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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
"That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they're not much to look at, or even if they're sort of stupid, you fall in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. Jesus Christ. They can drive you crazy. They really can."

― J.D. Salinger

Chapter 9

Pretty Girls of a Northern Town
Gray was able to walk, but not easily. He had use of one leg, but the other was still paralyzed. He had to wear a special brace and boot, since he could not feel his foot and had accidentally broken one toe simply because he did not realize he bumped it. The brace went up to his thigh, protecting the knee from flopping and dislocating. Still, although he could not feel most of the left leg, he insisted on walking whenever he possibly could. He got better crutches from his doctor. He learned how to balance on the part of his leg he could feel, swinging the heavy weight of his left leg with the hip and guiding the leg by using the crutches to pull himself along. It was less than ideal, but Gray was glad to get out of the wheelchair as much as possible.
Still, for most things, the chair was simply easier. If he wanted to go to the guild hall, rolling along with the wheelchair was much faster than a slow and awkward hobble on his crutches. Once there, he parked the wheelchair in a corner and tried to pretend he no longer needed it.
Erza vehemently insisted that, to celebrate Gray's recovery, they would go on a trip to a therapeutic spa. Rather than have it as just the team, pretty much anyone who wanted to come was invited.
Juvia began to sob that she had already taken a mission that would take her south, in the opposite direction of the spa. Levy wanted to come with Lucy, Jet and Droy leaped at the chance to go with her, and Gajeel grumbled that he was heading north anyway for a mission so he might as well go along for a day or two. Wendy was not too sure, but Lucy urged her to come, stating that the spa had a large library on magical healing books. Romeo asked Natsu if he could go too, and Natsu realized he kept looking over to Wendy, so of course the Dragon Slayer told him to come along for the trip. That meant Macao needed to go as his father—he insisted upon it, while Romeo shouted that he was old enough to go on his own—and Wakaba was not about to lose his drinking partner.
Makarov heard about it and wanted to come, giving some excuse about arthritis. Worried for the aging guild master, Mira said that perhaps she should come too, and none of the men were about to object. Laxus got angry at Macao for giving Mira a lecherous comment, and he gruffly butted in, saying that if Makarov was going for his health, it should be his duty as the grandson to "watch over the old geezer so he doesn't croak." Since Laxus was going, Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow followed. Since Evergreen was going, Elfman wanted to come, and since her two siblings were going on the trip, Lisanna pleaded to come along. Then because it looked like it would be a party, and that meant booze, Cana decided to come with them as well.
It was not just Fairy Tail who decided to go on this trip. When Lyon heard about it, he insisted on coming to celebrate his foster brother's recovery. Since he was going, Chelia wanted to follow him on his vacation, although she insisted she was only going because she wanted to meet up with Wendy again. Her cousin Sherry went along with her, since Chelia was underage. Since Sherry was going, her fiancé Ren—reluctantly and blushing fiercely—insisted that he should go to protect his bride-to-be from lechers. When they heard that Ren was going to a resort spa, the rest of the Trimens wanted to come, so Hibiki, Eve, and Ichiya showed up, much to Erza's horror.
It turned into a large party filling much of the train, until the conductor was at his wit's end dealing with so many wild wizards running around and destroying bits of the train cars, while the Dragon Slayers all began to puke in the bathrooms.
Finally, they arrived. Erza had planned the excursion to coincide with the city's winter celebration. A fair had brought in a large crowd, and she had hoped that the atmosphere would help cheer up Gray.
Gray tried to smile. He was glad to see Lyon again, and the two sat for drinks. It was just the two of them, like old times, no Juvia around to get in the way. Then the group headed to the spa. The therapists looked at Gray's leg and sadly informed him that, although they were trained healers, an injury that severe was simply out of their ability to heal. However, they could work on his right leg. It had gotten weaker, the nerves still bothered him once in a while, so the therapists used healing stones, had him soak in mineral baths, gave him massages that he absolutely loved, and used some magical healing that would help with the scar tissue in his lungs and stomach.
