A Family With You

Gratsu Bingo 201
Gratsu Week 2019
Prompt: Pet

A Family With You

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima

Gray walked beside Natsu as they made their way back from an unexpectedly successful mission. No town had been destroyed, Natsu had listened to their plan and for once actually followed it perfectly. They'd received the full reward for their work. As Lucy and Erza walked ahead of them, happily discussing how they were going to spend the jewels they'd earned Gray couldn't help but worry about his boyfriend.

Natsu just hadn't been himself since Happy had passed away, and Gray had to admit there was a Happy shaped hole in his heart as well. The Exceed had been a large part of both their lives from the moment he'd hatched when they were young. He'd been a constant companion to Natsu, helping him get over such things as Lisanna's loss, and finding out that not only was he Zeref's younger brother but also the most powerful demon ever created, E.N.D.

Happy had always had a smile at the ready or a prank, and only he was capable of getting Natsu into even more trouble than Gray ever could. But he'd also been a great friend, a good listener who never judged, even though they'd all learned to suffer through his "You looooooooooooooooove him" taunts. They all missed him.

But of course, none of them had shared as strong of a bond with him as Natsu had and for someone who had already lost so much in his life this most recent loss was almost enough to send him over the edge.

Gray sidled over to his boyfriend and grabbed his hand as they walked, something he didn't often do. Even though they'd been together for years now, and there were probably few people left in Magnolia who weren't aware of the fact that the Salamander and the Ice Prince of Fairy Tail were an item, Gray still didn't like to bring attention to their relationship. It was something he cherished, and he preferred to only expose that side of himself to his lover in the privacy of their home.

Natsu looked over at Gray and gave him a small smile before going back to staring straight ahead.

Not one to give up easily, Gray decided to step it up a notch.

"How about we go away somewhere when we get back, just the two of us?" Gray asked, squeezing Natsu's hand, "We could go to Akane Beach or anywhere you want."

He peered at Natsu's reaction, hoping to see a flicker of excitement in the otherwise distant mage. Given how destructive they both were, they rarely had extra jewels to do something as extravagant as going away on vacation.

Gray could almost picture it, the two of them frolicking on the beach during the day, and making love at night. In his daydream, they had a private bungalow of some sort where they could give voice to their passion without anyone hearing them. Who knew, if things went well he might even get his act together and finally propose like he'd been meaning to.

When Gray finally came out of his daydream, he realized Natsu was openly staring at him, a slight smile peeking at the corner of his lips.

"That might be nice," Natsu agreed, and although his enthusiasm was nowhere near what Gray had hoped for, when Natsu squeezed his hand back, Gray was satisfied. They walked hand in hand until they reached the outskirts of Magnolia.

Xxx

They'd talked about their vacation a few times, but something always seemed to come up to keep them from going. Bit by bit Natsu seemed to be getting back to normal, his appetite was returning, and his infectious grin had made an appearance a few times.

But it wasn't until the day that Gray suggested they go for a hike in the woods that he finally saw glimpses of the old Natsu. They had, of course, turned it into a competition because anything else was boring.