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Gray had never been one to back down from a fight. If there was even a slight chance he could win, he took the risk. And his powers hadn’t failed him – till now, that was. Whatever he threw at this guy, he was able to deflect or destroy. Both his Cold Excalibur and Scythe had been shattered to pieces. His magic reminded him of Gildarts. No one else deflected enemy attacks like that.
“You’re nothing, you’re nobody. If you ask me, I think they should have kicked you out a long time ago. You know what they say about the weakest link,” Kol spewed. He was looking in Gray’s direction, but not holding his gaze. It was as if he was staring right through him. What was this guy’s deal?!
“We’ll see about tha-,” Gray fell silent as he saw a dozen glass shards approaching him and before he could dodge, he felt them pierce his skin.
The ice mage groaned in agony as he fell to his knees.
“You need to face the truth. Everyone in Fairy Tail is much more powerful than you could ever hope to be.”
The ice mage didn’t even take note of the blood that was dripping from his countless wounds and forming into a scarlet puddle underneath him.
The blood trickled down his arms and chest, but the wizard barely took note of his physical injuries. They were painful, no question there, but the searing ache he felt in his heart was a thousandfold stronger. Gray rarely talked about his self-doubt, his fears and nightmares. He knew it did him no good to let the darkness prevail. But, most of the time, talking about his problems seemed like an impossible undertaking. Facing his demons hurt more than any physical wound this rando could inflict on him. The blood beneath him soon solidified into a sheet of ice.
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“Look at all they’ve achieved. Natsu defeated Zeref, and Lucy took down half of Tartaros all by herself. I don’t need to bring up the countless monsters Titania has slain. But you.. what have you contributed to the guild?. You just tag along, dragging the others down with your pitiful ways. If it wasn’t for your dead family, no one would even want you there. They just feel bad for you. You will never be like them. Natsu, Erza, Lucy, their roots all trace back hundreds of years. They were destined for greatness. You, Gray Fullbuster… You’re just an ordinary guy. Your family… Ur… they all died by mere chance. You don’t hold a candle to END. Maker magic is nothing compared to Dragon Slayer magic. The greatness you desire will always remain just out of reach to you. In fact, I will be doing you a favor by ending your suffer-“. Before he could finish his rant, a giant fireball came at him. The impact sent him flying back several feet until he crashed into the concrete wall of the castle.
Of course, that idiot had to make an entrance; the entire room was ablaze. From where he was still crouching, Gray only saw his friend’s back, but he didn’t need to see his face to know that Natsu’s chin was slightly tilted downwards and his brow furrowed. He could mentally trace the lines across Natsu’s forehead, which casted a dark shadow upon his boyish face, eradicating any trace of his natural jest. Gray had seen that look on his friend’s face too many times for nothing enraged Natsu like someone hurting his friends.
“If you knew anything about Gray, you’d know that it’s never been greatness he’s desired.”
Kol cackled, clenching his fists, “Finally, a worthy opponent. I thought I’d be stuck facing wimpy wizard while everyone else gets all the fun.”
“Watch who you call a wimp, you bastard,” Natsu shouted angrily.
Natsu focused, gathering all his energy to deliver one powerful roar at his opponent. The mage hardly even moved, his only reaction to Natsu’s attack being a wink. Both Fairy Tail wizards were dumbstruck as they watched Kol deflect the attack with ease. How was this possible? It didn’t make sense… unless…
“You got it all wrong. You think Gray’s humanity makes him weak? You clearly don’t understand how magic works. Your ancestry doesn’t naturally make you stronger than any other wizard and neither does the type of magic you use. You’re right about one thing: Gray wasn’t destined for greatness. Destiny, fate… it’s all a hoax the higher-ups tell simpletons like you to enslave them for their cruel endeavors. Don’t you see you’re just a pawn in somebody else’s game? Gray never choose any of this. Yet tragedy struck his life, again and again, even though he had nothing to do with Zeref, the Dragon Slayers, any of it. Still, he rose to the occasion. He wasn’t meant to be some almighty weapon in the battle against Zeref. Yet, he could have taken him out all by himself. Of course, you wouldn’t know that because your boss wouldn’t tell a low-life like you who you’re truly up against. Gray may not be a Dragon Slayer, but that doesn’t mean he’s weak. The very thing you tried to shame him for is the source of his strength. He didn’t just wake up one day with the power to slay anything that stood in his path. He gained that strength not because of everything that was done to him, but despite of it. That’s what makes him so good in a fight. And I couldn’t be prouder to call him my friend.”
His left eye twitched and his posture stiffened.
“Nonsense, all this talk of strength and friendship.”
Natsu cackled, as always oblivious to the fact that he was currently at a disadvantage, “You’ve really only done half of your homework… to pick a fight with Fairy Tail’s trump card and call him weak.”
Kol was still focused on Natsu’s words and the flames he kept, unsuccessfully, shooting in his direction, which allowed Gray to disappear out of view unnoticed. Thanks to Natsu’s shenanigans, he finally knew what he needed to do. Most importantly, they needed to get rid of this fool quickly and without wasting too much magic energy.
Gray cracked his neck as he emerged from the shadows, revealing his other powers. He stood a good distance away from their opponent, but close enough for Kol to recognize Gray’s Devil Slayer magic.
“It appears they truly don’t tell a boot-licker like you much, or else you wouldn’t have been so cocky,” Gray spat his way.
