Fake Fantasy

"A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies."


― Alfred Tennyson






Although Gray could walk, recovery was still slow. He lost a lot of muscle during his months paralyzed. Simply walking from his house to the guild hall exhausted him and made his leg muscles cramp up.


Still, he practiced and trained. He had to start off slow with weight training. Since it was not at some insanely monstrous level, either Juvia or Lucy helped him out with this. He wanted to get back into fighting as soon as possible, so when he was too tired to stand, he sat on a hill and got creative with his Ice-Make magic or focused on his Demon Slayer magic.


He quietly admitted over drinks with Lyon, he really had lost all hope during his months being injured, and since he could not imagine a future without fighting for Fairy Tail, he had thought about suicide many times. Now, he cried with happiness at simply being alive. He had held on long enough to reach this point now, back on both feet, gradually regaining his life. He and Lyon drank all night to celebrate.


"Life has a tendency to get better, if only we hold on through the darkness," Lyon told his adopted little brother.


"You're one to talk," Gray smiled drunkenly. "You've got a pretty damn good life."


"I'm one who held on. I went from the lowest a wizard can get to the ace of Lamia Scale." He tipped his glass to Gray. "You'll go places too, little brother. I have a feeling this is the start of a new life for you."


Just then, a waitress came by. "Hello, gentlemen. We close in ten minutes. Can I get something for you as a last call?"


Gray smiled as he eyed her up and down. "How about a phone number and a date on your next night off?"


"Smooth," she chuckled.


"Another round of beers, then."


"And the tab," Lyon said. "My treat tonight."


"Well, that's generous of you," Gray said as the waitress strolled off. "We've been drinking for hours. It must be a hell of a tab we've racked up."


"Hey, my little brother is back on his feet and able to drink without worrying about destroying what's left of his liver. I have to do everything I can to knock you down a peg before you start to get cocky, even if it means putting you in my debt."


"When am I ever cocky?"


The waitress came back. "Here you go," she said, handing a beer and the bill to Lyon. "And ... here you go," she smiled at Gray, handing over his beer and a napkin with a number written on it. She gave him a seductive smile before strolling off with a wiggle to her hips.


Lyon rolled his eyes. "Cockiness in three, two, one..."


"So she likes me. Is that so strange?"


"A month ago, you were lamenting about not getting laid. I believe your words were, 'No woman can see me past the wheelchair.' Which is bullshit, by the way. A real lover will keep loving you, wheelchair or not."


"Maybe, but I don't have anyone who loves me."


Lyon gave him a cold look. "You do, and you know it."


"Right. Juvia," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "You can have her."


"I could never win her," Lyon shrugged in defeat. "The point is, you were a sob story waiting to break out the tissue box last month. Now..." He said nothing and just waved to the scrap of paper as evidence to the contrary. "Welcome back to the realm of hitting on waitresses and meaningless sex. Hell, if it was me, after what you've been through, I'd definitely be an arrogant sonuvabitch."


Gray lifted his beer in salute. "New life indeed!" he said with a wink.


"Yes, good for you, now get your damn clothes back on, idiot," Lyon sighed. "I swear, it's like you never grew up."


Gray looked down and realized that his shirt had once again vanished.




Every day from the sidelines, Natsu watched Gray as he slowly rebuilt his body. He told no one, but the Dragon Slayer knew that he had his own healing to worry about. There were days when his chest hurt, his heart fluttered strangely, and he often lost his breath walking uphill. Sometimes he had to sneak over to Wendy for her to use a bit of magic to strengthen his heart muscles. She once tried to question why his heart was suddenly so weak, but he refused to answer her with anything except, "It's a sacrifice that I don't regret."


Erza saw the suffering of both of them. Only she and Happy understood Natsu's pain. The Dragon Slayer laughed and brawled like normal; however, when Erza saw him reach up to rub the pain in his chest, she grabbed him by the collar, pretended to scold him, and secretly ordered him to rest for a day or two.


"If you don't, everyone will know about your heart, and we won't be able to hide it from Gray any longer."


That threat always worked. More than anything, Natsu did not want Gray to know the price of getting back his leg. He just wanted Gray to enjoy his new life, not lament that it took a steep sacrifice.


As the weather grew warm, Erza declared that they would go to the beach for some fun and to help Gray get in physical therapy. Gray was thankful, Lucy and Wendy were excited, Happy and Carla liked the idea, but Natsu looked aside.


"You guys go on," he said. "I have an appointment with ... someone."


"Do you mean your stripper girlfriend?" asked Gray.


