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vibraniumwing · 3 years

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true love

a sam wilson x fem!reader soulmate au wherein you can hear the thoughts of your soulmate at random points of the day.

WARNING: slight au (?), agent!assassin!y/n, occasional swearing, y/n and sam bickering during missions and typical canon-violence (kind of mellowed down), y/n and sam being frenemies (well more on them being childish while bickering), and sexual innuendos/jokes. (18+ please. MINORS DNI.) also not beta-read so all mistakes are mine !!

A/N: listened to pink’s true love as i plotted this so feels are in order. this soulmate au has you listening to the thoughts of your soulmate at random points of the day until a mutual connection of attraction has been made, which makes you freely converse with your soulmate through your thoughts. ALSO SAM IN A TURTLENECK AKDJFDSJF AWOOGA

word count: 2.7k

---

You initially had thought that you had no soulmate since you hadn’t heard from them; not even once. Until one night, while you were doing your skincare routine, you heard your soulmate’s rather explicit thoughts about another person.

Safe to say it left you hot and bothered until you went to bed (and now aware about how you should be more careful about spacing out while thinking of something rated.), rather hurt as well at the fact that they were thinking of another person’s body other than yours.

Sam on the other hand, has heard from his partner as he would like to call it a few times. The first time being rather entertaining and concerning as he heard them curse out a random person, wishing hellfire on their whole existence as this person “annoyed the living will out of them.” which made him chuckle as he soared through the sky during one of his missions.

---

You were flying back to the Avenger’s Compound after another mission, seeing everyone’s silent and probably as exhausted as you from another fight. You were seated in the back, slowly drifting off to sleep when your soulmate’s thoughts suddenly infiltrated your mind, “Man, she looks cute as well when she’s sleepy. She’s equally as sexy when she’s angry… Her lips are so fucking kissable, wonder how well that works in the be-”

“NO!” you suddenly jolted awake, making everyone in the Quinjet look at you with concern. Steve was the first one to speak, glancing back at you with concern. “Are you okay over there, Y/N?”

You groaned, feeling a headache forming from being bolted awake. “I-I’m fine. It’s just my soulmate. That son of a bitch is so horny.” You muttered, putting your hands over your eyes as you sighed in frustration. “They’re gawking over another person and I get to hear about it.” You continued, making a few of the heroes you’re with snicker at your demise.

“Sounds like fun if you ask me.” Sam was the first to speak up, looking at you with a shit-eating grin. “You’ll have the upper hand knowing their kinks.” He mused, relaxing in his chair as he wiggled his eyebrows, probably enjoying the way you were suffering.

You smiled at him sarcastically, scrunching your nose in the process before rolling your eyes at him and flipping him off. “Woah! Steve, she did a bad language sign!” Sam called out, making the others laugh even more and the Captain groan at the reminder of his old antics.

“Shut it, Wilson. Not everyone likes to hear their soulmates intrusive thoughts.” You countered, raising up your other hand to flip him off again, not caring if you would be called out by Steve who was sighing again. “I swear once I meet this person, I’m kicking them where the sun don’t shine for being so fucking horny all the time.”

---

Sam had just finished his daily laps around the compound, headphones plugged in as he listened to Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean as walked back inside of the compound, head bobbing to the beat; doing a little dance as well since he was in a rather good mood. “What’s good Metal Man” he greeted Bucky, giving the soldier a quick nod which the other looked at him with bewilderment.

He wandered into the kitchen, not paying attention to your figure that was seated by one of the island stools, busy scrolling away on your phone. Sam grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a big swig of the cool liquid, parched as ever from the heat when he heard his soulmate speak out all of a sudden.

“Why the fuck does this say The Falcon doesn’t look handsome? He’s a fucking sex god if I’ve ever seen one.” Those words were enough to make him choke on his drink, dropping the bottle on the floor as he coughed out the water from the wrong pipe. This made you jolt in your seat and look at him in concern. “What’s wrong with you?”

He shook it off, tapping his chest to sooth the subtle burn from what happened moments ago. He still managed to smirk at you, cocking up an eyebrow. “Concerned about me, are you baby?” before straightening up. “I just got started from what my soulmate said.”

You pride yourself in having the patience of a saint when it comes to people but something about Sam Wilson and his ego just irks you to the core. His words made you scoff in disgust, making a face at him as you hopped off from the stool and grabbed the donut you were eating, “I would rather have Bucky’s cold metal arm wrapped around my neck than be concerned about you.” You retorted, mumbling something incoherent as you passed by the said super soldier who looked confused once more.

“What the hell did I do?” He asked, looking at Sam for answers but was left with no answers as he left to go find a mop to clean up the spilled drink on the floor.

---

You wanted to curse the person who thought it was a bright idea to pair you up with Sam for a mission. You didn’t know if the person had a personal vendetta against you or just found entertainment in the constant fights that you had with the male but you weren’t having any of it.

The two of you were tasked to retrieve an artifact which contained a lot of sensitive information that was stolen by a former S.H.I.E.L.D employee-turned-felon and planned to release it to the world which can cause more harm than good for everyone; with the exception of criminals who target the population.

You and Sam were undercover, sitting in the corner of the busy cafe located in Soho where intel located the former agent who was meeting with someone who’s a stepping stone in releasing the files. Shifting in your seat as your eyes watched him, you took a drink of your iced latte, feeling uneasy under your companion’s stare. “What the fuck is your problem, Wilson?”

He shrugged, leaning into his own chair, “If you keep on staring you’ll blow our cover.” His tone was careful despite saying so loud, glancing at the direction of where you were looking at, seeing the agent on the phone before looking back at you. “Redwing is ready if he ever runs away, L/N.”

This made you roll your eyes, “I hate that damn machine.” You muttered, sinking into your seat as you sipped on your coffee even more.

Your stakeout was going rather well until the guy you were watching stood up, making you and Sam follow, pursuing him in the busy streets of New York. The person must’ve sensed someone following him since he started to make a run for it. “Fuck.” You muttered quietly, also starting to run, getting a headstart from Sam who commanded Redwing to follow the guy.

He slid into an alleyway and you followed him, only to be met with a gun pointed to your head. “Move and I won’t hesitate to blow your brains.” He threatened, finger on the trigger. It would be a lie to say that this didn’t bring back your memories of harsh training with actual guns pointed at your head; it caused your heartbeat to move at a much more erratic pace.

You tried to look for Sam through your peripheral view but to now avail, that is until someone suddenly shouted, “Redwing! NOW!” which caught the ex-agent off guard as he turned around, giving you the opportunity to tackle him to the ground. “Better luck next time.” You chided, holding him in place as Sam re-emerged from the other side of the alley, looking rather impressed.

“Not too shabby, Y/N.” He says, a smirk resting on his lips as he got the agent from you, pushing him against the wall to keep in place firmly. You bowed playfully, brushing your hands against your pants as you mirrored the smirk on his lips. “Couldn’t say the same for you though.” You humored, readjusting your shirt as you watched Sam turn in the then man.

He scoffed at your statement, feigning offense. “Excuse me, but without Redwing over here, you would have your brains out on the street.” He answered, motioning to the gadget flying above your head doing small little wiggles.

You rolled your eyes, starting to walk away from him. “You know you needed him, Y/N!” He hollered out, making you shake your head and laugh softly to yourself. You brought up your right hand to show him your middle finger once again, looking back at him with a small smile. “You wish, Wilson!”

“If you weren’t such an asshole Sam, I would’ve kissed you right now. But knowing your ego, it’s best to leave you hanging.”

That sentence alone left him shocked in his place, realizing who his soulmate was.

---

The rest of the day was quiet for you, which was quite the shocker; you hadn’t heard from Sam, not even a single “what’s up, short stuff.” If anything, you had come up to the idea that he was avoiding you like the plague. Despite the peace and quiet it provided, you missed your banters with him dar too much.

