Between Fire and Ice by Anonymous

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Tags/ Warnings: Three way, Not explicit

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Between Fire and Ice

by Anonymous

The guild hall was unusually quiet.

Lucy Heartfilia noticed it the moment she stepped inside, keys jingling softly at her hip. The air felt heavy, like the calm before one of Natsu's explosive arguments or one of Erza's terrifying "meetings." But this was different. This quiet pressed against her chest, settling there in a way she couldn't explain.

She spotted them immediately.

Natsu was sprawled across a table, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling like he was daring it to fall. Gray leaned against a pillar nearby, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded but sharp—always sharp—watching Natsu with an expression Lucy knew too well. Irritation, mixed with something deeper. Something unspoken.

And somehow, she knew it had to do with her.

Lucy swallowed and took a step forward.

"Uh… morning?" she said.

Both of them looked at her at the same time.

Natsu's face lit up instantly, like someone had struck a match in his chest. "Lucy! You're up early!"

Gray's gaze softened in a quieter way, like snow melting under sunlight. "Didn't think you'd be awake yet."

Lucy's heart did that stupid fluttering thing again.

This was the problem.

It hadn't always been like this. Once, Lucy had been certain—at least as certain as you could be when your life involved magical keys, flying cats, and near-death missions every other week.

Natsu had been her certainty.

He was fire and motion and unwavering loyalty. He kicked down doors for her—literally and metaphorically—and treated her dreams like they mattered as much as his own. When she cried, he didn't always know what to say, but he stayed. When she laughed, he laughed louder. Loving Natsu felt like standing in the sun: warm, blinding, impossible to ignore.

And then there was Gray.

Gray was quieter. Steadier. He noticed the things Natsu missed—the way Lucy's hands trembled after a hard fight, the exhaustion she tried to hide behind a smile. He listened when she talked about her writing, her mother, and her fears. Loving Gray felt like winter nights wrapped in blankets and honesty, calm but intense in its own way.

Somehow, without meaning to, Lucy had fallen into the space between them.

The mission was supposed to be simple.

Escort a magical artifact through the mountains. Easy pay. Minimal danger.

That was a lie, of course.

The ambush came at dusk, shadows spilling from the trees like living things. Lucy barely had time to summon Taurus before everything exploded into chaos—fire roaring, ice cracking, magic colliding in blinding flashes of light.

"Lucy, behind me!" Natsu shouted, flames bursting from his fists as he charged forward.

"Watch your left!" Gray barked, ice forming a shield just in time to deflect a curse aimed straight at her heart.

Lucy fought, summoned, dodged—but fear threaded through her focus. Not for herself.

For them.

When the enemy mage unleashed a spell far stronger than the rest, Lucy felt her breath stop.

Natsu moved first.

"Don't touch her!" he roared, stepping directly into the attack.

Gray moved at the same time.

"Idiot—get out of the way!" Ice surged forward, colliding with fire as Gray grabbed Natsu's arm and yanked him back, barely in time.

The explosion that followed threw all three of them into the snow.

Lucy came to with her head spinning and her heart pounding painfully against her ribs.

"Natsu?"

"Gray?"

"I'm fine," Natsu groaned. "Takes more than that to—"

"Shut up," Gray snapped, gripping Natsu's shoulder. "You almost got yourself killed."

"So did you!" Natsu shot back. "You jumped in front of that spell!"

They stared at each other, breathing hard.

Then Lucy broke.

"Stop it!"

Her voice cracked, raw and shaking.

Both of them turned to her instantly.

"I can't—" She pressed a hand to her chest, tears burning in her eyes. "I can't keep watching you do that. Risking everything like I'm some prize you're fighting over."

Natsu's expression faltered. "Lucy… that's not—"

"Isn't it?" she whispered.

Gray looked away first.

The silence that followed hurt worse than any wound.

They camped that night in uneasy quiet.

Lucy sat apart from the fire, hugging her knees, staring at the stars. She didn't notice Gray approaching until he draped his coat over her shoulders.

"You'll freeze," he said quietly.

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"I never meant to put you in the middle," Gray said finally. "But… I won't lie to you, Lucy. I care about you. A lot."

