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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
- 55
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A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been sick for weeks.
Added: A reader requested the audio drama. I went a little further and even used sound effects. - http://chirb.it/A7210g
Chapter 56
By the Shores of a Placid Lake
They decided to hunt separately. It was simply easier to sneak up on prey when it was only one of them. Natsu went into some woods in the valley to find a wild boar, while Gray thought simple rabbits or a pheasant would be a good dinner for just the two of them, so he stayed in the grassy fields, listening for rustling. He had already captured and gutted two rabbits, which was plenty for dinner, but he wanted something they could eat for breakfast also. He heard the songs of a pheasant and stalked it as silently as possible. Just as he was about to ensnare the bird in ice, it flew into the air.
"Stupid bird!" he shouted, and Gray formed an ice spear instead, throwing it at the pheasant and missing. He could have encased the whole bird in ice, but that was not the point of hunting.
He glanced back and saw Natsu near the edge of the forest. He looked like he was disappointed. Perhaps there were no boars in these parts anymore after all.
"Natsu?" Gray said in a casual voice.
Despite the distance between them, Natsu perked up and looked over. "What?" he bellowed.
"Nothing," Gray said back. So, he could still hear, even this far away.
Gray heard geese honking and continued on to a lake. A goose for breakfast would be nice, and there were so many, he was sure to snag one.
However, he looked back again. Natsu was deeper in the woods, but that pink hair was easy to spot even in the shade of trees.
This time, he whispered, "Natsu?" He listened hard, but there was no shout. "Natsu, can you hear me?" Still nothing. "I really want to suck your cock, so if you can hear me, get over here right now." Something like that would have had Natsu racing forward, but instead the Dragon Slayer looked like he had spotted something interesting. "Can you hear me at all?" No reaction.
He was in a safe zone.
"I want you," he sighed. "It's not even about sex now. I mean, the sex is damn good, but … I need you. I just need to be with you. I don't ever want to lose you again. I don't think my heart could handle it."
He turned and looked out over the placid lake spotted with geese. No … no, he couldn't look at anything when he said this. If he focused on something, it would die. He faced the other way and looked at the mountain instead. Igneel's Mountain! Natsu's old home. Saying it to that was like saying it to Natsu, and saying it in front of Igneel's spirit.
"I …"
He wanted to tell Natsu.
"I-I…"
He would one day tell him directly.
"I lo- … lo- …"
Dammit, he would say it to Natsu one day!
"… yo- … Shit!" This was not really saying it. He had practiced this, but when alone, locked away. Now, Natsu was somewhere to his left. He looked over at the woods again. "Can you honestly not hear me?" There was no evidence that Natsu's keen ears could pick up his voice, even spoken at a normal volume. Gray faced the mountain again. He could not look at Natsu and say it when there was a chance, a small chance, Natsu might actually hear him.
It was terrifying! If he said it and Natsu really could hear him … if Natsu heard Gray confess these words…
"Nothing will happen," he told himself. "Nothing bad will happen just from saying it. Lots of people say it every day. I think it all the time. It's putting thoughts and feelings into vocalizations, nothing more. Nothing more! Just words."
He glared at the mountain, but still his heart beat frantically, panic brewing just under the surface.
"I …"
Nothing will happen!
"… love …"
It's safe!
"… you."
It's okay. Everything is fine. Just words. Just…
Blood on snow. Screams from his mother. The roars of Deliora. His father … head smashed … brains splattered over the snow … his mother's tears as her bloody hand cupped Gray's face.
"I love you so much, Gray. Never forget that. I love you. Now run. Hide! Run far away before Deliora comes this way."
Gray collapsed to his knees, his eyes wide as he saw nothing but the blood, the snow, and his ears were deaf to all but demonic roars.
"No … no, no, no!"
He tried to pinch himself, something his therapist recommended. He remembered Natsu used to do that, pinching his arm to pull himself out of memories and flashbacks.
"Mother," he sobbed. Why could he not pull out this time?
"I won't leave you, Mother."
"Oh, my dear son. I'm so sorry. I love you so much."
"I love you, too. Mother! I love you."
"Thank you, Gray. I'm so thankful for a son like you. From the day you were born, we always loved you. We would give anything for you. So please, Gray. Live on! Live with my love for you in your heart. I love you … so much … my son."
"Mother! I love you! I love you, Mother. You and Father. I love you. Mother. Mother? Mother!"
"Gray!"
He jolted as Natsu's face floating in through the blood and darkness. Gray scrambled back. No! Not him. Not in this place of death.
"Gray, what happened?" Natsu asked in worry. "You were screaming."
