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When Gray wakes up one night with a voice in his head, the last thing he expects is to suddenly be sharing a body with a demon. Natsu is nothing like Gray expected, though. He's surprisingly charming, and more concerned about getting Gray to eat vegetables than he is with taking over the world. Since Gray can't push him away like he does with everyone else, he begrudgingly accepts Natsu's place in his life - for now. But when Natsu ends up needing Gray's help, what started out as an inconvenience turns into a road trip - and a friendship - that changes Gray's life.

Chapter Summary: The road trip continues, and sharing a body gets more complicated.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Fandom: Fairy Tail Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster Characters: Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel, Lyon Vastia, Mard Geer Tartarus Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Humor, Adventure, Demonic Possession, but the good kind, demon Natsu, References to Depression, Depressed Gray, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Sort Of, Road Trips, Falling In Love, Natsu's not an evil demon, he really just wants to take care of Gray, Gray sucks at feelings

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Gray woke the next morning feeling more well-rested than he had in months. He yawned, stretching and rubbing his eyes. A thin line of sunlight crept through the half-opened curtains, leaving a trail of soft yellow across the patterned bedspread.

“Finally!” Natsu’s voice crept through Gray’s foggy morning brain. He blinked a few times, then glanced at the mirror which was still propped up at the end of the bed. Natsu’s reflection grinned at him from where he was sitting cross-legged next to Gray.

“Hey,” Gray mumbled, yawning. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Natsu shrugged. “You seemed like you needed the sleep.”

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Gray made an appreciative sound as he frowned and tried to pick at the threads of the dream he’d been having. Natsu had been in it, but Gray couldn’t quite remember what they’d been doing. Then he shifted and moved to get up, and the details of the dream quickly came back to him when he realized he was hard.

Gray’s cheeks burned as he squeezed his eyes shut, pulling the blankets higher and trying desperately to think of something other than the memory of Natsu’s bare chest. The surprised sound that escaped Natsu’s lips made it clear that he was unsuccessful.

“Sorry,” Gray mumbled, rubbing both hands over his face. “I didn’t—it wasn’t on purpose, I just…” He trailed off, desperately wishing he could sink through the bed and disappear into the floor. It had been ages since he’d thought of anyone that way, let alone woke up filled with the desire to touch himself.

“It’s okay,” Natsu reassured him, but his voice was tight and strained. Gray risked a peek in the mirror and was surprised to see that Natsu looked embarrassed as well. “I, um…kinda felt it. When you were dreaming.” Gray groaned, pulling the pillow over his face to hide the flush on his cheeks. “I didn’t mean to!” Natsu insisted. “It’s just…when it’s strong emotions, I can’t help it.”

An awkward silence fell between them as Gray tried once again to shift his thoughts to something else. Every time he tried to focus on a different thought, though, his mind was dragged back to the dream. He could almost feel the memory of Natsu’s fingertips against his chest, of their bodies pressed together, of—

“You can, um, take care of it. If you want.”

Gray pulled the pillow away from his face and stared at Natsu in the mirror. He refused to meet Gray’s gaze, instead staring down at the threadbare blanket.

“You mean…” Gray swallowed heavily. Despite his embarrassment, his cock was still achingly hard, and he dug his fingernails into his palms to keep himself from reaching down and touching himself.

“Yeah.” Natsu chewed on his lip. “It’s not your fault I’m in your head, I can try to…I dunno, focus on something else.”

Gray hesitated. He knew, logically, that this was a terrible idea, but the desire that he hadn’t felt in so long was taking over the rational decision-making part of his brain. Natsu’s cheeks were flushed pink, but he didn’t look disgusted or upset. In fact, he looked…interested.

“What if…” Gray paused, trying to figure out what to say.

“If?” Natsu prompted. He finally met Gray’s gaze in the mirror, and the expression on his face made heat rush up Gray’s chest and down to his fingertips.

“If I didn’t want you to, um…think about something else?” This time Gray was the one who broke eye contact. He desperately hoped that he wasn’t misreading the situation.

“You mean…”

Fuck it, Gray thought, and he reached into his pajama pants and wrapped his hand around his cock. A deep, rough groan slipped from his lips as he ran his thumb over the head.

