With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty

Chapter 54

Gray couldn't shake the weirdness of his massive lunch. He normally didn't eat that much—ever. Was he just unusually hungry today, or was something actually wrong?

"You really ate that much?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow as Gray told him about the meal later that afternoon.

"Yeah. It was weird. I've never eaten so much food in my life," Gray said, arms crossed. "You think I'm getting sick or something?"

"Doubt it. Sick people usually lose their appetite. You'd just puke it all up," Natsu said with a shrug. "Besides, I eat like that all the time and I'm perfectly fine."

"Yeah? Give your cholesterol another fifteen years."

Natsu snorted. "Look, it's probably just your tiger DNA kicking in. You've always eaten like a bird—ever since we were kids. But now? That's not enough for your mutant side. It needs more protein. It's no big deal."

Gray frowned, still unsure. "I guess you're right. I didn't really think anything was wrong. I was just humoring Juvia. She was kinda freaked out when she saw how much I ate. Thought I was starving myself or something."

"Oh, so Juvia went to lunch with you?" Natsu asked, a sly grin forming.

"Yeah. So?"

"So... you went on a date with her."

"No," Gray said flatly. "I did not. She came up to me to share some big news. I was already heading to lunch and invited her to join me. That's not a date."

"But you wanted it to be a date," Natsu teased.

"Shut up."

"You like her. I know you do."

"Shut up, Natsu."

Natsu leaned back, grinning like a cat who'd just cornered a mouse. "So what's stopping you? I mean, I know what's keeping me from Lucy—it's the fact that she doesn't like me that way. I mean, sure, she likes a part of me, but let's face it—that part of me can't exactly go on a date with her."

Gray rolled his eyes but said nothing, so Natsu pressed on.

"But Juvia? She's practically over the moon for you. The real you. So why not go for it?"

"Okay. Number one—she's the sister of my boss. If we ever broke up, I'd probably get fired."

"Fair."

"Number two—if I admitted I liked her, that'd mean one of Aunt Ur's blind dates actually worked. Her ego would skyrocket, and I'd never hear the end of it."

Natsu chuckled. "Also fair."

"And number three—the big one—she's just a friend. That's all."

"Oh please," Natsu scoffed. "You were slack-jawed the minute you first saw her."

"So were you," Gray shot back.

"Yeah, but only because I couldn't believe someone who looked like that was related to Gajeel."

"Same."

"No you weren't."

"Yes I was."

"No you weren't."

"Yes I was."

Natsu gave him a smug look. "Then why do you take pictures of her?"

"For Ur's sake," Gray said quickly. "She likes Juvia. She didn't get to see her at that charity event, and she wanted some keepsakes from the play. That's all."

Natsu raised a skeptical brow. "Sure." He let the sarcasm drip like syrup.

"And what about when you spied on her date with Lyon?"