#so so so happy w a twinge of almost like ... nostalgia??? of letting go of the name I haven't been called for years but still Was Me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ft-stories-lgbt · 5 years

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For the wonderful @watcher-ofthe-sky 🌺

Also I am not going to take credit for this work. This is entirely from @grayserigala, so all the nice words, likes and reblogs is for her. I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did.

Prompt: "You've always felt like home".

Natsu can’t help but smile as he watches Sting goofing around in front of, and with their friends. The pure joy and freedom in his face reflects through their hearts, and draws the smile onto the pinkette’s face, as well. Which is a good thing, since the last few days have been kind of hard on his lover. It is so alleviating to watch the thoughts that had Sting snapping left and right or too disheartened to move, now a world away from his precious boyfriend. Natsu wishes he could hold this moment of happiness in place for eternity.

A small chuckle escapes his throat as he watches his boyfriend taking Rogue by the arm and drag him into the foolery, to keep him close. From where he is standing, Natsu can't hear what's being said but if he trusts the exasperated look that is on Rogue’s face, he is positive that Sting is up to mischief again.

Shaking his head a little Natsu leans against the wall and brings his beer to his lips. The music around becomes something soft and the boy closes his eyes for a moment, to enjoy the warm feelings that build inside him.

He feels someone coming up to stand beside him, and Natsu jolts as a familiar voice sighs next to him, with a degree of fondness to the tone. His eyes slide open to gaze at the newcomer, and his gaze fall on Gray who is looking at him with an amused smile on his lips.

“It’s not like you to be all alone,” Gray comments, taking a sip from his own beer.

“I guess,” Natsu shrugs. “Just chilling.”

“That’s not like you either.” Gray hides a quiet snicker behind a sigh of content.

"What about you? How come you’re here and not saving your boyfriend?" Natsu follows up, cheekily.

Gray laughs at that, and his gaze falls to his boyfriend as it always does eventually, who is hiding his own fondness for the blonde behind a silent prayer for help. Sting’s enthusiasm is apparently wearing away that warmth, leaving draining tiredness.

"I'll save him later,” Gray comments with another swig and an indignant glare at Rogue. “For now, he can suffer for making me go to that stupid show to keep your lonely ass company.”

"Hey!” Natsu gasps, dramatically. “It wasn’t stupid and I know you enjoyed it!" Natsu argues.

“No I didn’t!” Gray argues back, their voices raising to a volume reflective of their lifelong rivalry. “How on Earth does anyone enjoy marionette shows, they’re creepy as hell!” Natsu snickers when Gray shivers at the memory, with a willingness to take it further and fight for nostalgia’s sake.

“This is why I wanted to go with Sting, he would’ve loved it and Rogue wouldn’t have to suffer now.” Natsu chuckles, sarcastically.

"Sting loves everything you do, so really he is not a reliable source here." Gray huffs.

Natsu is grinning at that, though he can’t tell if it’s the comment on Sting or the twinge of familiarity that comes with Gray’s frustrated tone. Gray looks over, with a flash of annoyance lighting up his usually dull, indecipherable eyes, one that dies down a little as Gray lets himself properly study his friend.

“You know this is all your doing, right?” Gray asks in an oddly quiet voice, and when Natsu looks over again, the raven is casually gazing at Sting.

“What are you talking about, Droopy Eyes?” Natsu retorts, trying to bring the playfulness back and reject the seriousness. Tonight isn’t about that, tonight is about the warmth of Sting’s smile and Natsu isn’t going to let anything bring that down.

Gray shoots him a flat look, that is directed at the nickname, and Natsu only just manages to keep from bursting into laughter with a sip of his drink. The raven sighs and and the irritation drains away, leaving Gray’s eyes more open than Natsu has ever seen, as he secretly rolls his eyes at the floor.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Gray starts off. “And before you decided to ruin the mood, I was going to tell you that Sting is happy because of you tonight.”

Natsu pauses at that, and with a couple blinks and seconds to register what Gray was saying, his eyes switch back over to Sting, who is still having fun teasing Rogue.

“You’re the idiot,” Natsu manages to choke out around his tightening chest.

“And you’re the idiot that he’s in love with,” Gray groans at Natsu’s difficult nature. “He’s smiling because of you tonight, because you gave him a home and didn’t give up on him.”

