Icy Fire

Alone together

Gray glanced over to Natsu. The pink haired boy was sitting in an easy chair in front of the fire. Happy was telling him all about the job Mavis had given him. Apparently the little Exceed was to care for the library. It was hidden inside the castle and was a mess. Since Knights could just order and send back books at random. He found Levy would be helping him as well since she was a scribe mage, along with Laxus mate Freed.
The latter two where still in the hospital wing. Laxus had a broken left arm and dislocated right shoulder. He had various cuts, scrapes and bruises from protecting his knight. Freed had yet to wake. They deemed he had a concussion, but was otherwise fine.
"Natsu?" Gray asked. The dark eyes of the dragon shifter swung to look at him. "Tonight is our last night of freedom before we are forced to buckle down and learn what it means to be a dragon and a knight..." the ice mage scratched at the back of his head.
"Um, yeah?" Natsu looked confused.
"Well, uh, I was thinking, we should go into town, you know, uh, together." Gray could feel the hear on his face.
"Like a date?" Happy asked looking between the two.
"Yeah, like that. I have some money, can pay for dinner..." Gray's eyes dropped away.
"How would we get there?" Natsu asked.
"You. I mean you can fly." Gray was so startled he looked directly at the dragon shifter.
"You do know there are wards around the school that prevent the dragons from leaving the grounds?" A dry voice came from the door. The pair looked over to see Erza standing there arms folded, glaring at them.
"Oh, um, no..." Gray muttered. Erza rolled her eyes. She dropped her arms.
"Good thing you are looking at the new head of security." Natsu laughed he jumped up to hug her.
"That so cool!" He crowed. She smiled.
"If I lower the wards to let you out, and you two idiots do something stupid..." She warned.
"We won't!" Said idiots cried together.
"You better not." Erza led the way out to the field. "I'll give you two hours, you best be back or else." She demanded.
"Thank you." Natsu said. He moved away to transform. Happy stayed with Erza.
"Keep him safe. Those slavers aren't the only ones who will do whatever it takes to get a fire dragon." Erza warned Gray. The ice mage nodded. He leapt to the red dragons back, finding it a lot easier. He smirked.
Natsu flew up to the sky. 'There's a landing park right outside of the town.' Gray informed him. Natsu flew there. He landed and transformed. They stood looking anywhere but at the other for a long minute.
"Um, Natsu?" Gray asked.
"Mmm?" came a reply. Gray held out his hand, the other rubbing at the back of his head. Natsu looked at him. Gray stomped up to him and took his hand. He threaded their fingers together. Natsu looked shocked. Gray pulled him to the sidewalk.
It was just after five. There were crowds everywhere. Gray didn't say much as they threaded their way through the crowd. He would occasionally call out what direction they would change too. Natsu followed looking around. He didn't like crowds much.
In short time they came to a building with lights strung up in the trees. Inside Natsu could see families and couples sitting at tables with lights above their heads. He inched closer to Gray. Only Erza or Gildarts had ever taken him inside a place like this. Both of which were strong enough to defend him.
"Um Gray?" Natsu whispered.
"Come on, it will be ok. I promise." The dark haired ice mage smiled. The look making his handsome face brighter. Natsu was enthralled. Gray pulled him inside.
"GRRAAAYYYY!" Came a screeching cry. Gray dodged sideways and a girl with blue hair fell into the wall behind him.
"Juvia." Gray looked down at her. She had smacked her face on the wall and now had blood dripping from her nose.
"Juvia, go clean yourself up." A bored man told her. He looked up to Gray.
"Just a table for two." Gray said.
"Not in Juvia's section." They both stated together. The man led them to a secluded table behind some foliage. Their waitress came over and poured them water. Gray ordered soda and looked to Natsu to see what he would like. Natsu was looking everywhere.
"We have fire tea?" the waitress offered. The dragon shifter brought his head around to look at her wide eyed.
"You do? That's great!" He beamed.
"One of those." Gray told her. She wrote it down as she walked away.
"Natsu you have been to a restaurant before?" Gray asked. Natsu looked down.