You were inside the gym, focusing your energy on throwing punches on the punching bag as your mind was shrouded with the thought of Sam suddenly avoiding you. Had you been too harsh on him? Did you actually offend him this time? You shook it off, Sam and you had literally gone through hell and back, talked so much trash about each other but never got angry; not even once. So what was his deal?

Sam suddenly re-emerged from behind you, clad in a tight-fitting shirt and some shorts, probably on his way to work out. He was still silent, which annoyed you even more, he didn’t even spare you a glance as he made a beeline for the weights. This made you roll your eyes, punching the gym equipment a bit harder out of aggression.

“If you keep that up, you might break the punching bag again.” He finally spoke up, looking at you with a blank expression as he yielded the dumbbell, flexing his arms. Your eyes travelled down to his muscles that were defined through his shirt before looking back up to meet his gaze, huffing lightly before turning away. If he wanted to be silent with you, then so be it.

“Oh c’mon now. Don’t ignore me, you literally just checked me out!” Sam pressed on, his tone now filled with mischief; he caught you and you were pretty sure he won’t let it down until you give him the attention that he wants.

But you won’t give him the satisfaction, not just yet. You were dying on the inside, wanting to just go back to the playful fights you have but your pride was at unrest. You want to see him go to an extent just to grab your attention again.

He shook his head in annoyance, mumbling something rather incoherent as he silenced himself, succumbing to your games.

Quietness enveloped the room, the only thing that could be heard was the heavy breathing from the exercises the two of you were doing. Moving from the punching bag to the treadmill, you plugged in your earphones as you listened to some tunes to entertain yourself; you’ve never heard silence quite this loud until you and Sam had completely disregarded each other’s presence.

“Oh my god, Y/N. If you weren’t so stubborn I would’ve told you that you’re my soulmate and pinned you against the wall already.”

Sam’s voice infiltrated your mind, obviously startling you, making you lose your control and twist your ankle which resulted with you falling down on the treadmill before sliding down to the floor. You groaned softly, holding on to your ankle as you winced in pain.

Sam on the other hand was quick to drop the free weight equipment he was using and ran to your side, face filled with concern. “Hey, you alright? What happened?” He questioned, hand carefully holding your achilles as he elevated it, checking for any signs of wounds.

You shook your head, refusing to believe that he was your soulmate. Goosebumps ran along your skin at his simple touch, now realizing the effect he has on you. Huffing lightly, he placed back down on the floor as he got up, dusting off his hands. “I’ll go get the first aid kit. I think you might have sprained your ankle from that fall.”

Sighing softly, you had no other choice but to let him do the work. He walked back to you and quietly worked on your ankle, gently pressing the ice to your ankle to contain its swelling, making you let out a hiss from the pain. “Don’t go biting me.” He humored, making laugh softly and rolled your eyes.

Seeing how close he was, you silently admired how his brows were furrowed in focus as he wrapped the bandage around your foot and ankle, how the sweat that littered his skin glistened in the bright light of the gym, and how hands light and gentle as he handled you which gave the butterflies at the pit of your stomach do flips.

You weren’t sure if you were able to speak with him freely through your thoughts, fearing that the attraction you had with him wasn’t mutual but you took a deep breath in, focusing your remaining energy to try and communicate with him. “Sam.”

He looked at you, “Yes?” which made you break out into a big smile, punching him lightly on the shoulder. His face of concern morphed into one of annoyance, “Hey! I’m here helping you out with your sprained ankle and you repay my kind actions by punching me on the shoulder?”

“Idiot, I didn’t even speak out loud.” You told him, catching him off-guard. You laughed softly at his surprised expression, probably not expecting that you would realize right away that you were each other’s soulmate. A smirk of triumph now adorned your lips as you wiggled your eyebrows at him, taking the opportunity to tease him even more. “Cat’s got your tongue?”

Sam chuckled, putting your foot on his thigh as he sat down on the floor, “As if I haven’t heard the incriminating thoughts that go through your mind.” He rebutted, looking around the room before meeting your gaze, a small smile adorning your lips. “You’re stuck with me now, I have the right to fully annoy you now.”

You sighed dramatically, laying on the cool floor. “What did I do in my past life to deserve this?” You playfully whined, covering your face with your hands which Sam was quick to uncover, now that he was hovering over you as he gently leaned in. “Please, I know you want me too.”

His voice deepened as it got softer, his body above yours as he spoke again, “You just didn’t know how much I wanted you too.” Normally Sam would be energetic and loud around you, to irk you beneath your skin, so seeing him so soft and gentle with you was making your brain go haywire. It was a side of you you haven’t seen yet.

Given the close proximity between the both of you, you could feel his warm breath fan out on your skin, effectively making your skin feel more flushed as it is. “How about you get a kiss from this sex god then, hm?” He managed to crack a joke, lips forming a smile as he casted a brief glance down to your lips.

You hit his shoulder, scrunching up your nose. “I can’t believe you heard my thoughts about that一 but who cares, kiss me.” And soon enough, his lips were on yours in a soft liplock. It was slow and gentle, his lips molded perfectly with yours as it portrayed the pent up emotions the both of you have been pining for each other.

The kiss had now upscaled into a much more passionate one, with his lower half playfully grinding down on you, effectively making you release a small moan which Sam took as an opportunity to let his tongue inside the wet cavern, asserting his dominance against you until

“Woah what the fuck!” was heard across the room, making you push Sam off from you as the both of you whipped your head to the door to see Bucky standing with wide eyes.

“I knew your sexual tension was high up in the air but can’t you guys fuck somewhere else?!”

---

TAGLIST: @lunalovecroft @gcdricreads @darthwheezely (fellow falcon simp, i just had to tag you)

#sam wilson #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson x you #sam wilson x y/n #sam wilson fluff #the falcon #the falcon x reader #sam wilson fics #sam wilson fic #sam wilson imagine #sam wilson imagines #the falcon imagines

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mdelpin · 5 years

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The Red Dragon - Chapter 15

Gratsu Bingo 2019 Prompt: Scarf AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch14

Chapter 15

Happy soon returned with his kill, a large mountain Vulcan, before immediately flying off to get another as he realized it wouldn’t do much to sate Atlas considering his enormous size. Rogue wasn’t with him so Natsu could only assume he’d gone to get the others.

The hellfire dragon finally awoke at the smell of food and quickly consumed the Vulcan, letting out a loud burp. As soon as he was done, his eyes narrowed, and he glared at his nephew. He snarled, “What were you thinking?”

Natsu gave him a dirty look, not entirely sure what his uncle was referring to.

“Why did you expand our territory so much? You should only make it as large as you can reasonably defend, boy! You were killing yourself.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Natsu tried to protest, purposefully downplaying how tough the last couple of years had been. “There are a lot more people living in Talos now, I wanted to make sure the dragons stayed far away.”

“I understand you wanted to protect everyone, Natsu, but we’re at war. It just isn’t possible, and making yourself weaker in the process helps no one. The sooner you learn that the better off you’ll be,” There was an underlying urgency to Atlas’ words that Natsu could only sense, but he didn’t really understand what it meant.

“What happened to you guys? You said you’d be back in a few months and that was years ago,” Natsu reminded his uncle, a part of him desperate to know what was happening even as he was terrified of the answer.

“Things were a lot worse than we’d been led to believe,” Atlas replied carefully, managing to give away nothing. He leaned forward as he studied his nephew, “When you saw me, you didn’t look surprised in the least. Why is that?”

Natsu told him about the dream and waited to be told that it wasn’t real, that it had been his overactive imagination at work.

“Has this happened before?” Atlas tilted his head, waiting for Natsu’s answer.

Natsu could only shrug, the fact was he’d been so tired of late that he couldn’t even tell if he’d been dreaming. “I don’t think so, but I don’t often remember my dreams.”