While he was hopping on his crutches from one therapist to another treatment, he saw Wendy watching on intently as one of the healers held her hands over a patient, and a warm green glow shined. He smiled at the focus the little girl had, watching and learning all on her own. When she grew up, Wendy would probably become the best healer in all of Fiore.
While watching, he saw Erza come up to him.
"Are you feeling better, Gray?"
"The massage was a huge help," he admitted. "They also realigned my spine. That took some more pressure off the nerves. My right leg feels almost normal again."
"I'm really glad," she said, truly looking relieved. "I was quite worried about you. I still am." She glanced briefly to his left leg. "Is that a new brace?"
"They're letting me try it out. It uses magic to sense what the user wants to do, like … lifting the leg." His leg lifted from the knee straight upward until his thigh was parallel to the ground and his lower leg hung down. "I still can't feel anything, but the brace seems to know what I want. The crutches are only because sometimes I think of something and don't really want to do it. It'd take a lot of practice to learn how to walk in this thing better. The problem is the price."
"I can lend you the money, if it means you can walk again."
He laughed and felt happy that she offered without a single moment of hesitation. "I think even you'd have a problem affording this brace. It's really top of the line. I'd have to save up for years."
"I can't talk to Master."
"No, I don't want to take more money from the guild funds," he frowned. "Fairy Tail already paid all the surgery bills. I can't ask for more."
"For you, Gray, we'd…"
"I don't want it," he snapped. People paused and looked back at him in concern. Gray caught himself a second later and awkwardly apologized. "S-sorry," he whispered. "I hate inconveniencing people. I feel bad enough as it is. If I dipped that heavily into the guild funds, I'd feel just awful. I'd rather be able to buy this with my own money."
"That's noble of you, Gray, but do let us help. You're not alone on some island."
His cheeks burned as he remembered that dream of mermaid-Natsu and the island, and of the tower on the island in the middle of a frozen lake.
"There's a party tonight," said Erza. "How about you finish your therapy, and we'll go down to the festival together."
"Sounds great. I want to see if they'll let me borrow the brace until tomorrow morning. It would be nice to walk around with everyone like usual."
"I can make the request," she offered.
His eyebrow lifted warily. "By make the request, do you mean hold a sword to someone's throat until they agree?"
"If that's what it takes," she said firmly.
He laughed and patted her shoulder. "Then I'll leave it to you." He hobbled forward, but Erza saw that the brace really did improve his ability to walk. Other than a limp and favoring his right leg, Gray almost seemed like normal.

That night, bonfires were lit in the streets of the resort town, music played from every crossroad, and the region's famous wine flowed freely. The wizards filled the city, eating unique northern foods, playing carnival games, and dancing to the music.
Gray wistfully watched the dancers. He sat in his wheelchair, although the brace did help. Still, the journey into the main part of the town was quite a ways from their hotel, so he let Erza push him there. Now, he wanted to walk around, but he was confined to the chair. He could not just leave it somewhere or a thief might steal it. He looked around to see who was closest. He spotted Wendy and Romeo sitting together, drinking ice cream floats and laughing together.
"Hey, Wendy," Gray called out. "Can I leave my wheelchair here for a bit?"
"Sure, Gray. The shop owner here is really nice, if you want to store it here while you walk around. I can ask him. I'm sure he'd let me."
"That'd be awesome," he smiled, and he patted her on the head.
"Hey!" Romeo snapped. "Don't go treating her like a little child."
Gray patted him on the head, too. "You two are little children, and you should enjoy this time in your lives."
Romeo scowled at being called a mere child. "You sound like an old man, Gray."
"I've got the wheelchair already," he laughed. He felt in a good mood, and although he used one crutch to balance himself, he hobbled off toward the sound of the music.
Wendy watched him go. "I'm glad Gray can smile again."
