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itzgruvia · 18 days

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Gruvia Week 2024:

Day 1: Laughter.

type: soft/comfort, warm, fluff, attempt at humor.

characters: Gray and Juvia, a slight mention of Cana, Gildarts and Macao, and little bit of levy.

this fic is also posted in AO3

Gray likes to joke around, he loves to tease his friends most of the time by cracking jokes or using his sarcastic humour, he doesn't want to admit and say that his jokes are better than Natsu, but judging by the reactions of their guildmates, he could admit just a tiny bit that his humour is better.

And Gray is not boosting himself up, this is coming from an objective perspective not his, because in the end of the day Gray doesn't care if he makes his friends laugh or not, if he finds the situation funny, he'll just use it as an opportunity to crack himself up or to humiliate Natsu, which works everytime.

does he enjoy making his friends laugh? no, not really, or maybe? he doesn't know but he doesn't make an effort to spark the joy around them, that's not his thing it's usually Lucy's.

However, there is an exception where he drops the cold and serious demeanor and tries to elevate the mood.

Juvia is the exception and while he yet does not realise the reason why he tries to goof around her more than usual, he just focuses on that bright smile that appears on her face.

but that realization hit him today and it was quite a hit.

they were on their usual morning routine in the Guild main room, everyone was minding their own business, an unusual and rare moment ( because Natsu and Gajeel aren't around), but Gray would take it any day than losing his cool and fight without sense.

so he was enjoying the quiet ambience and of course Juvia was besides him, knitting some hat for him, although he told her he doesn't need it but her stubborn self exclaimed:" nonetheless Gray-sama! Juvia will impress you with her knitting skills! she has improved over the months".

he can tell by how many bandages were wrapped on her fingers on both hands, he is worried that she might hurt herself if she doesn't tune down her excitement.

and even if he tells her that, she wouldn't listen to him because she will delude herself with 'Gray-sama's worrisome is like medicine to me!' nonsense and it's too early in the morning for Gray to hear that.

so he just enjoyed the silence between them while she focused on her threads.

Few minutes ticked by and he can sense the frustration coming from the water mage next to him, he glanced to his side and noticed the -cute- frown and her hands tightly holding her straight needles.

her hands worked their way through the confusing loops of threads, their movement were shilly shally, not knowing how to continue the work, suddenly her hands stopped working and she dropped the craft on the table disappointedly.

she sighed.

" it didn't work out?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"No" she replied, her shoulders were hunched and her frown was still in her face, Gray doesn't know why he feels annoyed at her dejected expression but he felt the urge of making her feel better.

and what's best than making her laugh? ( also because he doesn't know how to comfort people and he is afraid he might ruin Juvia's mood by trying)

he scanned the guild for a potential target to use them for his humour and saw Cana dazed on the bar, her head between her arms, completely passed out, it is very unnatural for Cana to not express her love to her barrel of wine at his time, but Gray knows the reason.

"So Cana is not herself today", he nodded towards the brown haired woman, Mira was shaking her shoulder to wake her up.

"Yes, Juvia wonders why" she replied, her frown turning from frustration to worrying about her friend, Gray knows how much she cares about Cana, yet seeing her worry about her makes Gray smile slightly.

He got back at the task at hand, humiliating Cana with no guilt.

"well, I know why", with a smug expression he turned to her.

"I heard that she called Macao dad" he started, both of their heads leaned on each other as they began whispering.

"what?!" Juvia gasped, her smile widing a little.

" yeah, she was really drunk that she mistook him with Gildarts" Juvia laughed a little, it was a progress.

"Gildarts heard about it and challenged Macao and almost turned the guild upside down if Cana didn't stop him" Gray continued as he saw Cana batting Mira's hand away, she didn't want to be disturbed from her drunken slumber.

"Juvia can not believe this" she laughed, and it was like the bells of heaven in his ears, he felt satisfied.

"yeah, Cana felt so embarrassed that her dad destroyed half the guild, Macao wanted to seize the opportunity.. like asking her if she wants him to be her stepdad" Juvia cackled at that mention, and Gray joined in, they laughed to the point that their guildmates throw at them weird looks.

"and then she told him that the reason why she confused him with her dad is because he is old" their laughter turned into a chortle, Juvia wiped small tears from her eyes and all Gray could do is laugh beside her, looking at her softly.

that's when it hit him.

he loves Juvia's laugh, that's why he likes to joke with her more than he does with the others, because Juvia's laugh gives life around him. and when that hit him he cringed at himself internally.

You are lost Gray , he thought.

One morning, Levy had a task to sort out the new books from the boxes that were delivered to her in the Guild, and Gray was bored -Juvia wasn't around yet- and saw how she struggled with the boxes, so he offered to help her out. also the fact that she is actually pregnant and shouldn't be moving too much.

Levy was grateful that she got another set of hands to help her organise the books, it was a lot of them, and Gajeel was in a job.

Gray was getting the books out of the box and putting them in their own category of genres.

" Isn't this the book that Lucy wanted to read?" he held a medium sized book, with a hard cover titled 'The Persistence Of Joy', Levy took a look at it and snorted.

"Yeah she did, but she got spoiled by another book nerd when she was in her mission, and dropped it immediately" she replied, sorting the books at the same time.

Gray hummed in acknowledgment and got back to organising the books.

"So, what's up with you and Juvia?" she took a moment and added "again", Gray rolled his eyes at her remark, he adores Levy's company but the amount of books she reads makes her read between the lines a little too much for his liking.

"what do you mean?" he responded with boredom against his will instead of ignoring her completely.

"Well, it seems like you enjoy her company, last time I saw you laughing to tears with her" she explained, a little bit dramatically.

"have you ever laughed with a person before Levy?" he put the book that was in his hand on top of the others with force that dust was coming out of it, he looked at her pointedly.

she rolled her eyes, and went to put them in their shelves, Gray took that as a sign that she dropped the subject and he can finally focus on finishing his job, he began to regret ever offering a helping hand.

after a moment of blissful silence.

" I am just saying that you were laughing because of he-"

"i swear to god Levy" he glared at her, Levy just lifted her hands to show that she completely understood his point and won't make any unnecessary comments.

Finally, after finishing putting the books in their respective places, he hurriedly left the library alone since Levy was more engrossed in reading a new book that she found. the work was not tiring but he wanted to see Juvia so badly, he knows she is waiting in the Guild's Main room.

he heard her laughter from the door of the library's hall, and when he opened the doors, he spotted her laughing with Mirajane and Wendy.

He smiled softly as he looked at her, she shined brighter than ever with her eyes closed and the sound of joy she made, he could never get tired of it no matter how many times he hears it.

Maybe her laughter makes him crave laughing as well, it makes him want to reach for that joyful moment. So he joined them, completely oblivious about Levy's presence, poking her head out of the door and smiling.

#gray fullbuster #gruvia #fairy tail #gray x juvia #juvia lockser #fairy tail juvia #fairy tail 100 years quest #juvia loxar #gruvia week 2024

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nagirambles · 1 year

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Rambling about Fairies - Rhodonite Chapter 3 + 4

This spinoff probably has my favourite depiction of Gruvia.

Juvia’s love for Gray continues to be treated as a ‘running joke’ rather than the core of Juvia’s character. After Gray’s very cute rebuttal, it’s quickly pushed aside in favour of the mission/exposition, because despite her joy at this opportunity, she does understand this job is important. She does go back into a joking mood very often, but when things are serious, she is a very competent wizard that does not cite she is ‘doing this for Gray-sama’ or whatever.

And they even slip in a moment where she goes deadpan like ‘yeah no, Gajeel is definitely involved,’ because she’s also exasperated by the coincidence. It’s personality. It’s a subtle sprinkle of personality.

Juvia’s role in this spinoff is mainly to accompany Gray as he does the more investigative and technical talk, but she’s still necessary here because she puts in the important parallel between her and Levy in regards to Gajeel.

Also, she allows the story to continue feeling light and slightly humourous, not simply because of the ‘we’re on a date’ ‘NO!’ dynamic, but because this also brings back one of Gray’s forgotten personality traits...

I am talking about Gray’s part-time Tsukkomi schtick.

Along with the advancement of Gruvia, Gray completely forgot that he was the assigned Tsukkomi when Lucy wasn’t around, and this was important because it shows him as the ‘competent and smart’ one of the group without taking away from his fun-loving side. Juvia’s the type to be exasperated in silence, which is a fun contrast to Gray’s explosive exasperation. Once again, it’s personality. it’s a sprinkle of personality between their ‘ship moment’ panels, personality that’s forgotten about in canon.

Every time a Gruvia moment is on screen in 100yq, Gray is just the Tsundere and Juvia is just the lovestruck Gray fangirl. Whilst when Gray is with Natsu or Lucy, his loving, slightly stern big brother personality actually exists. And when Juvia is with the girls or with Gajeel, she gets up to goofy shenanigans like protecting Levy’s pursuit of love at the start of this spinoff. I miss their personalities! This spinoff literally proves that it doesn’t need to be one or the other, they can coexist!

I like it when Gruvia enriches each other as characters, instead of taking away from each other’s personality like it’s in canon. So this spinoff probably has my favourite depiction of Gruvia of all time.

That’s a bit of high praise, but my standards are just really low since canon is like that.

#rambling about fairies #fairy tail #rhodonite-ch3 #rhodonite-ch4 #i'm reaching #gruvia #spinoff rambles

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katana-no-neko · 5 months

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Call Me By My Name

Chapter 4 | ao3

"Yo, Salamander," Gajeel grumbled. "What's with the goofy face you've always got nowadays?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, not letting his cousin's bad attitude dull his own good mood. "Wouldn't you like to know," he responded, dopey grin still spreading across his lips as he continued bouncing around the domain, greeting his fellow dragons while stuffing breakfast down his gullet.

"Never mind. I really really don't."

Natsu just ignored his remark, giving a nuzzle in goodbye to his mother and sister and then leaping off the mountain and out of their home, soaring away with a mighty flap.

"That boy has spent no time at home lately!" Grandine exclaimed, watching as her son flew off, most likely not to return until the sun set.

"He's been super weird lately," Natsu's uncle Atlas agreed. "He's always been a free spirit, but he's never been so frequently absent. And I don't think I've ever seen him so giddy, not even when he knocked Gajeel off the mountain last summer."

Gajeel growled. "He didn't knock me off, I happened to stumble!"

Metallicana let out a rumbling laugh, slapping his son on the back as he and Igneel approached. "Oh yeah, cuz that's so much better!"

"But no, you're right, Atlas," Igneel nodded. "He's been grinning nonstop for four months, and spent less than half of that time here. Mostly to sleep!"

Atlas let out another booming chuckle. "He's reminding me of you at his age, Igneel! You were always flying up to the northern dragon clan to see Grandine! Didn't pay any mind to your own family!"

Igneel grinned dopily, wrapping his arm around his wife. "Yes, well, a dragon is focused on nothing else when he's in love," he rationalized, pressing a kiss to Grandine's cheek. There was a beat, and then the group's eyes widened.

"Holy shit. Is the kid in love?" Metallicana pondered. "I mean, there's no way, right? It's *Natsu*."

Grandine thought back. "It would certainly explain his behaviour... The constant smiles and happiness... And he must be visiting this mystery love of his!"

"Now I'm curious!" Igneel chuckled. "What kind of woman could have caught that boy's attention!? A dragon from another clan, maybe?"

"Perhaps a human?" Atlas suggested. "He visits that Magnolia quite a bit, wouldn't be surprised if he fell for one of those girls at the restaurant," he snickered with a sleazy grin.

