Note: "Onsen" is a hot spring.

Author's note: I published this fic first on Archive Of Our Own (AO3) under the same name. It has 9 chapters so far and I'm just re-uploading it here. I'm still having trouble with the editing system, so please tell me (in the review or a private message) if you find any kind of mistakes! Chapters 1-6 are not beta-read, so please, if you find mistakes (spelling/incorrect grammar/incorrect use of words etc.), tell me.

Please review/follow/fave if you liked it! Things like these make the author happy and will have a positive influence on the writing/update speed!

My tumblr name is: Chiyala

Chapter 1: Innocent

For an unknown reason Natsu was being gloomy and unsettled lately. He was tense around his guild mates, seemed to be loaded and lost it far more quickly than he used to. But what was most concerning of all was the fact that he was always taking it out on Gray. Not that it was surprising to see them fighting over something small, but never before had they fought as often as they did now.

At first, nobody gave special attention to their brawls, as it was fairly normal. It took a few days for people to start growing alert of Natsu's odd behavior. Laxus and Gajeel and some others purposely tried to pick fights with Natsu, but to everybody's surprise Natsu would always just shout at them to 'leave him for fuck's sake alone'. Sincerely concerned after those incidents, everyone was wondering what the reason of Natsu's weird behavior could be and how they could bring back the normal Natsu, who brightened their moods by carefree smiles and stupid pranks. Not even Happy could manage to get more than a half-hearted smile out of him. All of their efforts were useless, either Natsu didn't even notice them or they just annoyed him even further, resulting in him taking out his anger on Gray.

No wonder these events took their toll on Gray. He looked exhausted and utterly annoyed by the constant fighting, always earning sympathetic glances from his guild mates.

Everyone was thinking hard on a solution, but it wasn't until two weeks after all of it had started that Makarov called Erza and Lucy to his office.

When the two girls knocked on the door to his office, they heard Makarov's voice from inside.

"Come in."

Lucy darted a quick look over at Natsu, who was sitting alone, stiff like a rock, obviously too busy with his own thoughts to notice anything around him, before entering the office. They closed the door behind them before turning around to face their master. He was looking at them with a stern face, motioning them to sit down. He began speaking with a seriously concerned voice.

"I am sure you already suspect what the reason for this meeting is…"

"Natsu", Lucy mused. Makarov nodded briefly.

"I am not sure what the reason of Natsu's behavior is, but I think it's got something to do with Gray. Maybe these two have some issues they should urgently sort out. Being as stubborn as they are, there is no way they will ever approach each other other than for fighting. I want you two to create a situation where they'll have no other choice than to talk with each other about whatever their... or maybe only Natsu's problem might be."

Lucy and Erza stared at the Master in disbelief, as if he had just come from the moon, wearing a bikini and a bathing ring, announcing they would have to learn how to dance hula hoop with it.

"N- Natsu and Gray… seriously talking about their problems? I really can't imagine that happening..." the blonde mage stated.

"Natsu is stubborn, but he is not stupid… Well, at least not as stupid as to ignore this problem forever. Gray is, of course, also aware of Natu's odd behavior. He knows he can't keep it up forever. Sometimes when Natsu is lost in his own thoughts, Gray stares at him so intensely, you can practically feel his brain working on a solution. They just need a shove in the right direction."

"A shove, huh? They sure need a brutal shove." Erza's eyes were glistening with viciousness.

"Feel free to do whatever you find necessary to make them talk with each other. As long as it helps them getting over this situation."

"And what if it has nothing to do with Gray? What if Natsu just has some private issues that aren't related with Gray by all means?", Lucy wanted to know.

"Then Gray could use the chance to have a serious talk with Natsu about venting his rage on him. He's obviously worn out."

Being entrusted with this special mission, Erza was on fire, excited to kick some asses and help Natsu get over whatever his issues might be.

"Leave it to us, master! We'll make them talk! Let's go, Lucy, I already have a plan."

Before Lucy could even react, she was dragged out of the Master's office, out of the guild hall and to her home. She didn't wonder anymore why everybody close to her thought they could come and go whenever they wanted.

"WHAT? You're not making me sleep in the same bed as this flame-brain!"

They just arrived at the destination of their current mission, Natsu was still feeling sick from the train ride and now they were told that they had only two rooms for the four of them with one bed each, because it was the peak season of the Onsen the client owned. Like hell Gray would give up so easily.

