"I know that I must have your kiss although it dooms me,
Though it consumes me, your kiss of fire.
I can't resist you, what good is there in trying?
What good is there denying you're all that I desire?"
― Louis Armstrong, "Kiss of Fire"

Natsu burst through the hotel room door. "Hey asshole, I'm—"

He heard the sound of a racking shotgun and crossed his eyes as an icy muzzle was pointed right at his face. On the other end of the barrel, frosty magic still swirled as Gray had formed an Ice-Make Shotgun instantaneously.

"Hi, Gray," he grinned nervously, delicately pushing the muzzle out of his face. "Uh, I'm back."

The ice gun evaporated in glowing sparkles, and Gray sank out of his defensive posture. "Natsu!" he sighed in annoyance. "Dammit, can't you knock? Don't just burst in like that. I could've shot you! I didn't know you were coming back so soon."

Natsu pouted and whined as he dropped his pack to the ground, "So soon? I've been gone forever."

Gray frowned that he had snapped so quickly. It really had been a while, many days since the Dragon Slayer took off, leaving him to heal. "Sorry. Bored, been hurting, stuck in this room with nothing to do, getting on edge..." He reached forward and lightly rubbed Natsu's arm, feeling the warmth of his skin. Softly, he muttered, "I was wondering when you'd be back."

Natsu shivered at the cold touches that tingled him. "I tried to hurry." He let his fingers drift over Gray's cheek and saw one of the scabs still prickling his flesh. "I'm sorry I left you here."

"It's fine," Gray shrugged, ignoring the anger and frustration he had initially felt at being left alone.

Natsu touched a bigger scab on Gray's arm, one he recalled had been bleeding profusely the day of the injury. It likely would not scar, but the wound was still healing. "Are you feeling okay?"

"More or less. Better," Gray assured him. He looked down as Natsu rubbed next to a cut on his bicep. That one made him hiss and pull back in pain. "A couple of the scratches got infected."

Natsu jolted and looked up in dread. Infected? And he had left him alone! "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he assured.

Still, Natsu wrapped his arms around Gray, hugging him gently. Gray hummed at the all-encompassing warmth and feeling Natsu resting against his shoulder, cuddling into him. He smiled as he stroked through the soft hair and kissed Natsu's forehead.

He had plenty of time sitting alone in this room to think about that camping trip, their nervous touches, the rougher desperation, and the feel of Natsu's body against him. He had fantasied about this body and the pleasure it could bring him. He also liked gentle moments like this, hugging each other after being apart for a few days, both of them needing that simple connection.

"I missed you," Natsu sighed, inhaling Gray's shirt and the snowy-forest smell.

"Yeah, same here."

Natsu pulled back enough to look up, and Gray saw the silent desire in those eyes. Clandestine touches and gentle hugging just weren't enough! For Gray as well, memories of fantasies, of lonely nights in this hotel room pretending it was Natsu's hand on him, all flooded back. Desires had built up, and Gray no longer cared about those silly fears that had frozen him in the past.

He grabbed Natsu into a rough grasp and held him tightly up against his body, gazing down with stormy passion.

"Missed you!" he snarled.

Their lips collided, and Gray held Natsu's face in a possessive grip, wanting everything, those lips, that tongue, the taste of his mouth, everything!

Natsu gasped as Gray kissed him with aggression he had not seen before. This wilder side enthralled the Dragon Slayer and brought up deep instincts. He grabbed Gray's ass in a hold that would leave bruises, and he bit Gray's lip with a playful sneer.

Gray pulled back at the bite and tasted a drop of blood in his mouth. Such a wild dragon! He grabbed Natsu by the hair, kissing and pulling harshly until the Dragon Slayer moaned in a shudder of painful pleasure.

"Missed you so much!" he growled. Gray yanked Natsu's hair, forcing his head back, and attacked his throat, diving under the folds of the white muffler to mark him.

"Gray!" Natsu cried out. If he kept this up, Natsu would really lose control.

