life After Near Death	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 14426 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 36
- 37
- 38
"The wounding words we say are like feathers released in a harsh wind; once said, we will never get them back."

― Jason Versey

Chapter 37

Wounding Words
Erza slowly climbed the hill behind Fairy Tail where wizards often practiced their magic away from normal townsfolk. She rubbed her arms as she felt a chill despite the clear summer day and saw ice on the ground. The designs of sculpted ice scattered around were breathtaking. An ice hammer was not just some blocky head and straight handle. There was grace to it, design to the handle for ergonomic grip, carvings in the hammerhead, and just by looking at it Erza could see it had balanced weight.
An ice sword left behind was so beautiful, she had to pick it up and admire the craftsmanship. She knew Gray had some skill in sword fighting, and while it might not be his weapon of choice, he was good at it. She had trained with him as a child so he could get better.
Then she saw a glittering clear archery bow of intricate design, a shoulder cannon, an ax, and a massive ice shuriken. Something many people never realized was that Gray was not merely an ice user. He was a weapons specialist. Erza specialized on the sword, but Gray could fight with just about any weapon he could imagine. As soon as he read about a new type of weapon, he practiced until he could fight proficiently with it.
Finally, she came across an area utterly encased by ice. Gray was in the middle of the frozen landscape, panting hard from his workout. Half of his body was black, and his hair stood on end. He had a dark gleam in his eyes, and Erza sensed this demon slaying magic.
"You're getting better," she noted.
Gray turned sharply to her, but he relaxed as he saw the red hair. "After that defeat last year, I've spent even more focus on Demon Slayer techniques. I'm still hesitant on using it unless I know my enemy is truly strong."
"Not going overboard is a skill few in this guild try to master."
He scoffed out a laugh. "Like you're one to talk. Besides, that's how I lost. I hesitated. I held back." Gray looked down at his stomach. "I can still feel it sometimes. I have nightmares of that day and wake up thinking This is it, I'm dying. Just like then," he whispered solemnly. "I really did think I was a dead man. I knew in my heart, there was no way I could survive at attack that bad." His brow tightened. "The team hasn't done a major mission since then."
"You're still healing."
"I'm better," he insisted. "I can't run as fast as I used to, but I can do other things. Besides, if I train my defensive and long-distance magic hard enough, I won't have to dodge."
She looked around at the glittering frozen field. "Encasing everything in front of you in ice. You called this magic Silver."
He nodded, looking down at his blackened hand. "My father's magic. If his spirit can protect me, then I will train harder to perfect it and surpass him. I won't be caught off guard again. Even if I go overboard, I won't put my friends through something like that." Gray fisted his hand in determination, and slowly the blackness ebbed away. He looked up at her. "Natsu told me."
Erza jolted, truly surprised by those words. "He told you?" Cautiously, she asked to clarify, "Told you what?"
"He donated blood to keep me alive."
The answer stunned her. Erza thought Natsu had told him about the machine that nearly killed him so Gray could walk. "He told you about that, huh?"
"Yeah. Pisses me off a bit. He'd go that far. How far would I go?" Gray chuckled to himself. "At least he didn't do anything stupid, like donate an organ or chop off his own leg."
Erza had just been thinking of telling Gray about Natsu's sacrifice, but that stopped her. "What if he had?" she asked, watching closely to judge his reaction.
"He'd be a damn idiot," Gray instantly said. "I'm not worth it."
"To him, you are."
Gray's head dropped, his brow tensed, and he looked down at the leg that had been paralyzed for so long. "That's what gets me. We weren't dating, we weren't in love, nothing like that. Why would he go that far? He said he also cauterized my wounds, and he jump-started my heart at one point as well. That means he used Laxus' lightning." Gray shook his head. "That idiot is going to go too far one day."
Erza lightly bit her lip. Natsu already went too far! She wanted to tell Gray, but she realized it was not her place. Natsu needed to be the one to tell him.
"Gray," she said softly, choosing her words with care. "Natsu's that way. He'll do anything to save a friend. He goes too far. He endangers himself without a single thought. We're all that way in Fairy Tail. We don't leave behind friends. We rescue them, even if that means we're the ones who get hurt. We don't necessarily need to be in love to do this. We're nakama, and especially for Natsu, that's all the reason he needs."
"I still feel like I owe him," Gray muttered.
"Then pay him back in your own way. Be loyal to him. He loves you more than you even know," she said with a bittersweet smile, thinking about how far Natsu went just to make Gray happy, and how he hid the truth about that action for Gray's sake.