Atlas sighed, “It sounds like the dream was in my perspective so maybe I somehow managed to link with you. I was already thinking of asking for your help at the time, so I suppose it’s possible. Even I don’t know the full extent of my magic.”

“That was Acnologia you saw, he’s the leader of the renegade dragon slayers,” Atlas appeared irritated just talking about him, “He’s a tough bastard, and currently the biggest threat to all of us.”

“But I don’t understand,” Natsu puzzled, “How can he change into a dragon? Is he like me?”

“He’s nothing like you!” Atlas roared, his words making the cave shake around them. He glared at the cave walls a bit before continuing with his explanation, “We told you about how renegade dragon slayers were using our blood to make themselves stronger, but this is different. It seems like the more the dragon slayers use our magic, the more dragon-like they become. I’ve seen some signs that it has driven a few to madness.

You’ve always been both so your brain can handle the change between one form and the other, but the dragon slayers are human, and it seems like my enchantment is attempting to turn them into dragons, instead of allowing the two natures to coexist like they do in you. That’s just my guess, if it weren’t such a disaster it would be a rather exciting puzzle, considering there was very little transformation magic involved.

“What about our slayers?” Natsu could hear his heart pounding in his head, he’d seen no signs of this in his friends, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty at the thought that it was a possibility.

“I don’t know what to tell you. I still think they’ll be fine,” Atlas scratched his muzzle with his claws, looking pensive, “They don’t use their magic as much, and they certainly don’t bathe themselves in the blood of other dragons. You don’t understand the amounts of magic these dragon slayers are using daily. But if I do manage to create a counterspell, I will offer them the choice to keep their magic or return it to their dragons.

Natsu knew Atlas was trying to be reassuring, but it wasn’t helping. Give up their magic? Would they really want to do that? It was such a big part of who they were now, and of what drew them together. More than ever before, he was determined to keep them as far away from the war front as he possibly could.

“How bad is it?”

Although the question was vague, Natsu knew Atlas would understand what he was asking.

“Bad kid, if you don’t mind I’m going to wait for the others to get here before I get into that, I’m too tired to tell the story twice, and frankly it’s not a happy tale.”

Natsu could feel Atlas’ eyes on him, studying him carefully, and as he met his gaze he was surprised to see Atlas looked uncertain, it wasn’t something Natsu had ever seen before, and for the first time, he began to wonder how much fighting in the war had changed their dragons.

“What is it?”

After a long silence, Atlas finally responded, and Natsu could sense how hard this decision had been for his uncle.

“I need to ask something of you, something I’m not proud of, but you’re the only one I can trust.”

“You want me to come back with you, don’t you?”

Atlas nodded, “I need you to take over your father’s protection so I can work on something. It might be the only chance we have left to salvage this mess.”

“You know Dad isn’t going to like this.”

“I know, but I think this war has taught us both that what we would like and what is are two very different things. Igneel won’t like it, and he’ll possibly never forgive me for it, but eventually, he’ll come to accept the need for it.”

Natsu was terrified, he’d only gone up against one dragon and that hadn’t exactly gone great. How on Earth was he going to be able to protect his dad when he’d barely been able to defend himself? But he knew Atlas would never ask this of him if there were any other way. This war had to end, and he would do his best to make that happen, for all of them.

Natsu pushed all his doubts and fears out of his mind, this was something he had to do, “Alright, I’ll go.”

“Thanks, I hope you don’t come to regret it.”

Natsu couldn’t agree more, he wasn’t looking forward to what was coming next.

Atlas lay back down, his eyes half-lidded as he peered at his nephew with interest. “Now, why don’t we talk about something else for a while? Why were you flying around in your dragon form in broad daylight? What’s all this about a spell?

Natsu thought about where to start. He was happy to see his uncle, even though he knew his presence was only going to create sadness for him and everyone around him. “Everyone’s been concerned about me and trying to figure out what I’ve been doing at night. I held them off as long as I could, but then I got attacked by a silver dragon a few days ago, and I was injured badly.”

Natsu heard a strangled noise and suddenly felt the familiar warmth of his uncle’s healing magic flow through him even as the great dragon rubbed his muzzle against Natsu’s face gently. Natsu was surprised by his uncle’s reaction, a stark contrast to other times he’d been injured when Atlas had seemed almost pleased at his discomfort.

“I’m fine, Wendy healed me,” Natsu did his best to reassure him, reverting to the playfulness that had usually marked their conversations, “Jeez, I never expected the war would make you so soft.”

Atlas continued to stare at him with a conflicted expression. “We’ve been so worried about you kids here on your own. We’d never left you alone before, I’m sorry we couldn’t stay.”

“It was an adjustment, but we’ve managed okay,” when he saw Atlas did not look convinced he tried to hearten him, “I promise.”

Natsu was unsettled by all the changes in his uncle, making him even more curious to find out what he’d been through in his absence. He suddenly realized that this had been the first time he’d been seriously injured and Atlas had not been around to heal him and while it made him sad to see the guilt, it warmed his heart to know his uncle cared so much.

He waited for Atlas to control his emotions before continuing, “Anyway, the others were no longer willing to listen to my excuses. Then I had that dream, and when I told them about it, Erza freaked and ordered me to take another slayer with me. I wasn’t going to be able to hide anymore, so I had to tell them something. I told them you taught me a spell that allowed me to mark and move around swiftly.”

“Do they all know you can turn into a dragon?” Atlas leaned forward as he listened, his muzzle almost touching Natsu’s shoulder.

“Just Rogue for now and he’s promised not to tell anyone.”

Atlas brows furrowed and he remained quiet as he seemed to think over Natsu’s words. The next words that came out of his mouth shocked Natsu to his very core.

“You’re going to have to tell them eventually, you might as well do it now. You might never get a better opportunity.“

“I can’t,” Natsu’s words were tinged with panic. It wasn’t just the fear of defying Igneel but a deeper one of losing everyone he cared about.

“Why the hell not?” Atlas glared at him, and Natsu finally saw traces of the personality he was used to.”

“I promised Igneel, besides if I did, Gray would find out.”

“Natsu, I know you want to follow your father’s orders, but he’s wrong about this. You can’t keep denying who you are, not when it’s hurting you to do so. I can already smell your Gray all over you, not to mention you’re fated. He was a child when he rejected you, don’t you think he’s grown since then? And the dragon slayers are your friends, they’ve known you for a long time. Do you really think so little of them?”

“It’s not just them, there are a lot of people who hate dragons. Even more so since the war started and dragons began destroying villages. There are thousands of people who have had to move here because there’s nowhere else for them to go. Do you really think they’ll welcome me with open arms just because I happen to be human as well?”

“You can’t help who you are any more than they can. And I didn’t tell you to go to the middle of town and make an announcement. All I’m saying is that you should tell those that are closest to you and trust that they will accept you for who you are. Rogue seems to be handling it well.”

“He doesn’t know its really me. Happy is the only one who knows what I really am.”

“Ugh! I swear you’re as stubborn as your father. Fine, I suppose you’d know best, but at least think about it?”

Natsu was having trouble reconciling this version of his uncle with the gruff dragon he was used to, the one who would never have considered defying his brother or even suggesting that he might be wrong. He couldn’t say he didn’t like it, but it unsettled him to see so many changes.

Atlas remained silent, knowing Natsu had stopped listening. He tapped his claws against the cave floor, thinking of something else they could talk about, something that would be neutral, and he remembered Happy. “So, where did this wyrmling come from? I thought there weren’t any left.”

“He found me when I was injured and brought me back here. He was the baby dragon Sting, and the others attacked,” Natsu reminded him, “He’s been on his own all this time, so I offered him to live here with us.”

