Natsu and Gray: Another Love Story

Chapter Nine: Cravings

"Five tickets to Magnolia please!" Erza asks the man in the ticket booth in a chipper voice as she hands him a large bill. His eyes grow wide as he stares at it before opening his cash drawer and counting out her change.

"Here you go ma'am," the man says nervously as he hands back a thick stack of Jewels. Erza pulls out a large bill from the stack and slides it to the man and winks.

"Keep spending money like that and you'll be broke in no time," Gray informs Erza as she prances back to the group and hands everyone their ticket.

"I want to spend my money making people happy and living lavishly," Erza says, her lips pouting and a far away look in her eye. "Besides, what else am I going to spend it all on? What are you planning on spending your share on?"

"Me? I'm thinking of saving it. How often have we ran into money problems. What about you, Natsu?" Gray asks, squatting down next to Natsu who looks like he is about to throw up.

"Right now, I'd pay someone to knock me out."

"You're stomach upsetting you that bad?" Gray asks worriedly as he brushes a lock of Natsu's hair out of his face. Natsu nods and leans against Gray as he holds his stomach.

"I could also go for some food..." Natsu looks up at Gray hopefully with a pleasing look in his eyes.

Gray rolls his eyes and stands up. "Yes, princess," He says teasingly. "Would you like... some fire? I see a nice hot tiki torch over there."

"No. I want..." Natsu's stands and sniffs the air, his nose pulling him in different directions. "That!" He exclaims as he grabs Gray's hand and pulls him to a nearby restaurant. Natsu walks up to the buffet and sniffs, following a delicious smell. "That's what I want," he says, point at a tray of food.

Gray rubs his neck nervously and gives Natsu an unsure smile. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes!"

"Okay... Can I get a to go order please?" Gray asks, motioning to what Natsu picked out.

Natsu and Gray walked out of the restaurant and back to where they had left the others, Natsu holding his box of food and drooling at just the smell. "What'd you get?" Lucy asks as Natsu plops down and starts shoving his face full. Natsu chews slowly as he tries to remember what it's called. He gives up and just shrugs and continues shoveling more into his mouth. Lucy walks over to him and pulls the lid back and gives him a questioning look. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. I'm actually feeling better."

"He knows he's eating broccoli, a vegetable, right?" Lucy asks, turning to Gray, hoping he had an answer to Natsu's strange behavior.

"I dong care what it is!" Natsu says, his mouth full of food and trying to shove more in. "It tastes good and that's all that matters!"

Erza walks over and grabs a piece of broccoli and pops it in her mouth. She instantly spits it out onto the ground and requips into her Heaven's Wheel armor and destroys the place where it landed. "That vial filth! It's not even cooked!"

"WHAT?! How can you of all people be eating that?"

"I don't know," Natsu replies as he shrugs his shoulders and takes another bite. "I'm just craving it I guess."

"Would you at least like some fish with it?" Happy asks, pulling a cooked salmon from his sack and holding it out to Natsu, who turns his nose away.

"Get that away from be before I throw up!" He shouts, as his stomach lurches.

Lucy squints at Natsu and shakes her head. "Something's wrong with you, Natsu."

"What's wrong with eating broccoli?!"

"Okay, can we leave him alone?" Gray asks as he swoops in next to Natsu and holds him protectively. "But when we get back, I want Porlyusica too have a look at you, okay?" Gray asks with pleading eyes.

"Natsu sighs. "How can I say no to that," he says, grabbing the back of Gray's head and pulling him into a kiss.

"Can you two wrap it up?" Erza asks with a wink as she starts pulling her luggage cart towards the train track. "Our train is pulling in."