"You are going to sleep in one bed with Natsu, like you have done before so many times before. Plus you two will not fight with each other in any way. If I just hear you two arguing, I will come and give you hell so that the both of you will not even be able to crawl any more. And if you dare to destroy anything while our stay here, I swear I'll make you pay for it. Are. We. Clear?"

Okay. So maybe he was going to giving up easily. But weighing Erza's rage against sleeping in one bed with Natsu... The last was more bearable, if not even pleasing...

Gray quickly grabbed one of the two keys Titania was holding, dragging the still unresponsive Dragon Slayer behind him as he fled to their room. Happy wanted to follow them, but was caught by the red haired mage.

"You stay with us."

"A- aye sir!"

After having locked the door behind them, Gray sighed and let himself relax a bit. He was tense enough these days even without Erza running berserk. But he would still have to deal with a furious dragon. He sighed again heavily and turned around to face Natsu, who still looked numbed. Gray decided to take the chance.

"Natsu. I know it's probably hard for you, but could you please just this once keep your shit together and try not to fight me every waking hour? I think we've fought quite enough the last weeks. Please… I don't want Erza to beat the shit out of us."

Instead of throwing a ruckus, Natsu surprisingly dropped his head and spoke gently. Maybe he was still a bit sick from the train ride.

"I'm sorry, Gray. I don't know what's gotten into me."

"So you really did notice your change."

"I'm not stupid, you freezing bastard! Of course I noticed!"

Without even realizing it, Natsu had taken up a fighting stance; flames shot out of his fists and surrounded them, ready to be punched into his rival's stomach. Gray took a defensive stance, just in case the Dragon Slayer would attack, but he was not at all in the mood for fighting.

"Calm down, please! Remember what Erza said? No argument, no fighting!"

When Natsu noticed what he had instinctively done, he cursed, immediately dissolving the flames around his fists and began busying himself with unpacking his clothes and storing them in the shelves.

The mission would not be difficult, but long. The owner of the Onsen had asked them to help her building an additional hotel, because this one was obviously too small for the peak season. The reward was high, but no more than four mages were allowed to go on the mission, and now they knew why. Two fucking rooms with one bed each. If it wasn't for the high reward, Gray would have quitted right away after hearing the circumstances. But after Tartaros had destroyed nearly everything they possessed, he was out of money and he needed to regain his savings.

They hadn't spoken a word while preparing their room and after they finished, the two mages stood in awkward silence, eyeing the bed with furrowed brows. Gray cleared his throat.

"At least it's huge, so we have enough space to sleep. I'll take the right side."

Without waiting for Natsu's answer, he shed his clothes, tossed them on the nightstand on the right side of the bed and left for the bathroom. It was already late evening, so they would get ready for bed and sleep. The mission would start on the next morning.

With Gray gone to the bathroom, Natsu released a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. Again there was this strong feeling he'd been feeling since that day. He tried to fight it down, to bury it deep inside of him, but it burned inside him like fire, stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. It was impossible to ignore and hard not to act on it when it spread throughout his body, making it impossible hot, like he had a fever. His hands would always prickle and he'd want to punch Gray. It felt like he needed to release the intense power he felt rolling through him. But what he didn't understand was why the feeling didn't go away even after he'd fought with Gray, leaving over only little power. He sighed. Natsu didn't know what to do anymore, didn't know where this feeling came from or what it was supposed to mean, but for now he decided he would try not to fight with Gray, partly because he dreaded Erza's rage, but also because he knew by now that fighting with his rival would do nothing more than leave an unsettling feeling behind.

He quickly changed into his pajamas, lying down on his side of the bed, which was the one closer to the bathroom, waiting for the ice mage to finish getting ready for the night.

When Gray re-emerged from the bathroom, he went straight to bed, avoiding looking at Natsu, who got up immediately and went to the bathroom.

Gray would have to share a bed with him for as long as their mission would take. The last two weeks had been especially hard on him. It had always been hard, being in love with his rival and best friend. Yeah. Love. He was in love. Crazy in love with Natsu. Had been since long before he could even understand what it meant to be in love in a non-platonic and not family-related way. After he had first hit upon the idea that he could possibly be romantically in love with Natsu, he'd been in denial for years. He just couldn't admit that he had fallen in love with a guy, especially not this guy, not this stupid flame-brain he'd always brawl with. When his jealousy of Lisanna threatened to get the best of him and he nearly hit her for something that was entirely not her fault, he finally admitted to himself that he was deeply in love with his stupid best friend. Since that time he'd always struggled to keep it a secret, finding it hard to control all these bottled-up feelings.

