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Natsu yawned as he let himself into Gray’s flat, dumping his bag by the door as he locked it behind him, wondering if the Ice Mage had left it open for him, or if he had just forgotten to lock. It wouldn’t be the first time, and Natsu had every intention of teasing him about it if he had considering the amount of grief he got for leaving his cottage open at all times, even though he’d pointed out that people were less likely to trek out to his place than Gray’s. As he toed off his sandals, he rubbed a hand over his chin as he fought back another yawn, grimacing as he felt stubble. This last job hadn’t brought much in the way of amenities, something that Lucy had complained about bitterly. For all that he had pretended it didn’t bother him, Natsu was looking forward to a nice long shower, preferably with Gray, although considering how late it was and the quiet house, he had a feeling his partner was already in bed.
He pouted, as he headed down the corridor towards the bedroom. It had been less than a week, but he had missed Gray more than he cared to admit, and he was determined to let the Ice Mage know that next time he wasn’t taking a job until Gray was well enough to go with him. Jewels be damned. Somehow, he didn’t think that argument was going to go in his favour, Gray had a way of talking him into things, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to complain.
As he passed the living room, he paused, eyes widening as he took in the destruction that had been wrought on the room. The coffee table was shattered, glass littering the floor. Something had torn through the sofa and curtains, while the books and pictures on the bookcase were scatted across the floor. Here and there, he could spot ice glistening amongst the destruction, and his heart plummeted as understanding dawned and forgetting about the damage he bolted for their bedroom. “Gray!” Nothing. His ears strained, searching for some sign that his partner was still in the flat, hoping that Gray hadn’t taken off again, not that he would have got far as the ice was a sign that it was a recent incident. “GRAY!” He tried again, louder this time as he reached their bedroom, hesitating for a moment as he reached for the door handle. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d walked right into an attack, and he would rather spare Gray from that additional guilt, but at the same time, he needed to get to him. In the end, his mind was made up when he finally caught a faint sound from the other side of the door, halfway between a sob and a snarl. “Gray, I’m coming in,” he warned, softening his voice, and hoping that he wasn’t about to walk into an ambush.
Their bedroom was freezing, almost enough to have him shivering as he took in the ice encasing their bed and two of the four walls, as though it had burst out of someone while they were lying on the bed, and he looked their first, half-hoping to find Gray still laid there. Unsurprised when he didn’t. Instead, his eyes swept around the room, searching for the Ice Mage. It was ragged breathing, as though someone was fighting to stop themselves from sobbing or growling, that drew him to the narrow space between the wardrobe – now a monolith of purplish ice and the bed and Natsu held his breath as he moved closer.
“Gray?” He asked, not expecting an answer, especially when he got a good look at the dark markings covering what looked to be over half his partner’s body and the wild, purple glint in the eyes that darted towards him. This time there was no mistaking the noise Gray made, the snarl making Natsu tense, flinging himself to the side a second later as ice lashed out at the spot where he’d been stood before. Hissing as he realised, he hadn’t avoided it completely, his arm burning as the ice crept over his skin and grimaced, before flaming briefly to sear it away. “Not quite the welcome I was looking for,” he teased, biting back his frustration and pain, knowing that Gray wouldn’t understand them at the moment. “Ice Princess?” He straightened again. Prepared to move if needed as he turned his attention back to the Ice Mage, who was rigid, mouth moving soundlessly. Gray’s expression twisted and torn between horrified fear and the fury reflected in the purple eyes, which would have been enough to scare off most people.
Natsu stepped forward.
Gray’s eyes immediately tracked the movement, and the air in the bedroom grew colder. Natsu barely resisted the urge to ignite his hands, feeling the chill slipping beneath his natural resistance. He didn’t want to fight Gray, not like this, and he knew that his flames would be like a red flag to the demonic magic that was currently in the driving seat, and so he shivered and moved forward one step at a time. Another snarl rang out, ice lashing towards him, lances forming and splintering just before they could hit him and Natsu tilted his head. He knew what Gray was capable of when he was like this, having wound up in the infirmary once or twice when he had accidentally antagonised the Ice Mage to the point where Gray’s magic had torn him apart. This was different, the attack meant to threaten rather than destroy, and Natsu stepped forward again.
There wasn’t really enough space between the bed and wardrobe for both of them, especially with the ice protruding from the bed, but Natsu didn’t think a request for Gray to come out was going to be well received right now as ice flared and faded again.