“Oh,” Natsu whispered, and the desire Gray felt instantly doubled. He moaned again, tipping his head back into the pillow as he slowly stroked himself. Natsu made a quiet sound and shivered. The lust radiating from him was almost palpable.

“Can you feel that?” Gray asked as he continued to jerk himself off.

“Yeah,” Natsu breathed. Gray looked up at the mirror to see Natsu gazing at him, cheeks pink as he rubbed his own cock through his pants. Gray gripped himself harder, twisting his hand as he stroked up and down. “Fuck,” Natsu groaned. “I wanna…”

“Wanna what?” Gray asked, voice low and breathy.

“Touch you,” Natsu said. His eyes were fixed on Gray’s hand as it moved slowly on his cock. “I wish that were me touching you.”

“Same,” Gray moaned. “Can you feel it when you touch yourself?”

Natsu fumbled with the button on the front of his pants and tugged them down, freeing his own cock. “Sorta,” he breathed, and when he started to stroke himself, Gray could feel the pleasure that radiated from him. He stared at the tattoos peeking out from under Natsu’s shirt.

“Take your clothes off,” he said breathlessly. “I wanna see you.”

Natsu quickly obliged, but instead of pulling off his shirt and pants, they dissolved away in a show of magic. Seconds later he was lying naked next to Gray, showing off his toned chest and the markings that covered it.

“You too,” he said. He stroked himself quicker, bucking his hips up into his fist.

Gray reluctantly let go of his cock and shoved his pants the rest of the way down, then tugged off his shirt and tossed it on the floor. Natsu made a deep, appreciative sound as Gray spread his legs and started to jerk off again.

“Shit, you’re hot,” Natsu groaned. “As soon as we get my body back, I’m gonna…”

Gray swallowed. His mind jumped back to the previous morning when Natsu had controlled his body to pet Happy. “Take over,” he said before he could change his mind.

Natsu’s eyes flicked up to his as he swallowed heavily. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

There was a second’s hesitation and then Gray’s fingers began to tingle, just like they had before. The weightless sensation took over and Gray leaned into it, letting Natsu take over his arm completely. Suddenly the hand on his cock was no longer his own, and he couldn’t help the loud moan that escaped him.

Natsu cursed in the language Gray didn’t understand. His grip was rougher than Gray’s, and Gray couldn’t help pushing up his hips.

“Fuck, that feels good,” he moaned. His other hand tingled for a second, then Natsu moved it up to his chest and pinched his nipple. Gray hissed at the slight pain, letting out a quiet whimper when Natsu tugged on his nipple and then moved over to the other one.

Gray glanced down to the end of the bed. Even though he was touching himself, the mirror showed a different story. In the reflection Natsu was leaning over him, Gray’s nipple caught between his teeth as he stroked Gray’s cock and ground his own hardness against Gray’s hip.

“I wanna fuck you so badly,” Natsu murmured. Gray shivered, letting himself go to the feelings he’d been holding back.

“You can…touch,” Gray managed as he rolled his nipple between his fingers and pinched it again. Natsu groaned, quickly bringing Gray’s hand up to his mouth and slipping his fingers inside. Gray eagerly began to lick and suck his fingers, moaning around them when Natsu tightened his hand on his cock. Then Natsu moved Gray’s wet fingers down between his legs and nudged his thigh.

“Spread your legs.”

Gray obeyed immediately, shifting his hips up so he could run his fingers over his ass. It felt so good, like it was Natsu’s hand exploring, Natsu’s fingers pressing against Gray’s entrance before carefully slipping a finger inside.

“You’re so tight,” Natsu said, sliding Gray’s finger in and out.

“Been a while,” Gray admitted as he breathed through the sensation. “’m gonna come soon.”

Natsu made a pleased sound, continuing to finger Gray and rub his cock. The sensation grew, expanding in Gray’s stomach as Natsu’s arousal joined with his own. It only took a few more strokes for Gray to arch his back, crying out as he came. The sensation was so intense that his vision blurred at the edges and his breath caught in his throat. He shuddered and whimpered as the orgasm continued, accompanied by quiet encouragement from Natsu.