Gray pulled back, panting hard, and saw the blood-speckled mark on Natsu's neck. His dragon! Natsu's eyes burned as they gazed up at him, wild, untameable ... perfect!

"Damn, I'm addicted to you!" Gray accused.

He grabbed Natsu and tossed him onto the bed. The Dragon Slayer yelped, but before he could even stop bouncing on the mattress, Gray pounced on top. His hands instantly slid under Natsu's shirt, thrusting the clothes up to his neck. He probably could have stripped him in two seconds, but the muffler was in the way.

He grabbed Natsu around the waist and lifted his torso slightly, kissing his stomach and up to his chest. Natsu threw a hand over his mouth, trying desperately to hold back cries as those freezing hands stroked him everywhere. He had wanted Gray to act this way for so long. It took being apart to finally crumble the ice around his heart.

"Gray ... that's so ... nngh!"

Lips surged up and silenced him, and Gray's hips thrust up against him. Natsu clawed into his back, wanting him, craving him, the wild dragon within him roaring as Gray rocked his body and caressed with cold hands. Gray wanted Natsu, wanted him badly, fuck everything else that ever made him hesitate, he just wanted him!

When he pulled back, he saw Natsu as a disheveled mess, his hair sticking out from being aggressively yanked, his lips wet and swollen, the bruise on his neck darkening, and his clothes half off already. He felt the arousals between them, both of them desperate and craving.

Then his head cleared. He had been truly forceful, and it shocked him. He never acted this wild around a partner.

"S-sorry. I lost control."

Natsu panted and looked up with a grin. "Heh! I don't mind."

Still, Gray felt ashamed at attacking him like that. Natsu had just come back, he had mud on his clothes, he was probably tired and hungry.

"You ... um ... wanna get lunch or something?"

Natsu blinked. Was it over? That was it? Blankly, he answered, "I ate."

Gray nodded, and he climbed off the bed, running his hand through his hair. He really lost control there. He hoped it was not too forceful. They had agreed to take things slowly, but Gray's body wanted so much more now. He needed to calm down or he would do something that could go beyond what Natsu was ready to try.

"How'd it go?" he asked, trying to sound casual and not sexually frustrated.

Natsu sat up and pushed his clothes back into place. "Eh. It was a mission," he shrugged casually. "Not all that hard, just ... lonely." He laughed softly and admitted, "I'm not used to doing a mission on my own."

Lonely? Gray looked back with a sad expression. "Sorry." He had gotten hurt and Natsu was forced to go on alone, without even Happy to cheer him up.

"Hey, I wanted you to heal up. I was worried."

Gray scoffed at his concern. "They're just thorn scratches."

"Yeah," he muttered, but he still remembered how terrified he had been to hear Gray's shrieks through the woods and not being able to find him for some time. "I was still worried. I'm always worrying over you."

Gray realized he was right. Natsu had been acting overprotective for months. "You don't have to be."

"I know," he grinned to himself. "I know just how strong you are." He stood and walked over to Gray, caressing the bulky muscles in his arms. Then his hand drifted down his torso and came to rest over the area where he once had to reach into Gray's guts and cauterize arteries to keep him from bleeding to death. Now, there was not even a scar. It had healed perfectly. Distantly, he whispered, "I also know the smallest thing can bring a person down."

"Natsu..." Gray said softly.

He knew where the Dragon Slayer was touching. He still remembered the pain that used to spike through there, pain so intense he would wake up vomiting blood. Remembering those months was hard on Gray; it was like one big, long nightmare that all went away the day Natsu found the healing machine. Although he was better than ever, he too often saw Natsu gazing at areas that had been injured, as if the magic that healed him would suddenly reverse and all those old wounds would rip apart all at once. (They had been assured that was impossible.)

He picked up Natsu's roaming hand, pulled it up, and kissed his fingers. "I fell into some berry bushes. Come on!" he said with a scoff to reassure him that he was fine, safe, and the injury had been truly minor.