Her chest tightened. "Gray…"

"I know Natsu does too," he continued. "And I know he shows it differently. Louder. Recklessly." A small, sad smile touched his lips. "But you deserve honesty."

Lucy looked at him, really looked at him—and her heart twisted.

Before she could respond, footsteps crunched behind them.

Natsu stopped at the edge of the firelight.

"I heard," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And… yeah. I'm bad at this stuff. But Lucy, when I think about you getting hurt—about losing you—it feels like I can't breathe."

Firelight flickered in his eyes, unguarded and sincere.

She stood, stepping between them, hands shaking as she reached out and took one hand from each of them.

Lucy swallowed.

She reached out—slowly, deliberately—and rested one hand against Natsu's chest. Warm. Solid. Familiar. His breath caught instantly, flames licking faintly along his skin before he forced them down.

Her other hand found Gray's wrist, fingers curling around the cool strength there. He tensed, then relaxed, letting her hold him.

"I decided I don't want to keep pretending I don't feel this," she said. "Any of it."

The silence that followed was electric.

Natsu leaned in first, forehead resting against hers. "Lucy… if I touch you, I don't know how to stop."

Gray stepped closer too, his voice low, rough. "Then don't."

That was all it took.

Natsu's hand slid to her waist, thumb brushing bare skin where her top rode up. Not rushing. Just enough to make her breath stutter. Gray's fingers traced up her arm, deliberate and slow, sending chills racing down her spine.

Lucy gasped softly—and that sound snapped something inside them both.

Natsu kissed her like fire: hungry, intense, pouring everything he'd held back into the press of his lips. Lucy melted into it, fingers fisting in his vest as warmth spread through her chest.

When Gray's hand cupped her jaw and turned her gently toward him, the contrast stole her breath. His kiss was slower, deeper, devastating in its control. He tasted like restraint barely holding on.

Lucy felt surrounded—anchored—wanted.

Hands, heat, cold, breath against her neck. Natsu's forehead rested against hers again, eyes dark, burning. Gray's lips brushed her ear.

"Say the word," Gray murmured. "And we stop."

Lucy shook her head, heart racing. "Don't."

The air between them felt tight—charged—like a spell waiting to snap.

Lucy's back pressed fully into Gray's chest now, the solid line of him leaving no space to retreat even if she wanted to. His arm slid higher, hand splayed just under her ribs, thumb brushing slow, deliberate circles that made her pulse stutter. She could feel his restraint in every measured movement—and the effort it took to keep it.

In front of her, Natsu's heat was overwhelming. His gaze dropped to her mouth, then back to her eyes, jaw clenched like he was fighting himself. "Lucy," he said, rough now, barely more than her name. "You're gonna break me."

The honesty in it sent a sharp thrill through her.

She rose onto her toes and kissed him again—harder this time. No hesitation. No gentleness. Natsu groaned softly into her mouth, hands tightening as he'd finally lost the argument with himself. His fingers slid from her waist to her back, pulling her flush against him, heat flooding everywhere they touched.

Behind her, Gray swore under his breath.

The sound was low, strained—and devastating.

His mouth found the curve of her neck, this time not stopping. Not teasing. Just enough pressure to make her gasp, her head tipping back instinctively, exposing more. Gray's grip tightened, anchoring her as her breath broke, his voice close enough to feel.

"You have no idea," he murmured, "what you're doing to us."

Lucy's hands shook as she reached back for him, fingers curling into his sleeve, needing the contact, the proof. Gray responded instantly, pulling her closer, his control thinning with every breath she took.

Natsu's forehead dropped to hers, eyes glowing faintly, wild and focused and completely undone. "Still okay?" he asked—because even like this, even burning, he needed to know.

Lucy nodded, breathless, lips parted, eyes dark with want.

"Yes."

That was it.

The night closed in around them—firelight flickering, shadows dancing, the world narrowing to skin and breath and the unbearable tension of three hearts beating too fast. They didn't rush past it. They stayed right there, suspended, letting the wanting stretch and coil tighter with every touch, every whispered name.

Control wasn't gone.

But it was hanging by a thread.

And none of them were in any hurry to pull it back.

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