#anyway Mira really has 0 connection to any family at all she was found as an orphaned baby after a monster attack

[mdelpin]

A Proper Send Off

Gratsu Week 2021 Prompt: Goodbye Pairing: Gray x Natsu

AO3

Summary: Natsu is having trouble coping with everything he learned during the Alvarez War and tries to sneak away again, but Gray isn't about to let him go alone.

They take off together and find all their friends waiting for them at the Magnolia town marker. After all, no one is allowed to leave Fairy Tail without a proper send-off.

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Gray caught up to Natsu and Happy about a mile from the Magnolia town marker.

“You going somewhere, Flame Breath?”

Gray’s heart caught in his throat when Natsu refused to look at him, his eyes staying firmly on the ground.

“I tried to talk him out of it, Gray, but he wouldn’t listen.” Happy complained, “It’s just like last time.”

“Don’t worry about it, Happy, I’m not about to let him make the same mistake again.”

“I have to go.” Natsu said in a strangled voice. “Please don’t try to stop me.”

Gray wasn’t really surprised. He’d been expecting something like this for days.

Tartaros, Alvarez, Zeref, END…

Any one of these was a lot to handle, but all of them at once? It was just too much.

For both of them.

Things still hadn’t gone back to normal between them, and truth be told, Gray was still worried that Lucy’s attempt to rewrite the book of END might have changed Natsu somewhat.

But he knew that wasn’t exactly fair. It wasn’t so much that Natsu was different now; it was more that he didn’t know how to act around others.

And who could blame him? Even the people around town who had always treated Natsu as a friend had begun to treat him differently.

On top of that, after spending years searching for answers to his past, he’d certainly learned more than he’d bargained for. Who his family was, how he’d ended up with Igneel, the connection he shared with Wendy, Gajeel, Sting and Rogue as well as Lucy’s ancestor.

Even more, he’d learned what he was and the purpose he’d been meant to fulfill.

How many people had been killed or had their lives destroyed because of Zeref’s attempts to resurrect him? How did anyone live with that knowledge?

It was something Gray could easily sympathize with. After all, guilt was something he dealt with daily. For the people who had died so he could live, for not returning Juvia’s fervent affections, and for not being able to offer his father the peace he’d asked for.

And now he could add trying to kill the person he loved most and breaking a promise to the list.

Gray didn’t know how they were going to come back from any of this, but he knew that as much as he wanted to tell him he was wrong, Natsu was on to something. He needed to leave to sort through all of his doubts and fears, including this new one that he was a danger to his friends.

Zeref might be gone, but that had never stopped dark sorcerers from searching out any vestiges of his magic, and that was part of what Natsu was now.

But Gray wasn’t just about to let him do it alone.

And he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“Who said anything about stopping you?” Gray said. “I’m going with you.”

Natsu’s head jerked up and Gray pointed at the travel bag that hung on his shoulder.

“But what about Juvia?” He blurted out before adding in a softer tone, “And the others?”

“Juvia will never get over her creepy obsession if I stay, and as for the others,” he paused, because the truth is this part did make him sad. “They’ll be fine.”

The members of Fairy Tail had been his family for so long, he knew he’d miss them all terribly.

But everyone had to leave home sometime. It was part of growing up, and he truly felt that his future lay with Natsu.

He knew mending their relationship wouldn’t be easy, but it was important to him to try. Besides, he’d already discussed it with Gramps, and the old man had agreed. This was what was best for Natsu right now, and it would be much better if he didn’t go alone.

“I don’t know where I’m going.” Natsu said, looking a little embarrassed by the admission.

“I expected that from a Flame Brain like you.” Gray laughed. “That’s okay. We can figure it out on the way. I doubt it matters much, anyway.”

“Are you sure about this? It could get dangerous.”

“Standing next to you is dangerous,” Gray scoffed. “Don’t worry about me, love, I can hold my own.”

“Love?” Natsu said, sounding puzzled at hearing the familiar term of endearment. “But I thought…”

“Well, that was your first mistake,” Gray quipped, but when Natsu didn’t laugh, he gave up the pretense that everything was alright between them.

