#gratsuwinter2020

The longing in Natsu’s eyes made it clear that the kids weren’t the only ones who had been looking forward to it. To his credit, he did try to shift his focus back to studying, staring at the problem he was supposed to solve for about five minutes before his eyes strayed back to the window again.

“Fine, fine, you win,” Gray sighed, realizing any further attempts would be pointless and that Aki would probably love to go out with Atlas and Hana in the snow. “Let’s go play.”

He snorted when his words were immediately met with cheers and dazzling smiles.

“Are you sure?” Natsu asked, “I know I can get this if I keep at it.”

“There’s no point. Your mind’s clearly out there,” Gray shrugged. “We can take a break for one day. It won’t mess up anything. Besides, how can you expect me to say no to those faces?” He nodded towards the kids, who were staring at them with big, pleading eyes, bouncing on their feet in anticipation. “I guess you’re right,” Natsu chuckled and closed his math book as he got up. He stretched his arms above his head, causing his shirt to ride up and expose part of his abdomen, and now it was Gray’s turn to be distracted.

Hana dashed to the coat closet to grab her winter gear and put it on, all the while telling them all the things she wanted to do once they got outside.

“Do you have stuff for Aki?” Natsu asked, his lips twitching at Hana’s running commentary. “I think Erza got two sets for Atlas. He’s welcome to borrow one.”

“Nah, I’ve got his stuff in the car. I’ll be right back.”

Gray put on his jacket and went outside, stopping briefly to collect some of the snow that had accumulated on the steps into his gloved hand and examining it, grinning when he saw how well it stuck together. Perfect snow for playing, fluffy and wet.

He felt his own excitement build. Winter had always been his favorite season, and some of his fondest memories were of playing in the snow with his parents and Rogue once he was a bit older. They’d had snowball fights, built snowmen, collapsed on the snow to make angels, and careened down ever higher hills on sleds for hours, returning home to hot cocoa and cookies as their mom complained that their lips were a worrying shade of blue.

Gray still treasured those memories and looked forward to doing some of those things with Aki now that he was old enough. He rushed back inside, beginning the long process of bundling his son up into his winter gear.

Thankfully Atlas was there to distract him, chattering excitedly as Natsu got him ready. It was only when both boys were dressed that Gray shifted his attention.

“Are you sure you don’t want to put anything else on?” Gray mocked, amused by the ridiculous amount of clothing Natsu was wearing. Snow pants tucked over his snow boots, a padded jacket, the checkered scarf he often wore, a balaclava under a woolen hat, and thick gloves.

“It’s cold,” Natsu shrugged, then looking him over, he urged, “Shouldn’t you get ready? The kids are getting impatient.”

“I am ready, Sunshine.”

Natsu gaped at him, or so Gray imagined since the only part of his face that he could really make out was his eyes.

“You can’t be serious. You’re going to freeze!”

“And you call me a princess? I hate to break it to you, but it’s not even that cold. I’ve got gloves and my jacket. I’m good.” He opened the door that led to the backyard and walked out with Aki and Atlas following close behind. Hana dashed past him in a purple blur.

Snow continued to fall, although the heaviest part of the storm seemed to be over, and Gray stuck his tongue out, trying to catch snowflakes as he’d done when he was little and smiling at the familiar tingle.

Gray thought he saw Natsu staring at him, but it was too brief for him to be sure. He shrugged it off, switching his attention to the boys and chuckling at their antics. Atlas had lain down on the snow and was rolling himself around, turning into a human snowball as more and more snow stuck to him while Natsu somehow managed to take pictures on his phone.

Aki was busy alternating between admiring the snow that stuck to his mittens with an awed expression and giggling at the crunching noise his boots made when he moved, causing Gray’s heart to swell. He quickly took a few pictures to show his parents and walked over to encourage him to play with the others.

He stopped short when he saw the misshapen blob that Hana and Natsu were cobbling together.

“What is that supposed to be?”

“What do you mean? It’s a snowball, obviously.” Natsu held up his creation with a lot more pride than it deserved.

“That thing has no business calling itself a snowball,” Gray scoffed, “It’s going to fall apart in the air long before it hits anything.”

“Will not.”

“Oh yeah? Go ahead, throw it at me.”

Natsu hurled the snowball, but Gray didn’t even bother moving, and just as he expected, it never hit.

"Told you," he said smugly and squatted down to grab some snow off the ground, skillfully shaping it into an almost perfect ball. "My turn," he flashed a wicked grin and threw the snowball, watching with childish glee as it soared through the air and hit Natsu square in the face.

“Hey, no fair, you’re not supposed to throw them in people’s faces,” Natsu protested, wiping the snow off his face with his glove.

“I figured you wouldn’t even feel it through all that padding,” he teased, making no effort to apologize. “That’s what a real snowball feels like.”

“How’d you get it to pack like that?”

“Here, let me show you, and then we can have ourselves a real fight,” Gray offered before Natsu could get it into his head to retaliate. “You too, Hana.”

He cupped some snow between his hands, rotating them slowly to help fuse the snow together. “You just gotta make sure to press down firmly when you rotate your hands. That packs the snow in real good and keeps it from falling apart midair.”