As if all that hadn't been already enough, Natsu suddenly started to act strange after Tartaros was defeated. Gray's father had given him the power of a Devil Slayer, Natsu had met his father only to lose him again permanently.

After all the fights were over, Natsu had challenged him to test his new strength, maybe also to get over the loss of his father. It had been a serious fight until both of them had exhausted all of their magic power. After their fight they'd lain sprawled out next to each other on the grass, too powerless to even move a finger. After a while, they'd turned their heads to face each other, intending to mock. But when their eyes had met, Natsu's eyes had widened as if in shock. Gray hadn't known how to react... So he'd done nothing. They'd just looked in each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity, when eventually Natsu had let out a shaking breath. Gray had wanted to ask him what was wrong but the fire mage had suddenly jumped to his feet and ran away as fast as he could. Gray was left behind confused as hell, so he'd wanted to ask Natsu about that incident the next time they would meet each other. It turned out he had neither the courage nor the chance to talk to his best friend seriously. From that point on, Natsu had only talked to him to pick a fight, which happened far too often for his liking. Sleepless nights thinking about what he might have done wrong, pondering about their relationship, worrying if he had any chance to make it right again and the constant fighting with the Dragon Slayer left him utterly exhausted and exasperated. He could've snapped any second.

The movement of the mattress and the sudden darkness brought him back to the present. Natsu was lying next to him, snuggling down in his blanket. Gray swallowed.

"Good night, Gray."

"Good night, Natsu."

Gray was so nervous he felt like his heart would jump out of his chest any second. How could he possibly fall asleep lying next to the person who was the reason for his insomnia? He tried to calm himself, told himself to breathe evenly. After some minutes he really managed to calm down a bit, even if his mind was still spinning. He and Natsu hadn't fought for a day already, since the train ride had left the Dragon Slayer unable to fight and now… something seemed to have changed. He'd even apologized earlier. Maybe he felt truly sorry for his misbehavior the past two weeks? Believing that Natsu regretted what he did calmed him even more. Slowly he drifted off in a deep and relaxing sleep he so much needed after two weeks of insomnia.

"Ngh... ahhh..."

Still on the verge of sleeping, Gray didn't really notice where these sounds were coming from. He thought he was again having a wet dream of Natsu, but this seemed to be more real. Plus something under him was moving... he was feeling as if he was on a boat that was moving slightly up and down because of waves. The moans didn't stop, if anything they became louder. Slowly Gray came to himself, more and more realizing that this wasn't one of his dreams.

Natsu was really moaning, right next to him. He was also moving in a way he couldn't see in the dark. Natsu was still under the blanket; he could tell from the movement of said blanket. Gray was too afraid to move, too afraid to do more than just open his eyes and stare at the ceiling. His heart rate increased momentarily.

"Haaaaaaahhh... nnnhhh..."

If it wasn't for the loud moans, Gray was sure the Dragon Slayer would have heard his heartbeat by now, as his heart was beating so incredibly fast and strong against his ribcage, there was no chance it would have gone unnoticed by even a normal person without the sharp senses of a Dragon Slayer. Heat crept into every part of his body, blood shot to the middle and he felt his cock grow hard. Crap.

"Did you- ahh... think I would- nnnhhh... wouldn't notice you've woken up? Haaaahhh..."

Gray's eyes widened in shock. Natsu had noticed? But he was still moaning like he was having the best sex of his life? That didn't fit! Something must've been wrong. Did Natsu moan because of something else? Was he in pain? Serious pain judging by his voice? He turned to Natsu, but could figure out only a silhouette in the semi-darkness.

"Natsu, are you okay? Are you in pain?"

He was worried, but somehow the movements didn't fit with somebody being in pain. It looked like Natsu was masturbating right next to him.

"Nooo... this is the best... ahhh... I've ever felt..."

So he really was masturbating. He couldn't believe it. Was he having a dream that just felt too real? If it really was a dream, he could do whatever he wanted, right? So he sat up, fully facing Natsu, leaning over him, intending to kiss him. Suddenly Natsu flinched, stopping his act.

"Oy, popsicle, what do you think you're doing?"

So it wasn't a dream.

