We are ready for the holidays! We have queued a winter/holiday story or fan art post (at 5PM EST) from December 1-24 to help count down the days until Christmas and hopefully give you something to look forward to every day.
There will be also be a post almost every hour on Christmas Day. This is our Christmas present to you (along with this edit)! If you make something gratsu related for the holidays let us know and we’ll reblog it for you and add it to next year’s Gratsu Xmas.
We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, I think we’ve definitely all earned it this year!!!
Love,
@fuckyeahgratsu Mods
Don’t forget Gratsu Winter Solstice starts on December 19th! Details can be found here.
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Late entry for the Gratsu Summer Solstice Event run by @fuckyeahgratsu for the prompt: fun in the sun
Note: The kids in this fic are apart of my Erzajane Home is Where They Are series but this fic can be read as a stand alone.
Read on Ao3
“Are you sure you can handle this?” Erza asked shifting from one foot to the other. It was a nervous tick. One that years of staring down enemy after enemy should have gotten rid of. But Erza did not stand before him as guild master of Fairy Tail. No, Erza stood before him as a nervous parent hesitating at the thought of separating from her children despite them both knowing she needed the break. The tell-tale signs of pure exhaustion were written all over Erza’s face weighing down her body. It wasn’t too obvious of course, this was Erza, she still keep that level of grace in her movements and a blank stare to ward off any prying questions. But he knew Erza and so did Gray.
Natsu looks over to his husband to find him staring worriedly at Erza. Gray’s teeth sunk into his lower lip in a way that made Natsu’s eye linger before traveling up to the eyebrow scrunched high on his face. He too could see what Natsu saw and knew they needed to do this.
With practiced ease, Natsu called a wide cocky grin onto his face. “Oh, come on Erza, we’ve babysitter for you a bunch of times remember?”
But as Gray and Natsu could see though Erza’s facade, she could see through theirs. She narrowed her eyes at them. “Rhea. You babysat Rhea alone. I’m warning you now that this is not the same. Rhea has always been self-sufficient even when she was younger. Andre can be…difficult sometimes. Toddlers are a lot of work.”
Gray interrupted this time moving closer to the mother. “Stop trying to scare us off Erza, you know that only gets us fired up.” Natsu’s grin turns into a smirk as he redirects his attention to Gray. “Stealing my lines now Snowflake.” Gray gives him a challenging stare back but says nothing. The two just smirk at each other like idiots in the Scarlet-Strauss yard speaking a thousand words without a sound. Erza always held strong for their guild, for Gray and Natsu, no matter the cost to her. That type of behavior had led to her self-destruction more than once, and each time the boys were there catch her before she fit the ground.
There was no way they were going to leave without the kids.
At that moment, the door opened again, and Rhea walked out. Heading their instructions, she brought along with her a bathing suit and towel carried on her cake-shaped backpack. The eleven-year old looks between her two rowdy uncles and her tired mom. Secretly, she had noticed that both her mothers had looked more down the last few weeks. Between issues at the guild and Andre tearing through whatever he could get his hands and/or teeth on, her mothers were always fixing problem after problem. Rhea tried to make up for it by being extra good. She cleaned up after herself and did her chores without her mother’s asking. She even tried to talk to Andre about being good too, but he just stared and giggled at her as if she were telling a joke. Rhea wasn’t anymore immune to that cute giggly face than her parents and ended up on the floor reading him stories.
Still. She was going to keep being good for her uncles as well. Especially since they seemed blissfully unaware how much of a little terror her brother has been for the past few weeks.
Mirajane smiled at Gray and Natsu and so did the little person slobbering on her dress. Andre giggled as Gray made silly faces and went willingly into his arms. Her turned to shoot a I-told-you-we-could-handle-it look at Erza only to be stopped by the same look of hesitance that flashed over Mirajane’s face.
At this rate, they’d never leave. Gray and Natsu exchanged looks again and subtly nodded to each other. It’s game time.
Gray started down the pathway with Andre in his arms and Rhea following right behind them. Natsu waited for them to move further down the road before stepping forward to grasp both women’s shoulders. “Listen, you two deserve this break. We all know how hard you’ve been working both at the guild and at home. Me and Gray handle the kids for a few days, just trust us alright?” Without waiting for an answer, he kissed both women on the cheeks and grabbed the baby bag Mirajane had brought along with her. With another reassuring grin, he headed to meet his lover.