Natsu glared up caustically. "She's not my girlfriend, and I don't want to hear you, of all people, belittling Rei-chan's profession. She's a sweet girl."


"Who just so happens to get paid for having sex with men."


Natsu leaped at him with his fist aflame, but Erza held him back.


"You take that back!" Natsu screamed.


"How much do you pay her per night?"


"Shut up, asshole!"


"Is that why you ran away during my treatment? You couldn't stay with this stripper, so you had to run back to your other stripper."


Natsu stopped struggling against Erza. "Other ... stripper?"


"I bet that was it," Gray scoffed. "Now you don't even want to come with us to the beach, something fun, something we can all finally enjoy as a team."


Natsu's head dropped in shame.


Lucy tried to come to the rescue. "Why don't you invite your girlfriend with us? I haven't met her yet."


Natsu grumbled, "I said she's not my girlfriend. She can't leave, either. She has work."


"Stripping and whoring," Gray muttered.


Natsu's fist flamed again. "Say something bad about her again and I'll break your face."


Erza sternly ordered, "Both of you, stop it!"


"Fine, I'll go to the beach," Natsu shouted. "I just have to cancel my date with Rei-chan."


"A date?" Lucy asked. "I thought you said you're not dating."


"She's not my girlfriend," he repeated, and he walked away with Happy.


Gray folded his arms and turned aside. "Che! I knew he'd probably never get a serious relationship, but I never thought he'd turn to hiring prostitutes."


"Something is strange about this," Erza said. "He seems to be exclusive with her, even protective, but when I asked, he said he's not actually having sex with her."


That caught Gray's attention. "What does not actually mean?"


Erza shrugged. "I figured he meant they were just dating, maybe playing around a little, but he's also insistent that she's not his girlfriend."


"That is strange," Lucy agreed. "Not dating, but having exclusive time together?"


"Who cares?" Gray grumbled. "If he wants to screw her, or not screw her, I don't care one bit. I'm gonna go pack for the beach."


Wendy pouted as they watched the ice wizard walking away. "Gray also acts weird whenever someone mentions about Natsu's girlfriend, or whatever she is."


"Indeed," Erza said, thinking about it seriously. "I wonder..."


Lucy gasped and looked over to her. "You're not thinking this is ... jealousy!"


"It's hard to say," Erza mused.


"Jealous of what?" asked Wendy. "Why would Gray be jealous that Natsu has a date with a lady?"


Carla sighed and shook her head. "You'll figure it out when you're older."




"Ah! Ahhhhh!" The raven-haired beauty arched up on a bed with crimson satin sheets that tangled around her thrashing body. "Natsu-dear! Mmmh, deeper."


His fingers thrust into her ass as deep as they could go.


"Now, curl up."


He followed her instructions.


"That should be it. You won't feel it on me, though. Women don't have a prostate. I could get you a man who..."


"No," he said firmly. "Like this."


She smiled and patted his cheek. "You're a strange one, Natsu-dear. Something is the matter, though. We can stop."


"Do you still need ... um ... that? Finishing off?"


"You know that's never been a goal between us. Go wash your hands."


His two fingers slowly pulled back. He went to a water basin in this little room within her club and scrubbed his hands.


Rei-chan pulled a silky robe around her naked body and flipped out her mussed up hair. "What's wrong, Natsu-dear?"


"My team is leaving on a strength-building trip to the beach."


"Ooh, sounds like fun."


"Gray will be there," Natsu muttered.


"You told me he's walking again."


"Yes, that's why we're going. His leg is weak still. This is for his sake."


She smiled fondly. "You really would do anything for Gray-dear. Even this, learning how to pleasure someone so you can know what will make him feel good if you ever get the chance to fulfill your fantasy."


Natsu dropped his head. "I think ... maybe we shouldn't anymore."


"Well, you are much better at kissing now," she chuckled. "You won't disappoint him in that way. Any reason in particular for ceasing your lessons?"


"Gray seemed mad. About this. About us."


"Mad, or jealous?"


"I'm not sure." He toweled off his hands and went back to the bed to sit beside her. "How did you figure out so quickly that I was gay?"


Rei-chan gave a light shrug. "I'm used to men, Natsu-dear. I've seen men getting dragged in by their friends. Loke-dear is a sweetheart, and I'm sure he meant well by bringing you here. He knows I'm intuitive. He was likely at a total loss for how to help you. That's why he asked me to ... handle you. I'm sure he had no clue what way you swing."


"But you figured it out so quickly. I wasn't even sure about it myself. I mean, I liked Lisanna, and Lucy is really pretty, but ... Gray..."