"Well, we're not gonna figure it out chattering! Hey Gajeel, come here for a second!"

~~~

Gajeel grumbled to himself as he flew through the air, trying to catch a trail of Natsu's scent. The others were the ones going all gaga over Natsu's supposed love, why'd he have to follow the dumbass!? Besides, it's not like he was actually hanging out with some girl. It was *Natsu*. His cousin had never once been interested in romance.

Finally catching a whiff of Natsu, Gajeel reared his head and flew in its direction. Getting close to the source, he landed in a clearing and transformed, walking the rest of the trail. Hearing laughter from his cousin, Gajeel crouched behind some foliage and took a look ahead.

Holy shit, he *was* with a girl, from the sound of her voice! He couldn't see her very well from this angle, but they were laying on a lakeshore, chattering and laughing and splashing their feet in the water. Who was this girl? What manner of creature was she? She didn't have the scent of a dragon, but she had something special beyond a normal human's scent.

The girl sat up and poked Natsu's nose with a giggle, and Gajeel's blood ran cold. Her long ears... She was a fae. Natsu had been enchanted.

Gajeel leapt from his hiding spot, becoming a dragon again and sweeping the fae away from his cousin with a lash of his tail.

She gasped in pain as she landed, the touch of his iron leaving a burning sensation across her skin. Tears flooded her eyes as she stared up at the ferocious black dragon, poised to slash his claws across her.

Before Gajeel could move, he was rammed in the side, falling into the lake. Becoming a human again before his heavy dragon weight could sink down, he gasped for breath as he treaded water. "What the hell!?" he shouted, seeing his cousin's dragon staring down at him, crouched defensively and blocking the fae. "How stupid could you be!? Enchanted by a fae!? You've reached a new level of dumb!"

Natsu growled, crouching lower and stepping over the fae to cover her, a burst of fire coming from his nose as Gajeel swam towards them. "I'm not enchanted, and don't you dare step any closer. You hurt her any more and I hurt you."

"Oh yeah, 'not enchanted', my ass," he grumbled, climbing onto the shore and wringing water from his hair. He seethed as Natsu continued growling, more flames licking around his snout. "She's a faerie! That's what they *do!* Now step aside so I can take care of her, since you're obviously too far gone to kill her yourself!"

Rage filled Natsu as he snarled, teeth bared. Before he could do anything though, he felt a small palm against his scaled shoulder. "Natsu..." Lucy started.

Gajeel watched as the dragon's entire demeanor changed, letting go of his defensive position and moving to nuzzle against her hand and then sniffing at her injuries for blood. He was so obedient and calm with her, being enchanted was the *only* explanation! But... She'd never used Natsu's true name, had she?. Wasn't an invocation necessary to control someone?

"I'm okay," the fae assured. "Talk to him, he was just worried about you." Natsu shot a glare to Gajeel, almost like he'd forgotten the iron dragon was there until the fae had reminded him, and then he transformed.

"You go anywhere near Lucy and you're back in the lake," Natsu threatened, crossing his arms in front of him. "I swear, I'm not enchanted. Lucy does not know my true name." Gajeel raised an eyebrow and looked over to 'Lucy'. "Don't look at her, look at me!" Natsu commanded. Gajeel stood straight and brought his stare back to Natsu, not used to such a serious attitude from him. "She's my best friend. I met her a while ago and we've been hanging out nearly every day. She has never once tried to trick me into revealing my name and in fact ordered me to never say it."

Gajeel sneered. "You're sure putting a lot of trust into a *fae*."

Natsu growled again, but at Lucy's touch, stopped and took a breath to calm down. "Fine," he finally said. "You won't believe me, I'll prove it to you."

"Ha! As if anything you do will-" but Gajeel's eyes widened at Natsu's next words.

"Lucy, my true name is-"

Before Gajeel could react, Lucy had slapped a hand over Natsu's mouth.

"Natsu, you idiot!" Lucy and Gajeel both shouted. Natsu just grinned and licked the hand she still had over his mouth.

"Ewww, Natsu!" Lucy shouted, pulling it back and wiping it on his shirt. He snickered and stuck his tongue out at her, grabbing her hand and threatening to lick it again while Gajeel watched on, frowning.

"Why would you *willingly* tell a fae your name!?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, mood suddenly dampened again as he dropped Lucy's hand. "Because, moron, she would never *let* me. Didn't you see? She doesn't want my name, just my friendship. I don't care that she's a faerie." Gajeel watched Natsu wrapped his arm around her shoulders nonchalantly, almost as if it was instinct and not purposeful. "You're fine with Erza, what makes Lucy different!?"

"You know *exactly* what makes Erza different - she's half dragon and doesn't have fae magic, dipshit!"

Natsu scoffed and waved him off. "And besides. If I was under her spell, why would I keep going back home?"

Gajeel grumbled. "I suppose you have a point there."

"Just trust me, Gajeel. I know Lucy, and I know she's the most wonderful, kind *person* ever. I don't give a shit what kind of creature she is," Natsu declared earnestly, Lucy's heart swelling at his words.

Gajeel weighed Natsu's claims. Ultimately, Gajeel couldn't trust anything about the fae. But Natsu clearly did, and that was all that really mattered, he supposed. "Fine. Whatever," he sighed. "Keep hanging out with a faerie, I don't care anymore." Natsu grinned at Lucy in response, squeezing her hand in his excitement. Gajeel rolled his eyes and continued. "So what's your plan here? Just keep your girlfriend secret from-"

Natsu and Lucy both flushed and stuttered. "Whoa, whoa, who said anything about a girlfriend!?" He shouted. "I told you, 'best friend'!"

Gajeel crossed his arms and cocked his eyebrow. "Yeahhhh... Whatever you say. Either way, I don't think your dad is not going to be happy with you hanging out with a fae."

"So I won't tell him for now!"

"Pfft. That's not really gonna work considering *I'm* about to tell him. He's the one that sent me after you to find out what you've been doing!"

Natsu blanched. "Well, don't tell him! It's not like I'm hurting you by hanging out with her!"

Lucy touched a hand to his arm. "Natsu, I don't want you to get in trouble with your family because of me."

He took her palm and held it, gently rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. "It's fine, Lucy. I'll figure something out. If they can't accept you, then they're a bunch of stupid heads," he smirked. She shook her head at his comment, but couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Gods, I can't stand to watch you flirt." Gajeel ignored their further stuttering. "I'll think of something to tell your dad when I get home but you better come up with a plan."

Natsu opened his mouth to argue, but paused. After thinking for a bit, all he came up with was, "Thank you."

Gajeel grumbled as he shifted forms. "Whatever." He stared down at the faerie for a bit, who was trembling before his iron-clad body. A sting of guilt darted through him at her expression and the obvious worry his cousin had for her fear. Before Natsu could shout at him again, Gajeel gave a nod in acknowledgement to her, let his ever present scowl return, and took off into the air.

"So, what'd you find out?" Igneel had asked when Gajeel arrived home. "My son have a secret girlfriend?"

"No," Gajeel hesitated. "But he's definitely in love."

#nalu #nalu fanfiction #fanfiction #call me by my name

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fairytail-whathesays · 5 months

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could i get some headcanons for gajeel x gray?

Interesting pairing! I like it!

These two already have very similar aesthetics. Gray's into motorcycles and goth/punk wear, and Gajeel is that metalhead x to his y. Gray's straight man presentation lasting until he gets riled up vs. Gajeel's excitable nature running at a low level at all times. They're both even the type to get real quiet when they're pissed. They're able to go on dates and enjoy each other's company in a straightforward manner.

They hate losing or being shown up at anything. They bubble in resentment and hold grudges, and they stew in their emotions when they're in a bad mood. They do this together--it doesn't help them actually get over anything, but it eases the burden a bit

Ice, much like fire, can stress metal, but can't easily crack it. Even in Gray's worse moods, he can't make Gajeel stay gone. Gajeel will always come back and try to work shit out, even though Gray was the one to think about apologizing first after a fight.

When they kiss, something goes off. Gajeel's lips aren't supposed to feel that nice, Gray thinks, and Gajeel thinks that icicle boy's breath against his cheek shouldn't make him shiver like that. When they make out it's like an art form. All subtlety from Gray and surprising caution from Gajeel. They kind of get lost in each other.

Gray's always wanted tattoos, but it's Gajeel who takes him to get his first one. There's not much else to be done when your boyfriend would look super hot with ink on his forearm. Or shoulder. Or chest. Or lower back. Or v-lines.

The thing about Grayjeel is that they're both artists. Gray's not the type to view himself super artistically, but show him someone else's molding magic, or better yet molding of their body, and suddenly he's very appraising. He finds Gajeel's iron dragonslayer focus on molding his body into different shapes genuinely beautiful and sometimes a little sexy. Likewise, Gajeel digs Gray's creative bent with his magic, especially when he's backed into a corner.

Juvia, naturally, doesn't take this relationship well and continues her spying and stalking. However, somewhere along the way, she goes from writing down Gajeel's habits to trying to pick up tips and tricks to just outright writing the two's memoirs. Having a shipper on the side can be annoying, but they both like it better than when she was constantly up Gray's ass.

Gray is as pale as they come, while Gajeel is naturally darker-skinned. Gajeel will routinely make fun of Gray for being the kind of white that's visible from space, but it's all in good cheer.

NS/FW and also a bonus headcanon that was too sappy for public viewing:

Gray loves how solid Gajeel is underneath him. It's like having his own jungle gym to play on, with an iron frame. Smooth and strong with a nice grip.

Remember Gray's affinity for oral sex? Oh yeah, Gajeel is very appreciative and reciprocates frequently.

Gray still likes his sex easygoing and not high-energy, but he'll make some adjustments to accommodate Gajeel, who simply can't be asked to be 'gentle' on the regular or else he gets bored. Gajeel gets a grip on him and a look in his eye, and Gray gets pliable. And it's not so bad, throwing his head back and feeling his body shake under that fierce rhythm Gajeel likes to move to.

Likewise, Gajeel makes adjustments for Gray, too. He's a top most of the time, but Gray can have him any way he wants him if they have the time. Gajeel's hesitance towards bottoming is easily soothed by Gray's gentle and curious approach, never going at a pace that risks pain or embarrassment from Gajeel, just simple pleasure the likes that Gajeel can constrain his moaning to.

The 69 is these two's bread and butter. Gajeel treats Gray like his favorite popsicle and Gray treats Gajeel like his favorite...well, huge d/ck.

Gajeel literally does not care if Gray is naked in public. Not in the 'used to it' way everyone else at Fairy Tail sees it--he just likes his boyfriend's body and sees no issue with looking at it, even if other people are looking at it to. What's he gonna do, worry? Gray's his.

And now for that sappy headcanon I mentioned:

Gajeel and Gray, in an extreme twist and unlike almost every Gajeel ship ever, actually do get married. Gajeel wears black and Gray wears white, and Gray gets Gajeel a ring made of ice that'll never melt while Gajeel gets Gray a ring made of metal that'll never bend or break. It's the wedding of the century, easily becoming the biggest hit among any Fairy Tail wedding since Bisca and Alzack tied the knot. Gray looks forward to becoming 'Gray Redfox' quite a bit, and was able to push Gajeel into an engagement because Gajeel had to admit he liked the sound of it.

#gajeel redfox #gray fullbuster #grayjeel #gajeel x gray #gray x gajeel #shipping #headcanons

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fics-n-stuff-n-stuff · 7 months

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Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia

Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser

Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfoxall

fairy tail characters basically - Character Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic / Follows Fairy tail but with my own twists set in modern day /Fluff and Angst / Romance / Friendship /developing feelings / Lucy has new spirits

Summary-

Lucy is thrown into a world she didn’t know existed. Join her as she unravels this new world full of magic that brings adventure, romance and destruction along with it.

———

Just a modern re-telling of Fairy tail following its arcs with a few twists and turns along the way💞

You can also read it here

————————————

Chapter 9

The air was filled with panic as Natsu and Lucy stumbled through the portal, hands clasped and trying to navigate through the onslaught of people around them.

Amongst the chaos Lucy could see Wendy tending to the Master, his body laid out on one of the tables, her glowing hands hovering over his abdomen as Mirajane went to call someone.

Other members were looking after the injured and unconscious mages as best as they could until Wendy could check their injuries over. Thankfully no one seemed to be severely injured.

