Gray had always felt this attraction to Natsu. Always wanted to be near him, to have those burning eye's watching his every move. It had been that way ever since he was a child and first met Natsu. At the time, he didn't know what to make of it.

Tried being his friend but only ended turning into an argument. When he was older he began to understand the feelings growing inside of him, even put a name to it. Love. He was pretty happy with it, now knowing why he always felt drawn to Natsu but that happiness was short lived.

No matter what he did they always ended up in a fight. He grew to accept that Natsu would see him as nothing more than a rival. Making himself content with the being able to touch him in a fight. He reasoned with himself that fighting him was only making Natsu stronger so he wouldn't have to worry about him when he went on solo missions. That didn't mean he gave up on trying to be closer to Natsu though.

After the death of his farther and gaining demon slayer magic, he realised it was more than just love for Natsu. There had always been this voice inside him whispering things but it was always too faint to make out. Now that his dormant demon had been awakened the voice was much clearer. Mate. It chanted over and over again when Natsu was near.

The urge to just crawl into Natsu's lap and curl up there, being surrounded by his comforting scent was stronger than ever but he never gave in. Now knowing that Natsu was his destined mate, the only one he could ever have, he began to work harder to get Natsu's affections.

He began to strip deliberately when Natsu was around to hopefully entice him with his body but all he ever got was scorn and disgust. He thought perhaps his mate didn't find his body appealing and began to become self-conscious of it. Cutting down on the amount of food he ate and exercising more. His spontaneous stripping also began to decrease in amount until it stopped all together.

Next, he tried throwing his all into his missions, hoping to make Natsu proud of his achievements only to be teased and taunted about how long it took him. He began to stop going out on solo missions. Finally, he tried just being a friend. Trying to entertain Natsu and make him happy but all he ever got was rejected. One excuse after another after another until he stopped asking. Slowly stopping to talk all together.

The guild had noticed Gray's strange behaviour. At first, they thought he was just mourning the loss of his father but as time went on it became evident that wasn't the case. Day by day they watched as their friend closed in on himself. Every day a member of the guild would try to engage him in a convocation or a game. For a while it worked, a spark of life came back into his eyes but then Natsu would join claiming he was much better then Gray and Gray would grow distant again, his eyes becoming dull.

Gray began to lose sleep, telling himself he didn't deserve such a luxury when his mate didn't want him. That he needed to work harder to gain that reward. Every night he lay awake crying. The cruel word's Natsu had spoken that day going around and round his head. The bruises new and old given to him by Natsu ached, but nothing was worse than the ache of his heart, the whining of his demon at the previous rejection of his mate.

'One more time' he told himself. 'One more time I will try' as he got ready for the guild that morning. Avoiding looking in the mirror as he knew he wasn't attractive. A wave of dizziness made him stumble, grabbing onto the wall to stay up right. He pushed himself onto the guild, even if Natsu didn't want to see him he need to check he was alright. He wouldn't stop going to the guild until his mate told him he didn't want to see him again in person.

He slowly made his way through the door and crept his way to the seat in the corner. Hiding in the shadows. His demon clawed at him as he caught sight of Natsu but he made no effort to go near him. He stayed there for about an hour, just basking in Natsu sunny smile and laugh before gingerly standing up.

He was feeling light headed and though the fresh air might help. Just as he took a step away from the table his vision swam, legs giving out from under him. He tried to grab the table to stop himself but only ended up knocking the chair over, bringing himself to the rest of the guilds attention. His vison began growing black and the voices calling his name sounded so far away. The last thing he became aware of before he swallowed by the darkness was a flash of pink and the feeling of warmth.

Natsu…