Hana and Natsu watched eagerly as he explained, imitating his actions. Their first efforts were pretty pitiful.

“Just keep at it. Those already look better,” he encouraged, “ You’ll know you’re doing it right when you can stack them up.”

He noticed Aki gazing at the trees with interest and picked him up, walking over towards the nearest one so his son could touch one of its branches, delighting at his laugh when the snow came down. Gray kissed Aki’s chubby cheek and whispered, “I love you, kiddo.”

“I did it!”

Hana’s exalted cry was cut short as the stack of snowballs she’d worked so hard on toppled over when Atlas attempted to grab one.

“Hey!” she started to protest, but whatever expression Atlas had on his face changed her mind, causing her to dissolve into giggles instead.

The sound of Hana’s laughter drew Aki’s attention, and he wiggled in Gray’s arms, wanting to be put down to go investigate what his friends were up to.

Gray obliged, watching as Hana and Natsu created stacks of snowballs for Atlas to topple, and when Aki joined in, he began to make some as well, amused by how easily the two boys were entertained. After a bit, Natsu changed up the game, showing them how to stack the snowballs instead.

He had to admit that his friend was pretty good with kids, which was probably not a huge surprise, considering he seemed to be a big kid himself. It made Gray wonder what parenting might have been like if he’d been married to someone like that.

He analyzed Natsu’s backyard, trying to distract himself from any thoughts of his ex. He was soon struck with an idea.

“Hey Natsu, you got any snow shovels?”

“Yeah, hang on.”

Natsu waddled over to the small shed that sat on their driveway, returning with two adult shovels and two child-sized ones. “What do you have in mind?”

“How do you feel about putting a small sledding hill in for the kids?”

“I think it’s a great idea, just surprised you came up with it, “ Natsu’s eyes crinkled, and Gray could easily visualize the accompanying grin underneath the balaclava. “I bet I can shovel more snow than you, though.”

“In your dreams, Squinty Eyes.”

They decided on an area and began shoveling snow into a large pile and packing it down while Hana kept the boys entertained.

“Getting tired yet?” Natsu huffed.

“This is nothing. I could go all day,” he smirked, noticing Natsu’s discomfort, “You seem pretty done, though.”

“In your dreams, Droopy Eyes.” Natsu unzipped his jacket to reveal a fleece liner underneath, “I’m just getting started.”

“Droopy?! And here I’ve been told they’re one of my best features,” Gray retorted, as he climbed to the top of the makeshift hill, ensuring the snow was packed in well enough. “I think we can stop now. This is probably tall enough for them. You’ll have to impress me with your stamina another time.”

Natsu’s eyes widened in disbelief before he exploded into a fit of raucous laughter.

“Is it ready?” Hana asked, rushing over to them with Atlas and Aki chasing after her.

“Yep, go get your sled from the shed, and can you bring that little inflatable one?”

“Yeah,” Hana ran off, returning with a pink saucer sled and a folded up piece of vinyl, which she handed over to her father to inflate.

“I got it. Wouldn’t want you to have to take off anything,” Gray grabbed the sled out of Natsu’s hands, finding the plastic tube and blowing into it until it had filled up.

Hana climbed the steps he’d carved into the snow with the kid shovels and sat down on her sled, squealing loudly when he gave her a firm push. She slid down the hill, her sled continuing to travel for several feet, leaving a trail in the snow. She was up as soon as her sled stopped, running back to them with a massive smile on her face.

“That was awesome!”

Gray couldn’t help but grin in response, pleased that he’d been able to make her so happy with such a simple act. He wondered how Aki would respond, and knowing his timid nature, he asked Natsu to have Atlas go first.

The sled had a little seat belt built into it, which was nice because the last thing on Atlas’ mind was holding on. He cackled all the way down and then chatted excitedly to Natsu as they returned.

Aki pulled on his leg, eager to take his turn, and Gray helped him into the sled. He let him have a moment to get used to it before nodding to Natsu to give him a push. Although his response to the experience was more muted than the two Dragneel kids, it was no less joyful, and Gray hid his face, fighting back unexpected tears at watching Aki lead a life more in line with what he’d always wanted for him.

Rather than tease him for getting overly emotional, Natsu offered him a half hug and went back to helping the kids sled down the hill until he was ready to rejoin them. It was gestures like that that made him wish that Natsu would see him as someone he could love, rather than just a good friend.

“Dada!”

Aki’s excited cries called him back, and they stayed out until the kids’ teeth began chattering from the cold.

0-0 After they’d helped the kids get out of their layers and put all the winter gear away, Natsu moved to the kitchen. He filled a large glass measuring cup with water, placed it in the microwave, and then started searching through the cabinets. “Do you want some hot cocoa?” he asked Gray once he’d found what he was looking for: a box full of packets of instant hot cocoa powder. “Sorry, what?” Gray stared at him in a mixture of horror and pure disbelief. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.” “Huh?” Natsu puzzled, completely lost as to what he meant. “Whatever you think that is-” Gray pointed an accusing finger at the box, “I'm not drinking it. Move over.” He did a quick check through the fridge and the cupboards to make sure Natsu had everything he needed to make real hot cocoa and got to work. Meanwhile, Natsu piled a mountain of cookies onto a plate to go along with it, laughing when Atlas and Aki came begging one off him before he’d even finished. Natsu’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly wiped the cookie crumbs off his hands before checking it. Gray watched his brows knit together as he focused on the message, but his expression soon turned into one of joy and relief. “Well, looks like I get tonight off. Jellal told me not to bother coming in. It’s been quiet all day because of the snow,” he reported happily as he put his phone away again. “You should stay for dinner. The roads are crap anyway.”