Atlas shut his eyes, still wondering how things had deteriorated for them so quickly. How much had been his fault? He felt the familiar guilt eat away at him and knew there was no real answer. Dragons had already been dying in this war long before he ever became involved.

“There was a time when that would never have happened. I remember when our lairs were filled with wyrmlings, and now there are so few of us left. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to bounce back from this.”

“I’m going to go into my room, do some research while we wait for the other slayers to get here, there isn’t a lot of time.”

Natsu nodded and wondered if he should try to go speak with Gray now, or whether he should wait to hear more of what was happening. Happy had come in with another Vulcan and Natsu decided to go ahead and hunt for the rest of them. It was going to be a long night.

O-O

All the slayers sat in the large room, eating the meat Natsu had hunted and cooked, while Atlas ate the food Happy had brought him. The young wyrmling sat next to the giant dragon, looking more relaxed than they’d ever seen him. He didn’t even seem to mind Sting’s presence for once.

He appeared to be trying to emulate Atlas' gestures, and it suddenly brought home to Natsu the fact that Happy had really been alone all this time, relying only on his instincts for survival. Outside of Natsu, when had Happy been able to interact with other red dragons? It saddened him to think that maybe if they’d found Happy sooner, he could have lived with them and gotten everything he needed.

The slayers didn’t want to admit it, given the circumstances, but having Atlas with them had boosted their morale incredibly. Although it made them wish that all the dragons were there, like before they had left to fight.

Atlas had told them their parents were all alive, although injured, but he’d opted not to tell them anything else until after they’d finished eating. Instead, he had them catch him up on their lives, paying close attention to their replies. His request was unusual, give how Atlas had always kept himself apart.

He was the only one of the dragons without a child of his own, although the other slayers didn't’ know that, preferring to share Natsu with Igneel rather than acquire a child of his own. It took Natsu a bit to realize that Atlas wanted to bring his friends' news of their children, perhaps in the hopes that it would bring them comfort.

Once everyone had finished eating, they looked over to Atlas, knowing he had a lot to tell them.

“I wish the news were better,” Atlas began, “As you might have heard already my enchantment had some unexpected side effects. At first, it turned the war in our favor, but now that some of the dragon slayers have begun to change, it has made everything worse.”

“What do you mean by change, Atlas?” Wendy asked, her eyes curious but not worried.

“Well, some of them have gone mad, while others have begun to become more dragon-like. The stronger ones can even transform into a type of dragon form.”

“They can turn into dragons?” Sting asked excitedly as Rogue rolled his eyes at him.

“Yes, Sting, they can, and once they get to that state they are very powerful, but it’s at the cost of their sanity. They are neither human nor dragon at that point, and they kill both.”

“Is that going to happen to us?” Gajeel demanded, never one for sugarcoating things.

“I don’t think so, as I told Natsu earlier, these dragon slayers use large amounts of dragon magic daily, much more than you ever have. One of my reasons for coming here was to get Natsu. I need him to take over Igneel’s protection so that I can try to create a counterspell. If I’m successful, you will have the choice to have your magic removed. I’m not sure about the two of you, though, ” Atlas glanced at Sting and Rogue, “ With you being a mated pair, I’d be concerned as to how having your magic removed would affect you.”

“You’re leaving?” Wendy was the first to ask what they were all thinking, looking to Natsu for an answer.

“Yeah,” Natsu replied, trying to make it sound like it was no big deal, “Happy and Rogue can continue patrols while I’m gone.”

Atlas waited to see if they had any more questions on the subject before continuing to give them an update on what was going on.

“As I said earlier, when the dragon slayers began fighting on our side, it brought the tide of the war in our favor. But once the renegades started killing indiscriminately, Deliora, who is the leader of the opposition, used this to their advantage. He began recruiting dragons to his side, and many of them listened.

Deliora also began to try to make the remaining dragons doubt Igneel’s leadership, attempting to replace him with someone he could control, and that is something else we’re fighting against.”

“The war itself has changed, we are now fighting two sets of enemies. While the dragons are all trying to kill each other, the renegades are intent on exterminating all dragons, and if things continue in this fashion, they may soon get their wish. Igneel is trying to convince Deliora to agree to a temporary truce so they can go after the renegades together, but that isn’t going to happen.”

“A lot of dragons have died, and humans as well. We need to find a way to finish this quickly, or there might be nothing left to save,” Atlas lamented.

“You didn’t know, Atlas,” Wendy tried to soothe him, sensing the guilt the dragon was carrying, “You did what you thought was best, it’s all anyone can ever do.”

“Thanks, Wendy,” Atlas grumbled affectionately, “but there is no denying that I am responsible for this turn of events, which is why it must fall to me to do what I can to fix it.”

“Wait, isn’t that the name of the dragon that destroyed Gray’s village?” Gajeel blurted out, looking at Natsu to gauge his reaction.

Atlas grunted his assent, “Deliora has been responsible for a lot of terrible things, he’s the bane of the red dragons. Igneel should have killed him when he had the chance.”

Natsu bristled at hearing Deliora mentioned, and he promised himself that if he ever got a chance at him, he would not falter.

“If I could just remove the renegade dragon slayer threat, maybe we can talk sense into the remaining dragons and just stop all the fighting. If not, dragons are likely to become extinct very soon.

“We’d like to come too,” Wendy looked at the others for support. They all nodded their agreement.

Before Atlas could respond, Natsu snarled, “Absolutely not!”

“Igneel promised me you would never have to get involved in this war, and I’m holding him to that.”

“This isn’t something you can decide for us, Salamander,” Gajeel, never one to enjoy being told what to do growled angrily.

“We’re stronger when we fight together,” Rogue reminded him.

“Didn’t you listen to a word Atlas said?” Natsu pleaded, trying to make them see he was only interested in keeping them safe, “I don’t want that for you.”

“That won’t happen to us,” Sting assured him.

“You don’t know that, Sting,” Natsu argued, “What if it happens faster because you’ve had the magic longer? Atlas created the enchantment, and even he doesn’t know. You guys are staying, and that’s final.”

“It could happen to you too,” Gajeel pointed out, and Natsu had no way to explain why that wasn’t true without giving himself away, so he only glared at Gajeel angrily with his arms crossed over his chest.

O-O

They had stayed up for hours arguing until Natsu had finally convinced the others to stay. Atlas had wanted to leave then, but Natsu had refused, and Atlas decided to let him have his way this once.

He’d joined Rogue and Happy on their patrol wanting to make sure Happy knew everything he needed to continue to do the job safely. Natsu could only marvel at how quickly Atlas had taken to the young dragon. He really was a soft touch underneath all his bravado.

There were a few people Natsu needed to say goodbye to before he left. People that had been important to him all throughout his time at the village.

He made his way out of the cave and down the mountain. Walking the same path he’d taken every day since he was eight years old.

The first time he’d gone to the village had been for school. Anna had shown up before daylight to walk him down. She’d held his hand as she told him all about the school he would be attending, trying hard to make everything feel familiar for him when he finally got there, but most importantly caring enough to make him feel welcome in a strange place. She told him a little about all the kids he would meet, kids that had ended up being such an essential part of his life.

Natsu wished he could say he’d listened to any of it, but he’d been too distracted by all the new smells and sounds assailing his senses to really make sense of her words. The hum of her constant chatter had at least managed to calm his nerves. The only boy he’d ever met had been Gray and as much fun as that had been at first, it had also created great fear within him.

It was probably a good thing that Sting, a boy very similar to Natsu in temperament, had been the first person to greet him. They became instant friends, laughing and playing together from the second they’d met. The same couldn’t be said about Erza, who was the first girl he ever met.

Erza had no patience for games, or for people who didn’t take things seriously. They had clashed so much at first, there had been many a day when Natsu had returned home covered in bruises, much to Atlas’ amusement and Igneel’s distress. Violence seemed to be the only language she understood, and probably for the first year he attended school, he was terrified of her.

