Chapter Text
Natsu had been waiting for Gray when he showed up the next day and to say the other kids were jealous was an understatement. The dragon boy was so focused on Gray that he didn’t bother listening for others conversations outside of the room. He didn’t need to know anything else that Gray wouldn’t tell him.
“Cana teases but she’s actually really nice.” Gray continued. He’d spent the morning telling him about all the other Fairy Tail kids. “I mean she really does tease a lot but she usually stops if you ask her too.”
Natsu nodded faintly. “I remember her. She wasn’t scary.”
“I know. The scary ones are Mira and Erza. I’m pretty sure Mira has been scolded though for kicking you, and being mean.”
Natsu rubbed at his stomach, the memory still fresh. “I didn’t like that.”
“Well she thought you were hurting me,” Gray said. “Now we know you weren’t.”
“So…” Natsu thought it over. “She was protecting you. That’s nice.”
“Yeah. She’s super overprotective of Elfman and Lisanna. They’re her brother and sister. Sometimes it rolls over onto the rest of us.”
Natsu nodded weakly. “I get it.”
Gray pulled Natsu’s hands away from his stomach. “We could do a do over, okay? We could go down to eat at the bar.”
“They don’t like me.” Natsu shook his head. “It’s better up here.”
“You can’t stay in this room forever. You have to look for Igneel.” Gray said stubbornly. “And that starts with leaving the infirmary. We can come back up here when you’re tired of people. Okay?”
“I can come back up here when i’m done?”
“It’s where your nest is.” Gray grinned, holding Natsu’s wrists and pulling them up. “We can get our own lunch.”
“I won’t…” Natsu mumbled. “I won’t bite anyone.”
Gray flicked his forehead. “No one cares about that anymore. You can bite me if you want?”
Natsu shook his head and wasn’t making eye contact but he held onto Gray’s hand anyway.
“Here.” Gray said, making a small ice dog and slipping it into Natsu’s other hand. “When that’s all melty we can come back up here.”
“I’m hot.” Nasu blinked. “I melt them when i hold onto them.”
“I know.” Gray said, “So we’ll only be down there a little while.”
Natsu’s smile was warm and he let Gray lead him from the room. The door opening drew a lot of gazes and most were surprised that Gray was able to coax Natsu from the room. None of the older guild members expected they’d get their infirmary back any time soon.
“Ignore them.” Gray said when he glanced back at Natsu and saw his eyes were darting around. Now he knew Natsu was flitting to one conversation to another. “They don’t know you yet. Just listen to me.”
“Okay.” Natsu mumbled.
They wandered to the bar area and Gray picked out seats closer to the wall where Natsu wouldn’t feel so surrounded by people. He seemed to shrink outside of the infirmary. His shoulders were hunched down and he didn’t sit as straight. Gray wasn’t sure why yet, but it could have been as simple as not wanting people to look at him.
Gray crawled over the top of the bar and pulled out a menu, “Here. Wanna look to see if you want something different?”
“Mm…” Natsu made a noise in his throat, one Gray needed to figure out. His eyes drifted over the menu before he handed it back to Gray. “I’ll just have what i had before.”
“Okay. Are you sure? There’s lots of stuff.”
“Mm…” That noise again. “Um, I can’t read this good…” He stared at his lap and fiddled with the ice sculpture while something like shame blooming across his face.
“Oh…” Gray blinked. Right, raised by dragons.
Natsu inhaled, “Um, i can read my name and letters and some words, but i don’t know most of these words.”
“Well,” Gray started. “Screw it. I can show you how to read. I dunno if i’m good at it but i can try. Ms. Porlyusica could probably do it better. Today i can just read you stuff on the menu, okay?”
“Kay.” Natsu mumbled shyly. “Sorry.”
Gray shrugged. “I don’t know why you’re sorry. You know lots of stuff about dragons i don’t know. People are just different.”
The soft look reappeared on Natsu’s face and he shifted closer to look at the words Gray pointed to as he said them. It took three times as long as it should have to order but Natsu found what he wanted and was picking up on the food related words. He hadn’t lied about knowing his letters at least.
They were halfway through eating when Erza appeared. “Hello Gray.” She greeted, shifting her gaze to Natsu. “Hello Natsu.”
“Hi Erza.” Gray said, mouth full. “What’s up?”
She inched closer, eyes still training on Natsu who simply stared back. “On behalf of everyone, i wanted to apologize. We treated you wrong and we’re very sorry.” She bowed her head and Natsu cocked his to the side.
“What is she doing?”
“Saying sorry?” Gray looked at him. “Oh, you meant the bowing. It’s just polite when you say sorry to do that.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Erza tipped her head back just enough to glance at him. “I hope we can become friends.”
Natsu looked surprised. “Yes? I’m not allowed to mark anyone though.”
“I told you to forget about that.” Gray said, almost pouting. “We didn’t know it meant something before. As long as you ask first it should be fine.”
Erza straightened and looked thoughtful. “Does the mark need to be anything specific?”
“They’re symbols.” Natsu said, speaking quietly. “Scratch marks. Bite marks. They’re all different.”