As her adrenaline dropped Lucy started feeling dizzy, the noise surrounding her was becoming overstimulating and the room began to sway.

Chest heaving, Lucy took shallow breaths as panic kicked in and her legs gave out from underneath her.

A pair of warm arms were around her waist before she could fall. His chest pressed to her back, warming her from the inside out. The scent of pine and campfire filled her senses and subdued her anxiety.

"I gotcha, just breathe." She heard his voice in her ear as she focused on mimicking his breathing pattern. "There ya go. Relax, you're safe." He continued in a soothing voice as she relaxed into his hold.

Lucy let her head fall back on his chest and closed her eyes.

They stayed like that for a few moments. Natsu's hands around her waist, her head resting near his collarbone as she took deep breaths.

Her eyes closed as she embedded every part of how it felt to be embraced by him while trying to prepare herself for what was to come.

"Could you get Erza, Gray, and Mira? There's something I need to tell you." Lucy whispered out softly knowing he would hear her even with all the noise surrounding them.

"Sure, I can do that. Happy'll stay with you." He told her, his tone confused at her request, but compliant.

Lucy opened her eyes at the mention of their blue-furred partner and looking back at Natsu she saw the cat perched on his head, eyes wide as they both looked at her with worry.

She hadn't even realized he was there.

"Hey, Happy! Sorry for missing your big move on Charla, I was a little tied up." Lucy tried cracking a joke in the hope of lightening the mood.

"Waaa, Lushiii! Never disappear like that again!" The exceed exclaimed with a cry, tears falling down his face as he threw himself into Lucy's chest.

Smiling, she embraced the cat, rubbing his head in soothing motions. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Natsu was scary when we found your apartment trashed. He left me behind and I had to go to the guild on my own!" The cat complained and she kept scratching his head as she watched Natsu walk away to find Erza, Gray, and Mira.

"Oh you poor baby, how about I get you some fish later, will that make you feel better?" She asked, making the cat jump from her arms and into the air, wings fluttering.

"Ayee! Give me the fishies!" His antics brought a genuine laugh out of Lucy who watched him as he continued to go in circles and tried to decide which fish she should buy for him.

"Luce?" Natsu's voice called from behind her, and she turned she saw he had gathered everyone she asked for.

"How is the master?" Was the first thing Lucy asked, as she was not able to unsee his lifeless body in Mira's arms.

"Wendy tried her healing, but she isn't sure what happened to him and couldn't seem to do much, so she started tending to the rest of the injured members. We're waiting for Porlyusica to arrive, she will know what to do." Mira's voice cracked a bit a the end, and she cleared her throat before continuing.

"We don't know what happened to him. One second everyone was fighting and the next Master was dropped on the ground from the upper floor, unconscious." Mira answered, her tone staying neutral, but Lucy could see how worried the older girl was, and she felt her stomach drop.

All of this is her fault.

First Levy, Jet, and Droy. Now the master and countless others were injured, just because her father decided he had a daughter again.

"Natsu said you wanted to speak with us?" Erza asked her when Lucy didn't say anything else.

Turning to look at them, she took a deep breath and braced herself.

"I haven't been completely honest with you." She started, wringing her hands together as she started her story.

"The reason Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail, and took me hostage, was because my father hired them to bring me back home."

She stated, turning her head to the side so she wouldn't have to look at their expressions at her words. She clenched her fists to keep her emotions in check.

She will not cry, not again.

Natsu, as if sensing her emotional turmoil, moved to stand by her side. Their shoulders were not quite touching, but he was close enough for her to feel his warmth and its calming presence helped soothe her nerves.

Straightening her posture she continued.

"I ran away from home almost two years ago. It was just after my eighteenth birthday and I had been begging my father for months to let me study at an actual university after being home-schooled for all my life." She's never told anyone that she was a runaway, let alone the hows and the whys. But it was unavoidable now. He's made sure of it.

There was a gasp from Mira, and as she turned to look at them she caught Erza's soft gaze. "He called me to his office one evening, and I foolishly hoped he'd let me go." Her voice cracked at the admission, and this time Natsu moved to wrap his arm around her shoulder, bringing her back to his chest.

Lucy was thankful for the drakon's affection, his hold grounding her as she continued. "When I got there he handed me a marriage contract, my marriage contract."

This time it was everyone's turn to gasp, she felt Natsu's hold on her tighten.

"He arranged a marriage for you without consulting you?" Gray asked, outraged clear in his voice. "This isn't the 1500s'!"

A bitter laugh escaped her throat at his statement. "My father has never cared much of my opinion. Why would this be any different? He is not a kind man, my father. Maybe once upon a time while my mother was still alive, but even then his affection was mostly reserved for her. After her death.."

She trailed off, knowing now was not the time for that. "Have you guys ever heard of the Heartfilia Family?" Lucy asked them instead.

"Aren't they like ducks or something?" Natsu asked and a laugh escaped Lucy at his words.

"Duke. Duke Jude Heartfilia, and the late Duchess Layla Heartfilia. They are descendants of the royal bloodlines. In line for the throne, though they are pretty far down the line."

"Why are you telling us this?" Mira asked her.

"They have a daughter. I remember the announcement of the passing of the late Duchess, the guild was in mourning." Erza spoke suddenly, eyes looking over to Lucy.

Lucy's heart clenched at her words, knowing Master Makarov was mourning the death of a friend.

Lucy felt even worse with that knowledge.

"Yes, they do have a daughter. Lucy Heartfilia. My father decided that marrying me off to Pergrande so he could secure a safe trade route for himself was the most of use I was ever going to be to him."

She finally said it out loud, and it felt like a weight was lifted from her. After two years of running, she finally found somewhere she felt safe, and people she could trust.

"So after he went over all the details and dismissed me for the night, I decided that it was time." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I'd been pondering and planning an escape for years, but it always seemed like a fantasy. Something I would do to make myself feel better, lighter." She thought back to how scared she'd been climbing down the window that night, praying no one saw her.

"This was a situation I couldn't talk myself out of, he was very determined to make the marriage happen. So the same night I packed as much as I could carry, scaled my window, and ran until I literally passed out in the woods." She was shaking with emotion as she remembered how she ran so much her feet bled.

Her first months in the real world were humbling, and it was then that reality kicked in. There were people out there worse than even her father.

There was a moment of silence as she finished her story, she let them process everything and ask their questions.

"So you've been running this whole time?"

The first question came from Gray.

"Yes, I've moved locations ever so often since, trying to keep a low profile everywhere I go. But since I never heard word of my disappearance I thought I was scot-free." Lucy answered. "How stupid of me."

"How come no one ever recognized you?"

"After my mother's death, he rarely let me leave the house, and I was forbidden from making public appearances, of any kind." She told them, answering Mira's question.

He made sure to keep her as isolated as possible, cooped up in her castle, surrounded by staff and tutors.

Lucy moved from Natsu's hold and bowed at the waist in an expression of regret. "I want to apologize to all of you, and the guild for all of this. If I had been honest from the start, maybe none of this would've happened."

Lucy wanted them to know she felt awful about her father's actions. "I don't know why he's decided to track me down after all this time, but this was not the way he should've done it." She muttered looking down at the mark on her left hand, tracing it with her finger.

There was a gentle hand on her shoulder and Lucy looked up to see Erza's kind eyes staring back at her. "We are not responsible for the actions of others. You have done nothing wrong, Lucy. You needn't apologize." The older girl told her, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Yeah, you did what any normal person would in your situation. Or at least what I would've done." Gray chimed in, shrugging his naked shoulders casually.

He seemed to have lost his shirt while she was talking.

"I'm just scared of what he's going to do now that Phanotm failed to bring me to him." Lucy admitted in a small voice.

"I already told ya, ya ain't goin' anywhere you don't want to. And no one here is going to make you! Dukes or Ducks or whatever the hell can piss off! You are Lucy of Fairy Tail now, and we protect our own!" Natsu threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his warmth once more as he spoke.

Lucy felt overwhelmed with emotion.

That seemed to be a recurring theme since discovering her magic and joining Fairy Tail.

She looked at all her friends, grateful to have them in her life.

"Everyone has their secrets, and we understand why you wouldn't want people knowing who you are." Mira told her, smiling kindly.

The tears finally escaped, and Lucy cursed inwardly, she vowed not to cry.

"Thank you for understanding. I feel so guilty about everything that's happened." She finally managed to find her words, her voice still a little shaky, but she felt better.

Like a weight had finally been lifted with her admission.

It was at that moment that an old woman, with pastel pink hair and a sour expression, entered the guild through the glowing doors with a bang.

'A portal.' Lucy thought.

"Where is that ridiculous man? What trouble has he gotten himself into this time?" She asked as she beelined to Mira and Erza.

"This way, thank you for coming. Wendy's already tried to help, but she can't seem to figure out -" Mira was talking to the woman as she led her through the guild and to the Infirmary, where the Master was relocated.

The tension was back in the air as they all watched the two women walk away, pondering over the Master's well-being.

"I'm going to go with them, see what I can find out." Erza excused herself, giving Lucy one last shoulder squeeze as she went up the stairs.

"And I'm gonna go see if Wendy can check out my back. Are you gonna be okay?" Gray asked her as he rubbed the lower part of his back.

Lucy smiled at him, shooing him off.

"Go, and make sure to remind Wendy to rest and not exhaust herself!" He saluted her and promptly left her Natsu alone.

"Do you think I could go and see Levy?" Lucy asked the pinkette, who without a word, grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs, and toward the guest rooms.

* ********* ********** ********** ********* *

She cried even more when she saw her friend lying beaten and unconscious in one of the guild's spare bedrooms. Natsu by her side offering her comfort.

Lucy understood where her friends were coming from saying she shouldn't blame herself for other people's actions, but staring down at the sleeping bluenette she couldn't help but feel responsible.

They left the room not long after they came, not wanting to disturb the injured girl.

The scene downstairs had seemed to calm down while they were visiting Levy. Most of the guild members were awake and back on track, with only a few occupying the Infirmary room.

They made their way to where Happy was and joined him at one of the tables. They didn't speak, just sat next to each other, waiting for someone to come back with news about Master Makarov.

There was a somber mood surrounding the whole guild, everyone worried about their Master and their Nakama.

Even Natsu was silent, sitting next to her with a rigid posture and she could feel the heat coming off of him in waves.

He turned his head suddenly, looking at the stairs, and as Lucy turned her head to follow his line of sight she saw Mira, Erza, and Porlyusica appear a second later.

All three had grave expressions on their faces and Lucy's heart sank as she braced herself for the news, darting her hand to grasp Natsu's for comfort.

"It seems that whoever attacked Master Makarov, literally stole his soul from him. We need to get it back, and quick." Erza relayed to the guild.

Mira's eyes were puffy, an indication that she's been crying. Lucy shot the older girl a small smile.

"I called Laxus and the Thunder League, They're on their way back from their job in the Lycan Woods, I don't know when they'll make it back." Mira added softly.

"I've done all I can for him, but we need to put the soul back for him to heal." The pink-haired woman proclaimed curtly as she made her way through the guild, Stopping at the door she summoned a portal. "Call me the moment you retrieve it and I'll be there." And with that, she left.

Leaving Fairy Tail in a state of shock and fear.

The Master was dying. His soul has been stolen by someone from Phantom, which means they're gonna have to go and fight them. Again.

'What kind of magic allows a person to do such a thing?' Lucy thought with a shudder, not wanting to think about what other despicable powers might be out there.

She also dreaded another encounter with Jose, especially after the way she escaped. She had a feeling he wasn't the forgive-and-forget type.