“Natsu wait-” He turned to see Mirajane and Erza’s hands intertwined. A look of sincerity on their faces as they whispered, “thank you.”
This time, the smile that came onto his lips was genuine.
~
He and Gray had spent hours arguing over where the best place to spend a week with little kids was. They had come to a standstill glaring from opposite sides of their kitchen table when Happy’s fish went sailing through the room and ended up dropping between them. When Natsu turned to yell what the hell was that for! Gray’s eyes had lit up in the mesmerizing way.
Now here they were in a 5-way race across the beach. Happy won of course, the cheater, but Natsu gladly headbutted Gray out of the way allowing for Rhea to race past him. In retaliation, Gray picked Natsu up off the ground and swung him around under the eyes of a giggling Andre. Andre had given up on trying to race on his short unsteady legs pretty early and instead seemed content to run his fingers through the sand and watch his uncles wrestle. Rhea was celebrating her victory with Happy by trying to bob for fish underwater. At the sound of a scuffle, she raises her head and turns to the fighting men fight men on the beach. She jolts up out of the water when recognizes her uncles. “Are they okay?!” She askes Happy worried. The blue cat just rolled his eyes. “Yeah they’re fine. That’s just their version of fun. Come on, the fish aren’t going to catch themselves!” Rhea hesitates, but as she looks back she could see the little details she missed before. The light tone in their voices as they called insults back and forth, the smiles they exchanged when one managed to pin the other, the way the hands lingered and caressed the other in between moves. In that moment, they reminded Rhea so much of her own mothers when they bickered back and forth just to have an excuse to get closer to each other. With a smile she decided that Happy was right and they continued their dives.
The rest of the day passed by in a splash.
Natsu tried to teach Rhea how to swim while Gray wadded around the shallow end with Andre on his hip. Then they broke for lunch and devoured the triangle sandwiches Mirajane had packed. Shortly after eating, Andre fell asleep on Natsu’s chest while the rest of the gang built sandcastles. They spent some more time in the water until the sun started to set and both kids movements began to slow. They were in the process of packing up their stuff when Gray placed his hand gently over Natsu’s, “so, kids hun?”
Natsu squeezed his hand back. He didn’t need to respond to the question verbally. The look exchanged between the two lovers spoke a thousand words.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Fairy Tail
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser
Characters: Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel, Juvia Lockser, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Levy McGarden, Cana Alberona
Additional Tags: Non-Linear Narrative, Falling In Love, Gratsu Week 2020, Gratsu - Freeform, Symbolism, Dragonflies, almost canon-compliant, gruvia is mostly one-sided
Series: Part 2 of Tumblr Requests 2020
Summary:
“The Dragonfly is iridescent both on its wings and body. Iridescent is showing of different luminous colours that change when light falls at a different angle.
It symbolises the discovery of one’s own abilities by unmasking the real self and removing doubts one cast on their own identity.”
Just like a dragonfly, Gray wanted to fly forward, shedding away the weights of the world.
Wiping the tears with the heels of his palms, Gray laughed tirelessly.
I love him.
Just from my heart, more than anything, I love him and that’s all I know.
@gratsu-week
So as usual, Tumblr happened and I had to delete the original ask. Thank you for sending the requesting, @sunsofmars! I hope you will enjoy the fic. ^^
Summary: Natsu and Gray would always fight, both with and without magic, their opposing natures and personalities almost demanded it, but behind all the insults and blows there was a friendship built on trust and respect.
“What kind of loser doesn’t know how to swim?” Natsu mocked Gray as he ran, trying to stay out of the ice mage’s reach.
“So what if I don’t know how to swim?” Gray yelled as he punched the stupid grin off Natsu’s face. “At least I know how not to be an asshole.”
“You’re a loser on that one too,” Natsu shouted in annoyance, not wanting to admit the punch had hurt. He kicked Gray’s legs out from under him quickly and pinned him to the ground.
Gray maneuvered out from under him and reversed their positions. “Who’s the loser now?” Gray grinned triumphantly at the fuming Fire Dragon Slayer.
“Ow, you bastard!” Gray screamed as his skin began to blister where he’d been touching Natsu, causing him to let go. “Gramps said no magic in the guild!”
"Well Gramps isn't here, is he?" Natsu scrambled away from Gray, not wanting to admit that he'd been beaten. He tried to ignore the sudden tightness in his chest when he saw Gray was in real pain.