Gray waved his hand and formed an ice chair to sit on. His leg still hurt sometimes after training. He collapsed his head down into his hands and ran his fingers through his hair.
"How could he love me?" he muttered. "What in the world did I do to make him feel that way?"
"Do you love him?" asked Erza. By the blushing smile, she knew his answer. "How did you fall in love with him?"
"Hell if I know," he grumbled. "It just happened. When I stop and think about it, it makes no sense. We're rivals, we're teammates, we're … both guys," he said softly with a troubled look.
"Does that bother you?"
"Sometimes," he admitted. "This just started, and I don't know yet about it. About him. Or me. Or anything. I just … don't know. I like him, but I don't like other men. And I … well." He dropped his voice, feeling guilty. "I just don't find Natsu attractive. I don't find any men attractive, and I've even looked around. I don't think I'm bisexual, just … Natsu is an exception to the rule."
"But you do love him, right?"
Gray cringed down bashfully. "Y-yeah, I do, but with girls, I really like staring at them, admiring how they look. It's not that way with him. I admire other things about him, but … I just don't know," he said in quiet frustration. "It's not a physical attraction. I'm not saying that's bad!" he protested quickly, realizing he sounded rather shallow. "It's just weird for me. It's not what I'm used to. I'm trying to go slow so I can figure this out."
Erza sighed and looked to the side so he could hide the blush on his cheeks. "You're taking your time then. I wasn't sure."
He choked up, realizing what she meant, and stuttered out an excuse. "That … in the closet, that was an accident. We weren't … I mean, we were kissing, but … what it looked like … w-we weren't doing that." He blushed as he realized that, for a moment, he had wanted to. He wanted to go slow with Natsu as he still fought with his uncertainties, but part of him craved the Dragon Slayer.
"I see. That's good. Also, you can have love without physical attraction."
A smile flickered on Gray's lips. "I know. It's just odd to me. It's not like anything I've experienced, and it's awkward. I want this, though. I want it to work out."
Erza smiled amiably. "I hope it does."
He smiled to hear her approval. It meant so much to him, having the support of one of his oldest, dearest friends. "Do you know when they'll be back?" he asked eagerly.
"I know nothing at all about this, except that it was a request from the king himself."
Gray's eyes widened. "From the king? That's unexpected."
"Rare, but not unheard of. Now, how about we train together? I would like to see how far you've gotten."
Gray had a wide grin. He missed simple things like training with friends. Erza held out her hand, and a sword materialized into her palm.
"Sword techniques?" he asked. "You have quite an advantage in that."
"It's good that you're focusing on long-distance fighting, but sometimes you need to face your enemy in close quarters. Let's see if you've gotten rusty on your parries."
With a gleam in his eyes, Gray clasped together both hands. "Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur." A massive broadsword formed in his hands, and frost swirled around him.
"Oh?" Erza smirked. "Not a normal sword, but that one? You really aren't taking chances with going easy on an opponent."
Gray chuckled softly. "Against your swords, I'm not even confident if Cold Excalibur would be enough."
"I know your style, Gray. You'll throw in some tricks."
"Nobody ever said Fairy Tail wizards fight fair."
She readied her grip. "Then don't expect too much mercy. En guard!"

It was nearly sunset when Erza and Gray returned to the guild together, laughing at the injuries they both had.
"You really impressed me, Gray," she admitted. "You read your opponent's movements well."
"You almost fell for my ice cage."
"I did fall for your iced floor. That hurt my tail bone quite a bit."
"Could've fooled me! Your recovery was almost instantaneous."
"It had to be with your repost."
Mira smiled at both of them. "Training?"
"Cake," Erza declared. "Also, Gray deserves a treat on my tab."
"Hey, I didn't actually win," he pointed out.
"Neither did I. It was a draw, and that earns you a dessert, but not a dinner."
He laughed at how they compromised. To even come to a draw with Erza was far better than he used to be. Mira handed over a chocolate shake, and Gray eagerly drank it down to ease the sweatiness of hard training. He glanced around the guild. It was a bit quiet without Natsu shouting challenges at everyone or Gajeel attempting to sing. He never thought he would actually miss Natsu, but now he felt lonely without the flame-brain around. He slurped down his shake and watched Cana telling Lisanna her fortune in tarot cards.
Suddenly with a blip, the Dragon Slayers returned with Mest. The scar-faced man collapsed into a chair in exhaustion. Without a word, Natsu instantly stormed off. Gray watched him stomp to the hall with the restrooms.
"Yeah, go powder your nose, dragon princess," Gajeel teased him. "You better check your dick, make sure you still have one." He laughed as Natsu threw back a middle finger without even turning around.