Discussions and shouts were echoing throughout the tavern as everyone debated on what their next move should be. More than half of the guild was ready to march back to Oak Town, seeking vengeance for their Master and to help save him.

While a smaller part argued that they needed an actual plan, not just to run straight into the fight.

As the mages went back and forth, some even started brawling over their differing opinions, a blast shook the building, knocking everyone to the ground in the process.

Natsu's instincts came in handy, as he gathered both Lucy and Happy in his arms and pulled them under their table.

The ground started shaking underneath them and as people got to their feet, they started rushing out of the guild to see what the hell happened.

Natsu was at the forefront, having sprinted away the moment the shaking stopped, leaving Lucy and Happy behind.

Lucy got up and followed behind everyone, her instincts telling her nothing good would come from this.

When she exited the tavern Lucy looked up to see the highest point of the guild was hit, their flag disintegrated by the blast and some of the debris was falling from the roof. Rushing after everyone she neared the back of the building where the crowd was gathering.

That's when Lucy saw the Phantom Lord's castle walking towards them. Walking. With spider-like legs protruding from the sides as it stalked through the forest and straight for Fairy Tail.

"What just happened was a warning shot, courtesy of my lovely Jupiter Cannon. You have fifteen minutes before it recharges to hand over Lucy Heartfilia or the next shot will blow you, and your precious guild away!"Jose's voice boomed through the speakers as the building stopped some distance from the crowd of Fairy Tail mages.

Lucy felt her heart drop at his words.

She looked around at everyone, they looked confused at his request but determined to fight, not even sparring a thought to giving her over.

And that's what set her resolve. No one else was getting hurt because of her. Head held high Lucy made her way to the front of the crowd, stopping as she started down the Cannon, which seemed to be counting down from fifteen.

"I am complying with your demands. Stop the Cannon and I will go with you." Lucy shouted at the structure, desperately trying not to shake with fear.

There was a hand on her shoulder, and suddenly she was being pulled back and Natsu was in front of her, she could feel the anger radiating off of him as he glared at the building. Erza, Mira, Gray even Elfman appeared next to her.

"You want Lucy, you're gonna have to go through us! And we're not letting her go!" Natsu yelled, and the whole guild cheered at his words.

Lucy felt her tears return as she watched her guildmates yell in agreement with Natsu. She couldn't believe the whole guild would fight for her. She didn't know how to feel, overwhelmed with emotions as the tears fell down her cheeks.

There was a cackle from the speakers and the Phantom Lord master taunted them. "I will take great pleasure in taking down your pathetic little fairies!" And with that, countless ghoulish apparitions flew from the building and started attacking them.

"We need to disable the Cannon, it's the only way. Come on, everyone else can handle themselves, we need to go."

Erza ordered the three men as she started sprinting towards the Castle.

Gray and Elfman followed without hesitation, running right behind her.

Lucy saw Mirajane next to her transform into a devil-like creature and viciously start fighting the ghouls.

Natsu hesitated as he looked at her, worry clear in his eyes. "Go, I'll be fine! They need you more than me, I apparently have a whole army looking out for me." Lucy told him as she gestured to the guild fighting off the apparitions around them.

Natsu's brows furrowed at her words and he narrowed his eyes at her, She's only seen that appraising look on his face when he was facing down an enemy, and Lucy found herself blushing in the middle of the battlefield at the intensity in his eyes.

"I need you to be safe, okay?" He told her tone deadly serious, his eyes never leaving hers.

Lucy gulped as she stared back at him. She had a plan. It was stupid but she had a plan and she couldn't promise him that. He will forgive her, she's sure of it.

So instead of answering, Lucy drew him in for a hug, using his surprise to sneak her keys into his pocket.

Either way, they'll be safer with him.

He hugged her back tightly and then turned to dash after Erza and the guys. Calling for Happy as he ran.

"Aye Sir!" The cat flew over her head, ruffling her hair as he did so, catching up to Natsu, he picked the fire drakon up and they sped off to stop the Cannon.

Lucy watched them as they disappeared, hoping they'd destroy it in time.

Though it was Natsu, Gray, and Erza. They had a knack for destroying things, she thought with a small smile. She had faith in them, they would succeed and come out on top. There was no other choice.

A ghoul suddenly charged toward Lucy, and having no time to take out her whip it almost got her, if not for a flash of light aimed at the creature that killed it.

Lucy turned to see Cana, cards in hand as she threw them at several targets at once.

"You need to get out of here and hide, we'll take care of the rest!" The brunette shouted at her.

"I am not going to hide from this! I will fight-" her sentence was cut short as someone hit her in the back of the head making her pass out.

* ********* ********** ********** ********* *

Waking up with a mild headache, Lucy looked around to see she was in a car, on her way out of Magnolia. She looked at the driver's seat to see Reedus speeding down the road.

"What are you doing? We need to go back and help them!" Lucy shouted as she climbed from the backseat to the passenger's.

"I had clear orders from Mira, get you out of the city, I don't want to be on the she-devil's bad side." The curly-haired man replied, shudder at the thought of Mira going after him.

"I can't let everyone else fight this battle for me! I have to at least fight beside them, please Reedus, you have to understand." Lucy pleaded with the man.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye and let out a sigh. Stopping the car on the side of the empty road, he turned to face her.

They were almost at the edge of the city, and given it's a Sunday afternoon, there thankfully weren't any people around.

"We need to keep you safe, the guild can take care of themselves. Someone will call us when it's over, it's safer this way I promise." He told her with a soft smile.

Lucy was about to protest again, or even book it out of the car to try and run back to the fight. But before she could do either a steel rod broke through the windshield, knocking Reedus out cold and making Lucy scream out in shock.

A tall, dark-haired man appeared on the other end of the rod, it seemed to be an extension of his arm. He was grinning at her, a wild look in his red eyes.

The steel retracted back and turned back into a normal arm. 'What the hell was this guy?' Lucy thought to herself as she struggled to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"Gihi, what do we have here? A little fairy thought she could run away?" The man taunted her as he neared the car.

Finally managing to unclasp the buckle, Lucy opened the car door and broke into a run. She hoped Reedus would forgive her for abandoning him, as she didn't have a better choice at the moment. There were no other cars around and Lucy decided to book it through the forest by the side of the road.

The dark-haired man's laugh was sinister as he followed after her.

"You can't outrun me, Princess!" His voice was getting closer as she stumbled her way through the trees, like a lamb running from the wolf. "Unfortunately for you, Jose wants his prize. So I have no choice." There was a shadow over her as he appeared behind her, Lucy didn't have any time to process his words before she was knocked out.

Again.

* ********* ********** ********** ********* *

"10 minutes to detonation of the Jupiter Cannon." An animatronic voice echoed through the halls.

"Fuck!"

Natsu was beyond frustrated at this point. This was the third dead end since he entered this ridiculous building.

"Where is that stupid Lacrima?" Natsu mumbled under his breath as he continued to wander the halls.

Happy was perched up on his head, keeping quiet as he didn't want to further irritate the fire drakon. Erza had ordered Gray, Elfman, and Natsu to find the Lacrima and destroy it before the Cannon could charge, but this whole place is like a maze, how is anyone supposed to find their way?

He suddenly caught the scent of fire and followed that. He could use a good meal at least, he's been walking around forever.

As he stepped into the room where the smell was coming from, Natsu spotted the Lacrima Crystal that charged the Cannon.

"Gotcha!" He smirked and lit his fists on fire.

As he went to charge and destroy the power source, his fists moved upward on their own accord and Natsu punched himself in the face, knocking Happy off his head in the process.

"You okay little buddy?" He asked, looking over to the cat as he caught himself on the wall.

"Aye! But what was that Natsu?" The exceed asked.

"I am Totomaru, one of the element four! And no fire can defeat me!" A voice boomed, and a young man with black and white hair, and a tattoo going over his nose and cheeks appeared from behind the Lacrima.

"I don't have time to deal with you!" Natsu told the strange man, ignoring his words as he charged at him, fists aflame.

Only to be decked in the face by his own hand once more. "The hell?" He yelled annoyed.

"I told you, no fire can touch me! I am the master of all fire!" The man exclaimed and threw a blast of fire towards Natsu, who in turn slurped up the flames.

"Ugh, yuck. You call this crap fire? It tastes awful. At least I have a fire in my belly." Natsu grimaced at the taste of the fire, rubbing his stomach. His opponent in turn was staring at him, mouth agape.

"You just, you just ate my fire?!" He yelled in shock, pointing an accusatory finger at Natsu.

"Well duh, what else was I supposed to do?" With a shrug of his shoulders, Natsu took a deep breath and prepared for his next attack.

"Fire Dragon, Roar!" He sent an inferno at the opposing mage.

The other man flicked his hand, directing the fire around him and smiling back at Natsu.

"Are you slow? I told you already that fire doesn't work on me!" He taunted back.

With a frustrated growl, Natsu lit his fist and went to attack. No one controlled his fire but him. With a determined cry, he went to hit the split-haired freak but his fire was redirected once more and Natsu was blown back by his own flames.

"5 minutes to detonation of the Jupiter Cannon." An automated voice rang through the room, making Natsu remember his initial objective, he needed to destroy the Lacrima.

"How many times are you gonna try the same trick? It's not going to work." The man stated, sounding bored.

"Natsu you need to knock down the Lacrima or the guild's gonna be destroyed!" Happy yelled from somewhere behind him.

"I know, I know!" Natsu huffed in response, he looked back at the annoying fire mage appraisingly.

"Fine. If I can't beat you using my flames, I'm just gonna have to do it the old-fashioned way." Cracking his knuckles, Natsu went to attack again, this time sans fire.

"What you think you're just gonna-" His fist interrupted the rest of Totomaru's sentence as he sent the man flying back and into a wall.

"You got lucky with that one. Let me show you what a member of the element five can do!" The man boasted and started accumulating his magic, focusing it on one point before sending an inferno at Natsu.

Slurping the fire, he noted that this one wasn't as foul-tasting as the last. "Thank you for the meal, and you called me slow. It looks like fire doesn't work on either of us."

Natsu smiled at the man as he approached him. "What are you gonna do now?"

The man started back at him, eyes wide in disbelief and he could smell the fear on him, with a smirk, Natsu threw his head back and head-butted the two-toned man, knocking him out flat.

"He was seriously getting on my nerves." Natsu grumbled as he moved back to finally strike the Lacrima, throwing a fireball that shattered the crystal into pieces.

"You did it Natsu!" Happy yelled out as he flew over his head.

"2 minutes to detonation of the Jupiter Cannon." The voice echoed once more.

"I destroyed it! How is the thing still charging?" Natsu asked in confusion.

Just then, he felt a twinge of a headache and heard Warren's voice in his head.

"Natsu? Can you hear me? I just got word from the others. There seem to be 5 Lacrimas that are powering the Cannon. Elfaman destroyed one, as well as Gray and Erza. There are two left." The telepath relayed to Natsu, who cursed inwardly.

"There is one Cannon left. Do you know where it is? I lost time in this maze of a castle trying to find the first one!" He thought back to the man.

"I can sense you in the east wing. The last remaining Crystal is located on the west wing. Elfman managed to take down Sol, of the element five, and Gray is currently fighting the water woman of Phantom. There are two members of the element five left, and one of them is the mage that stole the Master's soul, so be careful and get to the Lacrima, quickly!"

Warren told him, and Natsu sprinted out of the room before he could even finish relaying all the information, Happy flying behind him as they raced toward the last Crystal.

"What about Erza? Where is she?" Natsu asked, dread filling his stomach.

"She's joined the battle out front." There was a pause, and somehow Natsu could feel his hesitance.

"Natsu, she plans on taking the hit if you don't make it on time." With those words, the connection between them was cut, and Natsu ran even faster as he tried not to think of Erza and her stupid sacrificial tendencies.

* ********* ********** ********** ********* *

Lucy was tired of waking up groggy and not knowing where she was. How many times is this now? She wondered if all mages got kidnapped and knocked out as much as she looked around.

She was not in a car this time or a cell, she was lying on the ground in what seemed to be some kind of throne room.

