Word Count: 766

3rd Person POV:

He was in the forest, running past the arrows and making sure to take any hits necessary to protect his snowflake. The arrows were appearing quicker than he could dodge and they were embedding in his back and legs. Wasn't I just here? He recalled being in the forest before, but couldn't pinpoint when. Natsu looked at the body in his arms and saw purple veins crawling up Gray's arm. He recalled getting the poison out of his system, but then he noticed the large scratch on his arm, a purple-red liquid trickling out slowly; the wound slowly scabbing over. He cursed under his breath and took a sharp turn, growling at the arrow that narrowly missed his arm, a small line of red appearing. He heard his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and another, but weaker beat as well. Natsu could assume Gray didn't have much longer.

An arrow nicked his ear and another landed in his back. He coughed at the new wound and continued running, stumbling more often. The fire-starter staggered to the side and missed an arrow that embedded itself in the tree near him, the leaves withering away. That's when he smelled it.

A strong overlaying scent of blood mixed with ash and poison.

The smells of cheesecake, strawberry shampoo, and fish.

The smell of death lingering around it.

The smell of his teammate's corpses.

And when he looked at the mint-scented ice-stripper, he saw hollowed eyes and pale skin. He saw the death of his snowflake, and he decided that maybe taking another arrow wouldn't be such a bad idea. Especially if it would get rid of the screams.

The arrow he was waiting for made contact, and he woke up with a cold arm draped over his chest. He stilled his body with wide eyes, not knowing where he was or what had truly happened in the forest. The arm over him shifted slightly, causing the smaller male to panic briefly. Chilly puffs of air reached his neck, followed by a deep voice near his ear, "Shut the hell up flame-breath, and go back to sleep." Natsu was startled to hear Gray's voice, but vaguely remembered Gray and a first-aid kit before he had fallen asleep. "Hey pyro, can you cool the heat? You're melting my skin."

"What?" Natsu questioned timidly, twisting until he faced the other. The space between the two was illuminated by a gentle flame. "Oh." He turned off the flow of his magic power, reducing the room to darkness once again. He settled back into the pillow, not bothering to turn away from the ice mage.

"Natsu, you okay?" Gray sounded tired, which was not something the dragon wanted to hear.

"'m fine, just get some rest, snowflake."

"Not fallin' for it, flame-for-brains. Tell me what's goin' on."

"Nothing."

"C'mon, man. I'm not gonna make fun of you or anything. You have a nightmare or something?" Gray guessed, gently moving his arm up and down on Natsu's shoulder. The pink-haired mage turned around, wiggling in the taller male's grasp. Gray only held him closer to his bare torso, struggling to restrain the fired-up dragon slayer. "Shh, calm down," he said softly, dipping his head to rest his forehead against the back of Natsu's neck. The cooling touch calmed him somewhat, only enough to cease his thrashing.

"I-I just can't lose y-" Natsu began speaking, stuttering through the silent tears that fell down his cheeks. He cut himself short, not revealing the rest of his thought. The ice-make wizard cradled him into his body, cancelling out the heat rising from his fear and frustration.

"You aren't losing anyone else," Gray stated confidently, "not on my watch." He slowly moved Natsu to face him, pulling him even closer. "You won't even be able to get rid of me," he continued with a small chuckle. The distressed male closed his eyes, curling into the iciness coming from Gray's magic. The other placed a gentle kiss to the top of his head. "Now sleep, little flame."

As he put Natsu to bed, he had time to ponder what Natsu meant when he didn't want to lose anyone. The fire-breather almost seemed comforted when Gray had said that he wouldn't be that easy to get rid of. Gray leaned back and moved Natsu's arm across his own chest, blushing at the contact he initiated.The heat radiating from the appendage was comforting, and Gray intentionally snuggled closer to the warmth. Natsu's safety alone was enough to allow him to rest once more, but combined with the male's radiating coziness the ice mage fell into a deep slumber before he had fully comprehended Natsu's words.