“You sure? We wouldn’t want to put you out.”

“Sure, we’ve got plenty of frozen pizzas,” Natsu opened the freezer, pointing to an alarming amount of pizza boxes.

“Is that all you eat?” Gray asked in horror.

“Hah, well,” Natsu threaded his fingers through his hair in an embarrassed gesture, “Erza’s the one who usually cooks. She gets those for us for when she’s not around. Oh! I should let her know she doesn’t have to hurry back.”

He pulled out his phone and began texting his sister as Gray mulled the invitation over. He hadn’t really been looking forward to going home yet. Lyon would still be at work, and he knew the apartment would feel empty after having spent the afternoon surrounded by Natsu’s warmth.

That decided him.

“Fine, I’ll stay, but we’re not having frozen pizza.” He rolled his sleeves up and headed to the sink to wash his hands, thinking about the limited number of things he knew how to make.

He opened their pantry and breathed a sigh of relief when he found two boxes of pasta and a few jars of sauce. “Make yourself useful, fill a big pot with water and put it on the stove,” he demanded, moving stuff around to see what ingredients he could use to add to the sauce.

“I dunno, Erza uh- doesn’t really like it when I use the stove,” Natsu murmured, avoiding Gray’s gaze.

“Why? What did you do, set the kitchen on fire?” Gray blurted, laughing at how absurd that was.

When his joke was received with silence instead of the angry denials he’d been expecting, he glanced up to find Natsu quietly pouring the hot cocoa into mugs and placing them on the table in the breakfast nook along with the cookies. He called the kids over and walked back into the kitchen, still avoiding direct eye contact.

“Oh my God, you did! Didn’t you?!”

“It was an accident!” Natsu protested, “I was making dinner when Atlas’ diaper overfilled, and I had to deal with it. By the time I was done with that, I had forgotten the stove was on.”

Gray wanted to give him a hard time about it, but he could absolutely see that happening. He was well aware of how unreliable Natsu’s attention span was at the best of times. It was the one thing they struggled with the most during their study sessions.

“Well, I’ll be the one cooking, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Gray assured him, pointing him towards the sink once again.

“What about knives? Are you allowed near those, Pyro?” he taunted as he tossed him an onion to chop.

“It was an accident!” Natsu complained, and when that did nothing to stop the teasing, he pouted, “You’re not funny.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Gray smirked, quite pleased that he might have finally found a nickname to counter the dreaded Princess.

“Jerk,” Natsu muttered, grabbing a knife and attempting to chop the onion.

They worked in somewhat comfortable silence. As usual, Natsu couldn’t stay mad for long, and soon he was telling Gray funny stories about people he’d met at work, while Gray told him about some of the places he’d traveled to for shoots.

“I’ve always wanted to travel,” Natsu commented, pulling out plates from the cupboards and walking off to set the table.

“You’re not exactly dead yet, you know,” Gray called out, pouring the pasta into a colander and checking on the sauce one last time before turning off the stove.

“Yeah, but come on, when am I ever going to be able to afford it or have the time?”

Gray had no answer to that, so he changed the subject instead, “Food’s ready.”

“Hey, you wanna watch a movie after? There’s this one about dragons and vikings we’ve wanted to watch.”

“How to Train your Dragon?”

“You’ve seen it?”

“I went to the premiere,” Gray explained, but when he saw how disappointed Natsu looked by his admission, he hastily added, “But who really watches the movie at those things, it’s all photo ops and gossip. I’d love to watch it.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie, either. Siegrain had felt slighted by some industry bigwig and had spent most of the movie complaining about it. But honestly, even if he’d seen it a hundred times, he’d gladly watch it again if it meant he could experience the beaming smile Natsu flashed his way.

The sun had long ago set by the time they finished eating their dinner, and it wasn’t hard to see that all three kids were going to conk out as soon as they were still for any amount of time. Natsu didn’t seem to notice, though, and Gray didn’t have the heart to dampen his enthusiasm. Not when he was practically bouncing as he went around making popcorn for everyone. Gray volunteered to load the dishwasher, claiming, much to Natsu’s chagrin, that he didn’t want to be responsible for his being banned from yet another kitchen appliance.

Natsu lit the fireplace, placing the screen securely in front while Gray settled the boys on the sofa. After a frantic search for the remote, they were finally ready. They sat down next to each other as the opening credits played. Aki climbed onto Gray’s lap, and Atlas did the same with Natsu, while Hana snuggled up next to her father.

As Gray had predicted, all three kids were out ten minutes later, and then it was just the two of them again, talking and laughing along with the movie. Gray ached to stretch his arm and pull Natsu closer to him, even as Aki snored quietly against him.