'Of course, Jose would have a throne.' Lucy thought with disdain as she got up on her feet.

"You're awake just in time for the festivities." She heard his voice coming from the other end of the room.

Turning she saw Jose, and the black-haired man who grabbed her enter the room.

Jose went straight for his seat on the throne perched in the middle of the room, while his gorilla went to stand by his side.

"I was very disappointed in you, Lucy, and the way you behaved after my most generous offer." The auburn-haired man tutted at her. "It will not go unpunished, but first I want you to witness the fall of Fairy Tail." He started laughing as he gestured to the man by his feet.

The younger man moved to open one of the curtains and Lucy saw the guild fighting those ghoulish things. "10 seconds to detonation of the Jupiter Cannon." A voice echoed throughout the building, making Lucy's heart drop.

'They didn't make it in time.'

Jose was laughing like a maniac as the voice continued counting down.

"Nine, eight, seven, six" Lucy was transfixed on the fight below her, watching her fellow guild mates scatter around in panic as the voice counted down. "Five, four, three"

She saw a flash of scarlet, and Erza appeared in an armor Lucy had never seen before. It was heavy-duty, with a giant shield.

She wasn't actually going to try and take the blow?

"Two, one. Firing Jupiter Cannon."

"No! No, Erza!" Lucy screamed as the Cannon fired directly at where the scarlet-haired woman was standing, shield in place as she channeled magic towards it, a determined look in her eyes as she braced herself for impact.

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happyvoidharmony · 19 hours

Text

Missteps.2 (First Day)

Found : FF.net AO3

“Well, that was a day wasted.” Gajeel only whined some more as he fell onto his bed.

Indeed, the very first day of the Games had proved itself to be rather unsuccessful. Even with two members competing, none of them had managed to beat any other team and the results felt more depressing than anything.

“I thought it was really fun.” Mirajane cheered with a sweet voice while she went for hers. “Everyone looks so talented, the games are everything but easy.” She still trembled a little bit when she caught the thunder mage’s disapproving glare as he fell onto his own bed. “Everyone did his best.”

She couldn’t help but to send a worried gaze to the water mage that hadn’t said a word since the day had ended, seeming quite empty-looking as she absentmindedly brushed her hair. Surely their defeat was much harder to swallow for her than for any of them. If only Gajeel could gather his two remaining neurons to gain some awareness and stop talking about their upcoming strategy to regain the points they had missed today.

She wished she had a pan to slam onto his head.

“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry ?” Jellal elevated his voice a bit to the incessant rants of their teammate.

Mirajane only sighed.

“How about as many times as it takes for you to go kick your guildmates’ sorry asses for what they did to us ?”

That was a good thought. If only he hadn’t yelled it.

“It’s not their fault.” Jellal sighed in turn, resting his eyes as his head was beginning to hurt. “They were only trying to keep me from revealing my true identity by beating Jura.”

She heard the blonde grunt then, even if that one went ignored as the two men continued their insufferably cute bickering. She looked at him, but he only glanced in her direction, still ignoring her as he did since the day before. It was her turn to grunt.

“What the hell do we need you for, if you can’t even use your real magic to win ?” The volume went up as the former mage saint only whined in desperation.

Even Juvia seemed to look up, also quite triggered by the dragon slayer’s unwillingness to let the subject go.

“It’s not my fault if they put me up against the only mage I couldn’t beat without it !”

The poor Jellal seemed also desperate to prove his innocence.

Mirajane sighed again, more loudly this time, so maybe the mood would lighten up and stop being so aggressive. But they still went on nonetheless.

“Maybe we should have sent thunder jerk over here, if only it wasn’t for that stupid rule.”

He grunted at that one again, more like snarked. So loud that it almost startled her, but again, their beds were only a few feet apart. She weirdly couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be an agreeing kind of grunt, with the fact that he would have been more competent to beat the mage saint, or a downright protest to being called a jerk. But with his eyes still glued to what seemed to be the rule book of the games this time, nobody could really tell.

If only they could finally stop yelling. With the selection trials during the night and the day-long games, she hadn’t slept quite enough, and the incessant ranting was making her headache even stronger.

“The last day will probably include another fight against him.”

She seemed to be the last one taken aback by the blonde’s sudden affirmation, as every one of them suddenly fell silent. Thank God, a bit of silence.

“They wouldn’t have wasted their strongest contestant on the first day.” He didn’t seem to notice because his eyes stayed faithful to the words he was currently reading. “So, they’ve probably planned a big finale with him for the end of the games.”

The absence of reply finally had him look up at them all staring back quiet. He frowned but the silence was soon broken again by Gajeel.

“Ladies and gentlemen, he can speak.”

She wished she could have refrained the loud chuckle that immediately came out of her mouth. To his great dismay as she seemed to be followed by Juvia, who finally cracked a smile of laughter, Gajeel, who seemed to enjoy laughing at his own jokes, and the stellar mage as well, so much that it quickly ended in all four of them just trying to keep the giggles in as the thunder mage only stared in desperation, wondering how long they could go on before he could fry them all for their impertinence.

Against all odds, she was the first to regain composure.

“Well, that actually kind of makes sense.” That seemed to calm the others and finally reduce Gajeel to silence as he sighed and fell back onto his bed, still getting cold sweat from the shut-up stare Laxus had been shooting him for a good 2 minutes.

And then the door opened.

“What are you all doing, looking like you’ve just been to a funeral ?” Cana suddenly yelled as they all turned to face her. “There’s a party down there !”

There was a slight pause where everyone seemed to gather their thoughts.

“Sorry, we didn’t have the greatest of day.” Gajeel only snarked against her accusing stare and the bottle she was holding in her right hand.

“Well it’s no use wallowing about it.” She only replied.” Come on, everyone’s downstairs !” She dragged Juvia to the door as the others only sighed in resignation and gathered their things to join. “I bet Natsu a hundred bucks he can’t surf on barrel and that’s just going to be hilarious !”

“Do you have enough alcohol to make every memory of the day magically disappear !” Jellal only asked as he followed, making sure to grab his hat and mask with him.

Unsurprisingly, that last question seemed to brighten the card mage’s day as her face illuminated with the shiniest smile.

“I certainly do, come on, I’ll make you forget everything.” She only patted on his shoulder while glancing back at the demon mage. “You’re coming ?” The demon mage only smiled, debating whether it was a good idea to get very drunk with the games continuing the day after, and let’s not forget the thunder mage’s presence right beside as he bumped into her shoulders before looking back at her to raise his eyebrows.

Are you coming ?

Maybe she just had to fill the blanks herself to hear him speak for now.

Although, the hand on her thigh was soon going to speak louder than words. Or maybe he was drunk. That was highly possible as they had been drinking for a few hours now. Drinking, and chatting, and laughing, mostly on her part. Not with each other though, but her siblings had been quite adamant about sitting at the Thunder Legion’s table, so they had found themselves shoved up next to each other quite quickly. Which was fine. Not nerve-wracking at all.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of masturbatory to have an entire guild of men ?” Evergreen continued to rant.

She didn’t know how much he had to drink. At least as much as her, so, a lot. She hadn’t counted, but the fact that she couldn’t tell the exact number was already a sign that she shouldn’t get up for some while, unless she wanted to fall straight on her face. She was already acting stupid, giggling like an idiot at everyone’s joke, even the really unfunny ones. He didn’t speak much, but it was still a lot more than before, trying to reply from his corner with at least a facial expression to every remark one of his friends made with the most expectant stare.

“Hey ! why is it weird to have a guild of men but not also for the whole guild of women ?” Evergreen only shrugged to the seith’s remark.

It was cute, the way they gazed, waiting for a reaction, like puppies waiting for their treat.

“Well, at least the women don’t spend their time screaming about being manly.” The fairy mage went on.

And kind of odd.

“What’s wrong about being manly ?” Her brother whined.

But cute.

“Nothing, Elf-nii-chan, she’s just trying to spite you.” Her sister patted him on the shoulder, sending annoyed frowns to the woman, who only shrugged some more.

She did love puppies.

“I think it rather makes sense.” The rune mage tried to refocus the conversation. “To keep one focused on the task at hand.” Bickslow only rolled his eyes out.

If it wasn’t for the hand, one could have thought that he was totally ignoring her presence. Well, he did look at her when she talked, but he never replied, not that she ever talked to him directly. But then, there had been his foot, or maybe it had been hers first, but he didn’t pull away nonetheless. Not when she touched it, and not even when she cluelessly left it there. But his absence of reaction was total, for a while at least. She knew his poker face was good, but even his eyebrow, which she knew to be his tell, didn’t make the slightest movement. One could only imagine the disappointment she felt.

“Don’t you think men need more help getting focused, Ever ?” Bickslow snarked, but he looked at Laxus when he spoke, with his annoying grin.

So cute.

“Well, if you say it like that.” Evergreen tried to shut him down by ordering another round.

But then, his foot had moved, not away, but against her. And the rush of adrenaline was just embarrassing. She could feel the red rushing to her cheeks, but at least she could pretend it was the tequila they had just ordered, pretend she had forgotten how much that liquid burnt one’s throat, pretend a whole lot of indecent thoughts hadn’t just rushed up to her brain.

“Well, I don’t know if I prefer the sound of that.” Her sister tried to intervene.

Was every hotel room really booked ? Or was that just a saying during the Games ?

“Of course you don’t, you have sense.” Bickslow approved, but only to spite the fairy mage. “Why do you think Laxus ? Did you ever have a hard time focusing ?”

The thunder mage only shrugged, looking back at his glass.

“Not really.” He mumbled.

She retained herself from snarking back, very badly that is to say.

But then he looked.

Right at her. Right at the moment she had gazed upon him.

And nobody seemed to notice because they had gone back to their little conversation, while his eyes stayed on hers for what felt to be so long, she had to send worried gazes around just to make sure nobody had caught that. Because they would know, instantly, everything. If not by the hot look his dark eyes had just sent straight to her stomach, making it crawl back on itself, by the way the heat had replaced her face. And she knew she was red as a poppy because she could swear he had that knowing smirk on the corner of his mouth.

“What about you, Mirajane, did you ever have trouble focusing ?” Freed asked, but it took her a whole second to understand he was addressing her.

Her unawareness made them laugh. So she giggled too, and reddened a bit. Nobody seemed to notice she had been looking at him though.

“Are you okay, Mira-nee ?” Her sister tried to help. “You look tired.”

And now, he was fully smirking, and sending those annoying glances at her. And she wanted to slam his face into that glass of his.

“Maybe we should go to bed, it is going to be a long day tomorrow.” Her brother tried too.

If only they didn’t keep her stomach in the most unnatural position.

“It’s not that late, though.” Evergreen shut his idea down, the remark did annoy him, but he rapidly refocused on his older sister.

Maybe she should go to sleep, before she drank more and stopped being able to hide the embarrassing turmoil going on inside her.

“Especially when one of you might fight tomorrow.” Freed tried to help, and even Bickslow shrugged in understanding.

But then, there was his hand, sliding up and down her thigh, so lightly it almost tickled her. And she almost jumped up, if all the stares hadn’t been on her at that exact moment.

“I’m fine.” She giggled, shutting the whole thing so quickly they changed the entire topic.

God, he was probably laughing his ass off inside right now. Especially after the infuriated glare she had just sent him. If only he didn’t look so damn sexy.

“Why does it always have to be about dirty things with you ?” Evergreen only snapped at Bickslow, while she saw her siblings redden and the seith mage explode in laughter.

She had missed something. The dragon slayer proved to be useless as he looked just as clueless as she was when she glanced at him for help.

Obviously, she wasn’t the only one having problems focusing.

Because she knew he was struggling to understand Bickslow when he repeated the joke again to gain his approval. Or maybe that was the way her foot had slowly slid up his tibia. She saw him gulp, and glance, ever so quickly in her direction, just as much annoyed. And his hand had suddenly gripped her thigh so strongly, she actually jumped a bit. Not that it could stop her from playing with the edge of his jeans with her toes.

