Frost

22

February rolled up faster than anyone had expected. Now that everyone knew Gray was going to wake up, the guild celebrated. People drank and ate some of Mirajane and Lisanna's delicious foods. They danced and told jokes and performed on the stage. It was a good night for everyone. Everyone except for a certain ice mage. When his friends plotted on moving him to the guild hall, he simply refused. He didn't want them touching him, for he was not in the mood and wanted to be alone.

He hated the whole idea of being invisible and he most definitely wanted to be seen, but everything at the moment was about him, and he was tired of people. Gray was able to move himself to his room. It hurt terribly for some odd reason. He didn't even try to lift himself though.

So while everyone was out celebrating for Gray, they were really celebrating without him. The ice mage wondered how long it would take for his body to wake up, and he hoped that they could speed it up somehow. For now, he would get some sleep.

•••

"Woohoo! It's a party now! Look who arrived!" Cana lifted her mug up in the air as she wrapped an arm around Natsu's shoulders. Everyone cheered to that, and Cana took a big swig of her alcoholic drink. She gave off a satisfied gasp and looked at Natsu. "How's it going, bud!?"

"Natsu's all happy and stuff because he knows Gray is going to be back to normal soon!" Happy chirped as he flew in the door, flashing an evil grin at his friend before flying off to find his unrequited lover. Natsu only rolled his eyes. Cana looked at him weirdly before walking off to find someone else.

The dragon slayer actually was happy that Gray was awakening. In fact, he came to the guild hall to get a drink and tell the master that they were going to get the ice mage back, but it turned out that the news had spread faster than he had expected. Natsu stood at the door and watched as the first stage of absolute hell began. This was only the peace period.

Natsu made his way to the bar and found who seemed to be the only normal person in the guild. "Hey Wendy! How's it going?" He flashed a smile at his fellow dragon slayer. Wendy has been a little distant from Natsu since he broke into her apartment, but after he apologized so many times, she had to forgive him.

"Nothing much. Hey, congratulations on getting Gray back!" the girl cheered. She gave him a kind smile, and her eyes also showed that she was excited. Natsu blinked a few times before scratching the back of his head. "Well . . . I wouldn't really say we got him back. It's all apart of the spell, but I guess it works." Wendy only laughed a little before brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Did you end up moving him to the infirmary?" Her tone changed suddenly, as if she were worried. Natsu was worried to, for he wondered if there was some type of damage done to Gray. All though he wanted to see his friend again, he was scared as to what the ice mage would look like when he became visible again. Would all his muscle be gone? Would he be a twig like Freed? Did he happen to get weaker in magic ability by any chance? There was no way Natsu would fight Gray if they weren't equals.

Wendy was probably worried about how Gray would turn out, too. She would do whatever it took to keep him the same.

"He didn't want us to. Eric said Gray wanted some time alone apparently." Natsu's head gestured towards the other dragon slayer. He was drunk, and he and Gajeel were having a debate on what meal was the best. This was stage two of absolute hell. A small, simple argument could do so much when a bunch of drunk people were in a single room.

"Oh. Well, could you take me to him? I haven't really talked to him since he practically vanished. And I'd like to learn more about this enchantment Porlyusica had told me about." Natsu agreed with her. Anything to get out of that place.

When the two dragon slayers reached the door, stage three of absolute hell began, and Eric and Gajeel started throwing punches. The final stage would begin in any minute. Natsu felt bad for leaving his feline companion, but they would be back shortly.

Wendy and Natsu walked quietly down the road towards Gray's apartment. It was dark, and stars filled the nighttime sky. It was chilly, and the wind made the air feel colder than usual. Wendy tried to pull the collar of her jacket over the lower half of her face. Afterwards, she shoved her hands in her pockets and looked at the older guy. "I can't believe you're not cold!" the girl shivered.

Natsu only smiled and looked up at the sky. "Please, I'm a fire dragon slayer. Besides, I'm used to this type of weather thanks to Gray." Wendy nodded, and they continued their walk in peace. The duo arrived the Gray's apartment slowly. Natsu yawned, for he was getting tired. Wendy walked up to the door and knocked. Even though Gray was invisible, she still respected his privacy. Natsu thought that was sweet and gave off a soft sigh.

It was expected that Gray wouldn't answer, but Natsu was sure he could tell whether or not Gray was in there. He wasn't sure if Gray might have moved himself, either. But if he didn't then he might have been able to open the door.

"Gray? Are you on the other side? Knock if you can hear me!" Natsu called. His voice wasn't too loud, for he would feel bad if he awoke a neighbor. There was no response, not even a knock. He might have moved himself to his room. Or maybe he had already awoken. Either way, it was a good sign. Wendy looked up at Natsu. "Should we go in?"

"I don't think he cares. How about we try to communicate with him once we find him?" Natsu smirked. Wendy gave a kind smile before nodding.

"Maybe it will help us a bit on our investigation!" The door was thankfully unlocked. The two dragon slayers climbed through the door and into the supposedly empty apartment. However, both knew that their invisible friend was waiting inside, so they were going to find answers.

They had to.