Romeo had to agree. Seeing his guild mates depressed made him feel useless. At least Wendy could do some healing for Gray. Romeo's fire magic could not be used to assist his injured nakama, and he had no clue how to cheer people up, when he himself had gone so many years without being able to smile.
"Did you learn anything that might help?" he asked Wendy.
"I learned how to get his right leg stronger, and a way I can probably take care of his chest pains and stomach aches, but the left leg…" She shook her head. "There's only one lead."
"Really, a lead? That's great!"
"No," she frowned. "Apparently, it's an illegal healing device. The healer I talked to had belonged to a dark guild and saw this machine in use. It would definitely heal Gray, but we'd have to find the dark guild first, and … it sounded like the device … it might be really horrible," she muttered, and Romeo saw Wendy's face go pale.
"Horrible? How?"
She looked up sadly. "To make it work, someone else…"

Gray was drawn to the music. He had always held back at dancing at guild parties. He could definitely dance, but it was embarrassing. Now, even if he wanted to dance, all he could do was sway to the music a bit. Although the brace let him walk, it was unsteady. He still felt like he was only standing on one leg, and something else was holding up his left leg. Still, it was better than sitting all the time.
A busty brunette lady swayed up to him. "Hey there, handsome. You look like you've seen action," she smiled flirtatiously. "Are you one of those wizards who came to our town this morning?"
Gray gave the lady his most charming smile. "Yeah, I am. This," he said, nodding to the leg. "I got it fighting a dark wizard."
"Ooh! Sounds like an adventure! Does it hurt?"
"Nah!" he lied. "It's healing well. Besides, I'm not about to let a little injury keep me down."
"My, so strong." She ran her hands up his arms. "Wanna dance?"
"I won't be able to do anything fancy."
Her body slid against his. "It doesn't have to be fancy to be fun."

Natsu was busy stuffing his mouth with a massive leg of some sort of fowl, juices dripping all down his shirt, his face slathered with savory northern sauce. He, Happy, Elfman, and Gajeel sat together, watching the dancing from a bench by the food vendors.
"Evergreen disappeared again," Elfman frowned, eating the largest hot dog any of them had ever seen. "It's not manly to come to a party and then lose your girl."
"Where is that shrimp, anyway?" Gajeel grumbled, scanning the crowd as he munched on fried sweet potatoes. "She's always too short. If she leaves my side, I'll lose sight of her. Hey Salamander, did your cheerleader take off with my girl- … I mean … with that shrimp?"
"She's not my cheerleader," Natsu grumbled with his mouth full, "and I have no clue where Lucy went. She can go wherever she wants."
"Hey, look." Elfman pointed with the massive hot dog toward the crowd. "Gray is dancing. That's manly!"
Natsu turned around sharply, flinging juicy bits of meat all around. He gulped his food down hard as he saw Gray standing, swaying in time to the music despite balancing on the crutch. He was dancing! Just seeing that made Natsu smile happily, but slowly his face sank. There was a gorgeous lady dancing right up against him, and Gray had a glint in his eyes that showed his desire. He suddenly grabbed the girl around her waist and leaned into her ear. Whatever he said made the woman's eyes widen, and she licked her lips hungrily.
"He's totally gonna get laid," Gajeel said, turning back to his food and ignoring the scene.
"Manly!" Elfman declared.
Natsu felt like an icicle had stabbed his heart. He turned back around and stared ahead, lost in thoughts.
Why was it hard to breathe suddenly? Why was his stomach hurting? He suddenly felt sick. Was it the food?
"Maybe I should stop eating," he muttered.
"I'll eat it if you won't," Happy offered, gnawing a fish.
"Y-yeah," Natsu whispered in a daze. He stood up and left the table.
"Are you okay, Natsu?" Happy asked worriedly.
"Just gonna walk a bit. See you tonight."
"Don't get lost," Happy called out, and immediately he focused back on his fish.