“Don’t be gross.” Freed shut Bickslow down, before Laxus even had a chance to collect his thoughts.

Revenge was indeed sweet.

She knew she shouldn’t have had so much to drink. Now her legs were wobbly, and she couldn’t quite see straight. How the hell did she even drink that much ? She didn’t even remember ordering two glasses, but between the Cana’s orders in the beginning, the Thunder Legion’s orders in the middle, or the weird glasses that kept getting in front of her in the end, it was no wonder why she lost count. But now, she had to go to sleep and when she woke up, she would have to go through the whole day and possibly fight with the worst hangover ever.

Not that she never fought with a hangover, but still.

She was going to go to bed, after successfully dropping Cana on her bed with Erza’s help. The brunette was a mess after her drinking contest against Bacchus. She tried to ignore the disapproving stares the woman sent her, only rolling her eyes out with her wobbly hands and confused eyes as they tucked her into bed. Of course she would disapprove the whole drinking thing. After all, they were on a job to get the guild back on top, there was place for failure, and certainly no place for excesses.

If only her own hand didn’t shake as she tried to take the card mage’s shoes off.

And wasn’t it so funny that she thought she needed her to win this whole thing ? Like she truly thought that she couldn’t do it by herself with her own team. Maybe, she needed to worry about her own sorry ass, and be happy the demonic mage didn’t take it too seriously, or she would have one hell of a hard day when her team lost.

If only she could decide about the things she could ask her to do when that bet would be won.

Oh revenge was indeed going to be sweet.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were going to be on a second team.”

She almost jumped, but only because she hadn’t quite thought about this whole thing since the morning. So much had happened since then, she didn’t even imagine the knight mage could be still stuck on that. So she just let out a loud giggle, which was painful to stop when she met the woman’s cold stare.

“Well, I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.” She giggled some more, without so much as a reaction. “Are you seriously angry with me ?”

Her smile died then as they walked back down the corridor.

But she didn’t get an answer.

“Goodnight.”

Not did she get even a slight smile as the redhead almost slammed her team’s bedroom door behind.

She was so aggravating sometimes. Shedidn’t think much more about it as she opened her own door to hopefully tuck herself into her own bed, even it was going to spin quite a lot.

But she froze when she saw him.

He was still laying on that bed. Well, his bed. Not that she expected him to be on her bed or anything, but he never seemed to change position or anything either.

“Hey.” He only said softly, not looking up from this rulebook he had seem to get lost in again.

“Hey.”

There was an awkward silence, then. When he only glanced at her while she desperately tried to correctly sit on her bed, take her shoes off without losing all balance, and stop the heat that threatened to take control of her face again. Maybe she could just blame it on the alcohol. She then tried to find her stuff, but her bag was kind of stuck under her bed, so it took an embarrassing long time to get it out and start searching for her night clothes and bathroom supplies.

He didn’t seem to notice but she knew he was a great pretender. She cursed the master inside yet again for forcing her to be on this team and being so cheap it probably wasn’t the only time she would find herself so awkwardly alone with him. Where were the others even ? She knew it wasn’t that late. To her great shame, because now she had to admit she was already that drunk.

To him.

And she really didn’t want to.

“You’re okay ?”

His voice startled her again, even more when she found him staring at her dumbfounded gaze and probably very red cheeks.

“Yeah.” She tried to giggle, but it sounded just wrong.

“Oh.” He didn’t look away though, still piercing through like he really tried to figure out what she was up to. “Because you’ve been staring at your bag for like five minutes…so, I just wondered.”

Fuck. Five minutes ? She needed to go to bed. No, she needed to change first. But she had sweated all day, so a shower would be better first. Not that she had a choice, because it was either the bathroom or change in the room in front of him. And she knew he wouldn’t mind after the spending the last hour with his hand up her leg, but that wasn’t happening. Not when she couldn’t take her shoes off without risking falling on her nose.

She had a reputation to keep.

“Why don’t you concentrate on finding your loophole, or whatever you’ve been searching for since this morning ?”

If only he didn’t look so hot as he suddenly shut the book down to settle it on the table. He didn’t look away though, still gazed at her as he stood up to open the window and nonchalantly took out the pack of cigarettes from his pocket. She knew now why he took the window bed. She didn’t look away either, still tried to make herself as defiant as possible as she watched him smirk and light the silly thing on, inhaling it like he was some hot gangster boy from the movies.

He did look the part though.

He didn’t say anything at first, but he was the first to break their staring contest while he exhaled the smoke out and she took the opportunity to finally get her stuff out of her bag.

“So” He started, staring again like she was doing the most interesting thing in the world. “Are you planning to change in the bathroom or right here ?”

To say she got flustered was an understatement. She got so red, she knew it was impossible to hide anymore. But she couldn’t let him win after he had spent the whole day trying to get on her last nerve. She did smile though, a bit awkwardly but quite angrily too. She paused, looking first at her bag, and taking a long inspiration before rising up her eyes to meet his face. She formed the words again and again in her head, just to be sure she wouldn’t stutter.

“Shut up.”

She was happy, because her voice hadn’t trembled, nor broken, certainly not stuttered, and even though her cheeks were very hot, she knew her gaze to be just as cold. But he did smirk though, although he did look a bit taken aback, like he expected any kind of different answer. But he was getting on her last nerve, and she had plenty.

“Why ?” He insisted, still trying not to grin too widely or his canines would start showing. “I’m only asking a question.”

“Oh yeah sure, like you fucking mean it.”

She was very aggressive now, and she could feel the anger replace the awkwardness in her throat. She just had to remember to keep her voice down because God forbid she alerted the whole guild with that stupid fight of theirs. He did get startled too at that one, with his eyebrows suddenly rising, and she was pretty sure he almost choke himself on that cigarette of his.

“What makes you think I don’t mean it ?”

This one hurt her. Because she knew he wasn’t serious with this whole thing. Not the way she was. It didn’t seem to bother him not to talk to her all day, nor did he truly tried to talk to her ever since he came back. She had tried. She had stressed over, and over it, and she was done. She was truly done trying to figure out what on earth could be going on in that pretty little hot head of his.

Even though those jeans and t-shirt looked very fit on him. And even though seeing those teeth when he flirted like an asshole was definitely something. But there was difference between flirting, and being an asshole.

“Oh, is that so ?” She got up because of the anger, but she only spoke up because of the alcohol. She was this close to yelling. “So, if I were to take my dress off right here, in front of you, you’d actually do something about it, instead of staring at me like a wolf ?” She said that to provoke him, because she knew he wasn’t going to walk out of that one. And she needed to be angry with him.

“Would you want me to do something about it ?”

It was her turn to smirk. Not only because she had the images going up in her mind, and honestly it wasn’t so bad of an idea. To just get over it and talk later, at least things would be dealt with much more quietly, because there was no way she was finishing that conversation calmy. She knew she was approaching him also, but not matter how much her mind tried to tell her to go back, she only advanced until she was just one step away from him.

She could feel the cold air skimming along her neck, and she realised just how much she had to be red, because it felt frozen coming in contact with her cheeks. But she didn’t think she looked ridiculous, because he definitely staring at her like she was extremely not. And that felt good, but only at first because then, she remembered it wasn’t real, and that it was all just a game to him. And that really hurt. it really hurt to be this close to him, to catch a glimpse of his aftershave and the whiskey he’d been drinking, while knowing he would never let her get so close.

“I want you to stop playing with me.”

She said that one not too loud. Not because she was less angry but because she was close enough to touch him now. He didn’t take a step back though, he allowed her to approach until she was so near, she could start feeling the heat coming from him. He did look away, and crushed his cigarette that was only half finished. But when he looked back at her, she saw something in his eyes. Something serious, like he actually cared. And she almost couldn’t breathe.

“I’m not playing at anything, demon.”

But that wasn’t enough for her. Because she was tired. Tired of being angry but also tired of wanting to come near him but never getting to actually do it. She was tired of this useless flirting and pretending, and getting all worked up for something that never happened.

“Aren’t you ?”

So she tried. She was already so close, she almost didn’t have to move to touch his lips. She went forward and tried to kiss him, but as she closed her eyes, she felt it change. The whole seriousness he had just then kind of vanished, and instead, he was left all hesitant before turning his head away, exhaling and clenching his teeth like that took every effort in his body.

“Mira…”

And it hurt. It hurt so bad, it felt like her organs had bones and they all had broken at the same time. Her intestines, her stomach, her lungs. Even her throat because there wasn’t much left of her voice when she gathered the strength to talk.

“What the hell are you doing ?”

She knew she sounded like she was going to cry, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care because she wanted him to see how much he was hurting her, and how much she had the right to hate him.

“You’re hella drunk.”

And it felt so stupid. This whole thing. And she had to be the stupidest girl in the world because it wasn’t even the first time he used that excuse to get out of this. Stupid girl. Why did she think it would be any different this time ?

“No, I’m not.”

Her voice still trembled but she didn’t walk back, she waited until he gently grabbed her arms and tried to push her away. And she wanted to resist, but there was something so utterly desperate about it that she just let him.

“Yes, you are, your breath smells like you swallowed the entire bar.”

He tried to walk with her, tried to guide her to her bed, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She couldn’t stop trying to figure out why he was smirking right now. Why he didn’t get that she wanted to hit him badly. And push him. And scream. So she gripped on his arms and bit her lip so the tears wouldn’t come out too fast.

“Why are you doing this to me ?”

She knew her voice was pathetic. She knew she looked pathetic.

“Mira, you’re drunk, you should go to bed. We can talk about that tomorrow.”

Tomorrow ? No, no way, she wasn’t spending yet another night wondering about what she did wrong or what was going in his head. No, no fucking way. Not tomorrow, and certainly not the fucking day after. So she just yelled and pushed him.

Hard. So hard he almost lost balance and fell over his own bed. But he didn’t, and she felt like running. Running to a place where she wouldn’t have to see his face and all the humiliation that went with it. She went to put her shoes on, because whatever he said, she wasn’t that drunk. Not enough to forget her shoes, and certainly not enough not to know exactly what she was doing.

It was all his fault.

“Where the fuck are you going ? Mirajane, come back here.”

She heard him yell and throw orders around. She felt him trying to reach her in the precipitation, so she grabbed the first thing that came and threw it as hard as she could at his ridiculous face. It happened to be one of her spare shoes. But he dodged it.

“Stop throwing shoes at me !”

He tried to reach for her again but she only felt the tip of his fingers before shoving him again.

“Don’t touch me.”

When he tried again, he looked a lot more serious than just before. But she had taken some advance, so she was already at the door.

“Mirajane”

He swallowed the distance so quickly it actually startled her. But she was quick too, and the door was opened now, so she only had the time to slam it just before his face.

And then she ran. She ran downstairs, without caring anymore if anyone heard them. They were probably all drunk anyway. She heard the door open, and the fast and heavy steps that followed just after her. She didn’t hear him anymore, but he was calling. But a lot quieter, because he still cared about waking up everyone.

When she reached the ground floor of the tavern, she only had time to see them. All three of them only. If those feet sleeping on one of the benches were indeed Jellal’s. The rest of the entire place was empty. Which was weird because it couldn’t be that late, or maybe they had taken the party somewhere else. She felt relief, because he was coming after her, and she really didn’t feel like inventing some lie to explain it. At least these ones wouldn’t care that much.