"Y-yeah," Natsu muttered, blushing at being caught in recalling that nightmare, the helplessness of watching Gray being shot to the point of death and not being able to get to him in time. He just wanted to protect Gray now, but he knew he might get obsessed over it. Then he looked down and saw his road-weary clothes. "Um, I should clean up. I hit a few bad puddles on the way. Got some mud on me."

Gray let go of his hand and backed up. "Oh. Yeah ... um ... shower's free."

Natsu started to leave. Gray's eyes drifted down, watching his ass as he walked away.

"Ah! Um..." He stopped awkwardly.

Natsu spun around with abetted eagerness. "What?"

Tension tingled the air as their eyes both craved more, but their hearts trembled at going another step farther in their relationship. Gray gulped before stuttering, "C-can ... can I ... um..."

"Yes," Natsu blurted out breathlessly. Gray startled at the sudden answer, and Natsu blushed as he dropped his gaze. "You want to scrub my back, right?"

He swallowed hard. "Uh ... y-yeah."

Green eyes flicked up, and Natsu's smile showed that he knew damn well that this was about much more than scrubbing his back. With a playful smirk, he repeated, "Yes."

Gray flinched as his cock reacted to that feral smile.

Then Natsu chuckled slyly as he turned to leave. "Don't keep me waiting, ice princess."

"Ah! Um, coming!" Gray raced after him, flinging his clothes off as he went.

Natsu waited until he was in the hotel's bathroom before removing his clothes. They really were covered in mud, sweat, and green plant marks from skidding over grass during a fight on the mission. He neatly folded his muffler and placed it to the side, away from the dirty clothes. As he looked in the mirror over the sink, he saw the oval mark on his neck. Lightly touching it still hurt. Gray really went rough with that, and Natsu loved it!

"I'll set the water," Gray offered.

Natsu rushed over. "You'll set it too cold." He turned on the shower and fiddled with the knobs. "There, that's a good temperature."

Gray reached into the cascading water. "Oww! You call that good? I'm not scrubbing your back if it's that scalding."

"Oh, come on! It's my bath."

Gray reset it and nodded in approval. Then he turned the shower head onto Natsu's skin.

"Ack! That's cold! What the hell are you doing?" the Fire Dragon Slayer screamed.

Gray laughed at the old sense of rivalry. He kissed Natsu's shoulder in apology. "Missed you."

Natsu still tried to glare, but he could not be angry. "Missed you too."

"We should both agree on a temperature."

Natsu nodded and turned the heat back on. "Is this good?"

Gray felt the water. "Too hot. Here." He adjusted the knobs again.

"That's cold!" Natsu cried out.

Gray huffed in frustration. "How are we going to do this?" he grumbled. He really wanted to shower with Natsu, but how when they could not agree on a temperature? He slowly edged the water hotter and hotter. "Here. I can handle this."

Natsu reached in and found the shower just on the side of comfortably warm. "Yeah, that's fine. So ... um..."

Gray stepped in and let the shower drench his hair. Natsu gulped as Gray stroked his fingers over his scalp, smoothing back his raven hair. He looked so damn sexy with his hair slicked like that. Natsu was stunned by the sight of Gray's toned body and rivulets of water streaming over his muscles. Then a hand reached out to him, and Gray smiled invitingly. Natsu hesitantly took the chilly fingers and was pulled into the water. The magnetic glass shower door clinked closed behind him, and steam quickly built up. They stood, bodies touching, and gazed silently at each other as the water rained down. Natsu's eyes drifted across all of Gray's body, and his heart raced with desire.

"Turn around," Gray said softly. "I'll get your back."

It took Natsu a moment for his brain to work again, but he turned around facing the shower's glass door. He jolted at first when he felt the sponge on his skin, but as Gray rubbed the soap around, he slowly relaxed. Days of traveling melted away. The ache in his muscles from walking for so long eased with the relaxing scrub. Gray was diligent and thorough, scrubbing up into Natsu's neck, down his shoulders, all across his back, and down to his buttocks.

"Mmh, that feels good," he hummed.