Knowing that the therapy here had helped some made Natsu happy, but as he walked away, he kept looking at the dancers. The first lady was soon joined by a second, apparently her friend, and both girls were now fawning for Gray's attention. The Ice-Make wizard looked like this was Christmas.
Natsu had gotten a glimpse into what problems Gray was having with intimacy on a personal level. He knew he should feel happy that his teammate was still attracting ladies, despite such a horrendous injury.
So why was his stomach burning? Why did his eyes sting?
"Natsu?"
He jolted and looked around to see Erza with Lucy, Evergreen, and Levy.
Lucy came forward with worry creasing her brow. "Are you okay? You look pale."
Natsu tried to look away from the girls. "Stomach hurts. Maybe I ate something bad."
"Considering how much you've been eating all day, I'm not surprised," she said, looking like she wanted to laugh and also pity him. "Don't get sick, okay? We're all heading to the onsen tomorrow."
"Rest, if you need to," Erza told him. "There will be a party tomorrow night, too."
"Yeah, maybe I will," he said, and Natsu drifted away. "Oh, and Gajeel and Elfman are looking for you two," he called back to the other girls.
Levy and Evergreen immediately turned bright red.

The next day, their group headed to the hot springs. Gray could not take the leg brace with him this time. He was back in his wheelchair, annoyed that his moment of fun and freedom was over.
The girls went off to their side, while the men sank down into hot water and relaxed. Gray carefully removed his thigh-high leg brace and guided his leg as he shifted in his wheelchair.
"Let me help," Lyon offered. He immediately picked Gray up and brought him to the edge of the pool. "You've always been stubborn and independent, Gray. Even as a kid, you were this way."
"That's not gonna change," Gray insisted.
"I don't think I'd want it to," Lyon admitted with a laugh. "Still, I can help this much."
Hibiki watched as Gray slowly eased himself into the water, not particularly fond of the heat, but it still felt good. "I saw you with those ladies last night, Gray."
"Oh, ladies?" Macao chuckled, sitting with the older men. "Still got it in you, eh, kid?" He gave a wink. "Gotta say, these northern girls are something else!"
"Definitely," Gray smirked privately.
"I know that look," Laxus chortled. "Got laid, huh?"
"Laxus," Freed said, blushing. "Can't you say it a little nicer?"
"Why? There's no women around. It's just us men."
Bickslow laughed loudly. "Got lucky, eh?"
Gray had to boast a little. "Gotta admit, that was my first time with two girls."
"Two!" Ichiya exclaimed. "Oh, if only my perfume worked half that well."
"Manly!" Elfman declared.
Lyon still looked worried. "And it was all right? I mean … down there. It's not…?"
"It all works," Gray assured him. "I obviously can't do some things, but I don't mind if the lady's riding on top."
"Way to go," Hibiki cheered, and he bumped fists with Gray.
Natsu sat on the far end of the pool, watching and listening sullenly. Two girls. Two! For some reason, that just pissed him off more. Didn't the guy have any decency? Didn't he realize that he would be leaving in a couple of days? He would never see those girls again. Why hook up with someone if there was no time to develop love and deep feelings of emotional connection? Mating was supposed to be done with a mate, not just at random. At least, that was what Igneel had taught him. Why would Gray mate with someone he did not even know and would never see again?
Why the hell was his stomach still hurting?
"Are you still sick, Salamander?" Gajeel asked.
"Maybe," he muttered.
"Don't you dare get diarrhea in the pool."
"Idiot, I'm not that sort of sick."
"Then what is it?"
Natsu had no clue. Seeing Gray with those two girls had stirred up something. Maybe this was just another sense of rivalry. When it came to sex, Gray had Natsu beaten. Maybe this was just anger that Gray had done something Natsu had not.
Gray was pressed by some of the men into telling them more details. The ice bastard looked so damn smug to brag about how he managed to pleasure two ladies at once.
Stupid, horny, perverted, stripping, exhibitionist…
"I'm heading back," Natsu grumbled, yanking himself out of the pool.