He stopped paying attention to the movie, frustrated by how his infatuation with Natsu kept growing outside of his control. Today had only made it worse, enticing him with all the things he’d always wanted in a relationship but had given up on somewhere along the way.

The sound of loud snores startled him out of his thoughts, and he turned his head to discover Natsu had also fallen asleep, his neck tilted at an awkward angle.

Gray stretched his arm, wrapping it around Natsu’s shoulders and slowly pulling him into his chest so he could rest more comfortably. Natsu muttered something in his sleep, snuggling into him with a faint smile that he found adorable.

Natsu could too. They hauled their luggage up the two flights of stairs, and he couldn’t help but stare longingly through each window they passed, already picturing himself going down the snow-covered hills. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until tomorrow, as they still had to put their stuff away and rent their equipment. It would be getting dark by the time they finished. They made it to their room, and with a quick slide of the keycard, Sting opened the door. He blocked the view, and with the room being unlit and the curtains closed, Natsu couldn’t see much past the entry hallway yet. His friend’s first reaction made him that much more curious. “Holy shit...” “What?” Natsu stood on his toes, pushing Sting forward impatiently when he couldn’t see over his shoulder. As they walked into the room, Sting found a light switch and flipped it, and they both looked around with dropped jaws. The room was beautiful- spacious, clean, and nicely decorated. However, there were a few things that raised some alarms for Natsu. Rather than the two double beds he was used to seeing in just about every hotel he’d ever stayed at, there was only one.

That was impractical but not that concerning. They were roommates, after all. It wasn’t that unusual for them to fall asleep on each other while watching TV.

The next thing that caught his attention was the heart-shaped hot tub in the middle of the room. And even that was more of an afterthought.

It was the bottle of champagne that was sitting in an ice bucket next to said heart-shaped hot tub that was really giving him the most significant pause. If you added all three of those things together, they spelled out something, and while Natsu might not be a great speller, he also wasn’t that dense.

“Uhm, Sting?” “Okay, so hear me out,” Sting chuckled nervously, side-eyeing the hot tub. “When I sat down to book us a room, I noticed they had a special deal for couples and uhm...I dunno, how was I supposed to say no to a room with a hot tub?”

“Oh, thank fuck, for a moment there I thought- You know what? Nevermind. Hot tubs are great!”

“You thought, what? That this was some kind of big, dramatic set-up to a confession?” Sting teased, “You’re giving us both too much credit.”

“Yeah yeah, you know you want me.” Natsu dumped his suitcase next to the bed, feeling relieved by Sting’s explanation. “Sorry, but I don’t date below my league-” Sting shook his head and offered him an apologetic smile, “but don’t worry, we can still be friends.”

Natsu snorted, “You couldn’t handle me, anyway. Let’s bounce. The last thing I want right now is to be stuck in another enclosed space, no matter how nice.”

Sting climbed on the bed gesturing at Natsu to join him.

“What are you doing?”

“Bouncing, just like you said. Come on, it’s fun!”

“You’re an idiot,” Natsu grumbled, but he got on the bed anyway, and soon they were bouncing together until they heard a knock on the wall and a loud voice demanding they cut it out.

They left the room in a fit of giggles, excitedly chatting about all the things they were going to do on their holiday.

0-0

“I thought the whole point of doing this today was that it would be faster,” Natsu complained, balking at the long line of people already waiting at the rental center.

“You think this is bad?” Sting replied with unusual calm as he took his place at the end of the line, “Trust me, it’ll be way worse tomorrow morning when everyone and their kids are here.”

“But I’m hungry, can’t we just come back after dinner?” he asked, hoping the mention of food would entice Sting to change his mind.

“How hungry are you?”

“I’m starving.”

“Then they’ll be closed by the time you’re done. We might as well wait.”

Natsu groaned, looking around the room at the different equipment options available to keep himself entertained. He hated waiting, and it felt like that’s all they’d done all day. They were supposed to be on vacation.

His attention was finally caught by an attractive guy standing a few feet away, giving him what appeared to be a once over while his friend was clearly eyeing Sting. Now, this was more like it. He nudged Sting with his elbow to get his attention and nodded towards the two guys.

“Oh, he’s cute,” Sting murmured in approval. “You think they’d like to have dinner with us?”

Natsu shrugged in response and started to walk in their direction when Sting grabbed his arm.

“I’ll go. No offense, but you tend to get overeager.”

“That was one time!” Natsu called after him, but Sting only waved.

Great, now he was stuck in line while Sting was off flirting with a cute guy. He watched Sting’s progress, smiling to himself when the guy didn’t seem to be responding to his advances, although he had to admit he didn’t precisely look put off either. The other guy, however, seemed annoyed by the intrusion. Natsu hoped he’d say something. It would serve Sting right for leaving him there.

Sting returned a few minutes later, looking pleased.

“Well? Are they going to join us?”

“Dunno yet. They were going to discuss it. Rogue, that’s the guy I was talking to, seemed interested. Not sure about his friend.”

This information rubbed him the wrong way, but Natsu resigned himself to being Sting’s wingman if it came down to it. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“What were they like?”