“So you and someone else could both bite me and you’d always know which mark was yours?” Gray asked.
Natsu’s face slid into a frown but he nodded. “If you let another person bite you, i guess…”
Erza brightened. “What if we gave you a mark instead?”
Natsu’s attention shifted back to her. “Your mark?”
“Well, not like you but we all have this.” She pointed to the blue symbol on her arm. “It’s the guild mark. Everyone here has one. If you got one then you’d be part of our family.”
Natsu seemed to give that some thought and he turned to look at Gray’s arm.
“Mine is here.” Gray said, pulling his shirt up. Sure Natsu must have seen it before. “You get to pick the color and where you want it. Want to be a Fairy Tail mage?”
“Okay.” Natsu said, examining the two marks in front of him. A second later his eyes were scanning the room, obviously honing into the marks of the other guild members one at a time. Everyone really did have one.
“That’s very nice to hear.” Erza said, smiling a little. She didn’t look as scary when she smiled like that. “I’ll tell the master.”
“Everyone has it?” Natsu asked quietly when Erza walked away. “Really?”
“When they belong here, yes.” Gray said. “Not just anyone can walk into a guild and sign up, you know?”
“Why me?”
Gray went back to clearing his plate. “You belong here. Master brought you. Promised we’d look out for rumors about your dragon. Ms. Porlyusica is here and she understands you and helped everyone understand you. You should get our mark.”
“Gray’s mark.”
“Fairy Tail’s mark.” Gray corrected. “I just have it.”
Natsu grunted but he seemed to only hear what he wanted to hear. He reached out suddenly for the sculpture in a panic when he saw it was already half melted. Gray had never seen anyone look at something so simple with such awe.
Gray reached out a hand, refreezing the ice. “Better?”
Natsu nodded, setting the dog down again to stare at. He was very aware of how fast his own body heat melted it. “Thanks.”
Their plates had only just been taken away when Erza returned with Master Makarov. He had a funny shaped stamp and seemed all too happy to see Natsu out of the infirmary.
“Hello there, boys.” Makarov greeted. “Erza tells me Natsu has decided to be a member of Fairy Tail. Is that right?” Natsu shrugged while Gray gave an ernest ‘yes’.
Gray sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes. Natsu was much more grumpy around other people. “What color do you want? What’s your favorite color?”
“Red.”
“Red it is.” Makarov said, mixing the color and letting Natsu examine the stamp thoroughly before applying the mark to his arm.
Natsu poked and rubbed at the mark, mesmerized by the way it didn’t smear or come off. He was marked the same as everyone else.
“You like it?” Gray asked, smiling when he got a shy nod in return. The other children hovered closer but none of them had the nerve to get too close, even when he smiled and leaned closer to Gray. It was more than just a little obvious that the ice-make mage was his favorite.
When a group of rowdier, older members stumbled in after a mission Gray took Natsu’s hand and led him back upstairs. His ice dog was clutched in his other hand, melty but still in its basic shape.
“See, it wasn’t so bad.” Gray said but he couldn’t help but watch the way Natsu relaxed when back in his own space. He seemed less tense and wandered towards the mirror to better look at the mark now on his arm.
“It’ll get a little easier every time.” Gray continued when Natsu didn’t answer. “We’ll get to do missions and our magic will get better. I bet you’ll get lots stronger and your dragon will be super surprised.”
That got a little smile out of Natsu. “Thank you Gray.”
Gray crossed his arms and smiled. “You can scratch me again if you want. It might make you feel better.”
He watched Natsu give it a considerable amount of thought before he shrugged. “Maybe. We’ll see…” He sat on the floor in front of his nest, and invitation for Gray to sit with him. He did however miss Gray’s obvious disappointment.
~
Bit by bit it got easier to get Natsu to wander out into the guild again. The Infirmary was still off limits but at least there wasn’t such a dangerous tension still lingering around the door. The dragon boy stuck close to Gray and one by one the other children managed to get closer to him again.
Natsu seemed mildly charmed by Lisanna and always ducked away from Mira. It seemed it had only taken getting hit once for him to learn his lesson but the scary girl did eventually apologize.
He learned quickly that Erza could be just as scary. The theme had him wary of Cana but she seemed to be genuinely nice. She grinned a lot and played with her cards and even promised to tell Natsu if her cards ever told her anything about dragons.
Elfman was nice if a bit fidgety. He still seemed nervous that Natsu would bite him but he promised Natsu that his poor nerves weren’t Natsu’s fault.
When a slightly older boy returned from some mission, Natsu found himself curious. Laxus. He didn’t smell like dragons but he sure smelled like dragon magic. It was strange, and wrong, and right all at the same time.
He’d pushed passed the new kid, not really giving a damn if Fairy Tail had adopted one more kid but Laxus whipped around when Natsu growled at him, low in deep from the bottom of his chest.
“What the fuck are you?” Laxus’ eyes narrowed.