"Yo, we just got here," Gajeel said. "Are you really gonna throw up or something?"
"Who knows?" Natsu muttered, walking away. He did not want to hear anything more about Gray and those northern girls.
He dressed and walked back to their hotel room. No one was around. Everyone would probably have fun all day, soaking, shopping, maybe more dancing. Natsu just wanted to go home already. He felt sick again, and his eyes were really stinging. Natsu ran to the bathroom, but he did not vomit. Instead, a sob jolted out so strongly, it felt like his whole stomach would heave.
"Shit!" he yelled. "What the hell?"
Tears streamed down. He felt so confused, and he had no clue who he could talk to. He had been feeling weird about Gray for a while now, ever since the injury. He could not get Gray out of his head. He thought it was just being worried for his teammate, but now…
What was this?
He jumped into the shower, hoping to wash away the feeling. Instead, he imagined Gray again, his voice moaning through the bathroom, those deep grunts of pleasure, and the cries of ecstasy as he climaxed. Had Gray sounded the same way with those girls? Had he felt the same pleasure? Had it hurt? He remembered hearing for himself how doing that gave Gray pain.
"Don't do it if it hurts, you bastard," he growled, remembering the sounds of Gray's painful frustration. "Don't … don't do it … with others wh-who wouldn't understand."
Natsu closed his eyes.
He understood! He would make sure Gray never hurt. He would treat him tenderly, keep Gray relaxed, softly touch him, take his time, and if anything at all hurt, he would soothe away the pain with a little heat and gentle massages. He would…
"Goddammit, why am I thinking this?" he shouted.
Natsu shook his head, trying to get the images to leave. However, he remembered the softness of Gray's lips when he had kissed the sleeping man in the hospital. He remembered holding Gray's cold, callused hand as he slept through drugs and struggled just to survive. He remembered the feel of the skin, the firmness of the muscles, the softness of flesh, as he lifted Gray out of the bathtub and held him close to dry him off with his flames.
He would treat him gently. He would never make him hurt. He would do anything to make Gray better. He wanted to protect him and shield him and heal him and have him…
Natsu's hand had somehow drifted down without any conscious thought about it. He hardly realized that he was stroking himself until the pleasure trembled through his body. In a daze, he looked down at what his hand was doing.
"Gray," he moaned softly.
He would make Gray feel nothing but pleasure and happiness. He wanted Gray to smile, laugh, and have fun. Sure, he was having fun here, but … but not this type of fun! Not with random girls, at least.
He wanted Gray to have that sort of fun with…
… with …
Natsu let go of his erection and slammed his fist into the wall with a growl.
What the hell was he even thinking?
With Gray? Gray, of all people? Him and Gray? Seriously, what the hell? Like Gray would ever fall for him!
But did this mean he was falling for Gray?
These feelings, were they … could it be…?
Natsu's legs turned to jelly, and he slid down the wall until he sat on the bottom of the shower.
"No!" he hissed. "No, this … no way. I can't be … in … No! He'd never … to me … never!" Natsu shuddered as the shower water rained down and washed away the tears. "Oh God, no. Dammit, not with him. Why?" he seethed tearfully. "Why him? Why someone who … who hates me?"
Natsu burst into sobs as he realized the truth. Somehow, completely by surprise, he had fallen in love with a man who saw him as nothing more than a rival and an annoyance.

That night, Happy, Lucy, Erza, and Gray returned talking all at once. Apparently, they had gone on rides at the carnival, something they could not have done if Natsu was around. They all looked windblown and flushed when they entered the hotel room.
"Oh, hey Natsu," Lucy grinned, seeing him sitting by the window. "Were you here the whole time?"
"Yeah," he answered quietly, staring out at the carnival lights.
"Is your stomach better?" Happy asked in concern.
Natsu just shrugged with bitterness in his eyes.