He wasn’t sure whether the tipping point was when he stepped too close for Gray’s magic to be lash out without hitting him, or when he crouched, reaching out with deliberate slowness, fingers brushing the Ice Mage’s skin where the markings met creamy skin. The inhuman light in Gray’s eyes flashed brighter for a moment, and he made a noise, halfway between a growl and a sob, before all but toppling forward in his rush to reach Natsu. The Dragon-slayer had been expecting this, and he caught Gray midway and wrapped his arms around him, shivering, as the Ice Mage all but curled around him.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured, once he was sure he could keep the tremor out of his voice, not wanting to give Gray any reason to try and pull away. Not that, that seemed to be an issue as Gray was clinging to him like a drowning man hanging onto his only chance of salvation, fingers digging into Natsu’s skin until he was sure that the Ice Mage was going to leave bruises. He ignored the discomfort, pulling Gray closer, and slowly letting his natural heat increase, as he tried to move them into a more comfortable position. Gray protested the shifting, grip tightening to the point of being painful, but Natsu kept his voice soft. “I’m not going anywhere, I just want to be able to hold you better, okay?” He paused, waiting until he got a tiny nod of agreement, before managing to move the pair of them until he was sat in the space, leaning back against the ice-covered wall with a shiver, the Ice Mage all but curled in his lap.
The cold wasn’t relenting, Gray’s devil-slaying magic reluctant to recede, possibly because it remembered what Natsu had been. Natsu scowled at the purplish ice over the top of Gray’s head, but his arms were steady as he held the Ice Mage, one hand beginning to move over Gray’s back in slow, soothing patterns, letting a little more of his warmth bleed into his touch with each pass. He knew that it was cutting through the chill when Gray whined against him, and he paused, waiting to see if Gray would retreat. Instead, Gray twisted so that he could bury his face into his shoulder, fingers clawing at Natsu’s chest, and the Dragon-slayer shifted uneasily at the sign of discomfort.
Hating the idea that he was hurting Gray, even as he felt the ice that wasn’t entirely Gray’s reaching for him, pushing back against his heat and trying to push him away, he started to talk. Using the soft, soothing voice that only Gray got to hear these days, hoping that it would be enough to draw the Ice Mage back to him, and for a moment it seemed to work, a little bit of the tension bleeding out of Gray’s shoulders. But then he shuddered and shook his head, grip turning bruising again, as the temperature plummeted again and Natsu trailed off, realising that it wasn’t words that Gray needed right now. He needed an anchor. For Natsu to just be there for him and the Dragon-slayer could do that, remembering all the nights that Gray had held him through the nightmares after the war.
He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the cold as he curled himself around the Ice Mage, hating how small Gray had managed to make himself. It reminded him of the time he’d fallen through the ice on the pond near Igneel’s cave as his teeth started to chatter. Gray was always cold, but where the darkness marked his skin he was freezing, and Natsu was fighting the urge to seize up, remembering the awful, dark cold of the pond, as Gray’s cold slipped beneath his skin and dove inwards, shards creeping towards his heart as his breath stuttered and seized. The cold had nearly killed him back then, but he was different now. This was different. This was Gray, and he didn’t want to see the Ice Mage’s expression twisted with guilt like it had been the last time his magical outbursts had landed Natsu in Porlyusica’s care. Besides, the cold had nothing against his heat, even if he wasn’t a demon anymore and he closed his eyes, envisioning Igneel who had spent the entire night curled around Natsu as he’d shivered and moaned, fire building in his chest.
“I’m here,” he repeated, voice a low rumble in his chest as he tilted his head and pressed a kiss to Gray’s hair as he let the fire spread through his body. It took a few minutes, Natsu gradually raising his temperature, feeling the demonic magic pushing against his, again and again, slowly losing ground and beginning to recoil, retreating back into Gray’s trembling form. The Dragon-slayer kept going, blinking and nibbling at his lip as he fought the pull of exhaustion, knowing that they were on the edge of a turning point, and refusing to let Gray slip away now. More minutes passed, trickling away, along with the ice that was slowly receding, leaving their bed soaked and water dripping onto him from the wall where it turned to steam, and he shifted to protect the Ice Mage.
In doing so, he almost missed the shudder that wracked Gray, his fingers clenching and then relaxing. Not releasing him, but easing out of the painful hold, a whisper that could have been an apology slipping out as Gray sniffled, and pressed into him, not relaxed, but coming back to himself one shaky breath at a time. “I’m here, and I love you,” Natsu murmured, voice a little rougher this time, but buoyed by the certainty that Gray was a little more ready to hear the words now. The ragged sob confirming that his partner had heard the words, the muffled protest telling him that Gray wasn’t quite ready to believe them yet, and he kissed him again. “And I always will,” he added, warm and confident as he echoed the words they’d both made sure to say after the fateful fight that had so nearly torn them apart.
I love you, and I always will. No matter what you are, where you go, or what you do.