"A few times. Once with Erza. These guys saw me and tried to pull me out the door. Erza had to stop them from kidnapping me. Then another time with Gildarts this mother used her little boy to lure me outside. She then tried to get me to go with them in a van. Gildarts had to stop them. She was feisty. Fought him pretty hard, really." Gray looked at him surprised.
"Have you ever gone into a crowded town without someone trying to kidnap you?" he asked. Natsu looked thoughtful.
"Yeah, but..." He stopped. There was a flash of bright burning red, then something encircled the boys wrist. He signed.
"It doesn't happen often."
"Is that a fire lock?" Gray looked amazed. These were suppose to hold fire dragons. Only the person who put the lock on the dragon could take it off.
"Look it here, we got ourselves a ..." the man was startled into silence. Gray had reached over, pressed a finger to the circlet around the pink haired boys wrist. Steam bloomed up from the metal. It fell away broken in half.
"Go away, this one's mine." He told the men.
"Listen here we..."
"Get out of here you treacherous scum!" The man who showed them their table rushed over. He chased the two men out of the restaurant. Natsu laughed.
"That was rather lame." He commented.
"Yeah. Good thing the owner is a friend of mine. Bad thing is his daughter is in love with me." Gray snorted.
"You're not..." Natsu began.
"Not one bit." The boys laughed together. They got their meal and talked as they ate. Natsu telling Gray the stories of him nearly getting caught. How he would have to fight to get away, or someone, mainly Erza or Gildarts showed up to help him.
Their dinner was over and Gray was watching as Natsu laughed about how Happy bit this guy's tattoo thinking it was a fish. The ice mage reached out his hand. He found the dragon shifters fingers and laced his with them. Natsu paused. He looked shocked.
Gray was leaning on his other hand, a whimsical smile on his face. "You have a nice laugh, Natsu. I like to listen to it." Natsu blushed.
"Um, I like your smile..." He muttered. The waitress came with their bill. Gray paid. He took Natsu's hand as they were walking out.
"Those guys will probably..." Natsu began. A flaming net appeared above their heads. Gray sculpted a mound of ice between it and them. He tugged Natsu out of the way. They ran together down the street.
"OK, I get it, if I want to be alone with you, I can't take you around crowds." Natsu agreed. They turned a corner nearing the park.
"I don't want to go back to the school. We still have almost an hour." Natsu cried.
"Transform, transform now, Natsu!" Gray yelled. Without looking at what the ice mage was seeing Natsu became the dragon. Gray ordered him to fly. He sent a sheet of ice under his feet to raise him up to the dragons back. Natsu winged skyward.
There was a crowd of angry looking people below them. 'It's safer at the school. We can cuddle in front of the fire, if you want?' Gray offered. Natsu breathed out stem, but agreed. He turned toward the school.
His way was blocked by two men on a dark dragon. Another dragon was coming up under it. Natsu dove, twisting away. He felt something hit his shoulder. He winced but he could still fly.
"Call for help, there's more!" Gray ordered. Natsu wasn't sure who to call. He never called for help before. Yet, the image of the white dragon and his shadow filtered into the fire dragons mind. As did that of his friend.
Natsu fought to remain on course with the school. Yet more people on dragons were showing up. They all head nets or fire dragon capturing devices. This was definitely an organized group. They had done this before. Yet none of them expected the three dragons flying up behind them. One carrying the red-haired girl with a flaming sword.
Gray was freezing anything that came near the fire dragon.
"How is an ice mage flying on a fire dragon?" Someone called out. The net in his hand was ripped through by a flaming sword.
"Get to the school." Erza yelled. Natsu swung back around after dodging the dark dragon.
'Natsu, stay close to me.' Gajeel voice echoed in his head. Suddenly none of the nets or capturing devices were coming anywhere near the dragons.
"Got it!" Levy cried as words appeared before her hand. They faded as Natsu watched. The opposing dragons fell back. He knew he crossed over the wards into the school. He landed.
"I can't even take you off of the grounds for a date!" Gray fumed.
"I'm sorry." Natsu hung his head. The dark mage shoved his chin up.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I just didn't realize..." He let his voice trail away as he pressed his lips to the soft pink ones of his dragon shifter.