Once the Sky Reaches the Flames

Chapter 28: Welcome, my Mistress!

"Natsu."

"Yeah?"

"What made you want to take on this request?" Gray asked, walking beside him.

The duo were currently walking towards the café, where they had to fulfill their request at the café.

"Hmmm..." Natsu locked his fingers behind his head. "At first, I wanted to invite Wendy. I thought we could... spend some time together."

"Huh, I see." Gray put his hands into his pockets. "You guys just started dating yesterday, yeah?"

"Yeah." Natsu drew his chin back. "I want to make it up to her."

Must be because of his date with Lucy, huh? Gray hummed in response. He felt partially responsible for that. "You know, you didn't have to take this request. There are always other ways to spend time with her."

"I guess." Natsu's eyes shifted downwards. "I do want the reward." For a number of reasons...

"Reward's ridiculously high." Gray agreed.

"I figured I could also... try something new."

"Besides hunting down monsters?" Gray guessed. "I see your point."

"So, how are things going between you and Juvia?" Natsu asked, turning his head to Gray.

"Uh, yeah..." Gray averted his gaze, organizing his thoughts. "I wanted to talk to you about this."

"Huh?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yeah, about that..." Gray scratched the back of his neck. Natsu was the last person he'd come to for matters like this, he had to admit. But the pyromaniac, as dense as he is, was in a relationship. "How did you... confess to Wendy?"

"Oh, well..." Natsu slowly recalled his confession to Wendy. "I just told her how I felt, then I kissed her."

"... Oh." Gray's eyes widened at his response. That was really straightforward. "You... kissed her?"

"She asked me to prove it, so I did just that." Natsu said nonchalantly.

"You make it sound so easy..." Gray sighed, ruffling his hair. He was rather envious of Natsu. Am I just making a big deal out of this?

"She confessed to me first, so all I had to do was return her feelings." Natsu grinned. After chasing her down, that is.

"... Right." Gray stroked his chin thoughtfully. Now that Natsu mentioned it, he remembered Wendy saying that a while back, how she was anxiously waiting for Natsu's answer.

"Doesn't Juvia love you?" Natsu asked, putting his hands on his hips. "You know how she feels."

"... I mean, I do." Gray said. From the moment he met her, it was already obvious how Juvia felt about Gray. She was practically head over heels for him. She was a bit overbearing at first. Fortunately, her... stalking tendencies and affection levels were in moderation now.

"Then why not just tell her how you feel?"

"It's... difficult." Gray frowned at himself. He just couldn't be straightforward like Natsu.

"Why's that?" Natsu asked in a curious tone.

"There's a part of me that feels like... I don't deserve her." Gray answered timidly, his shoulders dropping. "I don't feel worthy enough to stand beside her."

"... You're stupidly wrong about that, snowflake." Natsu held Gray's shoulder.

"Huh?" Gray furrowed his eyebrows at him. "Care to explain?"