“This is Natsu. He’s a dragon slayer.” Gray said, appearing at Natsu side. For a second Natsu ignored him completely, but he pressed his hands together to make an ice sculpture of an eagle and Natsu zeroed in on it instantly, swiping it out of Gray’s hand to look at. “Is there something about Laxus that bothers you?”
When Natsu growled again, Gray reached out to poke at him with cold fingers. “I don’t speak growl. If somethings wrong you gotta tell me.”
“What the fuck is his problem?” Laxus scowled, watching the two of them impatiently.
“He smells funny.” Natsu said, looking at Gray. “His magic smells funny. Fake dragon.”
Laxas’ face slid into a full on glare, lightning cracking briefly. “I don’t give a shit what you think.”
Natsu bared his teeth, claws extending dangerously but Gray swept him up into a hug and strangely enough Mira appeared.
“You probably should. You’d both do well to learn from each other at some point.” Mira crossed her arms and matched Laxus' glare. “Don’t you give me that look you prissy little bitch. It’s not Natsu’s fault if you had a bad day. Don’t pick fights.”
Laxas practically snarled at her. “I didn’t start this!”
Mira just pointed, “Don’t care. Go tell master your back and stay out of the infirmary. That’s Natsu’s room for now.”
“Whatever.” Laxus tsked, stomping off and throwing angry bursts of lightning off his body in all directions. If that didn’t show his anger than his grumbling did.
“Thanks Mira.” Gray muttered, relieved he didn’t have to jump in a fight with Laxus. He didn’t pull punches. Gray frowned at Natsu. “Laxus didn’t really start anything though. What do you mean he smelled fake?”
“Fake dragon magic.” Natsu said, not looking happy about it. “Not good.”
“It’s just puberty,” Mira rolled her eyes. “It’s not his magic, he’s just a jerk trying to figure out his life.”
Gray sighed. “Yeah well, we’ll try to keep them out of each others way. That okay Natsu?”
Natsu nodded and finally settled on Mira with a shy look. “Um, thanks?”
Mira shrugged, but both could tell she looked a little pleased. On some level she was trying to redeem herself from the kicking incident. “No problem. Laxus can be nice when he’s not being all angsty. It takes him time to get used to people is all.”
“He’s still not used to me.” Gray muttered, earning a small smile. “Lets eat before we go outside. Yeah?”
Natsu nodded, following just behind Gray. All three of them were thrown to the floor seconds later when an unexpected explosion sounded from the kitchen. A stray bolt of Laxus’ lightning had evidently struck something in the kitchen with disastrous results.
“Oh shit!” Mira hissed at the fire engulfing the kitchen and bar. She took off, no doubt looking for her siblings.
The older guild members were scrambling to get everyone out of the building and Master Makarov was counting each child to make sure they weren’t hurt. “Someone get that fire out!”
“Gray!” Natsu looked at Gray in complete excitement. “Can i have it!?”
“Natsu we have to get out of here,” Gray shook his head frantically, pulling on Natsu’s arm. He started dragging him towards the door when he heard a quiet noise. Even over all the noise currently in the guild he heard the hurt noise Natsu hadn’t made since before their first talk in the infirmary.
Gray sighed shakily and tried not to let his adrenaline get the better of him. He stopped and looked at Natsu, not shocked to see those sad Dragon Slayer eyes again. “I’m sorry. You were trying to tell me something. Why do you want the fire?”
Natsu perked up, his purrs reappearing. “Can i have it?”
“If…” Gray shook his head helplessly, but he just didn’t know what to do. “Don’t get hurt, okay?”
Natsu preened, offering an excited noise Gray had never heard him make before and ran off directly towards the flames. Gray watched nervously when he obviously got too close and felt his jaw go slack when Natsu scooped up a section of the flames in his hands and ate it. With another pleased sound, Natsu inhaled, sucking in the surrounding flames. Those still left in the guild looked on in a confused awe. In only a few minutes, Natsu had eaten all the flames and showed his satisfaction by breathing out the smoke through his nose.
“That was good.” Natsu beamed, returning to Gray side like a magnet. “Really, really good.”
“You ate the fire.” Gray blinked. “You can eat fire!?”
“Sure.” Natsu stared back. “I’m the fire dragon slayer. Fire’s yummy.” He looked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Natsu!” Makarov was running towards them and Natsu ducked behind Gray, worrying his bottom lip like he was going to get into trouble again. “Are you alright!?”
“Yes?”
“He can eat fire!” Gray grinned wide, hoping to defuse their masters worry by covering it up with his own excitement. “It’s so cool! It put the fire out too. Is everyone okay?”
Makarov blinked, looking between the two of them. Gray looked perfectly fine, smiling happily while Natsu hid behind him, clinging to his back.
“Yes.” Makarov said slowly. “Everyone from the kitchen has been accounted for. No one has reported any injuries yet.”
“That’s good.” Gray said. “Lucky Natsu was here.”
Makarov snorted. “Yes it was.” He reached out to ruffle Gray’s hair before doing the same to Natsu. “I am glad you’re okay. Natsu, perhaps we should have a talk about all the things you can do with fire.”