The vision faded. Gray swung his head around to see where he was. A lake, geese, woods, a mountain. And Natsu!
"Natsu?" he shuddered.
"Are you hurt? Did anything happen?"
He shook his head and could not look at him.
His green eyes tensed with worry, but Natsu also seemed to understand. "You tried to say it, didn't you?"
Part of the lake began to freeze as Gray suddenly panicked. "You heard?" he screamed in terror.
Natsu shook his head. "I only heard you screaming, so I ran here."
He didn't hear! He was safe! The ice stopped its crackling spread. "Good. That's good. Shit, I'm sorry." He dropped his head into his hands and cried softly.
Natsu took a seat beside him and pulled the ice wizard close. He let Gray cry and just sat with him, rubbing his arms as he worked his way back to the present. Finally, Gray leaned over, resting on Natsu shoulder and falling into his arms. Natsu was here, he was safe, and that was all that mattered.
"I can't … can't risk losing you."
"I know how that is," Natsu said softly, still rubbing Gray's arms to keep his in the present. "It's why I can't tell you about my past. I'm terrified that you might walk away."
Gray felt a stab of anguish at the lack of trust. "I wouldn't!"
Natsu smiled passively at the fervency, but he quietly admitted, "There's a good possibility that you might."
He sat up sharply. "I would never—"
Natsu put a finger to Gray's lips to silence him. "Even Loke said you might."
"Well, fuck him!" he shouted. Did Loke also think he was that fickle?
"Gray, there's a very good possibility that if you say those three words to me, nothing will happen. But you still can't tell me, right?"
Gray scoffed and scowled in the other direction.
"I don't mean that badly. I mean it to show what I'm going through. Deep in my heart, I want to believe that you wouldn't leave. I'd tell you everything, you'd hug me, forgive me, and we'd be fine. But if there's even a small chance that I'd lose you forever … I can't take that chance yet. Like you can't chance me overhearing you say those three words and all of your fears come true."
Gray reluctantly admitted, he had a point.
"Please don't push yourself, and don't push me, okay? Don't push yourself to this point. If it doesn't feel right, try something else. What would make it easier?"
"I don't know," he grumbled. "I could say it just fine on my own. I think because I could still see you. What if I said those words and something bad really did happen to you? I'd be over here, watching, helpless to save you, unable to run to you in time. That went through my mind, and that's when I saw the snow, the blood, I heard the roars of that demon, and my mother's voice."
Natsu sighed. "Dammit, Gray." He wrapped him up and stroked his arms some more. "You don't have to push yourself so hard."
"I need to—"
"I don't want you to torture yourself!" Natsu shouted over him. He hugged Gray tighter. "Trust me, I know how it feels to want to do something so much but you just can't. Pushing yourself beyond your limits isn't the way to do it. Didn't your therapist teach you at least that much?"
Gray scowled and looked away.
"I'm really happy that you want to tell me, but we'll do it at our own pace. Don't push me, and don't push yourself."
"I thought I could say it if you can't hear me," he mumbled, nuzzling Natsu's scarf as he found it to be a comfortable headrest. "If I don't look at anything, and no one hears, it should be okay."
"Why wasn't it?" asked Natsu as he petted Gray's hair.
"You and your damn hearing. You likely could have heard me. Even just the possibility was terrifying."
"Then say aloud that you're going to say it next time. If I'm at all in hearing range, I'll stop you."
Gray glared over. "No you wouldn't."
"I will," Natsu swore. "I don't want you to panic like this again. Say 'Hey, I'm going to say it,' and if I can hear you, I will definitely stop you. I don't want to hear you say those words until you're ready to say them to my face."
Gray stared at him, surprised at the fierce determination. He believed Natsu. Those sharp eyes said he really would stop Gray, not just to protect him from the flashbacks, but because he really did want to hear Gray say it properly, and he did not want it until that moment. He wanted Gray to look him in the eyes and confess his feelings.
"You're an incredible man … for a flame-brain bastard," Gray muttered.
Natsu blushed and looked away.
"When I'm ready, I'll make sure you're listening. I'll look you right in the eyes, hold your hand, and I'll say it."
Natsu nodded. "I don't want to hear it until that moment, so if I hear you're trying to practice, I'll give you a shout. That way you don't ever have to worry about me overhearing. Just say you're going to practice saying it, and if I'm at all in hearing range, I'll shout for you to stop."
"You better!"
"It's a promise." Natsu took Gray's cheeks. "I swear," he said softer.
They stared at each other, and a breeze rippled over the lake. Cattails swayed, and a goose honked out. Gray covered over one of the hands on his cheek and leaned into it.
"Natsu … I love the color of your eyes."
