Chapter Eleven

★ Gray's POV ★

I had to say, Natsu and I made a good team.

Usually I was unlucky enough to get stuck with a partner that slacked off on their share of work, so this was a refreshing change. When we buckled down and got everything planned out, we finished the presentation and nearly perfected the layout in just under an hour.

As Natsu tweaked the citations for the bibliography, I sat on the edge of my bed and admired the world outside. The sun would be setting soon, which meant nighttime, and that meant Angel would be returning to my roof shortly. I tried to fight the forming blush on my face and bit my lip. Itchy to busy myself with something other than thinking about Angel, I stepped towards my bookshelf and grabbed my vintage camera.

"Hey, Natsu," I said suddenly, raising the camera up to my eye. Through the viewfinder I saw Natsu raise his head up and give me a strange look. "Smile."

"Why are you taking a picture?" He asked.

"Because I want to, obviously," I lowered the camera some so he could see my obnoxious eye roll. He laughed at that remark, and I took that as the perfect moment to snap the photo, keeping my hands steady as to not make the photo blurry. Natsu scowled when he heard the shutter click and returned back to what he was doing.

I set the camera and photo down on my nightstand and crossed the room, staring out the window again. Outside was a view of our tiny backyard and the woods that lay behind it. I had fond memories of exploring those woods when my family first moved to this house, and they made me feel happy. I remembered one day in particular; it had just rained but I wanted to go play by the stream. When I returned home, I trekked mud on the downstairs floor right after my mother had just mopped. I still remember her face of pure horror as she saw me covered in dirt and flashing my gapped teeth in a smile. Upon the resurface of the memory, I couldn't help but grin.

The whirring sound of the camera shutter brought me out of my nostalgic reverie. I looked at Natsu, who was holding the camera up to his face. He brought it down, smirking at me. "What's that look for?" He raised his eyebrows. "It's only fair, you know."

Rolling my eyes yet again, I took the undeveloped Polaroid and put it next to mine. The pictures would colorize in about fifteen minutes; until then I willed myself to focus on finishing the rest of my homework. I knelt down and pulled out my Physics textbook, then found my notebook and a pencil before flopping on the bed again.

"You're in Physics?" Natsu asked with a hint of envy in his voice.

I nodded as I flipped to chapter eleven, Vibrations and Waves. I had already started taking notes in the last few minutes of class, so I picked up where I left off. The acceleration of a simple harmonic oscillator is zero whenever the oscillating object is at the equilibrium position...

"I have no idea what that means," Natsu said, pointing to the words I just scribbled down.

"It's saying the object is going to omit a certain force that is proportional to the displacement, which is the change over an interval of time, but only in the equilibrium position," I tried to explain, the concept being fuzzy myself.

Natsu looked dejected. "Man, I'm stupid. Stuck in a freshman science class. Biochemistry is so easy."

"Why are you in a freshman science class?" I remembered from his first day that I showed him to his science class, yet it didn't occur to me why he was in that particular course.

Natsu stared at his lap, looking mildly humiliated. "I... Well, I've never been to an actual school before," He mumbled, so quietly I almost didn't hear him. "I tried to keep up with the curriculum the best I could, but it's different here."

"So, you were homeschooled?" I filled in the rest.

"Something like that," Natsu got even quieter. He looked upset, and I definitely didn't want to say the wrong thing and make him cry, so I shut up and looked for a way out of this conversation. Luckily, I was saved by the attic trap door opening and Ultear's voice shouting from the second floor.

"Gray! Mom wants to know if your friend is staying for dinner!" She yelled, voice echoing loudly up into the attic.

I looked at Natsu expectantly, waiting for his answer. After a moment's thought, he shrugged one shoulder, as if to say Sure, why not?

"Yeah, he is!" I shouted back.

"Great, now come set the table!" Ultear demanded.

"It's Thursday! That means it's your job!" I reminded her. I could practically see her crossing her arms defiantly.

"Thursday is your night, you dipwad!" Ultear corrected. I huffed in annoyance and was grateful to hear her footsteps become quieter as she walked away.

"Looks like I have to go help out," I said apologetically, jerking my thumb towards the trap door. "You can stay up here if you want, I'll come back and get you in a sec-"

"I'll come help too," Natsu cut me off, shutting the computer, setting it gently to the side (quite different from my usual careless toss) and sliding off the bed. "I don't mind."