In all the years he'd had fire magic Natsu had never actually hurt anyone with it, never seen the results of his power on another. He knew that was bound to change as soon as Gramps cleared him for more dangerous missions, but the pained look on Gray's face was unnerving him.
“Natsu, that was uncalled for!” Erza scolded him, distracting him from the progressively negative thoughts that were beginning to take hold of him. “Take Gray to the infirmary this second, you know better than to attack his hands, he needs those to do his magic. Half of whatever money you make on jobs will go to him until his hands heal.”
“What?!” Natsu protested in outrage, “How is that even fair?”
“You’ve made it so he can’t work,” Erza pointed out, her eyes flashing dangerously, “Would you rather I tell Gramps you broke his rule?”
“Fine, I’ll give the Princess half of my take,” Natsu agreed, quickly realizing any punishment Gramps came up with would likely be worse. “Come on,” he grabbed Gray by the hand and pulled him towards the stairs.
“You idiot!” Gray screamed in agony as his burnt hand throbbed at Natsu’s rough treatment. “Do you ever think?”
“Ugh, I’m sorry,” Natsu moved his hand to Gray’s elbow and carefully guided him up the stairs to the infirmary. He placed Gray’s arms under the water faucet and let cool water run over the burns while he hunted around for supplies to treat him.
All supplies collected, he turned off the water and moved Gray over to one of the beds. Natsu felt terrible when he saw the extent of the burns, he hadn’t meant to hurt the ice block. He just hadn’t wanted to lose. He patted Gray’s arms dry with a towel, careful not to pop any of the blisters.
“So how come?” Natsu asked, trying to distract Gray from the bandaging which he knew was likely to be painful.
“Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?” Gray snapped, glaring at him in a way which showed he was still upset.
Natsu made himself count to ten before he responded, he knew Gray had every reason to be angry with him, and he was determined to keep his temper for once.
“Swimming, how come you never learned?”
“Oh, I lived in the North,” Gray explained with a shrug, “It was too cold to swim in the water there and I never really thought about it after I got here.”
Natsu opened his mouth in an O shape, but no sound came out. He'd forgotten Gray came from the North country when he'd made fun of him. He finished bandaging Gray's arms as gently as he could, and the ice mage went away, leaving Natsu with a bitter aftertaste as he thought about how his thoughtlessness had managed to hurt his rival. Well okay, friend. He was still new to the guild and so far he'd only really interacted with Gray and Erza.
For the next two weeks, Natsu worked nonstop, trying to make enough money for rent and food for the two of them. When Gray's bandages finally came off, and his burns had healed Natsu was relieved but way too tired for the fight Gray was obviously looking for, or at least that's what he told himself. He went back to the boy's dorm and collapsed on his bed.
Unbeknownst to Natsu, Makarov had been watching him, having heard from Macao what had happened while he was gone. The guild master was proud of the way his young member had taken responsibility for his actions without much complaint. He'd noticed that Natsu had been avoiding interacting with Gray, and as much as he enjoyed the peace and quiet, it troubled him. It was possible that Natsu was just tired, he had been working very hard, but the guild master couldn’t help but worry that there was something else behind it.
O-o
“Hurry up, we’re going to miss the train,” Makarov chided his guild members who were laden down with supplies for their day at the beach. He had goaded all of the adults into coming, not wanting to be stuck at the beach with so many children by himself. There were baskets of food, tubs full of toys and sunblock as well as umbrellas, towels, and blankets, not to mention the barrels of alcohol he’d bribed Gildarts, Macao and Wakaba with.
“Train?” Natsu immediately complained, “Can’t we walk to where we’re going?”
“I’m afraid not my boy,” Gramps replied cheerfully. He scratched his head as he remembered that Natsu got motion sick on vehicles, and feeling a bit guilty he asked Wakaba to pass him one of the sand pails and handed it to Natsu, who looked at him miserably. “The trip won’t be long, and I promise it will be worth it,” Makarov said kindly as he ruffled the boy’s pink locks.
Gray seemed ready to say something, but a glare from Makarov shut him up quickly, and he made do with smirking at Natsu, who was staring at the train like it was his nemesis. Although once the train started to move, he felt a little bad as he watched Natsu dry heave for the better part of an hour.