“I know I fucked up. Said and did things I didn’t mean, but that doesn’t mean I stopped loving you. And I know it won’t be easy, but I want to work on us again.”

Natsu searched his eyes for the briefest of seconds, and satisfied with whatever he found in them, he began walking, pulling Gray along with him.

Happy flew around them, looking much more cheerful now that he knew Gray was joining them on their journey this time around.

They heard the commotion before they saw what it was, and Gray groaned as they got to the top of the hill, only to find Erza and just about everyone else in the guild waiting for them.

“You didn’t really think you’d be able to leave us without a proper sendoff, did you?” Erza asked, looking incredibly pleased with herself as everyone else snorted their agreement.

Yes, he’d rather hoped so. Gray hated scenes and he could already feel Natsu stiffening next to him. He shot an annoyed glare at Gramps, but the old man merely shrugged his shoulders unapologetically.

Natsu was examining the ground again, and curious what brought that about, he looked around and noticed Lucy heading towards them.

“It’s alright, Natsu. I’ll be just fine this time.” Lucy smiled. “I’m even working on a book about all of our adventures. Levy is helping me.”

Natsu looked up at that. She wrapped him up in a quick hug, and Gray backed away to give them some space.

“I-I just wanted to say thank you for everything. All the times you saved me, and all the fun we had. These last couple of years I was able to find a family again, and it was all thanks to you. I’m going to miss you. You too, Gray!”

“We saved each other,” Natsu corrected with a fond smile, even as Happy flew into Lucy’s arms and hugged her.

“Don’t let him destroy too much, Happy, okay?”

Happy nodded solemnly and gave his customary, “Aye, sir!”

Everyone jumped in with well wishes and words of encouragement until there were only a few left.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry,” Wendy wailed as she hugged them tightly.

“It’s okay, kiddo. You’ll see us again!” Gray assured her, hoping that he was right. He didn’t know how long this journey of theirs would take, but he hoped they could return someday.

“Try to keep your pants on,” Cana said as she hugged Gray. She whispered, “Unless you don’t have to…”

“Cana!” Gray protested as he shoved her away playfully.

“I heard that,” Natsu grumbled.

“I know,” Cana winked, capturing him in a hug as well. “Take care of each other, and say hi to my old man for me if you bump into him on the road.”

Natsu nodded.

Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna came as a group. Mira handed Natsu a bag with food.

“Here you go, I packed you both some lunch.” Mira fussed over them, “Don’t forget to eat, and write us letters from time to time to let us know how you’re doing.”

Lisanna giggled, “Like Natsu would ever forget to eat.”

She gave him a big hug, “Take care of yourselves.”

She whispered something into Natsu’s ear that Gray did not catch, but his face turned an interesting shade of red, and he shushed her.

Interesting…

Gray had little chance to think about what she might have said because Elfman enveloped them in a hug and slapped both their backs hard enough for it to hurt.

“Elfman, are you crying?” Mira asked, watching her younger brother with an amused smile.

“Crying is manly,” Elfman wiped away at his eyes.

Warren stepped forward and handed them each a mobile lacrima device. “Here, take these, in case you want to get in touch or something.”

“You don’t have to-”

Gray got no further as Warren turned away, muttering “Just take them.”

“Is he crying?” Natsu whispered, and Gray could only shrug in response.

Macao and Romeo came next, and neither made any effort to hide their tears. “Take care, you two, and try to get along, will ya?”

Romeo only stared at them and it was then Gray remembered he’d been the one who’d never given up on them all those years they’d been stuck on Tenrou.

“You’re going to have to train hard,” Natsu told him, “Cause I’m leaving you in charge of the guild while I‘m gone, okay?”

Romeo nodded, and like Wendy before him, hugged them both at once. Gray found himself petting his head, as Macao used to do to them when they were younger. It didn’t feel like it had been all that long ago, really.

“I’m not gonna say goodbye, since I plan to pop in on you now and again.” Loke gave them each a fist bump. “So make sure you have interesting stuff to tell me.”

He stepped back to stand between Cana and Lucy.

“Juvia doesn’t see why Natsu has to take Gray-sama with him,” Juvia wailed loudly to anyone who would listen.