“You’ll see for yourself,” Sting answered hurriedly, and it was only then that Natsu noticed that Rogue and his friend were making their way towards them.

“Natsu, this is Rogue, and his friend - uhm,” Sting blanked for a moment and smiled apologetically, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”

“I didn’t offer it,” the guy responded coldly.

Natsu snorted at the discomfort on Sting’s face but instantly shut up when he caught a brief glimpse of the sword pendant the guy wore. His eyes darted up, examining his features more closely and much to his dismay, realizing they’d met before.

“Something funny?”

Natsu wasn’t at all intimidated by Gray’s scowl. He turned to Sting, “His name is Gray.”

“Do I know you?” Gray asked, sounding puzzled. His eyes traveled over Natsu’s face, studying him intently and showing no signs of recognition.

“You could say that,” Natsu snapped, feeling downright mortified. He nodded at Gray’s friend, “Hey Rogue, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Rogue said, his forehead furrowing as he glanced from Natsu to Gray with growing interest.

“Hey, Pinky,” Gray prodded, managing to hit on that one most hated of Natsu’s nicknames, which did nothing to help his case. “You didn’t answer my question. Do you have a problem with me?”

“Other than your lack of manners? No,” Natsu muttered through gritted teeth.

That got a response, although not the one he expected. Gray chuckled and got in line next to him. “So, are you going to tell me how we know each other, or is it some kind of national secret?” he asked in a teasing tone, clearly not picking up on Natsu’s anger.

Natsu’s thoughts were all jumbled, and there was no way in hell he trusted himself to bring any of that up in the middle of a crowded room, so he stuck his tongue out instead.

Because he wasn’t already humiliated enough. Fuck his life.

“Oh, that’s real mature,” Gray rolled his eyes in response but went ahead and changed the subject. “So, are you boarding or skiing?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Natsu crossed his arms in front of his chest and feigned interest in the posters that hung on the walls. He knew he was acting like a toddler, but what else was he supposed to do? Of all the people he could possibly have anticipated running into on this vacation, Gray was the last one he would have thought of. And with good reason.

He felt utterly humiliated. The fact that Gray didn’t even remember him rubbed salt on a wound that had never quite healed. He felt all their eyes on him, and it wasn’t helping, especially when Gray was acting completely unconcerned by his behavior. And damn it, how had he forgotten how hot he was?

Sting liked Rogue, that much was pretty obvious, and Natsu didn’t really want to ruin his chances or be left to his own devices over the holidays. Maybe if he just tried to be civil, it might not be so bad.

I am doing this for Sting. I am doing this for Sting. I am doing this for Sting…

He repeated the words in his mind, using his affection for his friend to bolster his resolve.

“Have you been here before?” he asked in the most civil tone he could muster.

“Yeah, I used to come with my family when I was younger. The lower trails are just okay, but their black diamonds more than make up for it.”

Natsu was so surprised to get an actual answer that he almost forgot to reply.

“That’s awesome!” He cheered, feeling the familiar excitement course through him like it did whenever he was about to take on a challenge. It had been a few years since he’d last gone snowboarding, and he couldn’t wait to see how much he remembered. It almost let him forget his situation.

Gray stared at him again, “Are you always this loud?”

Almost. So, he was loud, was he? Well, he’d rather be loud and honest than whatever the fuck Gray was. Natsu was fuming by this point. As far as he was concerned, Sting was on his own.

He wasn’t putting up with this asshole any longer than he had to. He’d already wasted too much of his time on him as it was. Plenty of snow on the mountains to keep him entertained for days on end.

“Asshole,” he muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something?”

Natsu shook his head, staring ahead and willing the line to move more quickly. Sting was chatting away with Rogue, not paying any attention to him whatsoever.

When it was finally Natsu's turn, he quickly gave the attendant his boot size and grabbed the board they gave him. He paid for his rentals and signed his name to the agreement.

“I’m going back to the room to drop these off,” he announced, not responding to Sting’s raised eyebrow. “It was nice to meet you,” he told Rogue and turned back towards the hotel without even a glance at Gray, the asshole.

“Wait up!”

Sting caught up to him a few minutes later, out of breath and holding on to his rentals awkwardly. “What happened? Did I miss something?” Natsu sighed in an effort to calm himself down, “That was the guy.” Sting seemed pensive for a couple of seconds, but then his eyes widened in realization. “Oh! You mean the guy? Gray? Yikes.” He winced and looked over his shoulder, searching for any sign of Rogue and Gray, but the two were nowhere to be found. “Look, Rogue seems like a cool guy, and I know you like him and all, but if Gray’s coming to dinner, I’m bailing,” Natsu declared resolutely.

“Nah, man. Bros before... well, you know,” Sting grinned. “Let’s go drop these off, and we’ll get something to eat, okay? Rogue said there’s an arcade too!” “Sounds like a plan!”

Now that he knew his night was looking up, Natsu relaxed and put the whole encounter behind him. If he was lucky, he wouldn’t see Gray again.

0-0

After bringing their rentals up to their room, Natsu and Sting had spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the hotel and other parts of the resort, all of which were decked out for Christmas. Eventually, they'd stumbled upon a diner where they’d sat down for their first official holiday meal.