If only he didn’t try to grab her just then.

“Mirajane !”

There’s something about reflexes. Something incontrollable. And relieving. She didn’t feel her hand take the bottle from the bar beside her, she didn’t even feel it come in contact with the palm of her hand. And it must have been cold. But she didn’t feel anything except the rage that was pumping through her veins. She just slammed it. Into his face. But unlike the door, it did touch him this time. And break. Into little pieces. It made a noise too. A big one. But not as big as his face.

He was wet now. And she was frozen, with the rest of the bottle falling on the ground. Not because she was afraid of the infuriated look he gave her at this instant, but because she was just realizing exactly what she had done. And by the screams she had heard from their teammates, she knew it was real. She had crushed a bottle in his face. And now his head was wet with alcohol dripping from his chin, and kind of grimacing in pain or in anger.

She could have been afraid. But there was something about his face, and his eyebrows twitching uncontrollably. Something so funny and utterly ridiculous. Something about the rage coming down in one blow. She just broke out into laughter.

Horribly.

Uncontrollably.

And she heard the others laughing with her, and their hesitation to come up. And it was all so stupid, she felt like nothing but painfully apologizing between two hiccups, even if her stomach wasn’t so keen on helping her. She tried to articulate the words, but it was just so hard.

“I’m sor…”

He didn’t feel like laughing though. He looked torn between throwing another bottle at her head or frying her on the spot. His vein was pumping on his forehead, and it made all the blood leave her head to go straight to her feet.

Fuck, he was pissed.

And she wasn’t normally afraid of him, but the firing look in his eyes somehow made her forget she was capable of handling a drunken fight with him.

“Run.”

So she just ran again.

And if someone ever had to comment this scene, they would say that never did they see someone so pathetically run for their life.

She didn’t know how long she had been running for. Five, ten minutes. She didn’t even understand how he hadn’t already caught her. The guy could transform into lightning for god’s sake. Or maybe he didn’t know which way she went. Or maybe he was lost. Which was likely because he had the worse orientation skills ever. But wasn’t he supposed to have a dragon’s nose or something ? Couldn’t he find her with that ?

It was still weird to her, to think of him as one of them. She tried not to think about it too much but every time she remembered, it somewhat pinched her chest. She had known him for too long not to be hurt to hear something so important so long after. Or maybe she was just hurt he never told her himself. Especially when she used to tell him everything about herself. More or less.

She was getting tired now. Even with the three months of training, her stamina wasn’t the same as it used to. The alcohol wasn’t helping either, and she was very much trying to ignore the sick feeling that was growing up in her chest as well. It was cold too, she realised when she stopped. The street was full of drunk people having fun in all those bars. Probably all tourists that came for the festival.

It was loud too, and it smelled like smoke and beer. And so cold. She shivered and suddenly wondered when the last time was she had seen her sweater. The last time she saw it, it was on the bench they were all sat at, she remembered because it had been in the way of his hand to access her thigh, when everything was still hesitant, and not gone totally wrong. She shivered a second time, not because of the cold, but because she thought back on the feeling of his hand against her skin.

Maybe she should start fleeing again.

She felt it, the heaviness. It always came when he approached, it was like an invisible dark cloud following his every step. Most people missed it because they did not know him, but she would have recognised it had she been lost in the sea of a thousand people. And it sent chills down her spine. And not only because she had to start running again.

She couldn’t even run anymore. There were so many people she couldn’t make two steps before crashing into someone. Some of them even that weird frowning face like they recognised her from somewhere but couldn’t quite tell where. At that pace, he was going to catch her in no time. She should transform into someone else, maybe with the crowd, he wouldn’t be able to spot her smell. She didn’t even know how good he was with smells.

She entered a perpendicular street, because it was always a lot quieter to transform with less people looking, besides, she had to transform into someone going the other way or it would look weird. But then she saw it. She saw the neon, the music coming from the place, the man guarding the entrance but the weird windows with their shuts down. It could only mean one thing. Strip club. So she rushed into it. The man didn’t even stop her. Why would he ?

Inside, the music was a lot louder. And it couldn’t be that late because the girls dancing still had way too many clothes on. She didn’t even bother thinking about where she was going, instead, she went for the back room just near the scenes. Hopefully, she could hide in there. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be able to catch her smell in that street. Hopefully, he wouldn’t imagine that she would go into a strip club. Hopefully, he didn’t know where the backroom was.

It was surprisingly empty. But that worked to her advantage, maybe she could transform and dress up as a waitress or something. Annoying thing was she had to choose the uniform carefully if she didn’t want to be forced to take it off without blowing her whole cover. Maybe she could make herself into a brunette, or a redhead. Maybe he didn’t like those and wouldn’t even look at her. Or maybe he would look and recognise her, and she would get anxious her whole life every time he looked at a brunette.

God that was stupid. She told herself as she saw her face change in the mirror circled by lights. She looked cute, in some way. Even had given herself freckles and green eyes. The face was always the hardest to change without a model. But she had actually managed to do a great job. Now she had to find some clothes. Hopefully.

“There you are.”

She froze. She hadn’t felt him behind her. And she always felt him. She jumped also and weirdly tried to punch first, because in desperate cases, attack was surely the greatest defence. She must have been sloppy because he stopped her punch with one hand and way too easily. He was grinning too, almost laughing. If only he didn’t slam her against the wall just as fast.

“Really ?” He smiled again, but this time she could actually smell the tobacco on his breath. “That’s all you can do ?”

She gasped, even lost her transformation as her head recovered from the shock. He was blocking her wrists with two hands and there was no way she could get out of his grip without magic, but that would probably alert the whole party going on in the next room. Even if he probably had wet dreams about getting his ass kicked by one of her demons. She laughed then. Honestly. She was lost in giggles because she didn’t mind the position that much. Even if it meant getting her ass fried in less than two minutes. She would have had a good run.

“Stop it !” She yelled, still giggling hysterically as she started feeling some all too familiar tickling in the palms of his hand.

“Did you really think you were going to get away with that, little demon ?” He teased, still sending small charges through her arms, just to see her squirm and gesticulate on the spot.

“Let me go !” She wanted to add please, but thankfully she stopped herself.

And just when his arms left her hand and she thought her misery over, his hand grabbed her face and his lips crashed into hers. Not that she cared, she would have been angry if it didn’t come to that after his little game of torture. She knew he was smiling as she gripped his hair and tried to shove him closer. His tongue felt nice, and so did his hand going down her waist to grab her just below. So she almost bit him. Because it surprised her, but also because she couldn’t possibly let him win.

She almost felt lightheaded. Especially when he started tracing his way down her neck, while still grabbing everywhere he could. And that felt good. She always relished on his touch. It was rough, but sweet, but really so hot. She gripped his jeans also, and tried to bring him even closer, because it felt like nothing was ever going to close enough. She did grab her face again, and she moaned of frustration. But it didn’t last as he kissed her so deeply, she had to grab his shirt and wonder if she still had the strength to tear all those buttons off.

He tried to faintly protest, but then, they both heard the door open, and it was like a very cold shower coming down on them both.

“Oh, sorry to bother you guys, but both of you got to get out.”

She was pretty. The girl that interrupted them. A brunette, but she didn’t really care right now. Not when his hand was still on her waist, near but not quite where she truly wanted them. He smelled good too, behind the whole reek of alcohol and tobacco, he smelled just like she remembered. And it was just the best. She did giggle though, at the awkwardness of getting caught. He seemed more bothered in his tasks than anything else.

“Unless you’re down with a third.”

He did look at her them, almost hesitant, and she almost jumped out of her skin. What the hell was he thinking ? There was no way she was doing that with him, well with him maybe, but not with someone else. He even had the nerve to look disappointed. It finished convincing her to shove him away as they parted and took their way to the exit. She almost heard him apologizing to the girl, and she swore she could have punched him so hard.

She looked a bit awkward though, trying to put her dress back on correctly as they made their way through the crowd. The air seemed twice as cold as it had been before when she stepped out. Not surprising though as it had been horribly hot in that club. She did shiver a whole lot more when she felt his hand grab her waist and pull her towards the main street at the corner.

He didn’t say anything at first, but he looked a lot calmer than he had been before. So, she just followed him, like a convicted criminal bowing to their sentence. He even stayed quiet until they left the crowded street and walked peacefully towards the tavern.

“So, should we find somewhere else to go, or do you want to go back ?”

She did feel her heart jump at that one. But hopefully she didn’t show anything, and looked at him with that annoying grin on her face. Shaking her head though.

“Every other hotel room is booked, remember ?”

He grinned.

“Not the kind that rents by the hour.”

She laughed. He was truly that desperate. But she was drunk, and so was he. And it was all too important, she couldn’t have looked herself in the mirror if it ended in some creepy hotel with weird stains scattered across the room.

“Let’s just go, before the others come looking for us.”

They did go back, without saying anything, although she could feel some kind of small disappointment in his eyes, but he was still kind of grinning, so all was well.

“Where the hell were you guys ?” Gajeel asked as they walked in the room and found them all already getting into bed.

Jellal was still sleeping like a baby, which was weird because she didn’t even know if he was supposed to sleep here or with his own guild. Not that it mattered that much, but he certainly was going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow. If not the whole hangover that traditionally went with it. At least, he probably wasn’t going to be asked to fight anymore.

“Nowhere.” Laxus answered without many details.

She watched him crash on his own bed, as she went to find her night stuff again. She knew Gajeel wasn’t convinced by the answer, and that Juvia wanted to ask a whole another number of questions. But maybe they were intimidated, or maybe they honestly didn’t want to know that much, anyway, they didn’t ask any more questions as she finally went into that bathroom to get ready for the night.

She hoped she would catch a glimpse of his eyes as she walked out and tucked herself into her own covers, but he was already looking towards the window and away from her. It disappointed her, but it didn’t distress her that much. After all, he surely wasn’t going to ignore her after everything that happened today ? Not in private at least. If they succeeded in getting any private time without having to throw tableware around. It would be nice change. A nice, welcome change. All was well.

Last Chapter

#fairy tail #mirajane strauss #miraxus #laxus dreyar #laxus x mirajane #juvia lockser #jellal fernandes #gajeel redfox #cana alberona #lisanna strauss #elfman strauss #bickslow #freed justine #erza scarlet #evergreen

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acacia-may · 8 months

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Can you do 55 for the fic writer's ask game please? Thank you

Hi there, Anon! I'd be happy to answer this question for you. 😊

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

Honestly, I think it just kind of depends on my mood and the story I'm writing. I always try to pick the POV character that fits the story I want to tell the best, and I have had lots of fun getting try out writing in different characters' perspectives. I don't know if that has really been influenced by the readers' reactions, but I do feel very encouraged to continue writing in certain characters' POVs if I get feedback that I did the character justice in my portrayal (since one of my biggest fears & insecurities as a fic writer is that I'll write a character I love as completely OOC).