Natsu hummed, the noise neither agreeing or disagreeing.
“Master, it’s better to just let dragons be dragons.” Gray grinned, turning and taking Natsu’s hand. “Guess i’ll go buy lunch somewhere else.”
“Hey…” Makarov muttered but the boys were leaving the nearly empty guild. He knew all too well that by the time they got back the entire guild will know what Natsu had done.
“Are you still hungry?” Gray asked.
“I could eat a little more.” Natsu said, clinging to Gray’s hand. “We can eat outside the guild?”
“Yeah, but you gotta pay money. I have some.” Gray said, wandering outside past the Fairy Tail crowd that didn’t know yet that the fire was out.
~
Natsu was pining, and there was nothing so adorable or pathetic as a pining dragon. Porlyusica had found Natsu waiting outside her cottage early that morning and let him with an ease that would have shocked witnesses, had there been any.
She wasn’t known for her gentle touch and more often than not chased people away from her home. Inviting someone in was unheard of.
Natsu seemed to be an exception to this rule. Maybe it was because he wasn’t completely human, or maybe it was because he was a little boy that had lost everything. One never could tell with Porlyusica.
Natsu hadn’t quite been in tears but his bottom lip was poked out and quivering. He’d looked up at Porlyusica with the saddest eyes and had been curled up on the carpet in front of her fireplace ever since. There wasn’t even a fire going…
“It’s only for a few days.” Porlyusica commented off hand. “He’ll be back.”
If anything, Natsu pouted harder. “Left me.”
She chuckled. “Gray went on a practice mission. It’s not forever.” That morning Gray had left with Erza and Cana on a practice mission some of the older guild members had set up for them. Those practice missions would increase in difficulty until they were ready to head out on their own. Erza had already taken a number of easier missions herself but she still tagged along on the practice missions anyway.
Gray had explained that to Natsu the day before but it apparently hadn’t sunk in. When he’d gotten up that morning he was confused when he couldn’t find Gray. That confusion turned into a full on lethargic mess when he realized Gray was actually gone.
“What if he doesn’t?”
“He will.” Porlyusica said.
“But what if he doesn't?” Natsu whimpered, tugging at the threads of the rug he laid on. “What if he disappears like Igneel.”
Porlyusica sighed. “I don’t think he’ll disappear with several other guild members. What’s the real problem here?”
Natsu made a rather pathetic noise. “People can’t smell like i can. What if someone tries something and can’t smell me on Gray.” He paused and paled. “What if he comes across a dragon that can smell me? Oh, that would be bad.” He whined, but he still hadn’t reached crying.
The master healer had had several days to observe the pair and it hadn’t taken her long to realize that Natsu wasn’t just hoarding Gray’s magic trinkets, but Gray himself. With that realization in mind it made his behavior all the more understandable.
“Tell me all the things you like about Gray.” She said, steering the conversation.
“Gray…” Natsu sighed, a little too wistful for a child. “Gray is nice. He’s nice to me and everyone even when he’s being snarky. It’s cause he cares. His magic is pretty like he is.” He thought about it a little harder. “He smells good and he listens when i talk. He makes me treasures just to make me happy. He says he needs the practice but that’s not really it. He does it cause i want them.”
Porlyusica listened carefully and wondered if she’d have to be worried down the road. If this was how he felt now, gods only knew how that would amplify once puberty kicked in.
“Gray is my favorite. He’s strong and his magic is amazing. He’s not afraid of the bigger kids. I like his smile, and the way he always asks about dragon things.”
“And why are you worried? He smells like you, right?”
“Yeah but not everyone can tell!” Natsu went back to pouting. “What if something happens to him?”
“You said it yourself, Natsu.” Porlyusica said, oddly patient. “Gray is strong. He’s not alone either. He’ll come back.”
Natsu whined and flopped onto his back. A piece of his hoard was wandering around and the little dragon boy was still trying to come to terms with that. Gray wasn’t the kind of treasure he could hide away and keep safe.
“I notice you haven’t marked him again since the last mishap.”
Natsu growled but it faded into a sigh. “Can’t. He doesn’t like it.”
Porlyusica hummed. “Perhaps, but i’ve heard him tell you a few times now you could if you wanted to.”
“But he still doesn’t like it. It hurts. I don’t want to hurt him.” Natsu mumbled. “I want him to like me.”
“Natsu, come here.” Porlyusica said, gesturing to the chair beside her. Natsu came, half crawling on all fours before he pushed himself up right to sit. “Why aren’t you looking for Gray?”
His eyes widened a fraction, lips back to trembling. “He’s coming back right?”
“Yes, but why aren’t you looking for him.” She continued when he looked confused. “Because you trust him. You trust Gray to play with you and to eat with you. You trust him to make your little sculptures. You trust him to come home. Isn’t that so?”
“Yes ma’am.” Natsu nodded. “Cause Gray is the best. I thought so since i first saw him.”
That was another little fact Porlyusica stored away for later. Just how far did his dragon instincts go?
“Then maybe you should take a turn listening to him. Maybe he wants you to mark him. Maybe he wants to be your friend too.”