Gray was very excited to go to a beach, he'd never been to one before, and he couldn't wait. He ran out of the train as soon as it stopped, clothes coming off as he ran. Gildarts went after him to make sure he didn't get lost and to avoid carrying any of the heavy items, picking up Gray's clothes along the way. The rest of the kids waited for Natsu's nausea to settle, walking towards the beach together with the other adults.
As soon as they arrived at the sand, all the other kids paired up and ran off to play, grabbing toys and yelling a general direction where they could be found, leaving adults scrambling to set up a central location and Natsu to stare after them. He was sure he could join any of them even though they hadn't explicitly invited him, but it still made him feel a little left out. He looked around the beach with interest, it had been a while since he'd been to one. The cold water was calling to him, and he could see Gray dipping his toes in the water nervously.
Makarov watched to see what Natsu would do. “You know Natsu, Gray looks like he could use some company.”
Natsu looked over again and bit his lip, a gesture that was not missed by the guild master. He grabbed a bunch of toys and handed them to the Fire Dragon Slayer. “Here, why don’t you take these over to him and show him how to use them. I don’t think he’s ever been to a beach before.”
Natsu looked at the offered toys with interest but had no idea what to really do with them. Dragons didn't precisely pack toys to outings.
"Macao, why don't you go with him?" Makarov suggested, "You've got a kid coming, might as well get some practice in." He gave the fire mage a meaningful look, and Macao nodded, knowing Makarov wanted him to have a chat with Natsu.
“Sure,” Macao replied, “Come on Natsu, let’s go get Gray.”
Natsu began to move, but it was a lot slower than usual.
“Wanna talk about it?”
Natsu shook his head and continued to walk.
“Is this about the day Gray was hurt?”
Natsu stopped in his tracks and gazed at Macao thoughtfully.
"I remember the first time I hurt a friend with my magic. Stop me if this sounds familiar," Macao smiled kindly, " I felt terrible about it. It made me nervous about using my magic around others."
He studied Natsu, who was still staring at him but Macao could tell he was listening. "You know, fire is one of those magic that is both a blessing and a curse, and I firmly believe it's only given to those who are very strong of will."
Natsu scoffed at that, but he was listening so Macao continued, "It has the power to hurt and destroy, but it can also save lives. Did you know that?"
Natsu shook his head. “You just need to learn to control your fire, Natsu. I can work with you if you want.”
“I’d like that.”
Macao ruffled Natsu’s hair affectionately, he’d grown fond of him very quickly. “Then it’s settled, now go out there and have fun with your friend, there’s a barrel I need to liberate from Wakaba.”
Macao handed the beach toys he was holding to Natsu and began to walk back towards where the other Fairy Tail wizards were sitting when he heard Natsu ask, “What if he doesn’t like me anymore?”
Macao turned around and was surprised to see the hesitation in the usually brash mage.
“You won’t know unless you talk to him, but I’m pretty sure he knows you didn’t mean to hurt him.” Macao pointed out, “Besides, are you sure he liked you in the first place?”
When he heard Natsu laugh, he added, "You could always apologize."
“Good point, okay I’ll give it a try. Thanks, Macao.” Natsu dropped the toys and hugged the fire mage tightly. He grabbed everything and ran towards the ice mage.
“Hey, Ice Block,” Natsu stopped in front of Gray, noticing how his attention was on the other kids swimming in the ocean.
“What do you want?” Gray turned and looked at Natsu, noticing all the crap he was holding, “And what on Earthland do you have there?”
“Beach toys,” Natsu put them down on the sand and scratched his head, “I guess you use them to build stuff in the sand.” He pointed at some of the other people on the beach who were using similar tools. “Look, I wanted to say I was sorry I burned you, I won’t do it again.”
Gray studied him for a moment and began to laugh, “That’s what you think I was mad at?”
Natsu looked at him in confusion, “Wasn’t it?”
“No, dumbass. I was mad at you cause you cheated.” Gray rolled his eyes at the other, “You’re a fire mage, I expect to get burned now and again, just as I’m sure I’ll freeze your ass at some point.”
Natsu snorted, a playful tone sneaking its way in as he shed some of the guilt he’d been harboring, “As if you could.”
“Only one way to find out,” Gray challenged, a smirk spreading on his lips as he got into his ice make stance.
"Oh, you're so on!" Natsu grinned, his fists lighting up, but before they could even begin to test each other, a voice they both recognized well interrupted them.
“And just what do you think you’re doing?” Erza glared at them, somehow managing to convey her irritation even dripping wet and only wearing a swimsuit.