"Bastard. Get away from me!"

But Gray didn't want to get away from Natsu just yet, he was too confused and he wanted answers.

"What the hell were you just doing?"

"I don't know, who cares? It felt damn good. Could you please get your face away from me so I can continue?"

"Con- continue?"

"What's your problem, you are just disturbing me, go away! Go back to sl-"

"As if I could fall back asleep after hearing and seeing you do that!"

Natsu's expression changed from annoyed to curious. He really was a damn good actor... Why the hell was he doing this?

"You know this?"

"Of course, idiot... you were touching yourself..."

"Yeah. Did you ever do this?"

"Quit kidding me! That's not funny, you idiot!"

"B- but I'm not joking..."

Natsu's voice sounded honest and kind of sad. How could he lie with such a serious voice? Or if he didn't lie, how the hell could he not know what masturbating was? Gray's breath was trembling heavily, partly of anger, partly of nervousness. He turned on the small lamp on his bedside table, then sat cross-legged on his side of the bed, facing Natsu, who was hiding everything except for his head under the blanket, a heavy blush on his beautiful face. He was cuter with that blush on his face than Gray could ever have imagined and when their eyes met, the world stopped moving for a second. His heart skipped a beat, only to beat much heavier than it had before. Natsu would definitely notice that. Trying to regain his composure, Gray started to speak.

"So... you don't know what you did just now?"

He got a quick head-shaking and a curious look from Natsu as answer. He was starting to believe that this was not for show.

"Oh my... Did Igneel never teach you anything about... uh... love?"

"Love is a strong feeling you feel for someone you want to be together with for the rest of your life."

Gray blushed heavily at this. Damn right he was. How could he possibly be so innocent?

"Y- yeah... And... uh... Did he teach you also about what you do when you're in love?"

"Igneel said I will learn everything else when the time has come. He said it's like birds when they learn how to fly. Their mother will push them out of the nest and while falling, their instincts will teach them how to fly. It will be the same for me. My instincts will teach me when the time has come."

"So... how do you know when that time has come?" Gray was growing more nervous.

"Dunno... I will just know it. Because then I will know everything about being in love."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How the hell could he not have picked up something - anything - about sex and lovemaking in their guild?

"Oh my... you really don't know anything about sex?"

"I know that it's some kind of taboo to talk about and not for young people, because everybody who I asked about it just blushed and said I'm too young for that topic."

"Just when was that?"

"Right after I joined Fairy Tail..."

"And you never tried to ask again?"

"No, because Igneel said I don't need to ask, I would know by instinct when I found my special one... The one and only person I'll spend the rest of my life with... Igneel said it's fate."

Gray hadn't imagined that he could possibly become more nervous than he already was, but the words of the Dragon Slayer proved him wrong. He needed all his self-control not to start shivering too much and to try to keep his voice impassive - but he completely failed.

"So... you haven't found... uh... your 'special one' yet?", he uttered, too occupied not to jump out of the bed out of sheer nervousness to care about all the emotions in his voice.

"Uhm... I don't think so... If I had, I would already know everything I need to know..."

Gray's heart tightened painfully at that. Some small part of him had tried to make him believe that Natsu's change was because he finally noticed his undying love for Gray but just couldn't admit it. His best friend had just ridiculed that part of him, saying he wasn't in love. The ice mage wanted to hit himself for even considering this as a possible reason.

"Gray... My cock is still hard, what should I do about it?"

Gray chocked on his saliva and blushed. Something he seemed to be doing a lot since he woke up.

"So- sorry, Gray. Did I say something wrong?"

Oh. My. God. Don't lose your composure! Don't!

"N- no... but... you should do this when you're alone."

"But we're alone..."

"Alone like 'only you and nobody else'."

"But it was never like this before... Now is the first time it became hard... Can I do this also while it's soft?"

"N- no that's not... possible..."

No. No no no, he shouldn't talk about this with Natsu. He gulped. But he still would. To help Natsu. Only to help him. Teach him what he doesn't know. Yeah. Only because of that.

"When you think of a naked woman's body, won't it... grow hard?"

"Why should it?"

"Then... maybe of a naked man's body?"

"No... No, I don't think so..."

"But... how the hell did it become hard now?"

"Dunno... I was just lying here, and you smell so good... and then my penis became hard... and I wondered why it became like this, so I was touching it through my pants and that felt so good, I couldn't stop touching. And then I tried different ways to find out which would be the best way... I noticed that moving my hand up and-"

"GOT IT! S- stop... just... stop talking..."

