A Fairy Tail Gratsu.

Narrator's POV:

The two wizards glared at one another. Neither threw an attack, nor did they back down. Both were calculating their opponent. The Ice Wizard's eyes narrowed as he thought carefully. He didn't really want to fight, he wanted the Pyro to comfort him, but not here, not in public. The Fire Wizard cautiously watched his opponent, waiting, patiently like a predator stalking it's prey. Every nerve was on edge. It had happened before; his friend would wait until the Dragon Slayer got bored, then attack with no warning. He'd been caught by surprise once, he wouldn't be fooled again.

The ice wizard took a deep, calming breath. This was Natsu. Natsu would not hurt him.... well, not in that way at least. "No holding back. No giving up. We fight till one of us passes out or Erza knocks us out. Deal?" He orders, watching the Dragon Slayer for any sign of an attack. It wasn't like the Pyro really listed all that much.... he wouldn't put it past him to throw an attack just to shut him up.

     "Deal. Now fight me, icicle!" Those five words were all Gray needed to gall him into action. Icy spears flew in Natsu's direction, but were blocked by a flaming fist as the Dragon Slayer flew towards him. Of course, their brawls never stayed purely magical, and both were soon using their fists as well. Natsu was faster, lighter on his feet, but Gray got the upper hand by turning the ground to ice. "No fair!" Natsu moaned, swallowing back an acidic burp as he tried not to vomit. Gray laughed and got in a few punches before dissipating the ice. Ice-floors always resulted in motion sickness for Natsu. It was almost pathetic... if it wasn't so funny.

       Their little brawl soon escalated, Natsu letting glossy red scales cover half his face, Gray allowing his demon-slayer marks to spread, covering half his semi-naked body. Both grinned at the other, Happy to be fighting like this. It tested their strength, honed their skills, perfected their tag-team strategy for future battles. (Not that they'd ever admit it, but they worked well together in a fight.)

     Each punch, kick and magical attack was now punctuated by their loud arguing. Or at least, that's what it looked like to the people passing on the other side of the river. If they'd have bothered to listen, they would have likely ran to Fairy Tail for help. But then, nobody did listen, because all of the magnolia citizens were used to these two particular wizards fighting.

     "Why'd ya panic in the guild ice-cube?" Natsu growled, blocking an Ice-Make-Hammer with a fire dragon talon.

      "Can't ya figure it out? Stupid ash for brains!" Gray growled back, using ice make Lance to force Natsu to dodge to the left, right into his ice make prison, which the dragon slayer melted with scary easy.

    "Cana said something, right?"  Natsu mumbled, doing a neat sidestep to avoid an ice make arrow and leaping into the air with the help of his fire, landing a solid fire dragon iron fist to Gray's ice make shield, shattering it in a shower of crystal fragments.

     "Can we not talk about it here? Mira might hear." Gray grumbled softly, barely audible to anyone but the sharp eared Dragon Slayer. Natsu's eyes flickered about, looking for a good way to end the fight without losing, or knocking Gray out. It wasn't like anyone was watching, Happy was still at the guild, but they both had a reputation to uphold. They went silent as the continued to fight.

      "I'm gonna end this right now!" Natsu roared, his eyes flashing red as his scales spread across his whole body, stopping just short of letting his wings, tail and horns form. Gray grinned, panting with the effort. He would never admit it to the rest of the guild, but he always had fun battling Natsu, because they always helped him to calm down and let off steam. The ice wizard alway felt he had to bottle his feelings, especially concerning his rival, but at least when he was brawling alone with Natsu, he felt..... comfortable enough to let his façade slide slightly.

    Black scaly skin now covered most of Grays body as Natsu leaped forward, his whole body on fire. The resulting explosion hid both wizards from view long enough for Natsu to go full Etherious and race off with the ice wizard flung over one shoulder. Gray beat his fists against the Demon's back in mock anger, but he didn't really mind. He knew it was Natsu's way of not losing and not giving up whilst also ceasing their fighting.

       Natsu carried Gray almost all the way to his and Happy's house, putting the ice wizard down several feet from his front door. The Dragon Slayer looked Gray in the eye, silently demanding answers. They were far enough away from town to talk without anyone hearing, and Natsu knew he'd hear and smell if someone was approaching long before they were in earshot of Gray.

      "We're ok here. You can talk and not worry about Mira or the others now." Natsu assures Gray quietly. The ice wizard smiles softly. He wasn't sure whether Natsu would keep an ear out for people approaching, but he guessed he did it almost instinctively, what with living in the woods at the edge of town. After all, if an enemy attack came from this side of the town, his place'd be the first one hit.