He had no idea when that had changed, but over the years he’d grown to genuinely care for her, finally able to recognize the pain she hid. After her mother became a dragon slayer and left with her dragon Belserion, Erza had been thrust into the unenviable position of always waiting for someone who was fighting in a war that seemed to have no end in sight. With only an occasional message sent with the dragons to let her know her mother was still alive.

There was no way Natsu could leave Talos without telling her, he knew that while she might understand, it would only add to the pain she already lived daily. Erza deserved better than that from him.

Natsu reached the field, their field as he liked to think of it, sooner than expected. He wasn’t looking forward to saying goodbye to Gray, he knew the ice mage was not going to accept his departure, was going to fight him tooth and nail to stay. He could only hope in time Gray would come to understand he’d really had no other choice.

He closed his eyes, focusing on their bond, testing to see if he could determine where Gray was. He could sense him, but he didn’t seem to be close. Natsu wondered if he’d still be able to feel him when he arrived at their destination.

He didn’t want to admit it, even to himself, but he was terrified. Would he be strong enough to protect Igneel from Acnologia, or any other threat? Would this be the last time he saw the village he’d come to think of as his?

Natsu hurried to Erza’s office, hoping she would be there working on plans for boosting the town’s defenses. Atlas wasn’t the most patient of dragons and now that he was ready to leave, every minute spent away from Igneel was making him more and more ill-tempered.

The door opened just as he was about to knock, and Lyon walked out, his eyes twinkling while a dreamy smile played on his lips.

“Hey!” Natsu greeted, quickly moving out of his way.

“Oh, hi,” Lyon managed to look sheepish, his hand rubbing absently at the back of his neck.

Natsu whispered, “Dude, are you ever going to ask her out?”

Lyon sighed, “It’s not that easy.”

“Of course it is, just ask her, don’t waste any more time,” Natsu advised, patting the man on the shoulder.

He wanted to ask Lyon to watch out for Gray while he was gone, to make sure not to let him wallow in his absence too much, but the words only stuck in his throat. Instead, he asked him to tell Gray to meet him at the field in a while.

Lyon agreed and walked away, stopping for a moment to look back at Natsu with a worried frown. Natsu waited until he was out of sight before knocking on the door as he opened it, alerting Erza to his presence.

Erza, who had been sitting at her desk with a thoughtful expression on her face, looked up in confusion as she saw Natsu standing in her doorway. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on patrol with Rogue?”

Natsu closed the door behind him and walked towards her slowly, his steps sounding hollow on the polished wood of her office floor. Erza’s shoulders slumped as he got closer and her eyes welled up.

She uttered a small cry before covering her mouth with her hand, “No.”

Natsu felt terrible, watching the different emotions play out across her face. “I’m sorry. Atlas arrived yesterday. I have to go with him, they need me. He did tell me your mom is fine, pissing people off left and right, so there’s that,” Natsu told her, wanting to give her something positive to hold on to.

Erza looked relieved, cradling her face between her hands for a moment before rising from her chair, her scarlet hair draping itself prettily around her face. She walked around her desk and in an awkward movement, wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Natsu hugged her back, feeling the cold metal of her armor press against his chest, smelling the slight bitterness of the salt in her tears and the hint of strawberries in her hair. He found himself sniffing her, trying to commit her scent to memory. He fought off the tears that wanted to come, not wanting to alarm her with his fear.

She finally let go and studied him, knowing her, probably seeing every little thing he was trying to hide.

“Well, of course they do, you’re a fierce fighter,” Erza smiled bravely as if all this time they dragons had all been sitting around, just waiting for Natsu to show up. “Now go out there and make us proud, if anyone can end this war, it’s you.”

Natsu snorted, knowing that was absolute rubbish, but loving her for trying to build him up anyway. He gave her one last hug and kissed her forehead, “Thanks for everything, Erza.”

“It’s not goodbye, idiot. It’s just... see you later. I’ll make sure Talos is the same when you return.”

Natsu nodded, not trusting his voice. He began to walk away, already thinking about Anna when Erza called out.

“Natsu?”

He turned, eyebrow raised in silent question.

Natsu could tell there was something important Erza wanted to ask of him, and he held his breath, but she only said, “You never told me how your date went.”

“It was perfect,” Natsu replied smiling at her sadly. He hadn’t needed to hear her words to know it was about her mother, and so in the bravest tone he could muster he asserted, “I promise, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“Good man, see that you are.”

With a final wave, he left her office, closing the door behind him so that no one could see her break down.

He felt his fingers move instinctively towards the fringe of his scarf, playing with the dangling strands as he tried to settle himself, already feeling tentative prods from Gray at the bond. Erza had been the easiest of his stops. From now on, they only got progressively harder.

He gave the interior of the building one last glance on his way out, quickly picking out the cracks in the plaster and the sour smell of sweat in the air that never entirely went away no matter how many times it was cleaned.

Natsu couldn’t help but be amused to find that despite the number of times he’d gotten injured and how he almost ran out the moment his shifts were over, he was actually going to miss this place.

Being a member of the Guard had allowed him to belong to a group, and be accepted by the town as one of them. He’d been more than happy to protect them. But most of all, the Village Guard had made it possible for him to get to know Gray again, to rekindle their friendship as they worked and trained together daily.

He hoped the dragon slayers wouldn't feel his absence too much. He didn’t like to create more work for others.

He exited the building and looked back once more, saying a silent goodbye and thank you to everyone before making his way towards the orphanage.

Anna was outside hanging up laundry, her blonde hair up in a bun as loose tendrils danced in the wind. Children played near her, and as they recognized him, they eyed him with interest, hoping he would show them some of his fire magic as he’d done countless times before.

“Natsu, Natsu! You promised you’d spell out my name next time you came!” a young girl who looked to be no more than six years old tugged at his pants, trying to get his attention.

Natsu kneeled by her and asked, “I sure did, what was your name?” He pretended to think about it, “It’s Bertha, right?”

He almost laughed at the way she scrunched up her little face in dismay, “No, it’s Ellie.”

“Alright then, Ellie, here you go,” Natsu focused a bit of his magic onto his fingers shaping the fire until it made letters, he wrote out her name for her, and she squealed in delight, jumping around excitedly before running off to tell the others.

“You might not have wanted to start that, dear, they’re all going to want it now,” Anna’s eyes observed him intently, looking him over with a mother’s eyes.

Anna had known him all his life, and she was the one person who held his secret. “What brings you by?”

Natsu quickly grabbed some laundry from one of the many baskets and began to place it on the clothesline, clipping the edges carefully so they wouldn’t blow away.

“You make it sound as though I never come to visit,” Natsu complained, but her shrewd glance had him eyeing the baskets intently for another item.

“Usually you bring a friend,” Anna pointed out, “Is there something wrong?”

“I have to go,” Natsu told her.

“Natsu, if something is bothering you, you know you can always come to me.”

“No, I mean, I have to go. Atlas needs me to protect Igneel while he works on something. I’m leaving in a few hours.�� At least he hoped he had that long, Atlas had been very impatient so far. “I just wanted to say goodbye.”

“Oh,” Anna bit her lip, but it wasn’t enough, she began to wipe at her eyes, “I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Natsu was quick to assure her, but she only gripped him by the shoulders, looking deep into his eyes before crushing him in her arms and dissolving into sobs. She knew what he was going up against, being the only one besides the dragon slayers to have met actual dragons.

Natsu found himself at a loss, he knew she would be upset, but he hadn’t expected this, so he let her hold him until she’d calmed down.

“I’m sorry,” she smiled through her tears, using the edge of her white apron to dab at the corners of her eyes. “I should be comforting you. It’s just, as much as I’ve helped to raise many children you were the first one, and I’ve always thought of you as my son.”