"Thanks, Natsu," I beamed at him, and he averted his eyes away, hiding his face with his hair. We headed down the ladder and Natsu waited for me to push it back up into the ceiling. Then I led him downstairs and we headed towards the kitchen, already hearing the bustling sounds of dinner being made.

"Ah, he returns from his cave," My dad, Silver, joked upon noticing my arrival. He looked up from where he was stirring a pan of green string beans, which sizzled loudly on the stovetop. I snorted at his remark.

"Everyone, this is Natsu," I introduced Natsu, who looked like he wanted the ground to cave in and swallow him whole, removing him from existence forever. He waved meekly at everyone, squeaking out a soft "Hello." "He's my new friend from school."

"Hi, honey," My mother, Mika, smiled at him warmly. "I hope you like homemade macaroni and cheese. We always have it on Thursday nights, because my daughter has Aikido at 7." I could tell that my mom was trying to make Natsu feel more at home by casually conversing with him, but Natsu was practically shaking as he tried to respond.

"A-Aikido?" He stuttered. "That's cool." From her spot at the table, Ultear beamed with pride.

"Gray, can you get plates for everyone?" Mom turned her attention back to her cooking as she mixed together the melted cheese with the macaroni shells on the stove. I moved swiftly towards the plate cabinet and grabbed six, dishing them out on the table. After that, I did the same thing with forks and knives.

"Looks like we're going to need another chair," I mumbled to myself.

"We can use this!" Lyon rushed over to the kitchen island, where he grabbed a stool and pushed it towards one end of the table. "Problem solved."

After a few minutes of chaos, dinner was on the table. The night's meal consisted of sliced kielbasa, macaroni and cheese, and salted green beans, which were three very delicious foods. Lyon tried to eat immediately after he piled food on his plate, but Mom glared at him, muttering something about waiting for the guest to get his food first. Natsu took small amounts of everything at first, but when he tasted that first bite of macaroni, his eyes practically sparkled.

"This is so good!" He practically shouted. When he realized how loud his outburst was, he blushed and shrunk down in his chair a bit.

"Really?" Mom looked embarrassed. "It's just macaroni and cheese, it's nothing special..."

"No, no!" Natsu disagreed with her. "This is amazing!" He took another large bite, barely chewing it before swallowing it. He smiled gleefully, and I couldn't help but smile as well.

"I'm glad you like it, Natsu," Mom flushed with happiness. "How is everyone else liking the meal?" A chorus of affirmative hums and 'thank you's from the rest of the family confirmed her cooking as above satisfactory.

"So, Gray, have you and Natsu gotten a good portion of your homework done for the night?" Dad piped up after taking a sip of his ice water.

"We finished our English project and I got a lot of my Physics notes done," I explained. "I just have a math worksheet and some Japanese Literature reading to do now. Nothing too stressful."

"And you, Natsu?"

"Same for me, sir. I don't have much homework tonight, so I just need to study for my upcoming science quiz," Natsu answered politely.

"I'm sure you'll do great on that," Mom encouraged him with a supportive smile.

"Thank you, ma'am," Natsu blushed, staring at his plate of (now almost empty) food. He reached for seconds after finishing off the rest, and I learned that Natsu was a heavy eater.

Dinner continued on smoothly, and for once I didn't want to gouge my eyes out with my fork because of my siblings' incessant bickering. Dinner tasted better than usual, too. It must've been because I was in a good mood. Yeah. That was it.

By the time seven rolled around, the rest of us had to clean up while Mom dropped off Ultear at Aikido. Lyon didn't complain about washing dishes, which I knew was only because we had a guest and he wanted to seem cool in front of him. I made a mental note to have Natsu over more often; if he was all it took to have a peaceful house, he was welcome over any time he pleased.

Natsu himself had no problem helping out cleaning. After he scraped off all the plates into the trash, he offered to dry plates while I wiped off the table and kitchen counters with a sponge.

"Thank you for your help, Natsu," Dad thanked him as he put away the dried plates.

"Hey! What about Gray and me?" Lyon insisted, frowning.

"Well, you and Gray have to help. Natsu doesn't have to, so it's kind of him to assist us," Dad explained to him, ruffling his hair. Lyon swatted his hands away playfully and went back to scrubbing the remnants off the macaroni and cheese pot.

"It's no problem, really," Natsu said quietly, avoiding Dad's approving smile. He gave me a knowing look and I shook my head furiously. He raised his eyebrow, smirking. After checking that Natsu wasn't looking, I made a slicing motion across my throat and furious hand motions to deny his silent accusation.