Natsu inhaled sharply, the thought having never occurred to him. His own possessive urges showed themselves suddenly in the way Natsu’s eyes slit and darted about. Feeling like he was allowed to mark his friend again left him wanting and pining harder.
“He’s coming back right?”
“Yes. Now why don’t you eat lunch. Gray will only be gone two or three days.” She rearranged the little table, putting a plate in front of Natsu.
Natsu nodded, looking miserable but still doing as she asked. Really, he was a good child if given enough attention.
“I love Gray.” The comment was made in earnest, so innocently said.
“I had a feeling you did.”
~
In two days time, Gray and the others still hadn’t returned, and Natsu was still moping. While he did venture out a little he spent more time in the infirmary again. His face pressed against a window, hoping he’d see the little group returning.
The rain had begun and that only doubled his anxiety. Gray was out in that damp weather. What if something happened? There was a sudden clap of thunder that made him jump and had his ears ring. He looked up at the sky, his nerves rattling. He was grateful to be inside during the storm, but he didn’t much care for being alone. He’d always been able to cling to Igneel during storms like this but now he didn’t have that.
At another boom of thunder he scampered away from his window and back to his nest. Being inside was a really good thing. He’d hate to be out in this weather. He buried himself against the sheets and rested his cheek against a shirt that belonged to Gray. He’d left it in the room one day when he stripped off his clothes for some reason. He did that. Natsu had kept it instead of giving it back.
There was a light knock at the door and it cracked open an inch. “Natsu.” Lisanna called. “Can i come in?”
Natsu grunted, climbing out of his nest again and walking half way through the room. “Okay.”
Lisanna pushed into the room slowly with a smile. “Hi. They’re making hot chocolate. Something nice while it’s storming. Do you want some?”
“Hot…” Natsu repeated and nodded. She smiled brightly and he decided it wouldn’t hurt to follow her down. Lisanna was a nice girl that always said nice things to him. Out of all the other kids she probably made the most effort to talk to him. There were always a few guild members hanging around and Lisanna went to sit next to her brother and sister at the bar.
“Natsu came!” She sang.
“Oh. Good.” Mirajane said, reached across the back side of the bar to pour another cup of hot chocolate. Elfman even offered a shy wave. Natsu still intimidated him it seemed. “Here you go, Natsu.”
“Thanks.” Natsu grumbled, sipping it immediately and not the least bit worried about burning his tongue. He was still missing Gray and rain did nothing but make him lethargic. He looked inside the cup and made a soft pleased sound. “This is good.”
“Ever had it before?” Mira asked.
“Don’t think so.” Natsu said.
Elfman spun around on his stool slowly. “Mira made it. She’s really good at it.”
Natsu nodded and was quietly relieved that he didn’t have to be afraid of the scary girl anymore. She hadn’t kicked him again and the only one she really fought with was Erza. In fact, she seemed a lot nicer while Erza was away on her practice mission.
The thought of the mission soured his mood all over. He wanted Gray.
“It is good.” Natsu repeated, glancing up in time to see Mira’s pleased smile before it disappeared.
Thunder rumbled again and Natsu jumped noticeably. He let out a tired sigh and shook his head out as if trying to get something off his head.
“You okay?” Lisanna asked gently. “We’re safe inside.”
Natsu grumbled and rubbed at his ears. “It’s the sound. My ears ring.”
“Oh right, you have super good hearing.” Mira muttered and frowned. “I can imagine the thunder is a pain in the butt. I wonder if we have ear plugs around here somewhere. Maybe that would help a little.”
Elfman smiled. “That’s a real good idea, sis.”
“Ear plugs?” Natsu repeated. “To stop the noise? Maybe. I still need to hear other stuff though. Not safe to not hear at all.”
“Maybe just during the storm?” Lisanna suggested. “While it’s noisy? It’s safe in here. We all have magic to. We’re still learning ours though.”
Natsu blinked and tried to think about what he already knew and what Gray had told him. He knew a bunch of magics in the guild already but couldn’t think of hers. “What’s yours?”
Lisanna perked up. “Oh! Um, here watch!” She spun on her stool to face him and her whole body glowed for a moment. When the light disappeared she had cat ears on her head and her hands had changed slightly. They were almost fuzzy and she now had claws that definitely weren’t there before.
“Oh…” Natsu looked over the changes in awe.
“It’s a kind of Take Over magic. Like Mira and Elfman. I’m still practicing. I can only do this much so far.” Lisanna grinned.
“It’s pretty good though.” Mira commented.
Elfman offered a smile. “I still need some work too. I can only do my arm so far.”
“Changing form like that is still real hard.” Natsu commented. “Igneel said all magics had their easy bits and their hard bits. Changing like that sounds real hard. It’s neat magic.”
Mira smiled faintly, some proud look over taking her features that Natsu hadn’t really associated with her before. “You’re right. I keep telling these two that they should be proud of how much they’ve learned in such a short time.”
Natsu nodded and looked at his own hands, claws visible. “I’ve always been like this. I don’t remember ever not being part dragon. Always gotta be careful with the sharp pointies.”