Natsu felt a tug and turned. Gray continued to wash his front, sometimes using the sponge, sometimes soaping up his hands and touching directly. Natsu shivered at the touches, the water, and once in a while he felt Gray's erection brushing against him.

"Ah!" he cried out as that turgid fleshiness stroked his own. He blindly grabbed forward, just needing to hold something, but Gray hissed in pain and yanked back. When Natsu opened his eyes, he saw Gray grabbing one of the scabs.

Sadly, Natsu asked, "Your wounds aren't healed?"

"Most of them are," he frowned, rubbing out the ache. "The deeper ones might take a few more days."

Natsu eased forward to where he had grabbed. It was one of the deep punctures, and by the inflammation still around the skin, it must have been one of the wounds that got infected. He kissed it gently. Then he saw another long scratch still healing, and he kissed that one. With Gray now naked, he saw just how many of the thorn stabs and scratches were still healing. He began to kiss each one he found, working down.

"Natsu!" Gray gasped.

"I'm just kissing them," he smiled playfully. He kept working down, kissing wounds to Gray's thighs and did not stop until he reached the knees. Gray's lower legs had managed not to hit the thorns as hard. Then he remembered the truly horrible wounds, a scratch to the sensitive skin of the penis and a thorn that had stabbed Gray in the balls. "What about down there?" he asked, gazing up right in front of Gray's crotch.

He gave a disappointed sigh. "Honestly?"

"Hurts?" Natsu asked in concern.

Gray shrugged but nodded. "A lot." It had plagued him while being alone, having desires but being unable to pleasure himself without those wounds stinging.

Natsu raised back up. "All right then. I won't touch there."

Gray wished he would. Natsu's blow job before had been incredible, and he had thought so much about that fiery mouth. Now, they were both aroused, and Gray did not want to waste the opportunity. He reached down with a soap-filled hand but paused at Natsu's groin, looking deeply at him.

"Can I ... to you?"

Natsu blinked and stuttered out, "Y-yeah."

Suddenly that hand was on him, stroking Natsu, easing past the disappointment of his injury. A guttural moan shuddered out, and Natsu collapsed back so hard, the glass door popped open.

Gray laughed, pulled Natsu before he fell out of the shower, and practically slammed him against the shower tiles. He shut the magnetic door and turned back around, smiling cunningly as he reached down again, letting his soapy hand stroke the full length of Natsu's erection.

"Is it all right like this?" he asked in a low, sensual voice.

Natsu bit his lip and nodded fervently. "Mh!"

He leaned into his ear and whispered, "Is this how you like it?" Then he gave a slight twist on the top before thrusting back down.

"Ah! Gray!"

"You get so hard so quickly for me," he said slyly. "Or were you waiting for this? You wanted it. Wanted me to do ... this." His fingers stroked down, cupping his balls and tugging softly, before gripping the shaft again and stroking up.

"Do you blame me?" Natsu scoffed breathlessly. Of course he wanted it! The moment he walked into this hotel, he wanted to get Gray into the shower. The fun in the forest was not enough. He needed more!

Gray's other hand stroked up the sudsy body, rubbing circles around his pectorals, before lightly pinching his nipples. Natsu cried out and grabbed Gray hard, only to immediately let go in worry.

"Sorry!" he cried out, afraid he might reopen a wound.

"Shh," Gray smiled, not caring if those hot fingers hurt him, so long as he could figure out how to best please Natsu. He tipped his chin up, seeing the flush in his wet cheeks and hazy lust in his eyes. So beautiful!

He leaned in, pressing Natsu tight against the tile, frotting up against him, letting water wash away the soap. When Natsu did hit a deep thorn stab, Gray grabbed the hand and moved it down.

"There," he said between battling lips.

Natsu grasped on to him wherever it did not hurt. He just needed to cling onto Gray, feel him, love him, keep him close and safe. When their lips parted, he knew he probably had drool sliding down his chin, but the shower washed it away. He felt boneless and limp, defeated by those incredible touches.

"Gray," he whispered. He was willing to do anything, anything at all, just to have this feeling last.

