Natsu was dreaming. He was swimming in the ocean, feet drifting over pieces of seaweed and hands pushing the water away from him. He could taste salt in his mouth, and he wasn't certain if that was from the sea, or from his tears. Waves rocked gently over him, but instead of taking him to shore, they dragged him further and further away, until he could no longer see land.

The water began to churn violently, and he kicked his feet harder, realizing with a sudden jolt that he didn't know how to swim. The sky darkened; heavy black clouds rolled over him as if in stop motion. Rain pattered on the ocean's surface, drops making tiny waves in the infinite vastness of the sea.

Natsu tried to call for help, but nothing came out of his mouth but tiny bubbles that drifted upward, popping in the rain. The waves became more forceful, slamming into him and pushing his head underwater. He kicked again, struggling to break the surface. Something grabbed his feet, twisted around his ankles, began to pull him downward.

...need a transfusion... type him, don't have his information... massive blood loss...

Faint sound broke through the crashing waves, like static on a radio, but Natsu was dragged underwater and everything became soft and muted. He found he could keep his eyes open, and to his surprise, the ocean floor looked like Don's house. Natsu kicked at the tendrils around his ankles, trying desperately to swim backwards away from the scene.

...gave it to counteract what he took... more oxygen, he's not breathing...

A hand wrapped around his wrist, cool and comforting, and began to tug him back toward the ocean's surface, but the tendrils resisted. Natsu looked up to see who the hand was attached to, but the figure was backlit by blinding sunlight. Natsu kicked whatever was grabbing his ankles again, then reached out with his other hand and grabbed the mysterious figure's wrist.

...he's crashing...

And then they were on the beach, sitting side by side, and Natsu realized that the figure was Gray. They were holding hands now, fingers intertwined as they gazed out into the sunset. Natsu felt something icy cold flood through his body, centered on his chest, and he placed his hand there in surprise. He could hear a long, thin beeping sound.

"You're dying." It was Gray's body and Gray's face, but not his voice. Natsu frowned, looking at their joined hands.

"Who are you?" Natsu asked. His voice seemed to be working normally now, but everything else felt wrong. This was a different beach, and now it was a parking lot, and now they lay on a hillside, gazing up at an infinite night sky. The stars made indescribably complex patterns, then swirled and reformed into new constellations.

"You're dying," the voice in Gray's body repeated. He was lying next to Natsu now, and propped himself up on one arm.

"That was the point," Natsu replied, frowning. The cold was spreading now, and when the numbness spread to his fingertips, he froze. He wanted to feel Gray's hand in his, but blood was running down his arm and over his chest and he couldn't feel anything anymore.

"You're running out of time," not-Gray said, gazing down at Natsu with an inscrutable expression on his face. Natsu shivered.

"I'm not ready," he whispered.

"Good," not-Gray said. The stars above them exploded into millions of tiny pieces as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Natsu's lips.