Natsu is left blabbing awkwardly, as he struggles to find the balance between the embarrassed butterflies that come from anything serious involving Gray, and the utter dedication that he feels towards Sting. His love for Sting wins. He has never once doubted Sting's love, in almost a decade of being together, he has always been confident that they shared a deep bond. And it’s not as if Sting has never said that to him, before, but hearing it from someone else, was firstly humiliating, but beneath the mortifying embarrassment, a weight grounds his heart and makes the decade-long dream seem real.

“...An-and Rogue’s told me that too, when he was trying to get us to be better ‘friends’.” Gray coughs, that same awkwardness rising up in him, too. “I don’t think anyone can deny that you two are made for each other, that you’re his home and he’s yours, but…” Gray trails off, a clear and obvious red painting his cheeks.

“...But what?” Natsu encourages, quietly, a note of worry in his voice.

“But Sting’s not the only one…” Gray continues quietly.

“I don’t understand…” Natsu breathes, searching Gray’s face. Gray slowly meets the pinkette’s gaze, as he swallows the embarrassment.

“I-” The words die in Gray’s throat, as he coughs out a laugh. “You do this for everyone, you worry and you care… f-for me, and Rogue, as well as Sting. Y-... he-... don’t take this the wrong way, I love Rogue to death, but isn’t it weird to think that we’ve known each other for almost twenty years, now?”

“I guess…?” Natsu replies slowly. “I still don’t understand.” Gray groans and mutters something about Natsu being difficult, but despite everything else, he slides a couple inches closer to Natsu, so their arms are almost touching.

“That’s nearly two decades, it’s basically a lifetime of knowing you.” Gray mumbles.

“Eww,” Natsu snickers, still not entirely sure what to make of the awkward atmosphere.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Gray glares. “But… it’s… Rogue, Erza, so many people have tried to make us better friends, but what… but what none of them seem to get is that you’re already my best friend. Twenty years... wow…” Gray shakes his head, hiding his eyes behind his hair. “You’ve seen me through everything, my worst, my best and my most stupid. Though, that last one is definitely your fault.”

“H-” Natsu cuts himself short, remembering Gray’s retort half a heartbeat late. Closing his mouth, he lets Gray continue and swallows his tease.

“There are very, very few people that I could say know me, or… know the real me.” Gray breathes deeply. “But goodness knows where I’d be if you weren’t one of them.” Gray turns his head and finally shows Natsu his face and the unshed tears in them. And those are enough to make Natsu worry, as his heart clenches and he tries to read Gray’s emotions. “Y-you’re Sting’s home, but… but you’ve always been home for me, too…”

Natsu feels his heart flip, dip and stutter to a halt all at once, as the words click and bring tears to his eyes in a chain reaction. Squeezing his mouth shut, Natsu fights against the tears, but it isn’t long before Gray is hidden behind a blurry film.

“W-woah, hey!” Gray’s panicky tone gasps. “Wh-what… I-... uhh… sh-should I call Sting? Why… I didn’t mean to make you cry!”

Natsu groans under his breath and hides his face in his hands, still trying to fight the drops of water running down his cheeks. Dammit, he didn’t plan on being an emotional wreck this evening, much less because of Gray.

“I… I-uh…” Gray stutters uselessly, and all Natsu can do is let out a choked laugh at his stupid best friend, and tug the raven into a hug. Gray freezes.

Natsu’s laugh continues to drown out his sobs. He could count on one hand how many times they had hugged, this was so far from their thing, but that doesn’t matter, not tonight.

“...’nd you’re the idiot that caused this.” Natsu parrots. Gray deflates in relief as he sees Natsu smiling, long arms wrap around him and hold him secure. “Th-th…-ank you…” Natsu whispers.

“You’re welcome, Natsu…” Gray replies, softly. “Happy birthday, dumbass.”

Eventually, Natsu breaks the hug, leaving with the knowledge that Gray’s friendship is one that he will never be able to leave behind completely. And Natsu isn’t surprised to realise, that Gray’s friendship is his home, too.

#fairy tail #ftlgbt #sabertooth #m/m #sting eucliffe #natsu dragneel #rogue cheney #gray fullbuster #stingsu #natsting #sting natsu #sting x natsu #natsu x sting #gray x rogue #rogue x gray #RoRay #ft romance

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