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Magic, while able to be controlled by skilled individuals, could still have dire consequences if misused. So when a spell stone that Levy was translating went off in the middle of the guild, everyone was sent into a panic.
The spell seemed to have singled out only two people, who had gone completely limp when the stone went off.
Natsu and Gray were carried up to the infirmary in a tense silence.
"My body feels like jello,"Natsu thought, "What did I do?" His arms became weights as he lifted them to rub his eyes. "What the fuck did I do?," he whispered quietly, and then he opened his eyes to nothing but inky blackness, "WHAT THE FUCK?" He recoiled backwards, missing the side of the infirmary bed with his hand and falling directly to the floor. The impact knocked him back out, and left the smallest of the dragons slayers hopelessly confused as she stared at him.
Gray hadn't moved since he opened his eyes. He'd tensed up and stared at the ceiling in silence. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he actually spoke. "What the fuck." The words may have been a whisper, but it echoed in the quiet room.
"Are-" Wendy's voice caused the ice mage to jump a bit, but unlike Natsu, he didn't fall. "Sorry. Are you all-" The words died in her throat when she looked him in the eyes. Instead of the deep navy irises that should have been there, they were a deep green with small gold flecks that eerily reminded her of Natsu's.
"I can't see anything," Gray said quietly, panic breaking through his usually stoic nature.
"Well, um" The small slayer began, "your irises have changed colors. They look a lot like Natsu's and considering he's in here too…" She trailed off, "I think I might know what the spell did."
It took another half hour before Natsu woke up. He seemed frighteningly still for someone who was alway moving. He turned his head to look at Gray, "This is the absolute fucking weirdest out of body experience I've ever had."
"Unfortunately I have to agree with that," Gray mumbled. Wendy's guess had been right, Gray had Natsu's eyes, and Natsu had Gray's. They couldn't see when they had opened their eyes, because the eyes on their body aren't their own.
"I'm going to go see if Levy knows how to reverse this." Wendy told them. "I'll tell the others too."
The two of them continued to stare at one another, taking in what the details of their own faces looked like from another person's perspective. They never looked away for long, as they were the only bright colors in the room. "...Am I really that fucking small?" Natsu blurted.
Gray nearly choked on his own spit at the odd question. "Natsu," Gray spoke through laughter, "You're the shortest guy in Fairy Tail."
"Jii-chan is shorter than me!" The pinkette defended. His face had flushed horribly, but he was grateful that Gray couldn't see it.
"Jii-chan doesn't count! He has titan magic."Gray continued to laugh at Natsu, who was steadily getting more and more frustrated. He knew better than to throw a punch though. They'd both be useless in a fight right now.
"Bitch"
"Asshole."
"Jerk"
"Fuckwit."
They continued to insult one another over the next hour as they waited to hear back from Levy. Or Wendy. Or anyone 'd eventually had to resort to more creative insults.
"You're the reason the gene pool needs a lifeguard."
"If laughter is the best medicine, then your face must be curing the world."
"I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong."
"Is your ass jealous of the shit that just came out of your mouth?
"If I wanted to kill myself I'd climb your ego and jump to your IQ."
They both stared at each other for a long moment, the silence stretching itself thin. It didn't take long for both of them to crack, bursting into laughter.
"I think-" Gray managed to force out, "I think that's the best one you've ever come up with. Holy shit." Across the room he heard Natsu snort laugh, which only sent them farther over the they calmed down, they locked eyes, which unfortunately sent them back into their laughing fit.
When Levy came to talk to them, it wasn't with good news."I'm sorry guys. There isn't a reversal spell. If was designed to throw off anyone who came into the temple. You'll just have to wait it out."
Gray ruffled the bluenette's hair. "It's not your fault, Levy."He smiled, attempting to be reassuring, but she left the room with her head bowed anyways. "It isn't!" He called after her.
"You know how she is, Gray. She's going to blame herself until Gajeel snaps her out of it." Gray nodded. The two of them had become great friends since the iron dragon slayer joined. "He'll get it through her thick skull."
"Yeah, probably," the ice mage mumbled. They were having surprisingly little difficulty moving around- if they were standing beside one another. There were all sorts of bruises forming on them from running into the beds, side tables, and in Natsu's case, the wall. "So are we going to call it a night, or are we starting another insult war?"
"I'm calling it," Natsu mumbled into the stark white sheets, "I'm tired."
Gray shrugged, carefully watching how he stepped to get back to his bed. "Thanks for not closing my eyes and blinding me to be a dick."
Natsu snorted. "You're welcome!"
Gray had always been a heavy sleeper. It was a habit he'd never been able to break, so when he woke up at what had to be late into the night, he was immediately suspicious. It didn't help that he couldn't see a damn thing that was going on. "Wait, isn't Natsu a light sleeper? Why isn't he awake?" Gray listened to the area around him, noting that he couldn't hear Natsu's breathing, and then, a single tear slipped down his cheek. "What is going on?"
He heard a small shuffle near where the window was, and he fixed his unseeing gaze on the area. "I didn't mean to wake you up," Natsu mumbled. "You're usually a really deep sleeper."
"Why are you upset?" The sensitive question slipped past his lips before he could stop it.
"I'm not." Natsu answered, but he still refused to open his eyes,"I just wanted to look outside, and was too lazy to walk back to bed when I realized I couldn't."
"Natsu hates lying. Not to mention how horrible at it he is." Gray had frozen in thought. "Then why are you crying?"
"Gray, what are you talking about?" He laughed afterwards, but it sounded forced. "I just wanted to-" the pinkette's voice cracked.
Gray took a hesitant, blind step off of the bed. "I have your eyes Natsu. Please don't lie to me."
Natsu still hadn't opened his eyes. "Left," Natsu mumbled, and Gray followed. It didn't take long for the ice mage to cross the small room. He slipped his arms around the other's waist and rested his chin on top of Natsu's fluffy hair.
They stood there in silence for a while, enjoying the other's warmth. "You know," Gray mumbled, "you don't have to tell me, but I'm here if you want to." Natsu turned around and buried his face in Gray's chest, and Gray pulled him closer, "How about we go sit down then?" Natsu nodded, and Gray picked him up.
"Wha-"
"Do you think if you opened your eyes and told me where to go, I'd be like I had eyes in the back of my head?" Gray smiled brightly when the small huff of laughter escaped Natsu's lips. "Come on, let's try it."
As soon as Gray's vision cleared, he began running backwards to the bed, "Gray you're going to hit it-" The sound of Gray's thighs hitting the bed made the pinkette wince, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. As Gray fell backwards, Natsu ended up on his otherside, and in a single fluid motion, they were both bundled in the blanket. "You're ridiculous."
"And you're thinking about how Igneel left you." Natsu's smile slipped away almost instantly, and Gray pressed his forehead against his. No matter who's face they were attached to, Natsu's eyes were the most expressive thing about him. "Look at me, and listen, okay? None of us are ever going to leave you. Especially not me." The ice mage leaned into gently peck Natsu's lips. "I love you, you silly little dragon slayer, and I'll tell you that as many times as I need to. "
Natsu pushed his face into Gray's neck, accepting the odd form of comfort Gray tended to lean towards. "I know, but sometimes...sometimes it's hard to convince myself of that." Gray's hand threaded its way into Natsu's hair as he spoke, "I know you won't, but my mind tries to tell me otherwise, and…"
"I know, Natsu. We'll just have to keep proving that little voice in your head wrong, yeah?"
"Yeah, I guess we will.."