“I—” Natsu was incredibly touched by her admission, but he didn’t know how to respond, so he just hugged her again. As much as Anna had been the only mother he’d ever known, it felt somehow disrespectful to his dead mother to claim her as such.

“Shh, I know,” Anna assured him, “Promise me you’ll be careful no matter what form you’re in.”

Natsu nodded, letting go of her slowly. “I will.”

“It’s okay to feel scared, sweetheart, I’d be more worried if you weren’t.”

Natsu chuckled, “Well, in that case, you should have nothing to worry about.”

Anna brought her hand to his cheek, “You are strong and brave, keep your wits about you, and you should be fine.”

“Now you sound like Igneel,” he teased.

“Well, you didn’t think he got all that on his own, did you?” Anna retorted, trying to sound more like her usual self.

They heard crying and watched as a little boy ambled towards them surrounded by the other children, his knee bloody and his cheeks wet. Anna turned towards the little boy, and Natsu knew it was time for him to leave.

“Goodbye, Anna.”

“Come back to us,” She demanded quietly before waving and returning her attention to her charge.

Natsu watched her for a few moments, remembering times when he’d been that little boy and smiling. She’d always taken good care of him, sometimes even fighting against Igneel when she didn’t agree with his punishments. He could only hope that his efforts would somehow help to bring peace, so no more women like her would have to spend their lives caring for the ones left behind by all the violence this war had wrought.

And now, with his second goodbye over and done with that left only one. Gray. He was nowhere near ready to talk to his boyfriend, but he had to soldier on. He made his way towards the field, dreading the next encounter with every step he took.

“What are you still doing down here? Gray left for the field ages ago.”

Natsu stopped at Lyon’s question, facing him. He scratched his head, “Listen, can I talk to you about something?”

“So I was right, something is going on with you,” Lyon muttered.

“No, it’s just I have to —,” Natsu never got to finish his sentence. He was assailed by an unexpected wave of panic.

What the hell?

The panic only deepened, and Natsu rushed towards the field, fearing the worst when he heard a loud roar which he instantly recognized.

Lyon chased after him, not sure what was going on but reacting to a roar so close to town.

Damn it, Atlas. Why couldn’t you wait in the fucking cave, as we agreed?

O-O

Gray had missed Natsu the night before, after two nights sleeping together he had sort of taken it for granted that they would continue to do so every night. But he hadn’t seen Natsu at all since their date and Erza hadn’t really let up all day, so he’d never had a chance to sneak out to see him.

The newest guards had been given the option to live in the barracks temporarily. A perk from Erza for their allegiance. It was undoubtedly a step up from the camps with indoor plumbing and food both provided and available at all hours. Several people had taken her up on it.

Unfortunately for the guards, she’d also decided there should be at least one guard at the barracks at night to deal with any issues that might arise. With all the dragon slayers busy it had fallen to him and Lyon to stay at the barracks with the new recruits that night. Which meant he’d spent the night trying to avoid Juvia’s shy advances.

Lyon had tried to help, attempting to talk to Juvia about where she was from and how she’d gotten to Talos but she would only answer him in monosyllables and after a small fight had broken out between two men from different camps, Lyon remained in the other side of the room, leaving Gray to deal with the lovesick girl on his own.

Gray acted aloof, pretended to read a book, tried to start conversations with others, but no matter what he did, she continued to talk to him, and he didn’t have the heart to mistreat her, knowing that’s what she was used to.

He decided to talk to Natsu, he didn’t care if people knew about them, Sting and Rogue didn’t precisely flaunt their relationship, but most people in the village realized the two were together and no one seemed to care. Why would they be any different?

So when Lyon had mentioned seeing Natsu at Erza’s office and that he wanted to meet him at the field, Gray had rushed over to Erza’s office, hoping to catch him there.

It was ridiculous, he knew he shouldn’t act so needy, but after the previous night, he just wanted to see him, maybe sneak a kiss or two before Natsu had to go off on patrol.

He soon arrived at Erza’s office, but Natsu had already left, and Erza was in a foul mood. She wouldn’t even look at him when she demanded to know why he wasn’t training the recruits. It made him feel wary, like something was wrong.

Then there had been the twinges he’d felt in his head throughout the morning, snippets of emotions that were not his own, but were a part of him regardless. After his talk with Natsu, he now understood that it was related to their connection, this bond he and Natsu shared.

So he also knew that Natsu was unhappy about something. All these things together combined to create a feeling of anxiety that he just couldn’t escape.

Gray had to see Natsu, had to know what was happening that was causing him to feel this way. So he did the only thing he could, defied Erza’s order and headed for their field instead, as fast as he could.

He’d expected to see Natsu there waiting for him. Had wanted to watch as his boyfriend’s green eyes lit up at seeing him, to rejoice as Natsu’s smile widened to almost blinding levels but what was awaiting him was nothing like what he would have ever expected. He fell to his knees, his mind instantly reliving the worst day of his life, the one he only faced in his worst nightmares.

Deliora stared back at him, or so Gray believed. It was hard to make out any real features inside the blazing fire. He experienced each and every moment of that last morning, and once he remembered his parents' sacrifice, he stood up, determined to show no weakness to this monster.

The last time the two had met, he’d been a defenseless child but no longer. He had trained for years and had grown into a powerful mage, maybe not as strong as a dragon slayer but strong enough to face his demons.

And he would make him pay, for taking everything away from him. His hatred burned bright, rage fueling his magic. He glared at the dragon, getting into his ice make stance and quickly planning out his attack, knowing he could not let this dragon get any closer to the village.

He tried to call out to Natsu with his mind, to let him know the village was in trouble and the dragon slayers were needed, but he wasn’t sure whether Natsu heard him, his control over the bond still tenuous at best.

The dragon continued to study him from across the field but made no move towards him.

“DELIORA!”

“I’m not Deliora, my name is Atlas,” the dragon replied, addressing Gray calmly.

But Gray never heard him. He’d already begun his assault, too caught up in the past he’d never been able to get over. The righteous anger he’d felt when he’d attacked Happy years earlier was nothing compared to what he felt now, not when his real enemy was in front of him.

Ice-Make: Freezer Lance

Ice-Make: Arrows

Ice-Make: Gungnir

Ice-Make: Crescent Blades

Gray cast spell after spell, but no matter how much ice he produced, none of it was able to even touch the dragon’s intense flames, melting well before reaching him. He took a deep breath and cast one final spell.

Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur

He gripped the ice sword firmly and ran towards the dragon.

The dragon came to life in front of him, roaring its displeasure but still not unleashing his fire. The vibrations blasted Gray back roughly, although he managed to remain upright by setting a hand down on the grass for support. Not dissuaded he ran towards the dragon again.

“Gray, stop it!” Gray startled as Wendy appeared before him, her expression concerned. He gaped at her.

He wiped his face, confused by the wetness he felt on his fingers.

“Get out of my way,” Gray growled, but as he looked up, he saw Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel had now joined Wendy.

“It’s not Deliora, Gray,” Gajeel told him quietly, “This is Natsu’s dragon, Atlas. He would never hurt you.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, Metalhead,” Atlas snapped, clearly irritated by Gray’s antics.

“What are you all doing here?” Gray asked, confused by their presence in the field. Natsu had wanted to meet him here, why were they here?

“I asked you to wait in the cave,” Gray turned to see Natsu approaching with Lyon, both of them running.

“You knew I was going to talk to him here, what were you trying to prove?” Gray could hear the rage in Natsu’s voice and was surprised to see the dragon looking almost embarrassed by the scolding.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything, you asked for time to say goodbye, and I gave it to you, now we have to go. I’ve already been away for far too long, and it will take us two days to get there.”

Natsu ignored the dragon’s words, opting to observe the other dragon slayers, looking from one face to the other and apparently not liking what he saw, “In fact, what are you all doing here? We’d already said goodbye at the cave,”

“We’re coming too,” Sting came forward, always the first to take action.