Gray watched Natsu leave, then turned scathingly to Gajeel. "What the hell, man?"
"Ah, I'm just teasing him," Gajeel laughed flippantly. "That idiot is too sensitive, that's all."
Wendy walked away from the group with a sour look on her face. She went over to Erza and Gray and quietly admitted, "Gajeel and Natsu were fighting the whole time. Gajeel kept goading him on, but Natsu … he tried really hard to hold back. You could tell, he was restraining himself. Still, he's pretty upset about some of the things Gajeel said to him." Her eyes turned up to Gray. "You should probably go talk to him."
"Yeah," he frowned. "Hey, what sort of things was Gajeel saying?"
"I didn't really get it. He kept calling Natsu a pansy and a fairy and something about … from one stripper to another maybe? I didn't hear everything they said since we were busy."
"Damn," Gray whispered. He had a bad feeling from the start that Gajeel might use their relationship to harass Natsu, but it seemed like he was going a little too far.
Gray found Natsu in the restroom, the mirror above the sink smashed, and his fist bleeding. He did not look up at first, already smelling who was there.
"Don't worry about it, Gray," he said, facing away from the door as blood dripped from his knuckles. "I just needed to vent or else I would have punched Gajeel, and I couldn't do that while we were there. That asshole deserves it, though."
Gray walked up to him and hugged Natsu from behind. "Whatever he said, he was just trying to get at you. I'm still here, Natsu. I waited for you."
Those soft words made the tension ease out of Natsu's muscles. He finally looked around his shoulder and saw Gray smiling at him.
"I'm glad you're here," he admitted softly.
Gray gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Let's get a bandage for your hand. You're dripping blood."
He pulled Natsu along to the infirmary. Gray tended to everything, from washing the blood away, pulling out a sliver of mirror glass, putting on medication, and wrapping Natsu's hand in gauze and tape. Natsu just stood there silently and watched with gentle eyes as Gray took care of him.
As he put the final pieces of tape over the bandage, Gray asked, "So what was the mission about?"
"It wasn't even a lousy mission," Natsu grumbled. "The king wanted to have a party with just the Dragon Slayers. He wanted it to be a big surprise, a way to thank us or something. Since it was an order from the king himself, the whole thing was treated as top secret. I missed out on a date with you just so the king could have some stupid party."
Gray had to laugh. Most people would be deeply honored if the king personally hosted a party just for them. Only Natsu would find the whole thing annoying since fighting was not involved.
"I took some party favors home for you, though." Natsu pulled around the bag on his shoulder. "There's some cake … oh, it got smashed a little, but it's in a box so it's edible. There's this," he said, holding up some sort of paper origami dragon. "Princess Hisui made these for all of us. Gold paper, too. Oh, and this." He pulled out a golden stick encrusted with jewels.
Gray's mouth dropped. "What the hell, Natsu? Is that…?" His voice dropped as he saw the Fiore family crest. "Oh shit, that's the royal scepter!"
Natsu blinked in confusion. "Huh? What's a scepter? It's a fancy stick I found in one of the costume rooms. I thought you might like it."
"You stole the royal scepter!" Gray cried out. "First the crown, now the scepter."
Natsu pouted and muttered, "Uh, I really don't know what a scepter is, but if you don't like it, you can pawn it or whatever."
"Idiot! You have no idea what you even did." Gray rubbed out his head, but he began to laugh at just how crazy it was. "Seriously, I have the densest boyfriend in the world. You're insane," he chuckled, smiling at Natsu while shaking his head.
"So, does that mean you like the stick?" Natsu held it out again.
Gray took the heavy royal emblem, made of pure gold with massive rubies and pearls and the biggest sapphire he had ever seen sitting on top. "You'll get arrested if they find out you stole this."
"Oh," he muttered. "That bad, huh?"
"Yeah, that bad." He handed the scepter back over to Natsu. "You need to give it back or hide it wherever you hid the king's crown."
"I wanna wear the crown some day," Natsu insisted with a pout. "So, this stick matches the crown, huh? Royalty have weird accessories. Ah, but I also got this." He pulled out a vial. "I told Hisui that I asked you out."
"You told the princess?" Gray gawked.
"I wanna tell everyone," Natsu said with casual honesty. "Anyway, this is supposedly some special formula the princess uses when she wants to play in the snow but it's too hot. She said it's like winter in a glass. It only works in a hundred meters circumference from wherever you open the vial, but the contents last up to fifty hours and can be capped and reopened whenever you want a winter scene. That means you can use it again and again, and opening it just once makes enough snow to not melt for hours. So, that's her gift so we can have a romantic winter setting without you using up your magic."