When Gray finally came back to himself, his body was his own again. He flexed his hand, staring at his fingers, then looked back up at the mirror. Natsu’s expression was dazed, and he looked as out of breath as Gray felt.

“Wow.” Gray melted back into the mattress. “That was…”

“Amazing,” Natsu agreed. “I haven’t done that in a long time.” He paused. “Well, I’ve never done that before.”

“Mm.” Gray sighed, letting the warm, content feeling that he hadn’t experienced in so long make its way through his body. The embarrassment he’d been expecting never surfaced. Instead he felt nothing but relief and a deep sense of fondness that was both unfamiliar and so, so welcome.

He lay in silence for a while, appreciating the warmth of Natsu’s presence in his mind and his reflection in the mirror. After a while, Gray glanced at his watch and groaned when he realized it was already past ten.

“We’d better get going,” he said regretfully. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us today.”

The next two days were spent split between the car, coffee shops, gas stations, and hotel rooms. They made their way through the mountains, winding up steep roads lined with lakes that reflected the snow-capped peaks. The initial urgency of the trip faded with each moment they spent together. Natsu was fascinating, and he spent most of their time in the car telling stories of the hells, of demons and magic and the past he’d experienced.

Gray listened eagerly to Natsu’s stories. Having someone nearby – even if it he wasn’t corporeal – made him feel alive in a way he hadn’t in a long time. The parts of him that had been filled with exhaustion and anger for so long were slowly being taken over by a bright warmth. At first, he’d thought it was Natsu’s feelings getting in the way of his own, but eventually he realized that the emotion was his own.

“I like your smile,” Natsu said one evening when Gray was lying on the hotel bed, naked and trying to catch his breath. Gray’s already flushed cheeks darkened as his smile grew wider, entirely out of his control.

“I wish I could touch you,” he said instead of responding. He stared at Natsu’s reflection, desperately wanting to trace the black markings with his fingertips and tongue.

“As soon as we get my body back,” Natsu said, gazing at him intently, “You can do whatever you want to me.”

Eventually they reached Belle Creek. It took several detours and wrong turns through winding gravel roads to find it, and the car was a mess of dust and dirt by the time they arrived. Belle Creek could barely be classified as a town. The only buildings other than the handful of houses were an ancient gas station, a store with a faded sign out front that read ‘Belle Trading Post,’ and a diner that looked like it had been plucked straight from the 70s.

“He lives here?” Natsu said incredulously. His reflection wobbled in the broken window of the boarded-up building where they’d parked. “Why?”

Gray shrugged, then yawned and stretched his arms above his head. His stomach growled and he glanced over at the diner. They hadn’t had anything to eat since the coffee and breakfast sandwich he’d downed while driving, and that had been at least six hours ago.

“How are we gonna find him?” Natsu asked.

Gray gestured at the diner. “I’m sure someone in there has some gossip about a weird hermit who doesn’t age. C’mon, let’s get some lunch.”

Despite the size of the town, the diner was packed, and it didn’t take long to get people talking. Gray caught Natsu’s gaze in the reflection on the table when one man started telling stories about the ‘crazy old man by the lake.’

“He’s lived up there for years,” the man said, shaking his head as he took another sip of his coffee. “Longer than I’ve been around. Dunno where he gets his food – he never comes to town.”

“He doesn’t need to eat,” Natsu muttered. “He’s a demon.”

“Has anyone seen him lately?” Gray asked, mentally nudging Natsu to be quiet.

“Ah, the kids go up there sometimes,” his server said. She leaned across the counter and filled up his coffee. “It’s a game for them – which one of ‘em’s dumb enough to try and touch his front door. None of ‘em ever get close enough though, think he’s got one of them electric fences underground or something that gives ‘em a little zap. They deserve it, really.”

“The strangest part,” said another man from the next table, “is that he’s lived up there for years and he doesn’t look a damn day over twenty.”

“That’s Botox for you,” the woman with him said.

“That’s demonic magic for you,” Natsu corrected, sounding petulant.

