Chapter Text
1.
As far as everyone knew, nothing had changed. Yet everyone was aware that something did. They had never made it clear, they had never made a big announcement, and the guild never bothered them about it anymore. War tended to make people let go of futile things. And with Fairy Tail, it meant they stopped nagging their own about meaningless shit.
Gray was a bit upset though. That Natsu didn’t talk about it, didn’t mention it, was in character yet he was still bummed that he would keep it from him. Even Lucy, she would have come clean by now surely. They had survived the end of the world countless times, they had gone through hell and back, they had literally rewritten Natsu’s life together. That had to mean something. They were close, right? And he was close to Natsu as well, he was one of his best friends. So why were they keeping their relationship from him? Because there had to be something going on.
It had taken Gray a lot to admit anything about Juvia, and he knew for a fact he and Natsu had that in common. And there was no denying what really made them clash during the war. It was grief, grief like they had never felt before. Even flame brain understood what kind of feelings led to this. Gray knew that for a fact too. He was a lot more aware than people thought.
It was true that they had never shown affection carelessly in public, and the last time, a lifetime ago, someone teased Lucy about it, she had vehemently denied any romantic relationship with her partner. Maybe Happy knew something, but even he didn’t say anything. And it was well-known that he would have made fun of Lucy at the very least.
It wasn’t like Gray could go around and ask people about it either. Everybody seemed to have accepted that Natsu and Lucy were this way. She had stopped looking for dates and he had seemed more sensitive about her. Not everyone noticed, but Gray did. He prided himself on knowing him best after all. Still, this was… upsetting.
They weren’t together, they weren’t official. Yet they behaved like this and made him doubt.
Train rides were never fun for dragon slayers, never. Erza was holding Wendy’s hand and patting her back, the poor girl trying to look outside the wagon, towards the horizon. The further she looked, the better she felt. Still she looked impossibly pale. And on the bench across from them, Natsu was laying down, his head on Lucy’s lap, as usual. That in itself wasn’t strange. The curious part was the fact that he was awake. Gray saw it in his posture. He might have had his back to them, face almost nuzzled in Lucy’s stomach, the ice mage knew what a sleeping Natsu resembled, and that wasn’t it. Yet not a complaint in the air.
And if you could believe it, that still wasn’t what was off-putting to Gray. While Natsu was supposed to be sick or asleep, his conscious state wasn’t the surprising factor here. Lucy didn’t give anything away either.
As usual, one of her hands was in his hair, running through the pink threads, softening a few spikes distractedly. Her eyes looked over to the window, sometimes glancing down at Natsu, or Happy, who was asleep, pressed against her free side. No, the curiosity came from the hand that was simply hanging over Natsu’s waist, linked with hers. Natsu’s thumb was caressing the back of her hand steadily. Sometimes when she stopped playing with his hair, he’d exert a small pressure, and she’d start again. And there was something deeply… delicate about his hold. And that was out of character. Very out of character, especially for a guy like Natsu.
So Gray couldn’t avert his eyes. He was staring, wondering where he had gone wrong that his own brother wouldn’t tell him about getting anywhere with Lucy. They never used to do this before. And as far as he knew, Natsu had no notion of tenderness. Being so careful, so sensible to fragility, it all was beyond his understanding.
And yet, there he was, displaying a softness Gray never suspected him to have. Was he doing it on purpose? Was he even aware of it?
Lucy didn’t seem fazed by it either. She kept humming soft tunes, casually talking with Erza or exchanging jokes with Happy. Gray remembered a time any sign of affection, like this or otherwise, would get her to blush up to her ears. She’d fumble on words and end up kicking Natsu away from her. But that wasn’t the case anymore.
He understood what they had gone through, that now perhaps, Natsu and Lucy had a new understanding. He had had the same eye-opening experience.
But if they hadn’t told him, had they even told each other? Because it very much looked like they were committed. Which he guessed was the case. Natsu had had only one request for the 100 years quest, that Lucy was the one to come with, and that he was the one to ask her. He'd made it clear everyone else was a bonus. Now that was some long-term relationship commitment.
So Gray observed quietly, noting these small moments, and wondering if Natsu or Lucy would ever tell him. The next time Juvia came to him however, he realized it might have to do with their dynamic. He had wanted to make things clear with her, just as she had always been clear with him. For his friends though, Natsu and Lucy had always had their own way of communicating, scarcely needing words at all.