The Gratsu Prophet

He confronts Gray and the man is denying it but it is getting harder for him to comfortably squat and even bending over is getting to be pretty hard so when he’s in bed laying on his stomach and Natsu breaks in to start kneading the knots in his back he’s not going to tell him to stop.

They fall into a lull Natsu slowly warming Gray’s muscles back to life and knocking the knots out of his back and then once he turns Gray over to do the same to his front he starts moving him around like a physical therapist pushing his knees to his chest and flat to the bed and so on the check the limberness of his ligaments.

Natsu Dragneel cannot be normal about literally anyone- but he’s got like a special brand of insanity for Gray, Lucy, and Happy since they’re the people most important to him.

I hate how Natsu is characterized in most Gratsu fics as like. Normal?? Especially in older fics where it was just about who topped who and they make Natsu some blushing stuttering maiden?? Did we watch the same show cause that is NOT Natsu????

Natsu’s specific breed of insanity is “I love them so much I need to be under their skin and share their body. I love them. I need to kill them (affectionate.) I gotta bite em. I’m gonna start killing bystanders.”

My main claim: Natsu would be doing some weird stuff (to a human) but normal for a dragon/person with dragon instincts. For example:

-Scenting— just shoving his nose against Gray and smelling him, even though he's just gonna complain about how he smells (rivals to lovers? nah. rivals AND lovers).

-Marking him/showing affection—biting him, licking him, etc. (def doesn't help that his closest friend is a literal cat; so there was literally never a chance for him to unlearn these ways of showing affection)

And Gray just kind of gets used to it. He grew up with this lil freak, this IS his normal. Gray isn't always overjoyed at feeling Natsu's rough and borderline too-long tongue against his cheek FIRST thing in the morning— but it doesn't bother him. (dare i say, it even makes him feel...loved WOAH WHO SAID THAT?!)

NOW for the topic ive been wanting to talk about most of all because it overlaps with Gray— possessiveness.

And just throwing this out here: both of them trust each other. Gray knows Natsu would sooner set someone on fire than give them the time of day. And Natsu doesn't worry, partly because he knows Gray has devoted himself to him, but mostly because Natsu will simply kill the competition in classic dragon fashion. Someone's trying to impress MY mate? Well, I'll just have to show my mate that I'M superior, I'M stronger, I'M the only one for them. Or I'll DIE trying to prove it.

Natsu's possessiveness would show up (and only extend to strangers/those he doesn't consider to be friends/family. so Juvia, my queen my beloved who should actually be with ME) in seemingly unconventional ways. And in such a way that only the dragon-raised dragon slayers would pick up on it.

Guarding— constantly hanging around Gray, even if he doesn't contribute to the conversation and just hangs in the background

Flaunting (dragons are proud creatures)— He never stops Gray from stripping, doesn't care in the slighest other than to make fun of him. Natsu derives his own kind of pleasure by watching everyone look at his mate with envy, desire, admiration...just so Natsu can show up and fight Gray. His little lizard brain: "Yes. Look at my mate, he's perfect. And he's mine. He's all mine and you will NEVER have him."

The goal of fighting Gray during these moments: show everyone that Gray's only got eyes for him, and that Natsu's the only one who can be Gray's equal, his mate. It does NOT come across that way to the people around them, but Natsu doesn't care enough to correct them.

Gray's possessiveness? He's got that toxic man possessiveness; the "you're the most jealous man i know." "You know other men?" type. He was definitely a little jealous when Gajeel first showed up and got into fights with Natsu.

Anyone taking up space in Natsu's brain is a threat. Doesn't matter what anyone else says. No, he doesn't like when Sting comes around and tries to act all buddy-buddy with Natsu. Laxus? Oh, he's like a "little brother" to you, yeah, where's Gray heard THAT before. He reaches truly comical levels of delusional if he sits and stews too long. (He prays every night that Lucy doesn't fall in love with Natsu, because he knows that's not a battle he's winning.)

But at least, Gray can usually bring himself back from his unfounded worries that he's going to lose Natsu (because, don't you know, he always loses everyone he loves) by remembering that these are his FRIENDS and FAMILY. and they know natsu too well to be interested in him.

random people? all bets are off. Especially since out of the two, Gray's more charming and (last i checked) viewed as more attractive by the people of fiore— so there's no way for Gray to get used to it since it's not often that Natsu even gets hit on.

Gray will start subtly. Pointedly walking up and interrupting the stranger if he can- "oh who's this, natsu?" as he wraps his arm around Natsu's waist. [Experimentation shows that pairing that maneuver with an insulting nickname only results in riling Natsu up.] The goal: showing off that he can touch Natsu like this without immediately getting torched.