To his surprise, Gray dropped to a knee and kissed right where Natsu's thigh met his hip, glancing up from beside the arousal. "Can I?" he asked, rubbing his cheek against the erection.

A request like that stunned Natsu. "Y- ... you want to?"

He leaned forward and kissed the flared head softly. "Yeah. I wanna."

Natsu gulped, but nodded. "O- ... k-kay," he choked out.

Gray took the base in his hand, stroking lightly, and looked at the head. "I've never done this before. Let me know if I'm doing it right or if you need it differently."

"Y-yeah," he shivered. Gray actually wanted this! Natsu honestly did not think Gray would ever agree to giving head.

"All right," Gray said with determination. "Let's try it."

Natsu felt soft lips on him, the lapping of a tongue, and then wet heat all around him. His hands clung to the tiles as his knees instantly went weak. Gray's mouth moved back and forth slowly, testing it out, experimenting with something he honestly never thought he would do in his life.

"Nngh! Ah!"

He pulled back and looked up. "Is that all right?"

"Mmh-hmm. R-really good. Don't stop!" Natsu whimpered.

Gray smirked and licked around his glans again before diving down until the cock hit the back of his throat. That was less than comfortable, but the squelched cry from Natsu was utter heaven. He tried it again, slower this time, pressing until he really thought he might gag, then slowly pulling back to the head.

"Agh! Sh-shit!" Natsu trembled. Gray only did that twice. Then he bobbed back and forth normally and stroked with his hand to cover the rest. Natsu's whole body heated up, and he felt like air was scarce in this shower. He looked down, but that almost undid him. Gray on his knees, those lips taking him in, his hand stroking his base ... it was too much!

Gray pulled back and kept stroking as he gulped saliva tainted with pre-cum. "Hey."

Natsu snapped out of his reverie. "Huh? W-what?"

He smiled seductively. "You could do a little back, y'know."

Natsu blinked. "Do what?"

Gray leaned forward and licked up the shaft. "Use me."

Now Natsu was really confused. "Use ... you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Do I have to spell it out? Rock into me. Use my mouth."

Natsu realized what he meant. "But ... I could hurt you."

He laughed arrogantly. "Not likely." He liked the ticked-off look in Natsu's eyes at that light insult. "Go on. Try it."

Natsu hesitated. Rather early on with Rei-chan, they had tried something like that, and Natsu got too aggressive. She never let him try face-fucking after that, focusing instead of curbing that blindly aggressive side. He did not want to hurt Gray, definitely not like that.

Gray kissed his tip and let his lips rest on him, waiting and more than eager. "Try it," he urged. He direly wanted to feel that same aggression Natsu showed in the tent the morning they woke up together. He wanted to let him go wild, just like that time.

Natsu hesitated, reached down, and held Gray's head, that way he would know where he needed to stop. He went slowly, thrusting his hips forward, plunging only halfway into that wet heat, and then pulling back, feeling the suction. That seemed okay, and Gray glanced up, encouraging him with his eyes. So he tried again, but this time when he pulled back, Gray sucked hard, hollowing his cheeks. Natsu felt that suction wanting to pull him back in. He instantly thrust harder, heard a slight choke, and yanked his hips back in dread.

"Oh God!" he shuddered, emotionally overwhelmed. It was so intense, and he wondered if it was true that oral sex really did feel just the same or even better than regular sex. Blushing, he realized why people called it face-fucking.

"You were just getting into it. Go on," Gray urged. He licked Natsu again and took the tip into his mouth, looking up and waiting for him.

"Gray," Natsu protested, truly worried about hurting him.

"Then how about we meet in the middle," Gray decided. "Only thrust as much as you want, and I'll go the rest, as deep as I can take it. If it's too much, I'll tap your leg three times."

Natsu nodded, "Three times," he repeated. He learned about this as well in one of Rei-chan's lessons about using safewords. The two of them never did anything that required that, but she had recommended that Natsu and Gray should come up with both oral safewords and physical ones, just in case speaking was not possible. Three taps was the signal, and he ingrained that into his head.