He gawked in shock. What a bizarrely romantic thing for Gray to say! And … love?
"And … and I love … your smile. I love the softness of your hair." His fingers combed through the strands, watching the way they gleamed in the sunlight. "I love … the way you look running through the field. I loved waking up next to you. And … and I love your smile." He laughed awkwardly. "I already said that, didn't I? Sorry."
Natsu was stunned. His lower lip trembled as he struggled to hold back tears of happiness. He let out something that was a laugh and a sob at the same time and quickly wiped aside a rebellious tear that slipped down his face.
"Thank you," he mumbled, not sure what else to say. He was not at all used to hearing Gray compliment him in this sort of way, so he had no clue how to respond. His cheeks were on fire, and his heart raced with happiness.
Gray saw the reaction, and he smiled. He did it! Okay, it was not saying those three words, but he could say that word in another context. He could tell Natsu all the things he loved about him. It made him relieved and also embarrassed to be saying such weird, romantic things. Hesitantly, he reached over and put his hand over Natsu's fingers.
The Dragon Slayer looked up in surprised again. Holding hands! It was such a simple gesture, but it was another romantic thing Gray was trying. He squeezed back and smiled. However, his gaze drifted off. He stared silently, looking over the lake with a troubled expression.
"What?" Gray asked, worried by that face. Here he was, being disgustingly romantic, and Natsu had a face like he just smelled dog poop.
"No, I … I feel like … like I need to say something back. You're trying so hard, and I'm so happy, but … but I'm not trying anything. I'm not tell you anything in return."
"You can tell me how you feel."
"I mean … about my past," he muttered. "I'm not trying to tell you, and here you are, struggling so hard to tell me something that scares you. It's not like with you. I could tell you, right here and now, nothing's truly stopping me, except … I'm terrified of losing you."
Gray squeezed his hand. "Don't say anything until you're ready. If you told me merely a hint, it'd make me want to know more and drive me crazy. So don't tell me anything until you're ready to say everything. I'll wait."
"Then same to you. I'll wait until you're ready to confess directly. When you're ready, I want to hear it. Tell me directly!"
"Heh! Agreed."
Then he leaned forward and sealed the oath with a kiss.
Gray closed his eyes as he enjoyed those warm lips. They embraced each other, kissing right there on the edge of the lake, with the wind ruffling up waves and geese honking to one another. Gray felt himself being leaned back, and he followed Natsu's lead, resting his head on the soft lake shore.
Gray swore, this was one of the most sensual and softest kisses in his life. Surprisingly, he liked it. He simply let Natsu control the flow. In the past, he hated giving up control of any sort. Now, he was curious about Natsu's pace, where he wanted to go with this.
Natsu's body above him shaded his eyes from the sun, and Gray peered through the kiss, seeing the closeup of that soft face. He combed through the sakura soft strands hanging down in a pink curtain. How simple and peaceful. Just this. Simply kissing.
Natsu pulled back and smiled down at Gray. When was the last time they simply made out? Had they ever done that?
He leaned in again, tasting the wintermint breath and smelling the foresty musk. Gray's kisses were gentle. Was he perhaps trying to mimic Loke's kisses again? No, they weren't the same. These were new, a placid version of Gray's stormy kisses. Maybe Gray had simply calmed down since the times before, when his kisses were rough, fierce preludes to wild sex. Now … they were just kisses. They were warm and soft, and Gray's fingers threaded through his hair, petting, not pulling.
It was so sweet, so gentle, so perfect.
Too perfect.
Suddenly, the ground under Gray moved. Natsu steadied himself on all fours as the whole world seemed to tremble. The geese honked in angry surprise, and the entire flock flew into the air.
"Earthquake?" Gray asked, surprised to feel it. Magnolia rarely had earthquakes, but he supposed that being near a volcano, it might be more common around here.
Natsu sniffed the air deeply, and his eyes grew massive with dread. With the land still shaking, he scrambled off of Gray and ran up the steep shore. He held onto a tree to steady himself as the ground continued to shudder, and he stared at the mountain with a gaping mouth.
"Oh no." He watched as the mountain began to smoke. "Gray!" he screamed. "Gray, hurry. We've gotta act fast."
He carefully stood up with the land still trembling and walked up to Natsu, who already looked sick from the motion of the ground. Then he noticed the stream of smoke.
"Holy shit! Is it erupting?" he asked. He gawked over at Natsu. "What the hell did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Then why is it erupting now?"
"How should I know?" Natsu shouted back.
"Dammit," Gray muttered. "I said those three words to the mountain. I … oh shit … I killed the mountain!"