Gray scoffed. "Don't tell me you get stomach sick even when you're not on transportation! Jeez, what an annoying, lame, idiotic…"
Natsu stomped over and punched Gray so hard, his wheelchair flipped backwards. Lucy gasped, and Erza quickly dropped to Gray's side, checking his head.
"Natsu!" she shouted furiously. "He's injured."
Natsu sneered down at the ice wizard. "He's fine enough to fuck two girls at the same time."
Gray rubbed out his cheek. "What the hell is wrong with you, jackass?"
Natsu just glared down at Gray and whispered with shivering fury, "Shut up, you whore." Then he stormed out of the hotel room.
Lucy stared in shock. "Natsu?" These two had argued and fought plenty of times, but Natsu had never called Gray something that awful before. He looked truly furious, and it worried her.
"What's this about sleeping around when I brought you here for healing?" Erza said in a low, dangerous tone.
Gray looked just as angry. "What I do to have some fun is my own damn business, so shut up!"
Erza leaned back, honestly stunned that he had yelled at her. Lucy's eyes bugged, and Happy hid behind the Celestial Spirit wizard, crying "Save me, Lucy" and worrying that Erza might explode like an angry volcano. Instead, Erza's eyes lowered.
"Sorry. You're right. It's not our place to judge."
"Damn right it's not," he said quietly. The anger in Natsu's eyes had burned him. Gray rubbed out his brow. To have Natsu of all people snap at him like that… "Can someone get me off the floor?" he muttered.
Erza righted the wheelchair. Gray quickly rolled himself away, not wanting to be in the same room as the girls. He went to the bedroom, shifted himself over to the bed, stripped out of his clothes, and yanked the covers over him. The boasting pride he had felt that morning had all been stripped away by Natsu calling him a whore. Now he felt awful.
Did others think badly of him? Were they indulging him merely because he was handicapped now? Had those girls merely taken pity on him? Why had he agreed to a threesome, anyway? He normally was not that sort of guy. He just felt like he had to prove to himself that he could still be a man. Especially after that dream about Natsu sucking him…
Oh God, that dream!
He had almost forgotten about it, but now it came surging back. That might have been part of it. He needed to prove to himself that he was still a sexually healthy and heterosexual male. He had agreed to those two ladies because he needed to know he still had it in him. If he had not been injured, he probably never would have just played around with two women he did not even know.
Was it all just to prove himself? Was it selfish and vulgar? Was Natsu right in calling him a whore? He had bought those ladies' time with drinks, sweets, he bought each a bracelet they had been eying, and in return they gave him a night of pleasure. He could not even remember their names now. Had he even bothered to ask?
"Goddammit," he whispered. "What I do is my own business … flame-brain asshole."

Natsu walked swiftly from the hotel and out toward the festival. Ladies called out to him. One asked if he was interested in a good time. He glared at all of them. What was with the ladies in this northern town? Were they that desperate for sex? What was so great about mating? Natsu did not want some random mate. He wanted a lifelong commitment. That was what Igneel said a mate should be.
So why did he feel this way about Gray?
He needed to escape these thoughts. He went in search of Cana. If anything could make him forget this pain deep in his heart, it was getting completely drunk, and the best way to do that without people questioning his reasons was to challenge Cana. Right then, that was all Natsu wanted: to forget, to drown out these emotions, and to purge himself from the pain of knowing that he had lost his heart to a person who would never love him back.
He just wanted to forget.
He wanted to end these lonely cravings.
He wanted to put Gray completely out of his mind.
"Yo, Natsu!"
He turned slowly at the drawling call and saw Cana slumped at a table surrounded by empty beer mugs and wine bottles. She appeared to be quite drunk, even for her.
"Challenge ya!" she shouted out, sloshing a beer mug out at him.
Normally, drinking against Cana was a sure loss, and Natsu was not a heavy drinker. However, he walked over and sat in front of her. With fiery hard eyes, he declared, "Challenge accepted."
He want to forget, no matter what he did to numb the pain away.

Next Chapter: "Care For You"
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Life After Near Death