"You're bisexual rather than gay. Men, women, it doesn't matter, right?" she smiled knowingly. "Gray-dear is the first male you've thought about romantically though, correct?"


"Yeah, it sort of freaked me out."


"Since you've known him for so long, and he's always been a rival, it's no wonder that it took this long for your feelings to come forward. You love all of your friends, Natsu-dear." She squeezed him around the shoulders. "You're just a big pile of sweetness!"


"Hey!" he laughed, playfully pushing her away.


"So, Gray-dear said something about us, eh?"


"Yeah, he called you a whore and asked how much I pay you."


"Did you tell him?"


"I ... n-no. I mean, it's complicated and ... and it's not how he thinks. We're not ... you know," he mumbled awkwardly, trying to motion with his hands but still not sure how to phrase it.


"Spreading my legs in some dimly lit back room for a few Jewels?" she questioned with a light chuckle. "Sorry, but I would never lower my standards to whoring. I'm far better than that. So, what else did he say?"


"He accused me of leaving his treatment to come back to you."


"He doesn't know about ... this?" She delicately placed her hand over Natsu's chest with a worried expression.


Natsu shook his head. "I can't let him know, or anyone. I wouldn't have even told you, but—"


"But I saw it in your face," she filled in. "Just as I can tell anything about any man."


Natsu looked aside reflectively. "Gray was mad enough knowing I defeated the enemy who beat him. If he knew I almost died so he could walk again, he'd never forgive me."


"Well, you know him best," she shrugged. "I think it's sweet of you. It shows how much you love him."


"Maybe," Natsu blushed. "But then today, he said something strange. 'You couldn't stay with this stripper, so you had to run back to your other stripper.' That's what's been bugging me."


"He's a strip dancer, too?" she asked in surprise. "You never mentioned that."


"No, he just strips. He doesn't even know he does it. Something about being part of his childhood training. It's an unconscious habit now, so I call him a pervy stripper all the time. He hates it. It's an easy way to annoy him."


She hummed and put her finger to her vermilion lips. "Comparing my profession to his habit. Using a nickname he actually hates, one only you call him, and applying it to our supposed relationship. It's like he sees me as a rival." She grinned happily to Natsu. "I think you're winning him over. However, he seems to be mad that you were not around during his healing. That means you should be around him a lot more now. Really try to help him. He'll protest any help—his pride will demand that much—but I think he really does want you around. Otherwise, he wouldn't be this mad."


"Should I tell him that I broke up with you?"


"We were never together, Natsu-dear. I'm just training you."


"We still ... do stuff," he muttered. "I feel guilty sometimes."


"You were the one who wanted some experience so you can convince him that gay sex can be pleasurable. All I've done is teach you how to kiss, how to sweet-talk, massage techniques, and the location of erogenous zones."


"But ... but I've stuck my finger ... down there," he said, blushing fiercely.


"That's the hardest part about gay sex, Natsu-dear. If you don't know how to loosen up your partner, since he's never had it anally before, or how to stretch out yourself if, when the time comes, he wants to be on top, you could seriously hurt him or yourself, and he might not want to try it again." She rubbed his arm consolingly. "All you did was use your fingers. That's normal experimentation for a teenager."


"But ... it ... it makes me aroused," he muttered guiltily.


"Because you're imagining him, right?" she reasoned. "You've even called his name while touching me. Gray. Rei. The black hair, same height. Loke-dear asked me to take charge of you that night only because he knows I can read the hearts of men with a single glance, but I like to think fate made it so I'm just enough like your beloved one. It makes me feel like I'm your own personal guardian angel, guiding you on the path to heaven."


Natsu reluctantly smiled at her bright tone.


"Try this. Don't tell him you broke up with me just yet. Jealousy might be a good thing at the moment. It might force him to realize how special you are in his life, if he thinks he might be replaced by, as he put it, another stripper. You could tell him we don't have sex. That might reassure him some. However," she smiled mischievously, "when the time is right, tell him that I strip dance for you, and I'm showing you how to kiss like a pro. With any luck, that might make him want to dance for you, show you he's just as good, and if you're really lucky, he'll start to fantasize about just how good of a kisser you are." Her fingernail trailed over his lips. "You really are good, too."


"I had a good teacher," he said, lightly touching her cheek.


"In another universe," she sighed with just a little wistfulness. "But I'm training you for your beloved. Now, close your eyes. Imagine him. Picture him in your mind." She reached over to her dressing table and pulled off a choker. She strapped it around her throat. "Like this?" Her voice was a perfect mimic of Gray's.