"That's actually really sweet," Gray admitted, taking the vial. "So, I guess you had a fun time still."
"Well, it wasn't bad," he shrugged. "I just really wanted you to be there, or Happy, or someone besides that metal-head idiot and those Sabertooth guys. Even Cobra was there."
"But he's wanted!"
"Yeah, and he tried to escape because he thought Mest was turning him in, but the king gave him a temporary pardon due to the party. What a fickle king! So, all seven of us were in one room. Royalty are crazy!"
Gray had to agree with that. "How does the hand feel?"
Natsu flexed his bandaged fingers. "Better. Sorry about breaking that mirror. I had to bottle it in since we were in the palace. I just had to punch something, and punching Gajeel as soon as we returned home would be a really crappy thing. Besides, he's just trying to push my limits. I won't let him win that easily."
"I could deal with him," Gray offered with a sly expression.
Natsu chuckled but shook his head. "I want you to stay out of this. It's between me and him."
"I get it," Gray said in understanding. "I know how rivalries are."
Natsu had a twinkle in his eyes and he looked up at Gray. "Yeah, rivalries get personal."
Gray stepped in front of Natsu, seated on the infirmary bed, and gazed down dominantly at him. "You better not get personal with Gajeel."
"Oh, hell no!" he grimaced. Then Natsu grabbed around Gray's legs and pulled him in even closer. "You're the only rival worthy enough for that."
"I better be." Gray leaned over, and Natsu raised his face, waiting for those chilly lips. "I've been your rival the longest."
"My first rival," Natsu moaned, feeling the coldness getting closer.
Gray's mouth hovered against him. "Welcome home, Natsu."
Their lips pressed together. Natsu hummed at the softness of Gray's mouth and the smell of his body. His hands wrapped around. Like this, with him sitting and Gray standing over him, his fingers naturally rested on Gray's butt. He grabbed that ass possessively and pulled Gray up to him. Then he felt Gray's fingers stroking through his hair. Natsu seriously loved that feeling, those cold hands, the slight pull of hair strands, and the gentleness of the act, being petted and caressed so tenderly. When the icy fingers drifted down his neck and under the scarf, Natsu could not help but shiver.
"Missed you," Gray mumbled into his mouth.
"Mmh, missed you more," Natsu replied, and his tongue ventured out.
Gray finally sat so he was not bent over. Natsu's arms went around him, and Gray grabbed him closer. They kissed with wild desire for a few seconds before easing back, soft kisses, gentle caresses, tongues slowly twirling, and their hearts raced as the heat between them increased.
"Mmh … we shouldn't make out here," Gray muttered between kisses.
Natsu gave him one more peck before pulling back. "Your place?"
What an incorrigible boyfriend! "I was thinking we could go on a date."
That made Natsu grin broadly. "Yeah, let's go! Movies!"
Gray took his hand, and together they walked out. He loved the roughness of Natsu's hand, the burning touch, how comfortable it was to hold, and he could squeeze his fingers without worrying about hurting him, unlike the girls he had dated. He could be as rough or as gentle as he wanted with Natsu, and it did not matter at all.
When they turned into the main hall, it seemed like people knew now what the mission was about. Gajeel was talking loudly about how disappointed he was not to fight, although Wendy seemed to have enjoyed herself immensely, showing off the origami dragon to Carla and Happy.
Happy glanced up as Natsu entered. "There you are! Did you get a little paper dragon too, Natsu?"
"Yep, I did. Wanna see? I already showed Gray."
Gajeel shouted over teasingly, "Hah! I bet you were really eager to show Gray your little dragon."
Natsu narrowed his eyes and tightened his fists. Gray put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.
"Don't worry about it," he whispered to Natsu. "It's a dumb joke anyway."
"You two are the dumb joke around here," Gajeel taunted. "I mean, Natsu would probably fuck anything that offered, but I figured you'd be better than that, Gray."
Natsu stomped one step forward and shouted, "You leave Gray out of this!"
Gajeel ignored him. "I figured if a guy was gonna turn gay, he'd pick someone better than an annoying twerp who barely knows what his dick is for. Natsu's not even serious about this."
"What?" Natsu shrieked.
"I can tell. You're just dragging Gray down for some sick amusement. Unless he's the one who turned you into a homo. Hah! Maybe that's it. Did he turn you gay, Natsu? So desperate for a fuck, you'd even take a male stripper, and Gray's probably so sexually repressed after Juvia left him, you'd take any hole offered to you. Just a couple of desperate twinks."