“Just behaving like good buddies do,” Gray mumbled putting his arm around Natsu’s shoulders and pulling him closer.
“Yep, nothing to see here,” Natsu agreed, wrapping his arm around Gray as well and flashing Erza what he hoped looked like a genuine smile.
“Good, because we’re here to have fun,” Erza relaxed and smiled at them, always enjoying when they got along. “Why don’t you guys come swim with us?”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” Natsu assured her, watching as she returned to the others. They waited until she was far enough away before detangling themselves, immediately scowling at each other before crossing their arms across their chests and turning away.
“Are we okay?” Natsu asked Gray, turning around to face him.
Gray chuckled, “As okay as we ever are, Flame-Brain.” He grabbed one of the shovels and pails and walked away. “I’ll see you later.”
“Hey, where are you going?” Natsu yelled after him.
“Aren’t you going swimming with the others?” Gray asked.
“Yeah, we both are. Come on!” He grabbed Gray by the hand and started leading them towards the water.
Gray struggled until he managed to get his hand free from Natsu’s grip, “First of all, you really need to stop grabbing me like that, you’re gonna give people ideas. Second, I don’t know how to swim, remember?”
“I know, I’m gonna teach you,” Natsu said, his eyes hard and determined, a sign Gray had already learned meant there was no arguing with him. So he did something quite unusual for him, he said a silent prayer for his safety and let Natsu lead him. He couldn’t help but notice that Natsu was guiding him away from the others, to a small private cove and for that he was grateful.
When they were in the water, Natsu immediately splashed him, and they were soon engaged in an epic water battle, neither of them noticing Makarov sitting on a rock nearby.
After Natsu deemed Gray relaxed enough to learn, he repeated all the steps Igneel had used to teach him. After about an hour with minimal bickering, Gray had gotten the hang of it.
"Wanna race me?" Natsu asked hopefully. He'd been standing still for far too long to teach Gray, and he was itching to do something active. "I'll give you a head start…"
Makarov called out to them before Natsu could manage to ruin all his efforts by drowning Gray. “Boys, lunch!”
They spent the rest of the afternoon together playing with the others, building sand castles, burying Levy and Droy in the sand and when they all went out swimming again Gray and Natsu both joined them.
As the years passed Gray became a powerful swimmer, with Natsu always challenging him there really was no other choice, but he would never forget how he learned nor how that one snap decision on his part helped shape his relationship with Natsu for years to come.
Natsu and Gray would always fight, both with and without magic, their opposing natures and personalities almost demanded it, but behind all the insults and blows there was a friendship built on trust and respect. Many of their guildmates wondered if one day it might turn into more and although both of them would usually scoff at the idea, in their most private thoughts, they found they didn't really mind.
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Gray smiles softly as he closes his eyes, his face lifted toward the sky. He can feel the sun on his skin and the faint breeze that ruffles through his hair. It's peaceful, and the only things he can hear are the waves crashing smoothly against the canoe and the even way Natsu is paddling.
It's refreshing to be here, on the lake with the only person who matters to him. It's like they're in their own little world and it's really what Gray needs right now.
The little boat stops moving forward, and Gray opens his eyes, only for his gaze to fall on Natsu looking directly at him.
There's something soft and calm in those olive eyes. A look that Gray rarely sees since Natsu is always so passionate and vibrant. A little ball of energy. Seeing him like this only confirms how important this moment is for them, that he's not the only one taking everything he can from this instant. It makes Gray feel better, and he wants this moment to last forever.
"You have this look on your face," Natsu says, whispering as if speaking louder would have broken the peace around them.
"What look?" Gray asks, moving closer to Natsu, so their knees are now touching.
He watches as Natsu places the oars inside the canoe so he can move freely. The boat sways a little as he makes himself more comfortable, leaning into Gray's space.
"The same one you wore when you said you loved me for the first time," Natsu answers, bringing a hand to Gray hair, brushing it out of his face. " And that you wore yesterday evening when you said you'll spend the rest of your life by my side."
Natsu face breaks in a smile and Gray can't help but do the same, while he takes Natsu's left hand in his, and lets his fingers play with the golden band.
They decided to get married a month ago, but neither of them wanted anything big, a simple ceremony with only the people closest to them. They all spent the night at their apartment, drinking and eating like any other party they've hosted. It was nothing fancy, but it was everything they'd ever wanted, and Gray wouldn't have it another way.