"Y-yeah," Natsu said, looking slightly disturbed.


"Close your eyes," Rei-chan said, her voice now masculine, deep, and sonorous. "Flame-brain."


Natsu had to laugh. "You really have his arrogant tone down."


"I only need to talk to someone once to hear the speech patterns. Now shut up!" She pressed him backwards onto the bed. "Eyes closed, you squinty-eyed idiot."


"Turn the lights off," he said. "I don't want you to see."


"Fine."


Behind his eyelids, Natsu saw the lights vanish. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was a shadow. It moved toward him and began to undo his belt.


"Gray?" he whispered.


Gray's voice answered him. "If we're gonna do this, I want to top."


"That's fine. I just want you. It doesn't matter how."


It was a scenario they had practiced. Natsu did not really care who topped. Sure, he wanted to claim Gray as his, take him, have him, mark him as his mate, but he knew that when the time came—if it ever came—Gray might insist on topping, just because it was what he was used to doing. Rei-chan had offered to train him in how gay sex worked. Natsu's only demand was that they did not actually have sex. Hands, mouths, even toys, but not genitals. She was politely accommodating and never pushed for more.


"Natsu..."


Gray's voice was soothing. Natsu felt touches, kisses on his neck and working down his chest. Then a finger, gloved and lubed, rubbed him below.


She always wore latex gloves for this, a safety precaution she took in her profession. Would Gray wear gloves? Probably not. Natsu wanted to feel the roughness of those cold hands.


A finger slowly worked in, and Natsu gasped. Before coming here, he barely understood sex, let alone how two men could do it. Rei-chan taught him, and slowly they worked up to doing just this much.


"Relax," Gray's voice instructed. "Loosen your hips."


Gentle instructions. Gentle hands. Gentle probing, in and out, loosening him, stroking along his length...


"That's good, Natsu. So good."


... Lie back, pretend it's Gray ...


"I want you, Natsu."


"Nnngh! Gray."


... Live out his fantasies here, since the real world was too sad and painful ...


"Tell me what you need, Natsu. I've never done it with a man."


"I ... I need..."


"Tell me clearly."


"A-another finger. Stretch it out first."


"Stretch?" The voice questioned as if truly naïve. Gray would not know anything about pleasuring another man. When the time came, Natsu would have to instruct him in a way that kept Gray wanting to continue, but clear enough so they could enjoy this.


"You're so big, Gray. I need to be stretched so you can fit inside."


"I think I get it." A second finger pressed in.


"Gray! Nnngh!"


"Relax." A gloved hand stroked his arousal while the fingers stretched him. "I'll take care of everything."


"I want you, Gray," he moaned.


"I want you, too. Are you ready for more?"


... Gray's voice ...


But not Gray's hands. Not Gray's smell.


"No," he whispered.


"That's fine," the deep voice whispered, and lips descended down close to his mouth.


"No!" he said firmer, turning his head aside. "Quit. Not today. Just ... no," he sighed in defeat.


The fingers slipped out. He heard rustling movement, and then the light went back on. Natsu grabbed his pants and yanked them up. Rei-chan pulled off the glove and tossed it into the trash. She removed the choker, and when she spoke, it was her own voice.


"You're feeling that guilty," she realized sadly.


"I want it to be him, not some toy. I know you're trying to help, but it's not the same. It's not him."


"Natsu-dear," she sighed. "I told you, only what you want from me. If you don't want to do that much, then we won't, simple as that."


"I can't pretend it's him anymore." Natsu's throat choked up. "I want it ... to be him. My first. So much!"


"I know," she crooned, cradling his head. "Some fingers and a dildo doesn't make you no longer a virgin."


"I know, but I just can't."


"My poor dear. Maybe we really should end this training. You're suffering, and I don't want to see that. You've learned enough. Remember what I said, though. He should be just a little more jealous."


"I'll give it a try," Natsu sighed.


"If you ever need a release, or advice, or just to talk, you know where to find me."


"Thanks, but I don't think I can do physical stuff with you anymore, not without feeling bad."


She stroked his hair with tender understanding. "He's going to get quite a fiery lover. I wish the best for you, Natsu-dear." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You can go finish off in my powder room if you need to."


He cringed and looked away with blushing guilt. "Kinda, yeah."


"It's fine. I'll be gone before you're done. Have fun at the beach. Remember, stay with him and help him. He obviously missed you, so show him you care."


He nodded, eyes still downcast, and left her room. Rei-chan watched him go and sighed.


"That Gray-dear is one lucky guy!"

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