Natsu whacked him over the head. "It's a volcano, stupid. When it erupts, it's alive, not dead."
"It's my fault!"
"I told you, it's alive. Does saying I love you bring things back from the dead?"
Gray grunted and looked away. For a moment, he really had dreaded that his curse was real, saying those words had caused this, but Natsu had a point. The volcano had merely woken up. It was not caused by him simply saying a few words.
"It's … it's probably my fault."
Gray whipped back around at Natsu's mumbled confession. "What!"
"The door," he muttered, looking upset. "The seal Igneel put up. What if he did more than just seal the cave entrance? What if he sealed the whole mountain? That volcano was nowhere near being dead when I was a kid. Igneel made sure the eruptions never covered over the entrance. He knew he was going away, so he made the mountain go dormant so the cave would not be destroyed over the centuries. And I broke the seal." Natsu's face flinched. "When I opened the door, the seal went away. The volcano is alive; it's always been alive. Igneel just made it stop for a while … for me." Tears filled his eyes. "He stopped a whole volcano from erupting just so I could come home."
"And now you're back, it's alive again, and it's going to erupt. Natsu, this is not the time to get all sentimental. We've gotta do something."
He inhaled again, testing out the air. "It won't erupt yet. Six hours, maybe twelve. Still, it's gonna blow today."
Gray glanced around at the farmhouses dotting the idyllic valley. "We need to warn all these people, get them evacuated."
They heard the tolling of warning bells far away.
"The people know," Natsu said, looking slightly reassured. "Still if that blows, they'll lose their houses, their farms, some people might not make it out in time. Hurry, Gray!"
They began to run toward the mountain, although Natsu kept holding his stomach every time the ground shook. By the time they crossed the fields and made it up the cliff pathway, three more earthquakes had hit, and ash began to fill the air. Gray yanked his shirt off and tied it around his mouth to filter out the burning cinders.
"Why are we coming back?" Gray asked through his shirt.
Natsu also had his scarf pulled up over his mouth and nose. "We've gotta stop it, of course."
"Stop a volcano?" Gray cried out.
"I … might be able to," Natsu muttered, although he looked doubtful. "At least, I saw Igneel do it once."
"Do what?" Gray asked skeptically.
Natsu frowned and looked over at him with real worry. "Be hotter than a volcano. It's gonna make all that snow melt, though. If all of that melts, the valley will flood. You need to stop the water."
"I can freeze it," Gray assured. "I'll take care of the snow, you take care of the lava."
"Right! And … Gray?"
Natsu lowered his scarf, yanked down Gray's shirt from his mouth, and gave him a powerful kiss. Gray was shocked, feeling the intensity flow through the kiss.
It worried him a bit.
Just how dangerous was this thing Natsu had planned? Be hotter than a volcano?
Natsu ripped back, lips swollen and wet. "Just warning you now: when I do this, you might have to come get me."
"Natsu?" he cried out. Shit! What was he planning?
"When we went to the hot springs, there was a path to the left of the lake. Follow it. It leads down. Keep following, it's a long ways, but it eventually leads to the heart of the volcano. Protect your skin and use one of your ice bubbles to breathe; the gas is poisonous to normal people."
"Natsu!" he screamed.
"We've gotta do this. It's my responsibility. As the son of Igneel, it's up to me, but I need your help. So stop the avalanches and floods, and I'll stop the magma."
Gray glared, not liking this one bit. Especially after the scare earlier, the last thing he wanted was for Natsu to put himself into some foolish, dangerous position. However, they were limited on time and there were many lives on the line.
"Don't die," he demanded. "If you die, I'll end up thinking that I can't even tell you what things I love about you."
"I liked when you did that," Natsu said with a playful grin, "so I definitely won't die. Then you can tell me more. Tell me all the things you love about me after this is over."
"If we both survive, I will," Gray said in agreement.
They heard a thunderous cracking as large sections of snow began to break off and slide down the mountain.
"Looks like your work starts now," Natsu said, patting Gray's shoulder. "Protect the valley."
"Be careful," he warned.
They kissed one last time. Then Gray ran toward the avalanche while Natsu turned into the cave. He wrapped his white scarf around his face again as he smelled the fumes of the building eruption.
"Igneel, please guide me," he prayed, and Natsu ran through the cave to the heart of the volcano.
End of Chapter 56
Okay, obviously for people who have read this 5 times already, not so obvious for newcomers ... I've been gone a while. It's good news though! I'm publishing a novel. It's a bit stressful and it's consuming ALL of my free time. Like seriously, I almost never leave the house for non-work-related activities anymore, I'm obsessed with getting this novel prepared. So please be patient with me while I focus on this endeavor. Thank you!
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