He felt definitely more relaxed knowing Gray had a way to tell him to back off. He wanted to figure out first how deep Gray could go before going wild on him. After all, this was the first time Gray had even sucked on a cock.

Part of Natsu realized Gray might be encouraging him in things he himself liked to do. Just how many blow jobs must he have had in the past? Maybe he was teaching Natsu through example. Did Gray ask this because he wanted to fuck Natsu's mouth later on? It made sense.

And honestly, Natsu would not mind one bit!

Well, if he wanted to do this to Natsu later, then Natsu figured it was only fair to test this out now. If he felt how Gray did it, he would know how Gray liked it.

Gray was bobbing on him again, using lips and tongue and his hand, always alternating, so that Natsu never knew what he might do next. The variety intensified the pleasure. Natsu eased back on his restraint over his instincts. His hips wanted to thrust, so he let them, but only a little. He leaned back against the tiles, a hand in Gray's hair, hips rocking, while Gray's hand pumped Natsu's cock.

It felt amazing, the water streaming down on him, tickling his skin, while Gray's mouth worked him. Natsu sometimes clutched at the hair, never too hard, just enough to keep his balance as his knees went weak. When Gray did something incredible, Natsu's fingers clenched on instinct until Gray groaned.

Natsu realized he really liked those vibrating moans.

"More?" he asked breathlessly.

To answer, Gray hummed and dug his fingers possessively into Natsu's butt cheeks, yanking him to go faster and deeper.

Natsu moaned as he felt himself finally giving in to his wild side. "Tell me. Tell me when it's too much," he panted. "You gotta tell me."

Gray hummed to let him know, and he held up a thumbs-up to show he was still good.

Natsu snagged up Gray's hair now, thrusting harder, almost wanting to push Gray to the edge of what he could stand. If he knew his limits now, he could let loose next time. Gray did pat his leg at one point, and Natsu backed off. He knew where to stop, at least.

Natsu moaned Gray's name, sometimes closing his eyes tightly and focusing just on what he was feeling, sometimes looking down and all focus on watching his cock slide in and out of that mouth. His stomach began to coil, and the hand on Gray's hair trembled.

"Gray!"

He hummed in question.

"Can I?"

There was an enthusiastic "Mmh-hmm!" and the hand working him went faster.

One hand stayed on Gray's hair, and the other grabbed behind him, clawing into the ceramic tiles. Natsu's ears filled with the sound of rushing water, rushing blood, as everything flowed within him, around him, out of him, overwhelming and intense. He felt Gray's mouth still moving and working, and he realized with surprise that he was swallowing it down. He looked down wide-eyed just in time to feel a constriction as Gray's throat gulped.

"Gray," he whispered in amazement.

Blue eyes gazed up, watery and sensual, and Natsu could not take it anymore. He collapsed right there, falling to his knees beside Gray, still struggling to catch his breath. Then he realized Gray had one hand on his own cock, trying to hide what he was doing.

"Are you touching yourself?"

"Y-yeah. Almost done."

Natsu reached around and embraced him. "Hold onto me. I won't touch since you're hurt, you know how you need it, so do it yourself, but I want to feel you. I like feeling you trembling."

He heard Gray lose his breath, and it sounded like he choked on something. "Natsu..."

Ooh, he liked that! "Go on. Touch yourself, Gray. Touch yourself for me." Holding him so closely, Natsu felt Gray's body give a shudder at his words. He could feel his left arm moving and speeding up. "Don't hold back." He breathed hotly into Gray's ear, "Let me hear you."

He let out a soft cry like pain, and he rested harder against Natsu's shoulder, so close it hurt.

"Yeah. Moan," Natsu urged. He rubbed his hands over Gray's body, looking to see where he could touch. His chest had not been too bad, so he reached between their bodies and lightly rolled Gray's nipple between his fingers.

"Ahhh!" Gray cried. He was so close, so damn close. "N-Natsu. Like ... like before."

"Before?" he asked.