Dinner was fun, the food was nothing to write home about, but it was the first time in months they'd been able to relax. They knocked back a few beers and pored over a resort brochure, checking out the different trails and marking the ones they wanted to try out.

It was still too early to go to bed, and although they kept toying around with the idea of going in the hot tub, they were just too wired to return to their room. They decided to search for the arcade Rogue had mentioned instead. Natsu knew that Sting was hoping to bump into his new “friend” there, but with any luck, there’d be other students from their university that Natsu could hang out with if he did.

They heard the music long before they found the entrance. The arcade turned out to be more of a sports bar, which Natsu was quite happy about. There was a pool table, darts, air hockey, and a few old pinball machines in the back. Plenty to keep him entertained, even if Rogue and Gray happened to be there.

Sting wanted to go look for Rogue, and Natsu left him to it, finding an empty stool at the bar and getting his ID out so he could order a draft beer. The bartender had just brought him his order when someone sat down next to him. “I’ll have one of those as well and put them both on my tab.”

Natsu turned to see who had just bought him a drink, effectively without asking and had to resist the urge to throw it right at the sheepish grin Gray was flashing him.

“It has been brought to my attention that I may have been an asshole earlier.”

“Oh?” Natsu replied, not willing to take the high road. “Who enlightened you?”

“Uhm, you. You know, when you called me one. How about we start over? Hi, I’m Gray,” he held out his hand for Natsu to shake.

So he had heard him.

“Natsu,” he shook Gray’s hand, squeezing harder than was strictly necessary for a greeting.

Gray looked down at his hand in surprise, stretching and squeezing his fingers as he recovered from Natsu’s handshake.

“Well, Natsu, I have no idea what I did to make you dislike me this much, but I am very sorry, and I can see that it is very much my loss,” Gray lifted his mug in mock salute, flashing him a devilish grin.

Until that very moment, Natsu had been willing to accept his apology and put the whole incident behind them. He was in a much better mood now that he’d eaten, and he knew it was likely they’d be seeing a lot of each other during the rest of this trip. There was nothing to be gained from continuing his animosity, but that grin pissed him off.

Well, maybe not the grin itself, that was quite attractive actually, but the expectant gaze that followed it. As if Gray knew that grin was the key to getting people to do whatever he wanted. Well, that might have worked on him once, but Natsu had no plans on it happening again. He remained silent.

“That’s funny. I seem to remember you being a lot chattier,” Gray remarked after a few minutes had passed.

Natsu finished his beer and got up, noticing one of the dartboards had opened up, but Gray stopped him.

“Come on,” he cajoled, “Don’t be like that. I’m bored, and I don’t know anyone else here.”

“Not my problem,” Natsu glared at the hand that had wrapped itself around his arm.

“He speaks!” Gray cheered, blue eyes sparkling with amusement, “Look, I get it. You don’t like me. Hell, I probably even deserve it, but I did say I was sorry. ”

Natsu grunted in acknowledgment, defenses lowering despite his earlier determination. “I was gonna go play darts. If you feel like getting your ass kicked, by all means, come along.”

He walked over to the dartboard, grabbed the darts, and moved to stand behind the throw line. He’d just been about to let go of the dart when Sting slapped him on the shoulder and messed up his aim.

“Awesome, you scored us a game!”

“Hey, you botched my shot!” Natsu complained, even though he knew Sting could care less. When he noticed Rogue and Gray having a private chat, he let his eyes linger on Gray. He definitely was easy on the eyes.

“Like what you see?” Sting teased, although he managed to keep his voice low for once.

“No,” he denied, shoving his friend away and ignoring his knowing laugh. He looked away quickly before he could get caught.

“You guys know how to play 501?” Sting asked.

When both men nodded, they decided to split up into teams to speed up the game as they were all eager to get to the slopes early the next morning. Natsu grabbed on to Sting, knowing without a doubt that he meant to stick him on a team with Gray, and wanting nothing to do with it.

“The two of us, against the two of you,” Natsu announced. He knew he’d been right when he noticed Rogue shrugging at Sting.

“Sounds good. When we win, I’d like another draft,” Gray taunted.

“I have no intention of buying you a drink,” Natsu declared, determined to win the game and make Gray eat his words. He took a coin from his pocket and tossed it up high, grabbing it in midair and covering it with his hand. He asked Rogue to call it.

“Heads.”

Natsu uncovered the coin, showing it as heads. “You guys start. Are we doubling in?”

Once they’d agreed on the rules, play began. Rogue was up first, but he didn’t manage to double in, so his points didn’t count. Sting followed, his third toss barely missing the double 20. Both teams were still at 501.

Gray was up next, and much to Natsu’s dismay, he managed a double 20 on his first toss. He followed that up with a triple 20 and a 1, bringing their score down to 400. Natsu was suitably impressed, even though he pretended otherwise, scoffing at the satisfied smirk Gray sent his way.

Natsu got it into his head that he was going to try to match him throw for throw. He started off a bit shaky, landing a triple 20 before the double but rallied when he managed to land in the inner ring of the bullseye for his last toss. Something he’d only succeeded in doing twice before, netting his team a total of 150 points, and giving them the lead.