He laughed dryly, “Thanks for the distraction, Natsu. You’ve hidden your secret quite well. You might have been able to fool the magic council, but you don’t fool a Devil Slayer. I assume your entire guild is corrupted by dark magic? Good thing I got just what it takes to put you down.”
Natsu, realizing Gray’s plan, crept up behind Kol, holding him in place and emerging them in searing flames. It took Gray only a second to unleash an arrow from his Zeroth Destruction Bow. Unable to wiggle out of Natsu’s tight grip, the arrow pierced right into his left eye. The sound of glass shattering echoed through the now ruined castle hall, the look of Kol’s eye shattering raising the hairs on Natsu’s arms. For a second, he expected to be met with the pitch-black darkness of curse magic. But the only thing emerging from Kol’s wound was a gush of blood.
Gray, on the other hand, knew that what lay beneath the glass eye was merely human. This guy was no demon.
“The dark magic that once granted you entry into the ranks of evil has been destroyed. Choose your future wisely. A dark past doesn’t necessarily lead into an even darker future,” Gray exclaimed as he strutted forward.
He stopped abruptly when he reached the remains of the glass eye, which were still emitting traces of curse magic. With one swift motion, he stomped on them, reducing the remaining shards to rubble.
“You might need this, buddy,” Natsu exclaimed as he tossed their foe a pack of bandages.
Gray scoffed, “You know I’m all for redemption, but you could have given those to me, flame brain.”
Natsu grinned, wearing the usual cocky smile that Gray knew all too well. “I haven’t forgotten about your injuries, popsicle boy. But first, let me get you to safety.”
Before Gray could protest, his teammate had lifted him off the ground – and he was carrying him bridal style, too. How embarrassing. Had it been anyone else, Gray would have wiggled his way out of their grasp in an instant. But Natsu… he was warm and Igneel’s scarf felt like a soft blanket underneath him. His wounds still hurt, but it became easier to bear with Natsu around.
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They walked through the castle ruins for quite some while until they found a spot the Dragon Slayer deemed safe enough to get some rest. Gray groaned at the sudden sensation of his wounds being cauterized, one by one.
“Di-Did you truly mean what you said… about… me?”
“Which part of it?” Natsu inquired with a sheepish smile.
“OWWwW, well, all of it,” Gray spoke so quietly that an ordinary human would have had a hard time understanding. But, thanks to his powers, Natsu heard him loud and clear.
“Well, of course I did, silly.” His smile went from ear to ear, and Gray knew that he was speaking the truth.
Carefully, Natsu wrapped his arms around Gray’s back.
Gray winced, and Natsu adjusted his arm slightly.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to hurt you more.”
Slowly, he leaned in closer, until their foreheads brushed against each other, and Gray could feel Natsu’s hair tickling him.
“You know… you’re family. And you mean so much to us, to me.”
Gray felt his heart racing in his chest, and it was all he could do to hope that Natsu wouldn’t notice.
“You too, you reckless, hopelessly optimistic idiot,” Gray answered, his voice barely more than a whisper.
“That’s no way to confess your love to your oldest friend, you know,” Natsu laughed heartily, still close enough that Gray could feel his warm breath stroke his skin.
The ice mage huffed, “Well, you signed up for this, you know.”
“Hell yeah, I did,” Natsu exclaimed and before the Ice Mage could respond, he felt warm lips on his. For a moment, he was frozen in place. Deep down, he had always known how Natsu had felt about him. It was obvious in the way he spoke to him, touched him, looked at him. But facing those feelings, and admitting to himself that he felt the same way wasn’t as easy as they always made it out to be in the books. But Gray knew he didn’t need to be brave, didn’t need to dare. With Natsu, he had nothing to lose… because he loved him unconditionally. Enough to stop him from taking down Zeref, enough to then take on Zeref, enough to take on ten of his equals if it meant he could keep Gray out of harm’s way.
As his initial surprise and worries faded away, he gently melted into the kiss.
“Man, you’re a lousy kisser. We’re gonna have to work on your skills for sure,” Natsu yammered, dragging him up.
“Wow, thanks for the confidence boost. Can’t you ever say nice things to me?” Gray whined jokingly.
“Hey buddy, I busted out a whole-ass speech for you. I love a lot of things about you.”
Love. Love. Love?!
Gray paused abruptly, dragging Natsu, who was still holding his hand, back with him.
His mind was spinning like crazy. Did Natsu really mean it? Did he actually deserve to have this stupid, stubborn, annoying, beautiful fool care about him… love him even? Despite his depressive and detached episodes? Despite all of the trauma and self-doubt?
“Come on, Ice Princess, we gotta hurry. The others are counting on us.”
The Dragon Slayer looked back at him, once more greeting him with his typical Natsu grin – the one that was strong enough to dispel any darkness – even Gray’s own.
Without realizing, Gray smiled back at his teammate. Yes, he’s had his fair share of trauma and he certainly wasn’t as good at blanking out the dark moments of his life. But being with Natsu was like stepping out into the sunshine after a long, cloudy winter. “Destiny, fate… it’s all a hoax,” Natsu had said. Gray wasn’t quite sure if he believed that. After all, fire and ice… they appeared to be in perfect synergy. Almost as if it was meant to be. But maybe Natsu was right. Maybe everything they had wasn’t because of their circumstances, but despite them. Defying the rules was kind of Fairy Tail’s whole thing, after all. And there was no one else Gray would rather go through hell with than Natsu.
Gray beamed, “Lead the way, sunshine.”