i will burn for the things i love

1. inferno

A/N:This is actually an "alternate version" of the scene in 100-Year-Quest when they fight Mercuphobia and {spoilers} Ignia shows up to set everything on fire. You don't need to have read it for this to make sense, though!

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Everything was on fire.

To be fair, that wasn't anything new. Quests with Natsu generally ended with something up in flames, and as much as Gray hated to admit it, it was usually effective. But this was something entirely different.

This time, Natsu was out of control, and Gray didn't know how to stop him.

"What's going on?" Lucy shouted, backing away from the flames that roared around Natsu. The water god dragon's enormous body lay at Natsu's feet, stretching through the blackened ruins of the village. "We got him, why's Natsu still..." Lucy trailed off, gesturing at Natsu's strange form. "...like that?"

Gray didn't answer – all he could do was stare. A cold, uncomfortable feeling crept through him as he stared at Natsu's sharp teeth and bright scales and dark claws. He looked monstrous; an unholy dragon with eyes like a demon.

Natsu, Gray thought desperately, swallowing down the fear that was turning to bile in his stomach. Come back. Please don't make me fight you again.

They both had scars from their last battle – scars that were still healing the first time Natsu had kissed Gray.

"I've never seen him like this," Erza shouted, raising her arm to protect her face from the ash that flew through the air around them. Tiny sparks jumped from Natsu's flaming form, hitting the ground and flaring up again before dissipating. "He doesn't even recognize us."

"It was that... whoever he was talking to," Gray said, staring up at the sky where the person – dragon? – had disappeared. It had looked like Igneel at first, but that was impossible. Gray had held Natsu after Igneel died; they had cried together, collapsing with the exhaustion of loss and grief. Igneel was gone.

But a dragon had appeared, and Natsu had eaten its flames, and now something was very, very wrong.

Another burst of flame erupted from Natsu as he tipped his head back and roared at the sky. Gray barely had time to throw up an ice barrier between Natsu and the rest of the group, and it melted almost immediately.

"You guys have to go," Gray said, turning to the group. "I'm the only one that can get close to him, I'll try to talk him down."

"He's too strong, you're going to get hurt." Wendy's eyes were wide as she stared over Gray's shoulder. "We should—"

"I can stop him," Gray interrupted, shaking his head. "Get out of here." Erza looked like she was going to argue, but Gray shook his head. "He'd never forgive himself if he hurt you guys," he insisted.

And I don't want you watching if I have to hurt him, he thought.

"Gray's right," Erza said eventually. "At this rate he's going to burn down the whole city." She grabbed Gray's hand and squeezed it gently. "Be careful," she said, before taking Lucy and Wendy's arms and guiding them away.

Gray waited until they were a safe distance away before turning back to face Natsu. Tornadoes of flame were raging out of control around him, burning through buildings like kindling and leaving only ash in their wake.

Black, inky tendrils crawled across Gray's skin, reacting to the darkness in Natsu's eyes. Gray squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the marks away.

Natsu wasn't a demon, and Gray wasn't going to slay him.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted as he stepped forward. The heat pulsing from Natsu was even more intense than the flames had been before – Gray could feel his skin blistering even through the thick layer of ice he'd surrounded himself with. "Natsu, stop it! Look at me, you're gonna hurt someone!"

Natsu just snarled at him – a guttural, inhuman sound that made Gray's teeth hurt. Natsu's eyes were dark and wild, fingertips stained with a strange darkness that slowly crept up his forearms. He looked unholy in the midst of the inferno – flickering light reflecting off his dark skin.

"C'mon, love," Gray said gently, taking another step forward. Natsu snarled at him, sharp teeth flashing against the flames around them. His scales were spreading, further than Gray had ever seen them before – Natsu was almost completely covered in shards of iridescent red and orange.

If it wasn't so destructive, Gray would have found it beautiful.

The heat around him intensified and Gray winced, putting both arms up in front of his face to shield himself. His heart pounded, sweat trickling down the back of his neck, ice around him melting quicker than he could create it.

"Have to burn it," Natsu rasped as flames licked up his arms. The heat pouring off him was almost unbearable, and Gray grit his teeth against the pain as he pushed forward again. "Burn it to ash."

"No, you don't," Gray insisted between coughs. His lungs burned and every breath was a wheezing gasp that nearly dropped him to his knees. "It's over, you got him. We got him. You can stop now."

"No!" Natsu shouted, and the flames on his arms sparked, turning darker until they were nearly black. "Ashes. All of it, has to..."

Before Natsu could continue, Gray dashed forward, grabbing both Natsu's wrists and pulling him close. It was like grabbing hot coals, burning into his flesh, and Gray bit down on the scream bubbling in his throat.

"Stop," Gray begged, gagging on the scent of scorched flesh. It hurt more than anything he'd felt before – a sharp, searing pain that ripped through his arms and down his bare chest, tearing away pieces of him and leaving nothing behind but blackened skin. "Stop, Natsu, please. It's me. C'mon, look at me."

Natsu's arms shook beneath Gray's hands, and Gray could see a flicker of recognition in the dark of Natsu's eyes.

"There you go," Gray gasped through the smoke. "C'mon, love. Come back to me."

Slowly, Gray let go of one of Natsu's wrists and brought his hand up to Natsu's face. His blistered fingers trailed over the dragon scales as he cupped Natsu's cheek, then leaned in and pressed their foreheads together.

If Gray was going to die, he would happily burn for Natsu.

"I love you," Gray said, then pulled Natsu closer and kissed him.