It took nearly an hour of chatting with the locals for Gray to extricate himself from the diner, and by the time they got back into the car, it was nearly nightfall. Gray had turned down several kind offers of a place to sleep, insisting that he had a hotel booked at the next town over.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked as he headed north out of the town, following the vague directions he’d managed to get from the locals. Now that they were here, anxiety was starting to creep through his nerves. It was quickly soothed by a warm wave of reassurance from Natsu, though.

“Don’t worry,” Natsu said, smiling fondly at Gray in the rearview mirror. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

The sun continued to set as they drove, sinking past the horizon until the soft light was gone from the sky, leaving only the dark outlines of trees. Eventually a set of lights appeared, highlighting the end of the gravel road. Beyond it was a small, cozy-looking home with soft, yellow light spilling from the windows.

“This…isn’t what I was expecting,” Natsu said as they pulled off to the side of the road. Gray could feel the confusion radiating from him.

“What were you expecting?” Gray turned off the car and leaned back in the seat, watching the house for any sign of movement.

“Something creepier,” Natsu admitted. “Like hell, I guess? This looks like…”

“A home,” Gray agreed as he unbuckled his seatbelt. A shadow passed over the window and a spike of fear coursed through him as he slouched down in the seat, hoping that the car wasn’t visible through the trees.

“I don’t think he’s noticed us,” Natsu reassured him. “I can…kinda feel him. Me? It’s mixed with you, though, it’s hard to tell.”

They sat in silence for a bit, watching the shadow move back and forth across the window. Eventually Gray looked back at Natsu’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

“Well?” he asked. “You ready to get your body back?”

Natsu chewed his lip and gave Gray an uncertain look. “Are you sure about this?”

Gray raised his eyebrow. “Why else would I have driven for three days to the middle of nowhere? Isn’t this what you want?”

Natsu nodded. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I trust you,” Gray said immediately. Before Natsu could argue again he opened the car door and stepped out into the night. He moved quietly down the road, ducking through the shadows of the trees and keeping an eye on the window until he was at the front porch. The fear and anticipation bubbling in his chest were tempered by a warm reassurance from Natsu.

“Now what?” he whispered. “Do I need to use your ma—”

Gray’s question was interrupted by the door slamming open, spilling light out into the night. “I told you kids to stay off my property!”

The voice belonged to a much older man than the one that stormed out onto the porch. He looked enough like Natsu’s reflection that Gray recognized him, but his hair was longer and pulled back in a ponytail, and there were no markings up his arms. A thick scar ran across his cheek and down his neck.

“Who the hell are you?” Not-Natsu demanded as he glared at Gray. Despite the lack of markings, Gray could feel the magic radiating from him. He was about to try and come up with an answer when he felt Natsu nudging at the back of his mind.

Can I?

As soon as Gray nodded, Natsu’s magic spread through his body, sending tingles through his arms and legs and making him feel light-headed. What normally felt like a crackling bonfire was quickly turning to a raging inferno, sparking and spitting out of control.

“Mard Geer,” Natsu snarled with Gray’s voice. His hands clenched into fists, entire body tensing in anticipation of a fight. Gray couldn’t feel his body anymore. The detachment made him feel like he wasn’t quite real. Natsu took a step forward and started to speak in the language that made Gray’s teeth ache.

“I’m here to take my body back, you son of a bitch.”

Gray wasn’t sure what reaction he’d been expecting from the demon, but it certainly wasn’t a sigh of relief followed by, “Thank fuck.”

“I…what?” Natsu’s confusion joined Gray’s, tempering the angry magic pulsing through his body.

“Please, take it back,” Mard said. He hopped down the steps and held his hands out to Natsu, who took a step back.

“You stole it,” Natsu said warily.

“Yes, and I’ve regretted it for the last however many fucking years I’ve been stuck in it.” Mard rubbed his temples. “The first twenty years were fun, sure. But living forever? In this?” He gestured vaguely around them. “Humans are terrible, I hate them, please just release me from this prison.”

“My body’s not a prison,” Natsu grumbled, but the indignance was still tempered by confusion. “This feels like a trap. Why haven’t you just gone back to hell already?”