Fucking shit. Holy. Fucking. Shit. He was so turned on. His dick was achingly hard, probably already leaking pre-cum. He was lost... Completely lost. Fuck. And he shouldn't be saying what he was about to say...

"You were touching only through your pants?"

"Ah, yes, pants and pajama trousers..."

He definitely should stop right here. But his filthy mouth was not willing to listen to him.

"It feels so much better if you touch your cock directly... Without pants and pajama..."

He shouldn't be doing this.

"Can I try that?"

Shit. He. Should. Stop. Now. But his frigging body was not listening to his mind any longer. His cock ached to be touched so badly...

"It's not as if I could do anything to stop you..."

"That's a yes!"

He saw Natsu shifting under the blankets and could imagine him pulling his pajama and pants down, so that he could grab his cock without textile. Then Natsu lay still and he could picture his best friend's hand cup his cock and-

"Ahhhhh..."

Gray blushed crimson and quickly turned away from Natsu. Damn. Why did the Dragon Slayer have to make such sexy sounds? Gray was hard as a rock and it was physically hurting not to touch himself. But what could he do? Touching himself like Natsu did was too embarrassing. On the other hand Natsu was doing the exact same thing. Because you told him to, you pervert. It was Natsu's first time... First time ever having a hard-on and there he was abusing his innocence. But he couldn't find it in himself to stop him. Not anymore. Too late. Not when he was this horny.

"Hnggghhh... So good... Graaaay!"

He was calling his name! A new wave of heat rolled through his body, burned every bit of doubts to ashes and left only the too strong feeling of desire and lust. But he wouldn't do anything to Natsu. He wouldn't touch him. Natsu told him to stay away, so he would do that. He would wait.

"Haaaah... oh my god... this is... so incredibly... good... Ahh, Graaay! Gray! I feel like... uhh... I need to pee..."

Gray nearly came by only listening to that voice, without even having to touch himself. He gathered all his self-control not to give in to his desire to cup his cock and finish with a few quick strokes.

"That's not pee... believe me... just release it"

"Nooo... I won't pee... in our bed...!"

"It's not pee... It's called sperm... or cum... it comes out of your cock, too, so it just feels like you need to pee..."

"Really? You're not... ahhh... trying to embarrass me or something?"

"Hell, as if I would let you pee in our bed, stupid flame-brain... But you should take care not to spoil your blanket or clothes with your sperm... uh... you could just come on your bare chest and stomach..."

"Y- you mean I should remove the blanket and my pajama top?"

"Would be better..."

He heard Natsu shifting, removing the blanket, taking off his pajama shirt... That meant he was completely naked now! And without blanket! If he just looked in Natsu's direction, he could see-

"Aaahhhhhh..."

Gray closed his eyes and pushed his flat hands on them, so that he wouldn't be tempted to just turn his head and look at Natsu's naked body and his hard cock, which was probably leaking pre-cum-

"Haaahhh... so hot... Gray... I can't... hold it... anymore...!"

"It's okay, just release it-"

"Graaaaaaaaayyyyyy!"

Natsu's body was shaking heavily while his orgasm rolled over him, making the mattress tremble with his movements. Again Gray nearly came just by hearing this sexy voice which was calling his name while coming and feeling the movement of the mattress, but managed to control himself before anything could happen. He heard the heavy panting of his best friend slowly become steadier as his orgasm wore out.

"Ewww... it's white and... sticky... and it stinks!"

"Uh... yeah... you should wipe it off..."

"With what?"

"A tissue... or toilet paper."

"I don't have any tissue or toilet paper here. And if I stand up, this liquid will drop to the floor or the bed... Please give me something!"

Fuck. Think, Gray, think! Which would be the least awkward solution? Did he have any tissue nearby? Something he could blindly toss to Natsu? He didn't want to go to the bathroom to fetch toilet paper as he'd have to round the bed for that, which meant he would have to look somewhere in the direction of the pink-haired Dragon Slayer plus his erection would be seen if he stood up. He vaguely remembered putting tissues in a side pocket of his travel bag some months ago... Luckily he had put his empty travel bag in the cupboard right next to his side of the bed, so all he needed to do was crawl out of bed, not look at Natsu while doing that, grab his bag, search it for the tissues and get back on the bed without looking at Natsu. Luckily the tissues were really there, so he picked them up and closed his eyes, covering them with his free hand and crawled back on their bed. He held out the tissues to the general direction of his best friend. Natsu took them and started wiping himself. Gray quickly turned his back to the Dragon Slayer and even pulled his blanket over his head.