“Yeah,” Lisanna giggled. “Maybe i should practice doing more with them than just attacking or defending.”
“Like scratching your nose.” Elfman said, getting a laugh out of both his sisters.
“They’re right. Maybe Natsu can give you some tips.” Mira chuckled, finding the whole thing funny.
“Maybe! Could you, Natsu?” Lisanna asked.
“Um? I don’t know. Maybe. Can i see?” he pointed at one of her hands. Gray always said to ask before touching.
Lisanna held her arm out. “Uh huh.”
“Hm,” Natsu took her wrist and inspected her Take Over magic. He seemed particularly enthralled by it. Claws that could come and go as she pleased. It really was neat magic. “They are real sharp.”
“Yep. I don’t think i could go right to trying to scratch my nose.” She laughed.
Natsu cracked a smile, but a gasp lodged in his throat when thunder boomed loudly overhead. It shook the rafters in the guild and without meaning to, his own claws sliced into Lisanna’s arm as he jerked away from her.
“Ah!”
Natsu winced, smelling her blood a second later. “I’m sorry! I… I am! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to!”
“It’s okay!” Lisanna said in a rush. “Really it is!”
“It was an accident.” Mira confirmed, voice oddly gentle. She climbed behind the bar and got a damp washcloth to dab at the blood. “It’s okay Natsu.”
“We all saw.” Elfman said, trying his hand at soothing Natsu who was obviously upset. Given how they’d all treated him the first few times he’d drawn blood it was to be expected.
Natsu hugged himself, looking ill. “Sorry…”
With the marks being sooth, Lisanna managed a smile. “It’s okay. Really! Would you mind if i kept the marks here? Is that okay?”
“You…” Natsu went pink and nodded shyly. “I’m sorry if it hurt.”
She just continued to smile. “I’d like to be friends.”
“Look at you, being all tough!” Mira praised. “Good job. How about i make more hot chocolate? Does that sound good?”
Her siblings cheered and even Natsu offered a hesitant nod. He’d marked a friend…
~
The rain had continued to come down in buckets and the streets of Magnolia were being blocked off one at a time as flooding became a problem. Fortunately for the mages returning late from their practice mission, they had an ice mage that could freeze whatever was in their path.
“It hasn’t been this bad out for a long time.” Erza muttered, shaking her hair out when they finally for inside where it was dry.
“It’s a big storm.” Gray agreed.
“Cold, cold, cold.” Cana grumbled, heading right to the bar to get something warm to eat and drink.
“We’re staying the night!” Master Makarov’s voice boomed. “It’s too dangerous to leave the guild in these conditions. Batten down the hatches! Lets salvage what we can and prepare for whatever damage their might be!”
The older guild members all went to work, each apparently already knowing what their job would be.
“Guess we’re stuck here.” Gray commented.
“We should help.” Erza said, greeting Lisanna when she came to greet them.
“Welcome back! Can one of you help me reach the windows? I’m supposed to make sure they’re all locked.”
“Of course.” Erza smiled, already ready to help. “What happened to your arm? Are you okay?”
Lisanna held up the bandage and smiled warmly. “Oh, it’s okay. Natsu scratched me.”
Gray blinked, white hot jealousy warring inside him. Lisanna got marked first...Why? He was the one that liked Natsu best…
“Ah.” Erza smiled, assuming now that a dragon slayer mark was something like a badge of honor. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Lisanna nearly squealed. “It’s exciting! Poor Natsu though. The master told him he had to share the infirmary tonight cause we need the extra beds and he got real quiet and upset but i think he’s nice enough to know he’s gotta share.”
“I’ll go see if he’s okay.” Gray said but both girls had sensed something was wrong given the way they looked at him as he walked away. Maybe he was stomping a little too hard but why was Lisanna first?! He hadn’t been gone that long, why would something have changed?
He headed to the infirmary and wanted to barge inside. He wanted to be angry and ask why he didn’t get another mark but it was still Natsu’s territory and it was already being taken from him tonight.
Gray knocked and peeked inside when he didn’t get an answer. “Natsu?”
Natsu’s head shot up from where he’d been curled up in his nest. His eyes were red and puffy and most of Gray’s anger had fled when he saw he’d been crying.
“Gray?” Natsu managed a smile and wiped at his face. “You’re back.”
“Yeah, i’m back.” Gray said, shutting the door behind him and walking inside. “Are you okay?”
“Fine…”
“Don’t lie.” Gray crossed his arms, shirt gone. When the fuck…
Natsu’s smile slipped away and he climbed out of his nest. “Have to let people in. The storm got all bad. People...People will be too close to my nest. My things…” He glanced back at all the little knick knacks he’d been gathering. Most of them had been trinkets given to him by Porlyusica.
What Gray noticed was missing almost right away were his ice figures. There was no way they wouldn’t have melted after a day. He held his hands together, sculpting the dragon he’d been practicing and passing it over without a word.