If that doesn't work, then it's STRAIGHT to— this guy has to die. This person can CLEARLY see Natsu's his, so WHY are they still talking to him? SMILING at him? It's on purpose. They are PURPOSEFULLY testing Gray's limits

It helps that most of the time, Natsu gets bored of interacting with the person so he just walks away before Gray starts properly tweaking— but sometimes, when Natsu catches on, he'll stay just to see Gray lose it.

To their friends, Gray's possessiveness is something "toxic" and "needs to be worked on". Natsu will poke fun at him and ACT all exasperated at the behavior, at how worked up Gray gets when he rants about how that person was TOTALLY making eyes at Natsu, or watching as Gray's palms begin to freeze, how his fists clench, his teeth will grind— (gearing up to rock some random civillian's or wizard's shit) but Natsu loves it. He eats it UP. it makes him all giddy. HIS mate is fighting for HIM— by dragon standards, it doesn't get better than that.

Bonus:

Natsu's still a human(*cough*) so there would be moments where he gets upset by things that make ZERO sense to him. He gets sad or angry by things that wouldn't upset a dragon, and so he has NO IDEA what to do with it other that be upset and leave Gray guessing.

For example (one that I'm even using in a fic): Gray and Natsu are about to do something one-on-one, and then Gray invites/allows a tag-along. Something that wouldn't make a dragon bat an eye— dragons are social creatures, the more the merrier so long as you're part of their pack.

But for some reason, Natsu gets upset that it's no longer going to be him and Gray on this outing. And yeah, they're going to go back to being alone AFTER, but for some reason Natsu REALLY wanted to have this outing with GRAY ONLY.

and another EXTRA bonus:

Gray's hesitant with words; he's a smooth-talker right up until it's confessing his love, or how he truly feels underneath everything.

And while Natsu CAN be good with his words (he is, idc that people wanna characterize him as an idiot, his speeches SLAP) and articulating his feelings— he's still an actions speak louder than his words kinda guy. His friends KNOW he loves him because he SHOWS them: he protects them, fights for them, sets himself on fire so they can see the end of the tunnel.

Isolation:

They are both solitary creatures. Say what you want but both Natsu and Gray have favorites that they stick to, in life not just in the guild. Season 1 when the guild was larger, neither of them interacted very much with the guild at large. And yet them continually sought each other out, even with the threat of Erza. Because Natsu has been shown to ignore his “rivals” sometimes but he has never ignored Gray.

And although Natsu is more “social” than Gray, Gray has better “social skills” than Natsu. Once Natsu decides he likes you that’s wraps, nothing you can do will get him to stay away. (Cough Laxus, Avatar Gray cough). Gray on the other hand is willing to be polite to a fault as long as you don’t slight the guild, then the jig is up and you’ve lost the first chance you had to get into his good graces, he’ll tolerate you (Gajeel) but he won’t be buddy buddy with you (Loke).

Everyone else falls into a few categories for them: Nakama (Erza), part of the guild (Wakaba), an acquaintance of the guild (Master Bob), random (Jason) or enemy (Zero).

Romance:

They have not been exposed to “normal” romantic interactions before. Even with Gray having been around his parents, that doesn’t mean he remembers much of how they acted as a couple. And Natsu was raised by a single dragon parent, who most likely taught him the way dragons express their intentions to mate instead of human relationship practices.

Nobody in the guild was even remotely close to teaching either of them anything about how partners should interact with each other. Wakaba, Macao, and Gildarts spent their days being lustful, unfaithful freaks, so their advice would get ignored.

Natsu, a dragon in all but body, would be one hundred percent faithful to his mate. His choice was perfect why would he need to look elsewhere for something much more mediocre. Gray just thinks the adults in the guild are stupid and he’s not going to lust after people’s bodies because it reminds him of how uncomfortable he is when people do that to him.

Erza, Mira, and Cana try to help but between their gossipy nature and innuendos, they are pretty useless. Erza learned everything see knows from bodice rippers, Mira is nosy enough to nudge the idea in your face but not enough to be upfront, and Cana is so drunk most people assume she’s fucking with them. (Usually depends on the day)

Obviously they don’t listen to Erza, not only is her advice extremely heteronormative (in her younger years) but she’s also too awkward to get into the nitty gritty of it. She’s steaming at just the thought of hugging turning into something else so she’s useless. And Cana and Mira’s vagueness goes right over their heads. Gray will catch a little of it but he can’t be bothered to look further into it and Natsu will just ignore them all together, no point in trying to decipher riddles when he knows he’s not going to get the answer he wants.

Boundaries:

They don’t have any. They both know pretty much everything about each other, so it’s not important to hide large secrets. (unless they are being emotional repressed. Although that’s less secret hoarding and more self loathing.)

