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"You should be in bed resting."
Although Natsu was leaning against the door frame with a smile on his face, there was still a sternness to his voice that made Gray wince. He felt like a kid who had been caught doing something naughty by their parent, only Natsu was now treating him more gently than anyone else ever had.
"I was going crazy in that one room." Gray muttered. He tried to run a hand through his hair, greasy and stuck to his forehead, but the motion made his stitches pull and that had him coughing in pain. Natsu was at his side in a second, brow furrowed together, hands hovering over Gray's skin, not knowing how to help but desperate to anyway.
"Gray-"
"I'm okay." He swatted Natu's concern away but still raised his cheek and smirked. With a playful roll of his eyes, Natsu kissed him, and that was when Gray felt the luckiest of all, because he never expected to be loved like this, so deeply and without restraint. Natsu was everything he had ever wanted, and now Gray was becoming the man he had always hoped to be, it all seemed to be falling so beautifully into place.
Natsu was staring at him, leaning against the kitchen counter with about as much of a thoughtful look as Natsu usually could muster. It had been over a week since Gray had been able to wash properly, and he was beginning to feel it, so having Natsu's eyes on him so intensely made Gray squirm.
"What?"
"You look like shit."
He had known Natsu for long enough to not take it personally. Gray offered a backhanded slap to Natsu's stomach, trying not to flinch at how the laughter caused pain to ripple through his chest. Something so simply, an insult even, was enough to put Gray's mind at ease. Nothing had changed between them, not really, only Gray was now more himself and Natsu still loved him.
"You're a charmer."
"You love me." Natsu grinned, and Gray hummed. He did, so much so that it scared him sometimes. But he would never sat that out loud. Natsu's ego was already large enough.
After the surgery, Gray had looked into the mirror and saw himself truly for the first time, and it was an experience that Gray hadn’t prepared for, but when he had cried and expressed how much of a man felt like, Natsu had simply kissed his head and told him that he had always seen Gray that way. And that was when Gray knew that this was not a crush, or a relationship built from friendship and convenience; this was real. This was forever.
As they settled into a comfortable silence, Gray looked down at his chest. Or rather, what was left of it. Two gauze strips sat where Gray's nipples were now, and he couldn't wait to remove them; to finally enjoy what was underneath. Or what wasn't. There would be scars, but Gray had never been afraid of those. Still, instead of excitement all Gray felt was an overwhelming sense of peace that his body was becoming a better representation of who he was. It was a goal that he had been working on for years, and seeing tangible results almost caused his heart to shatter from the weight of his joy.
Natsu rested his hand on top of Gray's, rubbing a small circle there, careful not to catch the gauze.
"We need to change these, keep 'em clean."
Gray groaned, shaking his head slightly.
"I hate that you have to help me do this." He turned to face Natsu, keeping their hands clasped together. "It's not fair on you."
Natsu snorted, pulling his hand away from Gray's to pull the necessary medical equipment from the cupboard.
"Oh yeah, seeing my boyfriend shirtless is awful." Natsu placed the items in front of Gray, laughing lightly. "However do I cope."
"You're an idiot." Even as Gray complained, there was laughter on his lips once more, and he wondered how being with someone could come this natural. It had taken Gray years to become comfortable with himself, and yet being with Natsu had him perfectly at ease. It was strange, but Gray didn't ever question it. Good things were rare to come by, and what he and Natsu had together was certainly good.
"Let's get you sorted."
Before Natsu could help Gray peel off the gauze, Gray surged forward and sealed their lips together in a brief kiss. It acted as an apology, and a thanks, and a declaration. They had been through so much already, and there were new hurdles on the horizon, but Gray was mostly unconcerned. With Natsu, he felt brave enough to tackle anything, and if the look in Natsu's eyes and the soft way his fingertips trailed across Gray's skin was any indication, then he wasn't planning on going anywhere.