"You have already seen me naked sometimes, droopy-eyes. You don't need to act so strange."

"'am not..."

"You're acting like a shy cat, of course it's weird. I have never seen you like this."

"Shut up, finish cleaning up already and get dressed!"

"Will you quit acting strange then?"

Silence. Natsu sighed in defeat, cleaned up quickly and got dressed. When he lay in bed again, an awkward silence built up between them. Gray's mind was spiraling with thoughts about the pink-haired mage, so many questions in his head, so many things he needed to sort out. And there was this voice... The voice in his head telling him over and over again that he had abused the Dragon Slayer for his own pleasure. He knew it was true, he was feeling bad about it but at the same time he was not. Natsu had wanted it so badly that he had been nearly begging Gray to allow him to masturbate. But there were some things the ice mage needed to make clear before they would meet their friends again the next day. He could wallow in self-loathing later.

"Natsu... could you promise me something?", he whispered, head still hidden under his blanket. Only a Dragon Slayer would have been able to hear him.

"You are scaring me, you know? Why do you keep hiding under your blanket? If you felt uncomfortable while... you know... Anyway, it's over now and if you want, then let's just pretend it never happened, if it makes you feel better."

Gray shoved his blanket aside at that and stared right into the eyes of his best friend.

"Really? Would you do that for me?"

Natsu let out a chuckle, amused about how Gray could change from being shy into being so openly positive. He liked this attitude way better.

"Yeah. I can never forget it though. But I guess pretending it didn't happen is okay for me."

"Promise!"

"Okay, okay, I promise..."

" You mustn't say anything, especially to Erza or Lucy... or Happy... Huh? Where's Happy by the way?"

"Erza made him stay with them."

"Just when did that happen?"

"While you were busy fleeing from Erza and dragging me along."

"Eh? I didn't notice... Why does he stay with the girls?"

"They want to give us time alone to talk about 'our problems' or rather, my problems."

The face Gray made after hearing these words was priceless. Natsu had never seen his friend as dumbfounded as he was now. He laughed and nearly made fun of him out of habit, but somehow he wasn't in the mood for it. He decided to show mercy and just explained the situation to the ice mage.

"It's our Master's doing. He thought the wooden door between the guild hall and his office would be enough to prevent me from hearing what they said. He asked Erza and Lucy to create a situation where the two of us would be forced to talk about my issues, because he thinks it's got something to do with you... Well, you know why... So Erza made this plan, I don't know how far it goes, if they made this whole mission up by themselves or if it just happened to come in handy and they decided to take the chance... Whatever... We're supposed to talk things over and go back to our old selves... So of course Happy needs to stay with the girls."

Gray had gotten stiffer and stiffer while Natsu was talking and he wondered if he had said something wrong. His best friend was keeping his gaze locked on his hands. Natsu's chest clenched painfully at the thought that he had made his best friend sad and immediately after that wondered why it even bothered him so much lately. His brain was working with high speed on a solution that would cheer the dark haired mage up, but before he could come up with something, Gray started talking quietly.

"So... the real purpose of this mission is to get you back to normal...?"

"Guess so... But we're still building that fucking hotel!"

Natsu was done talking about this topic, he kind of feared what was about to come if he didn't interrupt their talk. He himself didn't even know the reason why he had suddenly changed so much, let alone what exactly had changed so how should he be able to talk about it? It made him nervous, he didn't even know what had made him entrust Gray everything he had told him already.

"I'll sleep now. Good night, Gray."

Without waiting for an answer he turned his back to the dark haired mage and hoped that he would leave it at this. After a few moments he noticed Gray shifting.

"Good night, Natsu..."

The voice of his best friend sounded so broken, he wanted to roll over and... and what? Tell him it's gonna be okay? He wanted to make Gray happy again, take away what was burdening him... But then again he would likely have to talk about this feeling he couldn't comprehend. Even though he hadn't drunken any alcohol, he was starting to feel dizzy, like the world around him was turning, his thoughts starting to blur, becoming a haze of emotions. Slowly he was drifting off to sleep as weariness won over his confused mind.