It would probably be easier for me to pick the characters whose perspectives I struggled with and/or did not enjoy writing in since there are less of those lol 😅, but in terms of ones I did enjoy and that stick out as favorites, I have decided to break them out by fandom (and I've only included fandoms I have written more than one story about).

My favorite Character POVs to write in by fandom:

A Series of Unfortuante Events: Frank or Dewey Denouement (my real favorite POV character from ASOUE is Kit Snicket but I've never actually put any of my Kit stories online so it's either Dewey or Frank from the stories I have available to the public).

Black Clover: Langris Vaude or Vanessa Enoteca's POV are absolutely without question my favorites (and I think the amount of stories I've written in each other their POVs probably reflects that lol).

Demon Slayer: Giyuu Tomioka (Shinobu' POV is a close second, but I like the juxtaposition between what Giyuu feels on the inside and what he expresses on the outside)

Danganronpa: Shuichi Saihara (if only because I find it the easiest to write in--I feel like everything just flows very easily and naturally when I try to get in his head and write from his perspective. I also had a lot of fun writing from Masaru Daimon's POV, but it was a little more difficult for me since his thoughts are kind of all over the place so I'm not sure if I'll ever be writing in Masaru's POV again 😅).

Fairy Tail: Erza Knightwalker (I also really liked Gajeel's POV so it was a tough call on this one)

Horrible Histories: Atti (he's such an overthinker. I have too much fun with that)

OMORI: Aubrey or Hero (it depends on my mood, especially since Hero's perspective generally brings a level of angst to the story)

#fic writer ask game #acacia's ramblings

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isabellafoster13 · 2 years

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This was requested on Tumblr by paultiteuf360.

For this oneshot, I decided to make Lucy and Levy already in a relationship. I also decided to make them act more like mothers to Romeo than babysitters because I thought that it would fit better. This takes place before the time skip when Romeo was still an adorable kid and would probably enjoy having two mother figures.

I hope you enjoy!

The Bunny Babysitters (Levy x Lucy ft. Romeo)

"Shrimp! Bunny Girl!"

The celestial wizard and letter mage of Fairy Tail looked up from their conversation to see Gajeel walking past his partying guildmates and toward the two of them, a smirk on his pierced face that told them that he was planning something. After noticing that he was holding something behind his back and that he was dressed in a white suit, fedora, and a pair of sunglasses, the two female mages gave each other an identical look that told each other that they knew exactly what was coming.

The Iron Dragon Slayer came to a stop at their table. His smirk widened into a toothy grin that did nothing to soothe the young women's suspicions. He said in a mischievous tone, "Hey there, my lovely bunny dancers."

Lucy and Levy groaned, having known that was what he wanted. Gajeel placed two sexy bunny outfits on the table. He then turned to walk to the stage and set up for his performance as Lucy and Levy grab their outfits and make their way to the changing room behind the curtain that sat at the back of the wooden stage.

As they passed by the end of the bar, Lucy caught sight of Romeo sitting at a table alone. She grabbed Levy's arm, stopping her girlfriend and pointing at the boy. The two young women walked over to the boy, Levy asking, "are you alright, Romeo?"

The dark-haired boy turned around, a glass of apple juice held tightly in his hands. He looked up at the pair of mages with a dampened mood. "My dad promised to show me some spells, but now he's too busy with a job to do it."

Lucy and Levy gave the boy a sad look, knowing that he must be missing his father and sad that Macao hadn't kept his promise. Romeo had turned back around and resumed drinking his juice when Lucy said with a smile, "how about when Levy and I get done with our performance, we spend some time with you?" Romeo turned right back around, dark eyes wide and a smile spreading across his face. He nodded his head happily, excited for someone to willingly pay attention to him.

Lucy and Levy smiled at him. They told him that they would be right back before continuing on their way to the changing room before Gajeel got impatient and threw them over his shoulders to drag them backstage.

Once inside the changing room, the pair of mages began changing into their outfits. Red pantyhose and black, strapless leotards with fluffy, white fake bunny tails on the butt. Accompanied with black headbands with identically colored bunny ears on top, as well as white, shoulder-length gloves and white collars with a black ribbon around each collar. The outfits were finished off with black, four-inch heels.

The pair looked at themselves in the large, full-body mirror. Lucy was more pleased with how she looked than Levy was. Noticing her girlfriend's frown, the blonde asked, "what's wrong?"

Levy shrugged. "I just don't like dressing like this. I don't have much of a figure, not like you."

Lucy wasted no time in cupping her girlfriend's face before leaning down to give her a love-filled kiss, one that Levy didn't hesitate to return. Once they pulled away, Lucy rested her forehead against Levy's, whispering, "you look gorgeous, Sweetheart. You don't need a big chest and curves to be beautiful. You're beautiful just how you are."

Levy smiled in appreciation, giving her girlfriend another kiss before they made their way out to the stage, ready to dance to Gajeel's terrible singing and mediocre guitar skills while also trying to ignore their hurting eardrums that they were both surprised hadn't suffered permanent damage yet.

Fairy Tail's party came to a quick end after Elfman fell victim to a prank created by Natsu that was meant for Gray. Causing all hell to break loose and Gajeel to abandon his playing in favor of joining the brawl that broke out as Mira, Lisanna, and Wendy dragged an injured Elfman home. Lucy and Levy had stopped their dancing and watched, not knowing what exactly to do. The party turned brawl finally ended when Master Makarov emerged from his office to dismiss everyone to their homes in an effort to preserve the guildhall.

Lucy and Levy began walking backstage as their guildmates filed out, many were likely planning to move their party to some bar. They stopped when they saw Romeo still sitting in the same place he was before. They walked over to him, Lucy placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. The boy turned around to reveal tears in his eyes.

The two women looked at each other in rising panic, not sure what to do. Levy asked the boy, "what's wrong, Romeo?"

The boy sniffled, wiping his tears only for more to appear. He explained with a trembling voice, "my-my dad told Mira to watch me w-while he was away! She asked Erza to w-watch me but she left for an a-armor sale! Gray w-was supposed to watch me but he left to e-escape Juvia! He a-asked Natsu to take over but he just left for s-some reason!"

Lucy mumbled angrily, "that flame-brain probably forgot."

Romeo had to of heard what the blonde said, which caused him to wail, "Natsu forgot about me! Nobody ever wants to play with me!"

The two older mages began panicking when Romeo broke into tears. Levy whispered, "what do we do?"

Lucy could only whisper back, "I don't know! I've never taken care of a child before!"

The pair stood there, not knowing how to calm the crying boy. After a few minutes, Levy quickly lifted the boy into her arms and whisked him over to a bench. She sat down, laying the now sniffling boy on her lap, his abdomen on her lap. She then raised her hands to gently massage his shoulders and back through his shirt. Lucy watched as her girlfriend massaged the boy, causing him to relax and his sniffling to subside.

The letter mage lifted Romeo off of her lap and stood up, gently laying him onto the bench, revealing to Lucy that he had fallen asleep. Levy then turned to her girlfriend and said in a low voice, "let's go change our clothes and then take Romeo to your apartment."

Lucy nodded with a smile, following the blue-haired woman to the changing room. As they walked, the blonde spoke, "I didn't know you could do massages."

Levy shrugged, answering, "it's something that I learned recently. I didn't expect to be good enough to make someone fall asleep." They finished off with a laugh.

They opened the door only to find to their horror that their clothes were missing. They looked all throughout the room, discovering that someone had stolen their clothes, leaving them in their bunny outfits. The only things that remained were Lucy's keys, belt, and whip. Levy sighed before she asked, "where are our clothes? They were right here."

Lucy responded, her hands on her hips, "how much do you want to bet that Gajeel took them?" Levy nodded her agreement with that guess, remembering the several other times that Gajeel took their clothes to leave them stranded in their skimpy outfits. Lucy then added, "let's go back into the guildhall, before Romeo wakes up and starts crying again." Levy nodded once more and they exited the room, already planning to give Gajeel a piece of their minds the next day.

The pair entered the guildhall to find that Romeo had surprisingly already woken up and was sitting on the bench he had been left on, his knees pulled up to his chest and face buried in them. He looked up at the two women when he heard them stop in front of him. He sniffled, saying, "I thought you forgot about me."

Lucy and Levy both shook their heads, with Lucy responding, "what kind of Fairy Tail mages would we be if we left a child alone in the guildhall?"

Levy then spoke, "how about the three of us go to Lucy's apartment and play a few games?"

Romeo's tears dried and he smiled at that. He jumped off of the bench and asked with a hopeful smile, "can we get some ice cream first? And can we go through the park?"

Lucy and Levy paled at the thought of so many people seeing them the way they were dressed. Levy smiled sheepishly at her girlfriend. "We're going to be stared at by people anyways, why not get him some ice cream too? Besides, the park is on the way to your apartment."

Lucy nodded, not excited but willing to go out in public dressed the way she was if it meant getting Romeo ice cream and making sure that he didn't start crying again. She mumbled, "good thing I have Capricorn hold onto my money." She took out the goat spirit's key to summon him and retrieve her money from him.

Lucy and Levy followed Romeo to an ice cream shop, trying to ignore the stares, wolf whistles, and catcalls that were thrown their way by the many people they walked by. The two mages were visibly uncomfortable. Lucy muttered to the other woman next to her, "this is a nightmare." Levy answered with a nod.

The trio soon arrived at the ice cream shop. Romeo ran to the counter and stood on his tiptoes, trying to see the menu that hung on the wall behind the counter. Lucy and Levy laughed as Lucy hooked her hands under the boy's armpits and lifted him up. Romeo quickly found a flavor that he liked and placed his order, chocolate mint, followed by Lucy's and Levy's orders, strawberry and blueberry.

They got their ice cream cones and began the walk to the park, making their way through it to Lucy's apartment. As they walked through the thankfully empty park, Lucy heard Levy laugh a short distance behind her. She turned to see that her girlfriend and Romeo had stopped, the boy reaching behind Levy and seeming to stare at the white bunny tail on the butt of her leotard. Lucy laughed as she walked over to them, seeing that Romeo was rubbing Levy's bunny tail between his fingers, obviously enjoying the feel of the soft, fluffy material.

He then looked up at Lucy and asked, "does your tail feel the same way?"

Lucy laughed in sync with Levy, answering, "I assume so."

The boy switched his ice cream cone into his other hand and stepped over to Lucy, taking her bunny tail into his now free hand had rubbing the material with his fingers. He smiled, pleased by the pleasant feel. Lucy and Levy once again shared a laugh at the boy's adorable act. Levy kneeled down next to him, getting his attention. She placed her lips against her ice cream, getting some on them, and then she leaned toward Romeo, going to kiss his cheek. The boy let out a small laugh and used his free hand to attempt at pushing Levy's face away from him as the blue-haired woman continued to try to get ice cream on his cheek.

Lucy laughed, kneeling next to the boy and mimicking Levy's actions. The boy devolved into a fit of laughter as the two mages kissed his cheeks, getting ice cream on his face. He used his arms to push away the pair. They finally stopped when Romeo ran ahead, still laughing.

The boy ran back to them, his arms raised. Lucy and Levy laughed, seeing that the boy wanted to be picked up. Lucy handed Levy her ice cream before she bent down and picked up Romeo, placing him on her shoulders and taking her ice cream back. They then continued on their walk to Lucy's apartment.

Upon their arrival at their destination, the trio finished their cold treats. Lucy took Romeo off of her shoulders as they entered her apartment's main room. The boy yawned as he curled himself up as much as he could in the blonde's arms. Levy yawned after him, soon followed by Lucy. The blonde said, "it's getting pretty late, let's just head to bed." Levy nodded and took the dozing boy into her arms and lay him on the pink-blanketed bed. The two young women laid down on either side of Romeo, falling asleep quickly.

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I tried to stick to the request as much as possible, but it was pretty difficult. Hopefully it turned out good.

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #levy mcgarden #lucy x levy #levy x lucy #luvy #lelu #gajeel redfox #romeo conbolt #mentions of other characters #bunny outfits #fluff #humor #gajeel is a dick

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