Gray nodded and strained to speak. "Touch ... ass."

Natsu wondered what he was trying to say, but then he recalled. In the woods, when he had given Gray that blow job, he had ended it in a certain special way.

Natsu sucked his finger and reached behind Gray, feeling blindly until he felt his ass. He slowly pressed his finger in, and that was all it took. Gray was holding back just long enough to feel that, but at the sensation of Natsu rubbing inside, he completely fell apart. He only vague heard Natsu's voice.

"That's it. Come for me, Gray. Let me feel it."

Gray blanked out for a moment. He felt utter bliss as pressure that had built up over four days gushed out. He also felt shame. He had jerked himself off right in front of Natsu.

Natsu reached his free hand down and cupped it, catching what Gray shot out. A little shower water mixed with it, but he brought the handful of cum up, sniffing it first, then licking his hand. He just wanted to do it as a way to thank him and be equal for swallowing during the blow job. To his surprise, Gray tasted good, unlike last time. Natsu kept licking at his fingers, happily cleaning them. As Gray floated on his high, he watched Natsu licking up his mess and swore it was the hottest thing he had ever seen.

Natsu licked every bit off of his fingers. "Mm, you're actually tasty." He looked at Gray and demanded to know, "How come you taste good?"

Gray blushed slightly. "You complained last time, so I changed my diet."

Natsu's head cocked to the side in confusion. "Diet?"

Gray settled down in the shower, stretching his sore knees and resting from exhaustion. Natsu settled beside him, leaning into Gray with the shower raining down onto their legs.

"It's something Loke told me about once while we were on a mission," Gray explained, mindlessly rubbing Natsu's leg and enjoying the feel of his wet skin. "We got into talking about stuff ... y'know, guy stuff." Gray gave a sheepish shrug. "He suggested to eat more fruits and berries before the weekend so ... um ... so when I get a blow job, it ... it tastes better."

He hated telling Natsu that. He and Loke had been really close back then when they thought he was just another member of the guild. Maybe the playboy's habits rubbed off on Gray early on. He had dated or just messed around with plenty of girls, one-night stands, trolling bars for a lady and a bit of fun. They were meaningless flings, hormonal releases, nothing more.

"Oh," Natsu said, realizing the same thing Gray was thinking about. Before that injury, Natsu used to tease Gray about bouncing from girl to girl. So much had changed since then. He shoved past the awkwardness and said lightly, "Berries, huh? I've never heard of that before."

Gray was silently glad Natsu did not press into his indiscriminate past. "Well, that's what I was told. I guess it worked."

"Totally! You taste delicious," Natsu grinned.

Gray blushed and looked away. "Uh ... th-thanks. You taste pretty good, too. I was expecting it to taste like crap, considering how you reacted last time, but it wasn't that bad, just a little salty."

"Well, yours did taste like crap back then."

"Shut up! So why does a meat-guzzling idiot like you taste so good?"

"Um ... w-well, you see..." Natsu laughed awkwardly. "I forgot to bring enough money between towns, and I couldn't get jobs in the smaller villages, so I ... I've kinda been eating berries, nuts, and mushrooms for four days."

"Natsu!"

"And fish!" he shouted in defense. "I caught some fish. But ... yeah, mostly it was whatever I could forage. But hey, if berries are the trick, I'll eat more."

Gray smirked over at him and jabbed, "You just want more blow jobs."

"Well, yeah!" Natsu admitted bluntly.

Gray barked out a laugh. Damn, this boyfriend of his was too honest!

"What?" Natsu cried out defensively. "I wanna do it again. You were good."

His laughs subsided and he muttered bashfully, "Shut up."

"You were!" Natsu insisted. "You were awesome. You did that thing with your tongue and ... damn, I was struggling to hold back. It was wonderful!"

Gray looked away, wishing he could blame the hot water on the heat creeping all through his veins.

Natsu leaned over and tugged on Gray's face. It did not take much for the ice wizard to look over with a softened mouth. Their lips met, and they tasted one another in the raining shower. Natsu climbed over, sitting between Gray's legs with their knees folded up on either side of them, a wet and slippery embrace.