“Because somebody thought it would be funny to curse me,” Mard said. The expressions he made with Natsu’s face were nothing like the ones Gray was used to, and it was unsettling. “It was about fifty yea—”

“Y’know what, I really don’t care.” Natsu waved off the explanation. “You’re seriously going to just…give it back?”

“Yes,” Mard said. “I just want to get back to hell. You can keep this body and this dimension; I never want to see either again.”

Before Natsu could argue, Mard stepped forward and put his palm on Gray’s forehead. A spark of magic coursed through him, knocking the breath from his lungs. The familiar, comforting presence of Natsu in the back of Gray’s mind jolted forward, tearing away from Gray’s consciousness as a strange wind picked up around him. The magic rumbled like thunder, vibrating in his chest and making the hairs on his arm stand on end as it tore Natsu from him, piece by piece. Gray felt himself slam back into his own body so quickly he thought he might throw up. He felt the threads of Natsu’s presence brush against his mind one last time, and then he was gone.

“It’s done.” Mard’s voice felt like static in Gray’s ears, untethered and no longer coming from Natsu’s body. It sighed happily, saying, “finally,” before dissolving into the air. The wind around him stopped abruptly, taking the magic with it and leaving Gray feeling heavy and worn out.

“Whoa.”

Gray gasped, trying to catch his breath as he looked up at Natsu – the real Natsu. He was standing in the same place, staring down at his hands with a stunned look on his face. Gray watched as Natsu ran his fingertips up his own arms, then touched his cheeks, then his hair. His expression shifted from confused to amazed, and when he looked up at Gray, his face broke out in a wide smile.

“It worked,” he whispered. “I can – it worked. I can feel.”

Gray couldn’t help his own smile as he took a step toward Natsu, holding out his hand. Natsu stared at it for a second, then reached out and took it. When their skin touched, he gasped in surprise.

“Oh,” he said softly, staring at their joined hands. “I can feel you.” He ran his thumb over the back of Gray’s hand. “It’s so different. It feels good.”

“You know what else feels good?” Gray asked, reaching out and touching Natsu’s cheek. Natsu’s eyes fluttered closed at the sensation and he sighed happily when Gray ran his fingers through his hair.

“What?” he asked, leaning into the touch.

“This,” Gray said, then leaned in and kissed him.

Natsu made a soft, surprised sound into Gray’s mouth. He froze for a second as if uncertain what to do, and then his brain seemed to catch up and he responded eagerly, pulling Gray closer and kissing him back. Gray moaned, pulling gently on Natsu’s hair and moving closer until they were pressed together, chest to chest. Natsu taking over his body and touching him had been amazing. This…this was something completely different.

“Wow,” Natsu said softly, pulling back from the kiss and gazing at Gray. His eyes weren’t green like they had been in the reflection. Instead they were a soft, deep brown that seemed to look right into Gray’s heart. The sudden rush of emotion that hit Gray was disorienting, and it took him a second to realize that it was his own happiness he was feeling, not an echo of Natsu’s.

“Kiss me again,” Natsu said. Gray laughed, pulling him close and holding him under the starry sky. Everything felt strange and new. He kissed Natsu’s nose, then his cheek, then the corner of his mouth. “Again,” Natsu murmured as he ran his thumb across Gray’s cheek.

“Okay,” Gray said against Natsu’s lips. Warmth spread through his body with each touch of Natsu’s fingertips – a giddy joy that he hadn’t felt in so, so long. He sighed happily, holding Natsu close as they kissed under the starry sky, as contentment settled into his chest and felt like home.

Eventually he pulled back and grinned at Natsu, who raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s that look for?” he asked.

“You’ve got your body back,” Gray said.

“Yes, we’ve establish—”

“You told me I could do whatever I wanted to you.”

Natsu’s eyes widened, cheeks flushing pink as he stared at Gray. “I did,” he said slowly, surprise turning quickly to interest. “What did you have in mind?”

“Why don’t I show you?” Gray said, gesturing to the house and tugging on Natsu’s hand. “We’ve got the whole place to ourselves, and I’m sure there’s a bed in here somewhere.”

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