“No, absolutely not, you need to stay here and protect the town.”

“No offense Natsu, but if we don’t win there, then it won’t matter whether we remain here or not.” Rogue pointed out.

“Besides, they haven’t seen what we can do when we fight together,” Sting grinned, punching his fist into the palm of his other hand.

“This isn’t some kind of game,” Natsu yelled, “Don’t you remember what Atlas told you?”

“You think we don’t know that?” Sting demanded, “We can take care of ourselves, Natsu, our dragons taught us too.”

“We know you want to protect us,” Wendy interrupted the two before they could get into an argument, “that Igneel made you some sort of promise when you were younger, but you can’t make that choice for us. We want to help too, they’re our dragons, they’re our family.”

Gajeel simply added, “There’s nothing you can do about it, Salamander. Our minds are made up, and Atlas has already agreed to take us with you. Happy will stay in the cave and take care of the patrols.”

Natsu was glaring at Atlas with a fury Gray had never seen him exhibit before, and the dragon was actually looking away.

Gray didn’t really understand anything that was happening. He had calmed down enough to acknowledge that despite the similarities, this dragon wasn’t Deliora. Although he still didn’t like the way he was looking at him. Lyon had reached him and was standing by his side, watching him worriedly.

“So you’re all going, huh?” Lyon asked the dragon slayers, sounding overly cheerful as if he were acting out what he thought the appropriate reaction should be to the situation in the hopes that Gray would emulate him. “It’s sure going to be quiet around here without you.”

That managed to get through to Gray as nothing else had yet, and he confronted Natsu, “Go? Go where? What’s he talking about?”

Gray watched Natsu’s body tense, and he began to feel Natsu’s emotions bombard him. Fear, sadness, self-loathing, determination, and a host of others he couldn’t even begin to interpret.

“No, you can’t be leaving,” Gray pleaded, “You can’t seriously be considering joining the war. Please tell me this is some sort of joke.”

“I’m sorry,” Natsu looked miserable, but Gray didn’t care, he was hurt, and he was angry so when he heard Natsu’s next words he lost it, “I have to go, they need me.”

“What about me? I need you,” Gray pushed him hard, lashing out as much as he dared, wanting Natsu to hurt for what he was doing to them. “Or does that not matter anymore now that your precious dragon is here?”

“Come on, that’s not fair, and you know it,” Gray could see Natsu fighting to keep control of himself, and it angered him even more because on some level Gray knew he was acting unreasonably, that Natsu didn’t want to leave him.

“The dragons will kill you,” Gray cried out, visions of the dead bodies he’d seen in Isvan clouding his reason.

“They can try,” Natsu tried to grin but failed miserably, making it look more like a grimace than anything even remotely reassuring. “I’ll be safe, Princess, I promise. I’ll be back before you know it and we can pick up where we left off.”

“I just got you, Natsu,” Gray could hear himself whimpering, but he didn’t care how he sounded, “Please don’t go, I can’t lose you to them too.”

“You’ll never lose me. “

“You don’t know that,” Gray protested.

“Why won’t you understand? Atlas and Igneel are my family, Gray, I have to help them and others like them. They’ve been fighting for us for so long.”

“I’m your family, too,” Gray wept, losing all control of his emotions as he began to understand that Natsu wouldn’t stay no matter what he said.

“I’m sorry,” Natsu’s voice broke, and Gray saw he was crying too, “I have to go.”

Natsu tried to put his arms around him, but Gray fought him off stubbornly, still angry that he refused to stay with him.

“Please Gray, I don’t want to leave things like this.”

“Gray, you’re being childish,” Lyon chimed in, angering Gray further because he knew it was the truth.

He could see the pleading look on Natsu’s face, the tears that still flowed down his cheeks, could even feel what Natsu was feeling through their bond and yet he couldn’t seem to make himself stop. If they stayed like this, Natsu would have to come back and fix things, wouldn’t he?

“You’re going to regret this,” Lyon warned him, continuing to tell him things he already knew.

Gray watched in shock as Natsu removed his scarf from around his neck and offered it to him.

“Keep this safe for me, will you?” Gray could only gape at him uncomprehendingly. Natsu never took his scarf off.

Natsu came closer and wrapped it around Gray’s neck, surrounding him in his smell, “It’s the second most important thing in the world to me.” Natsu smiled weakly, leaving no doubt as to what the first one was. “This way I'll always be close to you.”

“I, I don’t have anything to give you,” Gray stuttered, not realizing that with that statement he'd already accepted his fate.

“You’re all that I really want,” Natsu’s smile was sad as he placed the palm of his hand over Gray’s heart, leaving it in place for a minute.

“Natsu —”

“Shh,” Natsu kissed him softly, mouth closed but heart wide open. “I’ll see you soon, Princess.”

Gray couldn’t help but frown at the nickname, but he stared into Natsu’s face, memorizing every detail. After one last kiss, Natsu turned around and joined the other dragon slayers who had already climbed on Atlas. His flames covered the slayers but seemed to cause them no damage.

The dragon slayers waved at him and Lyon, but Natsu only looked dejected.

And as Atlas took off, Gray collapsed to the ground, his breath coming in gasping sobs as he watched yet another dragon take away what he loved most.

He felt strong arms surround him, trying to console him, but they were the wrong arms, and in his heart, he knew that until he saw Natsu return, nothing would feel alright again.

He closed his eyes, and in his mind, he suddenly heard the same words Natsu had left him with once before.

I will always come for you when you need me.

And Gray held on to them, praying that just like last time they would be true.

A/N: We’ve finally reached the half-way point! Don’t worry, I won’t extend the war stuff for too long, as I have it planned there should only be two chapters directly dealing with it, one will be in Natsu’s POV, the other in Gray’s. At least that’s the plan, this is one of the gray areas that hadn’t already been written.

I’m not sure how I feel about this chapter, truth be told it feels strange even if only because a lot of this story was written months ago. This was the first chapter that I have written from scratch since beginning to post in February and I probably should have split it in two but then I wouldn’t have been able to do the scarf prompt for the Bingo. ;)

Poor Gray, I felt really bad for doing this to him but he needed to relapse a little, not to mention he needs to start facing his past if he’s ever going to be able to truly move on. Next update should be on September 14th.

#fairy tail #gratsu #gratsubingo2019 #fairy tail big bang 2018 #ftlgbtales #update #prompt: scarf

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wingardium-letmefuckyou · 6 years

Text

Agate (part 7)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Summary: When you were kidnapped and experimented on you never thought you would see the daylight again. But your family refuses to give you up. When you later find yourself safe but with unstable powers you find comfort in someone not so unlike you. He refuses to give up on you either.

Words: 1762

Warnings: None

A/N: If anybody wants to be on the taglist, just send me a message!

This was one of the first scenes I imagined for this story, hope you like it!

Masterlist

Metaphysically, Agate has a lower intensity and vibrates to a slower frequency than other stones, but is highly regarded as a stabilizing and strengthening influence. [Simmons, 6] The layered bands of microscopic quartz in Agate may appear delicate, they are actually very strong. Agate is excellent for balancing emotional, physical and intellectual energy, and in harmonizing the positive and negative forces of the universe. [Hall, 39]

Agate promotes inner stability, composure, and maturity. Its warm, protective properties encourage security and self-confidence

(Source: https://www.crystalvaults.com/crystal-encyclopedia/agate)

Bucky and you spend what is left of the day together. He stays with you until you feel well enough to face daily life on your own again. After you say goodnight to him you enjoy another hot shower, relaxing your sore muscles. Hopefully you’ll be able to get out of bed tomorrow after all that running and moving around today. Pre-serum you would probably be crawling right now. The warm water makes you feel tired and drowsy, so you wrap yourself in a soft pajama and you have to suppress a giggle when you see the Captain America shield on the shirt. Shuri is truly something.