They pulled back with far more wetness on their lips than just the shower. Natsu's hand glided over Gray's body, looking at scabs at old scars.

"Once you heal up, I wanna blow you."

Gray's eyebrows shot up. "Don't say that!" he squawked.

"Huh? Oh, did you not like it?"

"I ... I did," he admitted awkwardly. "But don't say it so bluntly. Seriously, it sounds weird."

Natsu leaned in to lay kisses along his collar bone. "What's so weird about wanting it?"

"No, I mean ... I mean you talking like that." Natsu's mouth was distracting his brain.

"Oh?" Natsu chuckled slyly. "You mean talking dirty? Do you not like it, or..." He leaned in closer, until their chests were pressed together and he had Gray pinned to the tile wall. "...do you like it?"

A swallow got caught in Gray's throat.

"You do, right?" Natsu asked with a predatory gleam in his eyes. "You like when I talk dirty to you, saying about what I wanna do to your cock."

If he was not already softened and tired, Gray knew he would have gotten aroused from just that much. "That ... sounds weird."

"But you like it," Natsu stated boldly. "I can tell. I can smell it. You get aroused."

"Shut up," he snapped, looking away, yet after a few seconds he confessed, "Okay, maybe it's a little hot."

Natsu felt victorious for getting him to admit it. "I can talk like that more, if you like it."

Gray suddenly grabbed Natsu's hair and held it aggressively. "Only if I get to talk back."

His grin widened. "I definitely would like that."

Gray scoffed and released the hair. "Pervert." He pushed Natsu away and stood up, letting the water wash away any residue and opening his mouth to clean out the salty taste of Natsu's cum.

Natsu scrambled to his feet. "You're one to talk, smelling this aroused again just because I said I wanna suck ya."

Gray scoffed and decidedly ignored him. Natsu thought this coyness was cute. However, as Gray faced the shower head and let the water clean his groin, Natsu saw the pale back. It had received far more damage back here, and he saw some of the longer scratches were just beginning to fade from infected pinkness. He also saw where his fingers had dug into the skin. Gently, he rubbed Gray's back, looking at the wounds sadly.

"Gray." He looked serious for a moment. "Don't get hurt again on a mission."

He turned around in surprise by the demand. "You know I can't promise that."

"Then stay close to me. Always stay close," Natsu insisted. "You end up getting hurt when I'm not around."

"What a clingy boyfriend!" Gray laughed as he stepped out of the shower. "Hurry up. I'll let the hotel manager know I'll be leaving today."

Natsu said nothing else, but he looked pensive as he washed himself. The entire time he was gone, all he thought about was Gray and so many worries. Did he have money for food? Was he healing okay? Did the town get attacked while he was gone? Maybe a rampaging monster stomped all over the hotel.

Silly worries, simple worries, and outrageous worries.

Natsu stared ahead as the shower poured on him and thought about Gray's blood, both the spreading puddle of blood during that fateful fight, and the tiny dripping cuts all over Gray's body just a few days ago. Maybe he really was being clingy, but if that was what it took to make sure Gray never hurt like that again, he would tie his muffler around both of them and never let him get any further away than that.

Finally he stepped out, feeling better with fresh clothes and his hair steaming dry. Gray had packed up and looked eager to get out of the hotel where he had been stuck. As they left and walked out into the town with their traveling bags over their shoulders, Natsu reached out and grabbed Gray's hand, hardly even thinking about it, only wanting to make sure they did not get separated.

"Um, can we camp tonight?" Gray asked softly.

Natsu looked over in surprise. "Sure. That's what I had planned to do. I'm totally out of money now."

Gray nodded and admitted so quietly, only Natsu's keen ears picked it up, "I wanna sleep with you like that again."

Natsu felt heat in his cheeks, and he squeezed Gray's hand tighter, happy to hear him say that.

As they left town and struck out on the open road, both were optimistic and eager for whatever joy happened as they returned to Magnolia.