The excited gasp that got him was all he needed for the rest of his anger to fade away. Natsu took the dragon from his fingers and made a sound Gray hadn’t heard before. It was far more than just happy. He rubbed his cheek against the sculpture before returning it to the bedside table.
“Thank you Gray!” He beamed. “I missed you.”
Gray got a weird feeling in his stomach. Why was Natsu so happy to see him when he’d marked Lisanna first? What did he have to do?
Gray cleared his throat and shrugged. “Yeah. Me too. It’s nice of you to share the infirmary.”
Natsu’s smile slipped away that fast. “Yeah. I guess. I guess i know this place wasn’t really mine.” He seemed to sag a little and Gray didn’t like it. Natsu really did need his own space to be happy.
“You really don’t wanna share, huh?”
“It’s mine.” Natsu shrugged, looking worse. “But i guess it’s not. It’s…”
“Well…” Gray looked around, desperately trying to think of something that would make Natsu feel better. “Why don’t we pull the curtains?”
“Huh?”
Gray wandered towards the curtains that were tied back to the wall and released the cord. “The privacy curtains for when there’s a bunch of people in here at once.” He pulled the curtain as far as it would go and went to the other side of the bed to do the same thing. They wrapped around Natsu’s bed, cutting it off from the rest of the room. “Is this okay?”
Natsu’s eyes had grown large, a smile reappearing. “This is better. Gray, this is better!” He patted the side of his nest, straightened his knick knacks, and wandered around the curtain looking for cracks before he was satisfied. “I like this.”
“Good.” Gray nodded. “I’m glad.” It was such a simple little thing but it made the half dragon boy so happy. He kicked at the ground, belatedly wondering where he’d end up sleeping tonight.
“What’s wrong?”
Gray blinked, surprised when Natsu had managed to sneak up on him. They were practically nose to nose with Natsu staring right at him.
“What?”
“You’re sad.” Natsu said, the words more a statement than a question. “Why are you sad? Did your mission go okay?”
“Oh, yeah. That was fine.” Gray shrugged.
Natsu scowled, sniffing at Gray again. “You smell sad. Why? You shouldn’t be sad.”
“It’s nothing.” Gray shrugged, yelping when Natsu shoved him to the floor with a growl.
“You’re lying. Why are you sad? Did someone make you sad?”
“Oh for crying out loud, Natsu.” Gray sighed loud. “I’m fine. Just… I dunno.”
Natsu sat on the floor beside him, looking down into his face. “You shouldn’t be sad.” he muttered, reaching out to pat Grays face.
Gray was embarrassed, but he’d already figured out that Natsu would keep asking until he understood. “It’s stupid. I just wanted to be your first friend.”
“Mm?” Natsu looked surprised, something in his eyes going funny for a second. A little less human but it had been so fast Gray had barely caught it. “You are.”
“You marked Lisanna.” Gray said. He wasn’t pouting. He WASN’T.
“Oh that.” Natsu had nerve enough to almost look bored. “That was an accident.”
Gray blinked. “Huh?”
Natsu shrugged. “I was looking at her magic claws and thunder startled me. I scratched her arm.”
“So it wasn’t… a friend mark?”
“It can be now. Wasn’t intentional though. She’s nice though and wanted to keep it so she can.”
Gray huffed. “So she was first.”
Natsu made a sound somewhere between a growl and whine. “Okay maybe but Gray’s still my favorite.”
There was nothing Gray could do to keep himself from going pink. “Favorite?”
“Uh huh.” Natsu said. “Is it okay if you’re my favorite?”
Gray nodded once, stomach still feeling weird. “Can i have a mark too? I promise i won’t get it healed like the others ones that disappeared.”
This time he was sure of it, Natsu’s eyes turned into funny slits. “Can i?”
“Yes. I wanna be friends.”
Natsu’s smile softened, but it didn’t stop him from reaching out to run his claws down Gray’s ribs all the way to the hem of his pants. It was a far cry from the pricks Lisanna had gotten.
Gray inhaled shakily, tears falling despite how he tried to hold them back.
“Ow. Just a little ow…”
“Mine…” Natsu whispered, licking the blood of his claws before focusing on Gray again. “Oh! Um, we should try to stop the bleeding. Um. Mira gave Lisanna a rag when hers bled. Normally i’d just lick it but i dunno if that’s okay.”
Gray was red, very red while the tears still poured at the sting. “Maybe next time… Rag is good.”
With another happy purr Natsu pushed back the curtain and shifted through the medical supplies before coming back with a washcloth and a first aid kit to bandage the wound. It wasn’t very deep, but it didn’t have to be.
“Gray’s my favorite.” Natsu repeated with a sigh as he dabbed the blood. “I’m glad your back.”
“Me too.” Gray mumbled, feeling like he’d won some kind of battle. He was Natsu’s favorite. Even if Natsu became comfortable with marking his other friends, he’d still have the biggest mark for sure.
There was a knock at the door and Master Makarov stepped in. “Natsu, is it…” He frowned at the sight of Natsu helping Gray clean up all the blood from his side. “What on Earthland?”
“I got a dragon mark.” Gray smiled, wiping away his tears. “It’s special.”