Sting was practically jumping on top of him in his excitement, but it was Gray’s grudging nod of respect that gave him the most pleasure, even though he was well aware that his round had been a fluke.

Rogue was a decent player, but his attention wasn’t really on the game, neither was Sting’s, for that matter. They each took their turns and returned to their shared conversation.

Natsu and Gray, on the other hand, were very much into it. As the game progressed and the margins narrowed, their taunts increased. They called seemingly impossible shots and, most of the time, actually made them. They goaded and insulted, but there was no longer any heat behind their words, and Natsu was surprised to find he was even having fun.

Now all that was needed for them to win the game was for him to double out. Unfortunately, the almost unbelievable luck he’d been riding throughout the whole match finally left him. He wasn’t able to get it, giving Gray a chance to win for his team.

He stood behind the line, his body set in the perfect throwing stance. Studying the board for much longer than usual, he tossed his first two darts, each landing smoothly in the spot he’d called. All conversation in their group ceased as Sting, Rogue, and Natsu all watched with bated breath as Gray tossed his last dart. He needed a double 5 to win, but the dart landed on the double 12 to the left of it instead.

Rogue groaned in defeat. They had busted out. Gray made a show of being upset, but he was quick to head to the bar to get their order while the others moved to a table. He clinked mugs with Natsu and congratulated him on a game well played, and as the four of them chatted for a bit before calling it a night, Natsu couldn’t help but think that maybe he’d been too hard on Gray.

0-0 Gray hadn’t thought his first vacation day could get any worse. Getting up early to spend hours in a hot and noisy bus wasn’t for him, neither was the hassle of a last-minute room switch because of a broken heater. Honestly, he’d have been fine without a heater. Rogue was the one who’d insisted on going back to the reception to ask for a different room, and since it was high season, the only thing they could do was to upgrade them was to a couples’ suite. Complete with a heart-shaped hot tub and a complimentary bottle of champagne. If that hadn’t already soured his mood, knowing that he could kiss snowboarding goodbye for the day thanks to the ridiculous line for the rentals definitely did. And to top it all off, he’d had to spend the wait watching his friend getting hit on by some annoying guy, growing ever more frustrated when Rogue wasn’t blowing him off. There’d been one plus, though. Blondie’s friend was good eye candy. Sadly enough, he was also annoying- loud and incredibly childish, not to mention he seemed to have something against him. Gray wished he could remember what the hell he’d done to the guy because for some reason, he hadn’t been able to get him out of his head. It wasn’t so much guilt as it was that Natsu, unlike so many others, had refused to take any of his shit. Something he’d proven yet again at the bar when he was less than impressed by his apology. Even more surprising, he’d seemed immune to his charms, which had made Gray all the more determined to win him over. He had a feeling he’d succeeded a little that night, so when he and Rogue arrived back at their room, his mood was better than it had been all day, even as he was greeted with the atrocious sight of the hot tub and the double bed. “Have you ever considered switching to a drama major? Because that was some impressive acting you performed back there,” Rogue deadpanned as he closed the door behind them. “I have no idea what you’re going on about,” Gray replied, avoiding his friend’s gaze as he opened his suitcase and looked for the ziplock bag that contained his toiletries. “You were really going for it, weren’t you? Building up the suspense when you made that last shot, throwing a whole-ass tantrum...You almost convinced me, except we both know you could make that shot with your eyes closed.”

Rogue was facing the wall as he changed into his pajamas, so Gray couldn’t see the look on his face. Not that he needed to; the amusement was virtually dripping from his voice.

Gray shrugged his shoulders, “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It just wasn’t my night.”

“Hmhm, so it had nothing to do with you eye-fucking Natsu through most of the match? Why don’t you just admit you like him and be done with it?”

“And how would you know who I was or wasn’t looking at?” Gray countered, “Seems to me you were pretty busy.”

“I can converse and observe at the same time. It’s not that difficult,” Rogue responded with a patronizing tone that had Gray rolling his eyes.

Rogue wasn’t exactly wrong. He had decided to throw the game at the last minute. Even though he’d certainly set out to win and bring Natsu down a peg, somewhere along the way, he’d started having fun with him and his ridiculous challenges.

Besides, the guy was mad at him for something he couldn’t even remember doing. He figured maybe if he let him win, it would help him get past it, and they could have more fun. And he hadn’t been disappointed. The smile Natsu had directed at him had been nothing short of radiant, and he already wanted to see more of it.

That in itself was surprising. It had been a long time since anyone had managed to gain his interest so quickly. But he didn't want to discuss that with Rogue, so he changed the subject instead. “Speaking of observing, what’s the deal with this Sting guy?”

“Could you be more specific?” Rogue asked him as he grabbed his toiletry bag and moved to the bathroom. “He’s kind of a lot. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“I dunno, should I be looking for another room?”

The answer Gray received came in the form of dead silence, only to be disturbed by the sound of the tap running. He snickered and got himself ready for bed, removing his clothes and waiting for his turn in the bathroom.