“Try not to get too lost in that little head of yours, alright?” Gajeel slapped Natsu on the back. He shook Gray’s hand and muttered. “I’ll try to keep the crazy away as much as I can, but you guys might want to hurry the first couple of days, so there isn’t a trail for her to follow.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Gajeel waited while Pantherlily and Carla said their goodbyes to Happy.

That left only Erza and Gramps. Erza pushed Makarov’s wheelchair over to them.

“I better not hear you two are running around destroying towns and bothering people,” Erza started off sternly, but by the end of her scolding, there were tears in the corner of her eyes.

Gray could feel matching tears coming on and he could hear Natsu sniffling next to him too.

“Come here, you two,” Erza said, grabbing them both into a fierce hug. “You’ve come so far. You’re going to be just fine, I just know it. I’ll- I’ll miss you.”

They held on to her tightly, letting her cry over them. Gray had known she’d be the hardest. For as strict as she’d always been on them, they shared the most history. Not to mention she’d also been the one to force them to get past their stupid rivalry.

They finally let go of her, smiling as they wiped away their tears.

“There’s only one thing left to do.” Gramps said, and everyone lined up behind him.

“While you are leaving us, always remember that Fairy Tail will always be your home, and should you, no, when you choose to return, it will be here waiting for you.”

“Now, as you know, there are three rules that any mage who leaves Fairy Tail must abide by.

Number One - You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live.

Number Two - You must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain.

And Number Three - Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might. You must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends for as long as you live.”

Gramps looked so small in that wheelchair, fragile almost, and Gray had a passing thought that this might be the last time they got to see him. He felt his heart clench at the thought, not ready to think about losing anyone else that was important to him.

“Thanks, Gramps.” There was so much more Gray wanted to say to him, but he had a feeling the old man knew. “For everything.”

“Yeah, Gramps, thanks for taking me in.” Natsu smiled, the first genuine smile Gray had seen since the war had ended.

“The pleasure was mine,” Gramps grinned, “Well, most of the time anyway. Now, get going!”

“Take care of yourselves boys, and try not to be so reckless.”

“Bye everyone!” Natsu and Gray called out, waving to everyone before turning around and walking away.

Gray reached out for Natsu’s hand, wanting to test the waters, and was pleased to find Natsu didn’t fight him off.

Now that they were finally on their way, the wave of sadness lifted and the excitement creeped in again, and as they turned back one last time they saw everyone had lifted their hands in air making the Fairy Tail hand signal.

Even if we can't see you... no matter how far away you may be... we will always be watching you.

“We’ll be back someday,” Gray squeezed the hand he held in his.

“I hope so.”

Happy took one look at their joined hands and squeaked. “I knew it! You looooove him!”

“Do not, shut up!” Natsu yelled, pulling away from Gray and chasing after the Exceed.

“You looooove him, you looooove him!” Happy chanted, flying just out of Natsu’s reach.

Gray watched them and chuckled, glad to see Natsu acting more like himself. They had left their home behind, and it would be tough going, but in the end, he truly hoped Natsu could find the peace he was looking for, and he wanted nothing more than to share it with him.

But of course, there was nothing wrong with having a few adventures along the way!

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A/N: This is immensely personal for me. Today is the last day of the last Gratsu Week hosted by @becausewhenyoupracticeyouimprove and the @gratsu-week blog on Tumblr. It was the first event I ever participated in back in 2018, and it's an event that I have helped organize for the last three years. It's very special to me.

So it is very fitting that the last ever prompt was goodbye.

More than just a story, this represents my goodbye to canon as well. I will go no further than this point.

I was one of those people who was really excited by the announcement that Fairy Tail would continue in 100 Year's Quest, because God knows I wasn't ready to let go.

But from the moment it first came out, I was horrified by what it turned out to be (a horrible story whose only purpose was to further the big 4, with even more fan service than before, and I won't even get into the character assassination). As such, I refuse to have anything to do with it. So I have ended things my way, because if the point of Fairy Tail is now ships, then I will sail with mine.

Hopefully, this will also provide some of you with the same comfort it gives me.