They've known each other for as long as they could remember and they're not even sure when their relationship changed from friends to being a couple. But if there is something that they're entirely sure of, is they couldn't live without the other. Getting married was the only logical choice to make after all these years. It's like sealing their love for good.
And now that they were here, just the two of them, Gray has no doubt that Natsu is the one he wants by his side for the rest of his life.
"I'm happy, that's all." Gray finally says.
Natsu doesn't respond, simply presses his lips against Gray's own. The kiss is tender and slow, and it's a promise to keep loving each other no matter what happens.
*
Thank you to @mdelpin for the beta job! You're amazing and adorable for agreeing to do this for me!
This is in response to a request through @fuckyeahgratsu! I hope you like it, @jinx13gxa2 <3
Natsu walks with a little pep in his step towards the guildhall, a wide grin stretching across his face. Today was “opposite day”. The idea had been Lucy’s, and as she explained the concept, more people started to get into it.
At first, Natsu didn’t really care to participate. It wasn’t until Lucy announced it would be a contest, that Natsu immediately agreed.
“You change one thing of your appearance, and if anyone notices and points it out, you lose.” She had said. Natsu’s ears perked up at the excuse to get competitive. “At the end of the day, whoever is still standing will get a prize.” That had done it for the dragon slayer, and before he knew it, he was writing his name down on the list of participants.
Natsu arrives at the guild and takes his usual seat at the bar. He turns to face the hall, leaning back against the counter, and scans the area.
Gajeel, Cana, and Elfman sat at a table, glaring at each other. Natsu raises an eyebrow.
“Good morning, Natsu!” The fire mage jumps at the sudden voice behind the counter. Twisting his head around, he’s greeted by the smiling face of Mirajane.
“Morning, Mira!” He grins.
“Your usual?” She asks, already grabbing a glass to fill with fire.
“Yes!” He turns his entire body back to the counter, placing his chin into the palms of his hands.
As Mira moves about, Natsu studies her. He doesn’t remember who was on the list, but he feels there’s something different about her.
“There ya go,” She places the flaming cup and a plate full of breakfasts food in front of him.
Once the smell of chicken and eggs fills his nostrils, Natsu forgets all about Mira’s difference, and dives in to his meal.
-
One by one, the guild members participating in opposite day were picked off. As the day drew to a close, Natsu feels proud of himself, a smile never leaving his face. The only ones left were himself, Mira, and Cana.
The three sit side-by-side at one of the tables as several mages crowd around them, analyzing their every detail. It’s oddly silent in the guild hall, no one daring to speak unless it was about the differences in appearance.
Natsu smirks, Mira smiles sweetly, and Cana looks bored with her arms crossed over her chest.
Max takes a deep breathe, like he’s about to make an accusation, and everyone looks at him. After two, slow seconds, he lets out an annoyed sigh and everyone rolls their eyes, returning their gazes to the three powerful mages.
After another couple minutes, Lucy gasps.
“Your bag!” She points at Cana, causing everyone to look at the card mage. Cana raises an eyebrow, daring Lucy to continue. “Your bag is on your left, not the right!”
The guild members all chatter loudly, asking themselves “why I didn’t realize that”, and “damn I was sure it had to do with her shoes”. Cana rolls her eyes.
“Alright!” She yells, and everyone ceases talking. “Now that that’s over, can I have my drink now?” She glares in Lisanna’s direction, knowing Mira won’t move from her spot. Lisanna squeaks and runs behind the bar.
“No problem, Cana!” She calls, and the brunette shoves her way through the crowd to the bar, finishing her first drink within seconds.
Before anyone could continue scanning Natsu and Mira, the guild doors open and an exhausted looking ice mage walks through. Natsu brightens at the sight of his boyfriend, before jumping up and running to him.
“Gray!” He tackles Gray into a hug, causing an “oof” to escape the man’s mouth.
“Hey, Flame Brain,” He greets his boyfriend, hugging him with one arm, as Natsu buries his face into the ice-make wizards neck. “What’s going on here?” Natsu pulls away slightly, resting against Gray’s side, whose arm stays wrapped around Natsu’s waist.
Gray scans the room, then looks down at his boyfriend, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Natsu opens his mouth to respond, but Gray stops him. “What did you do to your hair?” Natsu’s eyes widen, mouth shutting instantly.