Gray leaped forward in fury and punched Gajeel across the face. The Iron Dragon Slayer was knocked to the side, but he recovered quickly.
"Is that all you got? Don't tell me it's true that being gay makes you weaker," he chuckled, rubbing his jaw.
Gray's eyes narrowed spitefully. "Fuck … you," he sneered. Then Gray turned and stormed out of the guild hall.
"Heh!" Gajeel laughed, yet he still had to rub his jaw a little more. "Idiot punches like a girl."
Levy put her hands on her hips. "Gajeel that was … that's … ohh!" she huffed, stomping her foot and too angry to articulate. She leaned up into his face again and whispered, "You're not getting any for a month!"
"What?" he bellowed. "I was just teasing him."
"You were being homophobic and rude."
"I ain't homophobic. I just like teasing that runty Salamander. Sheesh, don't get your panties in a twist over some jokes."
Natsu approached, head down, simmering. "Gajeel?"
"What, pansy?"
Natsu's fist slammed into Gajeel as well, sending him flying across the room and through the stone wall. Natsu stood there, flames dancing around him, eyes ablaze with fury, and he sneered in quiet rage.
"You can tease me all you want," and suddenly he screamed, "but don't ever fuck with my boyfriend again." Then he took off after Gray.
Gajeel wiped blood aside from his mouth as he watched Natsu storm away. "Shit," he whispered. "That guy is actually serious about this. I thought he was just fucking around since I haven't smelled it yet."
"Smell?" asked Erza.
"They're not mating. Natsu said Gray is his mate, but they don't smell like each other yet. If they're not mating, Natsu has no right to call Gray his mate. Mates are special to Dragon Slayers. You don't dick around and call just anyone your mate. Using that term so lightly really pissed me off, so I was trying to make him realize he can't use the word mate so lightly."
Erza folded her arms. "Do you really think a person can't be serious about a relationship unless sex is involved? Did you and Levy make love the same day you asked her out?"
"Actually, I asked her out after I…"
"Solid Script: Gag!" Levy shrieked, swishing her pen in the air. The word GAG flew at Gajeel and slapped around his mouth, muting him instantly. "Seriously, you're working yourself into more and more trouble, you big-mouthed idiot."
Gajeel tried to talk through the gag, getting only mumbles out.
Happy translated: "He says, he never meant to be homophobic, he apologizes, and he'll tell Natsu sorry as well. He'll respect Gray as his mate, but only if they're both serious. However, he doesn't understand why Levy is so angry when she was the one who came at him in that see-through nightie and rode on top like a—"
"Gah! Gag!" Levy screamed, scribbling her pen again, and the same but smaller gag word slapped over Happy's mouth. Gajeel chuckled slyly, amused to see her blushing. "Gajeel!"
He pointed to her, then possessively thumbed to his chest. She was his mate, and he took that seriously. He loved tormenting her just a little bit, enough to make her react in adorable ways, but he was still serious about her being his special mate. Levy sighed, knowing his slightly sadistic personality, which she did not mind at all. He made her heart race, humiliated her at times, but whenever he did, he made up for it. For everything he had done today, she could hardly wait to see how he would spoil her as a way to ask for forgiveness.
Erza walked up to Gajeel and helped him to stand. "You better truly apologize."
"Hmm-nhm, hmm-hwu." I know, I will.
"You better," she emphasized. "And for your sake, I hope Gray and Natsu can work through this." She looked out at the door left ajar after Natsu ran off. "Those two have enough problems without teasing."
Gajeel tried to shout, "Hm hurg hm hurrweh!" I said I'm sorry.
"Just watch how you tease Natsu. I know that you are rivals," Erza said with understanding, having dealt with Gray and Natsu's rivalry for years, "but you should not tease him about Gray. What would you do if Natsu began to make fun of Levy?"
Gajeel's eyes practically glowed in outrage. "Hmd gehl hrud gurherd!" I'd kill that bastard.
"Which is why you need to acknowledge that Gray really is Natsu's mate, even if they are not sleeping together."
Gajeel folded his arms and looked away with GAG still across his mouth. "Hyn!" Fine!
"Thank you, Gajeel."
Wendy blinked in astonishment. "How did you know all that he said?"
Erza walked back to the bar counter and to her cake. "I've had to gag Natsu and Gray so many times, I'm practically fluent in gagged speaking."
Carla looked a little uncertain. "That's … slightly disturbing to think about."
"Aye," Happy had to admit.
"Hye," Gajeel muttered in agreement.

Next Chapter: "Strength and Courage"
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Life After Near Death