This leads to codependency that only newer members of the guild can call out, (because the other members of the guild also participate.) not that it leads anywhere. If you ask Natsu where Gray is, he can either tell you or Gray is already with him. If you ask Gray where Natsu is, chances are Gray already knows and is headed off to find him, and he’s not telling you shit.

Natsu likes to show off that he can track his mate anywhere. Oh you don’t know where he is? That’s just because I’m a better mate than you and can always find him anytime, anywhere. Gray on the other hand is paranoid. Why do you want to know where he is? Why do you think I would tell you? Are you interested in him and that’s why you want to find him? He knows where Natsu is and will keep it close to his chest so his man can’t get stolen from him.

How this influences their relationship:

Gray is taking cues from Natsu, not the other way around.

A lot of people like to assume Gray would have more relationship experience but I don’t believe in that. Gray, unlike others in the guild, didn’t have enough time with his parental figures to be taught anything substantial in the romance department and he is too focused on his self deprecation to go seek out anything related to it.

Also Gray is brazen in a lot of things but if he meets a personality more assertive than his own, more often than not he will follow their lead. Erza, Juvia and Loke all have more assertive traits than he does and he is more willing to let them take the reins than fight them on it. Even when he shouldn’t have to cough Juvia cough. (This makes Natsu, his exact opposite and equal, a special case.)

A lot of people also like to buy into Natsu being innocent and naive. Personally I find this to be incredibly stupid because Natsu has five senses dialed up to eleven, there is no way he hasn’t heard, scented, or seen some stuff. Just because he pretends not to know to get out of akward situations doesn’t mean he has no knowledge at all. And I believe Igneel would have explained some things to him in dragon terms, I have a hard time believe a humans coming of age and a dragons coming of age are the same.

Also Natsu is someone with a dominant personality, he has no room for give. If he has an idea he will stick with it and bulldoze over anyone else’s. What this means is that he clashes with other assertive types quite often. Erza, Gajeel, Lucy. However in special cases he is wiling to hear another opinion instead of trampling over them and the opinion he listens to most is Gray’s even though he could just ignore him the same way he does to Lucy. (Lowkey my girl does not deserve some of the stuff Natsu puts her through)

Now this can be seen throughout the series with Natsu being the endurance predator and Gray being the combative prey.

Gray is used to being chased. He gets chased by Ur, Lyon and Juvia. Gray is used to being run after, not the one doing the running. And if he’s caught, he lashes out like a cornered animal.

His flightiness is what makes him to perfect match for Natsu. Natsu needs a goal, stimulation, anything almost to the point of detriment because he will keep going until he can’t anymore. With Gray, a focused point who he knows he will eventually catch, he doesn’t have to seek out potential dangerous situations to stimulate himself.

Natsu is used to chasing. He chased Igneel, Lisanna, and Fairy Tail. He runs away from things by running towards them and he will not stop until he has caught his goal.

His endurance is what makes him the perfect match for Gray. He won’t let Gray run from his problems for longer than is necessary. He knows when to give Gray space and when to break down his walls so he won’t stew in self hatred anymore.

Natsu Dragneel cannot be normal about literally anyone- but he’s got like a special brand of insanity for Gray, Lucy, and Happy since they’re the people most important to him.

I hate how Natsu is characterized in most Gratsu fics as like. Normal?? Especially in older fics where it was just about who topped who and they make Natsu some blushing stuttering maiden?? Did we watch the same show cause that is NOT Natsu????

Natsu’s specific breed of insanity is “I love them so much I need to be under their skin and share their body. I love them. I need to kill them (affectionate.) I gotta bite em. I’m gonna start killing bystanders.”

My main claim: Natsu would be doing some weird stuff (to a human) but normal for a dragon/person with dragon instincts. For example:

-Scenting— just shoving his nose against Gray and smelling him, even though he's just gonna complain about how he smells (rivals to lovers? nah. rivals AND lovers).

-Marking him/showing affection—biting him, licking him, etc. (def doesn't help that his closest friend is a literal cat; so there was literally never a chance for him to unlearn these ways of showing affection)

And Gray just kind of gets used to it. He grew up with this lil freak, this IS his normal. Gray isn't always overjoyed at feeling Natsu's rough and borderline too-long tongue against his cheek FIRST thing in the morning— but it doesn't bother him. (dare i say, it even makes him feel...loved WOAH WHO SAID THAT?!)

NOW for the topic ive been wanting to talk about most of all because it overlaps with Gray— possessiveness.