Natsu can feel the other guild members closing in on them, their eyes watching every move and word.
Don’t say it, please don’t say i-
“Why is your part switched?” Gray drops his bag to the floor beside him, and reaches up to fix the dragon slayers hair.
Natsu scrunches his eyes closed, waiting for the chaos to ensue.
“His hair! It’s his hair! I knew it all along!” The voices blend together, shouting about the revelation, and cursing at Gray for figuring it out right away.
“What the hell…?” Gray looks around, baffled by the energy in the hall so late at night.
“We had a competition,” Natsu explains, finally reopening his eyes to focus on Gray. “It was opposite day, and whoever lasted the whole day without their difference being pointed out, won a prize.” Natsu sighs, depressed. Gray makes an ‘O’ shape with his mouth, then smiles nervously.
“Sorry, Flame Brain,” Gray rubs at the back of his neck.
Natsu shrugs. “Eh, it’s whatever.” Natsu looks over at Mira, who was happily making her way back to the bar. “Yo, Mira!” Natsu calls out to her.
“Yes?” She turns to him, grabbing a plate to dry off from Lisanna.
“Since you already one, what was different about you?” Everyone silences at that, their attention fully on Mirajane.
“It was my shoes,” She walks from behind the counter, lifting her long dress to show. The crowd’s eyes squint, looking intently at her feet. “They’re on the wrong feet.” She uses a thin finger to point at her heels, which were indeed switched.
Everyone stares at her dumbfounded.
“How did you expect us to know that with your long ass dress?” Before Gajeel could even finish his interrogation, Mira’s Satan Soul makes an appearance.
“Are you questioning me?” The members take three large steps back, and Gajeel sputters out an, “N-No, ma’am.”
Lucy carefully hands her a ticket for a spa day at the Blue Pegasus Guild. Mira snatches it, and stuffs it in her dress pocket. In a blink, Mira returns to her natural form, and giggles.
author’s note: hi anon! im sorry if this story doesn't quite satisfy your request, but i was feeling in the mood of fluff more than anything else and decided to tackle a different side of pet play. i hope you like it!
word count: roughly 450
“Gray.”
No reaction.
“Gray. Gray.”
Again nothing. Natsu leaned over and poked their mate's shoulder.
“Graaaay!”
A low sound of disappointment came from the couch and soon enough, Gray lifted his head from where he'd laid it before.
“What do you want?” he asked, his voice still laced with sleep.
Natsu grumbled under their breath as they climbed into the couch and curled against him. The burn for affection sizzled and moved in their guts. They nuzzled his neck and breathed his scent it, the corners of their mouth pulling up.
“Pay attention to me.”
It came out more as order than anything else. Natsu hummed and lifted their head to watch, eyes glued to their mate's face.
Gray had never been a bad actor, but his mask always seemed to melt when around them. His hand ran through their hair and they sighed softly, closing their eyes.
“Are you going to purr again?” Gray asked, mild amusement laced into his voice.
Natsu decided to not answer and instead curled further into his hold, a slow purr vibrating from the back of their throat. Gray's soft chuckle filled their ears, the sound making them smile again.
The sound of heartbeat against them, the long fingers running through their hair, the warm breath ruffling their bangs… Natsu loved those rare moments of comfort, when the beast inside of them wanted nothing but to curl up into him and relax.
“You alright?” Gray asked after a while, his fingers slowing down so he could pull them closer.
“Just right, Ice Breath.” They looked up enough to give him a smile and gently push against his chin. “Why asking?”
“You get cuddly after an episode, usually.”
Natsu rolled their eyes and knocked against him again, making him laugh.
“I also get cuddly just because, dumbass.”
“If you say so.” Gray's mouth pulled into a smirk and they were stuck between wanting to wipe it off and wanting to kiss him. “Going to use your dragon instincts as an excuse again?”
“Damn right I am.”
Gray laughed and shook his head. Natsu pouted at him and lifted themselves up enough to press their lips against his. It was enough to shut him up.
“Did I ruffle your feathers?” Gray asked. His attempt to sound angry was completely ruined by the warmth in his eyes.
“Shut up.” Natsu curled back on his chest, for once thankful for the couple inches height difference. “We're taking a nap.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. Now shut up and sleep.”
“You're getting quite bossy this morning.”
“Gray, shut up and sleep.”
Natsu kissed him again, just for good measure. There had never been an easier way to shut him up, after all.