“Are you not going to put on pajamas?” Rogue frowned when he returned, stopping just shy of the bed and watching Gray’s state of undress with mild concern.

“This is how I always sleep,” he shrugged, entering the bathroom and fishing the toothpaste and toothbrush out of his bag. “Besides,” he called out, “you didn’t seem to mind it earlier.”

“I don’t recall sharing a bed with you before.”

“Well, that’s what you get for changing rooms at the last minute.” Gray finished brushing his teeth and turned the bathroom light off. He walked back to the bed, climbing in next to his friend under the covers. “The heater wasn’t working, Gray,” Rogue reminded him, “I was breathing white clouds. Inside our hotel room.”

“I feel like there’s a point you’re trying to make here, but it escapes me.”

“Of course it does,” Rogue muttered from behind his phone, thumbs racing across the screen. Without looking away from it, he smirked deviously, “That isn’t the only thing that escaped you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, I know why Natsu hates your guts,” Rogue dangled the information in front of him.

Gray sat up, in no mood to play it cool, “Well? Don’t keep me in suspense. What did I do? Kill his cat or something?” “You’d like to know, wouldn’t you? So, what do I gain from telling you?” Rogue stroked his chin and pretended to sort out his demands, but Gray was pretty sure he already had a list at the ready. Fucking bastard.

“Fine, I’ll wear a fucking shirt to bed,” Gray grumbled, “Will that satisfy you?” “And you’re going to admit that I’m right. You like the guy.”

“You’re pushing it, Emo Boy.”

“Call me that again and I’ll never tell you,” Rogue sneered, and if looks could kill, Gray would be well on his way to the afterlife thanks to the glare he shot him.

“Fine, I like the guy. Happy? Now, spill.”

"Uh-uh, shirt first."

Gray got up and grabbed a t-shirt from his suitcase, wrinkling his nose in distaste before putting it on, already planning to take it off the moment Rogue fell asleep. He climbed back into bed and eyed his friend expectantly.

“So,” Rogue began, pleased with the results of his bribery, “do you remember going to a big Christmas party last year?”

“Yeah?” He’d gone to the Christmas party at the Blue Pegasus club with a few of his friends. It had been a wild night. Oh shit! Had he gotten into a fight with Natsu? He wracked his brain trying to remember. He and Lyon had been doing shots early on, everything after that was pretty hazy.

“But not hooking up with someone and then ghosting them?” Rogue raised his eyebrow.

“I did that? Fuck!” Gray groaned, “Still, that was like a year ago, he can’t really still be pissed about that.”

“That was my first reaction as well but it turns out you were the first person he’d ever hooked up with.”

“Seriously?! He’s our age, right?” “Yeah, so?” Rogue shrugged, “Not everyone enjoys hooking up casually, some people take it more seriously. From what Sting told me, Natsu thought he felt a connection but you never called him.”

“Well, this sucks, I literally remember none of this.” Gray wished he hadn’t gotten so trashed that night. Then again, he generally shied away from getting serious, so even if he had remembered, he might not have called.

To his great annoyance, he was even more intrigued than before. Especially now that he knew he’d already hooked up with the guy once.

One small problem: Natsu might have lightened up, but Gray was pretty sure he was nowhere near forgiving him yet, and he had no idea how to fix it. He couldn’t pretend to suddenly remember. Unless…

He fumbled for his phone, flipping through his photos, searching for any he might have taken at the club that night. There was one of him and Lyon wearing Christmas hats and doing shots, and another of Ultear with some of her friends. Swipe after swipe showed him pictures of just about everyone he knew, but not a single picture of Natsu.

Gray wanted to text Lyon and ask him if he remembered anything but he didn’t want to risk finding out he’d hooked up with numerous people that night. Somehow that would have made the whole thing worse, especially knowing it had been special for Natsu. He was just about to put his phone away when it vibrated in his hand, showing an incoming message from Rogue. Gray opened it, surprised to see a forwarded picture taken at that Christmas party, and although they weren’t the image’s main focus, he and Natsu were definitely in it. They kind of stood out even, as they were the only ones who weren’t smiling at the camera. They seemed to only have smiles for each other, sappy ones at that. “That one’s on the house,” Rogue grinned smugly before ignoring him in favor of his phone again.

Gray couldn’t tear his eyes away from the picture. He zoomed in with his fingers, studying his face. He couldn’t get over how strange he looked. Why was that?

He tried to imagine what it might have been like. To have Natsu’s eyes close in surrender as his fingers pulled at Gray’s hair and their mouths collided in reckless abandon.

Gray laughed, reminding himself it had been Natsu’s first hookup, and he’d been plastered so it probably didn’t go anything remotely like that. One thing was for certain, he wanted to experience it again, minus the alcohol. “Maybe if you show him that you’re not the kind of guy he thinks you are, he might give you another chance,” Rogue suggested, interrupting his thoughts.

“Maybe,” Gray mumbled, putting his phone away for the night. The question was, how would he go about doing that? He’d never been much of a planner. He guessed he’d just have to follow his gut and hope for the best.

He couldn’t help but feel nervous about the next day. It had been years since he’d last been on the slopes, but that didn’t worry him one bit. He was more concerned with trying to fix his fuckup.