Work Text:
Natsu stilled at the sound of Gray’s heartbeat speeding up, the beat only heard when he was anxious in a bad way, and turned to where he knew Gray was hidden away. Over the top of the booth wall he could see the tip of Juvia’s hat as she stopped in front of where Gray was sitting.
“Gray-sama,” she croons and Natsu can smell Gray’s disgust in the souring of his icy scent. “Juvia would like to join you for a lunch date, she thinks it would be good for our relationship if we spent more time close together.”
Natsu doesn’t hear Gray respond immediately. Usually he would politely reject her until she either went away or he was forced to flee as she tried to force her way into his space, but today it seemed he was having a quiet day. On occasion Gray would come in and not interact with anyone; he’d sit quietly in the background and observe, eat and welcome company so long as they had no intentions of dragging him in to conversation; sometimes even allowed others to seek out soft affection from him without rebuke. With anxiousness turning into genuine distress, Natsu figured it was meant to be a quiet day and got up to help him.
The second he stood and faced the booth he and Gray locked eyes, his pleading gaze drilling in to him from across the room. Juvia was standing at the front of the table with a single meal in her hands in a poorly thought out attempt to force him to share with her, Natsu thought as he swiftly crossed the floor to them. Gray’s growing relief was almost a physical sensation in the air.
She was seconds away from setting it down on the table when Natsu vaulted the back of the booth and landed on the table forcing her to drag the plate away least it be stepped on. Now that he was closer, he could smell that the scent of food wasn’t quite right; had been tampered with. The urge to burn it to a smoldering crisp seeping into his veins; but he had other plans, ones that might stop Juvia from harassing Gray ever again.
He dropped down to the seat and sat on the table in front of Gray, legs spread either side of him, leaned in, one arm bracing him on the back of the booth behind Gray and the other curling around his head, pulled him in and pressed their lips together. Gray’s heart spiked out of anxiety into a headier beat, scent no longer blanching but growing thick and sweet; his cold hands tentatively worked their way to hold Natsu’s waist as he deepened their kiss, swiping his tongue across Natsu’s lips to open them.
Juvia gasped in shock, her grip tightening on the plate until it cracked and fell from her hands to shatter on the floor; spattering her boots in sauce and food debris. The guild froze at the sound, mostly because it was singular and no fights had been started that day which usually meant someone had a funny accident. Necks craned, people stood to get a better look and everyone was frozen.
“G-Gray-sama?” Juvia’s voice shook, confusion and upset mingling until she could barely make sense of what she was seeing.
Gray let out a little moan and dragged Natsu off the table so he was straddling his waist, bodies forcibly pressed up against one another by the small space between the table edge and Gray. Natsu pulled away from their kiss just enough to turn to Juvia with an intense glare and growled savagely at her as Gray leant his head against Natsu’s clavicle, barely hiding a small smile as he wrapped his arms fully around Natsu’s body.
“Back off Juvia.” She burst into tears and bolted, face burning with embarrassment and devastation. Natsu wasn’t the only one who could hear her wailing from outside the guild. Conversations were picking back up around them, the clink of coins changing hands; neither of them relaxed until the guild’s noise picked back up in the seconds after the crying faded away.
Gray gave him a thankful squeeze and Natsu looked down at the top of his head still snuggled into his chest.
“Thanks.” He murmured and Natsu hummed and hugged him back, sinking down to sit on Gray’s lap, forcing Gray to move his head and actually look at him.
“Anytime.” He replied, then added, “Don’t take anything from Juvia anymore, there was something in the food.”
Gray’s heart jumped at the thought but his scent did nothing but turn sweeter, feeling safe in Natsu’s arms; he hummed his affirmation then jumped as Natsu flinched as wolf whistles sounded from various corners of the guild hall, unexpectedly loud and piercing.
“Stake your claim Natsu!” Came a call from Macao, making him and Gray both flush. Laughter broke out as more light teasing was thrown their way until even Laxus was chuckling at them, the Thunder Legion at his side. Natsu narrowed in on him and Laxus barely had a second to realise it before he became the distraction to escape with Gray.
“Why you laughing like you wouldn’t make out with Freed to stop his stalker, taser face?”
Laxus stopped laughing, considered the words a second too long, and had a visible moment of regret when the attention of the guild circled in on him. Not only was Natsu right, he would make out with Freed no questions asked if asked, but he’d also inadvertently created a nickname Laxus knew was not going away anytime soon. Their guildmates were laughing, poking fun, Freed was rose cheeked and hiding a smile. He sighed and decided he’d let Natsu get away with this one, if only because Gray probably needed to leave for somewhere quieter now that the guild had started to buzz again.
“Maybe I would.” He declared, knowing the lack of certainty would make the guild’s attention latch on like barbed tenterhooks.
Natsu leant to Gray’s ear. “Wanna get out of here?”
Gray nodded wordlessly and Natsu slipped off his lap and out of the booth, Gray following a second behind. They quickly escaped the guild and took the less busy side streets to the edge of town where Natsu lead him through the woods to his house where they spent the afternoon lazing about in the sun together.