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If there was one thing that was worse than being on a team with Natsu, it was being on a team with Erza and Natsu. She was always watching, senses keen after almost a decade of following Gray and Natsu’s every move, pulling them into line when necessary. It was a good thing that this team was only a temporary arrangement; with no way to vent his frustrations, Gray was feeling more and more on edge.
“Hey Gray! Check out this bug I found.” Natsu came barrelling over to where Gray was sat in the shade, holding up a beetle the size of his hand. “Cool right?”
It no doubt would have been, if Gray hadn’t been completely distracted. Natsu’s hair was wet and stuck to his forehead; his skin was flushed with the sun, and his smile rivalled its brightness. Not to mention the way that Natsu said Gray’s name, and all the wonderful, unfamiliar things it did to Gray’s body.
Natsu was staring at him strangely, clearly waiting for some kind of verbal response. Gray cleared his throat, enshrined that he could trust himself enough to speak before opening his mouth.
“You’re such a fucking child.”
“Hey, you bastard!” Natsu dropped the beetle on the floor, and it scurried off into the underbrush.
He was close enough that Gray could feel each pulse of heat from his skin, and that wasn’t exactly helping, knowing how hot Natsu would be if Gray were to hold him in his arms. Gray wanted so badly to touch Natsu, and that left him with only one option; he eased himself off of his deck chair and clenched his hands into two, ice-coated fists.
“You got a problem, pure?”
“Yeah, with your stupid face, snowman.”
They were getting closer together, foreheads almost touching. If Gray angled his chin up, their lips would meet. He could tell by how Natsu’s muscles tensed that he was about to take the first swing, so Gray planted his feet firmly on the ground and prepared to take the blow and deliver a counter-attack.
“Boys.” Erza’s sharp tone reached them from across the beach, and both men froze.
Neither were brave enough to defy Erza, so Gray turned on his heel and stalked away towards the cabin, praying for this job to end quickly so Gray could return to his normal life of ignoring Natsu’s existence and repressing each and every emotion that flooded him every time he set eyes on the pink-haired dragon slayer.
Gray was so preoccupied navigating his own turbulent emotions, he didn’t realise that Natsu was watching him each and every step of the way.