Life After Near Death

Kiss of Fire

"I know that I must have your kiss although it dooms me,
Though it consumes me, your kiss of fire.
I can't resist you, what good is there in trying?
What good is there denying you're all that I desire?"
― Louis Armstrong, "Kiss of Fire"

Natsu burst through the hotel room door. "Hey asshole, I'm—"

He heard the sound of a racking shotgun and crossed his eyes as an icy muzzle was pointed right at his face. On the other end of the barrel, frosty magic still swirled as Gray had formed an Ice-Make Shotgun instantaneously.

"Hi, Gray," he grinned nervously, delicately pushing the muzzle out of his face. "Uh, I'm back."

The ice gun evaporated in glowing sparkles, and Gray sank out of his defensive posture. "Natsu!" he sighed in annoyance. "Dammit, can't you knock? Don't just burst in like that. I could've shot you! I didn't know you were coming back so soon."

Natsu pouted and whined as he dropped his pack to the ground, "So soon? I've been gone forever."

Gray frowned that he had snapped so quickly. It really had been a while, many days since the Dragon Slayer took off, leaving him to heal. "Sorry. Bored, been hurting, stuck in this room with nothing to do, getting on edge..." He reached forward and lightly rubbed Natsu's arm, feeling the warmth of his skin. Softly, he muttered, "I was wondering when you'd be back."

Natsu shivered at the cold touches that tingled him. "I tried to hurry." He let his fingers drift over Gray's cheek and saw one of the scabs still prickling his flesh. "I'm sorry I left you here."

"It's fine," Gray shrugged, ignoring the anger and frustration he had initially felt at being left alone.

Natsu touched a bigger scab on Gray's arm, one he recalled had been bleeding profusely the day of the injury. It likely would not scar, but the wound was still healing. "Are you feeling okay?"

"More or less. Better," Gray assured him. He looked down as Natsu rubbed next to a cut on his bicep. That one made him hiss and pull back in pain. "A couple of the scratches got infected."

Natsu jolted and looked up in dread. Infected? And he had left him alone! "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he assured.

Still, Natsu wrapped his arms around Gray, hugging him gently. Gray hummed at the all-encompassing warmth and feeling Natsu resting against his shoulder, cuddling into him. He smiled as he stroked through the soft hair and kissed Natsu's forehead.

He had plenty of time sitting alone in this room to think about that camping trip, their nervous touches, the rougher desperation, and the feel of Natsu's body against him. He had fantasied about this body and the pleasure it could bring him. He also liked gentle moments like this, hugging each other after being apart for a few days, both of them needing that simple connection.

"I missed you," Natsu sighed, inhaling Gray's shirt and the snowy-forest smell.

"Yeah, same here."

Natsu pulled back enough to look up, and Gray saw the silent desire in those eyes. Clandestine touches and gentle hugging just weren't enough! For Gray as well, memories of fantasies, of lonely nights in this hotel room pretending it was Natsu's hand on him, all flooded back. Desires had built up, and Gray no longer cared about those silly fears that had frozen him in the past.

He grabbed Natsu into a rough grasp and held him tightly up against his body, gazing down with stormy passion.

"Missed you!" he snarled.