“Yes…” Makarov said slowly.
“I asked for it.” Gray reiterated.
“Do people have to come in here now?” Natsu asked, still not very sold on the idea but he was handling it better.
“Yes, soon.” Makarov said. “I’m very proud of you for making the acception tonight.”
Natsu hummed, still mostly focused on poorly wrapping Gray’s side. “Gray pulled the curtains for me.”
“Yeah, as long as everyone stays out it should be okay.” Gray said. “They’ll have the rest of the room.”
“That’s a splendid idea.” Makarov smiled. “Well done. Natsu, would you like some help with that.” He gestured to Gray.
“No.” Natsu said firmly. “I can do it.”
Gray shrugged. “Is his mark. It’ll be fine. Master, where am i sleeping tonight?”
“We’ll find out. Most of the children will probably be bunking together.” Makarov said. “Others will be around soon. I’ll make sure everyone knows to leave Natsu’s area alone.”
“Thank you.” Natsu said, but he still looked put out. He focused back on the bandage, only looking up when Master Makarov had wandered out again and Gray poked his nose.
“What’s wrong?”
Natsu swallowed. “I want you to stay here tonight. Not with everyone else.”
“Mm?” Gray shrugged. “Whatever. Fine. I’ll get a pillow and sleep on the floor. We can tell stories and stuff.”
“Mm…” Natsu grumbled, looking from Gray to his curtained off space and back again. “You can sleep in my nest. If you want.”
Gray’s eyes widened. “I thought that wasn’t allowed.”
Natsu shrugged. “Gray’s my favorite. It’s okay. Cause i said so.”
“O..oh…” Gray said, smiling faintly. “Well, if it’s okay with you, i will. It looks super comfy. I bet it’s a really good nest.”
He didn’t know why that flustered Natsu but he fidgeted and smiled. “Yes. It is.”
Gray finally stood and winced at the sharp pain against his ribs. It wasn’t so bad and would be better once is scabbed over. Still, he couldn’t heal it but maybe he could find something for the pain. He went back to the curtains and closed them tight.
After the practice mission he was ready to pass out but he’d gotten completely side tracked after they arrived. Natsu climbed into his nest and Gray followed right after him. It might have only been piles and sheets, blankets and pillows but it was also super comfy. He didn’t know how Natsu made it work but it was far more comfortable than his regular bed.
“This is nice…” Gray yawned. “Really nice.”
“Yep.” Natsu smiled, inhaling again before tugging a blanket loose that they could drape over top of them. “Gray is my favorite.”
Gray smiled faintly. “Natsu is my favorite too.”
~
That had been the first time Gray had gotten to share Natsu’s nest, but it wasn’t the last.
Nearly a decade later, things had changed a little. Gray and Natsu were out of the dorm rooms and into an apartment of their own. There were shelves all over the place to account for items Natsu had collected into his hoard and an entire shelf was dedicated to ice sculptures that wouldn’t melt. In their bedroom was a much larger nest than the first one they’d shared. It changed from time to time depending on Natsu’s whims but Gray had always been welcomed into it.
Gray woke, feeling lips pressed to his jaw.
“Mm…”
“Gray.” Natsu said softly. “We have about an hour before we’re supposed to head down to the guild.”
Gray grunted, curling up tighter in a mess of sheets that felt as good the billionth time as they had the first. “Mm…”
Natsu chuckled and kissed his jaw again, ending the gesture with a nip of his fangs. “You’re the one that promised we’d be there on time.”
“I lied.” He grumbled, blindly reaching out for Natsu to come back and bring heat with him.
“Is that so?” Natsu laughed but let himself be pulled closer. He traced his fingers up Gray’s arm and Gray knew what he was doing. Tracing white lines of old scars that had long since healed over all on their own.
Gray had collected quite a few of them over the years, nearly all of them handed out by one Dragon Slayer. Every new milestone their relationship had taken from innocent to romantic had come with a new mark across Gray’s skin. His ribs had been first, followed by one arm and then the other. His shoulder had been remarked from where their first meetings mark had been erased. Both hips and thighs had telling marks too. Had Gray been capable of keeping his clothes on, most wouldn’t have known the extent of the marks. As it was, Gray still stripped out of habit and everyone in Magnolia knew he was a dragons treasure.
“Mhm.” Gray muttered, happily nuzzling his nose against Natsu’s throat. After so long, many of Natsu’s habits had rubbed off on him. Neither of them noticed anymore.
“So we could just lay here?” Natsu asked, staying put to encourage Gray to continue leaving his scent against his neck.
“Mhm.”
“Warm and together.”
“Mhm.”
“Until Erza comes looking?”
Gray stilled, doing a marvelous impression of Natsu’s unhappy growl. “Fuck.”
Natsu laughed and wrapped himself around Gray. “Another ten minutes and then we’ll hurry.”
“Deal.” Gray said, finally opening his eyes. Greeted by Natsu’s smile and the brush of his mouth.
Being hoarded by a dragon was awesome. Being their mate had turned out to be better.