And just throwing this out here: both of them trust each other. Gray knows Natsu would sooner set someone on fire than give them the time of day. And Natsu doesn't worry, partly because he knows Gray has devoted himself to him, but mostly because Natsu will simply kill the competition in classic dragon fashion. Someone's trying to impress MY mate? Well, I'll just have to show my mate that I'M superior, I'M stronger, I'M the only one for them. Or I'll DIE trying to prove it.

Natsu's possessiveness would show up (and only extend to strangers/those he doesn't consider to be friends/family. so Juvia, my queen my beloved who should actually be with ME) in seemingly unconventional ways. And in such a way that only the dragon-raised dragon slayers would pick up on it.

Guarding— constantly hanging around Gray, even if he doesn't contribute to the conversation and just hangs in the background

Flaunting (dragons are proud creatures)— He never stops Gray from stripping, doesn't care in the slighest other than to make fun of him. Natsu derives his own kind of pleasure by watching everyone look at his mate with envy, desire, admiration...just so Natsu can show up and fight Gray. His little lizard brain: "Yes. Look at my mate, he's perfect. And he's mine. He's all mine and you will NEVER have him."

The goal of fighting Gray during these moments: show everyone that Gray's only got eyes for him, and that Natsu's the only one who can be Gray's equal, his mate. It does NOT come across that way to the people around them, but Natsu doesn't care enough to correct them.

Gray's possessiveness? He's got that toxic man possessiveness; the "you're the most jealous man i know." "You know other men?" type. He was definitely a little jealous when Gajeel first showed up and got into fights with Natsu.

Anyone taking up space in Natsu's brain is a threat. Doesn't matter what anyone else says. No, he doesn't like when Sting comes around and tries to act all buddy-buddy with Natsu. Laxus? Oh, he's like a "little brother" to you, yeah, where's Gray heard THAT before. He reaches truly comical levels of delusional if he sits and stews too long. (He prays every night that Lucy doesn't fall in love with Natsu, because he knows that's not a battle he's winning.)

But at least, Gray can usually bring himself back from his unfounded worries that he's going to lose Natsu (because, don't you know, he always loses everyone he loves) by remembering that these are his FRIENDS and FAMILY. and they know natsu too well to be interested in him.

random people? all bets are off. Especially since out of the two, Gray's more charming and (last i checked) viewed as more attractive by the people of fiore— so there's no way for Gray to get used to it since it's not often that Natsu even gets hit on.

Gray will start subtly. Pointedly walking up and interrupting the stranger if he can- "oh who's this, natsu?" as he wraps his arm around Natsu's waist. [Experimentation shows that pairing that maneuver with an insulting nickname only results in riling Natsu up.] The goal: showing off that he can touch Natsu like this without immediately getting torched.

If that doesn't work, then it's STRAIGHT to— this guy has to die. This person can CLEARLY see Natsu's his, so WHY are they still talking to him? SMILING at him? It's on purpose. They are PURPOSEFULLY testing Gray's limits

It helps that most of the time, Natsu gets bored of interacting with the person so he just walks away before Gray starts properly tweaking— but sometimes, when Natsu catches on, he'll stay just to see Gray lose it.

To their friends, Gray's possessiveness is something "toxic" and "needs to be worked on". Natsu will poke fun at him and ACT all exasperated at the behavior, at how worked up Gray gets when he rants about how that person was TOTALLY making eyes at Natsu, or watching as Gray's palms begin to freeze, how his fists clench, his teeth will grind— (gearing up to rock some random civillian's or wizard's shit) but Natsu loves it. He eats it UP. it makes him all giddy. HIS mate is fighting for HIM— by dragon standards, it doesn't get better than that.

Bonus:

Natsu's still a human(*cough*) so there would be moments where he gets upset by things that make ZERO sense to him. He gets sad or angry by things that wouldn't upset a dragon, and so he has NO IDEA what to do with it other that be upset and leave Gray guessing.

For example (one that I'm even using in a fic): Gray and Natsu are about to do something one-on-one, and then Gray invites/allows a tag-along. Something that wouldn't make a dragon bat an eye— dragons are social creatures, the more the merrier so long as you're part of their pack.

But for some reason, Natsu gets upset that it's no longer going to be him and Gray on this outing. And yeah, they're going to go back to being alone AFTER, but for some reason Natsu REALLY wanted to have this outing with GRAY ONLY.

and another EXTRA bonus:

Gray's hesitant with words; he's a smooth-talker right up until it's confessing his love, or how he truly feels underneath everything.

And while Natsu CAN be good with his words (he is, idc that people wanna characterize him as an idiot, his speeches SLAP) and articulating his feelings— he's still an actions speak louder than his words kinda guy. His friends KNOW he loves him because he SHOWS them: he protects them, fights for them, sets himself on fire so they can see the end of the tunnel.