You get comfortable in your bed, surrounding yourself with pillows and blankets, the tablet on your lap. You plan to read until your eyes fall shut but you’re quickly distracted by a mail from your sister that demands your attention first.

Siiiiiiiiiiis!

How are you today?

Everything is fine here. I’m just sending you a mail because Alexander has been here today.

You feel slightly uncomfortable at the mention of your ex’s name. It took you a long time to break free from his controlling presence, completely banning him out of your life. But that’s a long time ago, you hadn’t actually seen him for two years now and you feel no desire to change that.

He claimed to be “worried” about you. I know you haven’t seen him in years, so total bullshit right? Stinky asshat wanted to know where you are right now. Didn’t tell him anything. Ovaries before brovaries gurl!!!

And then the best thing happened! He seemed reluctant to leave. One of the Dora Milaje entered, asking if she could be of assistance. And he squeaked! He literally squeaked like the cowardly little weasel he is. Made my day! How I love those bodyguard women… Thought you would find it funny too. Don’t worry about it too much. Hope you’re doing fine.

Say hi to Bucky and Shuri from me.

Love and hugs,

Your favourite (yes, yes, I know you only have one) sister.

You laugh out loud, easily imagining your sisters glee at Alexander fleeing your house under the stern gaze of the Dora Milaje. You want to reply but you feel so worn out that you decide to postpone answering until the morning.

You nestle under the blankets, shutting down the light, surrounding yourself in darkness. Sleep comes for you quickly, pulling you under effortlessly. The arms of deep slumber embrace you, carrying you into the deep, dark world of dreams.

At first, there is nothing, just peacefulness and rest. The terrors in your mind are kept at bay for the first part of the night. But as the hours tick by, Bucky’s words come to be the truth. It will only come back to haunt you…

The calmness of sleep slowly trickles over into a nightmare.

You are once again bound tight to a metal table, leather straps digging painfully into your wrists. The harder you struggle, the tighter they get. A person in a lab coat approaches. You know you should be frightened out of your wits but you aren’t. You’re seething, anger pulsing violently through your veins.

The dream shifts and suddenly you’re not bound anymore, you’re watching the same room but from the corner. The lab coat moves aside, revealing a familiar redhead on the table, in the exact position you had been only moments before. You want to protest, to pull her from the table but you can not move nor speak.

Shift. It’s your father on the table.

Shift. It’s Shuri.

Shift. It’s Bucky.

You can’t breathe anymore. The rage inside you is churning, like molten lava waiting to burst out. Your fingertips feel tingly, almost like they are burning. You have to do something.

Shift. Helena again.

The need to protect your sister takes over every other thought in your mind. This time you do scream and you let go. You let go of your anger, let go of the hurt, let go of all your fears. You channel all of it outwards, the sensation in your fingertips like raging hellfire now.

It’s the sound of glass breaking that wakes you up from your nightmare. You’re cold and sweaty at the same time. You have to blink a few times to orientate yourself and remember where you are. You stiffen when your surroundings become crystal clear. You recognize the outline of your room in Wakanda but it looks like a battlefield. The glass coffee table is reduced to shards spread all over the floor, the sofa seems to have survived an attack from a gang of angry tigers. Every piece of decoration is torn apart, the door to your room is blown to bits.

You did this. You can feel it, you know it. You remember everything, the tingling sensation in your hands, the moment you let go. This is all your fault.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

Bucky runs into your room, shouting, one of his knives ready in his hand. Just in case he has to attack whoever is hurting you. His eyes go from steely and hard blue to a look of confusion at the wreckage of your former furniture and then at you, you’re sitting up in your bed looking unharmed. Your eyes are wide and frightened but he quickly comes to the conclusion that no one but you is there. He quickly puts the knife away, not wanting to scare you.

“What happened here?” he asks.

How do you even start explaining this? He walks towards your bed and instinctively you scramble backwards, against the headboard. At least that still seems to be in one bit. You need to put a safe distance between Bucky and you but he painfully misreads your reaction.

“ I won’t hurt you, doll. It’s just me, Bucky.”

“I know,” you whisper. How could you ever be afraid of him? You’re trying to suppress the violent tremblings that have started at your core, spreading throughout your whole body. You need to get Bucky out of here, safe and far away from you. Instead, he comes closer, sitting at the far edge of the bed. He tries to hide the hurt look on his face, wrapping himself in an aura of gentleness. He doesn’t want you to be afraid of him. After all, how could he ever hurt you?

“Don’t come closer,” you beg, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Realization finally dawns on him. He figures out quickly that you’re the one responsible for blowing up most of your room. You close your eyes and wait for the sounds of his footsteps, walking away from you in disgust. But no such thing happens. You feel his body weight shift on the bed, towards you, scooting closer slowly and carefully.

“Y/N, open your eyes, please.”

You’re startled by his closeness when you finally look at him, he’s sitting right next to you. There is no trace of disgust on his face. Neither is he angry or frightened. He’s just soft and gentle Bucky, though looking rather worried.

“You won’t hurt me, Y/N,” he says, confidently and reassuringly.

“You can’t know that. I did this…”

You gesture at your room, your hands shaking.

“Accidents happen. You’re a good person. You won’t hurt me, or anyone for that matter.”

The last bit of control you try to maintain crumbles at his words. You let out a loud sob, your whole body is trembling and shivering with the aftershock of your nightmare. Instinctively you crawl towards Bucky, like a moth to a flame. He’s radiating heat and your whole being craves his warmth, his comfort. He doesn’t hesitate to close the distance between you, pulling his arms around you, cradling your head against his chest. Your face is wet with tears against his shirt but he doesn’t mind. Bucky just holds you tight, whispering soothing words. You can’t fully understand what he says but the gentle rumble of his voice in his chest combined with the steady thump of his heart beating calms you down in no time.

“Let’s get out of this room, okay doll?” he asks softly, once the worst of your sobbing has subsided. You nod against his chest, consciously averting your eyes from your room and the mess you had made. You start to pull away but Bucky surprises you by hooking his arm beneath your legs, lifting you up from the bed without effort.

“There’s glass on the floor. Wouldn’t want you to hurt your feet.”

You nuzzle your face in the crook of his neck while he walks out, towards his own room.

“Is this okay?” he asks before entering. You nod again, no more energy left to speak. Your body feels heavy with fatigue, your muscles feel overworked and painful. You realize those are the after effect of using your unstable powers. Before you can give this more thought, Bucky carefully lowers you on his bed. You whimper pathetically at the loss of warmth and contact when he walks away from you. But he’s back in only seconds, wrapping you up in the soft blanket that had been lying on his sofa. You blink furiously to keep your eyes open. You can’t go to sleep, not with Bucky around. Destroying furniture is one thing but you would never forgive yourself if you ever harmed him.

For a moment Bucky hesitates, not really sure what to do next. Any doubts he had disappear quickly when you look up at him with those tired and sad eyes, begging silently not to leave you alone. He kicks off his shoes, positioning himself next to you, shoving a pillow beneath his head for comfort. Bucky lifts his arm, inviting you to come closer and you nestle against him without hesitation, craving the reassurance of his presence like a drug.

“Go to sleep, baby doll,” he urges. He can see that you’re worn out, both physically and mentally.

“No…”

Your protest is feeble, you’re barely able to coherently form words. Your mind is still fighting to urge to sleep but you know it’s a losing battle. The strain your powers put on your body is too great and you know you won’t be able to resist for long.

“Shhh. Sleep now.”

Bucky’s fingers soothingly card through your hair, allowing you to relax and once again succumb to the deep pull of sleep. You sleep peacefully and dreamless and once Bucky is finally convinced that you’re safe and sound in his arms, so does he.

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