sin & sorcery

chapter 14

The sun was just pushing its way into the cabin – tiny rays of light drifting under the doorframe and through the window – when Gray started to whimper. Natsu woke immediately, body attuned to the sounds and movements, and rolled over in the bed to face Gray.

"Sweetheart," he whispered, wanting to reach out and touch Gray, but knowing better. "Hey, love, wake up. You're dreaming."

Gray's eyes remained closed and he let out a shuddering breath, hands crossed tightly over his chest, nails digging into his arms as he made another anguished sound.

Natsu sat up slowly, looking down to the end of the bed. "Esper," he whispered, patting the sheets between him and Gray. "C'mere, girl."

A large, grayish dog that looked more wolf than domesticated pet looked up at him from the end of the bed, ears perking up at her name. Her tail, which had been wrapped over her nose, began thumping happily on the blanket.

"C'mon Esper," Natsu whispered again, glancing back at Gray's pained face. "Gray needs you, girl."

Esper stood up slowly and made a low whining sound as she moved up the bed and lay down next to Gray. Gray let out a quiet sob and Esper nuzzled his cheek, pressing her entire body up against his.

Gray tensed for a moment, then he relaxed and let go of his arms, bringing his hand up to Esper's fur instead. She licked his cheek happily as he buried his face in her chest and let out a shaky breath. Natsu sat on the other side of Esper, petting the back of her head as Gray cried against her.

"Bona knabino," Gray whispered eventually, pulling back and wiping his face. Esper whined again and tilted her head, and he made a similar sound back to her, pressing their foreheads together.

"Hey, you," Natsu said softly, laying down as Esper shifted to curl up with her head on Gray's stomach. Gray kept one hand buried in her fur, petting it absently, and reached the other out to Natsu.

"Hey," Gray whispered. He glanced up at the window, sighing and dropping his head back on the pillow. "Sorry. 's early."

"It's okay," Natsu said, bringing Gray's hand to his lips and kissing it. "You wanna talk about it?"

Gray squeezed Natsu's hand tightly. "It didn't..." he hesitated, shaking his head. "Didn't make sense. Just one of those- it's all mixed up, people are wrong. Y-you were there, but it wasn't y-you, and... him."

Natsu knew that Gray was referring to Revik and he made a sad sound, wishing once again that he could have made the man suffer before he died.

"I just-" Gray took a shaky breath, looking up at the ceiling. Natsu shifted a little closer, gauging Gray's reaction before putting his head on the pillow next to Gray's. Gray brought his arm around Natsu, tucking him close and running his fingers through Natsu's hair. "Just lots of hurt," Gray said eventually. "I don't- I can't-"

"It's okay," Natsu said gently, bringing a hand down to pet Esper's head. He could feel her tail hitting him in the leg as she wagged it happily, content to be cuddled between them.

They lay like that in silence for a long time. This had been an easy one, all things considered. When they'd first come here, it had taken hours to pull Gray out of nightmares or flashbacks. They had even come to a point where Natsu had begun to think he'd done the wrong thing, taking Gray away from the only ways he knew how to cope. Out here, without the drugs or the sex or the fighting, it was just them, and Natsu didn't know how to make it better.

Then Gray found Esper. They'd been walking through the woods by the farm, trying to bring Gray down from a panicked high, when they'd heard something whining. Gray had eventually traced the sound to a wild-looking dog with its foot caught in a trap, and that moment had changed everything.