Dad hummed and finished putting away the rest of the cups. "Natsu, do you have a girlfriend?" He asked out of the blue. A small gasp left Natsu's mouth and he dropped the plate he was holding on the floor. If we hadn't owned plastic plates, it would've shattered to pieces.

"O-oh," He blushed, kneeling down to pick up the plate. "I'm so sorry."

"No biggie," Dad waved him off, casting a look at me. My eyes widened and I mouthed the words Cut it out! He didn't listen, and posed the question again. "So, do you?"

"Um, no sir," Natsu mumbled, hands shaking as he quickly handed him the plate to put away. "No g-girlfriend for me. Haha," He started to laugh nervously, tripping over his words. He gave me a look, like a desperate plea to get him out of here.

"Dad, leave him alone," I muttered, annoyed. "Sorry, Natsu. He's really nosey."

"Sorry that I prefer to get to know my son's friends," Dad feigned hurt. "So, what does your family do, Natsu?"

Even on a much more reasonable topic, Natsu still looked freaked out. I felt bad for him. I wondered if he had social anxiety. "Both of my parents are, uh, accountants," He responded quickly, and immediately cringed, but I hardly noticed.

"Interesting..." Dad mused.

"Well, I think I need to be getting home," Natsu piped up suddenly, folding the towel he was holding into quarters and putting it neatly by the sink. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Fullbuster. See you tomorrow, Gray."

"Don't forget your things," I pointed upstairs, reminding him before he walked out without his backpack.

"Ah, right, of course," Natsu flushed before taking off out of the kitchen and thundering up the stairs.

"He's a strange one," Dad whispered to me. He didn't sound judgmental, only amused, so I assumed it to be an okay thing.

"He sure is," I agreed, chuckling.

"I mean," Dad leaned against the counter, crossing his arms across his chest. "Who wears two jackets indoors, anyway?"

I didn't have a legitimate answer to the question, so I shrugged. "Natsu does, apparently."

We waited in silence for Natsu to come back downstairs. After a minute, he returned, footsteps growing louder as he stumbled down the steps. "Thank you again. Have a good night." Natsu ducked his head in respect, then headed for the door. I walked him out, waving and watching him walk away until he got further and further down the sidewalk, eventually turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

I shut the door and locked it with the chain, hissing out a sigh. "I'm going to go finish my homework," I called to my dad, who was now sitting in his chair in the living room, reading the Wednesday newspaper.

"Did you see the headline yesterday?" He held up the newspaper for me to see. "Starlight City's Angel Saves the Day Once Again. Apparently a robbery of the ten million dollar Oceanic Pendant was attempted but he got there before the culprit got away. It looks like the robber's going to do ten years in prison, since he was armed and this isn't his first offense."

The photo on the cover page was of Angel and the police captain together. Angel had an uncomfortable, forced smile on his face. He probably didn't like having his face in the press. Still, he looked hot. And slightly sweaty. I forced myself to look away.

"That's great, Dad," I agreed.

"What's great is we have such a wonderful superhero like The Black Angel watching over us. I'm not sure how our city would still be functioning without him in the shadows, protecting us civilians."

I was already walking upstairs and climbing the ladder up into my room, but I still heard his voice loud and clear. He didn't know it, but I was sold at wonderful.

When I returned to my bedroom, I moved my Physics homework to my desk and sat down after raising up the trap door. I couldn't focus on what I was writing down, however, because my eyes kept flickering back to my window, expectantly waiting for Angel to return like he promised. As night fell and the minutes ticked on my old wall clock, I stood up from my desk and paced my room nervously, unable to keep still.

I tried to calm my nerves by collapsing on my bed and closing my eyes, breathing slowly. I allowed the heaviness of my day push me down into a state of semi-consciousness and relax.

When I heard the thump of a landing on the roof, loud enough for me to hear but not to alert the rest of my family, I jumped in surprise and knocked over the things on my nightstand with a spastic flick of my arm. The Polaroid photo of Natsu fluttered to the ground, and I looked at it for a quick moment when I picked it up. It developed nicely, with him in mid-laugh. I liked it because even though he knew I was taking the photo, his smile was still genuine. I looked for the one he took of me, but I couldn't find it.

However, I didn't have the time to think of how or why it was missing, because the flash of a wing by my window and a knock on the glass made me scramble to my feet again.

The Black Angel had arrived.